Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi - Strongest Genjutsu/Physical Attack

Black Zetsu: If the left eye's Mangekyo possesses the most powerful genjutsu... ...The right eye's Mangekyo possesses the most powerful physical attack... 

The Amaterasu produces black flames that are said to never extinguish until they've burned to ash whatever it's caster's eye had sighted...

Gottheim, "Well, translating those lines directly will end up with sentences like "the strongest genjutsu" and "the strongest physical attack". Especially since other translators, most noticeably [B]njt[/B] and [B]cnet[/B] also went that route, and I would most likely have done the same. If Zetsu clearly intended to say "Itachi's strongest genjutsu", he could have said その最強幻術 (sono saikyou genjutsu) or イタチの最強幻術 (Itachi no saikyou genjutsu).

Now Tora-chan's translation is not exactly wrong, and it's indeed possible to understand the sentence that way from context. But Tsukuyomi not being the strongest genjutsu out there makes sense only in hindsight. Indeed, how many techniques did we know at the time that were more powerful than Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu?. And it wouldn't be the first time a character or technique was introduced as unstoppable, all-powerful or what have you, only for that hype to be debunked a few chapters later. Gaara's Absolute Defense, anyone? I still remember the second DB describing Mangekyou Sharingan as "the ultimate doujutsu". I mean come on, this is Shounen...:amuse

I occasionally get around that sort of problem by renderin g "saikyou" as "a most powerful", as in "Tsukuyomi is a most powerful ability".
Now maybe [B]ShounenSuki[/B] won't see eye to eye with me in this matter, but this here is my interpretation.
I hope it helps."


ShounenSuki, "I do agree with you that [I]saikyō[/I] isn't as absolute as [I]the most powerful[/I] is. Saikyō is more of a level indication than a ranking indication. Multiple things can be described as [I]saikyō[/I], even if only one of them is [I]the most powerful[/I].

In this case, I an inclined to interpret Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu as being the most powerful Mangekyō genjutsu and ninjutsu, rather than the most powerful of them all. Them being Itachi's most powerful genjutsu and physical attack is limiting it a bit too much, but still a valid interpretation, I guess. However, again, [I]saikyō[/I] here isn't meant as absolute as it seems. It doesn't imply there are no techniques more powerful than Amaterasu or Tsukuyomi, it simply means they are among the most powerful techniques in existence.

I still wonder why, when it comes to manga, people lose the ability to understand hyperbole and generalisations, though."