FDEL

Confusion, betrayal, helplessness, anger, desperation


Again, betrayal, helplessness, anger, desperation, especially after Kabuto taunts him with words that hits these spots right on


Shock, grief, pain, sense of loss, loneliness, anger, futility, especially after all the carnage of Konoha that he just learned since he came back

My interpretation is that Naruto is more likely to release tails when he is emotionally hurt to a great degree. Basically, the more negative, inward emotions he feels, the more likely he won't be able to keep his tails in check. Another way to put it is that the more emo-angry he becomes, the more tails he grows. There's also the obvious interpretation that the more times you've been in tailed mode, the easier releasing tails becomes.

Naruto fought Gaara when he was younger, more naive, with less fear, and that fight he was preoccupied with two purposes: to protect Sakura from death, and to show Gaara the light. And both were possible and he was determined to make them happen. It wasn't a situation that would cause Naruto to go emo since there is still the little bit of hope. Add in the fact that Naruto has only borrowed bits of Kyuubi chakra before and has never released any tails at the moment, it's not surprising that no tails came out, because there were no triggers and he lacked the tailed experience. Naruto was at his best on that day, and when Naruto is at his best, you don't expect him to grow tails, do you? No, you'd expect him to fight like the Yondaime.

Red Cliff 10/10

Few in North America have heard of it, but this movie was top of the charts in Asia in 2008/2009. It's a history/fantasy epic spanning two full-length movies over four hours in length. You can think of this as China's Lord of the Rings.

And it's utterly impressive. Everything was top-notch, acting, special effects, musical score, sets and costumes, story coherence, everything.

Mount&Blade

This game has probably the greatest combat system I have ever seen. It's extremely realistic, the controls are very easy, yet it never gets boring or repetitive. Basically, they try to make combat as realistic as possible. Imagine yourself fully armored, riding on your horse, holding a spear and charging into the enemy ranks along with your fellow cavalrymen. Every time you ride by an enemy, you can cut them down, but you also need to beware to avoid their blows. Every damage done is calculated based on a number of factors, like whether your sword actually made contact with the body of the enemy, the speed at which the sword travels when it made the blow, etc... When you fire your bow, the arrow is launched with real physics, and you can see gravity bring it down over long distances. There's a learning curve at the beginning, but once you get good at it, every successful hit brings such an awesome sense of satisfaction. Imagine charging onto the front lines, you kick your horse, your horse leap through the first row of opponents as you launch your spear which stabs into the enemy Lord at a hundred kilometers a second, as your horse lands, it pushes through the rest of the enemy's ranks. Then you circle back and join in the ensuing battle between the rest of your comrades and the enemy. The best part is: you'll know that this was only possible because of your own skills at riding your horse and aiming your spear. No auto aim, no super powers, no extremely wide and unblockable swings, no spammable arrows or magic, no inherent hero (you have just as much HP and damage-dealing capability as anyone else given their levels) stats.

I don't think I'm going to continue with this series. The action and intensity in the first episode was awesome, but now it's just getting old, and its lack of a captivating plot spells boredom.

In the naruto universe:

Likes:
-NaruSaku because why else would I be here?
-KibaHina because it's the only Hinata pairing that's fairly easy to accept
-ShikaTema because it might as well have already happened
-LeeTenten because Lee fits Tenten better than Neji
-ChoujiIno because it's nice to see a girl like Ino falling for a guy like Chouji
-JiraiyaxTsunade because as far as old people go, this one is quite appealing and comforting

Dislikes:
-NaruHina because Naruto deserves way more than a one-dimensional love interest
-Any yaoi, yuri, or crack pairing (I once heard of TentenxTonton, good pun eh?)

Elsewhere

Likes: (aside from the obvious canon pairings of most anime that I don't hate)
-KikuchixKanzaki (Great Teacher Onizuka) because they're the only people in the series who can understand/keep up with the thoughts of the other
-EdxWinry (Full Metal Alchemist) because it's sweet
-HikaruxAkari (Hikaru no Go) because it's cute
-KeitaroxNaru (Love Hina) because it can be especially sweet at times (think Christmas Special)
-ShinnxLunamaria (Gundam SEED Destiny) because both are quite realistic and human (as opposed to the idealized Kira, Athrun, Cagalli, and Lacus Clyne)
-JinxFuu (Samurai Champloo) because this was turned down for a totally stupid canon pairing, poor Jin
-ShiroxRin (Fate//Stay Night) because of who Archer really is
-ManakaxYui (Ichigo 100%) because some of their moments are especially cute (think Jump Festa train episode)
-AshxMay (Pokemon) because AshxMisty was too overdone and Misty was annoying, plus the mentor/mentee thing between Ash and May makes it especially sweet
-SokkaxToph (Avatar The Last Airbender) because it's cute and Suki is much too boring a character

Dislikes:
-HidekixChii (Chobits) becaue Chii isn't human
-KoutaxNyu (Elfen Lied) because Nyu/Lucy isn't human
-LightxMisa (Death Note) because Light really doesn't care, poor Misa
-MugenxFuu (Samurai Champloo) because Mugen has the brains of an animal
-GinoxKallen (Code Geass) because of Gino's high and mighty attitude
-Any yaoi, yuri, or crack pairing