It’s the penultimate issue of the ninja crossover of the century! Here, Team Kakashi travels to Big Apple Village and learns about the wonders of pizza. They also do some fighting, maybe in the form of an epic team-up. In this issue, Caleb Goellner and Hendry Prasetya show how versatile both series’ characters are while continuing to demonstrate a general appreciation and love towards both the world of Naruto and TMNT.
IDW
Something this series has continued to do well is balancing each character’s uniqueness in such a giant cast without diminishing anyone’s individual worth. This issue is no different, further showing how well certain characters balance each other out in both personality and fighting style. While the stakes don’t feel too high, given the story’s limited nature of impact on either franchise, the enjoyment comes more from how Goellner highlights each character and shows how similar each cast is to one another. The pacing moves pretty well, while the beginning offers a false sense of security, the latter half is fast-paced and speeds things up well to make up for lost time.
If there was one complaint, it would be that not enough time is spent on Splinter or April in this issue, as the two feel like a vehicle to motivate the two ninja teams toward a fight with Shredder. That said, the story remains fun and exciting.
IDW
Hendry Prasetya and Raúl Angulo continue to be one of the most vibrant duos. Prasetya’s paneling feels effortless – due to how Prasetya constructs the issue, most of the pages feel like one giant scene, with paneling used to switch points of view or to intensify characters in serious moments. This works well to add a bit of drama to the storytelling that otherwise would have felt lacking. Angulo’s coloring meshes perfectly with this, decreasing the focus on each individual panel through shading that helps to blend these moments together. Through this, the story’s pacing feels well-orchestrated and causes the narrative to move along at just the right pace.
IDW
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #3 is another great entry in this series. The series has been a joy to read, providing insight into both series’ core concepts. The threat itself feels low stakes, but fun nonetheless. Whether you like Naruto, you like the Turtles, or you know nothing about either but want to learn more, this is the series for you. With things set to wrap up in the next issue, this book ends on a great cliffhanger to prep readers for one more epic showdown.
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