Nettie's Nest

About Sakura...

2009-06-28T13:54:00.008+01:00

"One of the first female movie characters who isn't defined by the men around her, or by her relationship to them."
- Entertainment Weekly on Ellen Ripley (the heroine of the Alien film series).

It was so refreshing and empowering to see a real woman onscreen for a change. I loved the Alien movies. Unfortunately, Sakura is the polar opposite of Ripley.

Unlike many Naruto fans, I've never hated Sakura. In fact, I've always been rather neutral towards her. From the beginning, I was looking forward to seeing her begin to acknowledge Naruto as more than just an annoying idiot. I liked the hints of NaruSaku in the manga. I even collected NaruSaku fanart back in the early days of Part 2.
In Part 1, she was an unlikeable, rather annoying girl with shallow interests. I didn't hate her, but I didn't like her either. She was demonstrated to have better chakra control than her team-mates and first displayed her intelligence during the written test in the Chuunin exam. During the test, she showed some concern for Naruto's aspirations, which was quite touching.

Her first moment in the spotlight came when she cut her hair during the Chuunin exams; essentially cutting away her vanity. However, she was too weak to really defend herself. This was understandable, given that she didn't have any special abilities like many of her peers. I assumed that she was being set up as a late bloomer, which is pretty much what Ino confirmed when she too perceived that Sakura had potential.

After the Chuunin exams, Sakura became a constant pain in arse. She did nothing but visit people in hospital and whine and worry about 'Sasuke-kun'. It was during this period, until the end of the Part 1, that I disliked her appearances in the manga.

Of course, Sasuke was blatantly the center of her universe. It's true that Sasuke is pivotal to the overall plot and is also important to Naruto, but everything Sakura did in Part 1 (and even in her childhood flashbacks) was for Sasuke.

Here's a list:

She grew her hair because she'd heard a rumour that Sasuke liked girls with long hair
She broke off her friendship with Ino so she could compete for Sasuke
She became a ninja so she could be close to Sasuke
She climbed the tree during chakra training to impress Sasuke
She cut her hair to protect Sasuke (and Naruto, to a lesser degree)
She whined and cried for almost the whole of Part 1 about Sasuke
She begged Sasuke to stay with her and even offered to leave Konoha with him

I couldn't respect her while she was dedicating her entire existance to a person who didn't feel the same way. I've always regarded her obsession with Sasuke to be the ugliest aspect of her character. Unfortunately, for the span of Part 1, it was almost the ONLY aspect of her character.

I was excited about her potential for growth at the end of Part 1, because she was finally taking action and trying to better herself as a ninja and a person by becoming Tsunade's apprentice.
The first arc of Part 2 was a breath of fresh air. Sakura was finally treating Naruto like a real and valued friend. She also displayed the skills she had gained during the time-skip: super-strength and medical ninjutsu, as well as knowledge of medicinal plants. She had become a capable ninja, and even took part in a fight for the first time.

Sakura and Naruto resolved to work together to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, whereas before she had always relied on Naruto to fight for her. I was proud of her and admired her development.

She disappointed me during the battle with Orochimaru, as she needed to be rescued by Yamato twice. Proving, once again, to be a burden. She admitted as much while she was healing Naruto after the fight, as she cried over the fact that she could only help in small ways. I could forgive her poor performance, because it was understandable when facing off against powerful foes (and an indiscriminate Kyuubi Naruto).

After seeing Sasuke again, Naruto was overcome with disappointment in his own abilities (an insecurity he's always had and continues to display). Sakura told him that crying wouldn't bring Sasuke back home, displaying a surprising amount of emotional strength. However, in the privacy of her home, she was shown to cry over her photograph of Team 7. Clearly, she was not as changed as she had led us to believe, because her behaviour was reminiscent of her Part 1 personality.

From then on, she again took a back seat in the story. She made only minor appearances and performed no impressive feats (unless you count the summon she punched during the Pain invasion). She was made to look helpless after Pain destroyed the village, in order to make Naruto's return more grand.

This helplessness in Sakura has continued ever since.

Naruto needed to save her during a brief altercation with the Karui and Omoi. The very next chapter, she broke down in a fit of sobbing over a question about Sasuke. Clearly, she is feeling conflicted and upset ... but to display such weakness in the presence of others is, frankly, embarrassing.

She has set herself the goal of returning Sasuke to Konoha. She promised herself that she'd never again be a burden to Naruto. She promised herself that she'd help Naruto in bringing Sasuke home. Yet, she's been unable to back up her words and now appears to be a hypocrite as well (by openly crying when she'd previously told Naruto that crying over the Sasuke situation was pointless).

Her bout of tears was curiously reminiscent of her five-year-old self. The fact that Naruto has been forced, once again, to promise to handle the situation by himself seems to be huge regression for Sakura.Needless to say, readers have expressed their disappointment and embarrassment at Sakura's behaviour. But is it REALLY a regression?

It looks like Sasuke remains at the center of her universe. And now, after she's learned the depth of his betrayal, she feels as if her hopes and dreams have been cruelly dashed. She's unable to express how she feels about Sasuke, because she is fundamentally conflicted. How can she continue to love and defend him when he has pitted himself against Konoha and Naruto as a member of Akatsuki, under Madara's thumb?

It was a moment of weakness, but I believe it's part of her development. Sasuke is a huge, unresolved issue in Sakura's life. If you ask me, she needs to set aside her unrequited devotion and become her own person. Only when she has her own aspirations will she become strong enough to face her feelings.

I do hope Kishimoto will allow Sakura to redeem herself.

A timely update

2009-05-15T15:16:00.006+01:00

Hello, random person!

It's been a long time, but I suddenly felt the urge to update this old blog. A little news about myself: I'm in my last term at college and ready to head out into the great British recession to find a job. Wish me luck.

As for Naruto ... I'm still reading the manga every week! It's been pretty angsty lately. So much has happened since I last discussed the manga, so I'll run through some highlights.

**Manga Spoilers**

Let's see... There was Jiraiya's death, Sasuke vs Itachi, the truth about Itachi, Madara's manipulation of Sasuke, Naruto's mystery gift from Itachi, Pain's invasion of Konoha...
OMG 437! The confession and stabbing of Hinata. An amazing twist. I must admit though, I think it would have been more hard-hitting if she'd actually died.The end of 439 was such a shock. Yondaime randomly appearing like that made me fangirl squeal for the first time in ages (well, at least the first time since 431 when Naruto threw the gigantic rhino).The last few chapters with the Nagato flashbacks have been pretty dull. Mostly because they've been so predictable. Now the flashbacks are (hopefully) over with 447, things should start to get interesting again. I've a feeling we'll be seeing Danzou again soon.

Naruto wishes to refrain from killing Pain in revenge... Many of the villagers would vehemently disagree with this act of mercy. Of course, I'll be surprised if Nagato doesn't attempt to attack Naruto again. Surely he'll try to capture Naruto again - it's his ultimate goal, right? I doubt he'll be swayed by Naruto's words and ideas about peace.

Events can only get more interesting from here. We'll see what happens in the aftermath of Pain's invasion. The issue with the Cloud ninjas and Killer Bee is due to resurface. Sasuke, of course, will be a welcome sight again. I can't wait for his next reunion with Naruto! I predict major angst. Naruto doesn't even know that Sasuke has joined Akatsuki yet!

11 kinds of Naruto fanfics that suck

2008-04-03T15:34:00.009+01:00

I need to get something off my chest, so I present to you:

11 kinds of Naruto fanfics I'm tired of
and their cruddy summaries
Why 11? Because I thought of 1 more than 10.

1.
Typical high school fic
Sasuke is the most popular guy in school... Overdone much?
So many AU fics are set in high school. 90% of them follow the same damn plot and are never completed.

2.
Gravitation-like band fic *pukes*
Naruto, Kiba and Gaara are in a band! ... SNORE.
I despise these fics. The very idea of Naruto characters beating on drums and playing guitars puts me off straight away.

3.
Masked Naruto fic
Naruto is tired of hiding behind his mask... *insert tear drop*
Hello! Naruto's not a genius. That's why he rocks! He's determined to prove himself worthy, so why would he hide his genius? The whole idea is a ridiculous excuse to change Naruto's personality and appearance.

4.
WTF OCs fic
Janie, Star and Raven are thrown into the Naruto world! ... ¬_¬''
Too many of these for my liking. They're always crappily written and the inserted characters are snore-worthy. Mary Sues. Bah!

5.
Suck-at-summary fic
I suck at summaries LOL ... *cue to ignore fic*
Why do so many people say that in their summaries? It basically translates to "I suck at writing". I never read fics with that bullshit in the summary.

6.
Pukesome Naru-chan fic
Naru-chan is a beautiful princess ... *insert inane, cutesy crap*
Jesus, I think I'd prefer even SasuSaku over this! Naru, Naruko, etc are shite names. FemNaru sucks. So does girly-uke!Naruto. Naruto does NOT look like a girl.

7.
Dumbass fic
naruot,is raypedby ,villajers,whatwill saskeu do!!!! ... Retard.
Barely literate people and the under 12's write shit fanfiction. A few spelling mistakes I can handle, but sometimes it goes far beyond that.

8.
Too-much-fox fic
Naruto is the golden nine-tailed demon fox of legend! ... Bet this fic sucks.
These fics where Naruto is or becomes the 'King Fox' (or whatever) look just plain corny to me. I don't mind Kyuubi, but Naruto as a genius/beautiful hanyou? C'mon! Urgh, and when the author decides to make Naruto's hair long and flowing? *gags*

9.
Emo Naruto fic
Naruto is sick of life and being hated, so he cuts himself... ROFL As if!
Naruto would never cut himself. Period. A few of my friends have cut themselves in the past, so I know that it's a fairly common teen issue, but it's completely OOC for Naruto to do something so weak and desperate.

10.
No-real-summary fic
Naruto decides to do something, but why and for who? ... Who cares?
I hate fics with no summary information. Sorry, but I need pairing info if I'm going to read a long-ass fanfic. I don't want to waste my time on a SasuSaku or someshit.

11.
Ebil villagers fic
The villagers try to kill Naruto, so he runs away... Join the masses!
Tons of these about. Some, mind you, actually have a decent plot, but most are unrealistic and badly written. Naruto would not put up with shit from the villagers and he certainly wouldn't let them cheat/rape/beat him. He'd kick ass first.

< /end rant list >

The fic summaries in this list are written by me and are meant as examples only. They mostly concern the common types of stories found on Fanfiction.Net, when searching for SasuNaru fics.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of stellar fanfics out there, I'm just tired of seeing so many crappy/samey ones popping up in the search results.

Howdy!

2007-09-22T14:29:00.000+01:00

I just signed into Blogger to find that some links on this blog have expired. In particular, the doujinshi download link I put up some time ago on THIS post. I've put up 2 new download links on that page. If anyone encounters any problems with them, just leave a comment and I'll try my best to fix it. ^_^

Well, now that I'm here I may as well update the Fanfic Recs and AMV Archive.

RIP Nettie's Nest

2007-03-15T20:04:00.000Z

Wow, this place died rather suddenly, didn't it? It's been a long time without an update or even a sign of life from me!

It seems that adult life has finally caught up with me and I now have less time for leisure and a broader range of interests to indulge in that limited 'me' time. Yes, it happens to everyone one day.

While I continue to be an avid fan of Naruto (I'm lovin' Shippuuden, by the way!) I no longer have the same amount of time or even the inclination to write so extensively about it.

Therefore, this is my goodbye. There will be no more updates. I figured it's time to let this place rest in peace.

Here is a final gift to any fangirls (or really gay fanboys! ^^;;) who visit this place:

A minimalistic, pink Naruto wallpaper I made! Hope you like!

I will keep this blog up, rather than deleting it, because it contains some lovely links for you peoples.

As for me, I've almost finished my IT course and I'm thinking of training as a librarian. I've always loved libraries. With my admirable intelligence and extensive knowledge of all things literate, I think it will suit me.

I hope you all live long and happy lives and continue to enjoy Naruto, as I do! So long and thanks for all the fish.

The Masked Things

2006-12-08T20:29:00.000Z

G'day, night, whatever! I'm back with a post about Naruto manga chapter 334.

*~*Chapter 334 Spoilers*~*

This week's chapter was brilliantly freaky! Finally, we have some idea about Kakuzu's abilities. Suddenly, his powers seem far more abominable than Hidan's.

When those scary, black ghost things appeared, the first thoughts in my mind were; "WTF?!", "Are they puppets?" and "WTF?!"

I must admit, I was intrigued, but hardly impressed. That was until I got a good look at those creepy-as-hell masked creatures. They're so cool and terrifying! Shikamaru and Chouji's reaction of disgust and trepidation to them was really quite understandable.

I still have no idea how that whole thing works, with the masked thingies flying out Kakuzu's back and attacking everyone.

And why the HELL did Hidan look so sad and contemplative when one of them died away? Unless I read his expression very wrong, that's a total mystery to me... Maybe it's because he was seeing a small part of Kakuzu dying... Awww!!

So it appears that the tables have turned once again, Kakuzu and Hidan are getting serious and are responding with typical Akatsuki ferocity.

Suddenly I'm no longer worried for Hidan and Kakuzu, but for Team Shikamaru.

Only Ino seems to be safe at the moment, hiding behind her tree. I guess her attack style, to hide and strike at the opportune moment, demands that she remain out of sight. Wouldn't it be great if she did something really unexpectedly awesome though?

Of course, odds are she'll do absolutely nothing. If she does do something, it'll probably be healing someone's cut knee or something boring like that...

Shikamaru's not through yet, however. He's a tactical genius, after all. He'll be analysing every movement Hidan and Kakuzu make and searching for points of attack that may be effective. Nothing will escape his notice!

As for Kakashi, he seems to be stripping down, doesn't he? First the jacket, then the gloves. Let's not forget the beginnings of that tear in his mask. Will we get to see his face, maybe? Wow, I'd have such mixed feelings about that.

I noticed that Kakashi looks younger without his jacket. I like it! Heh heh!

Predictions for future chapters? Well, it looks like the stage has been set for a huge elemental battle. It's going to be good, that's all I know for sure.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

I'm going Christmas shopping this weekend. You should too! Get it all over with and wrapped up.

I'm hoping for some Naruto manga from my uncle. He bought me manga last year and this year I've asked for some more. Heh heh!

Countdown

2006-12-01T01:48:00.000Z

Welcome to the Nest, random person!

Writing and posting these updates takes me a long time, especially now that I need to upload everything separately to avoid my browser crashing. So please excuse me if I ever post a day late.

*~*Chapter 333 Spoilers*~*

After I sat and thought about it for a minute, I realized that this chapter, despite being a lead-up chapter (leading up to a big event, i.e. Naruto’s fight) has certainly done it’s job and added yet more depth to the story.

I found the Akatsuki vs Team Shikamaru fight interesting and rather enlightening. Though I am pretty glad that Kishimoto isn’t dragging it out to unnecessary lengths. After all, I really want to see Team 7 in action, already! When Team 7 are on the move, we’ll finally be getting somewhere. Granted that these recent chapters have been leading up to something significant and have bought Naruto time to create his new jutsu.

Once again, I adored the KakuHida interaction. I loved the face Hidan made on the 6th page. Dear Hidan seems more like Naruto with every chapter, ne?

Speaking of Naruto, I can’t tell you how happy I am that his training period is just about over. Not a moment too soon, in my opinion. I’m hoping that Kishimoto gives Naruto a real battle this time and not just a tossed kunai and a Kyuubi transformation. Naruto hasn’t had a real fight in the whole of Part II! There was the Oodama Rasengan at the Itachi clone, the spat with Deidara, the mini-clash with Sai, Kyuubi pounding the shit out of Orochimaru, and then the little confrontation with Sasuke.

None of these encounters have given us a real taste of Naruto’s might, only Kyuubi’s. He must be so much stronger than he was in Part I and we’ve seen no concrete evidence of it. We’ve only really seen that Kyuubi is playing a bigger part in Naruto’s fights.
Therefore, I’m hoping for an impressive battle this time. Like the Sakura vs Sasori fight, which is, I think, the only proper ninja battle we’ve seen in Part II, so far. Yup, Kishimoto better come up with something spectacular, as I’m sure he will. But of course I’m getting ahead of things here…

So from Yamato we learned that there are weaknesses and strengths to each element, as should be obvious to anyone whose seen elements in a game or story before. We learned the weaknesses and strengths of the elements in the Narutoverse.

And contrary to the elemental structure in Pokemon, Earth is apparently vulnerable to Lighting in the Narutoverse, rather than totally immune to it. We saw this in action in the final pages of the chapter, in which Kakashi thrust his Chidori arm through Kakuzu’s chest, after the Akatsuki member had used an Earth jutsu to harden his skin.

Will Kakuzu die? I’m really not sure. I’m about 50/50 at the moment. This is because while it’s true that Kakuzu has pulled many tricks and is a very smart and skilled warrior, I don’t see how he could survive such a wound, without being Hidan. Unless, of course, that’s oil and not blood pouring from his chest and we find out his whole body is robotic and repairable.

The Kakuzu Kakashi attacked can’t be a bunshin, simply because with his Sharingan, Kakashi can identify a bunshin from a real body without having to kill it first.

Aww, if Kakuzu does die, where does that leave poor Hidan? He’s a helpless, immortal newb without his trusty pal Kakuzu! I sure hope everything turns out okay for them…

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Don’t forget to check the Naruto: Hurricane Chronicles countdown every once in awhile. It seems so far off, but the days will fly by!

I’ll be back with another update packed with 334 spoilers next week. Have a great week, everyone! Don’t forget to start your advent calendars tomorrow, after all, it’s the 1st of December! The countdown to Christmas has begun too! Heh heh!

End of Filler

2006-11-26T01:07:00.000Z

Hey there! Sorry for the extreme lateness of this update. I was occupied with other matters but now I've finally finished composing this.

*~*Chapter 332 Spoilers*~*

A fine chapter for all Akatsuki fans.

I was right about the Nibi being sealed, though I must admit, I was a little surprised to see it happen so soon.

Akatsuki have only to aquire three more Biju. Naruto's leisure time appears to be drawing to a close. When all the Biju but Kyuubi have been sealed, Naruto will be the target of every Akatsuki member.

I was a little surprised that Deidara warned Hidan and Kakuzu of Naruto. He was obviously impressed by the show Kyuubi Naruto put on after beating Deidara's clay bunshin to a pulp.

The fact that Deidara considers Naruto a threat makes me kind of proud of my dear Naruto. Yup, despite my love of all Akatsuki, I love Naruto more. Naruto has always been and will always be my favourite character.

The best thing about this chapter has got to be the Hidan-Kakuzu interaction. And of course the fact that Hidan calls Deidara "Deidara-chan". God, that is so cute!

Best page? Undoubtedly the funniest in a long time:

It is official, my favourite pairing is KakuHida. Really though, it's so funny how they bicker like a married couple, but when the fight starts they genuinely seem to worry for each other, for whatever reason.

Kakuzu is like the big, strong and wise one, and Hidan the talkative, hot-tempered, inexperienced newbie. Sorry, but I just find their relationship utterly delicious.

Did you see Itachi's shadowed face? What the significance of that, I wonder? I think he'll be silently pissed off if Hidan and Kakuzu manage to succeed where he failed. Heh heh! I still believe that if anyone in Akatsuki is going to capture Naruto (which I think they will for a time) it will be Itachi.

Shikamaru is obvious serious about this. I wonder what his plan is. Incapacitate the foes, then beat them to bloody death?

Good Lord, I don't want my dear Hidan and Kakuzu to die yet. There's still so much I wanted to see them do... And I didn't mean that in the "we haven't even seen them dive in the sack together yet!" kind of way. I meant it in the "we haven't seen nearly enough of these brilliant new characters!" way.

Hopefully Hidan and Kakuzu will walk away from this largely unscathed.

I really have no predictions for the next chapter, though I must say I hope something big happens and it's not just a whole chapter about how amazing Shikamaru is.

We know Shikamaru's a genius, we know his plan is great! I love Shikamaru, but I love Akatsuki more, so please excuse me when I say: AKATSUKI FTW!

Yes, I am very much on Akatsuki's side this time. If Hidan dies it will be a terrible thing for me. Him and Kakuzu have been the only highlight of the last dozen or so chapters and I have grown to love them dearly.

That was a great trap Shikamaru set up ... Damn him! Oh my poor, sexy Hidan, please don't die! Okay, I apologize for my fangirlish cries of woe, but I am genuinely scared for Kakuzu and Hidan.

Team Shikamaru mean serious business and though my boys are powerful and skilled, they have been put at an immediate and great disadvantage.

I am almost reluctant for the next chapter, so worried am I.

Overall, I thought the chapter was entertaining enough. The theory that Kakashi is actually Naruto is almost has been weakened considerably after this chapter. Which, I must admit, is a bit of a disappointment.

Oh well, at least Naruto will be setting off from Konoha with Sai and Sakura soon. I wonder what part they will play in the upcoming battle.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Of course, I've heard about the announcement for the end of fillers in February 2007. All I can say is thank God I've only had to wait a year for this. Some unfortunate souls have been waiting much longer than I.

I'll be happier when I'll be getting two installments of Naruto a week, rather than just the manga chapters.

I will continue to read the manga when Part Two begins. I'm way too hooked on the manga to give up simply because the anime will be starting again.

Besides, I now prefer the manga to the anime. The anime, with the colour, fight scenes and smexy voices is just a bonus to me. The real story is contained within the pages of the manga and the characters look so much better when they're drawn by Kishimoto.

That's it for this week. I'll try my best to get my butt in gear next week and write an update for Thursday.

Ibiki's Back

2006-11-17T17:38:00.000Z

Hi! Those of you who have been here before will notice I've changed the Nest's layout and colour since last Thursday. I hope you like the new look.

I apologize for the lateness of this post. Blogger had some down time last night and I was too tired to wait it out.

*~*Chapter 331 Spoilers*~*

This was a good chapter. Last chapter seemed just a little unsatisfactory to me, perhaps because not much happened. This time, however, it's clear that the big thing we've been waiting for is about to begin. Just like at the beginning of the Gaara Rescue arc, the teams are getting ready to move.

Team 10 assembled at the gate but were stopped by Tsunade, who acting like a mother tried to call them back. Shikamaru wasn't having any of it and Chouji and Ino were in silent agreement with him. Clearly, they want to complete their mission.

Just as it seemed that Team 10 would be forced to stay in Konoha, Kakashi arrived on the scene claiming that he'd be happy to act as Team 10's captain for the mission, in Asuma's stead.

Now here's where things start looking a little suspicious to me. The bandage on Kakashi's hand could mean one of two things:

Kakashi was injured during Naruto's training
Naruto was injured during his training and transformed into Kakashi

Either seem perfectly believable to me. Considering the fact that Naruto has almost perfected the Kaze Rasengan and no longer needs Kakashi's help, and the fact that Naruto has loads of Kage Bunshin and could easily sneak off.

It's logical that Naruto would sneak off, being his usual reckless self it would seem a little odd for him to stay behind and continue training after the death of someone close to him. Let's face it, Naruto doesn't have many people who have accepted him; Asuma was one of the first, before even Tsunade.

I don't mind either way. I just think it's a little bland if Team 10 and Kakashi do set off and 24 hours later Team 7 set off as well. If Naruto was posing as Kakashi, it'd add a new level of depth to the plot, don't you think? Heh heh!

We saw the final stage of the Sanbi sealing, the pupil appearing in one of the statue's nine eyes. Five of the eyes now have pupils, which means Akatsuki have more than half of the Biju in their possession. Only four more to go, the middle eye reserved for Kyuubi, no doubt. If Nibi is sealed, then Akatsuki will need only three more Biju, including Kyuubi. The extraction of Nibi is about to commence...

I wonder if the Yugito, the Nibi Jinchuuriki, can be saved. At the moment, this whole scenario certainly reminds me of the Gaara Rescue arc. Everyone rushing off to find Akatsuki. Problem is, this time they're nowhere near the location where the extraction is taking place. So the best they can do for Yugito is to hinder Hidan and Kakuzu. Now if Cloud Village were to contact Konoha... Well, I guess we'll wait and see. At this point, suffice it to say that I believe Nibi will be sealed and Yugito will die. Though I may change my opinion on that later.

Biggest laugh of the chapter? Ibiki, of course! Striding into the Bounty Station like he owns the place and demanding of fugly-filler-looking guy the whereabouts of Kakuzu. "I'll MAKE you tell me!" God, that is so funny. I'm glad that bounty bastard is finally going to get what's coming to him. The only guy to show at his funeral will be Kakuzu in thanks for all the money he's given him over the years.

Team 10 and Kakashi have left Konoha and are forming their strategy. Sakura has been asked to inform Yamato that if Naruto's training isn't complete in 24 hours Team 7 cannot participate in the mission. Shizune has been asked to arrange for another team who can contact Team 10 to be made ready in case Team 7 cannot act as back up; Team 8 or Team Gai, perhaps?

It's difficult to predict what will happen from here. I just anticipate something amazing.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Now, I happen to like every conceivable pairing in the Naruto series. I mean that quite literally. ItaChou? Love it! Therefore, I have no biased opinions about pairings, whether I think they have canon potential or not.

However, I do have my preferences. And from the day dot I've loved NaruSaku. In fact, once I had caught up with the story and started exploring the fandom, I was surprised how few fans NaruSaku had. I've never felt I've been able to describe the deep feelings I sense between the two of them sufficiently.

Luckily, I no longer need to bother. As Mizura (or heronite) has composed a beautiful NaruSaku Manifesto for all to read! Now, I'm not going to lie to you, it's a long read. Ever heard the NaruHina phrase "a patient love"? Well, after reading this manifesto you'll see how much more of a patient love NaruSaku is. Seriously, it needs to be that long to fully describe the relationship and the development between them.

I read the whole manifesto over two days and I wasn't disappointed. It's a wonderful read, with just the right amount of pictures to bring relief from the text. So when you have some time, I urge you to read this manifesto, even if you hate Sakura and dislike NaruSaku. Trust me, read it and it will dispel any prejudices you have.

I also discovered an interesting site that I can't believe I haven't seen before; RawManga. It has every raw chapter of Naruto cleaned and up for download. Now I can't speak, let alone read Japanese, but having the Japanese there is good for things in the English fandom. Such as coloured pages, icons, etc. Having the Japanese there makes it look a little more interesting, ne?

As always, I'll be back again with a new update next Thursday/Friday, when the next manga chapter is released. Have a nice week, all!

Funeral

2006-11-09T20:57:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to the Nest!

A new manga chapter has finally been released. I was starting to get a little pissed off at Kishimoto, I must say. I love his story so much that I can't stand to go more than a week without a new installment.

*~*Chapter 330 Spoilers*~*

The villagers learned of Asuma's fate. Kurenai was understandably heart-broken. It turns out that Asuma told Shikamaru to tell her something. What that is, only Kishi knows...

It has been confirmed that Asuma is Konohamaru's uncle. Geez, all this time and we never saw a second's worth of interaction between the two of them. Once again Konohamaru cried at the funeral. Poor little guy, his family has really been falling apart of late, ne? First his grandpa and now his uncle, one killed by Orochimaru and the other by Akatsuki.

How old does Naruto look in this? He's like an adult!

Shikamaru, who appears to be making a habit of smoking, took up Asuma's blades and learned how to use them with an element of chakra. He, Ino and Chouji now appear to be ready to set off on a new mission. Probably one of revenge against Hidan and Kakuzu.

Things have taken an interesting twist. Just as we expect Team Ten's importance to be over, Kishimoto appears to be stating that this is only the beginning. As usual, I'm really looking forward to the next chapter.

This chapter also provided our first peek at Naruto's Kaze Rasengan. It looks pretty much how I imagined it to be: the Rasengan with tongues of wind slashing out of it erratically. The end product will undoubtedly be a whole lot more impressive.

Ah, the sweet KakaNaru scene. Quite possibly Kakashi's most outward display of love toward Naruto yet. "Next week: Kakashi's Proposal!!!"

The Page of the Week

Predictions for next week? I have no bloody clue. Hopefully something totally awesome and unexpected will happen. I'm hoping we learn what Asuma told Shikamaru.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Just yesterday I remembered about a brilliant website I'd visited before but lost the link to. Thankfully, I remembered some keywords and Googled them to find the site again. The site is called Dan-Da-Man Anime and it has a massive downloads section, including every episode of Naruto. There are a ton of other anime series available for download, so it's definitely worth checking out.

I'll be back next Thursday, as per usual, with an update about the next week's chapter.

London EXPO

2006-11-04T01:17:00.000Z

Hi there! This post is very late because, quite frankly, without a new manga chapter to spark my enthusiasm I couldn't be bothered to write a new update.

Yes, for all of you who are ignorant, there was no manga chapter released this week. This is a fact I am peeved about but willing to allow without complaint once in awhile. Kishimoto is apparently taking a week off to gather his thoughts, hopefully he'll deliver some more brilliant chapters soon.

So... What shall I talk about this week? Well, I guess I should focus on the fandom, which to me is half the fun of being a Naruto reader.

Yes, note that I now refer to myself as a 'Naruto reader' rather than 'Naruto viewer'. This is simply because I have come to prefer the manga to the anime, which I now see as rather bright and annoying for the most part.

Of course I'll still be watching Part Two when it begins but I've fallen in love and will remain loyal to the manga rather than the anime.

Last Sunday, my best friend Sasha and I went to the London EXPO - which is basically an media exhibition for fans of comics, film, video games, animation, science fiction and fantasy.

Despite almost getting lost in London's scary tube system, we made it in time to see loads of Naruto cosplayers and a few celebrities.

I bought myself a measly little Naruto keyring; it's cute but tiny and it cost £3! I'm not kidding, the stuff there was expensive. Sasha got herself plenty of stuff, including an awesome Naruto wallscroll. Heh heh!

There were also some of the robots from Robot Wars and the actor Christopher Lee (who plays Saruman in LOTR).

There was even a stand for the upcoming English movie Hot Fuzz, which is made by the guys from Shaun of the Dead - Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Unfortunately, those two were only present for the Saturday EXPO so I missed them by a day. Damn, I would've loved to see them.

All in all, it was a great but tiring day. All that travelling and walking does get to you if you've worked through the day on nothing but a few sticks of strawberry Pocky.

Since everyone seems to be recommending animes to watch while waiting for the Naruto filler period to end, I recommend Last Exile. It's the story of two friends who fight through poverty and wartime in the Victorian-like society of the floating world of Prester. There are some amazing airship battle scenes.

The series is 26 episodes long and has brilliant characters that you really fall in love with as the series progresses. The story is great, the characters are brilliant, the animation is top-notch and the OST is too good for words. In short, Last Exile is a fab anime and you should definitely watch it when you have the time.

You can usually find the fansubbed Japanese episodes on YouTube. If not, then you can download the episodes from Anime Downloads. Personally, I've been watching the English dub on rental DVDs with my closet-anime-fandad (phrase copyright of Sasha). Heh heh!

Wow, this post has really gone off the topic of Naruto. See what a week without a canon episode or manga chapter does to me? I shirk all interest in a story until it's moving again.

Well, if you're desperate for some Naruto videos, then check out my YouTube page and visit my favourites list. I have a ton of Naruto videos in there and loads of other stuff too, some of which you're bound to find interesting.

I'll be back next week with my views on the latest manga chapter. Here's hoping it's a good'un!

My Heroes

2006-10-26T21:47:00.000+01:00

Hello, whoever you are! Welcome to another update.

*~*Chapter 329 Spoilers*~*

Quite frankly, it was fantastic. Seriously, if I loved last week's chapter, then this week's is something I'm willing to marry and have lots of babies with.

We Found Out The Objective Of The Akatsuki Organization.
And it's only fucking world domination! How awesome is that? I mean, gosh ... the world being ruled by nine psychotic bishies? Akatsuki FTW! We finally have confirmation that the Leader's earlier words "our objective ... to aquire the Kyuubi and everything else" were actually literal.

Their plan is so huge, so awesome, so genius. It's actually freakin' complicated! Which is a hell of a lot better than the "grab the beasts and let's break some heads" plan I had expected.

Akatsuki have got to be my favourite villains ever. Forget Orochimaru's shitty little objective to learn all jutsu and see things move; Akatsuki have got it all figured out and take the threat of world domination to a whole new level.

They joined the organization with the promise of their heart's desires:

Kakuzu --- Lots o' money
Hidan ---- A captive audience for his sermons
Kisame -- A ban on shark-hunting
Itachi ---- Little brothers to traumatize
Sasori ---- To become a real boy
Deidara -- To open an exploding art school
Zetsu ----- Save the rainforests
BlueHair - A new range of hair products
Leader --- Sit on an imperious throne in the shadows

I guess Orochimaru quit when he found out that the other members weren't going to let him set up a whore house of little boys.

Hidan is officially the most badass member. He showed the Akatsuki Leader extreme disrespect. The best part is that the cocky little bastard can't be killed, so he has nothing to fear from bad-mouthing the Leader. It should be clear to all of us by now that Hidan is loyal only to his religion of Jashin and despises the worship people shower over money.

Hidan is acting as the same kind of n00b Naruto is for Team Kakashi. He needs things spelled out for him, for the benefit of us readers at home.

Oh yeah, Naruto's got a plan for how to develop his new jutsu. Seriously though, until Naruto's facing off against an Akatsuki member, I'm not going to be interested in him. Gomen, my dear Naruto. My love for Naruto is as strong as ever but because I love Akatsuki as well I can't wait to see them meet again.

It seems like it will happen soon too. Six days until the Nibi is sealed... It's possible that Naruto could have completed his jutsu by then. Maybe there is a possibility that he could save Yugito, or at least arrive in time to see her die and then get very pissed off. Still, we have no idea how and where Naruto's next encounter with Akatsuki will be. I wonder if they'll come to him, or he to them.

We got to see the silhouette of the unknown blue-haired member. I'm now certain that it's a girl.

It's all so brilliant. The story is getting so damn good, all of a sudden. Next chapter will probably be where Konoha finds out about Asuma's death. It should be a good one.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

I've been reminiscing with Team 7 for the past week. Ah, for those good old days when Team 7 was orange, pink and navy blue. Yes, I miss those days when Naruto and Sasuke were actually friends.

Of course, I love how everything is going and I realise that having Sasuke leave Konoha behind certainly added a huge new dimension to the story ... still, it would be nice if one day Team 7 could be together again. The below manga page portrays what I really love about Team 7 - the love, the pain and the rivalry.

I set aside a few minutes to write a fanfic based around Team 7. Actually, it's more of an insight into the characters, from Sakura's POV.
Title: My Heroes
Warnings: Part Two Spoilers
Summary: A One-Shot from Sakura's POV describing her feelings for Naruto and Sasuke.
Alt. Archive: FanFiction.Net
Hope you enjoy! It's my best One-Shot so far, methinks.

Anyways, I'll be seeing you again next Thursday, with another update here at the Nest.
Peace out!

Team Ten

2006-10-20T12:02:00.000+01:00

Late update due to the lateness of the release of chapter 328. But now it's here, I can fill this post with sweet spoilers!

*~*Naruto Manga Chapter 328 Spoilers*~*

Yup, it was sad. I can only imagine how sad the episode of that chapter will be, with 'Sadness and Sorrow' or 'Grief and Sorrow' playing in the background. Didn't make me cry, it takes certain things to make me cry, but god it was sad. In fact, I can't believe he's gone! o_O

The Fallen Cigarette

Team Ten have lost their Jounin instructor! There's no more smoking Asuma! Damn... Only thing left to do now is save his body from being taken into the bounty station by Kakuzu.

I know I said I didn't want a chapter of hospital angst as Asuma recovered. But this angst was more than acceptable. Kishimoto did a fine job with the unseen flashbacks to fill in the gaps we hadn't seen of Team Ten. We've finally seen some actual development on the supporting characters, who up to now have been neglected in Part Two.

I have to say, I was 50/50 on the whole Asuma-will-die thing. Even after last week's chapter where it was found that Asuma was still alive, I was still unsure as to how long he'd live for. On the one hand, he could've been killed immediately, end of story. But in retrospect, it seems only right that he had time to say some last words to his team.

Still no idea who "King" is, though maybe that's because I'm being a little dense. It could be that Asuma and Kurenai are having a baby ... or it could be any number of other things. I guess we shall wait and see.

I wonder how everyone else will take the news. Kakashi and Kurenai will understandably be really upset. What about Naruto? He will know he is (maybe) the reason Hidan and Kakuzu are coming to Konoha, and know that Asuma died in an attempt to keep the Akatsuki away from him.

Everyone in Konoha is going to want some major revenge on Akatsuki. Next chapter looks interesting too:

I wonder if there'll be a funeral. I don't expect they hold those big, whole village funerals for just any Shinobi, but maybe there'll be an exception for Asuma.

And when the hell are all of Naruto's friends going to find out that he is the reason Akatsuki are coming to Konoha? It has to happen sooner or later. Of course, Hidan and Kakuzu may be after a different Jinchuuriki, who's to say Naruto isn't still Itachi and Kisame's assignment?

Next chapter will probably be another sad one, or perhaps an Akatsuki chapter. As usual, we have to wait another week for the next piece of the story. What a sad and reflective week it will be, I will never look at Asuma in the same way. Rest In Peace, Asuma-sensei.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

As usual, I have some stuff to share this week. And I am determined not to rant about fillers never ending, because it's troublesome and you can get more than enough of filler rants over on Naruto Forums.

If you're dying for some yaoi-flavoured Naruto crack, check out Chapter 97 Mistranslation (aka Gaara's Porn Star Past) by 7dragon_zodiac. It is definitely the funniest mistranslated chapter I've seen, though I haven't seen many. There should be more!

My friend Sasha is obsessed with DeiTobi. She linked me to this adorable little flash movie last week - Tobi got slapped by rubydawg.

Well, it's my half-term holiday week now, so I'll have all week to explore the fandom. Heh heh! I'm thinking of starting work on a Naruto Links List, which will be an extra post. Anyway, I'll be back with another post next week, right now I'm off to NF to read theories. Later!

Sasuke's Confession

2006-10-12T19:22:00.000+01:00

Welcome to my blog, and another Thursday update!

*~*Ch327 Spoilers*~*

Chapter 327 was brilliant, thus it certainly seemed too short. I loved every page of this chapter, and I just wished to God it wouldn't end. I am certainly dying for next week's chapter; obviously I'm becoming impatient.

Eww...

The back-up team's rescue of the supporting Chuunins and Shikamaru was pretty cool. Actually, when I first saw those crows flying out of nowhere, I thought they were all in an Itachi genjutsu!

I'm equal parts pleased and irked that Asuma is still alive. There's still more we need to know about him and Kurenai, so it's good that he has a greater chance of survival now. But it is also a bit disappointing that there wasn't a dramatic character death. A death is just the thing we need to start taking Akatsuki and the other villains more seriously. It would add the right tone to the story.

It was brilliant that we got to see the Akatsuki Leader again.
EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to talk about AL's face! Seeing the bottom half of his face sure has caused a lot of shock. After all, from the picture it appears that he has some kind of beard and nose piercings ... or maybe they're holes. Whatever. Either way, he looks pretty darn funky. So now we know he has ginger hair, black dots on either side of his nose, and maybe a beard. He's truly a freak worthy of Akatsuki!

I'm hoping for another chapter with a full Biju extraction. I so do love to see all my favourites villains together. Heh heh!

Next week we'll probably just get another boring 'in-the-hospital' chapter, with loads of worried faces taking up every damn page. I could be wrong though, something really cool or amazing could happen. Who knows?

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Want to hear something funny and totally cute? Sasuke's Revamped Confession by naturalgrace uses the music from Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, and the love confession by Sugiyama Noriaki, Sasuke's voice actor.
You can download the original confession here - :::OH! NARUTO NIPPON::: - scroll down to #13. It also has the translation there. By the way, before any newbs get the wrong idea, Sasuke never says this in the anime, his VA was asked to do it on a Japanese radio show.

To be honest, I've been neglecting SasuNaru recently. I'm in full ItaNaru-fangirl mode. However, I have found a very awesome SasuNaru fanfic - Sticks and Stones by lunabasketcase. Yes, it's an AU, highschool fic, but give it a chance! Trust me, you won't regret it. This story really draws you into the world the writer has created for the characters, and it has some truly touching moments. It's also totally badass! After all, you don't see cage-fighting in many fanfics.

My current desktop by Crystal-EXE

I'll be back again next week. Here's hoping for some serious Akatsuki awesomeness in the next chapter. See ya!

By the way, there are major spoilers in the comments on this post.

Index of Manga

2006-10-05T16:21:00.000+01:00

I am aware that chapter 326 was released yesterday, instead of the usual Thursday. However, I couldn't be bothered composing an update last night, I was really tired for some reason.

*~*Spoilers for Chapter 326*~*

This chapter shocked me. Things actually happened! Like, some real action for the first time since the Naruto - Sasuke reunion.

To be honest, I was expecting the entire chapter to be comprised of Kakuzu carrying Hidan's head, Hidan reattaching his head, and Team Asuma staring on in horror, perhaps planning a hasty escape. Instead, those things happened in the first six pages, and then the whole chapter erupted into violent action!

And just look at this:-

That is the face of a doomed man.

Personally, I believe that Asuma's death is more likely than his survival, this time. Not only have all the clues been pointing to this, but it would be rather lame if Kishimoto were to save him twice in the space of a few chapters.

Then again, I do have a feeling that we're about to have something wholly unexpected sprung on us pretty soon. Surely Kishimoto can't go back to the boring training chapters, if events like this have taken place.

Yea gods, a week is too long to wait for the next chapter...

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

I have plenty to share this week.

First, here's something for those of us who've been keeping up-to-date on the Naruto manga - Friend in Tobi - an adorable and hilarious flash movie by Puffsagain. It's about Deidara and his clingy new partner (Tobi) to the Toy Story song "You've Got a Friend in Me". It also features the other Akatsuki members briefly.

A page from the manga

I found another uselful website, like last week's Worg Den! This time it's an Index of Naruto Manga. You can read all of the chapters so far on this site, and it's easy to find a page for reference. It's kept updated, and is definitely useful for reading the older chapters. After all, who would want to download all of them? I've a whole new appreciation of the manga after reading several of the earliest chapters here.

I found a great Japanese fansite, with loads of Naruto and Akatsuki fanart:-

Click on on the image to view the site

This site has actually helped me to discover the joys of SasoNaru, KisaNaru and DeiNaru.

Thus, I found myself a DeiNaru fanfic - The Thing About Art by Letta. It's well-written, funny, and definitely worth a read. It's a one-shot so you can read it in one sitting.

By the way, I've updated the AMV Archive, and it now has a banner, which will appear in the side-bar. -->

I'm hoping fillers will be over before Christmas, it would be an even greater season for me if the Part Two anime finally began... Though I'm not optimistic. But here's a bit of optimism for you - it's a good thing that the fillers are lasting so long. It means that we'll have less need of stupid filler arcs during Part Two.

Come back again next week. In the mean time, be sure to check out the AMV Archive and my Fic Rec List; they've both been recently updated.

Better Late than Never

2006-09-29T18:24:00.000+01:00

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

2006-09-21T16:54:00.000+01:00

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

2006-09-14T19:42:00.000+01:00

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!

2006-09-07T17:46:00.000+01:00

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.

What Did I Miss?

2006-08-31T22:45:00.000+01:00

I'm back from my holiday, and I'm afraid that I was sorely disappointed in the lack of manga action. I was expecting to miss something hugely awesome. Instead, I came home, downloaded the chapters eagerly, only to find that nothing had friggin' happened!

Expect a super-long synopsis in this update. Sorry, but it's been awhile.

**Chapter 319, 320 & 321 Spoilers!**

So what did happen? Sakura and Naruto angsted over their lost pal (Sasuke) again. Naruto cut the waterfall with wind chakra, motivated to keep trying by his memories of Sasuke. It was all very sweet, if a little rushed.

Kurenai had a whole page to herself for some unknown reason. She's probably going to pull a Temari and 'sense' that Asuma's in danger. Although she may actually have a significant role in upcoming events... I rather doubt it though.

Naruto ate ramen at Ichiraku's with Yamato and Kakashi. They were clumsily served by two bumbling idiots from the 3rd Naruto Movie. It's obvious that Kishimoto was paid to add them in. I guess not too many people are keen on watching the 3rd filler movie, after a year of filler episodes.

Hidan and Kakuzu arrived at a bounty station. They entered through a secret door in a smelly old toilet. Reminded me of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets... An ugly, and suspiciously filler-looking character took the body of Chiriku off their hands. Hidan couldn't give a shit, and just wanted to leave the bounty station to get away from the stink of rotting flesh and piss.

All in all, the toilet scene was the only real highlight of chapter 320. I mean, c'mon! Who can take Hidan and Kakuzu seriously after seeing that?

Chapter 321, started off rather boring. Kakashi giving Naruto another of those 'complicated explanations'. I was almost yawning, and then it suddenly got interesting. So Kakashi knows the Rasengan. I'd always wondered if he did, actually. It seemed rather strange that the 'copy-ninja' wouldn't even know the famous technique of his sensei.

Naruto was suddenly confident that having mastered both 'nature manipulation' and 'form manipulation', he would be able to create a new technique incorporating the two very soon. Alas, this is not so... (Although we all wish to god it was so the training could end and Naruto could kick some butt already!) But Naruto will have to face many more grueling chapters of hard training, as he attempts to fuse wind chakra with form manipulated chakra. A feat, by the way, that even the Yondaime Hokage could never achieve; granted he died young.

Oh yeah, and Kakashi's expectations of Naruto have risen once again. Now it's not just "You may even surpass me", it's the more impressive; "I believe the one to surpass the Yondaime Hokage will be you."

Geez, what's Kishimoto up to anyway? We haven't even seen Naruto's 'that jutsu' yet ... if it even exists. And as far as I know, after three years with Jiraiya, Naruto still has to create a Kage Bunshin, or use both hands, to form a Rasengan. If this is so, how long is it going to take for him to merge freaking wind chakra into a Rasengan? Assuming a windy Rasengan is what Naruto is striving for. Either way, it's clear that we're in for long wait.

Personally, I kind of wish that this kind of training could be done behind the scenes. Like the time-skip training (in which it seems Naruto learned practically nothing, ironically). But I suppose this is all necessary. Hey, as long as it doesn't go on for too long, I'll be okay with it. I'm just anxious for some real action already!

As it is, things seem to be moving slowly. Too damn slowly!

**End of Spoilers**

While I was away my good friend Sasha did this adorable picture of chibi Kyuubi Naruto for me. He's just so cute ... and at the same time strangely scary... It's those eyes!

http://sasha2999.deviantart.com/

Sasha was also kind enough to save me the link to this very hilarious Putfile of the sound of Naruto and Sasuke having sex - Naruto and Sasuke Should Lock Their Doors. I've gotta tell you, if you haven't heard it yet then you are really missing out! Listen to the whole thing. Oh, and be sure that your either very much alone, or you're wearing headphones, because... Well, you get it. Heh heh!

I frequent the Rahly_Furverted LJ Community, there is some truly spectacular art there ... And a whole lot of it is slashy! ^^ Last time I went, I was amazed (and I mean really it) to see a beautiful picture of Yondaime and baby Naruto by Red_Rahl. There is just so much power in this picture. But you have to see it to believe it - Precious to Me

Whew! That's it for this week. I'll be back again next week with another update with my opinion of chapter 322 and more... Perhaps a good healthy rant on something. Heh heh!

Later!

Ja Ne!

2006-08-11T02:07:00.000+01:00

It's A Summer-Themed Slideshow!

Disclaimer: None of this art is mine. It's just for sharing/viewing.

There's no manga chapter this week, so we're all a little peeved. On top of that, I'm going away for two weeks starting tomorrow. This means, of course, that I won't be updating here until after the 26th of August.

Avs by me, art not, use freely.

In case you're interested, my family and I are travelling to the North of England, the Lake District, where we'll be staying in a luxury caravan on a farm. I've been there many times before, so I know I'll have fun. ^^

Avs by me, art not, use freely.

When I return, I'll compose an update on the latest manga chapters as soon as I can. I'm going to miss my fandom, but some time away from it will probably do me some good. Hopefully, there'll be plenty of shiny new fanart and fanfiction awaiting my return. But for now...

ItaNaru Fansite

2006-08-05T00:23:00.001+01:00

Update: 03/05/08
Some decent ItaNaru links for any visitors to this page:
My ItaNaru photobucket album
A Japanese ItaNaru fansite
Fanfiction.Net ItaNaru Community
Fanfiction.Net Akai Kitsune Community
LiveJournal ItaNaru Rantplace

I apologise for the extreme lateness of this 'Thursday' update. My Internet connection was non-existant for most of Thursday, and I had my hair dyed a shocking red. o_0;; On top of that I had to move all of my stuff out of my bedroom yesterday. And today I've been decorating. So I've been busy.
Anyway, moving on...

**Spoilers for Ch318 of the Naruto Manga**

I really loved this chapter.

The training method that Kakashi devised for Naruto seems to be working brilliantly. It's practical, doesn't require much thought-power. Perfect for our fox-boy. By slashing the leaf in two with his wind chakra, he's taken the first step to mastering chakra nature manipulation. Next he'll be slashing a waterfall, after that he'll be ready to use wind chakra in combat, according to Kakashi.

This'll make for a good KakaNaru icon! Heh heh!

Of course, what really made chapter 318 so great was the hilarious Deidara/Tobi interaction. Poor Tobi keeps jokingly provoking Deidara into an explosive rage - literally.

It also turns out the the Sanbi wasn't a Jinchuuriki. It was merely a Biju, and a dumb one at that, unlike the Kyuubi. Thus it lacked the capacity to use it's power to its full potential, and was easily brought down.

I noticed how Kishi kept switching from Naruto's training to the Akatsuki rather abruptly. This is probably to emphasize the feeling of impending trouble. Akatsuki are getting close, they're progressing with their mission to collect the Biju swiftly. Naruto will once again be a target very soon.

It may just be my scanlation, but this just cracked me up.

Hidan and Kakuzu seem as argumentative as ever. Seriously, those guys just need to admit their deep feelings for each other and jump in the sack together! If nothing else, perhaps it'd calm that air of potent sexual frustration around those two.

Finally, the chapter ended on a more serious note. It turns out that Asuma and Shikamaru are a part of the "Twenty Small Brigades", and are going Akatsuki hunting. More specifically; Hidan and Kakuzu hunting. So the hunters are about to become the hunted. Oh, the sweet irony!

Overall, this chapter is the funniest in a long time. While I didn't get my angst, the Akatsuki hilarity more than made up for it. I hope the next chapter will be as good.

Incidentally, I've heard that there will be no manga chapter released next week.

**End of Spoilers**

This week I was going to do a rant on pairings and the typical type of bad fanfiction that is written about them. But I'm in too good a mood to rant effectively, so you'll just have to settle for a happy post. ^^

I've been going through a big SasuNaru stage recently. But I've finally grown a little bored with it, and have retreated back into ItaNaru, and my other favourite pairings, for my entertainment.

After searching unsuccessfully for any new ItaNaru fanart, I told my good friend Sasha about the lack of ItaNaru fansites. She did a search, and found a Japanese ItaNaru fansite .

An important thing to remember is that most Japanese fansites have affiliates. In other words; if you check the "links" section of each fansite, you are liable to find links to many other similar websites. So be sure to do so! I've found so many fansites through doing this.

Just so you know, I'm going away on holiday on Friday the 11th of August. I'll be away for two weeks, so I'll be skipping a couple of updates here. I'll try to cook up something special for when I return. Since there will be no manga chapter next week, I'll do a special update with a Summer Slideshow on Thursday.

Later!

Akatsuki Organization

2006-07-27T15:42:00.000+01:00

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

2006-07-20T22:09:00.000+01:00

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

2006-07-14T04:08:00.000+01:00

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!