Source: Wikipedia
“Vanished Memories”
“While on his way to collect bamboo shoots for menma ramen, Naruto finds a man close to a riverbank and helps him out. The man cannot even remember his name, so Naruto calls him “Menma.” As Naruto tries to help him recover his memories, he learns that Menma is extraordinarily good-natured and helpful. When a mysterious man attacks the two, Menma uses an ocarina to increase Naruto’s abilities, causing Naruto to wonder who he is.”
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Analysis
The episode was centred on this Menma character, who brings out a sense of mystery. He is also shown to be a round character who seems like a real person and has a complex personality. Other details will be mentioned in the analysis.
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Menma’s life as a bandit.
His life serves as an exposition of background information necessary for understanding the storyline. Doomy music plays in the background when there is visual imagery of a certain village caught in a fire during the night. Moreover, it was raining, which symbolises a sad atmosphere that something bad has happened. For instance, there is auditory imagery when everyone in the village is panicking and screaming. They were running away because there were bandits who were killing them with their swords. Everything was chaotic, which led to a certain man from the village running into the woods.
When the man ran into the woods, one of the bandits tossed a kunai at him, which cut the man’s shoulder. As a result, the man stopped at a cliff, where he knelt close to the edge. At that moment, the bandit and Menma were standing there, looking at the man they had injured. During this time, the man’s little daughter, Fuki, came to protect him. She even guarded her father by shielding him, asking the enemies to stop attacking her father. In response, Menma felt some kind of emotion that made him freeze for a second. Therefore, it compelled the other bandit to kick the kid aside, take the necklace from Fuki’s father, and then kill him with his sword. This left the kid, Fuki, to cry profusely with the pain of losing her father.
When the bandit wanted to kill Fuki, Menma tossed the kunai at him, which stabbed his back. Eventually, it resulted in his death. Thereafter, Menma picked up the necklace on the ground and gave it to Fuki. At that moment, Fuki almost fell off the cliff, but Menma saved her. Unfortunately, when he saved her, he fell off the cliff, screaming until he fell into the riverbank. Afterwards, doomy music stopped playing in the background.
There are certain points to consider about Menma’s life as a bandit. First, his past life is a dramatic irony when the viewer knows some details about his past life that the characters in the episode are not yet aware of. Second, we are introduced to another character called Fuki. It makes one wonder what happened to her. Is she still alive? Is she still a child, or has she grown up? Only time will tell when the storyline progresses. Last, Menma may have been part of the bandits, but he has compassion for others and empathy when he saves the little girl, Fuka. In other words, he is a round character who seems like a real person who cares about other people’s well-being. It makes one wonder how someone who is so empathetic ended up joining the bandits. What’s his story? Only time will tell when it reveals more details about Menma’s past; hence, it keeps the viewer hooked to watch the rest of the storyline.
While on his way to collect bamboo shoots for menma ramen, Naruto finds a man close to a riverbank and helps him out. Before Naruto went to the cliff to get bamboo shoots for menma, he was at the Ichiraku Ramen shop during the daytime. The owner of the shop, Teuchi, said that finding the legendary menma-pickled bamboo shoots is rare because they grow high up on the side of cliffs, which is very hard to find. So, Naruto was determined to look for it in the sense that he wanted to try it on top of ramen.
So, when Naruto arrived at the cliff during the day, he bent down to reach the menma that grew on the cliff. However, when he picked up the menma, he almost fell off the cliff, so he grabbed hold of the cliff. Thereafter, while Naruto is still holding onto the cliff, he sees a man lying unconscious on a riverbank below. Eventually, Naruto fell onto the riverbank to check if he was alive. When he was still unconscious, he took him to the Leaf Village Hospital.
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Naruto carried Menma to the Leaf Village Hospital.
At nighttime, there were dark clouds in the sky, which seemed like it was about to rain. This could serve as a symbol that Menma presents a sense of uncertainty that can cause destruction. After some time, Sakura (who was wearing a uniform she got from the medical core) was walking along the hallway, stopped, and stood at a window to observe the weather outside. Meanwhile, Naruto arrived, put Menma on the ground, and stood close to the window, which scared Sakura for a moment. When Naruto told her about finding the man on the riverbank, Sakura said it could be hypothermia since his body temperature was dangerously low. So, Naruto left Menma under Sakura’s supervision, and when Sakura said they couldn’t admit outsiders, Naruto already left, claiming that he had an “important mission” he had to complete.
However, this mission was just Naruto giving Teuchi the menma at the Ichiraku Ramen shop. Naruto was ready to have it with his ramen, but Teuchi said it would take 3 or 4 weeks to turn them into menma-pickled bamboo shoots. He goes on to say they get boiled and then fermented slowly for 3 or 4 weeks at least. In response, Naruto gets impatient, but Teuchi says, “Sometimes the best thing in life requires patience.” After some time, Sakura arrived and was furious that this was his important mission. Eventually, they got back to the hospital to check on Menma.
At the hospital, Menma was awake in the examination room when the medic ninja tried to retrieve his memories using back-to-past jutsu. While this was happening, Naruto and Sakura stood outside, watching from a glass frame. Despite the medic ninja using the back-to-the-past jutsu to retrieve Menma’s memories, it was ineffective. So, the medic ninja decided to try to use the jutsu the following day.
At the office in one of the rooms in the hospital, Sakura told Naruto that the man had amnesia. If he doesn’t respond to the back-to-past jutsu, this amnesia could have serious consequences. She also told Naruto that the man only had a musical instrument known as the ocarina, which is a kind of flute. It was cracked into two pieces, but it could be fixed. Moreover, Sakura said, “It might be just a temporary state of shock causing the amnesia.” Therefore, Naruto had to sign a release form for liability because the Leaf Village Hospital never treats outsiders. In other words, it was Naruto’s responsibility in case anything happened to Menma. At that moment, he hopes he doesn’t live to regret doing the good deed of saving Menma.
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Menma shows his caring nature when he saves a baby at the hospital.
At the hospital, Menma was awake in his room, picked up the ocarina that was fixed, and stared at it. Suddenly, there was lightning that hit the hospital, which caused a fire. This makes one wonder if Menma is the one who caused the fire. For instance, when he was still a bandit terrorising a certain village, there was also a fire there. Could it be just a coincidence, or is it Menma who is intentionally or unintentionally causing the fire? Only time will tell when the storyline progresses.
Meanwhile, Naruto heard the lightning while he was still sleeping at home. So, when he went outside, he saw the fire coming from the hospital and urgently went there. Meanwhile, at the hospital, every patient was escorted outside while others were trying to put out the fire with water. While everyone got out, Menma was still in the hospital, and when he walked in the hallway, he saw the fire. What he did when he saw the fire was strange. For instance, he walked towards the fire with a blank expression on his face. Afterwards, he starts to remember killing innocent people in a certain village when he was still a bandit. Therefore, intense music with a mix of electric guitar, drums, and violin plays in the background. Menma knelt and cried, saying, “Forgive me” three times. It makes one wonder what his story is as a bandit. Did he join the bandits because he didn’t have a choice, or was it his choice? Only time will tell. One thing is certain: he seems to regret what he did in the past, even though his memories are not yet back. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Sakura calling and checking if anyone else was in the building. This just proves the memories haunt him.
Outside the hospital, Sakura informed Tsunade and Shizune that there was no one else in the hospital. Naruto eventually arrived and wondered where Menma was, which made Sakura realise that he must be stuck in the hospital. To make matters worse, a woman arrived crying, saying her baby boy was still stuck inside the hospital. Upon hearing this, the fire engulfed the hospital, so there was no way Naruto or anyone could save the baby, which only left Menma, who saved the baby boy.
Meanwhile, while Menma still knelt on the ground in the hallway, he heard a baby boy crying in one of the hospital rooms. As he rushed into the room, he was filled with pity when he saw the baby crying. Therefore, it compelled him to play his ocarina flute to stop the fire for a bit. At that moment, everyone who was outside could hear the flute playing, and afterwards, Menma came out through the window while holding the baby boy. So, to make sure he safely landed, Naruto activated his shadow clones, who used their bodies as a cushion to save Menma and the baby boy from a deadly fall. At that moment, everyone was relieved that he saved the baby boy, and the mother of the boy even thanked him for saving her baby. Menma is shown to have compassion for others, which still makes one wonder how he ended up with the bandits.
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Tsunade decides to let Menma stay at the leaf village for a little while.
The next day in morning, Sakura and Naruto inform Tsunade and Shizune about the mystery man. It happened at the Hokage headquarters office. Naruto begged them to let Menma stay in the village. In response, Shizune said they couldn’t let outsiders into the village, even though he saved the baby. She also said that they needed to ensure security in the village. Eventually, Tsunade agrees when Naruto says he will take responsibility, so she decides to let him stay in the village for now, since they can’t kick him out after saving the baby boy.
The man cannot even remember his name, so Naruto calls him “Menma.” Naruto gave him the name “Menma” when they were at the Ichiraku Ramen shop. Thereafter, they ate the normal ramen since the bamboo shoots were not yet ready. Eventually, Naruto promised Menma that, when it was ready, they would eat ramen with bamboo shoots.
As Naruto tries to help him recover his memories, he learns that Menma is extraordinarily good-natured and helpful.
Various ways show that Menma is extraordinarily good-natured and helpful.
When it was late at night, Menma went with Naruto to his place and found it messy. Before they slept, Naruto said the next day they would try to retrieve his memories. So, while Naruto slept, Menma couldn’t sleep, so he decided to clean Naruto’s room in the morning. Naruto thanked him for that.
Menma even washed Naruto’s laundry, especially his underwear. Menma washing Naruto’s underwear made Naruto freak out. Naruto then told him he should leave it alone because he could wash his underwear.
While in the village, Naruto tries to retrieve his memories by taking him window shopping. He showed Menma various foods from other lands, hoping that he could recognise them, which could hint at where he came from. However, he doesn’t remember and tells Naruto not to worry about it. When he heard that Naruto had to clean the mountainside images at Hokage Mountain, Menma offered to help Naruto.
Before they go to Hokage Mountain, Menma sees an old lady struggling to carry her groceries, so he offers to carry them to her house.
Eventually, Naruto had to tag along with Menma, who carried the groceries to the old lady’s house. When Menma saw that her garden had weeds, he offered to do her gardening and remove the weeds. Naruto also felt compelled to help, as they both finished tidying up her garden.
Other old people wanted help from both, so they also helped with their gardening. Everyone was so grateful to the extent that they sent gifts to the Hokage’s office, which left Tsunade stunned.
Menma helped Naruto clean the mountain images using brooms. While they were cleaning, Naruto said to Menma that he was kind, helpful, and hardworking. In response, Menma said he wants to live his life the right way with no regrets.
All the points above highlight the characterisation of Menma. He was so kind, helpful, and hardworking, always willing to help others who were in need. He is a round character with a complex personality of helping others, even though he was once part of the bandits.
When a mysterious man attacks the two, Menma uses an ocarina to increase Naruto’s abilities, causing Naruto to wonder who he is. While they were still cleaning the mountain images using brooms, a drop of blood landed on Naruto’s face. So, when he looked upward, he saw a Jonin fall, so they saved the man before he went to the ground. Naruto then asked him what happened, and the jonin said someone was in the village. Thereafter, various weapons shot in their direction, which compelled them to move while Naruto carried the jonin on his back.
When they reached an area where the enemy could see them, Naruto asked Menma to look after the jonin while he left to go into the woods.
When Naruto ran into the woods, the enemy tossed some kunai that were wrapped in paper bombs at a tree where Naruto was standing. As a result, there was an explosion in a tree. So, while Naruto dodged the other attacks, Menma arrived and played his ocarina. While playing the ocarina, Menma can somehow affect his target’s chakra points, boosting their chakra flow (Narutopedia Website). To support this, Naruto’s chakra points were strengthened, and he felt an incredible surge of power. Therefore, Naruto ran in the right direction through the forest with intense speed because the chakra was flowing through his whole body. When the enemy saw this, he retreated, but Naruto caught up to him and stabbed him with his kunai, which caused the enemy to fall to the ground. However, it was Substitution Jutsu, so the enemy escaped. After some time, Menma appeared and asked Naruto if he was okay. In response, due to his music, Naruto wonders who he is, which leaves Menma stunned. Who is he, and what kind of powers does he possess? This will be revealed after some episodes.
The lesson from this episode is that looks can be deceiving; not everything is what it seems. For instance, Menma was part of the bandits, but he saved a little girl named Fuki from being killed. At the same time, Naruto thinks he is harmless, but he is not yet aware that Menma is part of the bandits.
Another lesson from the episode could be derived from Teuchi’s statement: “Sometimes the best thing in life requires patience.”
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and then Add to home screen.