Mesao_Danmowre wrote...
Kakashi has fulfilled his role as a plot device well enough, but I personally think that as a character, he hasn't done nearly as much as it seemed he was going to; he was developed from the very beginning, and, as far as the story goes, has developed meaningful relationships with all of the main characters. Most of which have barely been carried further. Whether as a foil or a mentor, I think that if Kishimoto just decided to kill Kakashi off, he would have wasted an enormous amount of character development, rounding off a character who barely played a role. Jiraiya was understandable, as a character who was introduced later, and was essentially flat throughout the whole subsequent affair, as a "pervert" and "teacher", and is only having a bit of depth introduced to him after his death, which is understandable since there was likely a host of information which he couldn't comfortable divulge. His death, I could see as a catalyst for events, especially with the sense of loss which is going to be inflicted upon Naruto. Kakashi is not only worth more as a character, but beyond that constant, his death would do nothing but leave a gaping hole in the thread of the story. The reasons for killing him off seem either redundant or insufficient as a whole. Kishimoto's also developed the other characters so little, that I can't think of anyone who could competently replace him in the spotlight.
Similarly, since Kishimoto has
given the story a bit of a noir atmosphere with the death and the betrayal he's managed to introduce, I have difficulty believing that he's willing to take it even further, considering how the story, by itself, is supposed to be predominantly lighthearted.
Although, I guess that the main reason why I think that Kakashi is still alive, and my search for justifications thereof, is that the most logical thing is that he's dead. Since when has logic applied to Naruto?
The thing I hate the most about Kakashi's "death," if he does end up being dead, is that Kakashi was constantly praised as the Copy Ninja who had copied over ninety-nine techniques, or however many it was, but he only showed a few of those techniques. After the Zabuza arc in the beginning, Kakashi pretty much only did his Raikiri. That was his main technique, I understand, but he had so many other techniques. Why not use some of them? We even saw Kakashi watching Lee open the gates during the Chuunin exam, but have we ever seen Kakashi open any of the gates? Nope. Not at all. And that is a damn shame.