Five books into Naruto, and I'm finally a fan. The first four books already solidified my opinion of the series as one of those perpetual 3 1/2 star series, like Fullmetal Alchemist, that earns its mainstream popularity and balances several different story tones for the widest appeal.

What book five does so well is take the reader through an entire test of the journeyman ninja exam via multiple characters' cheating strategies and an excellent challenge of willpower, ending with the introduction of a Battle Royale/Hunger Games-esque test to take place in book six. The challenge with evaluating manga volumes, especially serialized series, is that they rarely encapsulate one self-contained story arc. However, this one shows such creativity among its growing cast that it stands above the volumes that came before.

...it also helps that, unlike previous volumes where the only female presence is Sakura pining for Sasuke and doing little else, this one highlights three capable female characters: Sakura, who handily aces her written exam and is willing to delay her own graduation to help teammate Naruto*; Ino, a crafty astral-projector and rival to Sakura; and Anko, an elite ninja and test proctor with great strength and a brash personality similar to Naruto's.

*This may sound worse than it is. Trust me, based on Sakura/Naruto/Sasuke testing as a trio and the circumstances of their test, Sakura's willingness to stay back with Naruto is more compassionate than self-sacrificing.