im sorry just…. i find the way that shikamaru dispatched of hidan unnecessarily cruel? yes, hidan was literally a sack of shit, but he blew him up and left him to starve to death in pieces. we don’t even know really how long it would take for him either, since it could take longer with his immortality. i feel like kishimoto could’ve made a much bigger impact with shikamaru as a character if he didn’t take revenge and instead just captured hidan/incapacitated him. like, this is the man who killed your sensei, but you refuse to stoop to his level and kill him kinda deal. idk, forever salty i suppose.
I feel like this was supposed to be the turning point of Shikamaru’s character arc, and it would lead him down the path of a very analytical villian like Danzo or Kira. Wanting to purge the Akatsuki by any means possible, and being a close-minded scary person.
But the series continued with him as a hero, and his friends always assuming he did the right thing.
(It was very selfish of him to put Ino and Choji in danger like he did)
This was his rise to villain story. Similar to how Batman villains are usually normal people until a traumatic event happens. At the very least, he would be an anti-hero.
But the series went on, without addressing Shikamaru’s character flaws or his shortcomings became admirable traits. Similar to Naruto worship level near the end of the series.
He lost his humanity and pays no consequences, and is treated as a hero for being inhumane.
This is what has always bothered me about the arc and Shikamaru’s character development in general.
