Naruto Unleashed: Series 8 Part 2 (Review)
Thursday, 4th February 2010, 18:56

Page 1 Page 2

Introduction
I get earache when I’m working at my laptop, but not when I’m working at my desktop. In fact, the only place I get an earache is at my laptop. Maybe it has something to do with my posture, the chair I use, and an oddly located draught… Hmm? The boxset? Oh yes, it’s Naruto’s 16th instalment. You just imagine I said something meaningful and interesting about a series that I patently no longer have any interest in, something bright and peppy to illuminate my thoughts as we reach 200 plus episodes, and about the 60th episode in which nothing of consequence or entertainment value will occur. You do that, while I try to figure out this weird ear thing of mine…

12 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. Not only does he want to be a ninja, but he also wants to be the strongest ninja of them all and be granted the title Hokage. He has more than a little competition, the Hidden Leaf village is a community of ninja, and Naruto had great difficulty just passing his entrance exams to qualify as a lowly Genin. Even when he did manage to get his certification, he was assigned to undergo training by the demanding Kakashi, partnered with his rival Sasuke and Sakura, the girl on whom he has a crush. What makes things difficult is that few see him as Naruto, instead of the dreadful fox demon that was sealed inside him.

We’re in the filler zone, which means that the story is on hold until the manga catches up to the anime, and the episodes here don’t advance the overall story or develop the characters. Sasuke has joined Orochimaru, and Naruto needs to complete his training before he can try to redeem him once more. None of that will happen until the filler is past. Each filler story will get a quick description and the listing of episodes.


Previously on Naruto, Rock Lee was feeling out of sorts, as Gai Sensei had a new protégé, Yagura, who could run rings around the still recuperating Lee, and who appeared to displace him as the apple of Gai’s eye. But Yagura was evil of course, leading Gai into a trap when they go training in the mountains. Yagura is actually one of the Ryudoin brothers, who want vengeance against Gai for what he did to their father. Lee races off to the rescue, but the brothers have evil ninja puppetmaster skills that will pit Lee against his beloved master Gai!

196. Hot-Blooded Confrontation: Student vs. Sensei

There’s a building boom going on in the Hidden Leaf village, and Naruto’s made a friend in ramen with a carpenter from the Sand Village named Genno. But Genno isn’t what he seems, he’s actually an infiltrator, and it isn’t long before some of the Leaf Village’s top secret plans are stolen. No doubt there will soon be an attack on the Leaf, and almost every able-bodied ninja is sent to guard the borders. It falls to Shikamaru to lead a team to recover the stolen plans. Naruto’s supposed to be on the team, but he can’t get over the fact that someone he trusted betrayed them. It’s a friendship that comes back to haunt him when he’s arrested by the Anbu Black Ops.

197. Crisis: The Hidden Leaf 11 Gather!
198. The Anbu Gives Up? Naruto’s Recollection
199. The Missed Target
200. The Powerful Helper
201. Multiple Traps! Countdown to Destruction


Presented by the ninja equivalent of Dave Lee Travis, here is the chart rundown of the top 5 fight sequences from Naruto so far. And since Rock Lee isn’t in any of them, I’ll say this chart has been rigged.

202. The Top 5 Ninja Battles!

Lamenting his lack of training one day, Naruto happens to encounter a young girl named Yakumo, painting a picture of the village. When Naruto notices that she’s painting a stormy day when the sky is blue, he’s about to comment, when suddenly the skies cloud over, and lightning strikes the Hokage’s home. Before anything else can happen, a couple of medical ninja appear along with a member of Anbu Black Ops, subdue the girl and spirit her away, telling Naruto that he didn’t see anything. Meanwhile, back in the village, and after the fire has been put out, Kurenai tells the Hokage that she’s quitting the leadership of Squad 8. This doesn’t go down well with Shino, Kiba and Hinata. Kurenai is obviously feeling guilty about something, and Naruto promises to find out just what.

203. Kurenai’s Decision: Squad 8 Left Behind
204. Yakumo’s Sealed Power
205. Kurenai’s Top-Secret Mission – The Promise with the Third Hokage
206. Genjutsu or Reality?
207. The Supposed Sealed Ability


Naruto and Kiba have a mission to escort a priceless teacup on its journey. The only problem is that the client who hired them is an obnoxious selfish oaf.

208. The Weight of the Prized Artefact!

Picture
Naruto 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. As you would expect from such a long running animation, it’s best not to tire the animators out. Naruto is certainly less sophisticated than most anime released today, the character designs are simpler, and backgrounds not excessively defined. Yet in terms of quality, the animation is very effective, and certainly goes a step beyond older long running shows like Dragonball Z or Sailor Moon.

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. More new themes and as always they are memorable and suit the story well, while the incidental music is a little more generic, but definitely gives Naruto its own musical identity. I 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.

Next Page