NARUTO Ch. 691 Review

Hey, one out of eighteen is better than nothing.

Before Minato returns to the other side, Naruto asks his father to pass on these words to his mother.

The Good

Why am I not enjoying this scene more?

Of all the events and conversations that are contained in this chapter, you only need to focus on one. That's the farewell message Naruto passes on through his father to give his mother in the afterlife. It's all a nice callback to Kushina's passing words to Naruto on the very day he was born and she died. However, for as touching of a moment it is, it just doesn't feel as impactful a second time around. Which honestly confuses me.

I'm pleased to see that Madara is in fact dying, but I'm not totally sure he's completely dead yet. That makes me worried. There's plenty of time for the author to pull some weirdness to keep his only villain around. Who else is he going to turn to? Orochimaru? That guy hasn't been relevant in years, and would make a questionable choice for a series finale.

The Bad

Quit saying you're leaving and just LEAVE!

I was very seriously considering a Boyz 2 Men reference for the subtitle of this review, but it wasn't hard to say goodbye to most of these characters. In fact, I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with how long it's taking for Obito to leave. In a way it is hard to say goodbye to him, because he keeps coming back. IfKakashi losing Sharingan means I never have to see him again, then I'm all for it.

The second of the conversations filling out the chapter is focused on some closure between Madara andHashirama as they ruminate on the futility of trying to accomplish their goals on their own instead of passing on the torch to the new generation. Both conversations do little else but fill up time so Kishimotocan end this one on tug to the heartstrings moment.

Verdict 3/5

Seriously, how is it that this isn't the grand finale of the manga? This entire chapter is all about people patting each other on the back or saying their goodbyes. The waring nations have united, all the biggest villains are defeated, and the protagonist literally just saved the entire world. Anything else will just seem small in comparison. I don't see how Kishimoto would pull a Toriyama and take the story into space. Not in a world where people don't even have cars, and no, I'm not counting the movies.

I really don't know why I didn't enjoy Naruto's message for his mother more. I adored that moment when Kushina said the very same things to Naruto. I even teared up a bit when I read it. It was so moving, but here I felt nothing. Maybe it's due to this just repeating that scene, or maybe I've lost any emotional connection to the series and characters at this point.

Follow along with the latest NARUTO chapters yourself, tune in for the SJ Podcast, and check out the free starter pack sampler at ShonenJump.com here. You can download the free app for both iOS and Android devices.

About the Author

Kristoffer Remmell (FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek. Follow for news updates: @AnimeVicers/@FoxxFireArt / http://kristofferremmell.tumblr.com/