Naruto 127-130 - I've got soul but I'm not a soldier

[timepiececlock]

Although my poll results suggested I should watch Last Exile, I finally finished downloading the Naruto movie and watched that, so it left me in a Naruto mood, and I'm catching up.

Just finished 127-128.

Sasuke, you little shithead. Usings that stupid wire & flame thing against my babyninja?! You little shithead.

::sigh:: I suppose next episode is gonna be all about chibiSasuke angst, isn't it? Maybe I'll skip it.

I am digging the music being used for this whole confrontation, though. And the animation is pretty good too.

Hheee. And the "next episode" clip was kind of cute.


EDIT#1: One more thought, halfway into #130. I need a good pre-Akatsuki!Itachi icon that says "Itachy's life philosophy: self improvement through patricide."

EDIT#2: Also, Sasuke's lucky he looks like his mom. Cause Itachi and PapaUchiha aren't that shiny to look at.


EDIT#3: You know, hearing that Itachi graduated at age 7, could use the sharingan at age 8, became a chuunin at age 10, and an ANBU at 12...doesn't really seem right, if he'd only been an ANBU for a little while before things started to go downhill fast. At least not in terms of how they animated it. He looks about 15-16 in these flashbacks, maybe even 17.

And, you know, chuunin with the sharingan at 10 is cool, but it's not as cool as chuunin at 6 without a sharingan.

Yeah... Kakashi rocks. I can't wait till the next manga chapter comes out so Kakashi can rip him a big one.

EDIT#4: Someone should sit Sasuke down and tell him how disappointed his dad would be in his recent life-changing decisions.

As they say in Midworld, Sasuke has forgotten the face of his father.

Comments

[mildmay.livejournal.com]

Sasuke, you little shithead. Usings that stupid wire & flame thing against my babyninja?! You little shithead.

That was my reaction, too. Really, that's my reaction to everything Sasuke does at this point. I was prepared to forgive Sasuke a lot of shithead behavior when he finally betrayed them, but hurting Naruto both physically and emotionally? No. That I cannot overlook so easily.

: I suppose next episode is gonna be all about chibiSasuke angst, isn't it? Maybe I'll skip it.

I wasn't looking forward to the chibiSasuke angst, either. But the episodes were well done, I thought. I was actually much more interested in it in the anime than I was when I read the manga. The funny thing was that they didn't change my feelings about Sasuke at all; I'm still just as annoyed with him now as I was when I got to this part in the manga. What the flashback episodes did was make me more interested in Itachi, which may or may not be a good thing. I'm really not sure if that's what they were supposed to do, but that was my reaction to them.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Hurting Naruto emotionally doesn't bug me, since Sasuke's always done that... and Naruto doesn't see the mocking as anything new. But hurting Naruto physically, with such deliberateness... that's doing the kind of emotional damage that words never could. Sasuke's words have no effect on Naruto's attitude. But the idea that Sasuke would deliberately set out to harm his teammate--- that's the way to hurt Naruto's trust.


I also find myself more interested in Itachi watching this than I was in the manga. Especially the scene with the police. I'd like to know more about what triggered Itachi down the path of crazyness. Obviously it started when he joined the ANBU, or close to that time. Gotta wonder what exactly happened (or didn't happen) that started his new life philosophy of self improvement through patricide.

I'm halfway through 130 now. I might stop after this episode, and do 131 & 132 tomorrow.

Another thought in watching the anime: Sasuke's lucky he looks like his mom. Cause his dad's not that great and neither is Itachi.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

Another thought in watching the anime: Sasuke's lucky he looks like his mom. Cause his dad's not that great and neither is Itachi.

That struck me, too, how much Sasuke favors his mother.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I don't remember noticing that in the manga... they probably emphasized it when doing the character design of his mother for the anime. It's just a nice bit of detail, artistically. I appreciate details like that.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

I never noticed it in the manga either. His mother is so ... nice. Obviously the boy took after her until the mass Clan slaughter. That mini-flashback arc (which seemed to last forever when it was in the manga - gah!) was the one time when I wanted to give that poor kid a big hug.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Obviously the boy took after her until the mass Clan slaughter.

He certainly seemed to have a genuinely sweet disposition... until his family started to fall apart. Judging by the way he was acting at the Academy, it looks like the situation in their home was starting to affect Sasuke even before the mass slaughter.

[mildmay.livejournal.com]

But hurting Naruto physically, with such deliberateness... that's doing the kind of emotional damage that words never could.

Yes, that's what I meant. I just put it badly. :)

Though, I do think the cruelest thing Sasuke has ever done was the whole "Naruto, I consider you my best friend. ...So I have to kill you" thing. That was just...so, so wrong. Because, Naruto, who spent almost all of his childhood alone, had never heard that from anyone. And Sasuke says it, and then turns it into something ugly. And that bothers me. A lot.

Especially the scene with the police. I'd like to know more about what triggered Itachi down the path of crazyness.

Yes, exactly! I want to know! I have lots of theories, but since we know so little about Itachi aside from what we've seen through Sasuke's eyes, it's hard to know how right any of them are.

Sasuke's lucky he looks like his mom. Cause his dad's not that great and neither is Itachi.

Hee! Yes. There's one image of Itachi in episode...131, I think it is...that I thought was really pretty (in an evil way). But overall he'd be prettier if he didn't have those weird lines on his face like his dad did.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

I have lots of theories, but since we know so little about Itachi aside from what we've seen through Sasuke's eyes, it's hard to know how right any of them are.

I'd love to see some of them. Have you posted any up yet?

[mildmay.livejournal.com]

I posted this after watching episode 131

That's all I've posted in LJ. I've talked about some of my other theories in IM conversations with Kawy and a couple of others. I'm not sure if I saved them, though. I kind of hope I did, because it would have been stupid of me if I didn't.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I shall respond at another time, when I'm not so bloody tired. I have a few comments of my own I'd like to toss out there for the "newly interested in Itachi, who aren't squealing fangirls".

[mildmay.livejournal.com]

Very cool. I'd love to read your comments and ideas about Itachi. It's nice not to be the only one on my friends list coming up with Itachi theories, because I really enjoy reading what others have to say about these things. Speculation is fun.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Though, I do think the cruelest thing Sasuke has ever done was the whole "Naruto, I consider you my best friend. ...So I have to kill you" thing. That was just...so, so wrong. Because, Naruto, who spent almost all of his childhood alone, had never heard that from anyone. And Sasuke says it, and then turns it into something ugly. And that bothers me. A lot.

Yeah. That hurt. It's such a perversion of what true friendship is about.

And it's particularly cruel, as you said, because Naruto has never had that before.

I think octopedingenue said something once when reading the manga, something like the whole betrayal hurts so badly because Sasuke doesn't understand that once he jumped in front of Naruto and "died" to save him on the bridge in Wave Country, at that moment Naruto loved Sasuke as a friend/comerade and would forever. That made Sasuke one of Naruto's "precious persons," and after that Naruto would go to the ends of the earth for him. Because Naruto hasn't had anyone do that for him before-- not another kid, one of his peers (Iruka jumped in front of a blade to save Naruto in episode 1, but Iruka is not Naruto's peer). Sasuke doesn't realize that he has Naruto's total loyalty for that one act, and he doesn't understand how powerful Naruto's loyalty is.

And Naruto doesn't understand how someone who could jump in front of dozens of deadly needles to save the life of a teammate could turn around and betray the whole concept of their team and throw away everything it means.

[mildmay.livejournal.com]

Yeah. That hurt. It's such a perversion of what true friendship is about.

*nods* Yes, exactly.

And, yes. That's a good point about Sasuke not understanding the depth of Naruto's loyalty. And Naruto not understanding that someone could betray them all like Sasuke did. I don't know. There are times when I feel so, so bad for Sasuke and his complete lack of understanding of love and loyalty. But then, obviously, I get really angry at him, too. Because GAH! He was just so MEAN.