“Sasuke Retsuden” Manga Issue 8 – Part 1 – Review

After waiting for almost a month, Sasuke Retsuden manga issue 8 part 1 was about Sasuke going back to the Tatar Observatory to end the current threat once and for all.

Even though I think the manga adaptation of the Sasuke Retsuden novel is better than the anime version, I do feel that the latest installment didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m not saying that it wasn’t good. It’s just that I think Sasuke Retsuden manga issue 8 part 1 could have been visualized better. I want the manga to expand on certain scenes instead of serving as a storyboard for the anime adaptation.

The latest chapter opened with Sasuke and Meno running back to the Tatar Observatory. I liked how he was able to put two and two together and realize that Jiji was the traitor after what Zanzul said about Kakashi’s mission. Sasuke’s supposed to be a smart ninja, after all.

As someone who has read the novel, I was looking forward to the scene where Sasuke basically lost his cool after thinking Sakura might have died when Jiji’s Brachiosaurus brought the entire building down. That entire moment was very emotional in the novel. For someone like Sasuke, the possibility of Sakura dying brought back memories of the night of the Uchiha massacre. However, the manga more or less rushed through the entire thing. Yes, Sasuke called out Sakura’s name. But we didn’t get a look into his internal thoughts. So, that was disappointing.

Talking about Sakura, who was buried under all of the rubble and unable to correctly mold her Chakra to use her enhanced strength, well, at least she was strong enough to move some of the debris away and create an opening where she could see the sky.

Now, I don’t want to share spoilers for manga-only readers, but I was expecting a particular scene to occur during Sasuke’s search for his wife. The fact that it didn’t happen really made no sense to me. Like, that particular “item” held narrative importance. And it not being utilized properly, as it was in the novel, kind of left me stumped while reading the manga.

Also, where the heck was Sakura’s Byakugou Seal? I don’t know if the mangaka forgot to draw the iconic diamond on Sakura’s forehead or not, but Sakura sans diamond looked odd. And why didn’t she simply release the Byakugou Seal and allow all of her stored Chakra to override the poison blocking her Chakra points? Hmmm.

Another issue I had with the latest chapter was Sakura deciding to apologize to Sasuke after he rescued her. I understand her apologizing for not being able to stop Jiji. However, why the heck would she say that she was “useless” to Sasuke? I don’t remember her saying that in the novel or the anime. That specific instance made me remember the anime-only arc where Sakura felt she wasn’t strong enough as a parent because she didn’t want Salad, a young ninja, to go out on dangerous missions. Ugh!

The way certain creatives continue to make Sakura, an adult woman who is a member of the legendary Team 7 and a medical prodigy, feel insecure in such a manner really annoys me.

See? I had a bunch of issues with Sasuke Retsuden chapter 8 part 1, and again, I didn’t like I had to wait an entire month to be served… this!

Anyway, talking about Zanzul and Jiji, we got to learn a bit more about their deal and how Zanzul had agreed to bring back the remains of Jiji’s fiance after he helped Zanzul resurrect dinosaurs. We also got a scene showcasing how cold Jiji had become because he was willing to kill Ganno.

The action sequence in this chapter involved Meno basically giving me Jurassic World finale flashbacks as he pulled a handful of moves to protect as many prisoners as possible from the vicious dinosaurs. The scene where Sasuke dropped in to swat away a pack of raptors with his Susanno was cool.

Sasuke’s ready to end the current threat, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he, Sakura, and Meno will work together to accomplish such a task. Fingers crossed that we get a nice Sakura-centric moment in an upcoming issue to make up for the eye-roll-inducing “apology” moment that we got in this short chapter.

What did you think of Sasuke Retsuden Issue 8 Part 1?

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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary