Naruto ch494

Feed him to the fishes!!

「 494 – Motoi 」Bee and Motoi’s dark past is now told to us in excruciating detail (well not really) and it’s like watching paint dry. Motoi is the most boring character you’ll ever meet and Bee is just a glorified rapping Naruto. Anywho, will Naruto find the answer from their past?

Naruto「 ナルト 」

The only bright spot in an otherwise forgettable chapter

Chapter 494 – Motoi
Read Online @ MANGASTREAM

Summary: The chapter begins with a flashback to Motoi’s past, with the current Raikage, the third Raikage and another ninja trying their best to subdue a raging Hachibi. The jinchuurikis of old were never good enough to control the beast so it would occasionally go berserk and wreck havoc in the village. The third raikage manages to successfully trap the beast back inside it’s sealing pot but in the crossfire, Motoi’s father was killed during the ruckus. Motoi’s father died when both Bee and Motoi were 5 years old. They were great friends but not long after the latest incident, it was decided that Bee would be the next container for the bijuu. During the last sealing ceremony, the past jinchuuriki had died as the bijuu was pulled out of his body.

Motoi believed that no one would be able to ever control the bijuus and that trying to will just end up with more people dead. Motoi grew wary of Bee’s ever-present smile and he convinced himself that he would be the one to gain revenge for his father. One fateful day, a covered-up Motoi attempts at Bee’s life from behind but Bee manages to block of the stab. To his surprise however, instead of fighting back Bee extends his fist as a way of greeting. Even now Motoi is convinced that somehow Bee knew it was him all along. His hatred slowly dissipated as he watches Bee attempt to control the beast but this was not the case with the village. He was detested and shunned and as a Jinchuuriki, Motoi thought that Naruto knew this feeling well. In the end of his story, Naruto goes off to be alone for a while to gather his thoughts about their situations. Everyone now trusts Bee and Gaara as jinchuurkis but deep down, Naruto is not sure if Konoha sees him in the same way, leading to some lingering feelings that fuel his dark self.

Out of nowhere though, the squid had appeared again and grabbed Motoi, attempting to eat him. Naruto and Yamato try their best to free Motoi from the tentacle’s grasps but all of a sudden, Bee appears in full bijuu form to save Motoi once again. After successfully defeating the squid, Motoi knows now that Bee knew about the past. In typical Bee fashion however, he against extends his fist to Motoi, which he now happily responds to.

My Thoughts: If last week’s chapter was majorly mediocre, this week’s was just utter balls. Everything about this chapter reeks of a rehash and it’s actually pretty much the same storyline to Naruto’s past. The whole “jinchuurkis lead a tough life” is really played out at this point and that particular story line is starting to sound like a broken record (if it didn’t already). Motoi was also very boring and his fuel for hatred (although understandable) came out as half-assed and underdeveloped. At least with Bee and Motoi now amending their pasts, we can be sure that Motoi will now be nothing more than a side character with no possibility of extended panel time from now on. He pretty much screwed his chance up to rebuild his character in this chapter since his attempt at murder itself was pathetic. I was hoping for something more epic but it was pretty much just a carbon copy of Sakura’s failed attempt at Sasuke’s life, this time without the added fact that he’s Sakura. They might as well just left him to be fed off to the squid but Kishi was always gonna go for that emotional reunion of two friends so sadly that was a no-go.

The good thing from this chapter I guess is the realization of Naruto that he hasn’t actually felt accepted by the village deep inside. This was foreshadowed when he first talked with the Dark Naruto but now that he’s aware of how he has that lingering feeling deep inside, he can work on slowly killing off his dark thoughts. I’m guessing that Motoi and Bee’s inspired story will have a play in this and he will try to trust the fact that the village is now on his side, much like the support that Bee and Gaara now have. Another thing I liked was how Bee acted through this whole ordeal. This shows the difference in character between him and Motoi and for him to smile through adversity like that, you gotta give him props. Even though I’m not too keen on his feeble attempts at rap, I have to respect him for going through all that.

Now that Naruto got his big epiphany, I’m hoping that he will defeat the evil Naruto at the start of the next chapter so we can get on to the next obstacle. With Bee now all buddy-buddy with Motoi once again, he might tag along for the ride with some words of wisdom for Naruto. The last thing we need right now is Motoi acting as his guide, using his tragic and woefully pathetic past as pointers and inspiration for Naruto. Plus, Bee and Naruto interacting on a more consistent basis may help build up my interest for this training arc once again. Here’s hoping that whatever tasks Naruto faces next, we will get to see Gai making an appearance as well. I’d love to see Kisame make some sort of reaction to seeing him and it would be a waste to only have him on the island just as a failsafe for Kisame’s inevitable party-crashing.

/ 4 Commentsleave a comment /

• kluxorious says:

  May 15, 2010

  It was the gayest chapter yet
  .-= kluxorious´s last blog ..Bleach: Chapter 403 =-.

  Reply
  • Bass says:

    May 17, 2010

    Naruto was actually WORSE than Bleach this week.

    Not really surprising but it is definitely worrying. Kishi must be running low on ideas

    Reply
• Kabitzin says:

  May 15, 2010

  I don't think the pain will end next chapter. Ugh, Kisame we need you!
  .-= Kabitzin´s last blog ..Naruto 494 =-.

  Reply
  • Bass says:

    May 17, 2010

    Yea, I don't know if the banter between Naruto and Bee will be enough to save this current task.

    We need some mad case of Gai right now, imagine him and Bee getting into an argument over youth and exuberance lol

    Reply