Reviews

Jan 17, 2014
Preliminary (372/500 eps)
Let me just clarify this now while we’re both still at the very first sentence of this review, and also, at the very first sentence of my very first review ever, but; Naruto Shippuden, and the entire Naruto series in and of itself, is my most favourite anime of all time. Yes, you may think differently, or even otherwise, but I’ll just simply state this now, it is my most favourite anime ever. If you’d care to know why, or you’re simply curious, read on.

Story: 10/10

I personally think that the story of Naruto/Shippuden is great; it may not be the best, and it may not be perfect, but then again, when is anything ever like that? Shippuden follows the life of the protagonist, Uzumaki Naruto, as he attempts to retrieve his former teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, who has left the village and everyone around him, in the pursuit of gaining power to get revenge on his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, for the massacre of their entire clan, including their own family.

In the beginning, back in the simple days of Naruto, it was all about the story of a boy whose dream was, and still is, to become hokage; the greatest ninja in the entire village. This young boy wanted to prove just that; that he was great. He wanted the village to respect him, to prove that he wasn’t just some ‘demon-fox child’, who was feared of, due to the terrifying nine-tailed fox that was sealed within him. And now, it’s without a doubt, safe to say, that this story has evolved from so much more than that.

Everything in the original Naruto series has ultimately lead up to Shippuden, as we, the audience, learn more and more about the characters and the story as a whole. We begin to delve deeper into the core, as more enemies emerge, and more stories and secrets are revealed. Questions that have went on unanswered are finally beginning to obtain an answer, as more questions take their place, and everything slowly, but surely, begins to get tied together. Shippuden, apart from its former series, takes on a much more serious, deep and mature tone, causing us, the audience, to really empathize and act, to either cry in joy or sadness, and I for one can honestly confess, that yes, here and there, this anime has made me cry, multiple times. This anime teaches you; a lot. Shippuden teaches you about the true value and significant importance of family, friends, and life itself. Sure, perhaps, a few other animes have been able to do so, and maybe even to a higher and greater extent, but nothing compares to Naruto. The long amount of episodes only causes the audience to grow with the characters and the story itself.

Art & Animation: 8/10

Simple. I’ve seen better. But, Shippuden has really stepped up from its former, in regards to visual aspects and animation, it’s improved greatly. There is much more detail in Shippuden than in it’s former, and the colours are either much more vibrant or the complete opposite, in order to properly convey the scene better. Fight scenes are played out more smoothly, with an adequate use of blood and cuts and scratches and such. Close-ups on the characters’ faces are also quite good, the emotion on their faces seem true, real.

Also, I agree with plenty others, that flashbacks are completely overused. I find myself saying, quite often, ‘We saw that scene literally an episode ago!’, and honestly, it’s not helping the story so much. I understand the need to replay flashbacks, even of episodes we’ve already seen, and most of the time, I can handle it, but it’s overused, and fails to portray the expected suspense of the current scene. Other than that, art & animation; quite well done.

Sound: 8/10

The openings. The endings. The OSTs. Most of which are particularly good! The improvement in the sound is evident, and the animation played out during the openings and endings are well put together, matching the song rather well. Emotion is thoroughly conveyed through the amazing voice actors in this anime, who, excluding the dub actors, perform screams and cries and laughs next to flawlessly. Great!

Character: 10/10

Character; also translated to the sum of ones’ personality and being as a whole. The characters in Shippuden are great, excellent even! Each and every one of them have a completely unique personality that differentiates one from the other, and seeing them all come together, as friends or as foes, it’s easy to admit that the character development is superb! There are so many characters, each lovable and excellent in their own unique way, with beautifully well-put together pasts that create the particular character we see now. We see how the ‘heroes’ have come about, and how each of them have managed to cope and move on with their lives, to become something else entirely, something better than they ever used to be. The ‘villains’, too, have a particular past event, or particular emotions that somewhat humanizes them and redeems them to a strange extent, and we realize that they’re not only ‘evil’ simply because they are. Everyone has their own reasons for doing what they do, and who they are as a whole and that’s what makes each character amazing in their own way. Sure, some may be bland or dull, weak or annoying, strong or insane, but if each character didn’t even have a single flaw, what would that make them? Human? Surely not. The characters in Shippuden are beautiful and lovable, which in turn, causes us as the audience to feel for them and empathize, and that’s, honestly, great.

Overall: 10/10

Shippuden is clearly one of the greatest animes of all time, and perhaps that’s an overstatement, or maybe even an understatement, depending on your own thoughts. But, if given enough thought, Shippuden wouldn’t have become so popular if it wasn’t great or amazing, even to a short extent. Some of you may have seen animes better, or worse, or even of equal value, but towards the end, Naruto/Shippuden is clearly one of its own. I, and anyone else probably, couldn’t agree better that the fillers in this anime are truly horrid and awfully annoying, but, you know what, overlook it. Don’t watch them. Simple. An animes’ worth isn’t valued by its amount of fillers or overused flashbacks or anything, its value comes down to how much a person, themselves, think it’s amazing. So if you haven’t seen Naruto/Shippuden or you dropped it for whatever the reason may be, I encourage you to watch it and give it a shot. 300+ episodes, along with the original 100+ episodes in Naruto, is crazy, sure, but they all add up to one hell of a story and I say, sit, watch, and enjoy the ride.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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