Novel Review | Itachi Story: Daylight
Itachi Uchiha has long been a fan favorite character of the illustrious Naruto franchise. Even before we met the famed genius missing ninja in the series, something about Itachi lured us all in and had us all begging for more. This affect was only magnified after his first appearance alongside Kisame in the early series in which he quite effortlessly faced off against then heavy hitters such as Kurenai, Jiraya, Asuma and Sasuke. As the ninja world expanded and the impact and nature of Itachi’s famed Uchiha Clan Massacre was revealed, he himself remained very much a mystery to us all. That is until the Itachi Story light novel series.
In Itachi Story Volume 1: Daylight, readers are introduced to a four year old Itachi who, through the extremely questionable parenting of his father, resolves to rid the world of war and conflict by becoming the greatest ninja the world has ever seen. For anyone even remotely familiar with the Naruto series, clearly this altruistic dream does not come to pass, however, the novel explores Itachi’s growth into the genius ninja he was rumored to be and sheds some light on the events that lead to him becoming the man we know from the core Naruto lore.
The thrill of the novel is that it is holistically focused on Itachi, offering rare insight into the mind of a beloved character who is neither Naruto or Sasuke. The story not only reveals the events that make up his history and helped to shape him, but also allows readers to see the world through Itachi’s eyes, gaining a new understanding of a world we once thought so familiar. The volume follows Itachi through his ninja training running through to his short lived academy life and onward into his early days as a ninja. Readers are given the chance to really get to know who Itachi and venture on with him as he grows up with each adversity only serving to strengthen his resolve to achieve his dream and in some cases, give it form.
The novel, while focused on Itachi, does not ignore the larger happenings of the world as it alludes and references many of the bigger events which are known to have occurred during Itachi’s youth as told by the original Naruto story. Things like the birth of Konoha, the Uchiha vs Senju feud, the Second Great Ninja War and the Nine-Tailed’s attack on the village are all referenced and are actually seen to impact not only Itachi but also the village in ways that were previously given no consideration. These small allusion serve to add gravity to the main happenings of the story as well as cast a new light on the events of the Naruto story which simply draws the reader in while reinvigorating their passion for the original series.
Further expanding on the world, the book shines some light on characters, some familiar while others new, who have somehow impacted Itachi and coincidentally, larger events yet to come. Shisui Uchiha is finally brought into the light as his friendship with Itachi is revealed to have been more crucial that previously hinted. Danzo seems to also play a rather big roll in the shaping of events, however, his importance seems to pale in comparison to that of Itachi’s father Fugaku and the Uchiha clan. As the rumored coup d’état begins to take form, the internal struggle Itachi faces adds new weight to the age old tale as he seems to be caught between his dream, his allegiance to the clan and his allegiance to the village.
Most stories tend to lose something when you know the ending but that is fortunately not the case with Itachi Story. What many were led to believe was a simple chain of events is revealed to be so much more within the pages of this light novel. The volume takes a shot at unraveling the mystery that has always been Itachi and succeeds with an inspiring yet heart clenching tale which forces readers to face the question, how far are you willing to go for what you believe in?
Itachi Story Volume 1: Daylight is a worthwhile addition to the Naruto fanchise that any fan of the series will thoroughly enjoy with Volume 2: Midnight promising the tragic conclusion we all expect but maybe not how we expect it.
