NARUTO – THE WORST CLIENT (MANGA VOLUME 2)
May 15th 2008 23:43
Category: Graphic Novels/Comics
Publisher: 1999 Shueisha Inc/2007 Viz Media LLC.
Story & Art by: Masashi Kishimoto.
Translation: Katy Bridges & Mari Morimoto.
English Adaptation: Jo Duffy.
Touch up art & Lettering: Heidi Szykowny.
Cover Design, Graphics & Layout: Sean Lee.
Cost: AU $12.95 / US $7.95.
Our eager protagonist Naruto has graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy as a shinobi and now he eagerly waits what has to happen next in his dream to become the next Hokage. From this point onwards the new graduates are divided up into teams of three, each team under the guidance of an experienced Jonin (an elite ninja). Naruto finds out that his fellow team mates in team seven are Haruno Sakura (a total babe – to use Naruto’s words) and the class heart throb and number one rookie; Uchiha Sasuke. Their sensei is the enigmatic jonin, Hatake Kakashi, a man with an enigmatic air who reveals very little about himself to his students other than his name.
The second volume in this manga series opens with Kakashi sensei telling the hopeful three that they should quit being ninja, there is no way they any of them has what it takes. Of course when he gives them a second chance the three manage to pull their act together sufficiently enough to impress the enigmatic jonin. Team 7 thus becomes a going concern with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura finally achieving the rank of genin and being accepted as fully fledged shinobi of Konoha. Naturally in achieving this position it doesn’t mean that they can just sit around on their hands all day looking cool and throwing shurikens and kunai here there and everywhere. Being a ninja is all about responsibility and living up to the standards of the village and its elders, thus Team 7 like the other teams is required to undertake various missions on behalf of various clients who approach the village elders with their needs.
Even though they are low on the totem pole the three genin are very lucky, the trial they had to undergo with their sensei had a 66% failure rate, thus with 27 youngsters graduating from the academy only nine were actually ever going to pass and become genin. Makes you wonder what happened to the other eighteen graduates, sure Kakashi says they go back to the academy for further training but what happens later on? The other lucky break that the three have is that they’re the first team to ever be passed by Hatake Kakashi, everyone else down through the years he failed because they were nothing but mindless drones.
Of course the life of a genin does leave a lot to be desired in the glamour and high stakes drama department, this isn’t the ranking where stealing secret documents, assassinating an enemy ninja leader, rescuing a beautiful princess from her evil uncle are common place missions or events. Far from it in fact, the first mission we see Team 7 engaged in is retrieving Tiger; the pet cat of the Daimyo’s wife; Lady Shijimi. It appears that Tiger has a penchant for regularly escaping the clutches of his overzealous owner and whenever this happens she hires shinobi to try and retrieve her beloved feline friend. It seems that this is the kind of missions that Team 7 has been getting since they became genin, and as Lord Hokage and Iruka Sensei explain at their level of experience this is the only kind of missions that they are capable of. Naturally Naruto isn’t having a bar of this, adventure, excitement; these are the things that he is after, something to prove himself. Even Sasuke, Naruto’s eternal rival, has to agree with this sentiment though he won’t say so publicly.
Lord Hokage seems to think that perhaps this former prankster and newly anointed genin might be up to taking on something a bit more than just the usual kind of missions he and his comrades have been doing. After all Konoha receives a great deal of requests ranging from baby sitting to assassinations, all of these are divided into various categories (A, B, C and D) which are then assigned to the various ninja ranks (A go to Jonin, B & C to Chunin, C & D to genin) so that the right kind of missions are undertaken by the right kind of ninja. Naruto however isn’t all that keen about this ranking system and pretty much expresses this in no uncertain terms which leads to Team 7 getting a C ranked mission, the escorting of an individual back to his home in the Wave Country. This individual is Tazuna, a bridge builder of some renown.
Tazuna when he is introduced to Team 7 doesn’t seem too impressed by the Team 7 members; he regards Naruto as a midget with the face of an imbecile. Our protagonist when he works out whom the builder is referring to, after Sasuke and Sakura stand next to him, he wants to kill the old man. Kakashi naturally stops him and informs him “No killing the old man you’ve been assigned to protect.” All in all everything seems fairly straightforward, take Tazuna back to his home in the Wave Country where he is engaged in his next big bridge building project. Like anything that involves shinobi though nothing is as simple as it seems, as Kakashi is wont to say “Shinobi read the hidden meanings within hidden meanings.” Leaving behind the village gates and walking on their way the three members of Team 7 and their sensei seemed to be ready and prepared for a milk run style mission.
As they wonder along Sakura asks whether the Wave Country has any ninjas and this prompts an impromptu lecture from Kakashi sensei about the ninja of the other countries and the major hidden villages of the Five Great Shinobi nations, each village being lead by an individual with the title of Kage (Shadow). For those nations with a ninja village the shinobi of that village serve as the countries military force and thus add to the power and prestige of their particular nations. In his lecture Kakashi sensei also mentions who the various five Kage are; the Hokage (Fire Shadow), Mizukage (Water Shadow), Kazekage (Wind Shadow), Raikage (Lightning Shadow) and the Tsuchikage (Stone Shadow). These five shadows lead the largest of hidden villages that are the backbone of the Five Great Shinobi nations and are commanders of tens of thousands of ninja as a result. Of course Sakura has her doubts about the Hokage, which she doesn’t voice but her sensei picks up on them. From this little interlude the audience gets to learn just a little bit more about the world in which Naruto and his team mates live and work. When he’s done explaining the about the various Kage and ninja villages Kakashi points out that Sakura and the team won’t have anything to worry about as its unlikely to encounter foreign shinobi on a C rank mission.
But escorting Tazuna is anything but a C rank mission, even before the walls of Konoha are out of sight, hidden forces decided to take action. The Demon Brothers, renegades from Kirigakure (the Hidden Village of the Mists) pounce on the team and swiftly engage their sensei Kakashi. It seems that everything is lost as Kakashi is torn to shreds by the chain attack of the Demon Brothers – but it is simply a ruse on Kakashi’s part. He uses a kawarimi no jutsu (substitution technique) to fool the brothers into thinking that they’ve eliminated him then waits to see how events will pan out. It seems that their target is the esteemed bridge builder Tazuna and not any of the members of Team 7; they’re just obstacles to be overcome.
Naturally Tazuna knows what is going on, and even though the appearance of these ninja make the mission’s ranking go a lot higher, he uses his wiles to convince Kakashi and the team to continue to escort him to his home in the Wave Country. By now everyone, including Kakashi sensei are convince that this guy is the worst client ever, hence the story title but they feel obligated to continue on with the mission even though its dangers have literally increased ten fold. It seems that Tazuna has brought upon himself, through the medium of his latest bridge building project, the enmity of the wealthiest man in the world; Gato (or chocolate as Naruto refers to him). Gato is the man responsible for the hiring of the Mist shinobi to take out Tazuna and anyone who gets in their way. What they are yet to realise is that the Demon Brothers aren’t the only Mist shinobi in Gato’s employ. In fact they were under orders from the infamous Demon of the Mist’s, Momochi Zabuza. When Zabuza learns of his minion’s failure he informs Gato and his lackey that he’ll take the hit and get rid of Tazuna. The stage becomes set for a monumental showdown between the Demon of the Mist’s and Team 7, although Kakashi and his students are oblivious to this as they guide Tazuna back to his home.
In this volume we get several antagonists introduced into the mix, whereas in the opening story there was only Mizuki who served as an antagonist. There is also a palpable sense of menace and danger in the story, Zabuza and the Demon Brothers are not characters to be messed with or taken lightly and they certainly look it, the Brothers in particular looking very fearsome with their razor sharp chain and claw gauntlets. With this particular work Mr Kishimoto and his team have ratcheted the drama up a notch, adding more to the ongoing saga and in turn fleshing out the protagonists as well as the world itself. Definitely worth getting your hands on and giving it a perusal, I actually took some time to read it at my local watering hole, enjoying the drama and action whilst sampling a few schooners of some fine amber fluid, most enjoyable…
Story & Art by: Masashi Kishimoto.
Translation: Katy Bridges & Mari Morimoto.
English Adaptation: Jo Duffy.
Touch up art & Lettering: Heidi Szykowny.
Cover Design, Graphics & Layout: Sean Lee.
Cost: AU $12.95 / US $7.95.
Our eager protagonist Naruto has graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy as a shinobi and now he eagerly waits what has to happen next in his dream to become the next Hokage. From this point onwards the new graduates are divided up into teams of three, each team under the guidance of an experienced Jonin (an elite ninja). Naruto finds out that his fellow team mates in team seven are Haruno Sakura (a total babe – to use Naruto’s words) and the class heart throb and number one rookie; Uchiha Sasuke. Their sensei is the enigmatic jonin, Hatake Kakashi, a man with an enigmatic air who reveals very little about himself to his students other than his name.
Of course the life of a genin does leave a lot to be desired in the glamour and high stakes drama department, this isn’t the ranking where stealing secret documents, assassinating an enemy ninja leader, rescuing a beautiful princess from her evil uncle are common place missions or events. Far from it in fact, the first mission we see Team 7 engaged in is retrieving Tiger; the pet cat of the Daimyo’s wife; Lady Shijimi. It appears that Tiger has a penchant for regularly escaping the clutches of his overzealous owner and whenever this happens she hires shinobi to try and retrieve her beloved feline friend. It seems that this is the kind of missions that Team 7 has been getting since they became genin, and as Lord Hokage and Iruka Sensei explain at their level of experience this is the only kind of missions that they are capable of. Naturally Naruto isn’t having a bar of this, adventure, excitement; these are the things that he is after, something to prove himself. Even Sasuke, Naruto’s eternal rival, has to agree with this sentiment though he won’t say so publicly.
Lord Hokage seems to think that perhaps this former prankster and newly anointed genin might be up to taking on something a bit more than just the usual kind of missions he and his comrades have been doing. After all Konoha receives a great deal of requests ranging from baby sitting to assassinations, all of these are divided into various categories (A, B, C and D) which are then assigned to the various ninja ranks (A go to Jonin, B & C to Chunin, C & D to genin) so that the right kind of missions are undertaken by the right kind of ninja. Naruto however isn’t all that keen about this ranking system and pretty much expresses this in no uncertain terms which leads to Team 7 getting a C ranked mission, the escorting of an individual back to his home in the Wave Country. This individual is Tazuna, a bridge builder of some renown.
Tazuna when he is introduced to Team 7 doesn’t seem too impressed by the Team 7 members; he regards Naruto as a midget with the face of an imbecile. Our protagonist when he works out whom the builder is referring to, after Sasuke and Sakura stand next to him, he wants to kill the old man. Kakashi naturally stops him and informs him “No killing the old man you’ve been assigned to protect.” All in all everything seems fairly straightforward, take Tazuna back to his home in the Wave Country where he is engaged in his next big bridge building project. Like anything that involves shinobi though nothing is as simple as it seems, as Kakashi is wont to say “Shinobi read the hidden meanings within hidden meanings.” Leaving behind the village gates and walking on their way the three members of Team 7 and their sensei seemed to be ready and prepared for a milk run style mission.
As they wonder along Sakura asks whether the Wave Country has any ninjas and this prompts an impromptu lecture from Kakashi sensei about the ninja of the other countries and the major hidden villages of the Five Great Shinobi nations, each village being lead by an individual with the title of Kage (Shadow). For those nations with a ninja village the shinobi of that village serve as the countries military force and thus add to the power and prestige of their particular nations. In his lecture Kakashi sensei also mentions who the various five Kage are; the Hokage (Fire Shadow), Mizukage (Water Shadow), Kazekage (Wind Shadow), Raikage (Lightning Shadow) and the Tsuchikage (Stone Shadow). These five shadows lead the largest of hidden villages that are the backbone of the Five Great Shinobi nations and are commanders of tens of thousands of ninja as a result. Of course Sakura has her doubts about the Hokage, which she doesn’t voice but her sensei picks up on them. From this little interlude the audience gets to learn just a little bit more about the world in which Naruto and his team mates live and work. When he’s done explaining the about the various Kage and ninja villages Kakashi points out that Sakura and the team won’t have anything to worry about as its unlikely to encounter foreign shinobi on a C rank mission.
But escorting Tazuna is anything but a C rank mission, even before the walls of Konoha are out of sight, hidden forces decided to take action. The Demon Brothers, renegades from Kirigakure (the Hidden Village of the Mists) pounce on the team and swiftly engage their sensei Kakashi. It seems that everything is lost as Kakashi is torn to shreds by the chain attack of the Demon Brothers – but it is simply a ruse on Kakashi’s part. He uses a kawarimi no jutsu (substitution technique) to fool the brothers into thinking that they’ve eliminated him then waits to see how events will pan out. It seems that their target is the esteemed bridge builder Tazuna and not any of the members of Team 7; they’re just obstacles to be overcome.
Naturally Tazuna knows what is going on, and even though the appearance of these ninja make the mission’s ranking go a lot higher, he uses his wiles to convince Kakashi and the team to continue to escort him to his home in the Wave Country. By now everyone, including Kakashi sensei are convince that this guy is the worst client ever, hence the story title but they feel obligated to continue on with the mission even though its dangers have literally increased ten fold. It seems that Tazuna has brought upon himself, through the medium of his latest bridge building project, the enmity of the wealthiest man in the world; Gato (or chocolate as Naruto refers to him). Gato is the man responsible for the hiring of the Mist shinobi to take out Tazuna and anyone who gets in their way. What they are yet to realise is that the Demon Brothers aren’t the only Mist shinobi in Gato’s employ. In fact they were under orders from the infamous Demon of the Mist’s, Momochi Zabuza. When Zabuza learns of his minion’s failure he informs Gato and his lackey that he’ll take the hit and get rid of Tazuna. The stage becomes set for a monumental showdown between the Demon of the Mist’s and Team 7, although Kakashi and his students are oblivious to this as they guide Tazuna back to his home.
In this volume we get several antagonists introduced into the mix, whereas in the opening story there was only Mizuki who served as an antagonist. There is also a palpable sense of menace and danger in the story, Zabuza and the Demon Brothers are not characters to be messed with or taken lightly and they certainly look it, the Brothers in particular looking very fearsome with their razor sharp chain and claw gauntlets. With this particular work Mr Kishimoto and his team have ratcheted the drama up a notch, adding more to the ongoing saga and in turn fleshing out the protagonists as well as the world itself. Definitely worth getting your hands on and giving it a perusal, I actually took some time to read it at my local watering hole, enjoying the drama and action whilst sampling a few schooners of some fine amber fluid, most enjoyable…
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