Drakengard
Active member
I'll keep it short and to the point: I liked where genjutsu was going early in the series, but dislike how it evolved over time. I believe that genjutsu should be based on tactics at their core and should be countered the same way. If this isn't the case, there should be some penalty for having a powerful genjutsu. I'm not a fan of fights that come down to solely whether a ninja can land their "1-shot" genjutsu, like ones that are made to "stun" the opponent for an easy kill. I'll give 3 examples of early Part I genjutsu that I favor:
Kakashi's Genjutsu: The first decent genjutsu (the one against Sakura was OK I guess). He fought Zabuza psychologically and crippled his flow of the battle. It was by no means a guaranteed kill: the next time they fought, the genjutsu couldn't hurt Zabuza because he now knew how the illusion worked.
"Rain" Village Ninja in the Chunin Exam: You guys probably forgot all about this, but this is among my favorite genjutsu. The mechanics of the genjutsu were rooted in tactics, and Naruto used a creative plan to overcome the genjutsu in the end. It really strikes at the heart of what genjutsu is meant to be. Just skim through this entire chapter to refresh if need be:
Itachi's Tsukuyomi: I'm against these type of genjutsu, but I'm letting this one pass because it is an ability granted by the MS with significant costs. Using this genjutsu drains Itachi's chakra and eyesight, a hefty price to pay for using it. The MS itself has the requirement of going through harsh mental trauma, so it also has a considerable prerequisite.
My main argument against later techiques is that they begin to lose their diversity. The vast majority either stun the opponent for an easy kill or make for cheap "genjutsu battles" to cause false hype, such as the beginning of Sasuke vs. Itachi. What's the big difference between the genjutsu Itachi used against Orochimaru and the ones he used against Naruto? You might be impaled by spikes in one or be tied to a tree in another, but in battle there's not much difference. The diversity of genjutsu begins to boil down to two things:
1) Are they immune or pseudo-immune (like Killer Bee) to genjutsu?
2) Can I land the genjutsu?
Of course, you can go a bit deeper than that. You may be able to genjutsu the 3rd Raikage but not be able to put him down, for example. These seem more like special cases to me. Even in those cases, the fight doesn't actively interact with the genjutsu. I just don't see the fun in that!
I do like certain genjutsu later in the series, such as the 2nd Mizukage's. I'm mainly targeting 3T Uchiha genjutsu but there are some more throughout the series (eg. Tayuya).
What are your thoughts everybody?
Kakashi's Genjutsu: The first decent genjutsu (the one against Sakura was OK I guess). He fought Zabuza psychologically and crippled his flow of the battle. It was by no means a guaranteed kill: the next time they fought, the genjutsu couldn't hurt Zabuza because he now knew how the illusion worked.
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Itachi's Tsukuyomi: I'm against these type of genjutsu, but I'm letting this one pass because it is an ability granted by the MS with significant costs. Using this genjutsu drains Itachi's chakra and eyesight, a hefty price to pay for using it. The MS itself has the requirement of going through harsh mental trauma, so it also has a considerable prerequisite.
My main argument against later techiques is that they begin to lose their diversity. The vast majority either stun the opponent for an easy kill or make for cheap "genjutsu battles" to cause false hype, such as the beginning of Sasuke vs. Itachi. What's the big difference between the genjutsu Itachi used against Orochimaru and the ones he used against Naruto? You might be impaled by spikes in one or be tied to a tree in another, but in battle there's not much difference. The diversity of genjutsu begins to boil down to two things:
1) Are they immune or pseudo-immune (like Killer Bee) to genjutsu?
2) Can I land the genjutsu?
Of course, you can go a bit deeper than that. You may be able to genjutsu the 3rd Raikage but not be able to put him down, for example. These seem more like special cases to me. Even in those cases, the fight doesn't actively interact with the genjutsu. I just don't see the fun in that!
I do like certain genjutsu later in the series, such as the 2nd Mizukage's. I'm mainly targeting 3T Uchiha genjutsu but there are some more throughout the series (eg. Tayuya).
What are your thoughts everybody?
