I love this volume.
This is one of the rare volumes that ties a lot of loose ends .
It kind of concisely explains the different person Naruto has met , his different encounters and the growth he has endured .
I loved the moment I realised that this entire journey was a preparation for Naruto to be able to control his kyuubi .
I loved the googly the waterfall of truth threw at him .
I loved this volume , can't wait to see how he grows and learn from Hachibi .
Yes, the same old story of Hachibi and the other Jinchuuriki is a bit monotonous .
But I like the way the writer is showing different way people react when placed in the same situation .
From one extreme that is Gaara to another that is Bee -san .
And Naruto learning is way through.
This is one of those episode that establishes Naruto as the protagonist of this saga.

And also, loved the Kabuto arc and Kisame's plan.
I think I know what Kabuto did to convince "Madaara". ( )

For me, this is a rather momentous volume; this is when I stopped reading scanlations of Naruto and started reading the series through Viz Media's official English language releases. So for the first time, I'm reading material in a graphic novel for this manga that is actually new to me and it is rather thrilling. So bear with me, dear readers, and be kind about not spoiling your humble blog meister for anything past this point. Following the cliffhanger of an ending in the previous volume, #52 is a momentous twist in the post-time skip storyline, pitting friends against friends in a world on the verge of war. It's filled to the brim with the kind of heart pounding action, human drama, well-balanced humor, and colorful characters that has made Naruto such a smashing success in the first place. It's got me excited for the rest of the series, and I haven't been this excited for a while.

You can read the rest of my review at Nagareboshi Reviews! ( )

This volume was hard on me. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke reunited, with Sakura trying to assassinate her flame and Naruto throwing down the gauntlet to his best friend. It easily gave me chills.

It was over too soon though.

At least we can move on to another stage of the story and we all know that Naruto has to grow yet stronger if he's ever going to keep up with that monster Sasuke. Fortunately, the story is conspiring to have him find a new teacher! Woo!

I admit, I always liked the demon fox, and wondered when the hell Naruto would ever master him. We're on our way. ( )

The Sasuke portion of this volume left me speechless. Naruto had the perfect opportunity to finally put a stop to him, and instead we got some stuff about how Naruto and Sasuke will die fighting each other (at a later date, of course) and how the two of them can only understand each other by trading blows. My eyes, they rolled so hard. I was also left wondering: what about Naruto's dream of becoming the Hokage? Naruto's devotion to Sasuke (who is practically a sociopath anymore), to the exclusion of everything else, disappoints me. Naruto may have power, but I feel like Sakura has matured more than he has.

I'm kind of interested in seeing Naruto learn to control Nine Tails, but I'm also a little tired of the usual training setup. I hope this doesn't take forever.

The Akatsuki stuff confused me, because, again, it's been way too long since I last read this series – I can't remember who most of them are or what they can do. The jinchuriki stuff was interesting – I hadn't recalled (or maybe it hadn't been revealed until now) that Killer Bee didn't become jinchuriki until after the age of 5. How many others besides Naruto were jinchuriki since birth? It doesn't seem to occur to anyone that jinchuriki like Killer Bee had several years to be a normal child, while Naruto had Nine Tails inside him almost since birth, and that there would of course be differences in how the interact with others and see themselves.

One last thing: OMG, Sasukegets Itachi's eyes. That's the creepiest thing ever. I can't help but think that Itachi would be horrified and disappointed if he could see his little brother now.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )