FanficRecs Interesting Idea, but Hindsight is 20/20
Spoilers ahead for this review (although it's 10 years old now)
What if Kushina hadn't died? What if proper medical help arrived in time?
This is the central question of this Fanfic. It is an interesting idea.
But that also poses an interesting question: How does Naruto grow up? How does strife come into his life?
Because he has:
- The love of a parent (He is not unloved)
- Someone to train with day-in, day-out with a library full of Jutsus he can learn (He is not unprepared/weak)
- Friends who cherish him for who he is in Hinata, Kakashi, his own mother, Tsunade, Jiraiya, etc. (He is not alone)
He has everything he could wish for. How does the Author manage to make it into an interesting story?
He doesn't. It is "Naruto& Naruto Shipudden: The Wish-Fulfillment Cut"
Also this story is through this change an AU Fanfic. A LOT of things change.
- The Uchiha family isn't killed until only Sasuke is left. The people that are left are his mother, his uncle, and his "cousin Gabrella"
- He doesn't become anything close to friends with Sasuke(He turns into the "Childhood Rival"), Sakura (turns into Sasuke's #1 Fangirl)
- Team 7 consists of Naruto, Kiba and Hinata& Kakashi as Leader. Sasuke& Sakura team up with Shino& Kurenai
- The Bell test resolves differently as well.
- In the preliminary exam matches Gaara fights against Neji instead of Rock Lee, who he almost kills
- This expels him from the city and the Konoha Crush starts with him outside the city bounds raging through the city as the One-Tailed Beast
- Naruto, however, repels the Konoha Crush by killing the Kazekage and 300 Sand-Nin in one attack. At his normal genin age!
- Gaara is led away from the fight and killed by Jiraiya
- In the Wave mission they kill Zabuza, but spare Haku. He turns into another friend of Naruto.
- Throughout this story Naruto is skilled, but also careless and even arrogant, especially later on.
- This fucks him later on. In a HUGE way.
It's also noticeable that is has been finished in a time-span of 6 months. Dialogue is sometimes OOC. Naturally, the whole Ōtsutsuki shebang doesn't happen.
Throughout this I couldn't help but feel for characters who either died early on or were side-lined by the author in pursuit of other paths.
A lot of the strife and pain Naruto experiences simply doesn't happen.
It is a very interesting idea but it also could be improved in certain aspects.
FanficRecs Underrated and Overhated
This'll probably be a bit long.
This fanfic, while certainly not the best, has garnered much hate from what I've seen, and I cannot understand why for the life of me. How do so many stupid self-inserts and Gary Stu fics get a page here, but not this actually interesting one? Does it make Kushina a bit of a Mary Sue? Yes, but considering how little we got of her originally, I don't necessarily mind it.
I am continuously amazed by the fact that this over 100 chapter fanfic got completed in just over half a year. And the chapters are not short either!
I've also seen how people rag on this by it "bashing" characters, mainly Sasuke. BUT MY GOD, THEY MADE EVIL SASUKE ACTUALLY IN-CHARACTER AND UNDERSTANDABLE RATHER THAN JUST MAKING HIM A DOUCHE FOR NO REASON. This story came out in December 2007 and June 2008, so Itachi's true nature hadn't even been revealed in the manga yet, and so, in search of a worthy opponent, he tricks Sasuke into believing Naruto is the Nine Tails reincarnated, and practically manipulates their rivalry into being a toxic one. Up until that point, Sasuke didn't like Naruto, but he didn't wish death upon him, but after that, Sasuke hates Naruto as much as he hated Itachi in canon because that's where his anger is focused now, and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring him down.
Which brings us nicely to Sakura, who Sasuke starts manipulating early on because he knows that he won't be able to bring down the Nine Tails without help. And I'm sorry Sakura fans, but you must have forgotten what Sakura was like before she became a ninja to call this out of character for her. What really impresses me is that her devotion to Sasuke ACTUALLY STARTS PAYING OFF. With very few people to turn to, Sasuke starts to rely on her more and more, and really starts falling for her... and it only makes it sting all the more when he chooses his mission over her, and breaks down sobbing about it. He is given multiple opportunities to give up his mission and live a happy life, but, in the words of Attack on Titan, he keeps moving forward.
My only real complaint is that we didn't get more of it. I haven't read the fic all the way through, but after Sasuke's story is over, I kinda lost interest in continuing. Kinda wished that Sasuke escaped the village and further plotted how to kill Naruto, cursing him for "making him go as far as he did".
The rest is up to personal preference. I personally didn't find most of the extra stuff added to be all too interesting, but it all kept the story going. This was all just one big excuse to say that this is the best iteration of Evil Sasuke that I've ever seen.