According to Shonen Jump and DBZ editors, Pain was the last good Naruto arc.

Kazuhiko Torishima is the legendary Weekly Shonen Jump editor who discovered Akira Toriyama. dragon ball is Toriyama's baby, but Toriyama played a big role in shaping the manga's popularity. Torishima served as Toriyama's editor from the beginning. dragon ball At the beginning of the Saiyan Saga. Without Torishima dragon ball It will not exist as we know it. That said, Torishima has a sharp tongue and is not afraid to criticize the manga industry.

In an interview at Napoli Comicon attended by X user @XMathemagicianX, Torishima recently shared some harsh words about modern times. one pieceDespite my respect for Eiichiro Oda's work in previous issues. Likewise, Torishima was also praised. naruto Although he called it “very good at first”, he seemed less impressed with the rest of the comic. According to the legendary Shonen Jump editor, the Pain Arc is narutoThe last good story before Masashi Kishimoto's series falls apart.

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Pain was the beginning of the end for Naruto

Torishima did not elaborate on why he thought the Pain arc was the last good story arc. narutoBut anyone who has read or watched the series can understand why someone would feel that way. The Pain Arc was the culmination of everything that had happened so far. Naruto: Shippuden To that point, it brought an epic conclusion to the important Akatsuki storyline by having Naruto finally face off against leader Pain.

Because Pain is a surprising villain who directly challenges Naruto's ideals, Naruto has no real way to fight back against him philosophically. The destruction of Hidden Leaf Village feels painful, and Jiraiya's death is one of the most touching moments in the entire series. Pain Arc is rightfully considered one of the best shonen sagas of all time and features some of the best combat in the entire series. Subsequent arcs do not reach the heights of Pain's arc. In particular: naruto You slowly lose yourself with the aliens and the plot drags on for too long.

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Torishima wanted Kakashi to die, and he also wanted Sasuke to die.

Torishima also mentioned that Kishimoto wanted to make Kakashi's death permanent. During the Pain Arc, Kakashi exhausts all of his chakra fighting Pain to protect Choji and dies in the process. This is one of the most touching moments in the series, comparable to Jiraiya's death. Or so it would have been if Kakashi had actually stayed dead. Kakashi's death heightened the stakes unlike anything else in the story up to that point and showed that anyone could die.

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Until Kakashi comes back and proves it. narutoThe protagonist of has the thickest plot armor around. Interestingly, Torishima also said that he hoped Sasuke would die. Given how important Naruto's rescue of Sasuke is to the overall theme of the manga, killing him would have been an important tonal shift, but it also becomes a powerful moment that shows that Naruto's ideology doesn't always provide a clear answer or happy ending for him like the Pain arc did.