straightforwardly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
straightforwardly) wrote2018-02-16 06:14 pm
straightforwardly) wrote2018-02-16 06:14 pm
181 | Chocolate Box and the beginning of a Naruto manga reread
► The Chocolate Box Collection is open! I’m still making my way through it, so I’ll post my recs in a later post. For now, I’ll share the absolutely lovely gift I received:
First frost (Stand Still Stay Silent, Ensi & Lalli, 1.5K)
Just another day, just another scouting lesson with Grandma.
► Pre-Chocolate Box, I’d started on a reread of the Naruto manga. ...Looking at my tags, it looks like I’ve never talked about Naruto on this journal, which is weird, because it’s basically my forever fandom? Anyways. I’ve been putting off this reread for literally years, because I wanted to wait until I actually owned all the volumes to do it, but finally I threw up my hands and decided that I’d just read the scanlations for the volumes I’m missing.
Though I have to say, so far the scanlations I’ve read have been pretty terrible? Mostly in terms of image quality, though sometimes also because of the translation (or lack thereof). Not that the official translation is perfect—but it’s mostly coherent and flows well, and that’s really enough for me. My reread’s actually on a bit of a hiatus right now because of that—I just finished volume 19, but I’m missing volumes 20-26, and the idea of having to read that whole section online is...intimidating.
(The good news is that, once I finish that chunk, I have everything from 27-48. I also recently found out that my brother owns some years worth of Shounen Jump up until it stopped having a physical release—a glance tells me the last issue contained chapter 520-something, which should take me up to volume 55-ish. After that, I’ll...definitely need to rely on scanlations again for 55ish-72, but hopefully they’ll be of better quality?)
Anyways. A few things that I wanted to comment on from my reread so far:
Just another day, just another scouting lesson with Grandma.
► Pre-Chocolate Box, I’d started on a reread of the Naruto manga. ...Looking at my tags, it looks like I’ve never talked about Naruto on this journal, which is weird, because it’s basically my forever fandom? Anyways. I’ve been putting off this reread for literally years, because I wanted to wait until I actually owned all the volumes to do it, but finally I threw up my hands and decided that I’d just read the scanlations for the volumes I’m missing.
Though I have to say, so far the scanlations I’ve read have been pretty terrible? Mostly in terms of image quality, though sometimes also because of the translation (or lack thereof). Not that the official translation is perfect—but it’s mostly coherent and flows well, and that’s really enough for me. My reread’s actually on a bit of a hiatus right now because of that—I just finished volume 19, but I’m missing volumes 20-26, and the idea of having to read that whole section online is...intimidating.
(The good news is that, once I finish that chunk, I have everything from 27-48. I also recently found out that my brother owns some years worth of Shounen Jump up until it stopped having a physical release—a glance tells me the last issue contained chapter 520-something, which should take me up to volume 55-ish. After that, I’ll...definitely need to rely on scanlations again for 55ish-72, but hopefully they’ll be of better quality?)
Anyways. A few things that I wanted to comment on from my reread so far:
- Still cried over Haku and Zabuza’s deaths like I was 13/14 again. (Actually, I think I might’ve cried even harder this time around.)
- Other moments that made me tear up: the end of the Gaara & Lee fight, when Gai jumps in & Gaara’s all ???? feelings? caring? what are those things??; Neji’s backstory, his talk with Hiashi, and all my associated Hyuuga family feelings; Tsunade deciding to put her faith in Naruto and giving him her necklace
- My Ino and Sakura feelings are also on overdrive. Which, to be fair, isn’t hard to do, but still. Forest of Death flashbacks! The Ino-Sakura fight! Sakura wanting to be Ino’s equal, oh my god, so many feelings. Pretty much every time Ino and Sakura are on the same page! They were my first f/f ship, and still my ultimate favorite. I love them so much. ♥
- Also: Itachi feelings.
- Also, Sasuke is surprisingly adorable? I developed a deep dislike for him during part two, so it was surprising for me to go back and realize that he… really wasn’t always that way? I was so taken aback the first time he blushed, and was even more taken aback when, during the Gaara-Team Seven fight, he was...actually willing to die in order to secure Sakura and Naruto’s escape? And had this pretty great line about how he’d already lost everyone he loved once before, and didn’t ever want to watch those dear to him die before his eyes ever again?
So yeah. News at eleven, Sasuke was actually a pretty decent person once. (That moment in the Forest of Death where Sakura stops the cursed seal from taking over him was pretty striking too in this regard: how he looked in that moment was really jarring for her and she contrasts that with memories of the Sasuke she “knows”, but to my perspective, it looked like her contrasting part two Sasuke with part one Sasuke-during-his-softer-moments.) - Also, I hit that moment during the Chunin exams where some of the characters talk about how it’s rumored that the Uchiha come from the Hyuuga and NEVER FORGIVE NEVER FORGET.
- The end of the Gaara-Naruto fight did a great job at visually illustrating the parallels between them. Especially with those two pages showing their respective childhoods. (Here and here.)
