"Unfair" fights assorted thoughts - Sasuke vs Deidara

awesomeseimei

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Hello NB, long-time stalker here. I know that the fight between Deidara and Sasuke is often described as unfair, especially Sasuke's escape via Manda while having no chakra. So I decided to analyze it once again, and here are the thoughts:

First of all, yes, Sasuke had a plot shield. There's no way Kishimoto would have killed him off like that. But I have no problem with it - he is one of the main characters after all, so it's only natural.

Now for the fight itself:

1. Yes, Sasuke had a perfect counter for Deidara's jutsu. Also, Sasuke didn't want to kill Deidara since he wanted intel from him. However, Deidara DID manage to give Sasuke some trouble.

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Sasuke is almost out of chakra after all... So it wasn't a completely one-sided stomp fest. Also, Sasuke was going for a non-fatal blow, but he still attacked Deidara, and wasn't just defending himself.

2. The main problem is Deidara's mental breakdown. In the scan above, he says that his bombs can still move, but just a couple pages later, he goes nuts just because Sasuke is staring at him, and resorts to his self-destruction attack for no real reason. Remember how cool he was acting before, in his battle with Gaara? He must have been really traumatized by the Sharingan to be driven insane just by being looked at with it. Hypothetically, he could have kept using regular bombs (or at least trying) and maybe win, but only hypothetically.

3. Sasuke escaping the explosion. Of course, it should have been impossible, but keep in mind that big explosions in Narutoverse are actually slowly expanding fireballs.

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Notice how they are running from it, and they even have time to think/speak. Of course, in reality, the explosion would have taken one panel, not to mention the shockwave is completely absent.

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Here we see C0 taking time to expand, as well. And it looks even slower in the anime. This leaves Sasuke at least some time (ninja are fast) to summon and control Manda. As to being low on chakra, well, he could have pulled out Orochimaru's. It didn't let him die when he ran out of chakra fighting Itachi, after all.

4. The only real problem I see with this fight is that Sasuke was left with microscopic bits of C4 clay in his bloodstream/cells/whateveranatomy. Yeah, he defused them, but it's not like they just disappeared by themselves. And this doesn't sound healthy :erm:

On an unrelated note: Kishimoto tends to show a character's full arsenal before killing them off, so he needed Deidara to use C0, and it was a logical end for him (his greatest art and all), even if it was achieved through a sudden breakdown. Itachi pretty much lampshades this tendency (even though it wasn't his final death):

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It was the same with Konan, and, for a minor example, Fu and Torune, who Tobi didn't warp for just long enough for them to show their abilities.

So, in conclusion, well.. There really isn't a conclusion :sweat: I just wanted to share some observations. Feel free to agree/disagree, but I didn't find that fight particularly unfair (even though Deidara was my favourite character back then), although it did seem like Kishimoto just decided to get rid of Deidara, in an epic way :bye:
 

-R-

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Even if sasuke did run out of chakra he still has curse mark remember its almost infinite
 

Punk Hazard

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People forget it was Suigetsu who summoned Manda, not Sasuke.
 

Prince Charles

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People forget it was Suigetsu who summoned Manda, not Sasuke.

huh? i thought sasuke summoned manda?

Suigetsu simply summoned manda back with sasuke already in manda? [ ]

unless im wrong?
 

Punk Hazard

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huh? i thought sasuke summoned manda?

Suigetsu simply summoned manda back with sasuke already in manda? [ ]

unless im wrong?

Nah, you were right. Apparently, Sasuke was able to summon Manda with Oro's chakra.
 

Blunt

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Well, Deidara would have actually died in the first few seconds of the fight had Tobi not warned him Sasuke was behind him, not to mention Tobi laying all the mines.
 

awesomeseimei

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Well, Deidara would have actually died in the first few seconds of the fight had Tobi not warned him Sasuke was behind him, not to mention Tobi laying all the mines.

Well, Sasuke wanted intel, so he'd probably keep Deidara alive like he did with that ton on fodder-nins ("These aren't the ones I want to kill."). But yeah, Deidara had Tobi, but don't forget that he got in the way once, too:

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So I guess, in a way, Tobi tried to help Sasuke, too, since he clearly would have survived the explosion if Deidara set it off >.>
 
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Tobi's interference, Deidara's mental state, and Sasuke's goals all make this an inconclusive fight, I think. If even one of those things changed, the entire fight would have.
 

awesomeseimei

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Tobi's interference, Deidara's mental state, and Sasuke's goals all make this an inconclusive fight, I think. If even one of those things changed, the entire fight would have.

Well, of course, but there aren't really any "pure" 1v1 fights in the manga, except for maybe Chuunin exams. "Pure" fights can only be observed in a, say, video game, AI vs AI.
 

Shikamaru1994

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Personally I believe Sasuke should have died along with deidara. No way manda could survive the blast. Nothing made sense. Plot no jutsu forever.
 

Blunt

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Well, of course, but there aren't really any "pure" 1v1 fights in the manga, except for maybe Chuunin exams. "Pure" fights can only be observed in a, say, video game, AI vs AI.

Speaking of Chuunin exams, you have prompted me to watch Sasuke Vs Orochimaru Pt. 1.
 
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