Naruto Anime Analysis

Season 2: Episode 98

Source: Wikipedia
"Tsunade's Warning: Ninja No More!"

"Upon arriving in Konoha, preparations are made to formally put Tsunade into office, though she is largely uninterested in formalities and leaves the task to her new assistants. She makes her rounds in the Konoha hospital, healing Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke of the damage done to their minds by Itachi's Tsukuyomi. When examining the wounds on Rock Lee's body, Tsunade discovers that the damage to his spine is too extensive, even for her, to heal with certainty. She advises Lee to give up on his dreams of being a ninja, citing that there is only a 50% chance that he will survive the operation."

Analysis

Upon arriving in Konoha, preparations are made to formally put Tsunade into office, though she is largely uninterested in formalities and leaves the task to her new assistants. A lot has happened during this moment. In this episode, there is music playing in the background to celebrate Tsunade's return to the Hidden Leaf Village and her becoming the Hokage.

She makes her rounds in the Konoha hospital, healing Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke of the damage done to their minds by Itachi's Tsukuyomi. Naruto was the one who looked for Tsunade so that she could heal Sasuke, Kakashi, and Rock Lee. Therefore, without Naruto, Tsunade wouldn't have immediately healed them because she had completely forgotten about the promise she made to Naruto.

Along the way, she meets Shikamaru and his father. Shikamaru asks why Tsunade is talking to his father as the boss. In response, Naruto told Shikamaru that she is the fifth Hokage and that she is in her 50s, even though Tsunade looks young.

There is a characterization of Shikamaru. For instance, Shikamaru seems critical of her position because she is a woman. He believes that women play mind games, trying to do what they want. From my point of view, he seems a bit sexist toward women since he implies that women are not in control of their emotions. In this case, this is a negative view of women.

However, Shikamaru's father acknowledges women because, without them, they wouldn't exist. He went on to say that they make men better people. Even the strongest of them isn't afraid to be gentle with the man she loves. His father has a positive regard for women and told Shikamaru that he will understand in the future. The episode seems to highlight the good qualities of women in a positive light. One of the strengths of being a woman is that she is gentle towards the men she loves. For example, in a way, Sakura still loves Sasuke even though he is mean to her at times. Moreover, Hinata is gentle and kind whenever she is close to Naruto. Therefore, when it comes to love, women have that strength.

Meanwhile, Tsunade makes her rounds in the Konoha hospital as she heals Sasuke Uchiha. As a result, piano music plays in the background to celebrate Sasuke's recovery. When Sakura hugged Sasuke, she started crying; hence, it was an emotional scene. While this happens, Naruto watches from a distance as he just stares at Sakura and leaves the room. Naruto likes Sakura, but Sakura likes Sasuke, hence the unrequited love on the part of Naruto. It is such a complicated situation that even Tsunade notices Naruto cares about Sakura since she says in her mind, "A little tough guy has a soft spot, I see."

Tsunade has managed to heel Kakashi, but she is very disappointed in him. Kakashi apologizes. Moreover, after she finished healing Kakashi, Tsunade was now in the process of checking Rock Lee's wounds.

When examining the wounds on Rock Lee's body, Tsunade discovers that the damage to his spine is too extensive, even for her, to heal with certainty. She advises Lee to give up on his dreams of being a ninja, citing that there is only a 50% chance that he will survive the operation. The mood in the atmosphere changed from being positive to being negative. Might Guy is also affected by this because he said that Lee is like a son to him. If Lee decides to do the operation and it is unsuccessful, he could die. It is an intense moment, and it's not an easy decision to make. What will happen next? What will Lee do? We are left in suspense until the next episode.

The lesson from this episode is that one should not judge others based on their appearance, just like Shikamaru did when he criticized Tsunade's position as Hokage.