Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.
Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.
I'm back from a convention that's why there's been a lack of posts lately but I plan to rectify that with a new review, this time it's Naruto's Last Movie.
Two years after the end of the Forth Shinobi World War the world is now at peace until the Moon starts descending towards Earth courtesy of movie villain Toneri who requires a Byakugan user to complete the ritual but after Hiashi Hyuuga barely escapes alive after refusing to join, Toneri kidnaps Hinata's sister Hanabi, meanwhile Naruto has become village hero and the icon of all the Leaf Village's girls, which leads to a very nervous Hinata attempting to make a scarf for Naruto in the hopes of confessing her feelings, but once Toneri kidnaps Hanabi. Naruto along with Sai, Shikamaru, Sakura and Hinata travel to save Hanabi but with Toneri's real target being Hinata it isn't long before she gets kidnapped. During the journey through flashbacks and hallucinations Naruto begins to realize that he's falling in love with Hinata and through their love stops the evil plan of Toneri and stop the Moon from destroying the world.
I normally have a love hate relationship with Naruto films, there have been plenty that have been bad while others have been decent, I put this under decent but it's not without it's problems. Essentially what we have is a very tortured love confession that takes a long time to payoff and relies almost entirely on flashbacks and that damn scarf that Hinata never finishes but on the other hand it manages to tie together a loose end of one of Anime's best couples and some of the battles are nice to watch and it's always a pleasure to watch Hinata be a bad ass.
Dub is decent as to be expected with Naruto which finishes with one of the most touching endings to a film and considering the last film I reviewed it made up for a lot of disappointments.
Final Verdict: The film was very enjoyable despite it's over reliance on used footage and left quite an impression on me.
Extra: Let me speak seriously for a moment. I normally give Naruto a hard time but only because I know how much potential it has but when it does something well it really shows. I didn't really get to speak much on the ending last time and I thought I bring up the Naruto, Hinata couple in particular; a line that sticks with me in particular from the film is when Naruto says that love is like making a scarf, it takes time and effort to create, and he's exactly right; the one you love the most is always the one you make the most effort to build in terms of relationship and Hinata and Naruto is a good example of this relationship
Just to give you a heads up that I'm not entirely bitter about this subject, here are some types perfect for a harem of Males.
Honorable Mentions The One Hell of a Butler Type
Sebastian Michealis from Black Butler The Mysterious Thief who will Steal your Heart Type
Jing from King of Bandits Jing The Soft Centered Tough Guy Type
Kanji Tatsumi from Persona 4
10. The Sharp Dressed Casanova who Treats you like Royalty Type
Sanji from One Piece
Leo from Fairy Tail
They are the lovestruck suit wearing chivalrous knights of the modern age. You'll definitely feel like a pampered princess from one of these two lovely men.
9. The Casanova who has the Domestic Skills to back Everything up Type
Brock from Pokemon
Say what you like about Brock and his constant attempts to attract women, you actually look at all the life skills he possesses it'll be stupid to say no. He actively enjoys household chores, breeding animals, can cook really well and is a qualified vet by Pokemon standards, to top it off he'll happily shower you with love. You may want to take this guy seriously next time you see him flirt.
8. The Nice Guy who Can't Catch a Break Type
Mousse and Ryoga from Ranma 1/2
Ranma 1/2 is very cruel to side characters, particularly when it comes to male characters, both Ryoga and Mousse are strong in their own right and are genuinely more caring about their target love interests than lead character Ranma who I already discussed last time as a little bit too good at being a woman. So I say give these guys a chance.
7. The Perfect Partner in Crime Type
Isaac Dian from Baccano
When pursuing a lifestyle of crime, particularly as an eccentric thief, it's important that your partner shares that personality and Isaac and Miria go hand in hand, but what really makes Isaac such a good partner is protecting his lady from being arrested, because that way you'll know they'll be waiting for you when you come out.
6. The Ill at Ease Fighter who's Confession Turns him into a Real Knight in Shining Armour Type
Domon Kasshu from G Gundam
The title sums it up perfectly, throughout a shows run the male lead character spends all his time fighting with the lead female watching but in the climax when the gloves are off, the male lead confesses his love and although it's very cheesy to do so it's also the most romantic thing you can ever do. It does lead nicely into the next one.
5. The One who will Smash your Face in for Making his Friends Cry Type
Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail
Although this is common for all members of Fairy Tail what makes me choose Natsu is when he did it for Erza. Remember that Erza is hands down the strongest female in the entire series so it's actually very touching when Natsu smacks Jellal so hard that he didn't even see it coming for making Erza cry and you'll know he'll do it again for every other member of Fairy Tail.
4. The One who Reforms because of Love Type
Harima Kenji from School Rumble
The story of delinquent Harima Kenji go from street fighter to Manga artist for the sake of love is special, it proves that you can change from the self destructive path to an honest one and even when he fails constantly he's still left with a better life and better outlook of the world than the one he started with.
3. The One Who Stays with you Despite the Constant Dangers Type
Gourry Gabriev from Slayers
There are plenty of candidates for this one but Gourry takes it because of the fact that compared to Lina Inverse who can survive deadly encounters with the most powerful demons in the world, Gourry is just a normal swordsman, yes his sword is special but still a swordsman none the less and his dedication in staying with Lina through thick and thin and going as far as to chase down the Golden Lord of Nightmares just to get Lina back is something no normal companion would do.
2. The One who Makes you Feel Loved when no one else does Type
Minato Namikaze from Naruto
Naruto as a show has a lot of shortcomings but they created someone special when Minato's backstory with Kushina was shown. Kushina by anime standards was not a stand out child, slightly chubby, hated her red hair and had a tendency for occasional violence, so when she got kidnapped, the only person who came was Minato, because he noticed Kushina's beautiful red hair; the one thing Kushina hated and it saved her life because Minato noticed her. Doesn't that make you smile?
1. The Genius who can make this Crapsack World Bearable Type
Shiroe from Log Horizon
This is number one because this is the person I want to be. Life is hard and there are a lot of people who make it harder but occasionally you get the one person who can make it right again, and while he won't be popular with everyone for it, you trust him because you know he helped you in the past and you know that the changes he makes will lead to something better and you're willing to stick by his side to make sure that happens.
It's not uncommon to find anime characters of ambiguous gender but every now and again you need to check your eyes to see if what your looking at is really what it is. Rules this time will only cover cross dressers not anyone who has been turned into a girl so Ranma Saotome is instantly disqualified.
Update: Includes honorable mentions Boy? Girl? or is Hideyoshi a Gender itself?
Honorable Mentions
Kuranosuke from Kuragehime
Gives away too many clues about his gender early on and it's obvious in the face.
Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi
Not helped by the fact that pretty much every male is a pretty boy.
Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4
A rare female entry, but still pretty easy to figure out.
Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran Host Club
Again another rare female entry but extremely easy to figure out.
10. Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler
Dressed in an extravagant ball gown to catch an evil count, Ciel manages to fool even his own fiancee. The dress is so famous that it's become a cosplayers finest challenge.
9. Kazuki from Getbackers
Not as convincing as the higher ups on this list but played well for comedy when he ends up in women's clothes; even more so he hates being mistaken for a homosexual.
8. Rosiel from Angel Sanctuary
I never got on with Angel Sanctuary as a series, but Rosiel certainly passes for this list to the point where a simple voice change would make him female.
7. Haku from Naruto
Mistaken straight away by Naruto and fans alike with some wishing he was female, even now it's difficult.
6. Loran Cehack from Turn A Gundam
Mistaken early on as a girl and dubbed "Laura" for a while. Made even more convincing during a convenient fancy party plot where Loran pulls off his disguise more convincingly.
5. Tieria Erde from Gundam 00
Speaking of convenient fancy party plots, in a possible homage to Loran, Tieria dons a fancy dress to meet up with the enemy; also goes the extra mile with fake breasts as well.
4. Hibiki Amawa from I My Me Strawberry Eggs
The whole plotline is him cross-dressing but manages the entire series without being discovered, he really cares about teaching that much.
3. Hideyoshi from Baka & Test
As you can see from the image, you decide: Male? Female? or is Hideyoshi simply a gender itself?
2. Ruby Moon from Card Captor Sakura
Not helped by the dub who made Ruby an actual girl, despite that it can still fool most people. CLAMP sure have a strange way of portraying men.
1. Aoi Futaba from You're Under Arrest
Originally cross-dressed to catch a criminal, Aoi took on the whole female persona to the point where he is essentially one of the girls. So much so that you probably need the writer to point it out to you.
After 15 years of serialization, Naruto has finally come to an end, another Shonen Jump juggernaut has closed it's pages for good following the likes of Dragonball, Yu Yu Hakusho, Death Note and Rurouni Kenshin into the archives of history. This entry dives into how the Orange Ninja ended his story and what kind of legacy we can expect.
Sequel Confirmed
Literally hours ago, a news report doing the rounds is that Shippuden will get a sequel, in what form this takes is anyone's guess but may relate to the events between the last two chapters or like Dragonball GT, follow a new story which may or may not be canon.
How Did It End?
Spoilers, if you don't want to know then skip to the next paragraph. After a grueling battle between leads Naruto and Sasuke, the battle ends in a draw leaving both combatants missing an arm; after the war ends, Kakashi becomes 6th Hokage and Sasuke is spared a death sentence but then he goes off traveling in which Naruto says his goodbyes. Final chapter takes place 15 years later as we see the young ninjas grown up as Hinata is now married to Naruto with two kids while Sakura married Sasuke and has one kid, (I can already hear one half of the fanbase squeeing while the other half are crying) but the major event is that Naruto is now the 7th Hokage and the series comes full circle as Naruto's son paints graffiti on his father's head statue much like Naruto himself did in the very first chapter to the 3rd Hokage and to be honest, I wouldn't have ended it any other way
Is The Ending Satisfying?
It ended at the right time, popularity was starting to drop as the final battles were getting harder and harder to follow and eventually it would've been a choice between "Bleach style make up random crap" or "Dragonball GT bow out while you still have same dignity left", as for how it ended, this is probably how most people would've predicted it. I have been critical of some of Naruto's shortcomings such as it's reliance on fillers to pad the universe, the constant emo motives shoved down your throat, making the most predictable plot twists, resorting to gods and other worldly powers overshadowing the ninja parts of a "ninja" anime; But despite all it's issues, the ending reminded us why we enjoyed Naruto in the first place and I'm going to miss it.
What Now For Shonen Jump?
What came as unexpected was that Naruto was the first of the big three to finish when many predicted it would be the last or at least the second. Equally Bleach has been looking at finishing for a while and will probably follow Naruto out next year, leaving only One Piece still going, so who could succeed Naruto?
Well three titles are lined up for 2015 Shonen Jump, two of which are debuts greenlit from successful one shots. Takujo no Ageha
By Furuya Itsuki, described as a hi-tension ping pong manga. E-Robot
By Ryōhei Yamamoto, about a sexy and powerful robot girl. Gakkyuu Houtei (School Investigation Court)
By Takeshi Obata of Death Note fame and Enoki Nobuaki, which looks like Shonen Jump's answer to Phoenix Wright.
Failing that, Toriko has gained enough popularity to sit amongst the best and will likely stay there for a good couple of years.
How Does It Rank Amongst Other Long Running Manga?
Not very high, at time of writing it's only the 36th longest running manga and since it's ended it will likely drop, even One Piece is only 27th. Kochikame is still the longest running manga of all time being active and still going for 38 years of who ironically is a Shonen Jump title, against Japan's regular manga that have been running longer than I've been alive? Doesn't even compare; but Naruto is still popular and will likely get a worthwhile legacy especially over in the west where the headbands and kunai will keep flying for years to come, so it's time we say thanks to 15 years of Naruto and to play us out, Naruto's 1st opening.
The term "Miracle Rookie" refers to a character who suddenly becomes an instant expert at anything despite having no training or any experience in the task they are doing, a lot of them are annoying Mary Sue types who usually have the added bonus of being the show's main problem solver. So on to the list, I have a few choice words about these characters as well.
Dishonorable Mentions
Yui Hirasawa from K-On
Most of her so called Guitar work maybe from Autism as Yui demonstrates symptoms of Hyper Focus where she can focus and master anything at the cost of forgetting something else. Autism is not an excuse to go on this list. Kazuya Aoi from Freezing
Can somehow control Satellizer after meeting her once, justified as he's the brother of a stronger character. Ichika Orimura from Infinite Stratos
The same can be said for Ichika who also has a more famous sister who is a master of her craft.
10. Ash Ketchum from Pokemon
Rated low as he never wins the Pokemon League but it doesn't excuse the fact that he seems to make friends with everyone he meets and somehow wins respect of all legendary Pokemon. For a normal trainer that doesn't happen.
9. Negi Springfield from Negima
Doesn't seem limited by the fact that he's only ten, in fact he spends so much time acting out of age that you don't see the same character you started with and he seemingly achieves all this without any effort.
8. Uzumaki Naruto from Naruto
From Mastering clone jutsu after reading one scroll to being Ninja Jesus, Naruto seems to do an Ash and befriend everyone he meets and seems to be stronger than even the strongest characters in the anime.
7. Minato Sahashi from Sekirei
Gets dragged into the whole Sekirei story by accident and suddenly commands a harem of super powered girls. Then starts being all high and mighty about saving all the Sekirei.
6. Saito Hiraga from Familiar of Zero
Gets sucked into a new world and suddenly masters everything from swords to piloting World War II fighter jets and turns the nobility cycle upside down in the process, the only reason he's not higher is because I actually feel sorry for him having to spend his days with Louise.
5. Madoka Kaname from Madoka Magica
Much of the story is about preventing her from becoming a Magical Girl but no matter how you look at it, she's still insufferable as a character and her final form makes Naruto's achievements look like nothing.
4. Akane Isshiki from Vividred Operation
I do like this series but I find Akane annoying, she seems to command everything with ease and makes friends instantly without even trying, if the series were a bit longer and had some development it would be excused but the rush in getting to the climax makes Akane too perfect as a character and it's irritating.
3. Misaki Suzuhara from Angelic Layer
She invented the term Miracle Rookie, Misaki somehow gets dragged into the Angelic Layer game but somehow manages to win nearly all her battles by a mixture of luck or convenient wrestling moves she saw her friend perform. It doesn't help that her angel Hikaru can take a huge pounding and still stand and counter with something stronger that finishes off her opponent in one hit. The balance of powers in this anime is like a fighting character with a million cheat codes.
2. Kamille Bidan from Zeta Gundam
All he had to do was shrug off an insult from a Titans Pilot and we could've avoided the whole Zeta Gundam series. While most Gundam pilots starting out, find themselves in this position, Kamille is the worst offender of this. Unlike the other people on this list who are kind and pariahs of benevolence, Kamille is a complete utter ass hole who thinks he has the god given right to preach to everyone, no wonder people punch him so much.
1. Yoshika Miyafuji from Strike Witches
But this girl almost made Strike Witches unwatchable. Yoshika seems to defy logic in this series, how is it that a young girl whose only talent is healing and creating barriers somehow seems to do better than veteran witches in this war going to the point of solving every problem and effectively leading the 501st Strike Witches despite not being an actual leader and then seemingly smiles all the time thinking everything is okay and cheery when countries are being destroyed by rogue aliens. Seriously it's irritating.
