Shonen manga and anime have infamously absent or aloof parents that don't provide the emotional support their children need in dire situations. Unfortunately, many of these dads are the worst offenders of bad parents. A few examples are Hunter X Hunter's Ging, the ultimate absentee dad, My Hero Academia's Endeavor is abusive and distant, and Dragonball Z's Goku is often very negligent. So it was immensely impactful when Naruto showed Shikamaru having a true heart-to-heart with his father.
Highlighting a genuine conversation about grief and properly handling emotions between father and son is refreshing and beautiful. And this scene is not even from the source material. Naruto outdid itself and set a high bar for shonen anime to show authentic human conversations that share the actual weight and emotional impact these violent worlds have on families. Masashi Kishimoto handled the reveal of his world's darkness with deft hands, allowing it to affect the leads when necessary directly.
This scene helps add further parallels to Shikamaru and Naruto as future leaders of their generation. Naruto's griefing scene with Iruka over the loss of his sensei helped call attention to the humanity of these child soldiers and their need to deal with emotions and find some sense of closure. Giving Shikamaru a positive step toward closure over Asuma's death by having his father, a seasoned warrior who has experienced lots of death, coach him through his emotions adds even more weight to these characters' lives.
Lighting the scene with one candle behind Shikamaru and Shikaku as they slowly play a game of shogi casts them in an appropriate shadow. Keeping their faces masked allows for the hiding from any subtle emotion that makes Shikamaru's inevitable emotional breakdown. The minimalist lighting and modest set display the impressive intentionality in the scene. Studio Pierrot's occasional mindfulness shines during this scene.
The scene's subtlety is felt through the lack of music, allowing for the conscious movement of shogi pieces and subtle cicada sounds to fill the void. However, as Shikaku's empathetic but mature talk starts to crack Shikamaru's attempt at controlling sadness and anger, the pieces move more erratically until Shikamaru topples the board. While it isn't subtle, spreading the pieces all over the room is an excellent symbol for Shikamaru letting himself fall to pieces in acceptance of his humanity.
Coupling beautiful light and sound production with the symbolic game of shogi, a game Shikamaru often played with Asuma, creates the ideal scene for Shikamaru's emotions to explode. As his thoughtful pose starts to break down, and he extinguishes the candle, his tears erupt in a heartfelt expression of weakness and sorrow. The scene ties up beautifully as the calculated and ingenious Shikamaru sees more clearly after releasing his emotions and begins to use the fallen shogi pieces to calculate a surefire path to avenging Asuma.
Endearing the viewer to Shikamaru, and to an extent, Shikaku, adds weight to future arcs in Naruto and enhances some of the most impactful moments after their shogi scene. Shikamaru's role in Naruto's life and future as his second in command makes even more sense after seeing he and Naruto follow similar paths to dealing with the emotional weight of losing their endeared teachers. While this scene may be anime-only and not exist in the source material, it should be deemed canon because it is profoundly impactful and beautiful.