Shonen Beam

[scanlation by Binktopia]

Fairly average Jump cover despite the celebration of the milestone. Despite already knowing when Naruto began, it’s still surprising to reflect on eleven years of the series.

Madara wastes no time in taking back the Rinnegan. Unfortunately, that isn’t a segue into plot progression in this chapter; instead, we’re being treated to a flashback to finally put this trio to rest. While I appreciate knowing that we’ll be finished with these three for good, I have to question just how much was left unanswered as of last chapter. I don’t particularly dislike any of these characters, but I don’t feel they’re worth a full chapter postmortem flashback.

Of course Jiraiya wore a toad suit and forced his three students to do the same. Why wouldn’t he?

It's impossible not to miss him

Great couple pages of silent storytelling. The last few panels of page 11 are an example of Kishimoto making good use of the imagery he created within this same chapter.

The remaining pages dealing with the Amegakure trio are somehow simultaneously touching and out of place. Again, the imagery used is evocative, but it still feels as though devoting an entire chapter to these characters at this point in the story is counterproductive. Yes, this is the last sensible chance Kishimoto will have to do so, but even now it feels too detached from the original plot involving these characters.

Madara’s new mask looks pretty good. It’s an appropriate evolution of his previous mask. Zetsu is still around, playing the information expert, but most importantly, Kabuto is back in the picture. It’s no understatement to say that the enjoyment and legitimacy of much of the remaining plot relies entirely on the way in which Kabuto is used.

Final Flash: A suitable end to a what felt like a diversion from the main plot. The last few chapters have been enjoyable as a standalone read, but have felt awkward in context.