I dunno, put it up for review and we'll see, won't we?

 

Hey guys, should I or should I not read Synchronicity? I've been debating it for a while. Is it any good?

 

You should read it if you don't mind (or actually enjoy) Kyuubi wank. It's well written.

 

How extreme is the Kyuubi wank? As in he completely steals the focus of the story or he just becomes even more prevalent than he already was?

 

More of the former than the latter. Though 'steal' is not the right word, as it was the focus from the very beginning.

 

Naruto always seems less in control and of his body than the Kyuubi is. But I wold definitely recommend the fic to anyone who is looking for a decent Naruto fic to read.

 

Ah, I see. I'll check it out when later this evening, hopefully get through a decent chunk of chapters.

Also, I don't know if these have been recommended but here are a couple of stories I've been following. If you don't like reading crossovers, then they're probably not for you:

La Tormenta - This is the only Naruto/Fairy Tail crossover I can legitimately stand other than The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi (which I would also recommend). The story starts off with Madara (though this Madara might actually be Obito, iirc) conquering the shinobi world through the use of the Infinite Tsukuyomi with Naruto as his only opposition. Naruto is reasonably desperate and sets off a seal for your typical Time-Travel scenario only, plot twist, he ends up in the world of Fairy Tail. I can already see warning bells going off in some of your heads, but this is a superb fic where we have an emotionally broken/traumatized, veteran shinobi Naruto trying to pick up the pieces of his life and make something of his new home, doing what Naruto does by getting caught up in all kinds of crazy shit which usually involves peace or defeating evil or etc. But seriously though, the mans got some demons.

The main pairing, if you care, is Naruto/Mira but I'll be the first to say that this relationship is anything but an authors guilty pleasure of putting the lovable hero/protagonist with a busty angel of a woman. No, these two have one of the most believable and well developed relationships I've ever seen in a fanfiction. The author addresses so many different challenges and problems commonly seen in everyday relationships very well.

I'll admit that there's some angst, as he goes through various bouts of depression, hopelessness, and self-depreciation, but the writer handles it well enough that it ends up helping the overall development of Naruto's character rather than hinder it. No worries though, Naruto is still Naruto. Kind of. It's hard to really put down as it's easier seen than said. It's probably one of the best Naruto/Fairy Tail crossovers on a technical level, as the author has a clear understanding and knowledge of both anime and as such gives them an appropriate amount of respect. So both Chakra and Magic are given their due when it comes to power and the like.

Basically, if you want a well written fic with some awesome fights, character development, and a relevant plot that utilizes a lot of Fairy Tail's potential without Naruto nerfing it or vice versa, read this. Would rate 4/5.

Through the Eyes Of - This story is without a doubt my favorite Naruto/Highschool of the Dead crossover. The summary reads: Haunted by failures and overcome with grief, Uzumaki Naruto has resolved himself to fading away; but when a sudden outbreak has the 'dead' alive and hunting the living. Naruto will have no choice but to stand and fight, the question is, what is there left to fight for?

I won't go into much detail, because it'll take a lot from the story itself, but essentially we have a Naruto trained by Danzo the whole nine yards. Ruthless, efficient, incredibly skilled, and emotionally conditioned. We have the usual drivel of the shinobi world falling into chaos, ripped apart by it's war with Madara. Crazy jutsu happens, Naruto mysteriously finds himself in modern Japan. Insert basic HotD story plot.

However, the plot of the story isn't nearly as the characters, their development, and relationships which the author puts first and foremost. Unlike a lot of stories that feature an emotionally broken Naruto, there aren't very many obvious shards of that fox-like, brash, and highly emotional spitfire we call Naruto. It's there, but it's been depraved any sustenance or light by the conditioning Danzo put him through, so a lot of the story is a progression of Naruto regaining his humanity, so to speak. And I believe the author does a superb job of it. The writing is technically solid, with few spelling and grammar issues (the few that are there are hardly worth noticing).

I will warn however that this is a rather angsty Naruto. Actually, no, the more correct phrasing would be unexpressive. He simply doesn't express himself hardly at all, not in the conventional sense. And I'll say that the author probably stresses a little too hard on the coldness and lack of warmth in his eyes, but overall this is a solid story. I'd rate it at a 4/5 for sure in my book (more like a 3.5/5 but rounded up for the sheer fact that it's written well).

 

I can't imagine Naruto having any challenges in the Highschool of the Dead universe.

 

It might be different for you guys, but that fic is quite unreadable to me. Naruto is far too emo and sasuke-like for my taste and the only thing he retains from the Naruto we know is his name (And only half of that) and appearance.

 

No, he doesn't have any inherent challenges physically. But that's directly addressed by the author in the first chapter, as that's not the kind of story they're trying to write.

I can understand how it wouldn't fit a lot of people's tastes, but I also understand that it potentially could as well. *shrug* No one says you have to read it, let alone like it, but at the very least give it a solid chance.

 

Hey I just thought I might put this one out there Joie de Vivre

OC main character, around 100k in length, well writen and based in Uzushiogakure, if I remember correctly.

Since this website is probably outside most people here's tast, there is probably at least some of you that have not come across it before.

 

That story is horribly written. It's nothing but excessively detailed word vomit with stiff, inhuman, and uninteresting characters; I barely got past chapter three (which is when we finally get actual dialogue instead of the author telling us what is going on) before giving up.

0/5 and absolutely not worth anyone's time.

 

That is an emphatic response. Can anyone verify?

Edit: 1000 posts

 

It pulls a 2/5 for good writing. The plot is rather dull and there are few things I hate less than lists of what the MC is going to be doing in training, but Banta has it right.

 

I thought I'd give this a go since Plotless gave it a 2. I jotted down my thoughts as I was reading:

• Huh, first few paragraphs don't start off badly
• Oh good lord it's already progressed to verbal spew
• It keeps going on about how clever and athletic the MC is
• The struggle and accepting death is a bit interesting
• Chapter two:
  See, every time I think the writing is going well, the author pulls some cringeworthy line about how clever the MC thinks they are. Maybe it's intentional?
• There's just a giant infodump on the MC's development
• Oh god. They've pulled out literal lists.
• There's something very dry and dull about the writing so far. It's like reading someone's notes for the background of the world instead of an actual crafted story piece.
  
  So far, it's been this all the way through.
• More fucking lists. Paragraphs upon paragraphs of lists.
• This is the first bit of dialogue since we began, and it does not bode well. Note: the MC is is one year old at this point.
• Getting too bored of the info-dump of abilities... skipping forward. Oh dear. (MC is three years old now)
  

Nope. No more. I quit.

Banta is right. 0/5 - do not bother.

 

Despite you also recommending the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi in the same post, I decided to give this a shot, and, well, I'm not really seeing a significant difference to other Naruto x Fairy Tail crossovers.

Naruto is only Naruto in name, behaviour and the way he talks is completely different, he is hilariously OP and he has a habit of lecturing Fairy Tail canon characters for things they solve on their own in canon. He also takes several characters under his wing, characters who would be strong in their own right on their own, and while that can be done, it needs a well written relationship between the characters, which this doesn't do, just dumps it in as pretty much a side note (meaning the Mystogan thing. And how stupid is it that he is lying to everyone else but is superhonest regarding everything with him, whereas Cana isn't privy to anything?)

I quit when he had this banter/tea ceremony thing with those three assassins in chapter 7, since the entire conversation just made me angry at how pretentious and fancy it desperately wanted to be, but came across as lame and cheesy, and not in a good way.

So, I don't know if this will get any better, if it will really hit its stride and develop this complex relationship but honestly, with the character as he is introduced in said first 7 chapters, I wouldn't want to read something like that with him as it is.

It checked off most of the boxes of bad super Naruto fics, so, 2/5 for me, so far.

 

I will admit the first few chapters are rather bad and that, at least for myself, it didn't really pick up until around chapter 10 or so (whenever the Phantom Lord arc came about). As for the Mystogan thing, I never really took it as Naruto taking him under his wing and teaching him as a mage per say, but more of Naruto taking on that stance as another adult figure other than Makarov.

To be fair, I'm more glad you gave it a solid chance than an outright dismissal. My recommendation was more of me taking what I liked about it and what worked best in my mind instead of giving a more balanced analysis that probably would've been helpful. Despite its many flaws In comparison to a lot of things I've seen on ff.net, it was definitely more readable than most of them, and I thought at most it would serve as a good time waster. *shrug*

Anyways, has anyone run across any interesting stories of note?

 

Not to beat on a dead horse, but the writer's characterisation of Naruto was the main stumbling point to not pick up the story further. His dialogue was poor -- to the point where you'd read Naruto use far-fetched words that was obviously Googled through its synonyms. It would have been fine in moderation, but it's prevalent throughout the story. I'd be willing to forgive the dialogue if:

Spoiler

that was just the adopted persona of his renamed Naruto being undercover in FT, but they were one and the same.

I got up till the Phantom Lord, which didn't really pick up as The Lone Raven said. Sizeable chunks of the arc were canon transposed in writing form. It was enough of a slog that I just gave up.

For transparency' sake, I'd mention that I wrote the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. So what do I know about writing a decent Naruto? Mine's pretty boring too.

 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9968858/1/She-Who-Dwells-In-Eternity

It's brilliant but rather unknown oneshot. Very well written story, best portrayal of Kyuubi that i've read for a while.

 

It's pretty bad. Kyuubi raises Naruto, takes form of beautiful woman, etc. Great deal of telling, very little actual dialogue.