At last, the finals of the third phase of the Chūnin Selection Exams begin! In the first battle, Naruto faces off against Neji, widely considered to be the most talented young ninja in Konohagakure. With his newfound ability to access the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox, can Naruto beat his genius opponent? Or will Neji overcome his family's troubled history to triumph in the match?
Masashi Kishimoto (岸本斉史 Kishimoto Masashi) is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series O-Parts Hunter (666 Satan) and Blazer Drive. Two of his former assistants, Osamu Kajisa (Tattoo Hearts) and Yuuichi Itakura (Hand's), have also gone on to moderate success following their work on Naruto.
Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of Naruto (NARUTO-ナルト-), published in Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of Karakuri in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of Naruto began publication in Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.
Naruto, Vol. 12: The Great Flight (Naruto, #12), Masashi Kishimoto
At last, the finals of the third phase of the Chûnin Selection Exams begin! In the first battle, Naruto faces off against Neji, widely considered to be the most talented young ninja in Konohagakure. With his newfound ability to access the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox, can Naruto beat his genius opponent?
Two rounds of the final exam in one book. And one of them diving deep into Neji's character and backstory? Absolutely marvelous and devastating at the same damn time.
Naruto finally goes on to shock the world again. Him mature immaturity is brilliant, but when he has those special moments like the the one in here. He's truly a genius. A kick-ass genius.
And there's Shikamaru. We finally get more out of him and have a better idea of who he is and what he's about. Don't mess with him. Buuuuuuut he still successfully annoyed me with the way that match-up ended! Argh!
We are entering some of the best writing in Manga. (Spoilers) From this point, to the fight between Orochimaru and Hiruzen, it is a masterclass of pacing and payoff.
Shikamaru is probably the first non annoying character so far. Quits from the finals after insane strategizing, just because.
oh how i envy the clouds. They're so free! TRUE LEGEND.
ALSO, I understand it's important for the plot to progress (and for readers to understand) BUT why do ALL of them keep telling their opponents their family history, who they have beef with, their strengths, their deepest, darkest secrets, and life's problems in general? Match time is story time, is it, Neji?
My favorite characters so far, are some of the other fighters in this tournament, finals, etc. I mean I don't like the MC but don't hate him, well, at first sure but you know what? He has his moments he really does. But you have to read a couple of volumes until you start to like the guy. The world building is interesting, the other characters and villains are interesting.
Its kind of fun reading this while hearing the dub in your head, I don't know it just fits you know? Another good volume. I like Shikamaru's I don't care attitude but underneath is a genius kind of attitude/fighting style he's got going. Makes this volume more interesting. Also, we got some character development it seem with one of the characters. Anyway, another good volume.
Okay, so, even though Naruto's fight against Neji was all kinds of awesome with the long missing adulations of the crowd, this is where Shikamaru really starts to really shine. The end of that battle was so funny, and it accomplished so damn much that he became the top choice for any subsequent missions later.
What a great battle between Neji and Naruto! I don't think I'd have settled for anything less. Shikamaru versus Temari was an incredible battle of wits. With his wily strategies Shikamaru clearly showed everybody who's the real boss when it comes to strategizing.
I can only consume so much Naruto in a sitting especially when they’re yapping about how their techniques work and I honestly could care less because it feels like they’re sharing with me their lame special interest. I just kind of tune it out
Over half of this volume is devoted to the battle between Naruto and Neji. While they are fighting, we get a glimpse into Neji's past and what drives his hatred. Hinata is not fully waked from her battle with Neji and begins to cough up blood as she is watching. She is taken away on a stretcher, but a black ops guy offered to help but knocks out her friend.
During Naruto's battle, he is able to channel the nine-tail fox's chakra and even control it. He wins the match and the next match is for Gaara and Sasuke. Sasuke has not shown up for the match yet and there is some fear that Gaara has already killed him. Sasuke was about to be forfeited from the competition but the decision changed: the fight will be postponed and they will wait for Sasuke. Lord Kazekage was persistent that Sasuke fight...but I feel like Lord Kazekage has been replaced with someone else. Maybe Orochimaru??
We end this volume with a battle between Shikamaru and Temari. She wins because Shikamaru have up at the last moment.
One of the best - if not the best - volume of Naruto I've read so far, The Great Flight gives us Neji vs Naruto fight, as well as plenty of insight into Shikamaru's unique approach to life. After this, you cannot not like Naruto and his dogged perseverance, his energy and a quite mature and thought-through idea of self-determination.
The fights are all right, I guess I've been irrevocably spoiled by Dragon Ball and nothing will make a lasting impression on me ;), but the main draw is the characters. Kishimoto aptly introduces certain backstories and let me tell you, it looks like nobody has an easy life in Konoha. Well, maybe with the exception of Sakura ;) Anyway, the list of characters that I start to like grows, so there's hope yet ;)
The final rounds of Chunin selection exam starts with Naruto and Neji facing each other and while the fight was good but lacked action and tactics and tricks been played out, it was more of like a clash between ideas and beliefs. Naruto's idea of never giving up and Neji's idea of "everything is based on destiny and you can not change what you are." However, the next match between Shikamaru and Temari was a bit opposite of it, they both were trying to outsmart each other by doing tricks and though the ending was funny, it just really brought out the real character of Shikamaru which I thought was lame.
Meanwhile, Sasuke is still absent and something fishy is going on in the stadium. Something is coming...
I respect Naruto's progress and hard work, I could do without a lot of his babbling throughout the fight, but I respect the progress he made. Also, Neji's back story is sad. I guess almost 90% of the characters here have tragic backstories, right?
Shikmaru is sure a weird guy, I love him! He's just... different. His reasons to fight, and reasons to become a ninja, and even his thoughts process are all different. and I like that!
I'm just having fun getting to know a bit more of each character with each volume.
Starting off this volume with Chapter 100: Prepared to Die...!! It's come down to the fight between Hyuuga, Neji against Naruto. There is a lot of backstory, and internal monolouging in this battle about the the Hyuuga families dirty laundry. We also see some inventive and nifty new jutsu displayed in this vol. Will Neji's hatred and arrogance be his undoing? Come and find out for yourself in this excellent and heartbreaking manga. Cheers and Happy Reading!
The final rounds of the Chunin exams begin. Naruto spars with Neji of the Hyuaga Clan Cadet Branch, in a 105-page battle as philosophical as it is physical, with warring ideas on destiny and free will. Naruto has opportunity during the standoff to tap into the power of his incased fox spirit. Naruto's comrade Sasuke has yet to show up for the tournament (glimpses are shown of a previous and mysterious scene with Gaara, Sasuke and Kakashi), so Kanjuro and Aburame Shino match up instead. This volume doesn't have as much room for the layered and complex political intrigue that the preceding volumes had, but is still suspenseful, top-notch cartooning.
This volume was a little serious because Neji told the history of his family. Naruto seemed like afraid of the strength of the Hyuga. I was very excited for the battle which characters expressed their background. I actually hoped that both of Naruto and Neji didn’t lose. I was surprised Naruto succeeded to demonstrate his “Kyubi” normally. I am glad that I could see his advances by practicing with Jiraiya. I kept worrying about the result of Sasuke and Orochimaru…
This book is quite good especially the fight between Naruto and Nenji, the fight made me jump in my seat. Nenji's past was so intense and he really came from a complex background.
That's all from me, see ya!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.