Naruto, great show, lots of filler, but hey, I watched all 220 episodes, you did too probably. So what, who are we to complain? It ended with one of the best fights anime has ever seen, and a cliffhanger leaving us wanting more.
Shippuuden is that more. And frankly, it's kind of like going to a fancy restaraunt, having the waiter charm you with the menu, bring out some great bread rolls and appetizers, and then fart on your main course. Naruto went downhill, because frankly, the author stopped caring somewhat.
Story:
Shippuuden starts out alright, they wanna get sasuke back, they see him, leaves you wondering what's going on. And the story at first is pretty good, see some good, detailed fights (which is what Naruto is mostly about) and some interesting twists, strategies etc... which is what we all fell in love with when watching Naruto in the first place.
Then came the stagnation. Looking back, it's hard to say why it's just not as good, the events themselves are fairly important and well thought out, but it's the way they're executed that leaves you with a feeling of boredom afterward. Every story arc seems to start out with some promise of development, and end in disappointment, be that because the development in the end didn't really matter, or because the development itself decided it didn't want to exist.
SPOILER ALERT
Example, Naruto vs. Pain. The entire akatsuki thing concentrates into this little duel, and Konoha is destroyed, Loads of important people die, Naruto appears to mature as a leader, and the entire thing reeks of ending.
Then everyone's resurrected cause Naruto knows how to sweet talk his enemy into self-sacrificial suicide. Everyone who died is brought back to life (except one, who died earlier), and the village goes about it's business as if it was just a tornado that blew through.
SPOILER DONE
Let me ask you this, would Romeo and Juliet have been better if at the end, Juliet woke up and said "jk! lolz," and then wandered off with Romeo, who also had woken up, and gave some half-assed speech explaining how their love could defeat even death. If your answer was anything aside from NO, then please feel free to stop reading and enjoy Naruto Shippuuden to the fullest.
If yes, then you are sane, and you will not appreciate this anime after a while. The strategy that everyone enjoyed is slowly replaced by sheer power, leaving a horrible Bleach/DBZ feeling to it. I mean, remember when Naruto and sasuke teamed up against Zabuza and he hid in the shuriken shadow? That was cool! It caught you off guard, and was mentally stimulating! Now imagine if that scenario had ended with Naruto raging out and beating up Zabuza just because it'll lead to an end of the arc. It loses it's touch doesn't it? That's what Shippuuden ends up doing, and it's terribly dissapointing. The plot takes some turns, but overall decides that even it would have rather gone straight, and the character development... actually improves slightly, but that's not what you're watching Naruto for. And besides, the best characters get less cameos anyways, so... meh.
Art:
Shippuuden has good quality artwork, that much you can give it. But art doesn't really matter much towards enjoyment. If anything, it's only important during fights, and I guess it gets the job done and then some, they had the budget and they didn't cheap out.
Sound:
Soundtrack works to establish mood, op and end are enjoyable, and characters have suiting voices. Sound is A-OK.
Character:
Certain characters (main only) have good development, and some new ones show up, but honestly, I miss Shikamaru. I know he shows up, but he doesn't do anything anymore. I miss having characters actually matter. They got all serious, and it's lost it's fun factor.
Enjoyment:
If you can't tell from my review being full of sunshine and farts, Naruto Shippuuden starts out enjoyable, and then turns sour. I dropped it for a reason. If you don't get it, read the story section again.
Overall:
There are other anime more worth your time than Naruto Shippuuden. If you want to find out how the story ends, pick up the manga, it's faster anyways.
