Title: Vainglory
Author: ksuzu
Rating: T
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Minato Namikaze / Kushina Uzumaki
Chapters: 8
Words: 59,296
Updated: June 14, 2016
Published: October 25, 2012
Summary:
Winners write history. Losers make history. Namikaze Minato, stuck somewhere in between, is Konoha's youngest missing nin. [Min x Kush, AU]

Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8641542/1/Vainglory


I swear I saw someone recommend this somewhere in the [Quality Naruto] thread, but I can't seem to recall when. Anyways, I just finished reading this beauty and it was such a gem that I think I'll put it up for review in a few days.


Man oh man was this story a breath of some much needed fresh air.

For once in a long time, I felt as if a FFN summary did what it was supposed to and sparked an interest in me to check it out. I didn't have any high expectations so you can imagine my surprise at being blown away at seeing that not only was the writing grammatically sound, but the plot was neither cliched or predictable. I won't say too much, because that would give away the main appeal of what's been put out so far, but I will say that the story features a very different shinobi world. It doesn't seem like it at first, but the author masterfully leaves breadcrumbs leading you to some delightful and sometimes disturbing (in a good way) conclusions and revelations. Not to mention that for all that's occurred within it's 8 chapters, I still have no idea what the hell is going to happen next and I love it.

As strong as the plot is, I honestly believe the author's greatest strength is in their presentation of Minato and Kushina (though I think they do a wonderful job with ever character). The author manages to convey the small idiosyncrasies that define Minato and Kushina so subtly that not only do the characters come to life but you nearly forget your reading a piece of fiction and not watching it occur in front of your face.

I could probably go on and on, but as it stands: The writing is solid, the pacing is solid, the characters superb, and the plot enticing. A resounding 5/5 for me.

Not to mention it solved a much needed Minato x Kushina fix.


Edit by Minion, July 29, 2016
I moved this out of the Quality Naruto Fanfiction thread.

 

I tried to like Vainglory, but the author was masturbating himself too much. The start was okay, but it quickly became shit, imo.

 

Could you go into why?

 

Mostly personal peeves. I didn't like the direction of the plot, the author's imagining of the characters, and something about his writing style ... irks me. Feels superfluous.

 

One day, Rep! One day I'll suggest a fic you like! Haha! It's a small milestone of mine, considering that you can be rather hard to please. Well, sometimes anyway.

 

As the Lone Raven actually intended to put it up for review, I moved this fic out of the Quality Naruto fanfiction thread right onto the Review Board.

 

Ah! Thanks a lot for moving the fic and posts. You rock Minion!