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I'm starting to agree with some of the Shikamaru haters; Kishimoto's making Shikamaru a little too important, with too much power. I mean, the boy was a lazy bum until he, on a whim, DECIDED to become a ninja. He'd be a complete loser today if he hadn't. It was Asuma's training, since the academy even, that Shikamaru has even a leg to stand on. Asuma brought out the boy's, "genius." Asuma motivated him. Asuma is the one that made him successful. So why, in addition, does he just CONVENIENTLY also have this amazing clan, that, until now, I thought was just down to him, his mother, his father, and some grazing deer?

I think there's a comic somewhere on DeviantArt about this. xD It even says on how he's so badass that he should become Hokage. (Which gets a nice comment from Naruto.)

Has Kishimoto switched favorites now? I mean, he has said that his favorite is Sasuke, so maybe Shikamaru has taken that spot. D:

God damn you Shika, get back to being the lazy a** that you are! Only Naruto and Lee are supposed to be that badass/determined with stronger opponents. T__T

@Shikalee : Dur, cause he's Shikamaru! Master of over 1000 techniques, all learned and mastered in a single ******** week. He's like a crazed combination of Sasuke/Naruto/Sarutobi. XD I mean, he's suddenly badass fighter [Sasuke], knows more techniques then makes sense [Sarutobi], and managed to get the chakra knives manipulation to be almost instant within a week. [Naruto]

He better be getting his arse kicked good, then be saved. D< Or atleast get his butt pwned by Tsunade when he gets back, she needs someone to rage on. (Though Chouji and Ino should get first dibs on this)

Edit: botanofspiritworld (It was amusing, but I can't see it now. Dev not working for me. XD)

More fecking Shikamaru fans... I liked him from the beginning, yanno! It's annoying when a ton of people finally catch on. "OH, HE IS COOL!!" God.

Kishimoto's favorite was always Naruto. He favored Sasuke for a while, true, but yes, it is pretty evident that Kishimoto is a big Shikamaru fan. Shikamaru took over the Sasuke Arc and now he's taking over the "Immortal Arc" Shikamaru, from what I've seen is like... the 3rd of 4th guy in the most chapters. >_>;

I like Shikamaru's growth. People like him because he's a "lazy genius." I like his outlook on strategy and on life. He doesn't have to be lazy to be the same person. He can grow, change, and still be himself.

Please. That is such a fangirl/boy response. It doesn't matter who the hell he is. He was a failure. A loser. It's cool to see people grow. But according to Shikamaru, he's had this weapon the whole time. If his ancestral land holds any bearing, power, or strength, I don't see why he didn't call upon it's wrath long ago.

I think Tsuande should definately give him a good wallup. Shikamaru defied her commands, and was only able to go on the mission because of Kakashi.

talk2hand You hate him.
And if you're making fun of me, whatever. Yeah. I liked him before it was cool, and it's annoying that people are jumping on a, "Let's suck Shikamaru's delicious c**k" bandwagon. I'm driving that wagon, goddammit. (That was a joke. I know I'm not the only fan in the world. I don't care if you don't think it's funny.)

Shikamaru knows like... 5 jutsu. That guy was either being sarcastic or exaggerating...

Only because of this mission. Just weeks ago those same people hated him. Then they went, "OMGEE, HE ISSSS COOOLL." Even though I've been saying that this whole damn time.

Shikamaru's ninjutsu sucks a**. I mean, his few techniques are strong, but... >_>; Yeah. A serious LACK of variety.

What reasons? The boy hardly changed. He's a little more independent; really, MINIMAL requirement to be a ninja. He's still a flinching weakling (seriously, he's flinched like 10 times since the time jump).

No way. You can't be serious. lol

First of all, he was a the first chuunin. The second he put that vest on, he changed, a lot. We heard at least half the bitching from him, if not less. He started taking more charge, mostly because he could. He led four Genins into the forest to retrieve Sasuke. This mission, according to the Data Book, was a level A mission. It was not surprising that he did not retrieve Sasuke. Despite the failure of the mission, it was deemed complete by Tsunade, and Shikamaru, against all odds, kept his teammates alive with his plan.

A lot of old-school (that's what I'll call then) Shikamaru fans liked his personality. He was (still is) a mostly laid-back guy, with a dream to live in the middle of nowhere with someone he loves and have kids. He doesn't strive to be famous, strong, or popular like everyone else. He wants solitude and peace. This makes him the odd one out. Yes, despite this, he is a bit anxiety-ridden which does give him some ugly habits. Imperfection makes a person more interesting, in my opinion.

Before the time jump he befriended Chouji. This for a lot of Naruto fans was a weird step for him. He became friends with one of the most annoying people ever. All Chouji was back then was a glutton, always pitying himself for his "unfortunate condition." For some of us we can relate to Shikamaru; he really was a loner before his one best friend. I speak for myself when I say this; I was a lot like him when I was a kid. It really brings back memories that I have almost lost.

The kid has some awesome jutsu. A lot of people second-guess it, underestimate it, or overlook it. They think shadow powers are stupid because it's impossible. So is summoning a giant toad, breaking people's faces with your fist, making a million copies of yourself and licking your opponents with a 6 foot long tongue. The shadow jutsu, to some of us, is just plain cool. Not only is it a manipulative technique, but it just plain looks cool. It moves smoothly. It's sneaky. It's stealth.

Shikamaru, since he became a chuunin, took this "tone." No one seems to notice that his bitching actually stopped there. Yes. All the way back in volume 20. Maybe sooner, even. He had some experiences after the chuunin exam that really opened him up. I believe facing nine men in a life and death situation made him think about some things. Being saved by Asuma told him he wasn't as strong as he thought, and that he needed to change.

People say all he did was b***h. Some of them are right. Some of us found his bitching quite humorous (since it was supposed to be). Chouji and Shikamaru in the beginning were comic-relief characters. Shikamaru's bitching really broke the ice for some readers. But not only that, some people find it almost charming in a way that a kid is still a kid. Everyone else wanted a boyfriend/girlfriend. Shikamaru was still just a kid, being a kid, and feeling like one. Girls still weirded him out. Relationships were out of the question for him. Though he seems rather introverted, since, as far as we know, they still are.

I mean, most showcased is his fight with Tayuya. He panicked by an inch of death. People thought he was just saying, "IT'S TROUBLESOME TO DIE." No... He was scared. Not many people in Naruto show this... except Naruto. Fear is an emotion we all can relate to, and we saw his reaction surprising. His big fit at the end of the Sasuke arc as also a surprise, and some people came to realize the guy does have feelings. I drew the conclusion that his bitching has to do with stress.

All in all, he's done A LOT more in the past than he has now.

All he's done now is hang out with Temari, push Naruto out of the way of a paint monster, flinch and whimper at Hidan, and yes, trap him in the shadow, watch his sensei die, cry about it, seek revenge and come back, takes up smoking... tricks Hidan in his own turf, and well, that's all we know.

Emotional growth hasn't really hit Shikamaru yet. He's still living the nightmare. People just think he's a "SEXY b***h" because he stopped whining. He's having an emotional portion of his life. We haven't seen him enough to say the bitching has stopped. He didn't b***h at all on the Sasuke rescue mission, either.