Review – Alex's Writing Corner

Where Naruto went wrong

The Shonen manga was among my all-time favorite…until author made a mistake in my opinion

Last clash between Nauto and Neji at their battle on the Chunin exam. (narutocouple.wikia.com)

Way back when I was a youngling, I used to devour manga. I read all the Japanese comics that I could find and spent reading until late at night. I had found several websites where I could read for free since I did not have the money to pay for it. I did buy the Shonen Jump magazine, so don’t criticize me that harshly. I read Shaman King, One Piece, and one manga I forgot the name which consists of playing Go.

However, one of my favorites was Naruto.

What is about

The manga is about a young ninja who has been neglected by his shinobi clan. He has been so isolated that he has lashed out and been rambunctious. He has decided to become the Hokage, the top shinobi who is elected to become the leader of the village. The problem is he acts before he thinks, and when he thinks, his ideas tend to be not so smart.

He has another drawback. He is the host of a Demon Fox that almost destroyed the village. Only the Fourth Hokage was able to stop it by sealing the spirit into Naruto’s body when he was a baby. That is the reason why the village shuns Naruto. They are afraid the Demon Fox will spill out. However, the Demon Fox has a large amount of chakra, energy that Naruto can use for ninja techniques and make him enormously powerful.

Naruto finds outs he has the Demon Fox inside him early on. Through the series, he slowly learns to use his energy and when he grows up, he learns to communicate with the Demon Fox, become friends, and thus save the world. At the end he becomes the Seventh Hokage.

Message

The main reason I was attracted to Naruto was that the protagonist was a failure. Still, he kept trying. He only started succeeding when he did things his way. Slowly, his genius started appearing. His tenacity was the attribute I admired the most. He was born into nothing, and when everybody was telling how a failure he was, he kept insisting he was going to prove them wrong.

The Chunin Exams

This story arc was my favorite, and the reason I became hooked to the series. Naruto and his teammates need to pass several examinations to become true chunin shinobi. It is like the O.W.L exams in the Harry Potter universe, but with one-on-one fights in one section. They meet powerful rivals, and in the last test, Naruto faces with Neji, a genius young ninja who has a dark family history.

Nature vs. Nurture

During his battle, Naruto learns that even though Neji is a ninja genius, he will always be a servant. His father and uncle were twins, but Neji’s father was born second. The family has a royal line where the oldest maintains the secrets of the clan while the rest must protect at all cost. So Neji will always be there to be second fiddle to his cousin, the shy and clumsy Hinata.

Of course, this causes resentment for Neji. He laughs at Naruto’s ambitions to become Hokage because only the main families will obtain the title. Naruto, a born nobody, will never obtain it no matter how hard he works at it.

Naruto dismisses him and claims he will become Hokage by sheer will. At the climax of the battle, he promises to Neji that he will take away his family’s discriminatory rule when he becomes Hokage. This is the last thing he says before he beats Neji.

The problem

The entire premise of the show at the time was that everybody could make their dreams come true by sheer determination and iron will. It didn’t matter how you were born or whose family’s name you were inheriting. Sure, it gave advantages and prestige, but they meant nothing if you didn’t have the fire to pursue your dreams.

Naruto was born into nothing. He worked hard and never surrendered until he become a great ninja. The problem was that he wasn’t a peasant. He was born into shinobi royalty.

The Fan theory

At the height of the series’ popularity, everybody started wondering about who Naruto’s parents were. A main theory was that the Fourth Hokage was his father because they were drawn similarly.

That was the main clue, and it ended being just enough.

This is where my disillusionment with the series began.

The plot hole

When Naruto’s past was fleshed out, it was revealed his mother was the original host, but something went wrong during his birth and the demon got freed. Naruto’s parents needed to combine their energy and sacrificed their lives to contain it once again, this time inside Naruto.

So, if they survived, Naruto’s life would of course be different. He would have been honored just by being the son of the Fourth Hokage instead of being a scamp. This change doesn’t undermine Naruto’s ambitions. He didn’t know his parents and never received special treatment. What it does is create a big plot-hole that affects all the series

It was revealed that there are nine Demon Animals and were used as ultimate weapons by different countries. This means that Naruto should have been protected by being the host of a mystical weapon, not shunned. He was supposed to protect the village, but instead he was treated as a pariah.

The main reason why Naruto was great is that it symbolizes you don’t need pedigree to obtain your dreams. The problem was that the main character was royalty from the start. He just didn’t know it yet.

The best season of Legend of Korra

What Book was the best?

My copy of The Legend of Korra DVD set. The series is owned and created by Nickelodeon.

One of my all-time favorite TV shows has been Avatar the Last Airbender. It was the show I couldn’t miss in a time where streaming wasn’t available, and I didn’t have a TV. When Nickelodeon transmitted the last episodes, I went to my job so I could watch in the television. This was on a Saturday!

When the sequel, The Legend of Korra, was announced, I knew I was not going to miss it.

Korra was a vastly different series. It had different cast, different plot and the world had evolved. It was still the same, but is like saying the US was the same in the 1920’s and 1930’s. It was the same country but in different conditions.

I re-watched the series last week. The show’s main difference with its predecessor was that it only planned for one season versus Last Airbender’s three. That affected the plot’s pacing and even the villains. The Last Airbender had some of the most iconic villains in a children’s TV show and that was because they were properly developed. In Korra, each season -called Book – had a different feeling, villain, and main theme. While in The Last Airbender the ultimate goal was to defeat the Fire Lord and his family, Korra’s was saving a city from Civil War, then stopping the end of the world, then protecting the Air Nomads, and finally stopping a dictator who took over the Earth Kingdom.

It went all over the place.

Which season was the best? I thought. Since I have a blog and I always wanted to do a list about something, well, here it is!

What is about:

First for people who have never heard of the shows (how dare you? Go watch them!). The show is set in a world where people can control one of the four elements. They are benders, and they formed different countries depending on what element they can bend. The Last Airbender focused more on this since the main plot was the Fire Nation trying to take over the world. At the beginning of the series they had killed the Air Nomads to extinction, one fight away from beating the Water Tribes, and had the Earth Kingdom on the defense.

Here, look at the intro. That is all you need.

Of course, the Avatar Aang stopped them and brought balance to the world.

The Avatar’s main duty was that: bring balance. He/she is the only person able to learn the four elements and can commune with spirits. Each time an Avatar dies, he/she gets reincarnated into continuing a cycle that goes Air-Water-Earth-Fire.

Cast:

Before we go into the list, a brief explanation of Team Avatar:

Korra: the Avatar from the Southern Water Tribe. Headstrong and impulsive at the beginning of the series.
Mako: a Firebender. Former thug. Talented bender and Korra’s first love interest. Cares for others.
Bolin: an Earthbender. Mako’s younger brother and the series’ main comic relief. Goofy who ended up being a ladies’ man by the end of the series.
Asami. Daughter of one of the richest and innovative industrialists. She does not bend but knows martial arts and has keen mind for business and inventions. She has a love triangle going on with Mako and Korra.
Tenzin: an Airbender. Aang’s youngest son. He and his three children are the last Airbenders at the beginning of the series. He becomes Korra’s main mentor.

The Ranking

From worst to best, here is the listing. Most of it is subjective, but this is my list and if you disagree with it, you are wrong.

4th

Book 4: Balance

The last season of the show brought nothing new to the series. All previous seasons had brought something to expand the lore and the world. This season is just picking up the pieces. This is the season where Korra is at her weakest. She has been near death multiple times and is now suffering from PTSD and cannot recover. Kuvira, the main villain, is somewhat interesting and an able fighter but not as interesting as the other villains.

What is good: Korra and Asami’s relationship. When the finale aired, it created a controversy with people divided if they were good friends or partners. If you re-watch the series, you will figured it out since the clues were there, and the creators have made it official that Korra and Asami are a couple, one the first LBGT couples on a children’s show. The final battle is amusing with great animation.

3rd

Book 1: Air

I think this will be controversial, since the season had Amon, a great and powerful villain. He was mysterious and had a good cause. He wanted equality between benders and non-benders. However, they were lies. Considering this is the first season, most of it is good. At the end, there was nothing else that hook us for future seasons beside name recognition.

You know what? That was enough.

What is good: The season is not bad. It is an incredibly good season with great episodes. It introduces characters and there is great tension. Pro-Bending episodes were fun. The season is not as good as the others though.

2nd

Book 3: Changes

The season is better than Book 1 because of the villain. Zaheer was powerful, mysterious and as charismatic as Amon. The main difference is that he genuinely believed what he preached. He was the leader of the Red Lotus; whose leaders were powerful benders on their own. Zaheer was also the first Airbender villain both series has had. When he appeared in Book 4, people wanted to see him instead of Kuvira. Zaheer was also successful in killing the Earth Queen, setting up the conflict for the next season, and almost truly killed Korra and all future Avatars. He broke her. That is not something to say lightly.

What is good: Fights had good animation and created different fighting styles. It introduced magma bending, and the Beifongs. The biggest positive change the season brought to the Avatar universe was the return of the Air Nomads. The audience was finally able to see a large group of Airbending happening at the same time.

1st

Book 2: Spirits

It completely expanded the world’s lore. Season one was just one city, but this once set the seeds for bigger and better things. Unalaq is the weakest human antagonist, but his scheme to bring a Dark Avatar and fusing with Vaatu had the highest stakes of the series. They both wanted the destruction of the known world and almost accomplished it. This was Korra’s at his strongest when she defeated them both.

What is good: Almost everything. All secondary characters had something to do and went through their own story arcs: Bolin became engaged and a movie star, Mako investigated a conspiracy, Tenzin came to peace with his father’s legacy, and Asumi was trying to save her company. It brought funny and interesting characters. There was mystery, family strife and we met the first ever Avatar.

Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss birthday has already passed, but I still wanted a review about him. Since this is my blog, I am going to write no matter it is already an outdated topic. We read everyday dammit!

I didn’t grow up in the United States, so Dr. Seuss wasn’t well-known to me until I moved to Texas. I knew about him for hearsay and some of his verses. Of course, we knew The Grinch in Mexico, but we didn’t bother to read the book. We could still enjoy the movie.

The first time I read a book, his books had ridiculous rhymes, but they were witty and had charm. They were for kids. The important factor was to make them read.

There are two books I read recently that I enjoyed. Well, one was not read recently – it was re-read. This was “Green Eggs and Ham.”

The reason why I like the book is that I am a picky eater. I kind of still am. I chose what I eat and always select something to be taken out. I felt the book was written about me…I don’t like green eggs. Gross!

Everyone knows about the book, so there is nothing I can add to it. It’s a fun book to read, simple and with a good morale at the end. You should try something new even though you don’t want to.

You may not want it in the dark.

You would not, will not try it with a fox.

You should not, could not try it with a mouse.

You will not do it in your house…

Until of course you, and you may love and do it every time.

The Good Girls – Review

March started, and in a week, we will observe international Women’s Day, and it is a good excuse to just write a review of anything that it’s female-led in television.

There are plenty of shows with a strong female protagonist and luckily, there have been advancements of how they portray women – even though there are still outdated clichés. Personal favorite shows currently on air are Evil, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and The Blacklist, but there are some who need work.

One example is the Good Girls.

The show I can summarize it as Breaking Bad with housewives.

The plot follows Elizabeth (Christina Hendricks), her sister Anne (Mae Whitman) and friend Ruby (Retta) who get themselves in league with criminal Rio (Manny Montana) after they disrupt his money laundering business. Now, they either help him or will get killed while they deal with the FBI, their partners and some people who became leeches in the worst possible way.

The NBC show has started its third season, but this review only takes the first two seasons as consideration.

Starting the series, Elizabeth has found out her husband Dean (Matthew Lillard) is cheating on her and is mismanaging their car dealership into bankruptcy and probably will lose their home. Anne needs money to hire a lawyer to fight for custody of her son/daughter Ben/Sadie (Isaiah Stannard) – the transgendered role started as a girl but came out as a boy in the second season- .Ruby has it the worst, with she and husband Stanley (Reno Wilson), scrapping by to pay for all the medicals bills of their daughter, who has a kidney disease.

So, what to do? Well, rob the supermarket Anne’s works as a cashier! Everything goes perfect. They stole more than they thought they needed!

Of course, the main problem is that the supermarket was a way Rio’s laundered his money from different criminal enterprises and he has come to collect.

This is where I believe the series either does not know what it wanted to do or tried to evolve the plot but does it slowly. Elizabeth is the leader and we are supposed to believe she is very smart in persuading people. She fools other moms from the PTA and creates an interesting scheme to save their lives and “wash” Rio’s money. The problem is that she keeps being manipulated by him and her husband. She also just keeps complicating things by having multiple opportunities to leave Rio’s employment, but she got a taste for the “exciting criminal life” and does not want to go back to her old self. The character should be clever, but she ends up just reinforcing women’s stereotypes of being seduce by the “bad boy” and becoming too emotional. She is the center of the series but ends up being the weakest character.

Anne fills the trope of the younger sibling who barely can take care of herself. She screws up almost every time and knows she is a failure. The more she tries, the more things fall apart for her. The thing is, she ends being endearing. At least, she is not pretending to be someone she isn’t and has some clever ideas.

Ruby’s story arch is what the show’s biggest sin. Not because it’s bad, but it’s the best element of the show and is handled the worst way – in fact, I could say, pretty stereotypical since as Black family they end up being profiled first.

Ruby and Stanley are the best couple of the show and their motivations to keep breaking the law are the most relatable. They need the money to pay for medicine and then for a kidney transplant. Every crime they commit is to keep the family together. To add to the tragedy, Stanley puts his dream job as a police officer at risk to save Ruby from the FBI investigation. As the only Black family of the series, I find it annoying they are the first to be targeted by the FBI agents. Stereotype much?

The series main problem is how they manage the three characters. There are some interesting supporting characters. Mary Pat and “Boomer” are the worst villains of the series even though they are normal people…they are the characters you will love to hate and the least I say about them, the more you will enjoy getting mad at their sliminess.

The show may be affected being in NBC instead of cable, so it losses some edge. Third season has them with more control of their destiny. I haven’t not seen any episode of season 3 and without telling any spoilers, they are starting over with more money and less pressure.

Give it a try if you want, but honestly, there are better female-centric shows.

If only the show was more about Ruby.