Naruto Shippuden: The Pain Arc

I don’t think the art ended the way it did only because of talk no jutsu. There was so much world building and plot around the reasons why Nagato and Naruto were able to reach an understanding like their connection with Jiraiya and both being the children of prophecy. Talk no jutsu definitely had a hand in it but I personally give that dub to Jiraiya

LJ

I mean, couldn’t you have added an option that was in favor of how this arc ended without sounding sarcastic and goofy? Lol

Jake White

It’s interesting watching this when you’re a teen versus when you’re older. I still love this arc, it’s indeed the best in the show, and I still get emotional about everything, but now this feels much more lukewarm and badly written than it used to, especially with the knowledge of how the anime ends and what happens in Narutos future, in the following series. It would be much more interesting if the Leaf had some serious consequences and had to undergo major changes in terms of government, and plus had to make some kind of amends with the Rain village afterwards. Imo it would feel much better if Naruto had to go through a more serious soul searching phase, maybe akin to Zuko Alone, you know? In which he had to think deeply about how is he going to make his goal happen. I don’t feel Naruto is particularly deep, all he does is say he’s gonna make everything happen with enough conviction, and since he’s so stubborn, it makes people go “damn, maybe he will indeed be able to do it” or “welp he’s got all of those big ninjas believing in him, maybe I gotta too”. But what exactly his plans for peace are comprised of is never shown. You can’t realistically talk everyone into understanding each other and not fighting, and since the show raised the stakes so much in this arc and came with some really serious questions and reflections about the cycle of violence, it would feel much more satisfying if it provided equally deep and mature answers. Anyways, sorry for the rant, love your reaction, I cried along all the time, and I just resubscribed for this, so I do still enjoy this a whole lot lol.

I feel like Hidan and Kakuzu were pretty bad guys just because lol

Well no one in Naruto is really evil

He became that way before he met Tobi

micheal king

The reason talking worked is because PAIN / NAGATO was not EVIL... he simply fell into the darkness and was manipulated by the man with the mask, like the fourth hokage said... just like many characters have fallen into the darkness and many still will. ... This show teaches people that GOOD and EVIL are childish terms... even the biggest villain in this show has actually a noble goal, but .... ( and i can't say or i will spoil ) The problem is that simplistic people don't understand this kind of stuff and as soon you say that GOOD and EVIL are subjective, then they start to think that anything goes... it's not that simple... you can have noble goals but you can do evil stuff in believing you create a good world. COMMUNISm is a great example of that. On paper it sounds good, but everytime it has been tried you end up with millions of human skeletons. Why else you think there is a saying: " the road to hell is paved with good intentions "

John Vick

I love talk-no-jutsu in this ark cause it makes since why it would wrk

The_Kombat_King

People are worth believing in. Even if sometimes they let you down, other times they aren’t any happier than you are with the current situation. It’s a good lesson and well done here.

Bryan Matola

talk no jutsu makes sense with nagato and you also see it not work in the future so its not that bad

wuyev2

It's not just that they talked it out. It's that the inspiration for Naruto's choice came from something Nagato lost and he recognized that. How one imposes their will on the world is a large theme through Naruto. Which is why I love the memories of the Third Hokage at his funeral.

Rahsaan

I love how it ended however I don't love talk no jutsu. Nagato is just very easily swayed and luckily he and Naruto had that jaraiya connection to help him back on the path he was on as a kid. Naruto really just allowed him to redeem himself by not following the cycle of hatred and killing him. A bit wishy-washy but you've got to tie it up somehow

KEVIN B

There's fanfics out there about this topic

You guys should but this poll up on YouTube too after the arc is done. I think the results might be slightly different(maybe)

micheal king

Is it though? Now if you are just going by your own taste in writing that's one thing. But there's an entire list of things that determine "Great writing". I.E. : - Characters development/progression - Plot - Pacing Etc. If you really think this arc is the best written then I would love to hear your reasoning behind that.

micheal king

Good point lol, wouldn't actually mind their unfiltered opinions but there's a lot of cancer in this fanbase who constantly need validation.

J. J.

Yeah the series slowly goes downhill from here.

micheal king

They are trying to gauge how brutally honest they can be about their opinion on how that ending sucked. lol

micheal king

He almost talked me out of punching things.

Saitama

The point is to break the chains of our false reality and acknowledge the mistakes that we have made.

Temperistic

jesus... I mean you're right but damn wasn't expecting a comment longer than the whole plot of Boruto.

Loic Reviews

I didn't mind it, I just wanted to see how the story would've turned out if everyone that died stayed that way

Just putting my two cents here, I loved the conclusion to this arc, including the revival. Because 1) it's actually significant to Six Paths stuff down the line that I won't say anything more about, and 2) it's thematically appropriate to the fundamental subject matter: the idea of pain as a whole and how we respond to it. The parallels between Naruto and Nagato go even further beyond what was mentioned here. I want to say that some will be mentioned or hinted at later, but one in particular is the idea of the "great pains" in their lives. Nagato had his parents die at the hands of Leaf shinobi, and his second was Yahiko killing himself to spare Konan and Nagato and let their dream live in (due to treachery from Hanzo and Danzo). But what is understated is that Naruto went through a similar arc of "great pains" and we saw his response - the first being Jiraiya dying and he responded by declaring vengeance and training to avenge him. The second...was Hinata being "killed" right in front of him after declaring her love...similar to what happened to Yahiko, dying in front of Nagato with Nagato helpless. And Naruto responded by aping out and unleashing the fox...funny, because Nagato did the same, unleashing the Gedo Statue and piercing his body with the chakra rods. Both responding to the second pain with vicious anger and immediately lashing out, causing physical damage to themselves (Nagato obviously but even Naruto, remember, basically boils away his flesh going 4 tails and beyond and was literally manifesting a fox skeleton and musculature) but willingly to cause as much damage as possible. But in the end, while Naruto responding differently (and Naruto always finding the right words to "cut deeper than any blade" - thanks Zabuza) was ultimately what caused Nagato to change his mind, it was also due to what kind of person Nagato was even as Pain. He was still Nagato, the kid who didn't even really hold a grudge against the Leaf as a child after his first great pain, was more afraid than anything. Timid, a follower, but a noble and good kid with good intentions who wanted to believe in finding good but, really, was always lacking in confidence and assuredness. It's why he latched on to Yahiko and why, when Yahiko died, his optimism and assuredness in finding a path to justice died and he succumbed to anger. But as soon as Naruto came along, who proved to best him physically and have the capabilities to just straight up act on vengeance and kill Nagato but actively chose not to (on top of looking like Yahiko which probably helped), he found someone with both the noble drive to find good that he had, someone who had gone through great pains like he had, but rose above them and had both the empathy and willingness to listen and hear from others and the assuredness to stand by his ideals to the end *regardless* of his pain that Nagato never had. Nagato had, as he said, basically found the better version of himself, the Nagato Jiraiya had hoped for, and Nagato, being the good-intentioned person that genuinely wanted peace and justice in the world deep down while also being at best a reluctant leader forced into the situation that all of those flashbacks had shown, finally had someone to rally behind again. And in the end, the Rinne Tensei/Rinne Rebirth was symbolic of the theme again. At the end of the day, Pain is temporary. It may have lasting effects, but the people are still here if you are willing to fight through it and overcome. It may make you think that nothing can change and force you into darkness; it happened to Nagato. But it can be overcome and can even strengthen one's resolve in their ideals and affirm themselves as a person if they rise above it by confronting it from a healthy perspective; it's what Naruto did here. Nagato lost himself to pain, accepted it and let it poison him even though he still had power and even loved ones like Konan still there for him, while Naruto had seemingly lost even more and all within a day on top of everyone else he lost, but he confronted the source of the Pain, stood firm, overcame and rose above regardless of how much it hurt and how much hatred he admitted he carried within him. But because he was willing and able to, he was able to see the Pain end and see that his loved ones were still there with a life and goals still to live. Symbolism made literal but still.

Mrryn

Let him believe in Naruto. But reviving everyone... I didn't like that. They should all be dead. It's Shippuden, it's not supposed to have good endings. There should be tears and pain.

Pride

Idk I'm definitely glad that Kakashi, Shizune and all the other unknown shinobi and villagers that were killed came back to life but at the same time it did seem a bit unrealistic to me. I loved Naruto's talk no jutsu and how Nagato was able to believe in him in the end but the revival leaves me feeling just a little bit conflicted (emphasize on little). Like I was really glad that everybody was back but like 5% of me would have preferred that the rinne rebirth didn't happen. Overall all I really love this arc and 95% of me is really happy with the ending that took place.

That's true but the only time I did not like the talk no jutsu THAT guy to join them.. you know right? 😅

Kevin Kovacs

Weak ending? 😂 I would say the final arc has one of the weakest ending in this show... like this one felt like it could have been ended here!

Kevin Kovacs

The idea of Pain reviving everyone is a fitting conclusion however, the points Naruto made and the way he convinced them didn’t sit right with me.

logan

there was no way Kakashi was gonna stay dead anyway cause of the future plot point so its literally impossible for the death to stick. Asuma died, jiraiya died, 3rd hokage died so far bringing people in this instance was fine for me. Its funny you say that all the shonen I've watched Naruto still the most deaths of important characters

Kingjasco

Fantastic ending

Kanza

For me, it's not about whether or not Naruto as a character is persuasive or trustworthy enough to win him over... It's about the writers and commitment. Like... Dragon Ball Z. It's kind of their thing to reverse death and certain story points. Just about anywhere else, I find it really hard to swallow. From an emotional standpoint, of course I don't want Kakashi or Shizune or any of the others dead either. But if you're gonna write that story... go all in and Write That Story. It feels so cheap to start it but reverse it all at the end.

RyssaVionus

Weak ending, making the best villain with the best reasonings and resolution change his mind after naruto said he will find a way with no actual answer.. and the most frustrating part is that he revived everyone. like literally the most catastrophic arc just concluded and it felt like none of it happened. i hated that. i still hate that. there are still some incredible things up ahead but this arc was the most cohesive, complex and well written one as a whole. a weak finale to an outstanding arc.

ens

Couldn't have said it better myself. You really nailed what my problem is with Nagato being swayed by Naruto. It isn't necessarily that Naruto's words changed his mind that I have a problem with, but I felt like his arguments were really weak. Nagato earlier had asked him what his answer was and Naruto didn't have one. Now his answer basically is "believe in me, I will find a way to make world peace" and use Jiraiya's book to back that up. But based on Naruto's life experiences, why in the world would that be enough to convince Nagato? It just isn't believable for me.

BeesKnees

Agreed, that was one of the only instances where I actually liked TNJ. As much as I enjoy the Pain arc, I don't enjoy the ending with both the revival and Nagato's belief in Naruto. Idk, I get where they're going with it and including the book that Jiraiya wrote. But it just doesn't sit right with me that someone like Nagato who has suffered so much and has been so strong in his ideals/goals is willing to accept Naruto's non-answer. I don't like how easily influenced his ideology was after one conversation with Naruto, especially using Jiraiya's book to help deliver that too. While Naruto has struggled, I don't think his experience warrants being able to change someone's philosophy with a conversation.

BeesKnees

You sure about that?

Alex cleveland

It's shitty story telling aimed at kids. If you are going to undo all the consequences in a story don't make them happen in the first place. Naruto doesn't even present good arguments 85% of the time. It's literally the author just handwaving everything that just happened away

Alejandro Gil

The pain and naruto conversation makes sense due to pain being in that same category as naruto and jiraya pain was never evil in a sense of never looking back he was just more on an extremist than anything the purpose of the pain arc was for naruto to change as a character and face a concept that he must understand and this will also help him understand saskue and others like pain and saskue in the future so the pain arc serves as merely a catalyst of naruto growth

Kidman Man

Lol Talk No Jutsu is literally Naruto embracing the pain for others. He’s NOT supposed to beat up everyone smh 🤦‍♀️

Well I never expected anything in the first place so I can't be disappointed. Whoa deep.

Ruben Lopez

A sense of doom and glum from everyone's comments. On the up side coming storylines aren't bad, the confrontations and the battles are insane.

Sammy

I agree that is the only thing I felt was off. He went full rage beast because he thought she died, was relieved to find out she was alive but then didn't seek her out when he returned? Weird.

Ruka

hmm. i thought the pain arc was the end of the series. other than a few characters i have no idea whats coming next

rickie woodson

That was a really great video. Quality content for anyone who watched or is watching Naruto.

Ruka

I thought nothing of it at the time, but this was the begining of the series becoming bad in my eyes... still hype moments throughout

DANIEL PEEDAH

ngl the resolution sucked, but im slightly ok with it and it's still the best naruto arc as a whole. fight me! lol the themes of the middle east war, terrorism, and how the great powers have overlooked the third world was absolutely mind blowing as a kid, i always thought akatsuki's hidden rain is like the phantom troupe's meteor city from HxH. it made naruto, the series, speak about politcs and international current events in the late 2000's and the resentment that survivors of war suffer. no spoiler but, the plot after this arc becomes very convoluted. pain arc is also a revenge plot thats why its really hard to go against nagato when he explains his rationale you are seduced by his intentions and are always curious about his plan. you sympathize with him and his town. also the symmetry of choice that naruto and sasuke made after fighting nagato and itachi respectively was nice. naruto choosing to carry nagato's dream of peace by not following his path and trying to work for a more fair world is contrasted by sasuke's choice of not following itatchi's double agent path and instead wishing to destroy what itatchi wanted to protect, the leaf's peace. im slightly ok with the talk no jutsu cause as nagato said he already fought with all the paths and lost, and narutos physical strength is not his main power but his ability to empathize with people who have been isolated and been living on the peripheries of society. what i dislike now as an adult is when they brought everyone back to life, it made the fight lose consequence. although when i was a kid i wouldve probably been so angry had Kakashi remained dead. lol

Naffy moc

My issue with the conclusion isn't that he convinced him by talking, but that the arguments used to convince him were so bad-- the obvious answer would be that the entire discussion was based on a faulty premise-- It doesn't make sense to think that pushing towards peace is only worthwhile if world peace and the end of suffering is possible, because it isn't a binary outcome, it's a relative one-- Even if total peace is conclusively impossible, some peace is better than no peace at all-- so whatever degree that you push in that direction would be worth it. But instead, he just argues that he believes that actual world peace is possible, and he should have faith in him based on an emotional appeal to Jiraiya, as well as this frivolous idea that faith in an impossible outcome is what's important. That's pretty nonsensical. In fact, isn't that exactly the thoughtlessly idealistic false outcome answer that Nagato was frustrated by in the first place? Even if you could somehow buy that he could be convinced by it, that's not a great message for a show to convey anyways.

rkhc

Reviving everyone pissed me off, for me it made me feel like it was canon filler. It erased the whole point of the arc.

Bites D Dust

Since she did not die, it made it less obvious that everyone would come back.

desi

Hearing complaints about talk no jutsu is so tiring like you clearly don’t understand the ENTIRE point of the show it’s like some of you people skip all the dialogue and just watch the fights, if you don’t understand talk no jutsu and actually care to there’s a great video series on YouTube called Hope and Hypocrisy in Naruto that explains talk no jutsu and it’s thematic relevance to the show

9tails

I agree mostly. I feel bad the conversation been longer, Pain’s change could’ve been a bit more realistic, but it fell a tad flat

Ultra Power

1: Copy pasting the same comment three times doesn’t make it any more relevant. If anything it makes you look slightly less credible. 2: This isn’t a conversation of religions or lack of. The whole point was that they’re two characters who are very similar but at the same time, very different. Both of them want the other to see their differences and decide on a conclusive answer. It’s not about one kid randomly talking someone else into stopping something. It’s about two people equally ready to change trying to figure out who’s right.

Ultra Power

The mass resurrection was very poorly received when it came out. I liked the fight and the celebration for Naruto but the talk no justu and revivals pretty much solidified this as a kiddy Shonen.

J. J.

Yeah. Sometimes fighting and killing someone is not the answer. As a future kaga sometimes fighting is not the answer. Plus nagato wasn’t a truly evil person like other villains. Deep down he is a good person just got caught up in hatred when yahito died and went about finding peace wrong way. War change his life and was manipulated. Like he said some times when we love someone so much we believe they can’t die. Which brings hatred kinda like what’s going on with saskue.

Frank Raddi

The end of the arc was received as bittersweet when it released in the manga. It was great to see Naruto finally acknowledged and it really carried some great ideas. The reasoning for Nagato choosing to believe in Naruto was somewhat solid. On the other hand, it totally could have went the other way. People really hated Talk no Jutsu and felt it really undermined Nagato's life for him to just flip like that after a single conversation. The arc also reinforced the notion that Kishi and shounen manga writers in general don't have the heart to kill off several popular characters at once. The mass resurrection also made people question the power scaling. Throughout the show, we've seen how hard it is just to resurrect one person. And then Nagato comes along and just casually resurrects not one person, but the entire village. It appeared that all those people died just for shock value. People were really mad about this. The mass resurrection is also a bad sign of how power scaling began to spiral out of control. Still, this is regarded as one of the best arc's in Naruto if not the best.

Ginzo

Maybe you should do a poll asking people if they are watching Boruto. (If you are considering watching it) I tried but I stopped watching after 5 episodes.

MaaikeBrownie

An atheist can't change the mind of a Christian in one conversation

Queef Burglar

An atheist can't change the mind of a Christian in one conversation

Queef Burglar

Loved the ending but I feel as though it takes away from everything when he just brings everyone back. Like it basically undermines most of what just happened prior. Without that I feel the talk no just would've been fine

Nick Comfort

The first time i watched the pain arc i thought it was amazing and easily the best arc so far. The tension is real, kakashis death is devastating, the pacing is phenomenal, etc. And i was so happy with TNJ since it was cool to see a villain go down through dialogue (and also it brought back my favourite character). However when you rewatch it knowing how it ends it kinda ruins the journey and TNJ doesnt feel satisfying. But still, overall i have to say it was probably for the best, otherwise you would have to rewrite everything that happens afterwards also.

The Pain arc is definitely one of my favorite arcs in all of Naruto. But I do hate that all of the arcs end with the characters just talking it out.

In Naruto there isn’t a get out of jail free card like there is in Dragon Ball. Only Rinnegan holders can do that and the cost is super high. So I don’t think it’s as cheap, not the best comparison.

Alexander Green

I don’t hate the mass revival but I agree that if they were going to bring everyone back then Hinata should’ve died

Scrimshaw

And Pervy Sage stayed dead they couldn't just kill all of Narutos teachers in one arc lol

Zero Requiem

Conversations are realistic if we're being honest

Zero Requiem

This the main reason why dbz fell off...once you show that you can revive a character, then whats the point of moving forward with the show. because now I know that a character is never in any real danger....And one conversation with a kid should'nt change your life's philosophy

Queef Burglar

Maybe. But it was already established that he did have some sort of revival jutsu. And it did come at a price. And it served as a redemption act for him. So I'm good with it.

Sou saetern

The poll results are sad...you guys must still have a child's mentailty ....the ending ruined this entire arc.

Queef Burglar

I’m sure many people have said it, but my main problem is mass plot armor no jutsu

Ultra Power

I guess Kakashi is relevant later on though so he just shouldnt of been killed agree on everything else

The only thing I would of change is at the end when Sakura hugged Naruto he should of said where’s Hinata an say I love you back to her right then an there

erick sierra

I mean it is a teenager show. They dragon balled df out of characters. Kinda bs was that

Ynaando

Talk No Jutsu only works if your opponent has no comeback. All Nagato had to say was “This is the way I found to achieve peace.” And then Naruto would have had to kill him, which would be where Konan would step in.

Neal Cabanos

This should have been the end with one more prologue episode as a flash forward with him as Hokage. Fuck whatever sasuke's doing

KevinFromNewYork

I'll always think the Pain Saga is one of the best in the series. But I do think Nagato bringing back everyone he killed during his assault is kinda cheap. Really kind of takes away the weight of it all. Overall it's an amazing arc, even with other grievances sI have with the series as a whole. And I will probably never forget Pain as a character or his theme track. It's still my absolute favorite in the show. Side note tho, I didn't realize my first time watching, that Kakashi's father was in limbo. So shout out to Navi and Rana for pointing that out. Makes that conversation with his father hold more weight for me.

Hemry64

It's beautifully done imo, the ending doesn't feel like as much of a cop out as it should to me.

MegaFreddy25- The former 3x Deadlock Patreon Champion who has RETURNED from Patreon locking my fucking subscription for a year

I wasn’t crazy about the mass revival at the end. I understand it was a way to redeem Nagato in the end and since it cost him his life it was meant as a one time thing, but for me it felt out of place in Naruto. We have had fake out deaths and one revival with Gaara at the cost of Chico’s life, but I’m not sure Nagato reviving everyone he killed in his invasion was the way to go.

Jjop017

I loved the ending its the message thats important not the fighting or deaths those are just cool moments this show taught me so much as a kid and this doesn't change that one God damn bit I'm even more hyped for whats to come.....best anime of all time 😁😁😁😁

Rando calrissian

I believe the ending would have been better if everything happens the same and he break through to nagato but nobody comes back to life.

It's complicated. I understand the arc is more about the personal growth of Naruto, but it also serves to establish Naruto's physical strength isn't whats going to change the world. You can make an argument of no real consequences but within the context of the show theres more lessons for Naruto to learn. I think within the show as a whole, if you continue watching the Pain arc settles in nicely. There are more consequences further on, and the Pain arc is the best arc to push Naruto to take things a little more seriously. Whether or not you think the revives are justified as a means to an end are up to you.

I loved the ending. As a kid I cried for Naruto because he finally got what he always wanted and always deserved. I always believed this arc should have been the final arc of Naruto. I also love Nagato's sacrifice I think it's a great way to end his character and I think it's a clever way to get someone as powerful as him out of the story without him just leaving and not doing anything. The whole revival is fine to me I never cared about that. Is it dumb? I guess but whatever who cares. It's not like a Dragon Ball situation. Only someone with the Rinnegan can do Rinne Rebirth and IMO losing Nagato is much sadder than the dumbasses in the Leaf.

Brian Gerald Ford

I feel like most people were upset about all the revives, which is understandable. Personally, I don't mind it. As far as the Talk no Jutsu, I honestly couldn't see this arc ending any other way. This arc talked about peace and trying to break the cycle of war, so It'd be weird if Naruto ended it by beating the shit out of Nagato. Showing an alternative way to ending violence through words and understanding makes the most sense and is a good lesson. Even if our world's governments will never go this route Naruto's audience can take a page out of this arc's lesson and apply it to their everyday.

Gezno

Of course it didn't end realistically lol. How can any grown adult argue anything different? 😂 I can tell Suraj, and Micky were of the same mindset during the reaction, but kept quiet as to not upset the narutards. But hey, that's business.

Kamina 1

I never liked the idea of "Talk No Jutsu" because all it really has become is Naruto just giving people common sense most of the time. As cool as Naruto is, he hasn't has nearly enough experience to really give these grown adults a different perspective. These adults with so much trauma and literal war experiences are getting talked out of their plans by a 15-16 year old who's favorite past time is eating ramen and transforming into half naked women. Naruto has been through a lot himself and I am so glad we get to see his growth, but I really wish he didn't just unlock the secrets of ending battle through conversation. The WandaVision fight with Vision vs Vision was a good example of "Talk No Jutsu" because it provided somewhat of a need to think for the enemy. Mostly you just have Naruto hearing out the person and then telling them that their whole world view is wrong and they should think in a certain way instead. I feel like Naruto did it really well against Zabuza. It really felt like he felt that connection between him and Haku and it really pained him to see Zabuza viewing Haku the way he did because he was also viewed as nothing but a tool. It felt like he shared his pain with Zabuza to get him to open his eyes rather than anything else. Idk this may just be an unpopular opinion.

Dayvon Rose

It was the first time I ever seen a protagonist talk a villain into defeat when I was a kid so oh yeah. I'm gonna have to rewatch the next coming arcs now cause I kinda forgot how things go lol

MojoJojoGojo

In this instance i think it was well done, but (not to give any spoilers) i wasnt so much satisfied in the later arcs

Siraj Khalid

Loved it but i would of loved a bit more consequences to be honest, felt a bit cheap that pain just basically revived everyone, thereby negating any of the effects except for the destruction in the village. But i guess that because he is not the ending villain of the series you couldn't have him change the state of the show to much. Still I think its the best arc of the entire series

jose giron

You should do a separate poll asking if people are ok with the reviving tbh. Because the Talk No Jutsu was fine, it's the whole theme of the arc after all, to forgive rather than keep killing. But the bullshit revival of everyone still leaves a bad taste in my mouth to this day lol. It's just cheap. Don't kill off so many characters if you're just gonna revive them through a Jutsu that was never even mentioned before that exact moment lol.

Shockzz1234

174 is my favorite episode in the series and it's because of Naruto's and Nagato's conversation. Nagato is legit shook when he hears his own words come out of Naruto's mouth and then realizes that his ideals were what really inspired Jiraiya which causes him to doubt everything he's done as Pain. As Nagato says they're sibling students, so they should be able to understand one another. Thus, he understands Naruto is willing to stick to their same ideals.

Zach Dalton

Naruto doesn’t give you the same feelings anymore after the pain arc! Like the story still has great moments and amazing fights! But from this point on.. Naruto does feel like something is missing! Please be prepared! The flashbacks get really bad after this.

Delix Rodgers

Talk no Jutsu is fine because this is the first real instance of it and Naruto and Nagato literally have so much in common. Bringing everyone back to life did NOT need to happen. Everyone who died either had full character arcs, or weren’t relevant to the story. People talk on and on about “Knowing Pain” but all that really means in the end is Jiraiya dying, which happened a long ass time ago. So really we knew pain way back. Oh and I guess the destruction of the leaf, which isn’t even a problem for long.

ChiGuy2019

Reviving everyone is the big issue of this arc. Up until that point it was probably the best arc in shipuuden. But then rob the viewer, narutos character growth and just overall state of the world and consequences . Just felt like such bad writing decision, it undercuts the drama and stakes going forward even more than before . Kakashi is one of my favorite naruto characters and i was so sad to see him die and was bummed for weeks , but now this happen and im like WTF. It was at this moment that i felt like naruto peaked and got downhill at the same time

Edgar

and it would of worked cause the literal next arc we get an explosion of new characters to focus on so killing off someone like tenten wouldn't have been a bad idea

GodUsopp

Yeah i thought they should of never killed kakashi right there in the first place but everyone else that got killed should of stayed dead

GodUsopp

I think it’s too much to say talk no jutsu should be the ideal way to end a fight in Naruto, but realistically this was the villain that it makes the most sense to end that way (at this point, not expanding on that). Pain’s whole plan was founded on his war philosophy, so to truly defeat him he had to have something to combat his beliefs. Besides, the fight was practically over at this point anyway. Nagato was fizzling out and while I’m generally not one for take backs on major character deaths, this was 1.) a bit extreme for the plot of Naruto to this point and 2.) was the only fitting time to broker some revives out of someone with the power over life and death

Matthew Elijah Brown

Sarcasm? This is when it goes downhill lol.

Shockzz1234

For me! It was more then just being talked no jutsu! More like two people personally arguing about their beliefs.. Nagato still argued back with Naruto! And just because Nagato finally agreed with Naruto! That doesn’t mean his mind was completely changed! He just trusted Naruto to find the right answer since his path was the wrong path! Life did change Nagato! And he had every right to change!

Delix Rodgers

I am excited for the Five Kage arc

Kiran Mykoo

My problem is that the Pain Arc is so good because in 2010 I was like, the story could have had a satisfying ending there because from the beginning we were focused on Naruto's acceptance and his struggle to prove himself and this was the defining moment when everyone was like THATS OUR BOY so we come full circle, but then we drag the story out for another million years with subplots that the Big Three anime at the time loved to abuse....yea there were good parts but...spoilerspoilerspoiler and that cash cow called Boruto

FryLord

It might happen a *tiny* bit too fast for me, and all the characters coming back to life kinda cheapens it a *tiny* bit, but it's done in such a way where it's still satisfying

SpeedyCat19

I love everything about the pain arc except the one thing I would definitely change is that more people would have died in the attack. I don’t see any reason why hardly any main characters died. Especially with how devastating the attack was. It would have been so much more impactful if more main characters died. I mean we literally only lost one major character and two sort of major side characters. It would have been so much more of a shock if more people died and in turn so much more of a relief when we got them back. I just don’t know what they were thinking I mean why have so many main characters inexplicably survive? Other than that flaw I love the pain arc.

Joshua Krienke

I’m perfectly okay with Nagato getting TNJ’ed. It’s the mass revival of everyone he killed I’m not crazy about.

CloudMountainJuror

I loved how this ended and it feels like a right ending given the journey we saw from OG Naruto to this point in Shippuden. One journey ends; another begins.

Chaos T

I wish I lived in the same world as you. I agree with you completely but unnfortunately I always see tons of people bashing hating on this entire arc because of this ending

Best written arc of the whole series in my opinion

Kanan Jarrus

Exactly. Because Nagato wasn't a hypocrite; he truly wanted to make the world better and he was convinced by Naruto that he could. Gaara got talk-no-jutsu'd into not having mental illness, and nobody seemed to have an issue with that. This one feels earned.

PercussionFellow

The best part about this arc is the stories that follows

Aion

I feel like this is one of the few times talk-no-jitsu feels earned

Logan Gamb

If you have a problem with talk no jutsu here un this arc, then what about all the ones before this XD

Tim Lawrence

This is when Naruto starts to get good and everything is explained

Makhi Simms

Probably one of the best examples of teaching the horrors of war and empathy. I don’t think I’ve met a single person dissatisfied with the Pain Arc ending.

John M

Ok but what about all the people that died though?? I mean it’s kinda just bullshit that he gets to undo all that because plot.

Jacob Goodheart

Congrats you all know pain......now the fuckery of the 2nd half of the series begins!!! So excited!!!!!!

Marcb92

One of the main points of the Pain arc is the value of talking things through rather than simply killing the enemy before they kill you. It fundamentally changes Naruto’s beliefs and the way he approaches conflicts going forward.

Mike Samlall

HECK YEA! "You shall know Pain" DO YOU.?

Hime

I cry every single time! I think its a perfect ending.

ManicMeeks

Now tell me Do you finally know pain 😂

Watchdog

That last episode makes it all worth it

SpeedyCat19