The One Arc I liked in Naruto

[Papasmurf]

As per CC's challenge in this thread from a month back :mikey :mikey

http://www.dbzeta.net/viewtopic.php?p=326429#p326429

The Tsunade Retrieval arc is honestly the only arc I liked in the entire series. The chunin exams were drawn out and full of ridiculously stupid drama like Naruto refusing to accept that destiny is real, not to mention Sasuke around the time he got the cursed seal is probably at his most annoying next to his post-Itachi "revelation" or CS2 selves with his retarded edge :mikey :mikey

The Wave Country arc is probably better for that reason, although it still had an oversaturation of Sakura thanks to that dumb class drama before they took off, and the additional offense of the dumbest fake death in the entire series so early on, even if I excuse its poor power chain as it was so early in the series. Unlike these Sausageke and Sakura-infested arcs, Sausageke is thrown straight in the hospital so early on in a side plot and Sakura's basically removed from the whole plot, not to mention there's none of the additional cringe of edgy ass Gaara, Neji or the annoying peanut gallery that would narrate the fights constantly like in the Chunin Exams arc!

While it's still full of training chapters for the Rasengan which was ridiculously OP in its first usage, there's no Sharingan users about after only a 10-chapter Itachi cringe that's done and over with before the main plot begins, the training at least made way more sense than the bullshit elemental/Sage Mode/whatever garbage in Part 2, and it's at least an improvement over the way some other shonen MCs get their signature moves off-screen, copy it without trouble, or get it randomly like in Detergent. Also, Kabuto wasn't quite as annoying as his mopey Part 2 self and Orochimaru was actually still a villain worth taking seriously.

Done.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Sakura and Sausageke being absent was indeed a benefit, as was the training, though I find the Naruto VS Kabuto part of a Rasengan almost causing fatal damage to someone on Kakashi's level just as bad as the inconsistent scaling with the Haku/Zabuza battle. I'd also say the previous two arcs also had greater positives with the Land of Waves having a fair level of deceptiveness in battle tactics and Zabuza being a villain who wasn't completely turned to shit by not having his role in the plot milked (beyond the War faggotry), having some sympathetic qualities and not being as edgy or pretentious as others, plus Naruto's talk no jutsu to him being the only one done right. Chunin Exams also handled most of it's typical ideas well, such as the support cast being given enough focus you could see them as being potential protagonists in their own right, something absent from an arc purely about Naruto, or the outcome of Lee VS Gaara being a good lesson that breaking limits isn't just a get out of jail free card. Most of the flaws such as Neji being right or Lee's injuries not meaning much were ruined by later arcs, so I don't see them as damaging the quality of this arc outright.

Regardless, all 3 of those arcs were still leagues better than the Sausageke Rescue Arc.

 

[Papasmurf]

Yeah, my preference is somewhat biased from having to deal with Sasuke and Faggura's characters go downhill on an endless slope way later down the line in Part 2, so the removal of these faggots is a greater boost to its quality than most of the positives in the Chunin Exams which were turned to complete jokes by Part 2 as well. It's also worth mentioning that this arc and the Sasuke Retrieval arc probably have the best art in the entire series, as not too long after the Gaara Rescue arc the art began to suffer and eventually turn to crap in the Pain, 5 Kage Summit and Shinobi War arcs.

 

[Papasmurf]

Also, I'd say the Rasengan being OP thing, while a big flaw, was much worse when it was used to defeat Pain's Deva body that's withstood attacks from even Sage Mode and Hachibi Naruto, especially considering there wasn't really any sign of it being almost completely out of stamina or anything.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

I could go with that if it weren't for the plot being pretty selective in how much damage Nerutu deals to those relevant to him, especially when he later opts to just use huge explosions with little aftereffects such as the Bijuudama in his battle against Sausage.

 

[Papasmurf]

Him managing to rip off Kaguya's arm when she's got the chakra of the entirety of the human race was pretty fucking cringe, although not nearly as much as her being caught off guard by Sakura