NARUTO MANGA VOLUME 21
May 17th 2009 22:54
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Story & Art by: Masashi Kishimoto
Translation & English Adaptation: Naomi Kokubo & Eric-Jon Rossel Waugh
Touch up Art & Lettering: Sabrina Heep
Design: Yvonne Cai
Cost: AU$14.95/US $7.95
After being successful at brining back the legendary medical specialist Lady Tsunade who is taking up the mantle of Hokage for the Hidden Leaf Village things are looking fairly bright for Naruto, his friends and his home. But it is all the calm before the storm, Orochimaru may have been sorely afflicted by the curse of the deceased Third Hokage but he is not down or out for the count. His attempt to get Tsunade to cure his arms and return to him the use of his jutsu failed dismally, all it did was convince the legendary medical specialist that the appeal for her to become the new Hokage was something that she had to accept. But he still has a card up his sleeve, his immortality jutsu that after many years he has managed to perfect, but in order for the jutsu to work he requires a suitable vessel. And in the Hidden Leaf Village there is someone who fits this category perfectly.
And so the Sound Ninja Four are dispatched from Orochimaru’s hidden lair in the woods of the Rice Field Country to carry out their dark master’s bidding. It is effectively in this particular volume that the saga that Masashi Kishimoto has been telling up till now suddenly takes a turn for the tragic and the dark, this is where we have a sudden shift in focus on enemies and plot. Certainly Orochimaru remains a significant figure throughout the tale but the rationale for him maintaining such a role is significantly shifted as a result of the events to unfold. Like a snake shedding his skin so to is Orochimaru is capable of shedding his body and taking up residence in a new body – gruesome or what. This is a jutsu that he has managed to perfect after many years and he has already changed bodies once, a fact that Tsunade and Jiraiya both comment on after there clash with him prior to returning to the Hidden Leaf Village with Naruto.
Why do I mention this particular fact? Well Sasuke Uchiha, the scion of that tragic clan, is the vessel that Orochimaru desires as when he transfers into the body of the young number one rookie not only well he gain a form of a genius ninja but also the Sharingan. The sinister villainous Sannin has already marked Sasuke by placing the Heaven curse mark on him during the Chunin exam and he is fairly confident that despite Kakashi Sensei’s attempts to seal the mark it will eventually be eroded by Sasuke’s desire for revenge. After all this is a boy that has seen his mother, father and the rest of his clan brutally murdered by his brother, Itachi. Even after being capable of using the chidori jutsu and having considerably improved since that dark night when the Uchiha clan was slaughtered a confrontation between the two brothers’ shows that the gap between them is still as great as it ever was.
This is a severe blow to the somewhat aloof Sasuke, it almost shatters his ego, and thus there are cracks in his reserve and his nature. Confronted by this seemingly insurmountable difference between himself and his renegade brother he now begins to question all that he is being doing up until now. And the cracks within begin to widen, he not only questions his ties to the Hidden Leaf but also amongst his own squad mates, its almost as if the curse mark is like a poison that has been sitting inert waiting for the right circumstance to spread its insidious influence within the young Uchiha. He lets his desire for power consume him and destroy his ties to the village, when confronted at last by the Sound Ninja Four he realises that only by going to Orochimaru will he have his dreams met.
Now someone like Sasuke is not going to be allowed to go on his merry way, the laws of the village forbid ninjas from moseying off into the company of their traditional enemies, especially someone like Orochimaru who has been quite open about his desire to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. Tsunade the new Fifth Hokage decides that she isn’t going to let this slide and makes her move to hopefully prevent both Sasuke and the Sharingan from falling into the hands of that freak. This is one of the interesting facets of the Naruto universe, as various ninja lineages sometimes have various unique jutsu or kekkei genkai as they’re often called, the various village in which they live are naturally loath to allow such individuals to fall into the hands of their enemies either dead or alive. Sharingan is a major discipline that the Leaf Ninja would not like to become part of Orochimaru’s repertoire.
A squad of genin under the leadership of Shikamaru Nara is assembled to pursue the Sound Ninja Four and retrieve Sasuke before he can reach Orochimaru’s lair. Naturally the first member of this squad is Naruto as recommended by the Fifth Hokage, he and Shikamaru soon gather three others – Neji Hyuga, Choji Akimichi and Kiba Inazuka and his loyal canine sidekick Akamaru. Now out of this crew only Naruto is really close to Sasuke, the others all respect him but have never really gotten close to the guy, still despite that they are not about to abandon him to the clutches of the Sound Ninja and their serpentine master, that would go against everything that they have taught to value as Hidden Leaf ninja.
Starting out with buoyant spirits the team beings this mission but as soon as they embark they suddenly find themselves confronted with the level of strength that their opponents can put into play. The Sound Ninja Four are the elite bodyguards of Orochimaru and are master at all manner of barrier, seals and curse marks, they are not mere pushovers. Though when the confrontation between the Sound Ninja Four and the Leaf village genin does occur the minions of Orochimaru realise that they’re foes are not exactly pushovers.
This particular volume marks the start of the tragic aspect to the Naruto story, no longer will he, Sakura and Sasuke be able to call themselves comrades, that bond between the three of them has been shattered possibly beyond breaking point? Certainly there is a mirroring here between the interaction of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto and that of the legendary Sannin, history repeating itself? Possibly but certainly this volume has it all, tragedy, despair, heroism and courageous action all rollicking along at a breakneck pace. Naruto Volume 21 is definitely worth getting your hands on and reading….Believe It!
Story & Art by: Masashi Kishimoto
Translation & English Adaptation: Naomi Kokubo & Eric-Jon Rossel Waugh
Touch up Art & Lettering: Sabrina Heep
Design: Yvonne Cai
Cost: AU$14.95/US $7.95
After being successful at brining back the legendary medical specialist Lady Tsunade who is taking up the mantle of Hokage for the Hidden Leaf Village things are looking fairly bright for Naruto, his friends and his home. But it is all the calm before the storm, Orochimaru may have been sorely afflicted by the curse of the deceased Third Hokage but he is not down or out for the count. His attempt to get Tsunade to cure his arms and return to him the use of his jutsu failed dismally, all it did was convince the legendary medical specialist that the appeal for her to become the new Hokage was something that she had to accept. But he still has a card up his sleeve, his immortality jutsu that after many years he has managed to perfect, but in order for the jutsu to work he requires a suitable vessel. And in the Hidden Leaf Village there is someone who fits this category perfectly.
This is a severe blow to the somewhat aloof Sasuke, it almost shatters his ego, and thus there are cracks in his reserve and his nature. Confronted by this seemingly insurmountable difference between himself and his renegade brother he now begins to question all that he is being doing up until now. And the cracks within begin to widen, he not only questions his ties to the Hidden Leaf but also amongst his own squad mates, its almost as if the curse mark is like a poison that has been sitting inert waiting for the right circumstance to spread its insidious influence within the young Uchiha. He lets his desire for power consume him and destroy his ties to the village, when confronted at last by the Sound Ninja Four he realises that only by going to Orochimaru will he have his dreams met.
Now someone like Sasuke is not going to be allowed to go on his merry way, the laws of the village forbid ninjas from moseying off into the company of their traditional enemies, especially someone like Orochimaru who has been quite open about his desire to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. Tsunade the new Fifth Hokage decides that she isn’t going to let this slide and makes her move to hopefully prevent both Sasuke and the Sharingan from falling into the hands of that freak. This is one of the interesting facets of the Naruto universe, as various ninja lineages sometimes have various unique jutsu or kekkei genkai as they’re often called, the various village in which they live are naturally loath to allow such individuals to fall into the hands of their enemies either dead or alive. Sharingan is a major discipline that the Leaf Ninja would not like to become part of Orochimaru’s repertoire.
A squad of genin under the leadership of Shikamaru Nara is assembled to pursue the Sound Ninja Four and retrieve Sasuke before he can reach Orochimaru’s lair. Naturally the first member of this squad is Naruto as recommended by the Fifth Hokage, he and Shikamaru soon gather three others – Neji Hyuga, Choji Akimichi and Kiba Inazuka and his loyal canine sidekick Akamaru. Now out of this crew only Naruto is really close to Sasuke, the others all respect him but have never really gotten close to the guy, still despite that they are not about to abandon him to the clutches of the Sound Ninja and their serpentine master, that would go against everything that they have taught to value as Hidden Leaf ninja.
Starting out with buoyant spirits the team beings this mission but as soon as they embark they suddenly find themselves confronted with the level of strength that their opponents can put into play. The Sound Ninja Four are the elite bodyguards of Orochimaru and are master at all manner of barrier, seals and curse marks, they are not mere pushovers. Though when the confrontation between the Sound Ninja Four and the Leaf village genin does occur the minions of Orochimaru realise that they’re foes are not exactly pushovers.
This particular volume marks the start of the tragic aspect to the Naruto story, no longer will he, Sakura and Sasuke be able to call themselves comrades, that bond between the three of them has been shattered possibly beyond breaking point? Certainly there is a mirroring here between the interaction of Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto and that of the legendary Sannin, history repeating itself? Possibly but certainly this volume has it all, tragedy, despair, heroism and courageous action all rollicking along at a breakneck pace. Naruto Volume 21 is definitely worth getting your hands on and reading….Believe It!
| 41 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
