“Sasuke Retsuden” Manga Issue 5 Review

Sasuke Retsuden issue 5 had Sasuke and Sakura do more ninja things together as they came closer to figuring out what’s Zanzul’s been up to at the Tartar Observatory.

First things first. It has been announced that the Sasuke Retsuden manga will be getting an anime adaptation in January of next year. These particular episodes will be part of the currently airing Boruto anime series. Now, for those of you who might not know, the events of Sasuke Retsuden are supposed to have occurred way before the Kawaki and Kara stuff that’s happening in the Boruto anime right now. So, I’m not really sure how the anime writers will adapt the manga to fit the timeline.

From what I can tell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the upcoming Sasuke Retsuden episodes occur as part of some multi-episode long flashback or if the writers decide to play with the timeline a bit by having Naruto fall ill due to recently losing Kurama and having that lead to Sasuke and Sakura traveling to the land of Redaku to find a cure. Whether route the writers end up taking, we will find out soon enough. 

I’m just excited to see such an enjoyable story finally get an anime adaptation. I can’t wait to see how the anime will handle the scenes from chapter 4 where Sasuke gave Sakura a wedding ring and the awesome scene where Sakura used her perfect chakra control to demonstrate a Sensory Jutsu that she created. 

Anyway, coming back to Sasuke Retsuden issue 5, it opened with Sasuke reading the list Sakura gave him where she was able to connect the images of the cards to particular months. We know that the pictures on the cards nudged Sasuke’s brain in another direction. And it was nice to see him figure out the riddle and share his thoughts with Sakura in this chapter.

But before that happened, we got a scene where Sasuke and his cellmates Jiji, Penzila, and Ganno noticed how Meno’s been making the rounds outside. For some reason, Jiji wanted to test a risky theory because he had noticed Meno curling up near an almond tree. It’s revealed that Meno liked the scent of the almond tree and so Jiji borrowed Ganno’s stick (from the almond tree) to have Meno come close enough to be patted on the head.

I liked how the narrative shared that even though Meno’s a velociraptor, it was still an animal. And yeah, Meno liked being pet. It wasn’t going to attack any human unless they broke a rule. As far as Meno’s concerned, reaching out from between the cell bars with your hands was okay. But the moment a single toe touched the ground outside the cell, Meno will attack you.

I’m looking forward to seeing if the specifics of how Meno followed the rules will be used by Sasuke to his advantage. Meno was also hurt by the oil being used to light the lamp inside the cell. So, let’s see if that piece of information is also used or not down the line.

Looking at the orange flame from the lamp is what led Sasuke to realize that the pictures on the cards making up the ‘Star Lines’ game were connected to the Tailed-Beasts. I liked how Sakura immediately picked up Sasuke’s line of thought and helped him link each card to the respective Tailed-Beast and months. The only two paintings left for them to link were the ones depicting Tatar the astronomer and the Sage of Six Paths. We know that both lead characters are smart but in their own way. And that’s why I’m always a fan of scenes that showcase that.

Sasuke Retsduen issue 5 had Sakura and Sasuke do more ninja-like things when Sakura revealed that a messenger, sent by Redaku’s Prime Minister, was coming to meet Zanzul. Again, the importance of said messager coming over would have had more of an impact on casual readers if the Kakashi Retsduen novel had recieved a manga adaptation before Sasuke Retsuden. But oh well.

Sasuke and Sakura finding a way to break into Zanzul’s office (with Sakura disguised as the messenger named Fandal and Sasuke transforming into Fandal’s staff) made for a very exciting scene. This is what ninjas are supposed to do, and it’s in sharp contrast to the cast of Boruto fighting OP parasitic aliens.

Mangaka Shingo Kimura did a good job of pacing out the scene in Zanzul’s office and amping up the tension as Sakura (disguised as Fandal) tried to keep Zanzul distracted to buy enough time for Sasuke to enter a locked door inside the office. It was a good thing Sakura decided to bring Fandal’s actual staff with her. I also liked how Zanzul refused to share any information with Sakura/Fandal about the project that the Prime Minister wanted to know the progress of. He also didn’t explain what he meant by the term “assets”. You can tell that Zanzul’s not a pushover and he’s growing suspicious.

Sasuke demonstrated his sensitive chakra control by understanding the shape of the key required to unlock the door and then fashioning an exact replica of the key by using Earth-Style. From what I remember, the novel explained that unlocking doors without outright breaking them required an extremely high level of chakra control. Naruto’s able to create a mini Rasengan inside locks to open them. And Shikamaru can use his clan’s Shadow-Style Jutsu to open locked doors. Of course, Sakura’s on a whole other level by herself due to her Perfect Chakra Control, but Naruto and Sasuke are basically incomparable too in the Chakra Control department.

The unlocked door led Sasuke down a flight of stairs to an iron door, which he again opened by making another key with Earth-Style. Sasuke can easily start a side hustle by making replica keys for people to open locks.

Upon opening the door, Sasuke was surprised to see a room filled with chicken and… drumroll… dinosaur fossils!

Considering what happened in Naruto, I think certain readers should start having an idea about where all of this is headed, especially when it comes to how Meno’s able to exist in the first place in the present timeline. Also, the term “assets” is very telling if you have watched the Jurassic World movies.

What did you think of Sasuke Retsuden issue 5? Are you looking forward to watching the anime adaptation?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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