Naruto Anime Analysis

Season 3: Episode 127

Source: Wikipedia,
"Vengeful Strike! The Bracken Dance"

"Recognizing the potency of Gaara's attack and the strength of his defences, Kimimaro hardens a bone around his arm into the shape of a drill. With this, his strongest weapon, Kimimaro charges at Gaara, though Gaara's final defence proves too much, and it shatters. Calling upon the sand in the ground, Gaara pulls Kimimaro deep underground, confining him there until his eventual death. As Kimimaro sinks, he creates a forest of bones to burst from the ground, which Gaara can help Lee avoid at the last second. As the two sit, completely exhausted but relieved to have won, Kimimaro appears from one of the bones with his bone drill for a final attack. His disease gets the best of him at the last second, and he dies before he can finish Gaara and Lee. Gaara reflects that, like Lee and Naruto, Kimimaro had someone whom he cared for so much that every ill done to that person was done to him as well, someone he was willing to die for, and that even the companionship of an evil person can be preferable to loneliness. Elsewhere, Naruto has caught up to Sasuke."

Analysis

The following episode mentions a lot about Gaara's and Kimimaro's techniques. 

However, what makes the episode even more significant? It reveals why Kimimaro is so loyal to Orochimaru. In the following details, I will explain the relationship between Orochimaru and Kimimaro.

In the episode, Orochimaru and Kabuto talked about Kimimaro, and I will show you a dialogue between the two of them:

Orochimaru: Kabuto, how much longer can Kimimaru last?"

Kabuto: Well, he should be good for a while... I did everything for him that I possibly could. Of course, I would be confident in his treatment if I hadn't been working in the dark. I would have preferred more information, such as his medical history or the bloodline of his clan, but that was a dead end. There are no bloodlines. The Kaguya clan is gone except for him. Whatever they were exists only in Kimimaro now. They must have been mad to provoke a war with the village hidden in the mist, a war they could never win. The price of their madness was their destruction.

Orochimaru: The Kaguya clan were people who thrived on war. It was only a mix of battle and slaughter that they felt at peace with, but times changed. There was no longer a place in the world for such senseless savagery and bloodshed. The world was becoming more civilised and so this last mad act, pretending that a good force could defeat an organized power like the Mist Village, was nothing less than mass suicide.

Kabuto: And yet you were able to save one from oblivion, the youngest and most gifted of all, Kaguya

Orochimaru: Yes, his powers were so great that his clan feared him so much that they kept him in prison and isolated him for nearly all his young life.

Kabuto: Such a waste it would have been to let him die

Orochimaru: Exactly. To have lost that rare kekkei Genkai of his. Imagine possessing a bone structure of such density that it's almost impervious defence and even better adaptability that, in offence, it becomes a weapon of extraordinary power.

When looking at the dialogue, it is clear that Orochimaru was only interested in Kimimaru because he possessed the kekkei Genkai. Moreover, it seems he is only interested in finding people who possess the kekkei Genkai, as is evident with Sasuke, who has the Sharingan. Therefore, he only cares about himself because he is only interested in obtaining power. In other words, he is selfish enough to sacrifice Kimimaro for his selfish tendencies.

However, Kimimaro remains loyal to Orochimaru because he believes that he gave him a purpose. For instance, in the episode, we're shown Kimimaru's memories from the first time he got the curse mark to when he was part of the Sound Five Ninja. This proves that he values the times he spent with Orochimaru as his master while he was a slave, following his orders.

Moreover, Kimimaru stays loyal to Orochimaru. For instance, when he was on the verge of death, he said, "Lord Orochimaru. I'm sorry I failed you. Please forgive me, my lord." This proves again that the relationship was that of a master and a slave.

However, despite his loyalty until his death, Orochimaru doesn't show empathy. This is shown when he says, "No matter. He's of no further use to me. All that matters now is that Sasuke is coming and of his own free will, just as I foretold." He wanted Kimimaru as his vessel at first.  However, due to his sickness, Orochimaru had to look for another vessel, which is Sasuke. Orochimaru has narcissistic tendencies because he only cares about himself. Moreover, it is a tragedy for Kimimaru because he died for the sake of Orochimaru's wants and needs. As Gaara said towards the end of the episode, even the companionship of an evil person can be preferable to loneliness.

The episode ends, and we're left in suspense as to whether Naruto has caught up to Sasuke; hence, the highly anticipated showdown will be shown in the next episode.

The episode was very informative in terms of the relationship between Orochimaru and Kimimaru. It also showed the other side of Kimimaru, who has empathy in terms of sharing Orochimaru's wants and needs. Therefore, he was just a victim of Orochimaru's manipulative tendencies.

The lesson from this episode is that some will take advantage of someone's vulnerability. This is evident in how Orochimaru took advantage of Kimimaru's vulnerability to get what he wanted. Kimimaru's whole life was focused on having a purpose, and Orochimaru manipulated him by giving him the purpose of being his vessel and his slave.