100% Blind NARUTO Review (FINALE): The End of a GREAT Series

finally the day has arrived where I can finally say I have reached the end of Naruto I have completed this series I started this blind review with absolutely no idea how this story would progress our pan out and today I will be giving my Impressions and review for the finale to this series as well as my thoughts on my experience overall this is the last video I have planned for now concerning the Naruto Series so for the last time for quite some time sit back grab your headbands and let's bring this one home I'm totally not Mark and these are my first impressions of thoughts on and review for the ending to Naruto [Music] foreign I'll be making on Naruto 4 and as of yet undetermined amount of time I think what might be cool since I have exactly six volumes of manga left to read and review I'll break up my review into six parts each one representing a singular volume capping off with my overall thoughts at the end so let's dive in oh wait ah heads up I am writing these individual volume reviews as I read them meaning as I write and give my immediate Impressions on say volume 69 I will be doing so with no information as to how volume 70 and Beyond will progress cool cool volume 67 to say that I was hyped to return to this story would be an understatement while the arc itself was extremely long and boring in parts around the middle by the time the final pieces started falling into place around 65 to 70 of the way through the arc everything sort of clicked I found myself feverishly ingesting volume after volume until I had to stop for fear of writing a video that was way too long Naruto has been a terrific story however not one without moments I felt it's slip in terms of holding my interest this is normal however now that I'm on what feels like the home stretch I can't imagine this manga ends in any other way than satisfying in my mind Kishimoto has already done the hard part he's after creating a broad and complicated World filled with nuanced characters each with their own justifications cultures that back those ideologies and stories the legwork and Exposition necessary to believably create these interactions has already been done and he's even managed to bring all of these characters together for a conclusion I am immensely happy with in other words so far I'm loving it the cover of this volume sees Naruto teaming up with his father this section deals with a lot of interesting strategies I had a great time with for instance last week we went from bad to worse as Obito became something entirely different channeling the strength of the ten-tailed Beast and due to this we have virtually no idea what this individual is capable of and so when the strongest and most experienced on the battlefield the former Hokage chose to use themselves as resurrect capable Pawns in order to analyze the strengths and movements of this target albino all of admit that I kind of geeked out a bit it was a great idea and this volume is filled with moments to geek out or get excited over Sasuke getting the team up with Naruto is one that I found fantastically enjoyable with Kishimoto demonstrating this fact as the fight progressed through interesting layouts and Page spreads and okay at this point with Sasuke I'm still getting the feeling that this isn't so much a reconciliation but more so a temporary Alliance given the nature of this occasion but hey I gotta take what I can get Kishimoto utilizes a lot of natural tension building techniques here also to help escalate the scope of the battle and the consequences associated with it my favorite being his decision to Grant obedo the power to effectively nullify the edotensei which translates to that sequence we got to enjoy with the former Hokage now cannot be performed without consequence rip Naruto's dad's arm I guess and speaking of Minato I think my favorite part about this volume and what it tries to do can be seen through kishimoto's decision in how he depicts minato's internal monologue as it happens failure is a word Minato uses a lot in this Arc and indeed this volume throughout this story from the beginning through to this moment Minato has been a character spoken of extremely highly he's touted as being virtuous Noble powerful heroic a savior much like hashirama despite only being recently deceased the deification of his character by The Village he worked for is abundantly clear and yet Kishimoto feels it important in this moment let us know that even someone like he can feel like a failure and the same is true for hashirama the way these characters have been built up as Gods over the entire series for this Arc to humanize them has been incredibly effective for its themes and messaging we as an audience are made to feel the full spectrum of negative emotions both hashirama and Minato feel for what they have failed to do and prevent during their tenure as Hokage feeling responsible for all of this happening and by association the destruction of the area and its people and I like this because as we are placed into the shoes of this one-time Godlike figure through his eyes we get to see the Magnificent answer to all of these worries and questions in his son Naruto oh also the fact that Naruto and Kurama were able to make use of the other half of the fox inside Minato made sense surprised me and made for some awesome moments and shots I mean overall this volume was great there's a tremendous amount to love in it and it continues the great climax I prayed so much last week in natural ways and what's more is the next volume is even better volume 68. during this section I couldn't help but draw my own mental parallels between Naruto and hashirama and indeed Sasuke and Madara forcing me to contemplate questions like will history repeat itself is Sasuke going to become madra in this generation well not if Naruto has anything to say about it this Arc is enjoying quite a lot of payoff for sure however what ties this complex web of conflict cause and effect together is Naruto and the Infectious Spirit he inspires his team with there's this scene with Shikamaru and I swear it gave me chills to see this dude go from someone I hardly noticed early on due to his inactivity and lack of desire to get involved transforming because of Naruto into this next level tactician ready to pick himself up to contribute despite him virtually having no energy was so damn uplifting and in this instance it's all down to Naruto this quote from nine tails for me touches ever so slightly and one of the most significant pillars of Naruto's character and one that I think is not only essential to this battle but indeed the entire story this is a battle that sees Sasuke his friends and indeed now these beat you all side with Naruto to Rally with him in one last final effort to try and take down Obito to stop his Pursuits in performing the infinite tsukoyomi to save the world I'm not sure if this is a prominent talking point people discuss in this fandom but I have heard some folks talk about Naruto having an unfair Advantage compared to others in the story that the fact that he has had this Bijou inside of him has offered him a unique privilege perhaps an unfair one thus detracting from how some people might feel about Naruto and while I can see where they're coming from with the fox providing him a near Unlimited Supply of chakra and healing Factor thus leading to a lot of his success in the story I think if you came away from this tale with that Outlook it feels at least to me reading at this point in the story that you might have missed the entire point of of this section and indeed a core part of Naruto's character development as this Series has progressed there's no secret that this story particularly in this moment is trying to glorify the attributes in virtue's Naruto's brandishing however something that's important to remember is that a central through line of this Arc and story has been that very easily Naruto could have turned out exactly like Obito too which is why obedo is seen trying to reach or corrupt Naruto at every turn in this Arc but more broadly understanding this I think is intrinsic to understanding and indeed appreciating Naruto as a character it's why he shows empathy towards practically everyone and wants to reach them if he thinks that they can be reasoned with Gara is the first great example of this that I can think of someone that was so close to becoming a psychotic monster thanks to who Naruto is not his Bijou but because of the decisions Naruto made Gara was able to be saved and the same has been true countless times in this story it's demonstrated time and again that the fox Spirit could very easily have led to Naruto's downfall both in a literal and philosophy sense numerous times the deciding factor wasn't the gift or curse he was bestowed or burdened with by his father but the perspective he looked at the world through in other words Naruto is where he is because of who he is not what he has as many have pointed out both in this battle and in the past Naruto as a person is someone people want to trust in to chase after and an individual that brings out the very best in everything the conversation between Obito and Naruto speaks to this reality this philosophy that being altruistic honest and everything else Naruto is is what ultimately makes him successful in what he sets out to do in this moment obedo acknowledges that he has the same will and body as the sage of Six Paths his jinchariki was the most powerful all of this is true but in the same way all of Naruto's Powers don't make him who he is the power and potential isn't what's important in this instance it's who you are that ultimately determines what you are speaking on a sort of mechanical sense given that Obito was a sympathetic villain and a Fallen Hero I thought this was a great way to cap off his contribution to the story as an antagonist the paneling by Kishimoto employing a lot of white space was fantastic in illustrating the difference between Naruto and obedo specifically with Naruto surrounded by people his comrades his friends people he's inspired and uplifted to stand by him and Obito standing on his own and furthermore this whole sequence was an apt chance to shift Focus from him to uchiya Madara further amplifying his fall from where he was all that time ago volume 69. okay so the hype level is at 10. obedo has been reached but he's been abused and used by moderate to bring him back to life we're in the end game here we go one thing I'll give Kishimoto credit for in this Arc is that this absolutely feels like the final battle of a series it feels massive with each choice made either having massive ramifications or creating snapshots in time that I'll definitely remember like all the tail beasts joining forces to take down Madura for instance that said I need to draw attention to something small but also that's kind of irritated me for a while matara looks like he's in bad shape after that attack and rightfully so he just got a building dropped on him effectively he lost his arm and all that jazz and then this dude shows up gives him a hand literally and then Madara pops an eyeball into his skull like it was nothing now I haven't said anything about about this in the series before but why is it that everyone in Naruto seems to be able to pop in eyeballs into their skulls like Lego I mean there's a host of things that need to surgically connect and happen back there I'm willing to accept that ninja magic is real in this world but I draw the line there apparently but I digress stuff does happen in this volume a whole lot of stuff a little while ago in this Arc I complain that certain characters weren't used more throughout this story like Gara for instance was an example of a character in Prior videos that I've made however I'm thrilled that he's going to play quite a central role in this story with this moment here bringing his character full circle into a hit kishimano does utilize the last minute flashback trick he loves to pull out but it hasn't been used for a hot second and this was really really good getting to see the one-tailed Beast thoughts on Gara and his history with humans was interesting and gained to see Gara do everything in his power to try and protect someone he sees as an equal was wonderful and ultimately heartbreaking when they all eventually fall to matara including Kurama ripped from Nara toe for the first time in this story Naruto doesn't have the foxtail spirit inside of him anymore something that he would have wished and begged for at the beginning of this story is now something that is both tragic and a major blow to both him and everyone around him now that's character development following the tens Cliffhanger of a chapter that touted both Sasuke and Naruto taken completely out of commission and on the verge of death I have to say that I was in near disbelief with wakishimoto managed to do with the story after this now I say disbelief not because it didn't make sense but because it did I'm always so interested and impressed when a story that's so long and winding manages to take all the broad story components that make it so and tie everything together neatly at the end and this scene dealing with this drama does this in Spades it left me with chills hype and above all else emotionally devastated in ways I never thought this story could leave me the story of Kakashi and Obito has been one that has Alert in the background of this manga for quite some time slowly we've seen their respective backstories how Kakashi received the eye how Obito lost his way and through struggle we're now seeing him come back into becoming himself it's honestly difficult to concisely disclose my feelings on this section so I'll just bounce off this quote those who lead others never step over their comrades corpses even if their own ends up being stepped on I adore literally everything about this quote from the dire circumstances leading up to it to the one delivering the line to who they're delivering the line to and what that means in the broader context of the story this is Obito's Best Line in the entire series and another shunning example of how brilliantly thought out and well conceived of and crafted by Kishimoto this climactic battle was there are callbacks to the unification of Kakashi and Obito which draws us back to quotes that allude to their power being greater together than separated it really makes for a fantastic coming full circle for the character of Obito himself in ways that make him more interesting than most I've come across in this story one that takes a naive but virtuous character throws him down a disillusionment path and through run-ins with the main protagonist of this story learns to find his way back to the light that he once abandoned which speaks to this quote he shares with Naruto as he's trying to help him later he says I've never been able to walk a straight line but I've finally gotten to where I needed to go the entire story felt so fulfilling cathartic and worthwhile I mean it when I say that this part of the story was hitting me exactly as Kishimoto wanted me to experience it and broadly the same happens with Sasuke albeit not due to his direct input but instead his brothers leading to Kabuto fulfilling the place of Obito in Naruto's situation the entire scenario is just so well conceived of and performed that I'm honestly thrilled with how everything is going so much so the next part took me entirely and completely off guard volume 70. Guy versus Modera I know I'm the guy online that repeatedly says things that are the best or that such and such thing is my favorite of all time Etc I'm a pretty energetic person and when something excites me in a story I honestly get overcome with enthusiasm and energy because of this when I'm reviewing a story I need to express my enjoyment of a particular choice I tend to use hyperbolic statements when I can't conceive of an effective way to convey just how wonderfully a particular scene or character has made me as a reader feel however in hindsight I think what started as an innocent exclamation of adulation has become a crutch for me to burden with the load of translating my enthusiasm to you all as listeners Guy versus Madara is a scene that does not deserve such treatment it does not deserve a shortcut it deserves my best because this fight scene right here moved and connected to me in ways that no other part of this story has managed to achieve and due to that I want to take my time to explain why I am 30 years old and being 30 is weird you're not really old yet it but you're also not really young either and coming to terms with that second part has really [ __ ] with me ever since turning 30. it sounds redundant to say this but you spend your whole life being young and a kid until one day you're not and there was a moment where I thought to myself how do I not be a kid chasing a dream or goal should I change should I stay the same a lot of popular media details Coming of Age stories where the naive hero grows to become a well-rounded adult in the context of the story but once they become the adult normally the story ends so does my story end here is everything after this boring what's next well I think how Naruto answers this very question is not only profound but resonated with me in such a resounding fashion I simply need to share my experience I've spoken at length in Prior videos concerning my appreciation for kishimoto's tackling of the themes of fostering the Next Generation through characters like Naruto and Shikamaru recognizing they need to adopt more responsibility as they transition into to the new part of their lives but it's guy's message that hits me like a ton of bricks and that message is to find meaning not in yourself but in what you can leave behind for others Naruto's greatest message for me Isn't when it Embraces traditionally shown in stories about overcoming your limits or achieving your dreams with your friends but ironically when it flirts with what lies beyond your typical Shonen Coming of Age Tales when I turned 30 I had a crisis for my entire life I was always in a phase where I was working towards something for me to grow up into something that could contribute something meaningful but once I got there I didn't know what else to do other than coast and stare vacantly into the void that was the rest of my life apparently okay okay that's a little dramatic but it's real and that's why guy's Journey has been so impactful for me I've never been the best at anything in my life and to this day I still hold that fact to be true I'm not the best writer the best speaker debater reader reviewer boss YouTuber brother son or even husband but I want to be I love to work hard and I try never to dwell on the scrutiny of other people when they review my content react to it or even misrepresent it everyone and I mean everyone is entitled to feel however which way they want about me and my job is to focus on what it is that I can control and when I read pretty much the exact same philosophy come out through guys flashback my hands started to shake and I paid closer attention I'm serious as I watched this man after a life of people belittling both him his father and his pupil for their differences and approach and ability to see him not only motivate himself but find profound meaning and resolve in the fostering of the Next Generation and doing quite literally everything in his power to ensure that they have their chance to do the same in the future for their future Generations is a watershed moment for me with this series guy by virtue of him being the most human character has delivered the most impact in this series for me gorgeously depicted by Kishimoto in these moments as he opened was the eighth and final gate for what he knows will be his last time guy charges forward unflinching and not looking back knowing that he'll never return again because what he achieves in his life is not measured by himself but by the successes of those who have been impacted and loved by him broadly speaking Naruto and Sasuke are the result of this world's Heroes Warriors like Kakashi guy Asuma shikaku iruka and countless others have attempted to Foster the best attitude possible out of them and in this same breath we learned that Obito and the Darkness he wrought onto the world was a direct result of moderous manipulations and the opposite philosophy Madara in this instance highlights what happens when one can't find meaning in the lives of others and the Next Generation striving instead to do everything he can for himself by himself and towards his own goals with everything else including his family friends and future Generations acting as necessary damages for him to reach his desired outcome I have no idea what sort of entities Naruto and Sasuke have become but what I do love about it is the manner with which you were basking in this Monumental yet daunting moment Kakashi reflecting on the seeds he's helped to set long ago not taking credit but honoring to be there alongside them nevertheless whenever they need him team seven is readying for a battle to save the world Kakashi reminded them of their very first lesson the importance of teamwork and just oh it's so good okay so as things were ramping up and the story felt as though it was heading into the end game I decided to just binge the remaining manga so here are my reactions to that the infinite tsukiyomi once Madara activates it and entrances everyone on Earth more than lives up to its premise I thought the visuals accompanying this are striking and horrifying watching those people are mummified while hanging like cocoons from the branches of this satanic tree was nothing short of brilliant to watch however shortly after something happens something I know a lot of you have been waiting for me to talk about kaguya you have at first a quick word from our sponsor did you know April is National testicular cancer awareness month one man every hour every day is diagnosed with it it's one of the most common forms of cancer in men between the ages of 15 and 35 and that's why I'm proud to be promoting manscape's partnership with the testicular cancer society today cancers unfortunately something I've had several experiences with my grandparents died of cancer and earlier last year my own father had a serious brush with it it's now something I have to keep a close eye on with regards to my own health 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people will also hate me for it but why do I say this I've spent the last number of years catching up on a number of series I've neglected to start in the past some of the most popular in the world like one piece JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Hunter Hunter but out of all of these Naruto seems to be the story that has conversations surrounding it filled with more love and hatred than anything I've covered prior Naruto's original run took place around the same time the majority of people around the world started routinely using the internet and in addition to that was also released around the same time as other popular series like bleach and one piece together the three properties became known as The Big Three despite not being present in these fandoms during this time I can only imagine the level of competitiveness that was fostered between the various communities which for a small number of people perhaps fostered or encouraged some to attach a portion of their own identity to their given favorite one piece bleach or Naruto and while I did get an impression of this mindset during my review of one piece I still found that to be largely positive but when it came to Naruto not just with my videos but in unrelated conversations beneath tweets I would make I could believe how some of you guys would treat each other like for instance I was spoiled intentionally for my genuine honest attempt to share a good faith impression of the scene and creative choice and the only reason I mentioned any of this is because Naruto is one of the most enjoyable and positive series I've read over the last few years I've enjoyed it more than Hunter Hunter and even JoJo's Bizarre Adventure with one piece being the only one I found to be more engaging consistently and that's no small feat if you know how much I loved one piece Naruto has this profound ability to toggle my heartstrings while also boasting one of the most endearing main characters across the various properties I've just mentioned it's a story about cooperation caring for people and fostering relationships but look I don't want to belabor this point too much so let's move on to my overall thoughts on this scene what did I think of kaguya despite what I understand Kishimoto to have done with kaguya as a concept and final main villain with her for all intents and purposes philosophically and literally embodying the root of all suffering in the main plot so to speak and despite the terrific metaphor with Madara literally being consumed by the darkness he's embraced and brought to the world despite those upsides I didn't find kaguya to be an engaging final villain up until the revealer for in this story kishimono had quite masterfully I thought managed to tie every relevant piece of information and respective character together to form catharsis bombs that honestly made this very long final fight so much snappier than it otherwise would have been without and an important component within that for me was familiarity with these characters for me Naruto was very much a character-driven story Kakashi nobito worked as a conflict in this section because of their history together other and the various fights I complained about earlier in the arc didn't work for me because I didn't know them as characters prior I wasn't familiar with them I had no investment emotionally and thus had to rely on one side of conflict to try and carry my interest yielding a less than Stellar second act in the Shinobi War Arc in my mind for me this is what happened with the climax to this big fight while I was thrilled with the cooperation and camaraderie demonstrated with the likes of Kakashi Sasuke Naruto and Sakura all coming together for the final struggle all I could think about was how much better and more satisfying this would have been had the target of these attacks and co-opt efforts being someone I cared about at all like Modera out of virtually nowhere El felt as though Modera as someone that had been built up across the entire story was abruptly benched in favor of swapping out someone I comparatively didn't care for at all and honestly after that it felt as though the story sort of forgot him but does this mean I didn't like the ending does this mean I didn't love the story of this monk does this mean that I will look back on my time with Naruto as a tainted experience with which I can't look past the negativity hell no while this particular choice is something I didn't personally like or connect to very much is in no way it takes from my enjoyment of everything that came after or before it I hope something that I've made clear during this review Series has been just how much fun I've been having with this story and what I've Loved about it unless the entire Narrative of a given property is built around a singular moment in time then I find it difficult to relate to those that say this moment ruined the story for them in the same way a good ending doesn't retroactively make a Bad series good a lackluster conclusion to a fight doesn't retroactively make a good series Bad speaking of someone that loved how Dragon Ball Super's anime came to an end I'll also say it doesn't by virtue of its existence make those boring or uninspired moments in the middle any more palatable for me and that's not to say that this final Conflict didn't have some killer emotional gut punches either by the way watching Sakura Sasuke and Naruto deliver the final blow to kagya was a terrific moment and Obito's gift and parting conversation with Kakashi was spectacular killer way back when I started the story I would have never imagined that Kakashi would end up being one of the most important and Central characters to this story and that's sort of what I'm driving at here this wasn't just a singular isolated moment or collection of moments it was a long journey there are 72 volumes in this series which detail a story of a lonely child with a dream of one day making something of himself despite his detractors and upon that mission statement this story more than delivers on that front and speaking of which this fight's ending despite it not being something I resonated with it also wasn't the ending of this story and funnily enough everything after this fight offered yet more stuff I did enjoy Sasuke vs Naruto it's difficult to disconnect my feelings on this final Conflict from my feelings on this entire story again like most aspects of this finale section of the story it's handled brilliantly filled with callbacks to words that have been exchanged between the two self-admitted best friends with two diametrically opposed outlooks on life in more ways than one this felt like what happens when an Unstoppable Force leads an immovable object which to be honest is fitting given the characters we have in question here with the anime's rendition of what was presented in the manga pulling out all the stops leaving my jaw firmly on the floor the animation was spectacular to say however that I didn't expect this to be the way the series would round things out would be a lie however I felt a long time ago that this would be the best way to end things then it was it felt a little corny or simplistic at times particularly after the complex web of converging plot lines in the last battle but that could very easily be to its benefit depending on your point of view I felt extremely conflicted during this battle and to be honest in a good way while I felt like I knew what the out would be I wasn't ready to put money on it either the ending to this fight felt satisfying albeit a bit extreme given the motivations involved but then again they are essentially gods in the bodies of children so it did make sense in the end true to his character Naruto once again proves that he can win over even the most stubborn of Minds all the while making good on his longtime promise to Sakura I would have liked if Sasuke stayed with the village for a little longer than he did but I can understand his mindset for leaving too I guess he's a complicated guy overall the final class between Naruto and Sasuke was epic not in scope but in Impact here we have the longest rivalry in the story come to its natural conclusion with an appropriate level of emotion and narrative callbacks employed to help tie it all together which finally after all this time brings me to the Final Chapter this is the perfect ending for Naruto in my mind it's simple it's a mirror image of the very first chapter and I loved it the entire story of Naruto itself has been that of a young man's journey to achieve achieving his desired goal of becoming Hokage and so for it to end with his coronation while showing off where everyone else is at was hugely enjoyable getting to see Shikamaru Hinata choji Ino Sakura and all of the other Central supporting characters find their places in the village felt fitting for sure but it's also only part of what I loved about this final chapter and indeed this series at Large I've touched on this numerous times in this video and across this series I've written while this is a story of one character's Journey it's also a story of how that one character connects to and grows alongside others in his life what they become where they each Find meaning in their lives and what they ultimately leave behind and while this Arc did a fantastic job of showing Naruto's struggle towards his ultimate goal its ending also emphasizes another Central Point to the story that life goes on and that there's more than just the goals immediately in front of you alongside the coming of age heroes we've witnessed the lives of across this story were also introduced to the Next Generation the Next Generation that can only exist when one fights for and finds meaning in a tomorrow they might never see to Foster The Young and to be remembered long after you've drawn your final breath and that's such a wonderful sentiment to end this incredible journey with a beginning of every one of these 72 volumes that comprise this story Kishimoto writes a short paragraph discussing everything from his struggles to his gratitude to his milestones and on this final volume he wrote this this is my final volume thank you so much for your support these past 15 years I'd be honored if in the future you occasionally recall that there was once a character named Naruto well then please enjoy the conclusion to Naruto in my very first videos covering Naruto I discussed the story behind Musashi kishimoto's road to eventually achieving his dream of becoming a mangaka a story of a young man struggling to attain his goal in an incredibly competitive industry story of a young person who struggled to get noticed to not be forgotten together Kishimoto and the character of Naruto helped each other achieve their respective dreams a character that was once incredibly lonely found lasting friendships and support and a struggling artist found worldwide Acclaim and success through his own inspirational story I can confidently say that for as long as I live I will neither forget the story of Naruto or indeed the legend of Musashi Kishimoto [Music] never coming down break into the contents Never Falling Down [Music]

Channel: Totally Not Mark

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Length: 33min 13sec (1993 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 16 2022