Naruto Part 1 vs. Part 2

Been curious to throw this out for a while. Saw this posted on another forum and thought it was worth starting here as well.

Now that part 2 has eclipsed part one in terms of how many chapters there have been it's probably worth discussing which have you liked more? Part 1 or Part 2.

For me it's difficult. I guess I favor part 1 more because I thought kishi did a better job of introducing a really strong cast of supporting characters and giving them some unique back stories. Rock Lee still remains my favorite and I love his tragic fight with gaara so much and as far as part 2 is concerned I don't think there's anything that's come even close to replicating that.

On the same note though I do like how Kishi has deepened his mythology in terms of introducing the Sage of the six paths as well as detailing the history of the leaf village in terms of it's relationship between the two rival clans of the senju and the uchila and there's been some major pay offs in terms of finally developing some of the seeds he planted earlier plus dramatic pays offs with stuff like the death of Jiraiya.

Buut I still feel there were more missteps in part 2 then part 1. Biggest one being Sai I mean c'mon what was the point of even introducing him? He accomplished nothing and was responsible for easily one of the single worst arcs in the entire series (Sauske Rescue Redux)

Not to mention the introduction of sasuke's team snake or hawk or whatever the hell he named it members who also proved to be suitably uninteresting with no interesting personalities or backstory's not to mention that they've practically been forgotten and left behind which makes me wonder what was the point of even introducing them in the first place seeing as they did nothing to help him contribute to fighting itachi which was the whole reason he gathered them in the first place. So what are your thoughts? Which part did you like better?

Part 2 sucks.

"Breaking into the mythology" was completely unnecessary, and significantly dampened the magic of the series. I think the series should've remained a story about ninjas just flipping out and killing shit, and less about why and how they are flipping out and killing shit. The little theories like sharingan descending from byakugan and the way chakra works adds nice little points of interest to the fundamentals without having to slap you in the face with this sage-of-the-six-paths nonsense.

I think we should wait for the end of part 2 before making any judgments

The only high point for me in part 2 so far is seeing Minato in action.

I prefer Part one at the moment, mainly because it had a lot more going on in terms of character development and emotional moments. I still think the first arc with Zabuza was the best one.

Most of all, part one had the best music, i mean, when was the last time we heard "sadness and sorrow" or the other awesome themes (orochimaru!!) in Shippuden? The fights were also more epic, they just felt like they had more on the line and there seemed like chances when the characters could actually lose.

I also preferred Naruto's motivation in part 1, to become Hokage and have everyone acknowledge his experience. Somehow in part two, he added "become the next gandhi and bring about world peace" into the mix.

Part 2 was starting to get really cool up to the Naruto vs Pain fight, i dunno, the ending was a cop out. Not only that, but now we learn that Naruto was destined for greatness? I mean, it's cool and all how he's the son of the 4th, but I grew up with this story cheering for him as the underdog loner, fighting against all odds to earn the respect and love of his village. Sure he worked hard at it, but the whole 'child of destiny' thing kinda weakens it for me....that's probably one of the reasons I love Rock Lee's character, he wasn't born to any special talent or lineage, but he worked his ass off with every fiber of his being to get to where he is, and i respect that.

Still, part 2 isn't that shabby, it expanded our view of the naruto verse, we got to see other countries, PLUS, we have Tobi and Akatsuki!

Despite the differences in part 1 or part 2, i still wish Sakura wasn't so useless......

Part 2 has had some good music only problem is that most of it has been so over used. there are like 2 or 3 shipuuden tracks that I can't stand just because we've heard them sooooo many times. The dramatic build up one, the creeping suspense one are damn near un-listenable to me since they've been so ridiculously overused. Also don't know why sadness and sorrow was not reused for some of the shipuuden sob stories I miss it.

They are different stages of a story. You cannot and would not compare them in this way.

The story started with a bunch of kiddies that believed the top of the world is within their reach. Then now it occurs to them that only one of them kiddies will reach the top.

Irregardless of the hope that the first stage series portrays, the reality is that only one shonen hero emerges out of this, without diluting the epic-ness of being the top guy.

After the initial, naive:train till you drop, to get the Hokage title, stage. You get to the sinister, dark, cruel and hopelessness as the story goes on(portrayed very badly by the always crying Sakura)

In my opinion, first stage was about the energy that youth brings along, second stage is about the crafty strategy that an adult would bring along to the table. They are good in their own terms.

(you see the same subtle development with Harry Potter series or any series that ages their character.)

Part one was the best, with the Zabuza arc being the best.

Lee vs Gaara is still one of my favorite Anime scenes.

The only really great arc of the comic was Wave Country. After that he's writing for a paycheck, for better or worse. I mean shit, the 2nd arc is a fucking tournament fighting arc. So pre-Shippuden wins by default I suppose.