I don’t know if this is supposed to be a “One Shot” or chapter 1 of a short manga- at least not at the time of me writing this part of the post(Saturday, July 15th, 2023, 4:37 pm). I’ll know when the the official comes out and update you as we go. Now that the Formalities are out of the way: HOLY SH!T The Origins Of The Rasengan. When this manga was announced, we were told that it would “explore the origins of Minato’s Jutsu.” Anyone who knows anything about this series KNEW which one they were talking about. Yet STILL unsure if this is going to be more than a chapter. Even if it’s more than 1, I don’t see it being more than 1 or 2 volumes- 4 or 5 chapters each. I honestly don’t think they can do more, now that we’ve gotten the origins of the Rasengan. We could find out how he learned all of his other jutsu, but……… Nothing’s gonna top this. That’s the truth of the matter.
In saying this, you think I’m saying “This Is A Really Awesome Chapter That’s Better In As A Stand Alone.” And I do honestly think that. There isn’t a real problem with it continuity wise or anything. Solid- but didn’t knock my socks off. And you’re about to see what I mean. Naruto Gaiden: “The Whorl Within The Spiral.” Let’s begin……….
REVIEW
This chapter is……… a little “different” from what I’m used to. Looking at what I had originally written, I kind of got self-conscious about how many times I said Minato’s name. That, and the translation I’m using at the time of my writing this(Saturday, July 15th, 2023, 10:26 pm) gets a little confusing when it comes time for the lesson Kushina is to learn. I’m still gonna talk about the chapter- just in a bit of different way than I usually do. I have a few days to work on this anyway; as I speak, there’s only some time before the official release comes out. So let’s take out time with this one. Firstly: That opening page was SICK. The site I’m using currently doesn’t let me take and edit the images, so unfortunately you won’t see the Fan Translations of all the editor notes. That’s part of why I work on posts the way I do; I like how the fan translations look– the little details the translators add make the images that much more fun to use. Not to mention that the site also has the Fan Colorings.
Okay; I found a site that uses the fan translations that I can take the images from. But not the fan colorings. You’ll see what I manage to find as we go. But yeah; you’ll be looking at what I mean above this paragraph. Chapter Itself: Solid. The one thing that we could ever ask from any kind of prequel is that it NOT f*ck up the continuity of the original story- be as concise with what we’re told in the original series as possible. And that’s what this is. Though with that being said– I’m not “head-over-heels” for this as I thought I would be. Minato’s a cool character and all, but- in all the days that I spent voting for characters to get a side manga- I can’t say I ever voted for him. I can’t even remember the people I voted for. I know Shikamaru was one of them, at least.
One of the things that I liked about this chapter was seeing Kushina use some of the Nine Tails power for a little bit- even if not by choice. One of my favorite memories with the “Naruto” franchise was discovering Four Tailed Chakra Cloak– seeing Naruto tear into Orochimaru like that- seeing him turn into that with like his skin melting off and his blood being turned into this kind of “fur” that he used to to stretch- that was so cool. So seeing Kushina get that far here was something to see. Heck, I almost wish this were her manga. Then again, looking at this chapter; it kind of was. Like; this chapter feels like a Minato story told from the perspective of someone close to him, you know? I don’t that’s a bad thing, but it paints a picture of the type of set up we’re going to if this is to be a series(however short): Looking at the people who knew him and how they saw Minato- the Student; The Genius; Kushina’s Husbando. I‘m liking their dynamic so far; Minato’s kind of a dork, and Kushina’s SUPER into it. It’s adorable.
Hm……… I’m actually drawn a blank on things to say about this chapter. This post probably would have been longer if I had included the standard Overview. But I don’t think that section was all that good when I initially wrote it. But I thought that I’d have more to say than just “I Like The Art, Seeing Nine Tails Do Stuff, etc.” But seriously; it was pretty cool seeing Nine Tails trying to get Kushina to give in to her despair- just as he did with Naruto when it came to the Pain fight. I think it ties into what’s going on right now in “Boruto” in that these characters possessed by- well; Kurama right now is just misunderstood- someone longing for freedom and is turning that into malice. Momoshiki literally wants to destroy the planet. But the fact of the matter is that neither Kushina or Naruto, or in the current story with Boruto- none of them are allowed the “luxury” of despair. ‘Cause if they let up for even a second– that monster will take control and make its move.
I also think that Kushina’s story is supposed to help us understand what it is that Boruto needs to keep strong: Someone to keep him strong. I gotta keep it real with you guys: Didn’t understand what Mito was talking about the first time reading the chapter. I don’t know if it was me and the way I was reading it, or if it was the way the chapter was translated, but…….. I didn’t understand what she was talking about with the “Vortex being flat” and “Spiral being 3D” and all of that. But I think I get it now: Mito was saying that finding love was key in staying strong as a Jinchuriki. Because the Jinchuuriki are hated; be it fear for their power or because the Tailed Beast killed their loved one in the past. They have rough lives ahead of them. So before they become indistinguishable from the Tailed Beast, they need someone to fall in love with them- and someone they can love in return. Because the only thing that can counter the hatred that will build up within them- Is Love. Huh; I usually can’t follow up on my thoughts after stopping mid post, but I managed to say what I intended. Nice.
Um………… Sh!t, what else can I say? I don’t want to call this a “let down” or “mid,” but there’s also not much more to say beyond “This Is The Origin Of The Rasengan And About How Kushina managed To Hold The Nine Tails.” That’s……. all this was. Simple as that. Also some little easter eggs here and there- something long time fans would get. We should probably just stop here, since I don’t have much to say.
Conclusion
Huh………. I thought I’d have more to say. It feels like I’m doing this chapter a disservice by not being more “Hyped” about it. I mean; it’s a RASENGAN ORIGINS Manga chapter- one of the LEGEDARY Anime Techniques! This is something just as big as if………… okay, maybe not “Kamehameha Origins Chapter By Akira Toriyama HIMSELF,” ‘case that would be like- HUGE. But this is a close second to that considering “Naruto’s” popularity. I wonder what would have happened if someone else won the Worldwide Popularity Poll. Personally, I was kind of hoping for a Kurama manga chapter. I have no clue what that would even entail, but……. D@mn if it wouldn’t have been cool considering what happened in “Boruto.” I feel like that should have hit harder than it did.
Um…….. that’s all I got for y’all today. Let me know what you guys think in the comments, and til the next post, my peeps- Stay Safe Out There. Later!!
