NARUTO – KAKASHI CHRONICLE (MANGA VOLUME 27)
September 11th 2008 23:43
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
“Ahh…to face the legendary mirror wheel eye so early in our acquaintance…this is an honour.”
Zabuza to Kakashi, Naruto Manga Volume 2.
Publisher: 1999 Shueisha Inc/2008 VIZ Media LLC.
Story & Art by: Masashi Kishimoto.
Translation &English Adaptation: Naomi Kokubo & Eric-Jon Rössel Waugh.
Touch up art & Lettering: Annaliese Christman.
Design: Yvonne Cai.
Cost: AU $12.95/US $7.95.
My main reason for trying to get a hold of this particular volume of the Naruto manga series was in a large part due to the fact that I am a Naruto manga/anime fan (if you haven’t already guessed) but there was also the desire to read the story of Kakashi Hatake, one of the main support characters in the whole saga. Kakashi sensei as he is more commonly known in the series is the Jonin under which Naruto and his two comrades Sasuke and Sakura begin their career as genin of Konoha village. He leads this rather unusual trio on most of their missions, some of these ranging from recapturing a noblewoman’s runaway cat to protecting a bridge builder from being assassinated by one of the most infamous Ninja of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza or the Demon of the Hidden Mist as he is more commonly known. Now as the series unfolds there is a lot said about how Kakashi is something of a phenomenal shinobi, a ninja who has copied over a thousand different jutsus in his career, he is known to foe and friend alike as Copy Ninja Kakashi and Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye. So when I discovered that this particular volume was the one in which there was a story giving some detail into Kakashi’s background and origins I just knew I had to get my hands on it.
Apparently there is a tradition in manga of writing what are called Gaiden or side stories that focus on a particular character within the main story, so this volume is effectively the Kakashi Gaiden volume, even though it does wrap up the first part of Naruto saga, the bulk of its content concerns Kakashi Hatake. Many years ago, before the Nine Tailed Fox spirit attacked Konoha, the Five Great Shinobi nations were destabilised and embroiled in conflict that drew in other smaller nations and territories. This conflict would later become known as the Third Great Ninja War and Konoha as the main military strength of the land of Fire had come under attack. It is in this period of crisis that Kakashi Hatake, son of the legendary White Fang of Konoha, and his team mates Uchiha Obito and Rin have become fully fledged ninja. They are lead in their missions by the Yellow Flash of Konoha, the man who would later become the Fourth Hokage and who would bind the spirit of the Nine Tailed Fox inside the navel of the recently born Naruto Uzumaki.
Currently things are fairly grim for the people of Konoha and the Land of Fire, the neighbouring territory of Kusagakure has been invaded by the Land of Earth and the Iwagakure shinobi. Naturally a situation such as this is of severe importance to Konoha as Kusagakure is a nearby territory and a potential springboard for future attacks against the Hidden Leaf village. The Yellow Flash and his team have been given the mission of disrupting any future enemy advance and their supply network, this means effectively taking out the Kannabi Bridge through which the Iwagakure ninja are being supplied and reinforced.
Looking at the young Kakashi there is a great deal of similarity between his character and that of Uchiha Sasuke, whilst his team mates Obito and Rin bear resemblance to Naruto and Sakura respectively. It seems that Mr Kishimoto like George Lucas likes to use a mirror effect in his stories and this is not the only example of this. The very fact that the first major mission in which Kakashi is in command involves a bridge, contrast this with the fact that Naruto’s first major mission as a genin under Kakashi’s command also involves a bridge. Just as the bridge being built by Tazuna is a nexus of destinies and dreams the Kannabi Bridge serves a similar purpose for Kakashi and the other Konoha shinobi.
In some regards this is a very much tragic story, a story of beating the odds but doing so at a price. Life, love and innocence are sacrificed in order to fulfil the needs to destroy the Kannabi Bridge. Kakashi is completely changed from the aloof arrogant ninja that commences this mission, the by the book shinobi with an unflinching adherence to the rules and code of the shinobi. He is praised as something of a prodigy, a worthy heir to his father; Sakumo the White Fang of Konoha, but even though he has the skills and abilities that have made him a jonin at such a young age he is still lacking. And it is his comrade Obito, the continuously late and somewhat goofy washout scion of the Uchiha clan that gives Kakashi two very important gifts that will mould him into the truly great ninja he will later become.
Apart from the similarities in the various teams, as well as the mission the other connection between Kakashi and those that he will later be placed in charge of is the fact that like Sasuke and Naruto his life has been touched by great tragedy. Even though his father was a legendary ninja of his village, a man who was often seen as being greater than the Sannin, the Three Legendary Ninja of Konoha, Sakumo became ostracised by his people after a mission five years before the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. It seems that Sakumo put the lives of his comrades above his mission, but unfortunately this went against the shinobi credo and even those whose lives he save vilified him for his actions. Unable to bear the ordeal of living a life of shame the White Fang took his own life, the once great ninja had become a shadow of his former self and his son hardly mentioned him. Thus even though his entire clan wasn’t murdered or he became a vessel for a demonic spirit he lived with a stigma and was thus able to emphasise with both Sasuke and Naruto to a degree.
This snapshot in the life of Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Book Ninja, is a well crafted tale although it is only a mere hint at his career not the entire story. Certainly it shows how he gains the ability to use the Sharingan as well as demonstrating his own unique jutsu, Chidori or Lighting Blade but there is definitely a lot more to this rather unique character. It’s interesting to note that when Mr Kishimoto was first working on Naruto he had a lot of different names for the character that would become Naruto’s sensei ranging from Kuwa (hoe) to Enoki (a Chinese nettle tree), naturally he was glad that he went with Kakashi which means scarecrow. The great thing about this particular tale is that it is very much a stand alone story; you don’t have to have read preceding volumes to get the gist of what is going on. As a story it has its moments of courage, pathos and tragedy which puts it a cut above the usual side story that is found in similar works; be it manga, comics or graphic novels.
Zabuza to Kakashi, Naruto Manga Volume 2.
Publisher: 1999 Shueisha Inc/2008 VIZ Media LLC.
Story & Art by: Masashi Kishimoto.
Translation &English Adaptation: Naomi Kokubo & Eric-Jon Rössel Waugh.
Touch up art & Lettering: Annaliese Christman.
Design: Yvonne Cai.
Cost: AU $12.95/US $7.95.
My main reason for trying to get a hold of this particular volume of the Naruto manga series was in a large part due to the fact that I am a Naruto manga/anime fan (if you haven’t already guessed) but there was also the desire to read the story of Kakashi Hatake, one of the main support characters in the whole saga. Kakashi sensei as he is more commonly known in the series is the Jonin under which Naruto and his two comrades Sasuke and Sakura begin their career as genin of Konoha village. He leads this rather unusual trio on most of their missions, some of these ranging from recapturing a noblewoman’s runaway cat to protecting a bridge builder from being assassinated by one of the most infamous Ninja of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza or the Demon of the Hidden Mist as he is more commonly known. Now as the series unfolds there is a lot said about how Kakashi is something of a phenomenal shinobi, a ninja who has copied over a thousand different jutsus in his career, he is known to foe and friend alike as Copy Ninja Kakashi and Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye. So when I discovered that this particular volume was the one in which there was a story giving some detail into Kakashi’s background and origins I just knew I had to get my hands on it.
Looking at the young Kakashi there is a great deal of similarity between his character and that of Uchiha Sasuke, whilst his team mates Obito and Rin bear resemblance to Naruto and Sakura respectively. It seems that Mr Kishimoto like George Lucas likes to use a mirror effect in his stories and this is not the only example of this. The very fact that the first major mission in which Kakashi is in command involves a bridge, contrast this with the fact that Naruto’s first major mission as a genin under Kakashi’s command also involves a bridge. Just as the bridge being built by Tazuna is a nexus of destinies and dreams the Kannabi Bridge serves a similar purpose for Kakashi and the other Konoha shinobi.
In some regards this is a very much tragic story, a story of beating the odds but doing so at a price. Life, love and innocence are sacrificed in order to fulfil the needs to destroy the Kannabi Bridge. Kakashi is completely changed from the aloof arrogant ninja that commences this mission, the by the book shinobi with an unflinching adherence to the rules and code of the shinobi. He is praised as something of a prodigy, a worthy heir to his father; Sakumo the White Fang of Konoha, but even though he has the skills and abilities that have made him a jonin at such a young age he is still lacking. And it is his comrade Obito, the continuously late and somewhat goofy washout scion of the Uchiha clan that gives Kakashi two very important gifts that will mould him into the truly great ninja he will later become.
Apart from the similarities in the various teams, as well as the mission the other connection between Kakashi and those that he will later be placed in charge of is the fact that like Sasuke and Naruto his life has been touched by great tragedy. Even though his father was a legendary ninja of his village, a man who was often seen as being greater than the Sannin, the Three Legendary Ninja of Konoha, Sakumo became ostracised by his people after a mission five years before the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. It seems that Sakumo put the lives of his comrades above his mission, but unfortunately this went against the shinobi credo and even those whose lives he save vilified him for his actions. Unable to bear the ordeal of living a life of shame the White Fang took his own life, the once great ninja had become a shadow of his former self and his son hardly mentioned him. Thus even though his entire clan wasn’t murdered or he became a vessel for a demonic spirit he lived with a stigma and was thus able to emphasise with both Sasuke and Naruto to a degree.
This snapshot in the life of Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Book Ninja, is a well crafted tale although it is only a mere hint at his career not the entire story. Certainly it shows how he gains the ability to use the Sharingan as well as demonstrating his own unique jutsu, Chidori or Lighting Blade but there is definitely a lot more to this rather unique character. It’s interesting to note that when Mr Kishimoto was first working on Naruto he had a lot of different names for the character that would become Naruto’s sensei ranging from Kuwa (hoe) to Enoki (a Chinese nettle tree), naturally he was glad that he went with Kakashi which means scarecrow. The great thing about this particular tale is that it is very much a stand alone story; you don’t have to have read preceding volumes to get the gist of what is going on. As a story it has its moments of courage, pathos and tragedy which puts it a cut above the usual side story that is found in similar works; be it manga, comics or graphic novels.
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