Tragically Beautiful

I’ve been meaning to talk about this but I think it’s important how Naruto and Sasuke use different terms when addressing each other. I think it shows a different levels of confusion in how they are aware of the nature of their bond.

NAKAMA (comrade)

When Naruto is trying to plead, he uses the word 仲間 (nakama) which means comrade, and eventhough it’s sometimes translated as friend in different shonen series, you can be nakama without necessarily being friends. The word is referred to as being part of a group or community in a plural sense. Shikamaru says he doesn’t particularly like Sasuke but he considers Sasuke nakama because they are both Konoha shinobi. Naruto is telling Sasuke to consider all of them because they are his comrades from Konoha, he is asking Sasuke how can he shrug off this connection like it’s nothing.

*Nakama is also the word Sasuke uses when referring to Naruto and Sakura as comrades (and I assume this applies also to Kakashi even if he is not there) he doesn’t want to lose when they are facing Gaara. Sasuke has never referred to Sakura as any other word than nakama, which is another reason why the way he addresses Naruto so dramatically speaks volumes*

SHITASHII TOMO (intimate friend)

Sasuke rejects the idea of “playing” with the Konoha crowd but when Naruto asks was everything meaningless between them, he tells Naruto no and adds:

You have become… my closest friend Ore ni totte omae wa, mottomo shitashii tomo ni natta.

shitashii tomo = closest friend 最も  (mottomo) most, extremely 親しい ( shitashī ) intimate, really close

What’s interesting is that shitashī as a word already means really close or intimate and is used in front of tomo to show that the relationship is very deep and important, but Sasuke adds “mottomo” which means “extremely”. He is very serious about his feelings!

TOMODACHI (friend)

(First picture) We became friends. (Second picture) (I’m) your friend! (Third picture) Because you’re my friend!

There are a lot of different words for “friend” in Japanese. Naruto uses 友達 (tomodachi) when addressing Sasuke (unlike Sasuke). I’d say tomodachi is the most common and casual word for a friend, it isn’t polite or honorific Japanese, and one can use it in everyday casual conversations. It is not polite like yuujin and it also doesn’t refer to specifically really close friend like shinyuu.

To me, the way Sasuke addresses Naruto so dramatically while Naruto, despite his actions being dramatic, addresses Sasuke almost casually is peculiar. I’m not sure what to make of it. Tomodachi is again the word Naruto offers Sasuke after their final battle, and Sasuke doesn’t seem too happy. It’s only after Naruto says he just can’t bear watch him suffer because it hurts, can’t leave Sasuke alone, that Sasuke finally relaxes and seems content.

KYOUDAI (brother, sibling)

(First picture:) I wonder if being with you is how having a brother feels like. (Second picture:) Naruto considers you to almost be his own brother… that’s what I heard from Sakura-san. - I only have one brother, the one I want to kill. (Third picture:) *Unfortunately I don’t have the raw for this volume, but I checked the anime and the chapter title and Naruto indeed uses kyoudai again*

Naruto refers to Sasuke as 兄弟 (kyoudai) when he is wondering if their relationship is that of brothers/siblings during VoTE 1 and also when he is talking to Itachi and telling him he’s a better brother to Sasuke than Itachi ever was. But interestingly, when Naruto confronts Sasuke in Kage Summit arc he refers to him as his friend. During war arc, Naruto acknowledges him and Sasuke aren’t really brothers, but they are friends.

* Important to note here is that Sasuke never agrees to Naruto’s musing of them possibly being like brothers, and he even tells Sai he only has one brother. Sasuke sticks to his ‘intimate friend’ til the end and never changes it. This shows that since Sasuke had a family and a brother, he can tell his feelings towards Naruto aren’t brotherly. Naruto on the other hand, didn’t have a family, or anyone to teach him different relationships, so he has to learn by himself.*

But back to Hagoromo:

(Naruto says:)

オレとサスケは本当の兄弟じゃねけど…仲直りは出来ると思うんだ.

Ore to Sasuke wa hontō no kyōdai ja nee kedo… Nakanaori wa dekiru to omou nda.

Even though Sasuke and I aren’t really siblings…I think we can make peace.

*This part, I understood as Naruto explaining to Hagoromo that even if they aren’t brothers like Ashura and Indra, he believes they can fix things, reconcile and end the hatred since they’re friends.*

(Sasuke says:)

イタチ 亡き今 やっ とオレは 一人になったように思えた…だがナルト…あいつ だけは斬っておかなければならない.

Itachi naki ima yatto ore wa hitori ni natta youni omoeta…Daga Naruto… Aitsu dake wa kitte o kanakereba naranai.

Now that Itachi is dead, I thought that I became completely alone… But Naruto… I must only kill (literally cut) him.

*Sasuke is referring to cutting Naruto from himself so he can be truly alone*

(Hagoromo asks why Sasuke needs to cut Naruto off/why Naruto thinks he can make peace with Sasuke:)

(Naruto says:)

オレ達 かなりの友達だから.

Ore-tachi kanari no tomodachi dakara.

Because we’re quite good friends.

かなり = quite, fairly

(Sasuke says)

オレにとって奴は…最も親しい友のままでいる から だ.

Ore ni totte yatsu wa…Mottomo shitashii tomo no mama de irukarada.

As for me, he…because he remains my extremely close friend/most intimate friend.

最も = (mottomo) most, extremely 親しい (shitashii) intimate, really close

What interests me is how they use different words. Naruto keeps using the more casual tomodachi while Sasuke keeps using the more dramatic mottomo shitashii tomo. Sasuke is more honest about his feelings maybe?

YUIITSU

(Sasuke says:)

じゃあね… オレの唯一の友よ!

Jaa ne… Ore no yuiitsu no tomo yo!

See ya.. my only… friend!

(Naruto says:)

その唯一がオレだからよ.

Sono yuiitsu ga ore dakara yo.

Because I’m (your) only one.

She will remember your heart when men are fairy tales in books written by rabbits. Of all unicorns, she is the only one who knows what regret is - and love.

poem by Mikko Harvey

1. Eurydice trips and Orpheus turns to help her because he loves her.

2. Orpheus cannot hear Eurydice behind him, and fearing that he’s been tricked, turns to make sure she’s there.

3. Orpheus makes it out of the Underworld, and so full of love and excitement to be with Eurydice, turns to embrace her, forgetting that they both need to be out of the Underworld.

A majority of millennial men failed to see women as equals, according to the study, which looked at how college biology students viewed their classmates’ intelligence and achievements, the Harvard Business Review reported.

Among the findings:

In every biology class surveyed, a man was seen as the most celebrated student, even in instances where women earned significantly better grades.

Men were also found to overestimate the intelligence of their male classmates over that of female ones.

Men continued exaggerating their assessments of the male peers, despite unequivocal evidence that their female peers were performing better.

Women, conversely, weren’t found to display a bias: Their assessments of fellow classmates tended to be spot-on.

The National Institutes of Health researchers pointed out that female STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors drop out at significantly higher rates than their male counterparts.

“The reasons for this difference are complex, and one possible contributing factor is the social environment women experience in the classroom,” they wrote.

Still, scores of men are under the impression that they’ve become the target of reverse sexism. Conservative columnist John Hawkins ranted in Town Hall last year:

“Men have it rougher in America than most people realize. In part, that’s because they’re one of the few groups (along with white people, conservatives, and Christians) it’s cool to crap on at every opportunity. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a nonstop assault on masculinity in America.”

But research has confirmed the reality of gender bias against women. A staggering 90 percent of women reported experiencing gender harassment in the workplace, a 2010 University of Michigan study found. The results suggest that such harassment had the purpose of driving women out of jobs and not the generally assumed motivation of trying to draw women into relationships.

“One could argue that, in these instances, ‘sexual harassment is used both to police and discipline the gender outlaw: the woman who dares to do a man’s job is made to pay,’” the researchers wrote, quoting an article by Katherine M. Franke, an associate professor of law at the University of Arizona College of Law.

As for millennial men specifically, they have been less accepting of female leaders than their older male counterparts, according to a 2014 survey of more than 2,000 adults residing in the United States, the Harvard Business Review reports.

Half of Millenial men said their careers would take priority over their partners’.