Raiyuu

There's definitely something going on with Keigo. It's been established he can see Shinigami now (which used to be a big deal - Ichigo was doing it before it became cool, but now everyone's doing it). But I'm pretty sure something's up with Mizuiro, too. I didn't notice especially in the manga, but the anime's made a big thing of his sudden distance from Keigo, and looking back, it is there in the manga too. He ignores Keigo a lot more than he used to, and calls him 'Asano-san' (pun! he's using 'keigo', or polite speech, to Keigo). Mizuiro seems like the kind of guy who, if he noticed something potentially dangerous developing inside himself - dangerous either in the sense of being destructive, or of drawing the attention of scary monsters - would, like Ichigo, put some distance between himself and his friends in order to insulate them from any trouble that could be coming. Fingers crossed Mizuiro, Keigo and Tatsuki are all training in Urahara's basement right now.

Ho hum. Bo~oring. Sasuke's not cool enough to pull off the uber-powerful-inner-demon thing (cough*copyingBleach*cough). And the [strike]super-cheating sword of Genjutsu[/strike] sword of Totsuka? Where the heck did that come from? If Orochimaru's been searching for it all these centuries or whatever, how come it's never been mentioned before? Using Zetsu to explain it is an incredibly lazy narrative device that's been used far too much in this fight.

[quote name='Gavin']That really would be helpful though, wouldn't it ?[/quote]If by helpful you mean super dull and robbing the series of all subtlety :p

On the Vasto Lorde flashback issue: no one said Neriel and Nnoitra were out to fight a Vasto Lorde. Their mission was to recruit. If the Vasto Lorde is kind of the ultimate form a Hollow can attain without becoming an Arrancar, we can assume they're capable of rational behaviour. In all likelihood, if the duo met a Vasto Lorde and he/she reacted to their offer with hostility, they'd be minced. But they weren't planning to start a scrap. I try to avoid power comparisons because they make my head hurt. Example here: becoming an Arrancar is a huge increase in power, because it adds an element of Shinigami power, plus the added advantage of reason and more control over their raw Hollow power. So it's entirely possible that a hybridised Adjuchas (which, for the sake of argument, is what I'm assuming Neriel and Nnoitra are) would be more powerful than a pre-hybridisation Vasto Lorde. But then, released Nnoitra couldn't beat Kenpachi, but Hitsugaya said an unhybridised Vasto Lorde was more powerful than a Shinigami Captain. So surely Nnoitra is less powerful than a raw Vasto Lorde. Except that Kenpachi isn't a typical Captain, and Nnoitra fought him in an idiotic way. And in the flashback, even if they'd had to fight, it would have been two against one. There are just too many factors to judge. This isn't DBZ, where you have numbered levels and level 2 is categorically stronger than level 1.

Let's not forget whoever wins gets the super-duper-souped-up Sharingan. Presuming that a) Sasuke leaves enough of Itachi intact for an eyeball sandwich, b) he considers the powerup worth having despite his incredibly site-specific uber-jutsu and c) eating Mangekyou eyes will give him souped-up Mangekyou despite him not having Mangekyou in the first place. Basically: Mangekyou Sharingan + sibling Sharingan = inexhaustible Mangekyou. But does normal Sharingan + sibling Mangekyou Sharingan = any Mangekyou at all? (And do we care?)

Well, he may well get a crack at number 4 in the next few chapters - it's been a good long while since Grimmjow teleported Ulquiorra away, and he could supposedly only be contained for an hour or so. Grimmjow didn't even seem sure he'd stay banished until he and Ichigo had finished, and we've had Nnoitra/Ichigo, Tesla/Ichigo and Nnoitra/Kenpachi since then. Next chapter we'll have some recuperation, some japery with Ichigo, Kenpachi and Yachiru (and maybe Nel, Ichigo's very own Yachiru-style accessory - all hardasses need a tiny cute girl riding around on their shoulder!), and then in the final couple of pages Ulquiorra will pop out of nowhere and it'll all be on again. Ichigo+Kenpachi+Nel+Yachiru(+Inoue+Neriel+Grimmjow?) all versus Ulquiorra. Please please please.

Hello! I just read all 150-odd chapters of D.Gray-man in about three days. When I close my eyes I see AKUMA and Innocence. It's quite scary. So I thought the sensible thing to do would be to waste even more time with an RPG. A banner image isn't essential for this, but if anyone has time it'd be cool to get one made out of these two images: [URL="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g110/Raiyuu/Innocence1.jpg"]Innocence[/URL] - the important part is the glowing orb inside the capsule, not the capsule itself. [URL="http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g110/Raiyuu/Timcanpy1.jpg"]Timcanpy[/URL] I don't really have much of an idea what I'm after, just that it have a cool background and either the Innocence, or Timcanpy, or both. Oh, and the words 'Black Order Breakout' in some Gothic font or other. Thanks in advance!

[CENTER][B][SIZE=4][FONT=Garamond]Black Order Headquarters[/FONT][/SIZE][/B] [/CENTER] [LEFT][B][SIZE=4][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=2]Black Order Headquarters [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/B][SIZE=4][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=2]is the Backstage thread for [B]Black Order Breakout, [/B]an RPG based in the [B]D.Gray-man [/B]universe. (D.Gray-man might be old news for a lot of people, but I just read all 150-odd chapters in three days so it's very much on my mind!) The Audition thread for the RPG will open at the weekend. In the meantime, the purpose of Headquarters is to give some background for the universe and to get an idea of who might be interested in joining. I'll post a blank sign-up sheet here so any especially keen people can get thinking about characters before the official Audition even opens! [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][CENTER][B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]Latest News[/FONT][/SIZE][/B] [SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=2]: Auditions open this weekend :[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE] [SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=2] : Any help fine-tuning the posting system would be appreciated! :[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE] [SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=2] : Let me know if you're interested in signing up - or if you're not, what could make you interested :[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE] [SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=2] : Should I post some more detailed examples of anti-AKUMA weapons? :[/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE] [/CENTER] [SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond][/FONT][/SIZE] [CENTER][B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]Black Order Breakout: Brief History[/FONT][/SIZE][/B] [/CENTER] [B][FONT=Garamond]D.Gray-man[/FONT][/B][FONT=Garamond] is set near the end of the 19th century. [B]Black Order Breakout [/B]is set in 2008, but in the D.Gray-man universe. At the end of the 19th century, the Black Order successfully prevented the destruction of mankind at the hands of the Earl of Millenium. However, the Earl was not defeated for good, and has spent the last century amassing his forces from his stronghold in Tokyo, Japan. The Earl used the 20th century, with its many worldwide conflicts, to his advantage, targeting the hundreds of thousands of bereaved to create more and more AKUMA. Hopelessly outnumbered, and with their most powerful Exorcists getting on in years, the Black Order were gradually pushed back to their Headquarters. Thanks to their Ark, the Black Order are self-sufficient. But this doesn't change the fact that they've been besieged in Headquarters for the best part of thirty years, hemmed in by the largest force of AKUMA outside Tokyo, while the Earl continues to conquer more and more of the world. The Order are too few in number to fight through the AKUMA, their Ark's transportation ability hasn't been operational since the final battle at the end of the 19th century, and they're unable to hunt for more Innocence or recruit more Exorcists. Things have never looked worse for the Order - and mankind - than they did in the last half of the 20th century. But now it looks like things might be about to change. The science division have finally got the Order's Ark fully operational again, allowing them to escape the siege without having to fight through the besieging AKUMA. Not only that, but Hevlaska - the oldest member of the Order (and one of only two D.Gray-man characters appearing in the RPG) - has awakened a new ability in her Innocence ... one that could be the key to rebuilding the Order and striking back against the Earl. [/FONT][CENTER][B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]D.Gray-man Background: Basic[/FONT][/SIZE][/B] [/CENTER] [LEFT][B][FONT=Garamond]The Earl of Millenium [/FONT][/B][FONT=Garamond]The Earl is a malevolent being bent on cleansing the Earth in the same way as Noah's Flood - by destroying mankind. His tools in this endeavour are the AKUMA; standing in his way are the Exorcists of the Black Order. [B]AKUMA [/B]Akuma is Japanese for demon; however, the Earl's AKUMA are killing machines created by fusing a machine with a human soul. When a human loses a loved one, the Earl will appear before them, encouraging them to resurrect that person. If the human gives in and calls their loved one's soul back from the afterlife, the soul becomes the power source for a skeletal machine known as an AKUMA, which is under the control of the Earl. Usually, the machine will then kill the human that called back its soul, wearing their body in order to disguise itself. [B]Innocence [/B]Innocence is the only substance on Earth capable of harming an AKUMA. There are precisely 109 fragments of Innocence on Earth, scattered far and wide by Noah's Flood. In its raw form, Innocence resembles a glowing golden cube orbited by two intersecting gold rings, toothed like cogwheels. Raw Innocence causes strange phenomena, from animating lifeless dolls to creating supernatural weather conditions. The Black Order watches for these phenomena so they can retrieve the raw Innocence and use it against the Earl's forces. [B]Apostles [/B]Each fragment of Innocence has one compatible user, or Apostle. Once a fragment is retrieved and invoked by its Apostle, that person becomes an Exorcist of the Black Order, duty-bound to destroy AKUMA. [B]Noah's Ark [/B]Not a literal ship as described in the Bible, but a pandimensional transport vessel. The inside of an Ark contains an egg-like manufacturing plant and a city in which every door teleports the user to a different real-world location. Both the Earl and the Black Order are in possession of an Ark. [/FONT][CENTER][B][SIZE=3][FONT=Garamond]D.Gray-man Background: Detailed[/FONT][/SIZE][/B] [/CENTER] [LEFT][B][FONT=Garamond]AKUMA evolution [/FONT][/B][FONT=Garamond][B]Level 1. [/B]AKUMA begin at Level 1. Once they reveal themselves, erupting from their human hosts, they resemble grey hot-air balloons. The host's face is mounted on one side, and the body is studded with cannons. These fire large-calibre shells filled with AKUMA blood; if hit with one of these, a human will break out in black pentacle-marks on their skin before shattering and turning to powder. [B]Level 2. [/B]Once it has killed enough humans, an AKUMA will advance to Level 2. Level 2 AKUMA have unique forms, personalities and abilities. Examples include a court-jester form with the ability to mimic the appearance and abilities of people and substances and a gaseous form with the ability to breath Ice Fire. [B]Level 3. [/B]Level 3 AKUMA, like Level 1, all look very similar: tall, heavily armoured humanoid creatures. At this level they gain the ability to use their Dark Matter, the polar opposite of Innocence. Examples of Dark Matter include chains with power over gravity, used to bear the victim to the ground or a watery grave, and a light-beam with the power to decompose its target on a molecular level. [B]Anti-AKUMA weapons[/B] Raw Innocence has little effect on AKUMA; it needs to be forged into an effective anti-AKUMA weapon. Every fragment of Innocence has unique abilities and half the challenge facing the Exorcist is discovering the 'style' that best suits their own Innocence. Broadly, there are two types: [B]Equipment-type. [/B]The most common form of anti-AKUMA weapon. Once the 'style' of the Innocence is determined, the Exorcist forges it into a appropriate form, often a traditional weapon like a sword, gun or (less traditionally) a football or set of acupuncture needles. [I]Examples: [/I]Yu Kanda's 'Mugen', a sword with the ability to create illusions; Lenalee Lee's 'Dark Boots', a pair of boots that allowed her to use soundwaves as footholds and run on air (not to mention kick AKUMA to death). [B]Parasitic-type. [/B]The Innocence is discovered living within the body of its Apostle. Parasitic-type weapons are capable of powerful evolutions based on the user's synchronisation with their Innocence, but they draw on the user's life force in order to fight, reducing their lifespan and sometimes causing harmful rebounds when pushed beyond a certain limit. Also, since the Innocence can't be forged into a shape appropriate to its style, the user must discover the style for themselves and attempt to mould their weapon through training, usually changing their body in some way in the process. [I]Examples: [/I]Arystar Krory's teeth, which allowed him to gain strength by drinking AKUMA blood; Allen Walker's 'Crowned Clown', which transformed his left arm into a claw capable of tearing through AKUMA. [B]Synch ratio [/B]An Exorcist's synchronisation with their Innocence is shown by a percentage. If this percentage passes 100%, the Exorcist is known as a Critical, and is a candidate to become an Exorcist General. Generally, a higher synch ratio allows the user to use more of their weapon's abilities. Parasitic-type weapons will evolve new forms as synchronisation increases, while equipment-types will gain new and more powerful attacks. Anti-AKUMA weapons can be invoked to perform beyond their synch ratio, but this will usually result in a brief burst of uncontrolled power followed by a harmful rebound on the user. [/FONT][CENTER][B][FONT=Garamond][SIZE=3]Sign-Up Preview[/SIZE][/FONT][/B] [/CENTER] [LEFT][FONT=Garamond]All the characters will be rookies, newly recruited into the Order. This means no D.Gray-man characters (they're dead of old age anyway) and no supermen. You will, however, be able to claim the following anti-AKUMA weapons from the series (I'm assuming that when an Apostle dies, another person becomes the single compatible user): Mugen, Dark Boots, Odzuchi Kodzuchi, Time Record, Charity Bell, Heaven Compass, Noel Organon. I can post descriptions of all these, if you like.[/FONT] [B][FONT=Garamond]Name. [/FONT][/B][FONT=Garamond]Not Japanese, sorry. The Black Order is drawn from all over the world - Innocence doesn't care where you were born - but Japan is the Earl's territory. It's AKUMA country. Normal humans don't come from there anymore. [B]Gender.[/B] [B]Age. [/B]Young or old as you like, as long as they can walk, talk and at least attempt to fight. [B]Appearance. [/B]Linked picture or brief description. [B]Likes/Dislikes/3-word summary. [/B]No lengthy bios or personality breakdowns - we'll see that in your writing. Just a simple list: 2 likes, 2 dislikes, and sum the character up in 3 words. [B]Anti-AKUMA weapon. [/B]Its name, type (parasitic or equipment), starting synch ratio (no more than 65%, please) and abilities. [B]Writing sample. [/B]Link me to your favourite RPG you've participated in, so I can see how you write and how you work with other RPers. [/FONT][CENTER][SIZE=3][B][FONT=Garamond]The System[/FONT][/B][/SIZE] [/CENTER] [FONT=Garamond]I'm working with the concept of an [B]Objective System, [/B]in which I would post a paragraph or two placing the players in a situation, then give them an objective to reach in a certain number of posts. So, for example, as the RPG begins I might write a paragraph placing them in the Order's training area and instruct them to invoke their Innocence for the first time in one post each. Or I might set them all up in a room with two powerful AKUMA and instruct them to in the battle in two posts each, allowing each player's Innocence to develop one new ability in the process. If anyone has views on this system please post them - I've never used it in practice before, and historically my RPGs have been the type to die quickly, so if anyone more experienced has tips I'd be glad to hear them. [/FONT][/LEFT] [/LEFT] [/LEFT] [/LEFT]

[quote name='TwistedChick']They live a very long time. But how does that work with keeping the balance between Soul Society and earth? If it's life for life, shouldn't Soul Society have been overpopulated by short-lived humans long ago? [/QUOTE] I know this post was a few pages back but I've just been catching up on the thread after a longish absence. I think the answer to this (and it's a 'plot hole' that's occurred to me, too) is that not everyone in Soul Society lives that long - it's just Shinigami, who, although a very large amount of them are shown, still make up a tiny minority of the population of Soul Society as a whole. Only 'those with power' require food, to feed that power; I think it makes sense that only 'those with power' have that incredible longevity, as well. And a more recent one... [quote name='TwistedChick']To see him really get serious...he must view the opponent as something special. Which sucks cause we all hate Nnoitora. >.

Yeah, losing the eyepatch should be enough to get past Nnoitra's Hierro - and then I'm holding out for a Kenpachi shikai to beat Nnoitra's released form. (And maybe some Yachiru fighting as well - I really want to see her fighting seriously!)

[quote name='Dagger']I assumed that this would be episodic, except that the preview and next episode title make it sound connected to the first episode. Interested to see how they manage that.[/quote]I heard that the light novels it's based on are episodic, but the series is kicking off with an anime original arc. I'm not sure how it'll work if the first three or four link and it becomes episodic after that - could feel like a jerky transition. But I'll be watching this and giving it a chance, anyway. I loved Kino's Journey :animesmil

I found the series was enjoyable enough, but couldn't quite live up to the first episode, which was a masterpiece. There's also a lot of backstory left hanging ready for the second season (which is either airing now or has already finished, I'm not sure). So you have to wait until Dai Ni Maku is licensed before finding out what the deal is with Hiyuu's Dragon Fist. Nice fights, though. Worth watching, but I probably wouldn't buy it.

Binktopia take liberties with translations. They usually succeed in keeping the general gist of the Japanese, but their translations are by no means an accurate reflection of the original text. And come on guys, you actually think the fight's over? How many layers of genjutsu do you think we're going to have to go through before the real Sasuke and real Itachi actually set eyes on each other? It was a great chapter - I'm a big fan of speechless action when it's drawn that well, and Sasuke undoubtedly got one up on Itachi, but there's no way Itachi, who always thinks six sneaky genjutsu moves ahead, is going down just from that. If nothing else, Sasuke's made a schoolboy error by leaving him alive enough to answer whatever this question is (my money's on "why did you really kill my whole clan"). If he's asking, he obviously didn't go straight for the vitals, but he's talking like he's won already, which I'm sure next chapter will show to be a mistake. It's possible that is Itachi's real body in the chair, in which case Sasuke should have gone straight for a killing blow; it's possible it's not really him. Either way, Itachi has more up his sleeve yet.

[quote name='Tombstone'](Perhaps even more than I want to see Tobi's identity.)[/quote]Wasn't that confirmed in the latest chapter? I'm pretty sure Yahiko-Pain said something along the lines of "Madara ordered me to catch the Nine-Tails". Maybe I'll check the Japanese... I suppose Pain could think he's Madara but it could all be a bluff ... after all, why would Madara (an Uchiha) have Shadowcat powers?

[quote name='Tombstone][spoiler']Byakuya killed Zomari entirely too easy[/spoiler][/quote]Well, a couple of things contributed to that. One, Zommari was [spoiler]made of two hundred carat FAIL[/spoiler]. (I actually had him pegged as Espada #1 before he released and [spoiler]turned into a pumpkin[/spoiler].) No idea how he managed to rate [spoiler]higher than Szayel Aporro AND Aaroniero[/spoiler]. Two, his ability, which would have been a serious problem for most other characters in the series, just [spoiler]wasn't a match for Senbonzakura Kageyoshi[/spoiler]. Ordinarily, the ability to [spoiler]take control of fifty separate targets, either parts of the enemy's body or random other people in the vicinity,[/spoiler] would be formidable, but that's no good when you're being attacked by [spoiler]a million-odd tiny blades[/spoiler]. It was just a seriously unlucky match for Zommari. I'm kind of indifferent to Mayuri, and was to Szayel Aporro as well until this chapter. Now I find myself simultaneously hating him ([spoiler]Nemu never did nothing to no one, and she got hacked up and kicked about by her dad all the time! She did not deserve explosive pregnancy as well![/spoiler]) and grudgingly respecting his tenacity. It's been a while since a baddie in Bleach refused so utterly to snuff it.

I think he meant the link above that one, which is actually Zetsubou Sensei related. I actually thought the festival episode was the worst yet. The sequence where they carried everyone in sight got very repetitive - there was definitely a point where they could have stopped and it still be funny, but they passed that point and ran for another five minutes... Looks like that was just a blip, though, because episodes 8 and 9 are back to form. Only Itoshiki Nozomu could see a spot-the-difference game and extrapolate into a [spoiler]'list all the mistakes in your life'[/spoiler] exercise.

That's the great thing about Bleach and the reason I get hot under the collar when people compare it to Dragonball Z - the numbers don't matter, everyone's strong in different ways and it's impossible to 'power rank' the characters. So the captains aren't 'ranked' as such, but it has been revealed how you become one: you need recommendations from a certain number of other captains, or you need to defeat the current captain in single combat. I totally agree on Hitsugaya. The kid rushes in where angels fear to tread and invariably gets hacked up because of it. He's strong in his own way, and if he's the child prodigy everyone says he is then he'll only get stronger. But in terms of personality, he's totally unsuited to command. And I thought this latest was an incredible chapter. (Apart from Tesla's stupid released form.) I've been wanting to see what's happening to Rukia and Chad for ages now. I'm anticipating [spoiler]nick-of-time saves for them too - but until we find out how on earth Kenpachi ended up in Hueco Mundo, I can't speculate who'll turn up[/spoiler]. Not to mention: 'King of the Kill'? Brilliant chapter title. Best one for a few months.

I second all the negative opinions on West. I'm praying he's only been written in so Sylar can eat his brains. [spoiler]Flying Sylar would own[/spoiler].

Has everyone forgotten to speculate about [spoiler]the hooded guy that tackled Kaito off the roof[/spoiler]? We know he/she's one of the [spoiler]Group of Twelve - all old hands within the Company. Unless he/she's a completely new character, my first thought was Claude...[/spoiler]?

Naruto is going to be the very first genin Hokage.

I am totally blown away. I got into this series pretty late, so I watched most of it in pretty quick succession. I'm not given to hyperbole, but this is actually the best thing I have [b]ever[/b] seen. It's hilarious, heartbreaking and life-affirming, often all at the same time. The animation is amazing and I've never seen a series successfully keep the tension at or above boiling point for twenty-seven entire episodes before. I rated this 'Masterpiece, exquisite beyond words' on ANN, something I've never done before. For goodness' sake, see this show.

Episode 24: LOL at [spoiler]rubber-band gun[/spoiler] Contractor, and WTF at [spoiler]little kid Amber[/spoiler]. Was the girl on the gantry [spoiler]Mai[/spoiler]? The beginning of the series was quite a while ago and her character design wasn't massively memorable to begin with, so I couldn't be sure. At first I thought it was [spoiler]Hei's sister[/spoiler], but the powers didn't match. If it was [spoiler]Mai[/spoiler], then her reappearance felt pretty glossed over and anticlimactic - as did a lot of the deaths in the episode. [spoiler]Mao running off, especially, felt a bit like the writers had no use for him in the climax and just needed to get rid of him before the endgame. shame, I liked Mao[/spoiler]. Finale: If nothing else, the music in the final episode was stunning, especially during [spoiler]Amber's explanation[/spoiler]. Also, I feel like a fool for not noticing earlier that [spoiler]Amber's remuneration was to get younger[/spoiler]. Overall it was a pretty satisfying, if not totally life-changing, end to a pretty satisfying, if not totally life-changing, series.

If you look at the last page, you'll see that Nagato has the same crazy spiral eyes as Pain. Coupled with the sidetext "is this the birth of Pain?" I assume Nagato is a young Pain, not a young Tobi. I'm intrigued to see whether the pattern in his eyes is another bloodline limit, like the Sharingan or Byakugan. The whole chapter was an exercise in being misleading - making us think Yahiko, the spiky-haired kid that looks a bit like Pain's first body, was Pain, all the while hiding Nagato's giveaway eyes behind his fringe. Once it gets back to the actual fight, I'm interested to see whether Konan has any way of dealing with fire jutsu. If all her techniques are paper-based, I'd think a well-placed Goukyaku no Jutsu would take her out in one shot, but she must have something else up her sleeve if Kishimoto's pairing her up as an equal to Jiraiya.

[quote name='serenayasha'][SIZE="4"][COLOR="Green"]oh why does everyone bad on English dubs and not other languages?[/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]There are plenty of terrible Japanese dubs out there. It's just harder to spot bad acting when you don't speak the language - you don't know where the inflections are supposed to fall, so you can't tell if they're wrong wrong wrong like a lot of bad English dubs. No idea about the Adult Swim thing. It wouldn't surprise me though. Tried Google, or the Death Note page on Wikipedia? Or perhaps Anime News Network? They're generally the best places to confirm rumours like this.

Wasn't the whole snake/hawk metaphor brought up originally by Sasuke, just before decking Orochimaru? He said Orochimaru was a snake, doomed to slither on the ground, whereas he was a hawk, able to command the skies. It was particularly appropriate for that pair because of Orochimaru's themes and true form, and Sasuke's winged Curse Seal form, but it looks like it's going to be an extended metaphor for Sasuke's development. I suppose it might refer to whether he relies on his own strength (hawk/Uchiha?) or relies more on the power he took from Orochimaru (snake/implied weaker of the two?). Using those particular two animals also makes me think of the [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvpod8bBwRA"][u]Basilisk opening sequence[/u][/url]. In that case it represented the mutually destructive nature of the two clans' hatred, so perhaps in Japan the hawk/snake dichotomy is an accepted metaphor for mutual exclusivity or polar opposites...?