Live slow, die whenever

First injury: full force kick to the head

First flesh wound: electric knife to the shoulder

This is so sad, Lee you deserve everything the world has to offer

Promise you won't judge me too much

I love his silly little onesie

Nobody:

I swear I'm not trying to be nitpicky here but I think you could've given Neji some kind of heads up about what happened to his dad a little earlier than this, my dude.

"I know why the caged bird sings," - Hyuuga Neji, 2002

I understand that a big theme of Naruto is breaking cycles, changing destiny, etc. And I know that this is a Shonen series aimed at a younger audience, so I can get behind the idea of personal responsibility; you have to forge your own path and make the changes you wish to see in your life, etc.

But I think a disservice is done to this idea by setting it against Neji's plight of being a part of an established oppressive system. It's easy to preach at someone about social mobility when you are not yourself living in a caste system as essentially a second-class citizen. He literally has a shock collar built into his forehead to prevent him from rising up against his oppressors.

Like okay maybe it's not helpful for him to have as much of a doomer attitude about it as he does prior to this fight, but Neji basically told everyone that he's subjected to a life of indentured servitude and the answer he receives is to pull himself up by his bootstraps.

I think the story could've done better to extend a bit more empathy towards him and anger towards the injustice he faces as a fact of his life.