Naruto: Takigakure no Shitou - Ore ga Eiyuu Dattebayo!

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Naruto: Battle at the Hidden Falls is the second special of this series (the first one was Find the Crimson Four-leaf Clover!), showed in the Shōnen Jump Jump Festa 2004.

Story: Team 7 must escort Shibuki, leader of the Hidden Fall village, back to home... and they succeed without any problems, although, they note that their protegee is a big time wuss. But, when they reach the place, a group of missing nins led by Suien (former Hidden Fall ninja), take every civilian as a hostage (yes... the twenty of them), and demand ... the "hero's water", the village's treasure, that can make the user chakra ten times bigger for a limited time. Although it's a hidden village, there is no Kage (or ninjas... at least, there isn't in this special... I wonder where the hell was Fu...), so Naruto and Sasuke (Kakashi isn't there, and Sakura is useless) must save the villagers and beat Suien (and his useless minions), shonen style.

Animation: the same of the beginning of the series (more exactly, this is after the chunin exam, cause Naruto knows the Naruto Uzumaki Barrage, but before the Tsunade search, cause there's not Rasengan yet). Correct in general, although the water sword jutsu looks ugly, and for a weird reason, they decided to show, from several angles (and speeds), how Naruto stepped on dog poop. The character designs of the new people are... average at best. We have the masked ninja (very similar to Izumo), the one with the crazy hair, and the sexy chick. Suien have a diaper in his head, like Chouji xD.

Sound: no differences with respect to the series, both in music (no opening, though) and the voices.

Verdict: you probably deduced it by now, but there isn't a lot to say about this special. The plot is average, and there aren't flashy fights. This could be filler. But don't let that last word scare you: although this isn't brilliant, it's kinda entertaining (and not very long), and is a good chance to see good old team seven in action, when they were young and inexperienced. I recommend this only to Naruto fans (who else would see it?).
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Naruto: Batalla en la cascada oculta: ¡yo soy el héroe! es el segundo especial creado de la serie (siendo el primero el del trébol de cuatro hojas), emitido en la Shōnen Jump Jump Festa 2004.

Historia: El equipo 7 tiene como misión escoltar a Shibuki, líder de la Aldea Oculta de la Cascada, de vuelta a casa... y lo logran sin ningún sobresalto, excepto por el hecho de que Naruto y compañía notan que su protegido es un cobarde bastante importante. Peeeero, cuando llegan, un grupo de ninjas renegados de otras aldeas, liderados por Suien, (antiguo Ninja de la cascada), toman como rehenes a toda la población (que son como... veinte personas), y exigen que se les entregue el “agua del héroe”, el tesoro de la aldea, que es capaz de aumentar el chakra del usuario 10 veces por un tiempo limitado. A pesar de ser una aldea oculta, no hay Kage (o ninjas, porque en este especial no se ve a ninguno... ¿donde se habrá metido Fū?), por lo que Naruto y Sasuke (Kakashi no está por cuestiones burocráticas, y Sakura es una inútil) deberán salvar a la gente y vencer a Suien (y a sus muy inútiles esbirros), al estilo shonen.

Animación: la misma del principio de la serie (para que se orienten, esto se ubicaría después de los exámenes chunin, por que Naruto usa la ráfaga de Naruto Uzumaki, pero antes de la búsqueda de Tsunade, dado que todavía no se ve el Rasengan). Correcta en general, aunque el jutsu espada de agua se ve mal, y por alguna razón, decidieron mostrar, desde varios ángulos (y a distintas velocidades), a Naruto pisando excremento de perro. El diseño de personajes de los debutantes... ninguno resalta mucho, tenemos a al ninja enmascarado a lo Kakashi, el del pelo loco, y la chica bien dotada. Suien tiene un pañal en la cabeza, como Chouji xD.

Sonido: ninguna diferencia con respecto a la serie, tanto en música (aunque no hay opening) como en las voces.

Veredicto: como probablemente hayan deducido por lo anterior, no hay mucho para decir de este especial. La trama no pasa de decente, y ninguna pelea es llamativa. Bien podría ser un filler. Pero que eso no los desmotive: si bien no es bajo ningún punto de vista brillante, se deja ver, y es una oportunidad de ver al buen equipo siete en acción, cuando eran jóvenes e inexpertos, sin muchas técnicas a disposición. Recomendable únicamente para fans de Naruto (que otra persona querría ver esto?).

This actually has potential. Unfortunately, they squander it. This could have been an opportunity to introduce the life and culture of a different village. But while there is an attempt to do so, it fails to hit the mark. We are not told much about the Hidden Waterfall Village aside from the fact that it has something called the “Hero’s Water,” then the story proceeds to focus on the village leader, Shibuki, who is paper-thin in terms of characterization. He is beloved by the villagers and they hail him as some kind of hero, yet we are never shown why this is so. For this ... story to work, we have to empathize with Shibuki, but we never really understand or get to know him enough to become properly invested. As a result, the emotional payoff is minimal, and the final showndown just feels mechanical. It doesn’t help that the opponents are painfully generic, and the fight scenes aren’t all that impressive either. Sakura pretty much plays no part here, and Sasuke and Naruto feel like they’re just going through the motions.

The usual tropes and the usual platitudes but without the emotional resonance the main series has.

This Naruto special was immensely enjoyable, thanks to its treatment akin to the original show. Although 40 minutes long, which makes it the longest Naruto special feature, it was pretty fast-paced and action-packed to make the time fly by very quick. Also, while the animation is clearly dated at times by today's standards, it never becomes an issue since this is the style we've come to associate with Naruto. There are even a few moments where you might end up shedding a tear. I almost did.

It did have another simple fighting plot, but it was done with finesse and enough surprises on the way. Most ... importantly, it managed to hit home emotionally, especially in the second half, and the characterizations worked well. It was good to see Team 7 in action overall, even though it's just Naruto and Sasuke who dominate. Shibuki is a surprisingly well-written and developed character, and his scenes were emotionally impactful in the latter half. Humor was minimal but there were moments that were outright hilarious. The music was also good.

All in all, this one has a good plot, well-written characters, solid action and a nice emotional investment. As a Naruto fan, that managed to tick all the boxes for me and I would recommend watching it if you too are a fan of the character or the original show.

<Potential Spoilers>
Out of all the Naruto specials, this one is by far my favorite.

The other specials are either not for me or just unnecessary. However, this special combines a simple yet enjoyable short story with brilliant animation, sound design, and characters.

The story presents a new village with its own backstory and a conflict that is generic but is a strong conflict for a special featuring a younger Naruto. I love the idea of a hidden falls village and the idea of hero water. The name is beyond generic and cliche but its function makes this village stand out. The village is also mentioned in other ... parts of the anime too and serves a somewhat deeper role. However, many concepts within the story are overly generic.

The animation and art style are brilliant, everything that is required to create good animation is executed greatly in this special. I have already talked about the animation of the show in my main Naruto review so I will not further discuss this.

The same goes for the sound design. Great sound effects, voice acting, and the iconic soundtrack are all brilliant. I just don’t want to repeat what I said in my main Naruto review as this is the same.

I want to focus on Shibuki’s character, as this special had him develop the most. He is hailed as the village hero and yet he is a coward who can barely fight. Through his journey, and interactions with Naruto. He overcomes said cowardly nature and fights for his village. A short but sweet character journey that is the highlight of this special.

Most specials in most anime are rarely for me, this special is one of those rare ones and it makes sense. Brilliant story, animation, sound design, and characters serve to make a great short special.

Overall, I rank this 7/10