Shonen Beam

[chapter link]

A color cover full of characters I don’t like.

Don’t even think about eating Tonton. She’s far more interesting than any of those guys on the cover.

Okay, Naruto digging in to the bug stew right away did make me chuckle.

The Octopus is obviously Killerbee, and everyone with a hint of a brain synapse already knew Naruto would fight Sasuke. Great job, old frog.

If Kishimoto were to maintain character consistency since the beginning, Naruto would refuse to unlock the seal.

I liked Kabuto when he was the clever, intelligent, shady right-hand man. I’m not sure if I like this Kabuto. Also, is every death in Naruto for the purpose of a summon later in the series?

Final Flash: Next chapter will be pivotal in determining the quality of the end of the series.

I know this is not the first instance of technology in the series, so I’m not surprised to see monitors, but they feel horribly out of place.

Karin is slowly being reduced to yet another irrelevant girl to pine after Naruto, to no avail.

It’s nice to see all the side characters who are more interesting than Naruto and Sasuke, but it’s also frustrating to know that this is about the extent of their relevance for another 50 chapters.

Did Kakashi just get Hokage-blocked?

Final Flash: It’s difficult to go from endgame-type fight scenes to village camaraderie. This is okay for maybe a few chapters, but it can overstay its welcome quickly.

Did Sakura finally admit to herself that she’s useless? That’s quite the achievement.

Sasuke, continuing his descent into terrible villainy. Not in the “his actions are heinous” way, but the “this character is horribly written” way.

Sakura: Worse than useless. Actually a detriment to her own team.

I was just worrying about the lack of rap.

I don’t mind several Akatsuki members, but I really don’t care about Zetsu.

Oh wow. There’s a face we haven’t seen since… well, since the series was good with any reasonable measure of consistency.

Final Flash: Not looking forward to any of this Zetsu/Kisame/Bee business, but the last page could prove for an interesting future.

This week: Running straight at each other – the conclusion!

Ugh, now people are stepping in to stop actual action? And the only remotely notable fight left in the series is being delayed? Terrible.

Horrible, emo, fanfiction-fodder dialogue. Enough already.

Final Flash: A huge step backwards.

How many times are we going to have to see Naruto and Sasuke run straight at each other?

Sasuke has gone from angst-ridden youth (irritating but believable) to insane one-dimensional avenger (unacceptable). He and Madara are prime examples of shocking character devolution.

The only interesting character in this entire scenario is Kakashi, who actually has the cojones to do something. Of course he’s held back.

Really? Was there enough plot in this chapter to save Naruto’s ridiculous plan for next week?

Final Flash: Poor. For all the unnecessary exposition we’re getting, we better get a good fight out of this.