[FINAL CHAPTER] 700: Uzumaki Naruto!!!
Naruto manga
1999 - 2014
Fifteen years. And what a run it's been. I will be the first to admit that this manga has plenty of flaws. Once or twice in the past, I've actually stopped and asked myself why I was still reading it. And the answer to that question is that I'm attached to this manga. I've grown attached enough to these characters that I wanted to know how their story ended. And aside from that, I've met many wonderful people through this fandom. I may criticize it, but I'm glad I decided to stick it out until the very end. (Well, the end of the manga anyway. Aside from Naruto: The Last, Kishi plans to cash in by making a mini-series about the main characters' children soon.)
The final chapter is an epilogue set an unspecified number of years in the future, and after the upcoming movie. Essentially the chapter serves to introduce the main characters' children so we'll know who they are in the spin-off as well as giving us a small glimpse into some of the rookies' occupations. Tenten for instance, runs a weapons shop (and complains about the lack of business due to peace - more on that in the commentary), while Shino is a teacher at the Academy and still doesn't get to finish his sentences. Oh, and Naruto's Hokage at last, but I'm sure we were all expecting that.
Shino, complete with cyberpunk goggles.
Naruto's son Boruto (or Bolt, but I can't call him that without thinking of that Pixar movie about the dog) is a chip off the old block: the first thing he does when school's out is plan a prank. And not just a prank, but a prank when Konoha is hosting an important Kage meeting. He tries to rope the other kids into joining him, but they're having none of it.
Boruto.
Meanwhile, Hinata visits Neji's grave with daughter Himawari.
Hinata & Himawari.
Boruto sulks and heads off to perform this ultimate prank himself, watched from a distance by the disapproving figure of Sarada, Sasuke and Sakura's daughter. As it turns out, the ultimate prank is paint graffiti on the faces of Hokage Mountain. Boruto is resentful of the fact that his father is always so busy as the Hokage. After catching his son the act, Naruto apologizes to his son for having to divide his time between the village and his family and asks his son to endure it, since he's a ninja too.
Uchiha Sarada. (And no, Sasuke and Sakura didn't name their daughter while hungry. Sarada is the Japanese name of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom and nature. Not salad.)
Sarada goes home to her mother, who is cleaning their house. Sarada complains about Boruto being stupid, but then admits she can sort of understand him, since she also craves her father's attention. We then see Sasuke in an unknown location, apparently responding to his daughter's cry of "SHANNARO!" with his Psychic Dad Powers.
Sakura welcomes Sarada home.
Sasuke channels the ghost of Madara's hair.
The chapter closes with Naruto attending the Kage meeting, and a view of Konoha which has...expanded in recent years, to say the least.
Naruto, living the dream.
Skyscrapergakure?
Naruto & fatherhood: He seems to have become the Hokage only recently, which pleases me. Naruto prior to this chapter was not mature enough to be a village leader, so it's good to see he took a few years to become more of an adult. I've seen other fans criticize him as a father, saying that he should know better than to neglect Boruto when he himself was neglected as a child. But Naruto is essentially the Ninja President, so he's going to busy, regardless of whether they are at peace or not. One chapter is not really enough to judge Naruto as a parent, but Boruto's attention-seeking behaviour makes it clear he feels neglected, and specifically by his father whom he no doubt idiolizes, because otherwise he would just seek attention from Hinata. (There is also a bit of author insertion going on here, since Kishimoto said in an interview that he was so busy drawing manga all the time he felt he was neglecting his kids. So that apology is directed from the author to his own children.)
Sasuke & fatherhood: What is he doing so far from home? A mission? Or is he still seeking atonement by wandering the wilds? I don't like the second option, because if this were the case then someone should sit him down and tell him to stop shirking his responsibilities.
Sakura & the role of housewife: This has also been a major point of contention among fans (especially angry shippers of Naruto/Sakura). They feel Sakura has been "reduced" to "just a housewife." But in my opinion that's unfair. First of all, cleaning your house does not make you a housewife, it makes you someone who isn't a slob. For all we know, it could be Sakura's day off. But even if Sakura is a stay at home mother, there is nothing inherently wrong with that as long as it was her choice. BUT, I do appreciate that being a housewife/mother is the dominant role for married women in Japanese culture, so to a lot of people it will seem problematic. Kishimoto could've chosen to show Sarada talking to Sakura at the hospital (or wherever else she might work). That he chose to show her at home cleaning could be taken as commentary on Japanese gender roles - i.e. she's married so logically she must be a stay at home housewife. Personally I'm sticking with the "it's her day off" interpretation because I prefer it.
The other kids: I wonder if the boy shown with Lee is his biological son or if he found a boy remarkably like him the way Gai did. If he is Lee's son, I suppose we're meant to assume Tenten is his mother? Anyway, out of the InoShikChou kids I like ChouChou the best. She seems very confident in herself and not self-conscious about her size which is a good message to send.
Gai & Kakashi: I didn't mention them above because I didn't want to reproduce the whole chapter in pictures, but I just love their friendship so much. Also, I think that Kakashi must have had a very productive role as Hokage, given the extent of the cityscape behind the mountain. Which brings me to my next point.
Modernization: Personally I wasn't too keen on all these skyscrapers and laptops everywhere as it's not an aesthetic I care for. The inconsistent technology was always present in the series, but it was never pervasive before. I appreciate Kishi trying to show that the world has progressed, but I don't think the aggressive industrialization was the only way to do that.
Tenten's comment: I feel like this is (or should be) a harbinger of future doom. If you remember the whole reason Suna tried to invade Konoha during the Chuunin Exams was that they were struggling economically.
The unanswered questions: This chapter was essentially big mass of fluff without too much substance. But I can't help but wonder about where Orochimaru went, among other things. Oh and I'm still annoyed no one spoke out about the truth of the Uchiha massacre.