Hello, all! Anna speaking. Happy November!

So, being the huge otaku (manga/anime fan) that I am, naturally, I have to do a multi-part rant on the differences between popular manga and their corresponding anime that irk me. Let's start with Naruto.

I'm certain that there are a lot of Naruto fans out there reading this. Now there's probably a lot more of you who watch Naruto and a lot less who read Naruto. Firstly, I'd like to make a point that Naruto Shippuden should never have happened. (Dodges flying produce.) I personally believe that the series has gone on for waaaaaaaay too long. What Kishimoto-san should have done was this: use Shippuden as an epilogue-esque thing to wrap up the first part. I mean seriously, Shippuden is mostly filler plot and when you finally get to the real plot, it sucks! For instance, that newest little bit in Shippuden where Sakura proclaims her love for NARUTO! Naruto? Are you kidding me? I mean, I get the whole Naruto having a crush on Sakura since volume one, but the whole time, their relationship has been purely a brother-sister thing (SasuSaku will happen, dammit....even if it isn't canon....).

Did you ever notice how in the anime everything is drawn out way too long? Like the first few episodes, which was the battle on the bridge with Haku and Zabuza, took forever. Don't get me wrong, Kishimoto has a gift for battle sequences (I mean, hello, his manga's full of them.) but he always drags them out, successfully killing most feelings of suspense. Not to mention the overuse of everyone's name. "NARUTO!" "SASUKE!" "SAKURA!" "Anna!". It's like, "I'm right next to you, you idiot, you don't have to scream my name every two seconds." They also say names a lot in their heads. Like Naruto will say or do something and everyone will be silent in the room, close-ups on faces, someone (usually Sasuke) is smirking or scowling determinedly, and you hear what they're thinking and it's "Naruto..." and I'm thinking, "Mmm...cookies..."

And don't get me started on all the names you have to remember. And as the series progresses, the names start to sound alike.... Thank God for Uncle Yo and his Naruto name song. http://www.uncleyo.com/uy2009/

So, Sakura. I will definitely give her some credit, she got a whole lot stronger and more mature in Shippuden. But recently, she's been relapsing into Original-Series Sakura. Seriously, what did she do in the original series? Hm? Here's what. Whined, cried, screamed, walked up a tree, hugged a lot of people, stood, sat, laid down, asked questions, thought, talked, cut her hair, and got knocked out and left on a bench. Yup, that's basically Sakura in the original series... honkshu... Anyway, now at least she's got some talent. I personally find the whole punch-the-ground-create-the-Himalayas to be a wicked cool power. And on top of that, now she's a medic. But recently, she has returned to the crying and patheticness. We can only hope that she gets her act together again...

And then of course, I can't forget the gratuitous overuse of plot twists. At this point, this series is so twisted up, trust me, it ain't never getting itself unknotted. It's like CLAMP....except...not as good. Come on, I know half of you watch Card Captor Sakura on a regular basis, DON'T LIE TO ME! Like that whole thing with Pein bringing everyone back to life was just ridiculous! But I am glad that Kakashi survived, 'cuz he's just too awesome to die.

Well, that's about it. If I have any more to say, I'll say it in the next installment of this little series of rants. Hope you enjoyed it!

Anna out.