Better Late than Never

Hello!

Yes, I know this post is a day late, but it wasn't intended that way. I had almost finished this post when I left the room for the toilet. My younger brother, being the annoying little turd he is, wandered into my room, shut down my Firefox window, and left without saying a word. I'm sure he did it unintentionally; he hates to see me furious, but even so... Why is he such an idiot?

*~*Spoilers for Chapter 325*~*

I'm a little disappointed. Rather than the interesting step-by-step strategy we have come to expect from Shikamaru, he merely forced Hidan out of his circle, thus breaking the curse, and leaving Hidan open to have his head lobbed off by Asuma.

I mean, whoop-dee-fuckin'-doo! Sure, the gore was cool, but the plan was so ... mundane. A bit of a let down, considering I was awaiting some amazing display of pure genius.

Nevertheless, Kakuzu, Asuma and the supporting Chuunins were deeply impressed by Shikamaru's insight.

High praise, indeed, from this stingy bastard.

Even Hidan was surprised by Shikamaru's quick thinking, and appeared anxious.

I must admit, I whispered "No!" when I saw the dramatic beheading of Hidan. I was worried that it was the end of him. Needless to say, when I saw his head was still talking I was relieved, if a little grossed-out ... and also laughing my ass off.

This is priceless.

I don't want any of the Akatsuki to die yet, and I have a feeling they won't, seeing as how nine members are needed for the Organization's plan to work. We still haven't seen what they're up to, and Naruto hasn't genuinely fought against them yet. Remember, Sasori only died to make way for Tobi, who I believe is to be pivotal to the story. None of the others are likely to die before more is revealed, or Naruto has been captured.

In any case, I no longer have any fear of Hidan or Kakuzu dying any time soon. Team Asuma, on the other hand... Well, I guess we'll just to have and see if any of them die. Shikamaru won't, that's for damn sure.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Though I've been giving the Naruto fandom a rest for the last two weeks, I've been watching the odd episode at The Worg Den. It's a site with every fansubbed episode of Naruto available by YouTube embed, in a drop-down menu. Meaning that searching for a fansubbed episode on YouTube is something you don't have to worry about, it's easier to watch the episodes from this site. So check it out, un.

I hate to bring up the subject of fillers again (I really do) but I was thinking earlier that when the fillers end it will be my first time watching an animation based on a manga I've already read. I'll be able to compare each episode, the script, to the manga chapters, which I think will be very interesting. The closest I've ever come to that is the Harry Potter movies, but those are so compressed and cut-down due to the fact that they can only fit about 20% of the story into each movie, without it ending up 20 hours long.

Now for some fansites. Today I present to you three Japanese sites, one with doujinshi, one with some colourful Naruto fanart, and the other with really awesome Naruto gifs.

The first is omotemanga, a site with some brilliant Sakura-based doujinshi. The art is so similar to Kishimoto's style, and the stories, though all in Japanese, are very cute.

Example of omotemanga.

Next is yonabeya. Some very vibrant Naruto fanart can be found here, some of them shounen-ai.

Example of yonabeya.

Finally, VIENTO is the site with the Naruto gifs. You may have seen some of these gifs around the Internet before, but here's where they came from.

Example of VIENTO gifs.

Must be finishing this off now; I'll update again next Thursday.

Have a good weekend!

Uzumaki-Fangirl

Hello, random blog readers! I bring another spoiler-packed, Naruto-based update.

*~*Spoilers for Manga Chapter 324*~*

Wow, what a long manga series...

Not much action this time.

The supporting Chuunins stared in astonishment/horror. Shikamaru stared in shock/horror. Hidan, whose good looks have mysteriously diminished, laughed maniacally. Asuma looked suitably worried. Kakuzu got a hard-on thinking about all the money he'd soon have.

Asuma charged Hidan with his chakra blade. Hidan stabbed his own leg, which caused Asuma to fall to the ground in pain.

The team finally figured out that Asuma and Hidan were connected somehow. Well done, boys! Now count to 10.

Hidan moved to stab himself once again, a wound that would be fatal to Asuma, but Shikamaru used his Kage Shibari no Jutsu to freeze Hidan's movements.

The supporting Chuunins mentioned that reinforcements would be arriving in about 10 minutes.

Shikamaru, knowing that his jutsu could not last long against Hidan, started analysing the situation, thinking a plan through step by step.

Kakuzu offered to kill the team, unable to put up with the idea of all that sexy money getting away. Hidan, however, told him to stay out of it again, confident in his ability to destroy the Konoha team.

Shikamaru, having mapped out a strategy or 200, opened his eyes dramatically. Asuma and the supporting Chuunins knew immediately that the genius had a plan.

What that plan is, we'll have to wait another week to find out.

It seems a little sudden for any of the characters to die yet. Asuma has more to reveal yet, I'm sure.

And Hidan and Kakuzu are important to Akatsuki's plans, so surely neither of them will be killed off yet? I always thought that Akatsuki would only start falling apart after Naruto was captured and the Kyuubi almost-but-not-quite extracted.

Then again, the manga could be going in many directions, which makes most predictions pretty unreliable. I guess we'll just have to wait and see... Though I really hope no-one dies yet!

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

I've been going through another Uzumaki-fangirl stage recently. Obviously, he's always been my favourite character, but sometimes I obsess over him exclusively for a couple of days. It's probably because I've been missing him in the manga, so to make up for it, I've been looking for him elsewhere.

So, desperate for some Naruto fanart, I visited the Naruto FC's PhotoBlog, which contains over 1,000 images of my favourite blond boy. You should definitely have a look through it, but if you have a slow connection (specifically dial-up) then don't bother, because the page does take a while to load, having so many image thumbnails.

The website of Soraya Recio is most awesome. Her gallery by itself is impressive, but she also has AMVs, a ton of links, the Naruto font download, and many other cute things. The site isn't all in English, but it's very easy to navigate.

Example of Soraya Recio's Art

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back again next Thursday.
Have a nice week! ^_^

Neutrality

Yosh! Another update is here. Today I will be discussing various, convoluted issues concerning the story and themes of Naruto... Just kidding!

*~*Spoilers for Chapter 323*~*

What was it I said last week? "...the next chapter, when we get to see the team's horrified reaction to Hidan's invincibility!" And sure enough:-

*snerk*

Kakuzu snuck up on Shikamaru, and almost smashed him to a pulp, but the lucky bastard dodged. Whew!

Hidan and Kakuzu both recognised Asuma as another of the 12 Guard Ninjas of Fire. Kakuzu probably can't believe his luck, he's outside a bounty station, facing a man with five million more on his head than the guy he's just handed in. Hidan agrees that Kakuzu can have all of the money, if he gets to kill them in his 'ceremony'.

Asuma swiftly devised another attack plan, focusing first on Hidan. The plan involved Asuma lobbing Hidan's head off, while Shikamaru held him still with his technique, and the supporting chuunins acted as backup (naturally).

Hidan then began talking about how Team Asuma would soon be tasting the wrath of God.

Justice Shall Be Done!

Before the team had the chance to get their plan into action, Hidan managed to start his ceremony. So when Asuma Katoned his ass with a fire jutsu, the pain and damage inflicted upon Hidan was felt equally by Asuma.

Hidan then revealed what some in the fandom are calling his 'reaper' form to the horrified team. Announcing that Asuma's fate was now sealed.

I've got to say, things look bleak for the team. Can Shikamaru hold Hidan back from stabbing himself? Perhaps. Can Kotetsu and Izumo behead Hidan? No. Sorry, but it's just not happening. Will Kakuzu just stand there and watch all this unfold? Maybe. Either way the Konoha team are screwed.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Remember I said that fillers may end in October, with the 90-minute episode coming up? Apparently I was right to be thoroughly sceptical. Turns out that there's good evidence to suggest that it's merely a 90-minute filler. Three episodes in one or something. I'm still not watching fillers, so I won't be seeing it. I'd really love to see Part 2 animated, but alas, it seems that we're in for a long wait.

I no longer ship Naruto in the canon storyline. In other words; I don't care who Naruto ends up with, if he ever does. Seeing as how I ship him with practically everyone in the series, I figured what's the point of worrying over which pairing gets the most canon support? And since I don't care who Naruto gets with, I couldn't care less who the rest of them pair off with either.

Seriously, Sasuke and Sakura can get married and have twelve children, if that's what they want. Naruto can stay a hot virgin forever, which is fine with me. I am neutral. Just give me my daily smutfiction and I'll be content with anything. Heh heh!

Psst! Wanna see an amusing ItaNaru flash movie?
ItaNaru Flash by ShadowBee.

See you again next week!

Invincibility!

Hurray for another Thursday! Am I the only one who vaguely fears that the end of the world will occur before the manga comes to an end? Probably.

*-*Spoilers for Chapter 322*-*

Things seem to be moving again.

Asuma has implied that his giving up smoking may have nothing to do with Chiriku. Perhaps it's about Sandaime, or maybe Kurenai's pregnant. Whatever it is, it's going to have some significance to the story.

Kakuzu admitted to the ugly, filler-looking guy in the bounty station that of all of his partners, Hidan is the only one he hasn't killed in a fit of rage. He leaves the reason for this unclear. Though it is clarified soon after, in Hidan's scene.

Admitting faults of character is always a difficult thing.
I respect you, Kakuzu.

Meanwhile, Naruto tried desperately to incorporate Wind chakra into his Rasengan. Exhausted, (but very determined) he pushed himself too far, and ended up sprouting Kyuubi tails at an alarming rate. He was an inch from four when Yamato used his power to suppress the Kyuubi, knocking Naruto unconscious. Yamato is having as much trouble as Naruto in this training, as the strain of holding back the Kyuubi's instincts is becoming more difficult.

Hidan sat on the steps outside the bounty station, bemoaning his now smelly clothes. Quite suddenly he was attacked by Asuma. Swinging his scythe, he deflected the kunai, and prepared to destroy Asuma. Shikamaru, however, prevented him from moving with his Kagemane no jutsu.

Leaving Hidan open to attack from both Kotetsu Hagane (guy with bandaged nose) and Izumo Kamizuki (guy with emo hair-cut), who stabbed him from either side.

Yay for the supporting Chuunins! Who will no doubt be the first to be pwned!

Asuma, displaying the obligatory "Yay-The-Bad-Guy's-Dead!" attitude, immediately told the others to locate Kakuzu. Talking with such an obscene amount of confidence that one would assume he takes down two members of Akatsuki in twenty seconds every day before breakfast. He will no doubt appear suitably astonished in the next chapter, when we get to see the team's horrified reaction to Hidan's invincibility! Muahahahahaaa!

It is official. I love this man!

Okay, I have absolutely nothing against Asuma. But to tell you the truth, I'd much rather see Hidan and Kakuzu come out victorious, and am fairly certain they will. I love Akatsuki so much, I don't want any of them to die. Goddamn you, Kishi, for making your villains so darn alluring!

*-*End of Spoilers*-*

I heard that fillers will be ending in October, when a particularly long episode is set to air. Though I refuse to get my hopes up about this, and would not at all be surprised if fillers carried on into the 2300s. In fact, I was considering getting my body cryonically frozen, only to be awoken when the Kakashi Gaiden begins.

Yes, I am heinously pessimistic.

Short on SasuNaru smuttage? Look no further! Here's a link to mynullnostalgia's SasuNaruSasu Fan Recs. It's a very large list of many, many SasuNaru fanfics. It's a lot more extensive than my own rec list, which I really ought to update again soon...

This week I was linked to a cute Japanese fansite - peewee - which has some very good Deidara and ItaNaru fanart. Enjoy!

Must be going now, I've got a new DVD to watch - The Cat Returns. It's a cute and somewhat random movie.