Moar nerdity
Chapter 600 of Naruto was...expected. I mean, the amount of ground that 17 pages can cover is always extremely limited, which is why I prefer to let the manga get a bit ahead before I catch up with it.
I've been browsing the Kakashi tag on Tumblr and it's pretty funny how many fans are all worked up over this plot twist. There are the hard-core Kakashi fans who are pissed that Kishimoto is torturing their beloved character like this, and over such a seemingly petty reason ("you let Rin die" is apparently justification for trying to destroy the world, though I read a nice analysis about how it's not about her death, it's more about the fact that death causes pain to those still living and there's nothing that can be done about it and who wants to live in a world like that?). As a Kakashi fan, I'm quite excited about the new developments because 1.) we know that Kakashi will have to play a major role in this arc, so we're guaranteed he'll get a lot of "screen time" and 2.) yay angst! And it's so perfect. It's a well known fact that Kakashi has suffered from a tremendous amount of guilt over what happened to his teammates and he hasn't let it go in all those years. Then, all of a sudden, the person you've been mourning for 20ish years turns up alive and hating your guts?!? We've just boarded the non-stop angst bus to Angstville.
Then there are some who are pissed that this is the worse plot-twist ever. To which I say, whatever. It definitely has potential and depends on how Kishimoto handles it (and I'm not sure I have much faith in him, to be honest. If it were Oda, that'd be a different story). Personally, I quite love these HUGE, improbable plot twists. I mean, go big, or go home, don't do things halfway, etc. Subtlety is all well and good, but this is an ACTION manga. And shit has really just hit the fan.
As for Tobi's motivations, I'm afraid that I really don't give a shit just how "lame" a villain's motives are. The more evil the better. I love over-the-top villains (eg Moriarty, Ukoku, Frieza, Luther of the Rogues, The Master, etc) and I believe in being evil for evil's sake. My dad and I love to quote Luther's "I just like doing stuff like that" and when an author tries really hard to give a reason for why a villain acts the way he does, I can't help but feel it's an excuse. So, yeah! A dude gets half crushed while saving his friend, gives away his eye and then, 20ish years later comes back for revenge? Bring it on!
It seems like I have very primitive tastes in plot devices, but that whole argument becomes moot when I point out that I'm talking about Naruto. I truly am 13 years old.
To switch topics, at home this past weekend, I mentioned to my brother over dinner that I used to be younger than the One Piece cast. Now...not so much. He thought they were 21 because they all drink. Because, y'know, pirates are avid law-abiding folk...
On the topic of One Piece, I read volume 13 last night. God, I love Arlong Park. It's interesting just how much difference only having 5 main crew members makes in the story-telling and pacing. I feel like I can't read the manga now because it's just so crowded with characters that I care about, so I'd probably have to watch the anime if I wanna catch up. But still, last night reassured me that Oda still owns my soul.
I've been browsing the Kakashi tag on Tumblr and it's pretty funny how many fans are all worked up over this plot twist. There are the hard-core Kakashi fans who are pissed that Kishimoto is torturing their beloved character like this, and over such a seemingly petty reason ("you let Rin die" is apparently justification for trying to destroy the world, though I read a nice analysis about how it's not about her death, it's more about the fact that death causes pain to those still living and there's nothing that can be done about it and who wants to live in a world like that?). As a Kakashi fan, I'm quite excited about the new developments because 1.) we know that Kakashi will have to play a major role in this arc, so we're guaranteed he'll get a lot of "screen time" and 2.) yay angst! And it's so perfect. It's a well known fact that Kakashi has suffered from a tremendous amount of guilt over what happened to his teammates and he hasn't let it go in all those years. Then, all of a sudden, the person you've been mourning for 20ish years turns up alive and hating your guts?!? We've just boarded the non-stop angst bus to Angstville.
Then there are some who are pissed that this is the worse plot-twist ever. To which I say, whatever. It definitely has potential and depends on how Kishimoto handles it (and I'm not sure I have much faith in him, to be honest. If it were Oda, that'd be a different story). Personally, I quite love these HUGE, improbable plot twists. I mean, go big, or go home, don't do things halfway, etc. Subtlety is all well and good, but this is an ACTION manga. And shit has really just hit the fan.
As for Tobi's motivations, I'm afraid that I really don't give a shit just how "lame" a villain's motives are. The more evil the better. I love over-the-top villains (eg Moriarty, Ukoku, Frieza, Luther of the Rogues, The Master, etc) and I believe in being evil for evil's sake. My dad and I love to quote Luther's "I just like doing stuff like that" and when an author tries really hard to give a reason for why a villain acts the way he does, I can't help but feel it's an excuse. So, yeah! A dude gets half crushed while saving his friend, gives away his eye and then, 20ish years later comes back for revenge? Bring it on!
It seems like I have very primitive tastes in plot devices, but that whole argument becomes moot when I point out that I'm talking about Naruto. I truly am 13 years old.
To switch topics, at home this past weekend, I mentioned to my brother over dinner that I used to be younger than the One Piece cast. Now...not so much. He thought they were 21 because they all drink. Because, y'know, pirates are avid law-abiding folk...
On the topic of One Piece, I read volume 13 last night. God, I love Arlong Park. It's interesting just how much difference only having 5 main crew members makes in the story-telling and pacing. I feel like I can't read the manga now because it's just so crowded with characters that I care about, so I'd probably have to watch the anime if I wanna catch up. But still, last night reassured me that Oda still owns my soul.