yokokurama
03-30-2011, 11:13 PM
Prepare for a read (if not then scroll down to a comparison of character motivations near the bottom of BEFORE and AFTER):
So after the time pass (end of Naruto Part 1/beginning of Naruto shippuden), the big question is what happens when naruto finds sasuke again? How will the encounter go?
There is a lot of tension because we know Sasuke's body will be consumed by Orochimaru and Naruto has made his speech to Jiraiya and Sakura that he will save Sasuke no matter what. Also Naruto still has a bit of the underdog shadow over him (although arguably Naruto=Sasuke in their battle at Valley of the End) cause he wasn't actually able to rescue Sasuke.
So Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato track down orochimaru then find Sasuke. We partly expect Sasuke is still interested in naruto, but instead Sai learns Sasuke couldn't give a rat's arse about Naruto. This increases the conflict since Naruto has trained so hard and given so much time into finding and defeating Sasuke.
What's more after all the effort and 2 years of training, Sasuke easily outclasses Naruto with his new moves. At this point all Sasuke really cares about is growing stronger to kill Itachi. All Naruto cares about is rescuing Sasuke.
With this major defeat Naruto questions whether or not he can still rescue Sasuke. Kakashi introduces the new training and he goes to work. It's tough, but we see his dedication and renewed energy into rescuing his old friend.
On and on it goes—Naruto learsn RasneShuriken. Meanwhile Sasuke defeats Itachi and this is where I think the peak passes.
The greatest tension was when Sasuke had the clear desire to kill Itachi. It was a 100% dedicated goal for Sasuke. Conflicting completely with Naruto's 100% dedication goal to rescue Sasuke.
Once Sasuke defeats Itachi I think you have to admit his goals become unclear. He arguably becomes a pawn of Madara and his new goal is to get revenge on the elders of the Leaf Village or something like that. It's suddenly introduced, but Sasuke has just learned the brother he hated for years was actually the good guy.
So he would be confused. He would question his next objective because the previous one, which he invested most of his life into was just undermined completely. Now Naruto's 100% goal of resucing Sasuke conflicts with Sasuke's goal of getting revenge on elders (which he should be only 50% dedicated to), so there is less tension.
When Sauske and Naruto do fight its not so much a fight as a quick skirmish. They don't really see the full extent of each other's powers and Sasuke definitely doesn't realize how hard Naruto worked to rescue him. And its unclear why Sasuke doesn't want to be rescued besides his general anger... Without a clear motivation, Sasuke's character becomes one-dimensional and he as a character can no longer appreciate Naruto's efforts.
Its not clear why so much Sasuke doesn't want to be friends anymore except that he is depressed and anti-social, which pale in comparison to his obsession to kill Itachi. He hates Naruto for not giving up on him...that's kind of wierd. Would you hate someone for not giving up on you? I might be a little annoyed, but I would also feel hopeful. You don't hate someone for wanting to help you.
So to get back to my main point, with Sasuke's objectives now unclear PLUS the whole war and Madara and Kabutorochimaru, the emotional battle between Sasuke and Naruto has become diluted. Sure it will be cool when they finally fight because they will use EMS and Sasonoo vs Rasenshuriken, Sage Mode, Nine Tails Cloak vs Kirin and Gamabunta vs Dark Chidori, but the whole motivation behind their battle is limited.
READ HERE IF YOU WANT MY CONCLUSIONS
It seems more about Naruto defeating Sasuke because he's a bad guy at this point than trying to save him. Sasuke's seems to have gone over the point of no return. If Naruto and Sasuke had a good all out fight before Sasuke defeats Itachi, but maybe Naruto already had Sage Mode then I think that would've been a lot more enjoyable. Their motivations would still be clear and fresh.
-Naruto is still desperately trying to save his friend that he has spent 2 years plus several more weeks (for SM and Rasenshuriken) training for
(Let's pretend this is before he defeats Pain, so the story would obviously be different—but it would mean that we aren't quite sure if Naruto has truly grown strong enough, so the tension is high)
-Sasuke wants to kill his brother, has been training his entire life for it, but Naruto is an obstacle, so he wants to kill him
Now according to wiki:
-"Naruto has finally given up in bringing Sasuke back as a citizen of the village, believing that words would no longer have any effect to allowing them to understand each other, and has resigned himself to fighting (and potentially killing) Sasuke to protect Konoha"
Oh...so he has to beat Sasuke because he's the bad guy. How interesting.
And we've seen Naruto defeat Pain, a "god", so we can assume he has a pretty good chance against Sasuke, even if the guy has EMS.
-Sasuke's motivation? "The only person still having some faith in him is Naruto. Sasuke, in response, abandoned his refusal to transplant Itachi's eyes into himself, in the hopes of destroying all that Naruto stands for with his full power, hating Naruto more than anything for refusing to give up on him."
Like I said before, not exactly logical. The only reason you would hate some for refusing to give up on you is if ur messed up in the head ie Evil
Naruto wants to defeat Sasuke cause he's dangerous. Evil Sasuke wants to kill Naruto cause he hates him. No emotional investment, so Kishimoto, why should I care?
So after the time pass (end of Naruto Part 1/beginning of Naruto shippuden), the big question is what happens when naruto finds sasuke again? How will the encounter go?
There is a lot of tension because we know Sasuke's body will be consumed by Orochimaru and Naruto has made his speech to Jiraiya and Sakura that he will save Sasuke no matter what. Also Naruto still has a bit of the underdog shadow over him (although arguably Naruto=Sasuke in their battle at Valley of the End) cause he wasn't actually able to rescue Sasuke.
So Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato track down orochimaru then find Sasuke. We partly expect Sasuke is still interested in naruto, but instead Sai learns Sasuke couldn't give a rat's arse about Naruto. This increases the conflict since Naruto has trained so hard and given so much time into finding and defeating Sasuke.
What's more after all the effort and 2 years of training, Sasuke easily outclasses Naruto with his new moves. At this point all Sasuke really cares about is growing stronger to kill Itachi. All Naruto cares about is rescuing Sasuke.
With this major defeat Naruto questions whether or not he can still rescue Sasuke. Kakashi introduces the new training and he goes to work. It's tough, but we see his dedication and renewed energy into rescuing his old friend.
On and on it goes—Naruto learsn RasneShuriken. Meanwhile Sasuke defeats Itachi and this is where I think the peak passes.
The greatest tension was when Sasuke had the clear desire to kill Itachi. It was a 100% dedicated goal for Sasuke. Conflicting completely with Naruto's 100% dedication goal to rescue Sasuke.
Once Sasuke defeats Itachi I think you have to admit his goals become unclear. He arguably becomes a pawn of Madara and his new goal is to get revenge on the elders of the Leaf Village or something like that. It's suddenly introduced, but Sasuke has just learned the brother he hated for years was actually the good guy.
So he would be confused. He would question his next objective because the previous one, which he invested most of his life into was just undermined completely. Now Naruto's 100% goal of resucing Sasuke conflicts with Sasuke's goal of getting revenge on elders (which he should be only 50% dedicated to), so there is less tension.
When Sauske and Naruto do fight its not so much a fight as a quick skirmish. They don't really see the full extent of each other's powers and Sasuke definitely doesn't realize how hard Naruto worked to rescue him. And its unclear why Sasuke doesn't want to be rescued besides his general anger... Without a clear motivation, Sasuke's character becomes one-dimensional and he as a character can no longer appreciate Naruto's efforts.
Its not clear why so much Sasuke doesn't want to be friends anymore except that he is depressed and anti-social, which pale in comparison to his obsession to kill Itachi. He hates Naruto for not giving up on him...that's kind of wierd. Would you hate someone for not giving up on you? I might be a little annoyed, but I would also feel hopeful. You don't hate someone for wanting to help you.
So to get back to my main point, with Sasuke's objectives now unclear PLUS the whole war and Madara and Kabutorochimaru, the emotional battle between Sasuke and Naruto has become diluted. Sure it will be cool when they finally fight because they will use EMS and Sasonoo vs Rasenshuriken, Sage Mode, Nine Tails Cloak vs Kirin and Gamabunta vs Dark Chidori, but the whole motivation behind their battle is limited.
READ HERE IF YOU WANT MY CONCLUSIONS
It seems more about Naruto defeating Sasuke because he's a bad guy at this point than trying to save him. Sasuke's seems to have gone over the point of no return. If Naruto and Sasuke had a good all out fight before Sasuke defeats Itachi, but maybe Naruto already had Sage Mode then I think that would've been a lot more enjoyable. Their motivations would still be clear and fresh.
-Naruto is still desperately trying to save his friend that he has spent 2 years plus several more weeks (for SM and Rasenshuriken) training for
(Let's pretend this is before he defeats Pain, so the story would obviously be different—but it would mean that we aren't quite sure if Naruto has truly grown strong enough, so the tension is high)
-Sasuke wants to kill his brother, has been training his entire life for it, but Naruto is an obstacle, so he wants to kill him
Now according to wiki:
-"Naruto has finally given up in bringing Sasuke back as a citizen of the village, believing that words would no longer have any effect to allowing them to understand each other, and has resigned himself to fighting (and potentially killing) Sasuke to protect Konoha"
Oh...so he has to beat Sasuke because he's the bad guy. How interesting.
And we've seen Naruto defeat Pain, a "god", so we can assume he has a pretty good chance against Sasuke, even if the guy has EMS.
-Sasuke's motivation? "The only person still having some faith in him is Naruto. Sasuke, in response, abandoned his refusal to transplant Itachi's eyes into himself, in the hopes of destroying all that Naruto stands for with his full power, hating Naruto more than anything for refusing to give up on him."
Like I said before, not exactly logical. The only reason you would hate some for refusing to give up on you is if ur messed up in the head ie Evil
Naruto wants to defeat Sasuke cause he's dangerous. Evil Sasuke wants to kill Naruto cause he hates him. No emotional investment, so Kishimoto, why should I care?