Kaguya Ōtsutsuki - What I Think

Written by: Shiggins

Time for a spoiler-filled opinion article!

To say that Kaguya has upset the Naruto fandom is an understatement. With her appearance, Masashi Kishimoto was probably expecting gasps of shock and awe due when the long-haired babe stepped out of the shadows and caused chaos for the main characters. Instead, every fan has put on a look of confusion and groaned as they have to endure chapter after chapter of Kaguya fighting Team 7 of Naruto.

*sigh* Let's just get this one over with.

So what is it exactly that makes fans consider Kaguya “the downfall of Naruto”? Well, that’s what this article will objectively look at and see if the fans are justifiably upset or not. 

Who is Kaguya?

Before we get to talking about the plot around her, let’s talk about who and what Kaguya really is. Years and years ago, Kaguya gave birth to Hagoromo and Hamura, who would later become known as The Sage of Six Paths and the Sage of Six Path’s brother. After eating a mystical fruit from a giant tree, Kaguya was the first ever user of Chakra and became part of the tree itself, which then became the Ten-Tails. She is also known as the Rabbit Goddess, which is a reference to her affiliation with the moon.

If I was scared of a woman with horns, the last thing I would call her is "rabbit".

To be honest, that’s not a horrible idea. The creator of Chakra itself is instantly something which gains your attention and the idea of it being a terrifying mother who holds a grudge could be interesting if it was done correctly. The fact that this isn't “The First Uchiha” or something equally related to Uchiha does provide a nice change as it does give us a break from Uchiha villains. Kishimoto could have taken many different paths for his next big villain and you have to agree, he could have done a lot worse than the Origin of Chakra.

Kaguya’s Powers

As the creator of Chakra, we all expect Kaguya to possess amazing abilities and techniques that would make us all shocked and shiver in arousal at the epicness. Kaguya has some impressive abilities but honestly, nothing that amazing.

Kaguya believes she can appear in this series"because she's worth it".

Kaguya has the Byakugan. Not only that, she makes the Byakugan impressive and intimidating at the same time which is something I’ve admittedly wanted since Naruto defeated Neji. Amongst all the eye powers out there, the Sharingan was overpowered and the Rinnegan was creepy but the Byakugan virtually disappeared without anybody caring about it. Seeing her use her Byakugan to find all the weaknesses of her opponent, including Sasuke’s Susanoo, is actually quite enjoyable and reminds us why we liked the Byakugan when Neji was an antagonist. She also has a Rinnegan/Sharingan combination on her forehead for extra creepiness because sadly, no fucking villain can even wipe their own arse unless they have the irritating Sharingan on them these days.

That's her message to all Byakugan haters.

Her most notable power is the power to change dimensions using her third eye, but unlike the Kamui of Kakashi and Obito, this eye power changes the entire dimension around her and she can choose from several dimensions. This could be considered impressive if it made any sense! Instead, I just get various annoying questions in my head, with the most prominent one being “Where did all of these dimensions come from?!” Is Kaguya creating them perhaps? Are they actually different time periods of the same location? When did Kaguya unlock this power? Why did she unlock this power? For these reasons and unanswered questions, I have grown to majorly dislike this power.

To be fair though, at least her Sharingan doesn't somehow break through the worlds of "Living" and "Dead".

Kaguya also has the power of Shikotsumyaku, which is when she uses her bones as weapons and tools (just like the majorly underused Kimimaro) and can manipulate her hair in any way she chooses (just like the lovable Jiraiya).

A character that Kishimoto never gave a fair chance to.

All of her abilities are Kekkei Genkai and I have to give Kishimoto credit for remembering that Kaguya can’t use actual Ninjutsu since Ninjutsu wasn't created until after her death. I don’t care for the fact she can use Sharingan due to it being overused in Naruto, or her unexplained Dimension-jumping ability which sadly are her two most prominent powers and therefore the most important ones to like or dislike.

Kaguya is a Woman

In any other series, I wouldn't care about Kaguya’s gender. Both men and women are huge in shonen series and chances are they are a love interest, villain or both. However in the series of Naruto, the idea of a strong female character being the main antagonist and causing so much chaos and destruction is nearly amazing because of how unlikely it is for Kishimoto to do such a thing. 

Women are not greatly represented in Naruto, with characters like Sakura and Hinata constantly being considered weak or “useless” (but that debate is for another article), and other characters like Konan and Karin being far too passive and disappointing as villains. Kaguya is a strong, terrifying presence and although she may not be entirely welcome, the fact she is a female is helpful to the portrayal of women within Naruto as a whole.

The only time the girls of Naruto ever had the most power. (Seriously, watch this anime. It's amazing).

It’s just a shame I actually find her bland and boring. She has no real character or charisma. No wit or joy or even a proper motive except “she desires power”. As Claydragon pointed out to me, Kaguya is very straight-forward and doesn't waste time bragging or acting like a twat while going on huge speeches. In her first appearance, she instantly got to work to kill Naruto and Sasuke without blinking an eye, and that is quite refreshing in its own way. 

On the one hand, it’s enjoyable to see a character just get to work and not waste time by prancing about or trying to explain everything. On the other hand, it causes Kaguya to lack anything other than a blank (although creepy) face and for that, I find her far too forgettable to enjoy.

What Kaguya Has Done to the Story

And now we come to my biggest issue. Her appearance has sent the story into a barrage of ass-pulling and boredom. Throughout the entire series of Naruto, Madara Uchiha has been teased as the main manipulator and antagonist of the series and it all made perfect sense when it was explained to us. We were happy with the reasoning and the logic, even if one or two questions were asked immediately afterwards. We had our story, we had our villain and we had our final battle ready.

Then Kaguya appeared.

Kaguya literally appearing out of nowhere to fuck up your shit.

Suddenly, Black Zetsu was created years and years ago by Kaguya before she was sealed up inside the moon. Black Zetsu was the “Will of Kaguya” instead of the “Will of Madara”, despite us seeing Madara create the Black Zetsu in the first place. Black Zetsu seemed to be behind every single act involving Madara and the Uchiha, and Madara had gone from the “major antagonist” to “a mere pawn”. And this is only scratching the surface of everything Kaguya changed.

Black Zetsu also gained "Convenient Story-Telling" powers for one chapter.

Kaguya seems to be a magnet for crap too. Ever since she arrived, disappointment after disappointment has come our way. Rules that were established years ago by the Naruto characters get broken constantly with little-to-no explanation, and nobody feels like Kishimoto is trying as hard as he used to. Even moments that should be great, like Kakashi obtaining Sharingan again, are ruined by a lack of common sense or respect to the reader.

Goodbye, Madara's Dignity.

I don't consider myself a “Madara fanboy” but I am going to say I respected his character. He was somewhat enjoyable to see, even if he was getting quite boring and stale in recent chapters. However, one cannot deny that Madara should have been the main villain. He had the motive, he had the build-up and he had the evil record behind him. Kaguya was never even mentioned until Chapter #670 and then made her physical appearance as the main villain in Chapter #679. For Madara to be dethroned by such a last-minute character is nothing more than an insult to him, the readers and to the Naruto series itself.

Final Verdict

Kishimoto, I love you. I really do. However, I despise Kaguya.

Kaguya is too much of a last-minute attempt to keep the series going longer than it needs to, and her personality isn't memorable enough to leave an impact. Her fighting style is enjoyable enough but is filled with too many confusing questions that we’ll probably never get answered. And all of these problems would be forgivable if she hadn't ruined a story we were happy and content with by filling it with plot-holes and errors and unnecessary changes.

The only panel that made me somewhat smile since Kaguya has appeared.

Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below.

Shiggins:[Admin]
  .

Shiggins enjoys many strange forms of communication, especially those including cosplayers or presents or videos. However, until that wonderful day comes when people care enough to give him things for being him, you can contact him on his Skype; shigginsishere. He can also respond to you if you contact him through GMails at shigginsishere@gmail.com, and you can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere.