Naruto ch533 – Float like a Butterfly

I think the two week jump break has mellowed me a little. Unlike Kabitzin and Divine, I actually thought Naruto this week was pretty decent and this is coming from the guy who is always so negative about Kishi recycling old sequences. Hell, I even thought Bleach was tolerable and that hasn’t happened in years. Before I lose you for good though, I’ll try to jot down exactly why this week was actually good.

「 ナルト 533 – An Oath 」
Read Online @ SOMEMANGA

I hate sappy melodramatic stuff, I really do. And this chapter was choke full of it. It had three different flashbacks stuffed in it, all of differing emotional impact, and they all concerned a character that I really had no opinion of throughout the series: Chouji. I’ve always been tolerable of him as a character. He had always been seen as the power of Team 10 but because of this, I’ve viewed him as too one-dimensional. This magnified post-timeskip since we rarely see him anymore, at least not in the same light as his transformation in the Sasuke retrieval arc pre-timeskip.

If there's one thing to get from Chouji's ineptness, it's that it made these two into serviceable ninjas

Still, I actually thought that the dramatic stuff was executed pretty well. I enjoyed how his background was fleshed out more due to this and it really stamped down the idea that he is a big guy with a big heart, which sort of helped to ease the one-dimension-ness I perceived him as. Since Shikamaru and Ino are really quite stoic, this team needed the kind, passionate guy and I thought Chouji was the ideal person to fit the boots, even if he is a bit stereotypical. He has always been brought up as the emotionally unstable guy, even back then. While he may have grown in person, it’s just in his nature to care too much. You would think that he would have matured by now but we have to remember that it is a very delicate situation they find themselves in. Not many can find it in themselves to kill the man they look up to, and for someone with such a delicate and soft complexion like Chouji, it isn’t really that farfetched to see him act the way he did.

ASUMA uses TAUNT. But it's not very effective....

Another reason I think these flashbacks felt better in comparison to Hanzou is because of our familiarity to Chouji. We had seen him grow in the background for a while now. We’ve come to accept him as part of the family. I think this affected me more than I thought possible and while my heartstrings weren’t tugged in any way, it at least made this enjoyable and more importantly, believable. It shows another dynamic to the team, and after how calculative and methodical team 10 were in dismantling Kyuubi-Kinkaku, this was really needed to show that even the best thought out teams have problems in the face of certain situations. I will never know how it feels to be at war like these guys, but I can be damn sure that the moral ambiguity between killing a man and killing a mentor is very emotional. In a way, Chouji helped me consider things I never did. Put yourself in his shoes, with his background and his personality, and the situation will probably play out the same way.

Even so, it was very nice to see him snap out of it in the end. This plot has been recycled a ton of times already but when done right, it’s just done right. I really like a good old story of self redemption so hopefully this will end up as a good one. We haven’t seen the transformed version of Chouji in years and this is a great way to bring it back into the mix. I’m pretty sure next week will be full of badassery on his part and I hope it does some good in helping him rebuild his image among the people who didn’t like this chapter.

And all this coming from a guy who hates emotional shit. Mellow much?

/ 8 Commentsleave a comment /

• Kabitzin says:

  March 31, 2011

  Another reason I think these flashbacks felt better in comparison to Hanzou is because of our familiarity to Chouji.

  I think you have to accept that ALL of these zombie battle suck and will continue to suck. The Hanzo one was terrible, and this one is not looking great. When Chouza showed up that was really the last straw for me with Chouji. Like, how pissed off do you think Asuma is to see that Chouji STILL sucks. If I was in Chouji's shows I'd at least make my pimp hand real big and trap Asuma so he couldn't keep killing my teammates. Chouji pretty much never does any damage so why is he acting like he's gotta strike the killing blow? Chouji is almost always just the initial decoy.
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  • Bass says:

    March 31, 2011

    I always thought that Chouji was the finisher of the trio since he's the only one who can attack :O

    But yea, this arc hasn't been that great as a whole. I just thought in comparison, this one is much better than the sentimental crap they tried with Zabuza/Haku, and it's leaps and bounds better for me compared to Hanzou's flashbacks.

    I still have hope for Gaara's fight with the four kages. If there's anything that can save this arc, it's that one.
    My recent post Naruto ch533 – Float like a Butterfly

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• Renn says:

  March 31, 2011

  Kishi has been repeating the same story for years, but that's alright by me. Still, I thought Chouji's behavior frustrating and the fact that they concentrated on Chouji in this fight a little annoying. I always preferred Ino or Shikamaru.

  "I even thought Bleach was tolerable"

  Whaaaat? That's not just mellow. That's some hardcore drugs. o.0

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  • ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ says:

    April 1, 2011

    Telling you dude, the 2 week break has really done a number on my psyche.

    For some reason I feel sympathy for Chouji, a feeling I haven't had in years
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• Chiaki says:

  April 1, 2011

  This chapter was sooo booooring. Wake me up when the real action starts, please. :x

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  • ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ says:

    April 1, 2011

    Probably when Gaara goes up against the 4 kages.

    That better not disappoint
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    • Chiaki says:

      April 2, 2011

      Yeah, I can only hope that each Kage gets off atleast 2 trademark jutsus before they are killed off. >_<

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      • Bass says:

        April 2, 2011

        They will but I fear the only one who will get significant time is his dad. I really want to see what Muu is capable of though. And I hope Bee returns to face his own dad (either that or the current raikage will do just fine).
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