#definitely bootleg kakuzu and hidan (:

[sedeleryart]

Hektar + Korin. H: Drow/Fallen Aasimar (Drowsimar) Zealot Barbarian/Vengeance Paladin. K: Goliath/Human Stone Giant Soul Sorcerer / Tempest Cleric

[babyybitchhh]

Also you just finished it recently? I remember those days, lol. I still remember when i first watched the first episode. It was a spur of the moment thing. It was january of 2018, and i figured hey new year maybe ill watch some new shows. I had never seen an episode of naruto before. But when i watched that first episode i was hooked, lmao. I figured my new years resolution could be finishing naruto in a year. And i finished it in November, and started watching shippuden right away. 1 fave anime

You actually sound like a war vet reminiscing, anon. I can’t. 😂

I know there are follow up messages from you, so I’ll just reply to each one individually. I don’t know how old you are but that’s pretty damn impressive if you really never saw an episode before impulsively starting the show. In the mid 00’s, in particular, it was hard to miss. You definitely finished part one with a quickness though, I took my time with it and kind of fucked around watching other stuff at the same time tbh. It wasn’t until I fell in love with Shikamaru that I started focusing solely on Naruto so I think it took me?? Maybe three or four months to finish part 1? Which sounds so weak now it’s kind of embarrassing 🤣 Very proud of you for accomplishing your New Years resolution tho!! It’s amazing how fast you can consume something when it pulls you in like that!

You didn’t ask but here’s my story: I used to have a subscription to the English version of Shonen Jump (back when they were releasing physical copies) and Naruto was there right alongside One Piece, Yu Yu Hakusho, Shaman King and Yugio. I eagerly consumed every single series that was in the magazine, so I read the first mmmm 20-30 chapters of Naruto. Didn’t really feel any one way about it. The worst part is that I made it up to the middle of the Chunin Exams so I SAW Shikamaru but he never registered in my mind for some reason. Whack tbh.

So one day I happen upon a bootleg Naruto DVD that I impulsively bought and it had about 15 episodes which were, you guessed it, smack dab in the middle of the Chunin exam. So once again I saw Shikamaru with my own two eyes but I still didn’t SEE him. Like damn, guess I was in a coma or something I don’t even know anymore.

Fast forward a few years. Naruto starts airing on AdultSwim. I caught a few episodes here or there but the dub annoyed me so I still wasn’t feeling it. Ignored it for the most part. Still sleeping on Shikamaru.

Fast forward AGAIN. I somehow stumble upon Akatsuki content on Tumblr and I decide Hidan and Kakuzu are enough to make me want to watch it?? I pull up an episode list to see when they show up and watch those. Literally over 100 episodes into Shippūden that’s where I picked up at. 😂 Now, this is the part that really makes me question my fucking sanity because I absolutely watched Asuma die and even watched the Shikamaru mourning episode because I remember saying “omg who cares, where’s the zombi combi” and fast forwarding. 🤣🤣🤣 like I legit have a very clear memory of looking at Shikamaru’s sad little face and feeling absolutely nothing which is so crazy to me right now??? Like what the fuck?? Who am I? A different bitch than I was back then that is for DAMN sure.

So after Hidan and Kakuzu were dispatched I promptly decided I did not care anymore. Didn’t even give it a second thought. A few years go by and then I see everyone talking about how the manga is getting ready to end. My curiosity was piqued and I actually read the final chapter when it dropped, I had no idea WHAT the fuck was going on mind you, but when I say that shitstorm was glorious ... even the Bleach ending (which is thematically very similar) didn’t kick up quite as much dust as Naruto’s. Anyway I popped in to watch all that drama unfold and then promptly excused myself. Again. I just didn’t have a genuine interest in the series.

Finally, here I am in the year of our lord, 2000 + 19 and I start side eyeing Kakashi like oh ... oh he fine. 👀 I’m getting big daddy energy from this dude and I AM a fan of the Akatsuki .... maybe I should watch it after all. I mean, I basically know everything important that happens right?? So I ended up deciding that I’d watch it at some point but I put it off for a while until I couldn’t handle not ogling Kakashi any longer and started it up on a whim. That’s right. I started Naruto specifically for Kakashi after YEARS of knowing damn well that man existed but I’d suddenly decided I needed to know him RIGHT NOW. 🤣

And I was actually a Kakashi girl right up until I got to the Chunin Exam and Shikamaru immediately knocked me flat on my damn ass. All I can think is that I just wasn’t at the right place in my life to love him every other time I’d casually dipped my toes in, but this? This was the time. Sort of like destiny, wouldn’t you say? 😅 I’m in deep now though, seriously, can someone throw me a life preserver because ya girl is drowning