Yes, I know several of you expressed your desire to read my thoughts on Sasuke I alluded to last time. Well, it doesn't really address every aspect of his character like a true meta would; it's more about why he matters to me so much and my concerns as the manga ends. I don't think my interpretations are necessarily the only valid ones, either, and obviously I have no right to tell an author what his own characters are supposed to be like, but...I 'm about to . XD
It's so hard to love the ending of a favorite series, because as we fall in love with characters, we form our own slightly-skewed interpretations of their personalities, and we begin charting their futures in our hearts and minds. In
Naruto, Sasuke for me was the character I related to from day one: he reminded me of my younger self. At his age I was something of a loner; rather arrogant on the outside, insecure within. I incurred the envy of my class but seldom their true affection. I was always highly emotional, but unlike now, I used to be very private with everyone except my family. Goal-oriented to the point of obsession, I was prone to destructive decisions (and still am). The biggest example was giving in to the temptation of eating disorders, which began as a plan to improve my speed as a runner but stuck with me for what otherwise could have been the best five years of my life. I even betrayed my sometime-rival, sometime-lover and best friend (Jenny) by abandoning her for her best male friend. This led to a truly epic fight (which
alas thankfully lacked chidori and rasengan). Yes, I find Sasuke attractive, like the rest of the universe. But I think what lies behind my fixation on him is the association with myself.
Narcissistic much? ^^;So obviously I care a lot about what happens to Sasuke in the manga. Not so much whether he lives or dies, for either could be done to my satisfaction, but if and how he is redeemed
vis a vis Naruto and Itachi. I'm certainly not the only one who is disappointed in the way Kishimoto has portrayed him (*cough and everyone else cough*) in the second part of the manga. He's a freaking mannequin. Yes, Sasuke was quiet before, but you could sense the bottled up emotion just by looking at him. He was strong before, but now he's practically untouchable. Like a lot of you, I think the Invincible, emotionless Sasuke is boring. I miss broken, vulnerable, volatile Sasuke.
The arc with Orochimaru let a lot of people down. Personally, I really related to Sasuke's defection to the Sound as a metaphor for my own turn to destructive behaviors. His whole struggle with the curse seal in Part One reminded me of how I felt when controlled by food (In my days of LotR fandom, I felt a similar connection to Frodo's struggle against the corruptive power of the Ring.) In fact, I think the moment when Oro attacked Team 7 in the forest was the moment when I bought into the series heart and soul. It laid down the ominous hints of the scale of angst to come in my all-time favorite scenes of the hallway and VotE. The Zabuza arc was touching; the beginning of the chuunin exam was awesome with the introduction of all the new teams; but when Oro bit Sasuke he effectively bit me as well, cursing me with the addiction to
Naruto.
So when the last showdown between Sasuke and Oro arose unexpectedly early, I was so excited. I really liked the idea that Sasuke would fail, that he would be partially taken over, further deepening the metaphor of internal struggle that I related to so closely. Legions of fans, including myself,
overanalyzed the look on his face in the last frame of 345, when Kabuto asks him which one he is. Yet as the chapters wore on, and it became more and more apparent that Orochimaru was truly gone, I felt let down. Konoha invested so much in stopping Sasuke from joining Oro, and there was so much urgency attached to the risk of Sasuke losing his body, all for...a major anticlimax. Not only that, but this new Sasuke apparently was all-powerful and had no personality. Turns out that mysterious expression was pretty much the last real sign of emotion the boy would express for the remainder of the series...>> ....
Until, that is, Itachi appeared again a few chapters back. :D
Orochimaru was Sasuke’s compulsion; Itachi is his obsession. The relationship between the two brothers is one of the essential points in the series for me. Up to this point, Kishi has left Itachi sufficiently mysterious that fans can construct their own interpretations of his motives. This can create a bottleneck effect as the theoretical possibilities narrow – in the end, only one interpretation will stand, and lots of people will be disappointed that Itachi was not just how they had imagined him. I have my own Itachi theory, though recent things with Madara are threatening to complicate it. But regardless of Itachi's true motives, I want my ItaSasu battle as angst-ridden as possible. In terms of character development, Sasuke should
not be granted his revenge. However, with the recent “revenge is okay actually” shift in morality in part 2 (exhibit A: Shikamaru), I’m a little uneasy about how Kishi will hold to that. I don’t want Sasuke to win without losing a major part of himself, and becoming even more lost than he was before. To me, that is who these characters are. Sasuke thinks he wants Itachi dead, but what he really wants to accomplish is the impossible feat of changing the past. He wants his family back; can he really destroy what remains of his childhood?
I found it very promising that Sasuke reacted so strongly to his brother’s emergence from the shadows. Sasuke probably still fears Itachi. Or, knowing his own super-strength *rolls eyes*, does he perhaps fear victory? Having lived so long with only one purpose keeping him alive, one problem destroying him, can he even imagine living without that? Does he still subconsciously love his brother and doubt, after everything, his will to murder?
I really couldn’t have said it better than
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
cepheid_nebulae, In a post at
bakkhos’ journal:
“If anything, I seriously want Sasuke to either suffer an absolutely humiliating, psyche-scarring defeat against Itachi or better yet, have the victory be an utterly hollow, self-annihilating one.”Yes, I want fucked-up Sasuke back. But do I want him to stay fucked up forever?
Naruto is the main character, and no matter how much attention Kishi heaps upon Sasuke, Naruto should be instrumental in the resolution of Sasuke’s arc. My belief has always been, partially as a simultaneous ItaSasu and NaruSasu shipper, that Sasuke will be redeemed/on the road to healing when Naruto replaces Itachi as the most important person in his life. I must include Sakura in the equation as well, for the original manga stressed nothing more than the importance of the team; however, it can’t be denied that more weight falls on the relation between the boys. The essential conflict with NaruSasu (platonic or otherwise) is that Itachi is in the way. As Sasuke says, his dream is in the past. But as I said, Sasuke will not find satisfaction by killing Itachi. If Kishimoto knows the least thing about storytelling, Naruto and Sasuke HAVE to have another fight to correspond to the Valley. Naruto’s specialty is knocking sense into people. Sasuke is the last holdout to Uzumakianity. The outcome is obvious.
Or is it? There are definitely deaths ahead. Kids’deaths, I’m inclined to think. Some fans won’t be satisfied if all of Team 7, much less all of the Rookie 9, make it out alive. Others won’t be happy if they don’t. What would it do to Naruto if Sasuke died? I can imagine a number of beautiful, tragic endings in which one or both boys perish. But those endings are better suited for fanfic. To be honest, I couldn’t really see Kishi going all Shakespearian on us. There are always narrative ways around death. Before Deathly Hallows, for example, I really couldn’t see how Rowling could end the story without killing Harry, and yet I knew she probably wouldn’t do it. Of course, those who have read the book know how she solved that dilemma. I’m not the type to always favor happy endings, but I really think that this story will end on an overall hopeful note. What that means for Naruto and Sasuke really depends on how Sasuke’s conflict with Itachi is settled.
Itachi will die though. It just needs to happen, but I don’t know what I will do. ;_; I just hope he goes in a satistfying way. Not like Orochimaru. Not like Hidan. Not even like Deidara. Sasuke needs to feel his death, no matter by whose hand it comes. Because despite the fact that he is currently impersonating a statue, Itachi is what Sasuke lives for, and losing that should do some damage. Damage that could only heal if he learns to re-embrace the things he left behind.
That’s what I did. I found my Naruto again, and she took me back. It doesn’t mean my whole life is wonderful now, but it means that when I lie in bed with the hope of never waking up, I stop myself and remember what matters to me. Sasuke can do this too. He will
have to, I think, to survive. At least, if Kishimoto stays true to the themes and characterizations I loved from the beginning of the manga. We shall see.
geeky
contemplative
touched
annoyed
relaxed
uncomfortable
rejuvenated
blank
tired
8 (36.4%)
nerdy
artistic
curious
restless
lethargic
sick
crazy