NARUTO COLUMNS
05/05/2024
[Birthday Column] Celebrating Deidara's Birthday on 5/5! Looking Back on a Shinobi Sculptor's Pursuit of the Ultimate Art!
A column celebrating the birthdays and achievements of everyone's favorite ninja!
Today we'll be reminiscing about the talented sculptor who uses detonating clay to create art as beautiful as it is fleeting: Deidara!
Today we'll be reminiscing about the talented sculptor who uses detonating clay to create art as beautiful as it is fleeting: Deidara!
■Deidara
・Birthday: May 5th (Taurus)
・Favorite Food: Oden with "bombs" (hard-boiled eggs wrapped in surumi)
Deidara's Art
Deidara skillfully molds clay into many intricate shapes, but he considers the true value of his art to lie not in its form, but in the moment of brilliance when it explodes.
"I FEEL THAT TRUE ART LIVES ONLY IN THAT BRIEF FLASH OF SUBLIMATION! HMMM?!
TRUE ART IS AN EXPLOSION!!"
After joining the Akatsuki, he is partnered with the organization's other artist, Sasori. But while Deidara acknowledges the puppeteer's creative talents, the two are polar opposites when it comes to their definitions of art, leading to regular arguments.
"AS A FELLOW ARTIST, I CERTAINLY...RESPECT YOUR PERSEPECTIVE.
BUT, IN MY OPINION, ART IS TRANSIENT BEAUTY THAT FADES AFTER JUST A MOMENT. HMM."
Perhaps the secret to Deidara's strength is the single-minded tenacity with which he pursues his artistic vision.
A Taste of Defeat
Deidara initially practices his chosen art form by carrying out terrorist bombings for clients in neighboring nations, and the reputation this earns him eventually brings the Akatsuki to his doorstep.
Itachi Uchiha, one of the Akatsuki members who comes to recruit Deidara, challenges him by saying "If I win, you'll come with us." Affronted by how lightly Itachi seems to be taking him, Deidara attacks, but is defeated by the power of the Uchiha's Sharingan.
After the battle, a stunning sight lies before him:
After the battle, a stunning sight lies before him:
"THIS...
...IS ART...!"
Up until this point, Deidara had believed his artistic ninjutsu to be flawless, but it fails to so much as make Itachi blink.
Finding himself unconsciously admiring Itachi's own artistry, Deidara seems to feel a brief sense of inferiority.
Swearing not to lose to Itachi or the Sharingan, he joins the Akatsuki and awaits his chance for revenge.
Finding himself unconsciously admiring Itachi's own artistry, Deidara seems to feel a brief sense of inferiority.
Swearing not to lose to Itachi or the Sharingan, he joins the Akatsuki and awaits his chance for revenge.
Beautifully Sculpted Explosions
Deidara's detonating clay is able to take various forms and properties due to the chakra he kneads into it.
His artistic spirit can be felt through the wide variety of shapes and sizes he employs when using it in battle.
His artistic spirit can be felt through the wide variety of shapes and sizes he employs when using it in battle.
His C1 clay is less powerful but perfect for ambushes or diversions, and he often sculpts it into shapes resembling insects.
His bird-shaped creations boast a variety of wing and body shapes, each uniquely suited to its purpose. He even uses them to fly!
He also has a doll called "Ohako" that he shows off during his battle against Gaara.
Its C3 chakra grants it the most sheer power out of all Deidara's creations.
With a refined design and the firepower to level an entire village, Ohako is truly a sensational work of art!
Finally, we come to Deidara's ultimate masterpiece: C4 Karura.
As an enormous, Deidara-shaped bomb, one might expect C4 Karura to have explosive power equal to its size, but instead it's designed to rupture and create gale-force winds that scatter the countless tiny nanobombs held inside it.
Opponents inhale the bombs, riddling their bodies with mini-explosives that destroy them from the inside. He developed this impressive technique with the goal of killing Itachi, and even Tobi recognizes it as a formidable jutsu.
One Final Creation
Deidara ends up fighting Sasuke, who is pursuing Itachi.
Bearing the same eyes as his older brother, Sasuke survives all of Deidara's vaunted clay attacks.
Bearing the same eyes as his older brother, Sasuke survives all of Deidara's vaunted clay attacks.
Sasuke realizes he can defuse the detonating clay with lightning style, and even when Deidara uses the last of his strength to attack, Sasuke appears entirely unbothered.
As it was with Itachi in the past, Deidara is unable to abide others responding to his work with apathy.
"THAT'S WHAT ANNOYS ME ABOUT YOU THE MOST!!
BOTH OF YOU UCHIHA BOYS!!!"
"YOU HAVE NO APPRECIATION OF A TRUE MASTER...
OR THE BEAUTY OF MY WORK...
AND IT MAKES ME WANT TO KILL YOU!!"
Despite Deidara's impassioned speech, Sasuke remains uninterested in anything other than getting information about Itachi.
Remembering his past humiliation at Itachi's hands, Deidara stakes his pride as an artist on one final display.
Remembering his past humiliation at Itachi's hands, Deidara stakes his pride as an artist on one final display.
"I SHALL DETONATE MYSELF!!
NEVER BEFORE HAS AN EXPLOSION LIKE THIS BEEN SEEN!
ONE THAT SHALL SCAR THE VERY EARTH ITSELF...
...AND RECEIVE RAVE REVIEWS FROM ALL MY CRITICS!
FOR WITH MY DEATH — I SHALL BECOME ART!"
"NOW ARE YOU AFRAID???"
"COWER IN AWE!!
RECOIL IN DESPAIR!!
CRY YOUR HEART OUT!!
BECAUSE MY ART...
...IS AN EXPLOSION!!!"
Transforming himself into his last masterpiece, he creates a massive explosion with a radius of ten kilometers. A tower of brilliant light reaches to the heavens, as if to carve Deidara's final work into both the skies above and the earth below.
That's all for Deidara's birthday column!
Take this opportunity to reread the manga and look back on his explosive art!
Take this opportunity to reread the manga and look back on his explosive art!
Article and Composition: Mio Chimasu (Caramel mama)
This site includes machine-translated texts for some news articles. Please be aware that you might find some unusual expressions that are difficult to understand.
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