Naruto: Shippuuden

-------------------------------------
Naruto Shippuden : Review |
-------------------------------------

Naruto. The series that sold over 220 million manga copies, winning handful of awards along the way. An anime that ranked as one of the most watched series in Japan that got tarnished by a greedy studio and has received tons of internet backlash throughout the years.

Let me start off by saying Naruto is by no means a flawless anime. It's the exact opposite. The series had too many fillers. Sometimes the animation quality was below par and pacing can be painfully slow at times.
But please bear with me here. I'm going to tell you why it has been the best experience an anime gave me in my entire life and dig into what made the series popular and also its flaws.

-----------
Story - 8
-----------

The story of Naruto has been a mixed bag. While it's not bad, it's certainly no Berserk. But what it is, is beautiful (probably not the word that can be often used to describe a shounen anime), but it really is. It's unpredictable, it's thrilling, it plays with your emotions, it's funny, it's tragic, it's sometimes downright frustrating but it is, more than anything, wondrous and fun. This is series gets more mature themes and darker tones as the series progresses. There are multiple issues I have with the series’ story, but main flaws comes down to the filler and pacing issues.

Let's start with the filler. The amount of filler in this show is staggering. It counts as 219 total filler episodes which make up 44% of the series as a whole.
The issues that lies within the filler episodes is that they are not allowed to make any significant changes to the story or specifically its characters. This being a mainly character driven plot, this becomes a huge issue because any significant event in fillers could affect the characters so they can't move ahead the plotline at all. So mostly what we get is poorly written mini-arcs and episodes that don’t affect any of the characters or the world in any significant way. This is worsened by the below par writing for these filler episode as they are not written by the original author Masashi Kishimoto himself.
However, there are exceptions for this. Some of the filler episodes can be genuinely enjoyable but those are few and far between. The fact that filler can't move the plot along fuels the second big flaw. Which is:

Pacing Issues. Aside from what I've said above, even some of the non-filler episodes are very slow paced. This is mainly only an issue at the start of the series. If you're into characters chilling down and wasting a lot of time, this may sit well with you. But even then some of these episodes might be below par for your taste. Once the series kicks it into high gear around 70th episode, it mostly manages to keep that pace up.

Now that we got the flaws out of the way, let's talk positives.
The main strength of the series is its characters, who drive the plot (which we will discuss in detail later). After the first 70 episodes, things begin to get lot more interesting really fast. The world of shinobi gets expanded exponentially, and if you're a fan of deep lore in stories, this will fit right in your wheel house because it begins to explore the roots of the world and its history very deeply.
One thing that this series does very well is explaining its concepts to the viewer. The techniques that characters use and how the things in shinobi world works are explained in detail. Also, the concept of Chakra and what a versatile power system it is compared to other shounen series really stands out.

The amount of themes explored in the series are vast. It explores all the basic themes of a typical shounen and as it goes on it delves into themes such as the nature of humans, self sacrifice, discrimination, manipulation, roots of war and peace, difference of perceptions, the line between good and evil, and alienation. It manages to deal with all these themes without abandoning the shounen type feel or becoming it pretentious.

Something that the author, Kishimoto, really excels at is setting up events. For example, during the early episodes of Naruto (the prequel to this show), he started setting up major events that happened in the last of Shippuden. In the beginning, we look over these little details and minor events and have no idea that they are going to have such an impact later in the series, and when it all comes together in the end, you feel so satisfied. Most of the times these events and twists will take you by surprise and maybe you'll have fun trying to figure out them before they happen as Kishimoto drops clues for you to pick up throughout the entire series.

The last arc of the series has been very controversial as the constant change of antagonists has irritated some of the viewers. But in all honesty, all of the antagonists that were presented had different motives that drove them to do what they do and distinctively different from each other which made them very enjoyable. That being said, the final part of the war arc was really disappointing as the final villain of the series is the worst character that the series had to offer.

Being a battle shounen ,of course there are going to be battles, and this is one area that the series really shines.
As I see it , battles can be broken down into three different segments in this anime , The battle of wits , The battle of ideologies , The physical battle. All three come in union to make some memorable and truly great moments. Each characters ideologies and philosophies gets tested time and time again by their opponents and we can see even the main character himself doubt his ideologies towards the end. When we see someone gets broken inside as well as the outside it's devastating to watch. To put it blatantly, Naruto has the best combat scenes I've ever witnessed in an anime. I have to mention that this style of combat is heavily inspired by Hunter x Hunter. Kishimoto does a fantastic job putting emotions into its battle scenes which are backed up by gorgeous animations (at times, we'll get to that later) and a mesmerizing soundtrack, and with these combined it really sets up fantastic visual storytelling through combat. Kishimoto does an excellent job at setting up the events leading up to the fight to make it feel all the more personal and these battles often comes down to which character outwits the other rather than who can punch harder. This makes characters like Shikamaru Nara who have very little ability make a huge impact in the series.
Variety of the fighting styles is massive, ranging from intimate hand to hand style combats, tactical combats, long range jutsu battles, and most often a mix of all of these!

You will see friends become foes, foes become friends, unlikely alliances formed and broken, that precious character you loved die, revenge plots, plot twists, character growth, politics, romance, and the world itself change. There are some flaws but it's a full package and Kishimoto always seemed to have the ending and everything planned out from the very beginning.

--------------------
Characters - 10
--------------------

Now this is the core of the franchise.
Each character in Naruto is very distinctive from each other. Each has a core motive that drives them, a unique personality, and a specialty in different skill sets. And hats-off to Kishimoto for his brilliant character design as he used a very bright color pallet and made each one very distinctive to make each of them stand out.
No matter which kind of characters you prefer, you're sure to find someone here that you can relate to. What the series really does well is making sure that you'll be attached to the characters emotionally. And you will cheer them on as they try to achieve their goals , watch their philosophies and ideologies gets tested , watch them break or prevail and break down crying at their deaths.
You will get to see how what's happening around the characters change them , mold them. Witnessing how tragedies that's happening around them having an effect on their psyche is one of the strongest points of Naruto Shippuden. It's fun seeing small character interactions from early episodes grow into full blown relationships.

Now let's move on to the "Villains"
This series checks all the boxes when it comes to antagonist character archetypes.
*Self-Righteous Villain with a God Complex* [checked] , *Money Hungry Villains* [checked] , *Religious Psychopaths* [checked] , *Villain who is after Revenge* [checked]. I think I've made my point there. But what makes this villains so enjoyable is that no one is a villain just for the sake for being a villain. The best kind of villains are the ones you can empathize with, the ones that you feel for and understand them and make you question your own morality, this is something that this series excels at. As same as the main characters, the villains too have core motivation driving them. They have their own beliefs, ideologies and they are willing to fight for what they think is right. You might find yourself cheering on the villains more than the "heroes." The morality here is blurred.

But coming back to the war arc, its main flaw is the final villain (which I will not spoil here). Compared with the other villainous characters from the series, the final character is very bland and their motivations are not entirely clear or most likely not relatable to any of the viewers. That being said, this character is only in the series for a very small amount of episodes and the others certainly do more than enough to make up for it.

-----------------------------
Art and Animation - 7.5
-----------------------------

Again we have a mixed bag here.
This show can look stunning when it wants to, and by stunning I meant big budget movie level of quality. But at times the quality can drop way below par.
I think I should specially mention Hiroyuki Yamashita’s work here. He mainly works on battle scenes and this man is a genius when it comes to it. Even though he only worked on a limited number of episodes, his episodes pushes the animation, choreography and stylishness to 11!
Despite this I can't give it a higher score because this show is wildly inconsistent with its animation.

And as for character designs, we already talked about how Kishimoto made his characters very distinctive and imaginative and how the bright color pallet fuels this.

--------------
Sound - 10
--------------

This is an another strong point of the series. Yasuharu Takanashi has made a masterpiece of a soundtrack for this series that manages to highlight the intensity, the tragedies, and the sorrow of each moment. The emotions that Kishimoto wants to portray make it through to us so well because of this soundtrack. It connects us with the world of Naruto Shippuden in a special way. I would recommend listening to tracks like Samidare (Early Summer Rain) to get a taste of what the soundtrack is like.

------------------------------------------------
Enjoyment and Overall Experience - 10
------------------------------------------------

Naruto Shippuden is more of an experience that needs to be had than just a mere show. It played with our emotions for over a decade and now it has been concluded. The enjoyment of Naruto Shippuden goes beyond just the series itself. This series has a very big community and fanbase that you could interact with. And its lore is so vast that you would never run out of things to discuss about it. Although it has its share of major flaws, this series is a journey that shouldn't be missed if you're fine with the hefty commitment.
And with this, I conclude my review for this series that defined a generation.

Sub or Dub ? : Sub is recommended

---------------------------
| Recommendations |
---------------------------

[Naruto] : Yes, the original series. It's essential to watch it before the Shippuden series because it contains a lot of character development and build-up for the Shippuden series.

[Fullmetal Alchemist : Brotherhood ] : This series contains most of the things that made Shippuden great such as good character development, good soundtrack, and excellent world building. This series does it in about 70 episodes which is truly a magnificent achievement. If you like Naruto Shippuden, it's a given that you will like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood as well.

[Hunter X Hunter (2011)] : A series that greatly inspired Naruto. Both anime feel very similar in style. If the inconsistencies of Naruto bothered you, you'll find a much more consistent pacing and quality of writing here. Whether the highs of Hunter X Hunter matches up to the highs of Shippuden or FMA Brotherhood is up for debate, but you won't have to sit through any lows like you have to endure with Naruto or Naruto Shippuden.

[Proofreading - SomeRandomNerd]

Helpful

read more

There is a saying that a story doesn't begin with a story--it begins with a character.

Come to think of it, all characters of Naruto are extravagantly uniquely developed.

*Itachi's smile* *Neji's smile* *Obito's smile* *Hinata's face when getting married* *Sakura's 'SHANAROOO' face* *Hidan's killer smile*

You just can't say anything bad in this anime. Because this anime will teach you how to love, to value your friends, and many other Nintendo that really reflect on the real world. It's fiction, but it's as powerful as it gets...to reach a fanbase of millions and millions worldwide.

'The Crafting'

Such positive, critical response isn't questionable. The story lives up to his promise to live as long as fifteen years (in whole). It is a burning legacy. It is something no one will ever come up again. Watch Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, or various recent Shippuden fillers (Season 5 was said to be the best, and indeed it was [Guren arc.], and you'll know that there will be no other Masashi Kishimoto. Or so I thought. Naruto is an original artwork. For since little of age, Kishi after watching 'Akira' got inspired and once upon a time decided how much he loved to draw and make a story. That story has changed my life; it made me really believe on the fact that some inspirations, tend to grow out on us, live like scars, and will teach us something that will only come from us. A life lesson. A burning 'will of fire'.

It's really stupendous and beyond overwhelming how one man could create an entire universe of action, of tell-tale hearts, of characters that have devil wings but in the end are shown to have a halo. Hundred thousands of fanfictions are up there on the net, extending what Kishimoto left. I included, but let's not get onto that first.

I want to applaud Kishimoto for a job well done: for changing the lives of many, for telling us a story that will only promise us one thing: a dream is a dream, and with hard work and determination, you will get to it. You will live through a hundred hardships, cry a river, lose some, but it is the Road that you've been through that will only make you pass that goal. 'That' road, that fucked you up, taught you how to stand up on your own and live. Because after watching this anime, it made me realize how I would rather fight this big burden inside of me than be nothing. At all. The burden that tells me I won't get anywhere. Because in the end, the idea that you can't do it only lies on you. But you 'are' your own person, only you can tell your story--only you decide which path you're willing to take and what will you do to make your life worth living. Are you doing this for yourself alone? For your new/family? For the friends you so love? Or for the better good? For the world?

'Women in the Shinobi/ KUNOICHI'

'Women have to be strong in order to survive.' - Tsunade

Fact: when Kishimoto was molding Sakura, he had no idea he was turning her into a futile, hopeless lover with nothing better to do than be a crybaby.

Looking at it, it wasn't his fault that Sakura was hated. But it was how the media reacted. How the audience stuck up with Haruno Sakura's story and believed that that was all she could ever be: a woman, someone who bickers but doesn't achieve anything. Though in the end, as Kishimoto turned the tables, Sakura's appreciation for her character or strong existence just will never happen.

There is something going on in this world: there is endless misogyny and sexism. I'm not surprised if it happens in Japan, as many Asian countries (even in the Western) still perceive women 'less'. I am saying this out of the researchers I've done as a student, and I too am a woman living in an Asian country. And women will never be treated equally. Good job on making Hinata's boobs bigger, anyway. Well, not mad or anything, but looking at the boobies-headphones for sale at Comic Alley made me emphasize on the fact that women in anime are either for (1) marriage, (2) appearance, and (3) simply sex appeal. At least, 'most',

But in the end, you can see drastic changes here. There is Temari with her giant wielding fan that could make tornadoes and hurricanes on a normal, sunny day. There is Tsunade that doesn't give a damn of someone's ribs and will tear apart anyone she likes--or underestimate her, and/or women. There is the Mizukage blowing fires out of her mouth with a pink lipgloss that will warn you how women shouldn't be infuriated. On very recent movies and episodes, Ino and TenTen are more seen taking up on missions instead of being left behind for men to do the dirty work. I just think, after watching this beautiful life-changing prismatic I-see-the-light show, women deserve to be dirty; to be covered in blood; to save the world; to be a hero; to be there (too).

Why? Because they can.

'How this anime changed my life:'

One recommendation from my brother, who teased me of having a flat chest (kind of is Sakura huh), made me into the artist that faces the world with altruistic visions. I started to make a fanfiction that later reached a hundred-thousand reads in Wattpad. Then I continued, through this self-discovery have I unlocked that I really have the 'will' and 'guts' to turn to the road of becoming a writer, not Hokage. (Lol). It is with Naruto that I dipped into the pool of anime and watched many, inspired me to keep on collecting stories, be inspired by them, so there will come a time I will take my reign as a story teller too. What kind? Director--screen-writer--playwright--novelist--the world is at the palm of my hand. I know it will happen. And I know, I can surpass Naruto...one day.

I know that it is with these characters we remain attached and affectionate the most. They are the story-tellers, and these are the stories we tell ourselves...that such cycle, as Kakashi-sensei once said, the 'surpassing' thing is, is infinite.

Naruto is the greatest anime for me.
But I don't believe this is forever.
;)

Helpful

read more

First off I just wanna say that I am super sad that this show has come to an end. Naruto was my childhood and with it's ending I feel like a part of me is now gone. This is the show that got me into anime and I'm grateful for that. This show is no where near perfect, but is anything really perfect ?

I'll start out with some of the cons of this show. As many other reviews have already stated, Naruto is loaded with filler episodes and this can't be any more true. At times the fillers can be funny and interesting, but most of the time you are just impatiently waiting for the show to get back to the real story line. There were tons of flashbacks and honestly they show the same scenes from the past multiple times. The story can be rushed, and at other times it feels like it's been the same battle for like 5 episodes. The artwork in the battle scenes can vary from good to not so great. But even with it's many faults, I still gave this show a 10/10. ( honestly if you hate fillers that much, just skip around)

I don't know where to start with all the great things that this anime has to offer. I'll start off with the characters. The character development was great for the main characters and even some of the sides characters. I think that the show did an excellent job in giving each character a unique personality and they really made sure that you knew all the characters and their backgrounds. The development of the characters was so great that I was constantly questioning who my favorite character really was. At the beginning I honestly thought that Naruto was annoying and ignorant, but the growth and development of Naruto really grew on me and he began to become one of my favorites. Okay next is the story line. The plot was pretty interesting, but very long. While it did seem like the story was at a standstill for a while in the show, the writers did a good job at subtly setting everything up. Little things that happened in random episodes sometimes came up later as being important. The plot was like a puzzle at times, where I would try to put the pieces together. I actually really enjoyed how they set it up like that. Like Naruto and his friends grew, the story grew as well. In this sense I mean the vibe and mood of the show. It starts off more as a fun action comedy, but as the story goes on, it gets more dark, emotional, and the maturity level of the anime just increases. I'm not kidding when I say that this show can actually teach you life lessons.

I highly recommend watching this whole anime. Even though it is loaded with fillers, by the time you get to the last few episodes, you'll start to feel emotional and sad that it's come to an end. While this isn't Your Lie in April or Clannad, this show still will definitely hit the feels. The end will have you feeling nostalgic, sad, happy, you'll honestly be feeling so many different emotions. This anime may be 500 episodes, but it is totally worth it and in the end you won't regret it.

Helpful

read more

Oh, I hope that I’ll be the first to write the review when all the Naruto anime series end. Well, what should I start with… 15 years. For FIFTEEN years this anime brought me joy and unspeakable emotions. For FIFTEEN years it taught me right from wrong. For FIFTEEN years it … it’s been a guide of light for me. Jeez, I was raised on this anime, I became older with its characters, I just LOVE IT!!!

The Naruto series started when I was in a preschool age, and for 15 years it never stopped to surprise me. Though the journey was long (some might say too long) it was always exciting and brilliant. And I am really sorry if I get carried away by emotions, but true Naruto fans will understand – this is a tale, a unique and flawless tale, of nearly all of my life and now that I look back and see that little Naruto who used to be always alone, without parents, without friends, and I turn my look to who he became through these years – the Hero, who saved the world, Best Friend that was always there to help and to understand, and now – a husband… ah, I might cry. Seriously. Perfect ending. Naruto and Hinata deserve their piece of happiness. And though we did not see this in original manga series, I was really glad to be able to see that kind of and end in anime adaptation.

Now let’s get back to the show and analyze everything peace by peace.

I’ll start with the story. Indeed the plot, the fantastic world, all the jutsu techniques, all the creatures and characters, everything that we saw in Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden world is a creation of a mastermind – Kishimoto Masashi, and for that I bow to him to the ground. Just imagine how impossible it was to create such a wide universe with all of its own structure (villages, clans, fractions), its own history (all the clans and villages wars), its own beasts, beings and heroes etc; and how unimaginable was it to make this huge machine work. There is everything I love about the story and about how it is served to the viewer revealing its genius from all sides. It is groundbreaking in every way possible.

Now let us head to art style. Generally it is satisfying. Well, it is hard to make every episode look like Kimi no Na Wa (you can consider this a recommendation), especially when you have more than 700 episodes (Naruto + Shippuuden). But I can praise creators for really good special effects and the way they’ve made all ninjutsu types look like. And though I must admit that Naruto movies absolutely compensate lack of original shows’ drawing it does not make the original run look worse.

Unlike art styling – music really is the VERY strong side of the series. From top to bottom it is impeccable. Every opening, every ending, every song from the series is something breathtaking and mind blowing. I truly enjoy every track and I can sincerely call the Narutos’ OST one of the best of all time in anime industry. The openings like Hero’s Come Back (OP 1), Sign (OP 6), Toumei Datta Sekai (OP 7), Diver (OP 8), Shilhouette (OP 16) will fire you up and make your spirit riot; the endings like Shooting Star (ED 1), U can do it (ED 15), Dame Dame ga (ED 31), Spinning World (ED 32), Zetsu Zetsu (ED 40) will make you believe that you just witnessed a dream that you never want to end. I am not even mentioning stunning Hisou, Kikyou, Sengunbanba, Utsusemi tracks that appear at very exact lyrical moments and touch your soul in its deepest corners. The chorus tracks like Akatsuki and Pains’ theme songs make you feel goosebumps and your hair stand as you stare through the eyes of our heroes at fearless overwhelming enemy hordes. An incredible work by the composer – Yasuharu Takanashi.

The characters. Oh, there is so much to say. This is something galaxy lvl. Nearly 100 characters, each with their own temper, beliefs and credo, each of them is trying to make an impact at the world they live in. I will always remember characters like Madara, Itachi, Nagato, because their own vision of the world and the steel will they’ve shown to everyone is something worth of admiration and respect. All the heroes are versatile, unique and incomparable to each other. I am not mentioning the number of skills and techniques each character possesses and how multiform and complex they are. Worth mentioning are beasts like Tailed once. They are that destructive force everyone is trying to lay their hands on, but the author shows that they are something more than that – they have souls and feelings, and no one can see their good hearts under the scary masks.

The enjoyment that I personally got from this show is something outstanding. I enjoyed it to the core and absolutely adore it. Maybe that’s because I felt much the same as the main hero and ‘ve been a witness of many injustice things in this life, and the anime shows it very good. The human’s greed, the way we only think about our own sake, even the way kids treat someone who is not similar to them – it is a part of the masterpiece that Naruto is.

Colossal work by Date Hayato and everyone who worked to make this show to be this titanic and go on nonstop for 15 years. I personally bow to all of you and say: “Thank you for the best childhood memories, I will always carry them!” And again I want to congratulate Naruto and Hinata with wedding, and thus my beautiful dream is over, meaning that I grew up and it is time for me to let my childhood go.

Helpful

read more