3 stars *may change
i don't like neji even a little bit...dude is wack he needs to stop being such a dick

This might be my favourite volume so far, and dare I say this is almost 4.5 worthy?

Some battles are better in the anime (either because they are only shown in the anime like テマリ's... I'm still pissed; or because they got longer and/or more complicated? like シカマル's), others, I think, are better here (I loved ナルト's), and I think ネジ's one is equally good in both, but I may be biased.

Honestly, things really took off after chapter 76. Maybe my favourite one is number 80?, but 76, 77 and 79 are great too.

Looking forward to 我愛羅's fight.

3.5
Cómo me encanta la pelea de Neji y Hinata

I really love the dynamics of the Hyuuga clan. I think it's one of the more interesting story lines in the beginning of the series. I also love how the Hyuuga and Uchiha are connected. It doesn't help that I like Neji as a character, even if he is kind of a jerk in this one, and I also like Hinata. I like her determination. Complete gushing over Naruto aside. And it starts to show the shonen trope of the hero inspiring those around him.

Too much gender discrimination...

Seriously, out of 9 only one girl?

I keep waiting for a strong woman to show up... Hope I won't be waiting long.

Looking forward for Gaara's fight.

Another good book about some really awesome characters.

*Read as part of the 25 Days of Manga challenge for December 2020.*

The ante keeps getting upped with the chunin exams, and this isn't an exception at all! Between the ending of Sakura and Ino's battle, the fight between Naruto and Kiba, the fight between the Hyuga cousins, and the volume ending with the glimpse at the upcoming fight between Rock Lee and Gaara, this has got to be one of my favorite volumes so far.

I would say that the strong points show up in each of the two central battles of this volume. The fight between Naruto and Kiba is fantastic, because it's a very nice look at Naruto's continued growth as a creative fighter and should stand as a testament to the fact that this isn't entirely the same Naruto we were introduced to in the first volume. He's a very hands-on sort of learner, and I don't think that that's regarded as often as it should be. And that isn't to say that Kiba doesn't show some of his own formidable skill in this fight either; but Naruto is the one who really shines in their bout.

I also really appreciate now more than I did in the past how the battle between Neji and Hinata unfolds. Neji uses a lot of his anger and perception and observation to his advantage in the start of the fight to psychologically mess with Hinata, which I don't often see people bring up. While I'm not here to say that he was necessarily justified in the way he tore her down on an emotional front, I do think it's a good look at his ability to incorporate tactics of psychological warfare into such a situation. Likewise, it's nice to take a look at Hinata's desire to overcome her own shortcomings through sheer willpower, and I love the way her final words to Neji pointing out his own unhappiness dig just a little at the plot there regarding the way the Hyuga family is so deeply messed up. Everything about their fight is so intense in a different way to a lot of the other fights up to this point, and I don't think it's given enough credit.

Of course, I'm just as eager for the next volume with the iconic fight between Lee and Gaara. That's it's own category of intense, and it'll be nice to revisit the manga version of the fight after all these years.

Another great installment! The chunin exams are getting ever more dangerous and intense as the volumes go on!!

What a heart-pounding volume. Can't wait to read no. 10.