omg it's kinda hard to explain but like. so for 90% of the series i hated kabuto. every time he was on screen i wanted to punch his face, and i often joked he had a very punchable face. he's just begging to be shoved into a locker. in many ways he's a more formidable villain than orochimaru, and he's kind of like a cockroach you just can't kill. he never goes away

but the thing is naruto as a series has a very special way of taking complete bastards, giving them a sad backstory, and making me go "shit. fuck." because even that damn bastard man was a victim of the fucked up shinobi system. in true naruto fashion it utilized questionable writing choices too mess with my emotions and make me feel things.

i love that his name is kabuto which means "helmet." when he was first introduced i was like "kabuto? like the pokemon?" and looked it up and learned its meaning. i was confused why he was named that and went with it until they LITERALLY EXPLAIN IT AT THE VERY END OF THE SERIES IN HIS BACKSTORY. that cracked me up. they also felt the need to explain the origin behind his round glasses. it kinda felt like i was watching the modern prequel to some beloved nostalgic media that's making a big deal about explaining the origin of all the media's iconography.

also i find it hilarious that kabuto was talk-no-jutsu'd by itachi of all people lmao. he gave us one of itachi's best lines, "the edo tensei jutsu does have a weakness, and that's my existence" (paraphrase).

i also am obsessed with how he goes from "ninja info cards" to "i resurrected literally every single powerful ninja in existence. there are no possible consequences to this. also i upgraded from bookish nerd to disgusting snake man but i still wear the glasses so u know it's me :^)"

i am playing pkmn right now here is ur friend for u <3

this is purely based on Pokemon I Like and not like. power or balance ok bc i've only played a little bit of the games so idc as much about that stuff. so..