Naruto's Seven Sins #2: Bloodline Limits

This isn't even my Final Form!

Some people like to go on and on about how the Sharingan is overpowered.

This is not one of those posts.

I'll never do one of those posts.

This is Naruto's Seven Sins #2: Bloodline Limits!

Let's get started!

Bloodline Limits are a pretty cool idea. They added an entirely new dimension to some fights and provided some great visuals and unique struggles for our characters. Ever since Haku first debuted his Ice Mirrors, they have been an important part of Naruto.

Some people complain they are unfair, but that's missing the point. Of course, they are unfair. It's a genetic lottery.

Bloodlines hammer the point that you can, in fact, be born as a person of mass destruction. The world is inherently unfair, and Naruto has never shied away from it.

Anyway, Bloodline Limits were a pretty cool thing, but then Kishimoto did something he probably shouldn't have done.

He tried to explain what they are. Before, it was just understood they were quirks or genetic mutations. However, during Part II Kishimoto wanted to really hammer out all the details of his setting.

Thus bloodlines needed to be clearly defined now, and the explanation he gave was this:

Two Elements Combined.

Water+Wind= Ice

That was not a good move, and let me explain why.

These are the Bloodline Limits we see in Part I: Byakugan, Sharingan, Hyoton, Sakon and Ukon's Wonder Twin Powers, and Kimimaro's Dead Bone Pulse.

In order, that's two weird eyes, the ability to use ice, the ability to literally merge your body cell's with those of another person, and being able to rip out your own spine.

Only one of those even remotely fits the description of 'Two Elements Fused Together.'

To Kishimoto's credit, he managed to stick with this definition for the most part after it was introduced. We saw a lot of elemental fusions and he was very creative with them. There was Lava, Acid, Magma, Magnet, Blast, and a bunch of other stuff.

However, this decision took away some of the charm Bloodline Limits had.

Bloodline Limits in Part I could be freaky and even bizarre. They could be anything. They were truly genetic mutations.

Changing Bloodline Limits into the simple fusion of two elements took away the edge they had.

It standardized them into 'just another type of elemental blast.'

Don't get me wrong, Bloodline Limits were still strong. However, with the reveal, they had been changed into something tamer. They no longer had that creepy factor going for them and that was a pretty big loss.

Kimimaro was an amazing villain and not a small part of that is owned to the fact that there is just something about seeing a guy tearing out his own spine to kill you with it.

It's inhuman.

In a very good way.

Sure, he lost a bunch of fangirls due to that, but damn!

Then there's the sheer terror of Kiba finding out Sakon/Ukon had invaded his body. It made a threat at a very visceral level.

With the switch to elemental combinations, Naruto lost some of that and that was a big shame.