The rebirth of ten-tailed beast brought a catastrophic disaster upon the five great shinobi countries. Within minutes of its re-existence, the alien creature (alien, even by Naruto’s standard) has took many lives, including characters we’re so used to seeing after following Naruto series for so long. As Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito counter attack in the seemingly one-sided war, it’s as if all hopes are lost for Naruto and his alliances.
Despair. Hope. Death. Living. Silence….yes, silence is the most appropriate response in these times.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
When the ten-tailed was finally able to target accurately at Madara’s desired destination – the HQ, there was a moment of silence. I love that the scene had no audio. There was no dramatic music, no screams. Just shocked expressions of the many ninjas and a faint sound of explosion when the target was hit. Silence can say a lot in such moments, I believe.
The heaviness of the moment, when Shikamaru and Ino knew their fathers have just died, were deeply felt even if ever so briefly. There was no need to wail, as I’d imagined it would be for Ino’s case, because the pain of their loss was already established in that few moments of silence. Silence is the most powerful scream. It’s as if in one episode, the death of great minds are not enough, fans’ beloved Neji had bravely sacrificed himself for the sake of peace and brighter future of the nations.
There’s a lot to take in just one episode. For Naruto anime fans who never follow the series through other media were in for a shock. So many deaths. And yet so many still live.
Uzumaki Naruto, the central force of this war, had his moment of confusion. Confusion and despair. I can’t say he was angry. He was at loss and didn’t know how to respond. After all, the ones who just died in front of him aren’t just anyone. They were his comrades. Naruto had suffered the loss of many dear ones. His parents. Jiraiya. However, I bet the death of Neji hit him the hardest. It isn’t because he was closest to Neji, but rather the nature of his death.
Once again, Naruto was silent. Obito delivered his “speech”, but Naruto remained quiet. This is the guy who is always loud and restless. This is the guy who just a few moments ago was declaring bold statements against his enemy. And yet, he did not utter a single word. Because he was silent, we the audience were able to relate to his emotions better. His shock expression was enough.
I’d like to think that the use of silence throughout this episode strengthened the message it’s trying to deliver, which is the pain to lose people we care about. Yes, we all know that wars are always about life and death. Someone dies every other minute while some other person gets a second living chance.
And in these times, it’s important to stay silent for a few moments, to reflect and then move on.
World of Yamaguchi Hoshiko 
I never came around to watch Naruto as you might know by now, but I like the essence of this post.
Often tragic events are accompanied by the same reactions in anime, a loud shouting or high pitched crying, the things you describe sound different. I also think that silence can be much more meaningful than loud mourning, anime and manga creators should really learn from this example.
These loud reactions often create a really awkward atmosphere and the sudden raise in volume tends to annoy me. There many ways to show mourning they should not always use the same pattern.
Yeah, I find it annoying too when there’s this suddenly loud noise coming from an anime. It’s especially worse if I’m using an earphone. I had to take out the ear-buds to avoid the pitch.
I find this particular episode of Naruto very meaningful, even though it isn’t really anything profound. Perhaps it was the way the episode is directed. The use of silence is a wise choice.
Aaah it’s up to this point already in the anime series. I really need to catch up since I only have time for the manga at the moment. Kinda sad he was the one to die really.. but someone has to die I guess. A moment of silence for Neji.
I haven’t read the manga in a while although I heard about something really odd happening at this moment. But whatever it is, I’ll wait till they’re animated. I’ll limit my manga reading to just Skip Beat! and Kimi ni Todoke cuz I never know if I’ll ever get to see them animated again T.T.
Haha well that is up to you animation is always good but it takes too long for me to wait it to get to the good part and too many fillers. I used to watch and read both but due to time constraints decided to watch the anime later on once the manga is finished for good. Nice Kimi ni Todoke is taking too long. I only watch their anime. Can’t wait for a new one to come out.
Kimi ni Todoke new chapters only come once every month so it’s going to take awhile. So far, I’m loving the series. At this moment, I don’t think any of the remaining chapters will be animated anytime soon.
Well I could always wait. Since I already watch until season 2 for the anime, pretty sure i’m looking forward to the anime instead of the manga.. Unless it is confirmed that they will not animate it, then i’ll read it instead. Always nice to see my shy Sawako in the anime :p