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Film: Shogun Assassin
Release date: 29th November 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Robert Houston
Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Oki, Akiji Kobayashi, Shin Kishida
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama
Studio: Eureka!
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Japan/USA
After the long running success of the Lone Wolf and Cub manga series, Shogun Assassin marks the cinematic opening chapter of this tale of a samurai warrior and his infant son taking bloody revenge against an evil Shogun. Daddy Day Care this is not.
The old Shogun becomes paranoid about being overthrown by his soldiers, so orders assassins to kill Ogami Itto; one of his best samurai warriors.
Whilst Ogami - and his young son, Deigoro - manages to survive the attack, his wife is killed. Brutally striking down the rest of the assassins who come after him; Ogami vows revenge on the Shogun and sets off on the road to destroy his enemy, bringing little Deigoro with him in a wooden baby cart.
Ogami and Deigoro wander the land, the samurai taking assassination jobs for money along the way, whilst constantly fighting off the Shogun’s ninja...
Whilst a film of this genre trades heavily on its gore and violent content – the film was previously banned – the violence is rather run of the mill. Yes there is blood, guts and people’s limbs flying here and there but it’s all really been done before in Japanese thrillers similar to this – and, crucially, better than this.
Thankfully, the film just about saves itself by having more depth to it than just than being another hack and slash revenge thriller. Instead, the story focuses heavily on the themes of revenge, damnation and the bond between parent and child. Maternity and paternity are some of the strongest themes running throughout this film, and it is from the latter that Ogami gains much of his power. The task of protecting Deigoro creates a focused demeanour for the protagonist, and also a sense of loose purpose, besides seeking revenge on the Shogun. However, maternal instincts are strongly portrayed. A fine example is shown as a master female ninja relinquishes her attack on the duo when Deigoro’s life is placed in danger. Despite facing death for failing to kill Ogami and Deigoro, she cannot bring herself to end the young boy’s life.
Kenji Misumi, the director, also does well to make some of the scenes sublimely atmospheric. This is achieved from interesting directorial tricks, such as framing characters against spectacular background visuals or using close up shots of the characters’ eyes to create insightful gazes into the minds of the key players. Misumi also uses the scenery and the mise-en- scène to create extra emphasis, such as displaying shots of cut bamboo lacerated by Ogami’s sword as he kills one of the shogun’s soldiers.
Whilst the cinematography is well realised, the narrative path suffers from a lack of direction. The story, at times, feels aimless, and seems to have no point to it aside from documenting the torture and betrayal felt by Ogami and his son, as well to show as how they are struggling to survive on a daily basis. Whilst this is interesting, it is not as exciting as the hype surrounding the film would suggest. Additionally, a few sub plots are added on, but ultimately the film doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere until it is long past the midway point. It is possible the pointlessness of the plot symbolises Ogami’s own sense of pointlessness in life, after having his world torn apart. Unfortunately, if true, this doesn’t make for good entertainment.
Some moments do compensate for the brooding gaps in Shogun Assassin’s plot but these, by contrast, are incredibly silly and absurd. Luckily, these don’t detract from the enjoyment of the more serious scenes - Deigoro operating booby traps from his cart, ejecting knives into the enemies attacking him, or when ninja assassins start firing bladed parsnips at Ogami.
Whilst Shogun Assassin is no epic yarn, it is mightily enjoyable. The premise is refreshingly different to other samurai films in that Deigoro actually assists his father, despite his very young age. This film manages to strike a good balance between humour and drama, whilst keeping the action compelling enough to follow. Also the idea that Deigoro and his father are actually damned by their outlaw status adds a sense of tragedy to the proceedings. DJ
Film: The Phantom Of Liberty
Running time: 99 mins
Director: Luis Buñuel
Starring: Adriana Asti, Julien Bertheau, Jean-Claude Brialy, Adolfo Celi, Paul Frankeur
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Country: Italy/France
Region 1 release.
In this, the penultimate film of Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel, character encounters are dictated by chance, absurdist situations occur everywhere and social norms are under scrutiny. Cited by many to be Bunuel’s finest work, it is certainly his angriest, as he gets several thoughts off his chest in this satirical and surreal effort.
The film begins in Toledo, Spain during the Napoleonic wars, as a group of captured locals protest against their attackers with the cry, “Down with liberty.” However, the plot soon jumps to present day France, where a number of sketch length scenes are shown displaying the lives of several disparate characters. Each scene is connected with a tenuous coincidence, as established characters hand over to new characters (before they repeat the same pattern).
Amongst this chaos, monks play poker, policemen act like naughty schoolchildren in lectures, doctors avoid their patient’s problems with pleasantries, and the French army takes one of its tanks out fox hunting.
The film eventually rounds off with a similar scenario to the beginning, as a group of protesters get into a spectacular (and unseen) battle with the police in a zoo, whilst screaming, “Down with liberty!”
Many of the scenes in Phantom are based on moments from Bunuel’s life. For instance, a line during one scene that sees a group of monks playing poker in a hotel with a fellow guest, claims: "If everyone prayed everyday to Saint Joseph, peace and quiet would prevail,” and was lifted directly from a conversation Bunuel had had when visiting a monastery. Another self reflexive moment comes when the briefly seen character Mr Legendre visits his doctor to get results of a cancer test but is constantly hampered by the doctor’s refusal to get to the bottom of what’s wrong with him. Instead, the ineffectual doctor avoids the matter to the point that Legendre slaps him round the face in frustration. This too was based on Bunuel’s own experience - of being diagnosed with cancer.
As a result of this frustration with his own life, there is also the feeling that Bunuel was becoming quite the cynic in his later years, and this shows in the movie. Many scenes deal with the absurdity of the mundane, as well as the ineffectual nature of the bourgeoisie. A good example of this is observed when Mr Legendre’s daughter is reported ‘missing’ by her teacher, despite being in plain sight in the classroom, and openly announcing that she is present. Despite this, the police waste time and energy on finding her.
There is a sense that even the simplest of social norms are under the microscope during the film. A notable moment is seen during a dinner party, where the guests all sit on toilets around a table, discussing defecation, before some excuse themselves to eat a meal in a private cubical. It’s often like he’s observing modern civilisation with an anthropologist-style gaze, noting with amusement what would happen if common conventions were turned on their head.
The structure of this film is probably the biggest challenge in viewing as there is no real plot to speak of. The film operates more like a collection of comedy sketches linked by vague events. Resultantly any continuity is relatively hard to locate, as the plot continually shifts when characters meet or are united by random chance - only to hand over to a new plot and disappear never to be seen again. This can make the film quite frustrating to watch, because by the time any involvement with a character has been invested, they are gone, and a new plot thread has begun.
Bunuel is also not afraid of delving into murkier territory. During the run time, he tackles issues such as incest, police brutality, necrophilia and paedophilia. In the case of the paedophilia, this involves a stranger approaching a child and giving her a picture book, only for her parents to find that they contain innocuous but ‘obscene’ images of famous French architecture. Some of these more risqué moments, make for uncomfortable or ambivalent viewing, as they are presented in such a light-hearted and absurdist manner.
For many, The Phantom Of Liberty will be unwatchable as there is no linier plot - the viewer is forced to jump between fleeting protagonists. Whilst Bunuel raises some interesting questions about society and religion, it is not an easy film to view. However, there are some humorous moments, and it is endearingly eccentric, which may save it in some people’s eyes. DJ
Film: Versus
Release date: 30th June 2003
Certificate: 18
Running time: 120 mins
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura
Starring: Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, Chieko Misaka, Kenji Matsuda, Yuichiro Arai
Genre: Action/Comedy/Fantasy/Horror
Studio: Tartan
Format: DVD
Country: USA/Japan
Versus was the film that made the world sit up and take a serious look at Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura. Now over ten years later, having had several re-releases with extra footage and even a US remake supposedly due for a 2010 release, is Versus still the internationally acclaimed gem that it would appear to be?
The opening scrawl explains that there are 666 portals on earth leading to the afterlife, one of which is found in Japan, and is called the ‘forest of resurrection’. The film then jumps to the present day, where Prisoner KSC2–303 and a fellow prisoner meet with a gang of Yakuza mobsters in the forest, after escaping police custody.
Following a disagreement, KSC2-303 flees the Yakuza with a mysterious woman that the mobsters had kidnapped. The gangsters run deep into the forest after the two of them but discover that the dead bodies of people they have killed and buried in the forest are coming back to life as zombies. The gang then furiously fight off the zombified hordes approaching them; losing most of their numbers in the onslaught.
KSC2-303 meanwhile has started to forget details of his life, and begins to experience flashbacks of events he hasn’t knowingly experienced. Matters become clear as he meets face to face with a mysterious man. This man turns out to be an arch rival of KSC2-303 from a past reincarnation, and seeks to use the woman to open the gates of hell and acquire a great power.
Now knowing that his destiny is to stop his nemesis, KSC2-303 vows to protect the girl and settle the age old rivalry once and for all…
Whilst Versus is primarily an action horror flick, there are also occasional comedic turns. These are relatively outrageous and self-conscious scenes that juxtapose the heavy premise and the gory aesthetic. Moreover, these don’t necessarily undermine the flow of the film. Much of the comedy is self-referential and parodying of generic elements in Far Eastern action films.
The gore used by Kitamura for many of the action and zombie scenes go to show he is a man who doesn’t wish to hold back on visceral horror and instead gives the audience the blunt imagery. As a result, there are people having huge holes blown through their body, bits of limbs being cut up, and guts flying ad nausea. Indeed, it is true to say that those who do not like blood will be looking through their fingers for much of the film. It is splatter core at its most visual.
What is probably the most enjoyable factor about Versus is that the plot is simple, but without lacking any narrative depth. The story of resurrection, reincarnation, sibling rivalry and love across spiritual worlds manages to squeeze its way in amongst the gun and swordplay, and this somehow feels right. Not many films manage to strike this balance successfully, however for Versus it just about works. This is also despite the movie being quite minimalist when it comes to dialogue, as, in most cases, actions speak louder than words. Occasionally this makes some scenes more interesting and poignant - this is beautifully displayed during a particular flashback sequence where emotion is created simply by facial expressions.
If there is one thing that comes across most with Versus, it is the overt stylistic comparison with the Matrix. This is probably no accident as the Matrix smashed box office records the year before Versus was released, and that in itself borrowed stylistic elements very heavily from Far Eastern cinema. However, in this case, the Matrix style effects are somewhat sent up. In one particular case, a man attempting to dodge a bullet in the style of Neo fails spectacularly and is blown to smithereens. It is also worth noting how many times KSC2-303 is referred to as ‘the one’ and, most notably, how he wears a very similar jacket to Neo’s.
Despite the fact that he is clearly modelled on Neo, Tak Sakaguichi manages to put in a fine performance as KSC2-303; portraying a character that is not as clear cut a hero as it would seem. Sakaguichi succeeds, despite the character being somewhat of an undesirable, in making the audience root for him and gives KSC2-303 an ice cool edge, as well as a fiery ruthlessness.
Versus is a film with many hidden depths, and is not simply the big loud action film it would appear to be on the surface. The somewhat deep story of rivalry and conflict crossing over many reincarnations successfully compliments the zombie splatter core, and makes for an engaging and entertaining two hours. Versus has ultimately stood the test of time, but it seems hard to imagine what could be improved upon should the US release actually happen. DJ
Film: Zatoichi Meets The One Armed Swordsman
Release date: 25th February 2002
Certificate: 15
Running time: 94 mins
Director: Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Starring: Shintarô Katsu, Yu Wang, Watako Hamaki, Michie Terada, Kôji Nanbara
Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy/Drama
Studio: Warrior
Format: DVD
Country: Japan/Hong Kong
A later entry in the long running Japanese series focusing on Zatoichi the blind swordsman, Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman sees the blind masseuse and swordsman forming an uneasy alliance with a skilled one armed swordsman from China. However, confusion reigns as the different languages of the two men make their relationship increasingly difficult - to the point of bloodshed.
After saving a young boy about to be executed by a group of Nambu samurai, one armed Chinese swordsman Wang Kong becomes a fugitive from the Nambu clan after slaying many of their warriors in the ensuring battle to save the boy, during which the boy’s parents are killed. Zatoichi happens on the scene of the massacre and finds the dying father of the boy, who asks the blind swordsman to take care of his child.
Zatoichi and the boy then stumble across Wang, who tries to explain what has happened, but fails due to his foreign tongue. Despite this, an uneasy alliance is formed, and Zatoichi promises to help the fellow swordsman.
Meanwhile the Nambu men overhear that Zatoichi has hidden Wang in a local house, and seek their revenge on him. Due to a misunderstanding, Wang believes that Zatoichi has sold him out for the price on his head, and leaves furiously for a local temple, where he bonds with one of the monks.
However the monk betrays Wang, and the Nambu men take the boy hostage, promising only to release him if he hands himself in. Zatoichi ends up saving Wang from the Nambu, but Wang, enraged by the perceived betrayal, and unable to understand Zatoichi’s explanation, challenges him to a battle from which only one will walk away…
The whole premise seems to be built on the gimmick that we WILL see a blind swordsman and a one armed swordsman face off. Whilst this is an enticing proposal, it is not very well carried out. Instead what we get is a very awkward excuse for them to have a fight, and the fighting they actually do doesn’t justify the extended build up. The reasoning for their rivalry is based on Zatoichi and Wang Kong’s different languages, as well as a lot of tragic misunderstandings. This ends up making for a tragic and philosophical dénouement, which is also symbolic of the difficult relations between China and Japan.
If this had been performed in a film that didn’t have such a Frankenstein’s monster of a plot, built of comedies and swordplay action films, it would have been a beautiful and more enduring twist. Instead, what actually happens is that all the limbs of the monster end up trying to run off in different directions. The actual flow of the plot feels like it’s been constructed by someone with ADHD, as threads appear for no good reason out of nowhere, and are settled in just as ham fisted a fashion. This is especially the case with Wang Kong’s relationships with the monk and Oyome, as the relationships in these cases are implied to be deep and close. However, this is without any clear evidence. Instead these plot developments are simply stated by a character, all of which seems to point to bad writing.
The outrageous humour also undermines the sense of cohesion. Sure enough the film contains some very broad Japanese humour, but this is at odds with other points in the film’s progression; where one could mistakenly get the impression they were watching far more serious fare. This also works the other way round, when it feels like the solemn action sequences are out of character with the somewhat light hearted moments. Ultimately, the film aspires to be both a successful drama and comedy but doesn’t devote enough focus upon either to make it work.
A lot of moments of pleasure are also denied to the audience. A prime example of this is that Boss Tobai of the Nambu, the film’s main antagonist, is defeated far too easily. For all the problems he has caused the main characters throughout the film, and for all the foreboding he creates, he is dealt with very abruptly before the spectacular denouement. There seems to be little build up or pomp dedicated to this, which makes his exit feel incredibly flat.
Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman does not really do the film series justice. It is not a terrible film, and its flaws are somewhat harmless, but it could have been a lot better. It’s very much the case that the little problems begin to add up and overwhelm the positives, which is a real pity. Zatoichi himself is an entertaining protagonist, and the story, if properly handled, could have been far more poignant and emotional. DJ
Film: Hard Boiled
Release date: 27th September 2004
Certificate: 18
Running time: 122 mins
Director: John Woo
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan, Philip Kwok
Genre: Action/Crime/Drama/Thriller
Studio: Tartan
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong
John Woo directs this high octane action fest, which is to date, the last film made in his native land. Bullets fly, men are gunned down left, right and centre, and Chow Yun-Fat is forced to run out of an exploding hospital carrying a baby. It is certainly a dazzling finale to Woo’s Hong Kong directing career.
After his partner is killed in a brutal triad shootout, hard boiled cop ‘Tequila’ Yuen launches an all out attack on a gang of gun smugglers sneaking weapons into Hong Kong, much to the annoyance of his boss Superintendant Pang who warns him off the case.
Meanwhile Alan, an undercover policeman working as a gang member with mob boss Uncle Hoi, is coerced by rival triad lord Johnny Wong into turning on Hoi, so that he can take over his business. Whilst reluctant at first, Alan eventually relents; massacring Hoi and his men. However, he is plagued by guilt and doubt as to where his allegiances lie.
After learning from Superintendant Pang that there is an undercover cop working with the gun runners, Tequila tracks Alan down. The two then form an uneasy alliance to bring Wong and his gang to justice, whilst dealing with their own doubts about their lives in the police force…
Woo shows us in this particular film that he is the master of destruction, as he directs several high calibre action sequences, all with very high body counts. You don’t even have to wait very long for the action to begin, as the first key shootout scene blasts into action at around the five minute mark. A great deal of care and attention has gone into each scene, and it’s remarkable that the film was made for just four million dollars.
Whilst this film has no pretensions of being anything much more than a big, dumb, loud action movie, Woo also manages to cram in some deft touches of exposition, by using visual reminders – such as showing parallel views of a scene at different times to show what has happened, or what the characters are thinking, which are both stylistic and allow the audience to follow the plot more easily. Yes indeed, the stabilisers are truly on for this film, yet this doesn’t feel demeaning as there are more than enough plot threads and explosions to distract you away from that.
It is also noteworthy that Hard Boiled, for an action film, contains a rather rich and interweaving plot; considering we effectively have two central protagonists in Alan and Tequila. Both are similar in that they are both cops, and both are having crisis of confidence about their work. However, whilst they are on the same side, they are effectively working against each other, too, and the pain of teaming up together is more than palpable, considering Tequila wants revenge on Alan for murdering his partner, and Alan just wants to get away from Hong Kong to find a new life untainted by killing. It is not until near the end that the two plots really converge.
Chow Yun-Fat is on fire as ever – literally, at one point – and takes on all manner of ridiculous stunts, which are both outlandish and impressive (such as swinging into a warehouse through its glass ceiling, with an assault rifle in hand). However, praise also has to be credited to Philip Kwok who does an excellent turn as ‘Mad Dog’, Johnny Wong’s personal body-guard and all-round hard man. Kwok looks as mad, bad and dangerous as his character’s name suggests, and, needless to say, is very hard to kill.
Hard Boiled is a good old fashioned romp of an action film. Somehow Woo has managed to combine a solid plot and characters, with a helping of action movie silliness when needed. It all makes for a very entertaining, and surprisingly complete film experience. DJ
Film: The Human Centipede [First Sequence]
Release date: 4th October 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Tom Six
Starring: Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura, Andreas Leupold
Genre: Drama/Horror/Thriller
Studio: Bounty
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Netherlands
The toe curling surgical horror from Dutch director Tom Six takes high concept body horror to new heights of imagination, and new lows of plot development.
Two young American women travelling across Europe get lost when their car breaks down in the woods. They then happen across the isolated home of Doctor Heiter, a surgeon specialising in the separation of Siamese twins. After inviting the two ladies inside, Heiter drugs their drinks and traps them in his basement, which has been turned into a makeshift surgical ward.
After capturing a male Japanese tourist as his third victim, the doctor then goes on to explain that his ambition is to create the titular ‘human centipede’, a creature with one gastric system made up of three surgically attached people positioned anus to mouth.
After a failed attempt to escape by one of the women, the ‘centipede’ is created. However, the centipede begins to rebel against Heiter’s commands, and the police (investigating the disappearances) begin to grow suspicious of the increasingly erratic doctor…
A film like this relies heavily on its high concept premise, but beyond that there is not much to The Human Centipede [First Sequence]. The film stands proudly beside the fact that the portrayal is one hundred per cent surgically accurate, as if to suggest that something this nasty could actually happen and, to be fair, the thought of that is undeniably scary. Unfortunately, once you get over that initial scare, the cack-handed nature of the filmmaking becomes too jarring.
The film has attracted criticism from some quarters, dismissing it as mere torture porn, and there is not much to refute this claim, especially due to the fact that two parts of the centipede are played by young, attractive, helpless (not to mention gormless) women - who’s top halves are also gratuitously naked for much of the film. More disturbingly, the film leads the audience to believe that being attached to the centipede is like a form of punishment to the victims for not living in the right way; especially considering that the inception of human centipede began when Six joked about performing this kind of mutilation to sex offenders. This is as good as confirmed when Katsuro (the front part of the centipede) admits that he deserves his fate for mistreating his family.
The plot plods along as slowly as the human centipede itself, with the usual bit of establishment, a bit of exposition, and then a hilariously poorly attempted escape that fails to capture any sense of suspense; copying about every slasher film chase cliché ever seen. After that, we are then forced to watch the doctor marvelling at his odd creation, as the two women are left to eat excrement. The biggest problem is that after the centipede is created, the plot loses all momentum.
The acting, for the most part, is pretty awful, too. The female victims seem to spend the first part of the film rambling through hammy dialogue, and then have no other option but to make muffled screams into the anus’ they are attached to - substituting for the lack of screams from the audience. The only honourable mention goes to Dieter Laser, who plays the demented surgeon behind the shocking misdeed - he really does play the part to chilling perfection. Unfortunately, his character is so overbearingly unhinged and suspect that it’s surprising the police hadn’t put him under some kind of surveillance beforehand. This isn’t necessarily Laser's fault – the writing is just so poor.
This film is clearly marketed as a visceral body horror, but it fails to even do that very well, as much of the horror is communicated through over exuberant implication - often to the point of looking silly. At its best, The Human Centipede [First Sequence] raises some genuine chills, but, at its worst, it drags on, and makes a mockery of better realised horror movies. DJ
Series: Naruto Shippuden Box Set 2
Release date: 9th August 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 325 mins
Director: Hayato Date
Starring: Chie Nakamura, Junko Takeuchi, Noriaki Sugiyama, Akira Ishida, Hideo Ishikawa
Genre: Anime
Studio: Manga
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Taking us through episodes 14 to 26 of the series, Naruto and his ninja comrades in Team 7 and Team Guy are back facing ever more tricky and cunning foes, as the popular anime series continues.
We are thrown straight into the action as the Kazekage Rescue Arc continues. Naruto finds himself locked in a tight battle with one of Pains, of the criminal Akatsuki gang’s body doubles, in the form of Itachi Uchiha, who traps the young ninja in a tricky mind genjutsu. Meanwhile, Team Guy is equally in trouble as they struggle to defeat Kisame, and his mighty water techniques. However, both teams prevail, and, realising that these fights were a ruse by the Akatsuki to slow them, rush to try and rescue the captured Gaara, who is slowly having his life drained away as the Akatsuki attempt to steal his jinchuriku energy.
Arriving at the cave where the Gaara is being held, the two teams reunite only to find that the entrance is blocked with a special Chakra gate; requiring the team to split up again and remove the four paper seals of the gate. Team Guy are sent off to find the seals, however, they are soon then trapped in a deadly clash with a further security measure of the gate - clones of themselves, who share all their techniques.
In the meantime, Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura and Chiyo smash into the cave only to find their efforts were in vain, as they discover Akatsuki members Deidara and Sasori sitting on top of Gaara’s lifeless body. An enraged Naruto chases after Deidara, who leads him and Kakashi on a wild goose chase. This leaves Sakura and Chiyo facing down against Sasori, Chiyo’s grandson and an incredibly powerful human puppet master...
Naruto fans will not be disappointed with the battles that these DVDs cover, as we get the bulk of Naruto’s fight with the clone of Itachi Uchiha, as well as the major battle between Sasori, Chiyo and Sakura.
However, as there are only a limited numbers of episodes included in this box-set, the continuity can feel somewhat clunky, particularly as the first episode starts in the middle of a battle. This will make following the plot especially difficult to newcomers to the series, who are thrown straight in without any real clue of what’s going on. Additionally, after investing the time viewing the discs, the box set ends on a major cliff-hanger, which could make some fans feel a little cheated, as there is little resolution to what was a long and fraught battle.
However, some electrifying moments from this part of the series are present despite these problems. The battle between Sakura, Chiyo and Sasori is particularly intense. But Sasori himself (including his many puppets) is incredibly creepy. The creators have done well to make this fight seem extra atmospheric, as the fight is visually and aurally intense; especially thanks to a bone clattering sound effect used when the puppets fight. If you didn’t find puppets sinister before, you likely will after witnessing this fight.
Strangely, we do not see a great deal of the titular hero from the midway point of this box set. In the meantime, Sakura becomes the main focus, and definitely shows that she is a formidable ninja, with a strong resolve to win. These episodes really concentrate on how the characters have progressed, starting with Naruto himself, but then placing the emphasis more and more on Sakura. To be fair, it is nice to see a female character in an anime series not being marginalized for once.
For those unfamiliar with the style of Naruto Shippuden, the animation is generally of a good standard. It doesn’t contain the sometimes sketchy, almost draft like style, which some anime series’ utilise. The lines are well drawn, the scenery is colourful, and the animators make good use of CGI in some parts, which compliments, rather than clashes with the style of the drawing. Also, the animation can be particularly expressive on occasions - as good anime should be, especially when it comes to some of the more poignant and explosive moments of battle.
The second box set includes some great action from The Kazekage Rescue Arc of the show. However, it is probably not worth a look without having seen the first box set, or without being familiar with the series. Ultimately, however, Naruto: Shippuden fans will not be disappointed, as there are some gratifying moments to enjoy, as well as a fun all-round anime experience. DJ
