Akatsuki Organization

Hi there!

Back again, after another long summer week. There have been loads of thunderstorms here in the South-East of England, it's really pretty awesome.

**Naruto Chapter 317 Spoilers**

Things are getting interesting again. Naruto's training is progressing swiftly, and after seeking Asuma's help, he is now well on his way to controlling Wind natured chakra.

We finally saw Deidara and Tobi again! Tobi is as Obito-ish as ever, and Deidara appears to have re-attached at least one of his arms. Tobi is now a full-fledged member of Akatsuki, and was made to fight the Three Tails - Sanbi, which looks like a huge, turtle monster. Tobi, convinced (probably rightly so) that he was in way over his head, ran from the beast, allowing Deidara to step in and blast the creature with a fish molded of Explosive Clay.

This chapter provided a full colour picture of the entire Akatsuki Organization (excluding the deceased Sasori).

Click to Full-View

As you can see, the unknown member is the one with the blue head. The Akatsuki Leader is the man in the background, facing away. He has brownish hair! I absolutely adore the Akatsuki Leader, he's just so mysterious and hot, in a totally anonymous way. I may even be disappointed when his face is finally revealed. I personally love his formless, shadowed face.

By the way, if you haven't seen pokefreak's Akatsuki Organization picture, then you definitely should! It depicts the whole organization, standing in a line, with the Leader in the middle.

The Akatsuki members I like looking at most are probably Sasori, Zetsu, AL and Hidan. They each have something about them that draws me in. Though I am a big fan of the other members, I could stare at those four all day. Each for their different reasons:
Sasori - I love his (real) face. I love watching his expressions.
Zetsu - He looks so lonely. I like plantlife.
AL - He's just mysterious, and I love his ringed eyes and hair cut.
Hidan - There's something aristocratic and arrogant about his face. I'd like to see him furious.

The sole surviving Monk from the Fire Temple reached Konoha, and informed Tsunade of Akatsuki's movements. Tsunade is ready to take action, and wants to be sure that Hidan and Kakuzu do not leave the Fire Country alive. She decides to call on the newly formed Nijyuu Shoutai.

Click to Full-View

So this is the "Dawn of a Nightmare"... Let there be angst! Please, let there be angst!

**End of Spoilers**

This week I spent most of my computer time reading fanfiction, and updating my Fic Rec List. I still have some modifications to make, and will be adding another new story soon. New stories are marked like this - NEW!

I cleared the post up somewhat, as it was a mass of HTML, and was a real pain to update before. Now it's nice and simple again. I was really surprised with how useful people have found it. I've had comments and emails from five different people so far, thanking me for putting up the Rec List. So I guess my efforts weren't in vain! ^_^

I made this banner for it. It will appear in the sidebar. (-->)

Naruto is finally airing on UK television. The problem is, Jetix, the channel that airs it, has made further cuts to the English dubbed version. Honestly, what's good to show American kids should be fine to show here, yet Jetix seems to feel the need to shield viewers from Sandaime's pipe, shuriken and kunai. All references to killing have been cut, and overall it apparently doesn't make much sense as a story as a result of this editing. I say 'apparently' because I didn't bother to watch it after all, and neither did my brother. Just as well really, because I've seen nothing but critiscism of it.

No shruiken allowed on Naruto.
But Jetix air another show called Shuriken School!

Luckily, Jetix have only purchased the first 26 episodes. Honestly though, God knows how they'll get through the Wave Country Arc with the kind of cuts they're making. They obviously haven't even watched the episodes. Oh well, if Naruto's going to fail in the UK, then so be it. I'd really hate it to become something like Pokémon anyway... ^^;;

In other news, Paper Demon, a website for art and writing, is becoming more abundant in Naruto fanart. PaperDemon.com is a wonderful community for any artist or writer, the members there are very friendly, and the forums are fun. So check it out! The webmistress, BogusRed, is a really cool person, who actually listens to the suggestions of the members and uses them to improve the site.

The site is aimed at people over the age of 13, so the community there are mature and comment nicely. I'm a Forum Moderator for the site, and as such I visit every day, and I've recently noted that Naruto has grown more popular on the site, so if you have some Naruto fanart or fanfiction, sign up and post it there! I may even comment, especially if it's SasuNaru. ^_^

Speaking of fanart, the site of wamuu is a Japanese fansite with the cutest GaaNaru art I've ever seen! Just enter the site, then click on the little coloured mushrooms to view the different pictures.

Example of wamuu fanart!

That's it for this week. Join me again next week for another Naruto-packed update, with my opinion of Chapter 318... Which better have angst! Or at least the beginnings of it.

Pros and Cons of Manga

Whew, it's been baking hot lately, and I've hardly had any time for my fandom, but I bring an update anyway.

**Chapter 316 Spoilers**

Not much to say on this chapter, because not much happened. The answer of Yamato's unique chakra nature was explained, Naruto began his Wind nature training with some quick results, and Asuma and Shikamaru had a freaky coversation over a game of Shogi.

I wonder who/what the "King" he was referring to is. Asuma is really starting to bug me with all this enigmatic crap. Why doesn't he just come right out and say it? "Konoha is King", or something clichéd like that.

I find it odd that for the first stage of his training, Naruto is ripping up leaves. He's tearing up the symbol of Konoha! Geez, I'm starting to sound like a crazy religious person... And am I the only one who has a weird feeling about Yamato helping Naruto suppress Kyuubi? It's like they're expecting something to happen with Kyuubi.

What caught my attention in this chapter wasn't actually a part of the chapter! It's the next chapter (or perhaps what's to come soon) "The Start of a Nightmare"-

This was taken from the final page of 316

It's not only in this Scanlation. In another Translation it says pretty much the same thing, but in greater detail:

Next time's Naruto is a violent commemorational presentation!!
The colored front page opens to "The Start of a Nightmare"!!
(Source)

God, I hope the next chapter is more entertaining than this one. Knowing Kishimoto, something huge will happen all of a sudden. At least I hope so. "The Start of a Nightmare" could mean we'd get a whole arc dedicated to Sumaru and Star Village. I seriously can't imagine the manga going to a worse hell than that.

**End of Spoilers**

I've been saving up the icons I've been making, but now I feel it's time to share them. Heh heh!

These icons are 150x150:

Avs by me, art not, use freely.

The chibi Naruto was drawn by my good friend Sasha (who I've been neglecting lately due to my hot and busy days). Be sure to check out Sasha's deviantART gallery, she specialises in the utterly adorable! ^^

The next three icons are 100x100:

Avs by me, art not, use freely.

So I've been hearing a lot about the end of fillers lately. Yes, I mean apart from the usual "EVIEDNCE fillerz r gong 2 end soon!!!!1!!11!!one" threads. I know it's tedious. Heck, I hate talking about the fillers, seeing as I don't even watch them anymore. I feel that I have better things to do with my time than watch my favourite show get its head flushed down the toilet once a week.

-_-;;

However, with the coming of the 3rd Naruto Movie on August 5th, fillers stand a good chance of finally ending. People were already predicting that they may end by the 200th episode, and now it seems that with the release of the movie at around that time, it may be the end of these terrible fillers. Though I don't dare to hope. I'm quite sure that fillers could go on for a few more years yet. After all, the makers of the anime seem to be having some kind of twisted, sadistic fun.

Well, at least we have the manga. I just feel sorry for those stubborn bastards who refuse to read it. There are certainly benefits to reading the manga.
But to be fair I've listed the pros and cons of the manga.

Pros:

• Don't have to wait until 2069 for fillers to end
• No boring filler arcs
• No drawn-out death-glaring scenes
• Characters look much better
• The story is more direct and to-the-point
• The story is totally canon (unlike the anime)

Cons:

• No colour
• No smexy Japanese voices
• Fight scenes can sometimes be hard to follow
• Lack of dramatic music
• AMVs can't be made from just manga
  

So you see, it's good to read the manga first, then watch your favourite chapters come to life in colour and sound later on, when the anime catches up.

On another note; Naruto is coming to the UK tomorrow. The English dubbed episodes will be on Jetix (formerly Fox Kids), not Toonami. Personally, I don't think I'll be watching it, though I'm making sure that my younger brother gets to see it. The good thing about Naruto airing in the UK is that it will bring Naruto merchandise here too. I'd really like to buy a few things.

I don't want much!

Sorry this update is so late. I've been in town all day, and last night I was too tired to write much. Hopefully next week's update will be quicker. Have a nice week! ^^

World's Weekend

Hello, Nest visitors!

I come bearing yet another Naruto-packed, long-ass update.

**Manga Chapter 315 Spoilers**

I liked this chapter. I didn't mind the lack of Naruto in the last chapter, because it had Akatsuki in it. But nevertheless, I'm glad he's back in 315. It's very interesting to know that with Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Naruto can learn much faster, due to the increased amount of brain power and experience.

It's about time, usuratonkachi. -_-;;

Though I'm rather surprised that Kishimoto so suddenly revealed Kakashi's estimate of Naruto's amount of chakra. So, with the Nine-Tails' murderous influence kept out of the way, Naruto could have 100 times the amount of chakra that Kakashi has.

Click to Full-View

It's been strongly hinted at throughout the story that Naruto has a vast amount of chakra, even without the Kyuubi. It seems that some loose ends are finally starting to be tied up. I've known from the start that Naruto was powerful, which is why I get rather annoyed when people immediately assume that he's weak and useless without Kyuubi. Unlike Gaara, who relies totally on his special sand during a fight, Naruto is a powerful Shinobi without the help of his Biju. And as Jiraiya said to Orochimaru: "Guts are what make a person strong. The courage to put your life on the line. He has that ... in spades."

It will be interesting to see what the rest of the fandom make of these recent developments. I wonder what excuses the Uchiha fanboys will come up with. Heh heh! To me, even though I love Sasuke dearly, he was strongest way back in the Forest of Death, when he finally took Naruto's advice, and fought all out against Orochimaru. But since the Curse Seal, and then Itachi, he's lost that fighting spirit that made him such an admirable Shinobi. And now, after three years away from his friends, he seems empty, devoid of any desire other than that of killing his brother.

It's good to see Yamato again too. I imagine that if this training goes on for several chapters, there will be quite a few KakaYama fans. Heh heh! Nah, to me Kakashi will always be single. He suits it anyway.

**End of Spoilers**

This week I've been addicted to the Yondaime Hokage. Yup, I know he's a dead guy, but he's just so damn handsome. He seems like a heroic figure of the past, but it really wasn't all that long ago that he was around. He's still a pivotal character in the series, his past actions having affected the lives of everyone in Konoha - especially Naruto. I'm a collector of fanart featuring Naruto and the Yondaime, though seeing them together makes me sad, thinking about what could have been.

I found a Japanese fanart site called World's Weekend which has many brilliant pictures of the Yondaime. Here's a small sample:-

The site has quite a few JiraYon pictures. I can overlook this easily, but I know that some people become violently enraged when they see a ship that isn't their own. So if the idea of some very light JiraYon fanart sends you into a killing rage - don't enter the site. ^_^

I wish I could tell the artist how much I love her work, but alas, I cannot write in Japanese. Heck, my computer doesn't even show Japanese text, I just see a load of '?????s' when I visit a Japanese website. Apparently there's a way to install the language, but since I can't read it anyway I don't see the point.

I just love Naruto's dumb face.

My God, I'm tired. It's like, 4 in the morning here in England right now, so I'm going to end this update here.

I'm still writing the SasuNaru One-Shot that I mentioned last week. I have the rest of it planned out, I just need to sit down and finish it. If all goes to plans, not only will it be my first shounen-ai, but it will be my first story with light lime (a bit of making out). It may be complete by next week, or perhaps I'll never complete it... ^^;;

Hope this post kept you entertained for a little while. There'll be another next week. Later!

Seme/Uke Wars

This post contains both manga spoilers and SasuNaru fandom rantage. Don't feel like reading? Well, you can always just close the page. ^_^

**314 Spoilers**

An interesting chapter; some things finally seem to be coming together. And apparently Asuma actually is related to the Sandaime Hokage, he's only his freaking son! My God, Kishimoto is unpredictable. And here I really thought they just shared a common name...

Well, last week I didn't like Hidan, but this chapter has once again changed my opinion of him. I think I'm starting to like Kakuzu and Hidan. They're rather complex characters. And yay! We saw Zetsu! Didn't I tell you a few weeks ago that I had a weird Zetsu-craving going on? Now I'm happy. Zetsu is so very creepy and cute.

Aww, poor Zetsu gets sad when there's just one body... o_O

I can't really guess at the Jutsu Kakashi plans to teach Naruto anymore than I could last week. Unless I've read a flawed Scanlation, or I missed something, I can't see any further clues to what the technique could be. Kishi sure does love to drag things out.

But the highlight of the entire chapter was, for me, the evidence that further supports the very awesome Tengu Theory. If you haven't read it yet, then I'm rather disappointed in you, child. Get your ass over to NF and read it, or you won't understand the rest of these 314 spoilers.

Click to Full-View, Please

I'm really pleased that this wonderfully dark and brilliantly planned theory is coming into play. Kishimoto is truly a genius of storytelling.

**End of Spoilers**

I come bearing a rant this time. It's about seme/uke wars in the SasuNaru fandom. At first I wasn't bothered by them. I know what I prefer and that's all that matters to me.

Lately, however, it seems that I'm continually being assailed by post after post in support of "seme!Naruto" or "seme!Sasuke". And I can tell you now, I'm fucking sick of it. I don't care how detailed your rants are, or how overwhelming your evidence is. I like what I like, and I don't give a shit about how wrong you think I am. Really, I'm trying to enjoy my fandom, and these losers keep trolling and causing flame wars on every LJ Community and Forum I visit. I know I can't stop them, and I have no inclination to. Let them bitch about how everyone should love "seme!Naruto" or "seme!Sasuke" if they feel they need to. From now on though, I'm avoiding forums (with the exception of theory threads) and I'm ignoring all pairing rants posted on SasuxNaru Comm and elsewhere.

100x100, avs by me, art not, use freely.

It's not a difficult thing to grasp, is it? If "seme!Sasuke" or "seme!Naruto" does absolutely nothing for you, it doesn't make it wrong. It doesn't make it "non-canonical". It makes it fucking boring to you. So leave it to the fans of it, while you enjoy what you enjoy in peace.

Personally, I find this whole seme/uke wars business to be utterly ridiculous and rather frustrating. It creates a rift between SasuNaru and NaruSasu fans. We all ship the same two boys, don't we? Why can't we all be unified against SasuSaku?

I know that there are many people who don't have seme/uke preferences at all, and enjoy all aspects of the SasuNaru fandom. I'm afraid to say that I am not one of them. Having Naruto on top does nothing for me, it's not my fault, my body just refuses to react to it. But I by no means dislike NaruSasu. On the contrary, I find NaruSasu fanart amusing. But I'm not ... ehem, 'engaged' by it as I am with SasuNaru.

So please, shall we all try to cut down on these pointless arguments? No-one is ever going to back down from "seme!Sasuke" or "seme!Naruto" if that's what turns them on, so stop crapping on other people's fun. If you don't like or agree with something, don't view it. It's as simple as that.

Coloured by black-straycat, sillyness added by me.

I don't give a flying pig's ass if some 12-year-old out there is writing a terrible fanfic about Sasuke wearing a frilly pink dress and Naruto giving birth to triplets, because I know for a fact that I'm never going to read it. But does the thought of someone writing it make you angry? Angry enough to rant about it? Does the thought of someone reading it make you even angrier? If so, seek professional help, because this is only a fucking fandom, and if you need to attend anger management sessions over it then you really are Narutarded.

Whew! End of rant. That's a lot off my chest. It's just all of this negative stuff I've been seeing lately, that's what makes me angry rather than the crap they're ranting about.

Oh, I almost forgot, I've been working on a SasuNaru One-Shot. It's my first ever shounen-ai story, and it seems to be going well so far. I'm afraid it's an AU, but I keep them very much in character and since it's only a One-Shot there's not much development to the environment anyway. I hope to finish it soon, but please don't be surprised if I drop the project, because it happens so often with me. I lose the flow of a story and give up. I just find it very difficult to finish a story if I find it unsatisfactory at any point. I tend to be very critical of my own work.

This week I have Sasuke wallpaper! *le gasp*

I'd like to add an apology for my earlier bad language, in the rantage. I know that it's rather unattractive, but I simply felt the need to emphasize some points without using annoying italics.

Hope you've enjoyed this post, be sure to check back next Thursday or Friday, depending on when the hell they decide to release the next manga chapter. Peace out!