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cyanide_latte 's review for:
Naruto, Vol. 12: The Great Flight!!
by Masashi Kishimoto
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Boy has it been a hot minute! I was putting off this volume for ages because I knew I'd fly through it, given its focus on two of my favorite matches from the chūnin exams. But it was worth finally picking up.
The majority of this volume focuses on the Naruto-Neji fight, wherein we have Naruto trying to settle the injustice Neji visited on Hinata in their match while Neji attempts to convince both himself and Naruto the match is a foregone conclusion. But of course we know Naruto isn't going to take that kind of thing just lying down, and he spends a lot of the fight reacting to Neji's smack-talking and challenging his worldview. The whole thing brings about the reveal of Neji's tragic backstory and gives us further insight into how messed-up everything is with the Hyuga clan.
For me personally, this was always the fight that made me eventually soften my stance on Neji. Previously I'd hated him in the series for being a self-assured asshole on the surface, but learning what he's going through, the trauma he's endured and how much it's pushed him to the point he's got this near-nihilistic view in the beginning really opened up my sympathy for him. The kid carries a lot of anger, and seeing Naruto offer him some tough compassion even as they duke it out really was memorable for me. (Something-something, G Gundam really touched on something with the idea that martial artists communicate with their fists, something-something.) The entire sequence is also beautifully drawn when the guys are in-action, there's a lot of motion and movement to the fight that keeps it moving quick and remains easy to follow.
Afterwards, circumstances force the Temari-Shikamaru fight next, which I've personally always found fun in a kind of absurd way. The rubber band labelled "suspension of disbelief" gets twanged around a bit here with the logistics of what occurs, but it's all fun and a playful little introduction into more about Shikamaru as a character, as well as him and Temari as a ship. It makes for a fairly abrupt ending to the volume but it's entertaining nonetheless and I'm glad I got these fights back to back in volume 12.
The majority of this volume focuses on the Naruto-Neji fight, wherein we have Naruto trying to settle the injustice Neji visited on Hinata in their match while Neji attempts to convince both himself and Naruto the match is a foregone conclusion. But of course we know Naruto isn't going to take that kind of thing just lying down, and he spends a lot of the fight reacting to Neji's smack-talking and challenging his worldview. The whole thing brings about the reveal of Neji's tragic backstory and gives us further insight into how messed-up everything is with the Hyuga clan.
For me personally, this was always the fight that made me eventually soften my stance on Neji. Previously I'd hated him in the series for being a self-assured asshole on the surface, but learning what he's going through, the trauma he's endured and how much it's pushed him to the point he's got this near-nihilistic view in the beginning really opened up my sympathy for him. The kid carries a lot of anger, and seeing Naruto offer him some tough compassion even as they duke it out really was memorable for me. (Something-something, G Gundam really touched on something with the idea that martial artists communicate with their fists, something-something.) The entire sequence is also beautifully drawn when the guys are in-action, there's a lot of motion and movement to the fight that keeps it moving quick and remains easy to follow.
Afterwards, circumstances force the Temari-Shikamaru fight next, which I've personally always found fun in a kind of absurd way. The rubber band labelled "suspension of disbelief" gets twanged around a bit here with the logistics of what occurs, but it's all fun and a playful little introduction into more about Shikamaru as a character, as well as him and Temari as a ship. It makes for a fairly abrupt ending to the volume but it's entertaining nonetheless and I'm glad I got these fights back to back in volume 12.