Samurai 8. Done. 43 Chapters. I could've probably squashed in 2.5 hrs but here I am. I almost a year later. Rushed climax aside, the heart of Kishimoto's second main title isn't one to be dismissed out of hand.

The story really did have the foundation to go far and maybe, clearer and more concise than Naruto got to be. If I presume there were reasons why Samurai 8 didn't succeed and if I had to guess I'd wager it was:

- The Aesthetic of the world of Samurai 8. There is a initial density of visual information combined with the amount of clear negative space from the Samurai tech and holders that leaves action sometimes hard to follow. I'd say though that this get cleaned up and refined as the series continues.

- The density of lore. Within the first 20 chapters, when we could probably assume that the Sam8 team didn't know they'd have to wrap up the series in 23 more chapters, we're getting a LOT of information. It's pointed out by Hachi that his teacher Daruma will go off on long lectures. While not the deepest dives, the idea that he exposits too frequently is right on the money even if self aware.

To compare to Naruto, Chapter 20 we knew about the Nine Tail fox, Ninja Presidents, evil ninjas, and the Sharingan but only it's copy function. I figure the reason we might of gotten a heavier hand at the start was either because Kishimoto after 15+ years with Naruto and ever aware of it's defects with plotting, wanted to establish more of the world's rules and continuity ahead of time. Or he felt a rush from early on to try to say as much as he could as quickly as he could in fear of a premature cancellation of this title. Regardless, I figure it would've calmed down if we were to have even been able to make it 10 volumes at least.

- Lastly, Boruto. I feel when "legendary" mangaka behind Naruto of Big 3 fame is coming out with a new work, it might be beneficial to be the one thing that the community you've fostered for more than a decade could follow. As an immediate sequel to Naruto, Boruto obviously would be the one with the greatest focus. Even with Naruto being used to boaster the advertising for Hachimaru, it would be strange to suspect that would be enough to tip the scales when Boruto can be said to have Naruto Uzumaki in it. So on top of being in the normal Shonen Jump weekly contest for supremacy but Samurai 8 was also in a fight to be the true spiritual successor of one of the greatest series in recent Shonen Jump history.

I recently saw a poll comparing Samurai 8 and Burn the Witch, Tite Kubo's newest project, for reader interest among Japanese readers. Burn the Witch won in a landslide and I figure that's because of the one shot drawing a direct connection to Bleach. From experience, I can tell you Burn the Witch is mid at best. It's alright. Girls are cute and the foundation on its own divorced from the parent story could be something fun to build on but it is suppose to be a Bleach follow-up. For the limited run, the main force driving me forward was trying to see how it connected back.

With all that said, Samurai 8 had solid characters and while some of the more modern tropes appeared to turn some people off, I can't help but have found the direction I felt the principle cast was going would've been a joy to see. It would've been a real thrill to see if Ann and Hachi would be able to prove that Kishimoto had improve his understanding of how to convey romance. It all felt very promising. And I enjoy myself up until the rush finale.

It's not great. Naruto, in it's totality wasn't either, but it was good. And if Kishimoto and Ookubo want to follow up on the sequel door they built in there at the end, I'd be all for it.

Couldn't really be Samurai 8 then huh? Probably Samurai Princess: Ann then.