Review for Naruto Shippuden: Box Set 1 (2 Discs) (Review)
Sunday, 13th June 2010, 14:49

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Introduction
It's here! The new series of Naruto has begun, with the incomprehensible Shippuden suffix. Answers on a postcard will be duly ignored. If you asked me two volumes of filler ago, I would have said that if I never saw any more Naruto, it would be too soon. But a decent final volume of filler actually reminded me of why this show has insinuated itself into my good graces, and I was also reminded of how intriguing the manga storyline was. I want to know what happens in the search for Sasuke, and I want to know how the Akatsuki group relates to the main storyline. Naruto at its manga best is pretty compelling stuff, and with the first volume of Shippuden taking us right back to that main story, I was actually looking forward to a Naruto release for the first time in years. Besides, this is where Naruto goes all widescreen. Or so I thought. It turns out that it isn't until episode 54-odd that our screens will be filled by black and orange ninja (Naruto has a new costume now that he's three years older and taller). Until then we still have black bars on either side. For those of you keeping count, at the time of writing, Naruto Shippuden is up to episode 164 in Japanese broadcasts, so we have plenty of catching up to do.

15 years previously, the Hidden Leaf village was plagued by the Nine-Tailed fox demon. The Fourth Hokage ninja sacrificed his life to defeat the menace, and sealed up the spirit in the body of a newborn child. That orphan grew up as Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous prankster with great ambition. He wants to be the strongest ninja of them all and be granted the title Hokage, leader of the Hidden Leaf village. In the first Naruto series, we followed him on his training as a ninja, tutored by Kakashi, and partnered with his ideal girl Sakura, and his archrival Sasuke. Of course Sakura was sweet on Sasuke, which didn't help, but slowly the three became firm friends.

The dark clouds of ambition tore that friendship apart though, but it wasn't Naruto's ambition. It was Sasuke's, sole survivor of the Uchiha clan, slaughtered by his brother Itachi. He grew up wanting revenge on Itachi, and wanting to gain in power and strength as quickly as possible. Sasuke gave into the temptation for easy power, offered by the renegade ninja Orochimaru, when Orochimaru infiltrated the village during the Chunin exams, and assassinated the Third Hokage. Sasuke left to join Orochimaru, and Naruto swore to get him back. For the last two and half years, Naruto has been in training with the sage Jiraiya, and he's now returning to the village, empowered and ready to rescue his friend. But Orochimaru and Sasuke haven't been resting easy either, while the Akatsuki group of renegade ninja, of whom Sasuke's brother Itachi is a member, have been accelerating their plans, and top of the list is obtaining the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, the one that is currently sealed up in Naruto.

Manga Entertainment present the first 13 episodes of Naruto Shippuden spread across 2 discs, 7 episodes on disc 1, and 6 episodes on disc 2.

1. Homecoming
2. The Akatsuki Makes Its Move
3. The Results Of Training
4. The Jinchuriki of the Sand
It's a somewhat understated homecoming for Naruto. He may be taller, and more skilled, but in some ways he's completely the same, as becomes apparent when he runs into Sakura again. But after 2½ years training, Sakura's punch is best avoided as well. The village hasn't changed much either, except for the fifth Hokage Tsunade's face carved into the mountain. The timing is auspicious, as Jiraiya tells Kakashi, the Akatsuki group are making their move, and the Leaf Village must be prepared. The first preparation is to see how much Naruto has learnt. It's time for a test; both he and Sakura will have to face a skilled opponent to see how much they have learned over the last couple of years. The test is a familiar one too. But Jiraiya was right. Time has run out, and Akatsuki are indeed making their move. But they're going after the Sand Village. Two of Akatsuki's number, Lord Sasori and Deidara are infiltrating the Sand Village even now, pursuing a very specific mission, and against them, even Gaara won't be enough of a defence.

5. The Kazekage Stands Tall
6. Mission Cleared
7. Run, Kankuro
8. Team Kakashi, Deployed
Gaara is a changed individual, from the psychopathic Genin that wreaked such havoc during the Chunin tests. In fact, he's achieved everything that Naruto has ever dreamed of, acceptance, appreciation, and he's now leading the Sand Village as Kazekage. He's also the target of Deidara and Lord Sasori. Deidara's ability to mould clay, infuse it with chakra, and create explosive creatures is a major challenge for even the sand-wielder Gaara, and though he puts up a valiant defence of the village, Deidara and Sasori soon capture him. Meanwhile in the Leaf Village, Team Kakashi is born. No longer teacher and students, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura will work together as equals to complete their missions, and Kakashi is learning pretty quickly that they aren't the two cute kids that he once mentored. Naruto's a little down in the dumps though, even though he's eating his first bowl of Ichiraku ramen in over two years. Of all his friends, he's the only one who is still only a Genin. But as Gaara's friend Kankuro pursues Gaara's kidnappers, a request for help from the Sand is wending its way to the Leaf Village.

9. The Jinchuriki's Tears
10. Sealing Jutsu: Nine Phantom Dragons
11. The Medical Ninja's Student
12. The Retired Granny's Determination
13. A Meeting With Destiny
Even as Team Kakashi make their way to the Sand Village, events move ahead apace. Kankuro catches up to Gaara's kidnappers, only to learn the identity of Lord Sasori changes things completely. He's utterly outclassed in battle against him, and falls, poisoned. It's a development that forces Baki to call on the advice of the Elder Siblings, one of whom knows Lord Sasori very well. He's her grandson. When Naruto and the others arrive at the Sand Village, they will have their work cut out for them. It will be down to Sakura to try and save Kankuro's life with her newly acquired medical ninja skills, and Kakashi will have to use his beast summoning jutsu to track down where Akatsuki have taken Gaara. On top of that the Leaf ninja will have to accommodate Granny Chiyo, who insists on accompanying the team to rescue Gaara, and who keeps bad mouthing Tsunade, and wants to kill Kakashi because she mistakes him for his father. And time is running out. They have just three days before Akatsuki complete the ritual they are performing on Gaara, and two members of Akatsuki are ready and waiting for the Leaf Ninja. Naruto wasn't expecting it this soon, but he's about to have a rematch with Itachi.

Picture
Naruto Shippuden gets a 4:3 regular transfer that is clear and sharp throughout. There are some minor compression artefacts that are only really noticeable during freeze frame, and as you would expect, it's an NTSC-PAL conversion. Shippuden's animation, and its character designs are sharper and crisper than Naruto's. It's certainly more detailed than the first series, and the colours are a mite more muted. At this stage of the game, it's clear that the animators' love is being poured into the project, and while it is still limited and simpler than shorter run animations, it's still no slouch to look at. There are a few flashbacks to Naruto for you to compare and contrast, and the difference is striking.

Sound
The DD 2.0 English and Japanese stereo is more than adequate in recreating the original experience, and given a little Prologic magic does offer a pleasant ambience and some discrete action. Yasuhara Takanashi takes over the music reins from Toshiro Masuda, and the result is if anything even less memorable than the music from the first series. But it works well enough in driving the action, and it doesn't get overbearing. The rap song opening certainly works in kicking off the new series with the right triumphant mood. Once again, I only sampled the English dub and found it acceptable if unspectacular. It certainly isn't the worst I have heard, but some of the actors don't seem particularly suited to the characters.

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