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Series: Naruto Shippuden Box Set 4
Release date: 27th December 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 206 mins
Director: Hayato Date
Starring: Chie Nakamura, Junko Takeuchi, Noriaki Sugiyama, Akira Ishida, Hideo Ishikawa
Genre: Anime
Studio: Manga
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
One of Japan’s most prolific manga serials, Naruto is a saga that has begotten an empire. Spawning novels, movies, soundtrack CDs, fluffy dolls, games, action figures, cards, cosplay garb and the obligatory fanboy t-shirt, Masashi Kishimoto’s creation is now a multi-tentacled merchandising entity. This, the second TV series based on the property, is still being broadcast, screening weekly in Japan. Thus far, it’s a never-ending story – with the 200th episode scheduled to be aired in February 2011. Joining our heroes mid-quest, this whopping compendium delivers a plethora of distinctively Japanese pleasures. A teen-oriented yarn starring mystical ninjas, the show chronicles one boy’s quest to become Hokage – the baddest of the best.
It’s a tale of nine tails; that is, of the fox demon, which lurks inside our hero, Naruto. Unbeknownst to the plucky shinobi, he’s host to a malign spirit, or ‘chakra’, of devastating potency.
As episode 40 commences, Naruto is embroiled in a tense standoff with reptilian overlord Orochimaru. Attempting to liberate his erstwhile ally, Sasuke, from the auspices of evil, the hot-headed lad pursues his foe to a treacherous mountain pass. Battling across a pendulous rope bridge, Naruto’s anger overwhelms him, rousing the beast within. Stirred from its slumber, will the apparition aid our protagonist, or lure him to his doom?
Debuting with a thrill-primed set-up, Naruto progressively stifles its early promise. Shame, because the symbolic backdrop of the bridge (will Naruto be tempted across to the ‘dark side’?) suggests an action-laden spectacle, propped up by a thoughtful psychological subtext. As the fox-spirit envelops our hero, imagery assumes a garish surrealism; a stylistic tangent later marginalised. Engulfed in bubbling orange heat-haze, Naruto resembles the half-digested victim of a carnivorous lava lamp. Entering inky limbo, this entrapment is presented via teasingly oblique montage, and the awesome, Godzilla-like powers of the nine-tails set a precedent for opulent, OTT carnage. Regrettably, these visceral stopovers in Hades are short-lived, leaving the chakra as a subdued MacGuffin which reprises a familiar theme. ‘With great pow…err…with kick-ass demons comes great responsibility.” So far, so Spider-Man.
Regrettably, the cast are equally generic, comprised of instantly familiar archetypes. Consider Team 7, the elite ninja brigade. There’s Naruto: young, impetuous, and super-powered. A moody teen with supernatural PMT. Sakura: token caring female, a pink-haired dead-ringer for Lazytown’s Stephanie. Lastly, the group’s leader, Yamato: the sage, martially artistic paterfamilias. Plus: the opposition. Two very bad guys. And (ambivalence, at last!): Sai, who could be allied with either side. Or both.
Mulling over friendship and destiny, Naruto’s concerns are clearly relevant to its youthful audience, but are ill served by arthritic rendering. So vast is the series, plot mechanics have stalled. The unwieldy machine that remains blithely meanders on, fuelled by regurgitated mythos. Frequently resorting to flashbacks, plot developments escape in the form of tacky reveals. Invariably, these are heralded with incredulous melodrama: a theatrical gasp, and mandatory close-up of widening eyeballs. Sustaining a meagre drip-drip of back-story to keep an audience thirsty is a common tactic, familiar from long-running series such as Heroes and Lost – but not without risks. Continued indulgence in Byzantine recollect vectors the narrative arc backwards, sacrificing urgency to retrospective detail.
Regrettably, the episodic format of the show enhances the sensation of inertia. Designed in weekly instalments, each episode begins with a comprehensive recap of the previous instalment. Consumed sequentially, this becomes a superfluous bore, with several minutes of each story lost in a pointless, Groundhog Day-like reprise. Ironically, episodes conclude with a parodic trivia quiz, in which our heroes are tested on their knowledge of Naruto lore. Comic blunders mischievously suggest that the intimidating sprawl of this fantasy world may have over-extended itself into obscurity. Such an expansive canvas will enthral the cult in-crowd, but its narcissistic tendencies may well baffle new viewers seeking a foothold.
Visually, the austere, functional appearance of characters and backdrops hints at further limitations. Understandably constrained by deadlines and budget, flat textures and recycled backgrounds tether the fantastical in the moribund. Musical themes also suffer from repetitious overuse. Whilst initially effective – particularly a brooding, monastic chant – any ambiance has expired after their umpteenth recycling. The brash, pop-punk theme – ‘You Are My Friend’ – has a similarly ear grating propensity, and will rapidly instil a Pavlovian chapter-skip reflex in the spectator.
Naruto achieves partial redemption through its exotically outrageous action scenes – if and when they finally materialise. Both factions wield unexpected, visually stunning fighting styles which gratify the patient viewer. Summoning the power of ‘Wood Jutsu’, Yamato conjures uncanny clones, and theatrically sculpts timber into weapons. His nemesis, Orochimaru, counters with volleys of bayonet-tongued snakes, and, when injured, has the gruesome ability to shed his skin and ‘re-birth’. The fall-out from this apocalyptic hocus-pocus is equally spectacular – with the battleground reduced to a vast, Tunguska-like crater in the aftermath of Naruto’s nine-tails duelling Orcohimaru. A mysterious splice of sci-fi mysticism, the show concocts a domain in which magic is a tangible force, but co-exists with advanced technology. Despite modernist trappings, it’s a world largely in thrall to the arcane – reflected by its dialogue. When, in the midst of battle, characters pause to utter such risible invocations as “ninja super beast scroll!” it seems very much in keeping with an absurdly whimsical lineage stretching back to Monty Python, and that most lethal of relics, the Holy Hand Grenade.
Naruto is a coming of age tale that quickly grows old - but never matures. No significant milestones are reached within the duration of this set. Indeed, almost half (two hours!) of its running time is spent dawdling at the crevasse introduced in the premier episode. That this particular cycle begins, and anti-climatically halts mid-confrontation cements the impression of a non-linear, circuitous folly. Enlivened by periodic bouts of action, there’s insufficient visual adrenalin to reanimate the show’s cadaverous pace. Naruto’s sluggish lapping offers viewers the experience of driving a grand prix – at 15 miles per hour, lodged in the hay-scented slipstream of a puttering tractor. DJO
In the village, hidden in the leaves, ninja reign supreme, and school is literally a battlefield.
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are teenage classmates and ninja in training, working together - sort of! - under the instruction of their teacher, Kakashi. Sasuke is training to win revenge... Sakura is training to win Sasuke... And Naruto, the class clown, insists that he'll become the greatest ninja in the land!
Contains episodes 40 - 52.
Series: Naruto Shippuden Box Set 4
Release date: 27th December 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 206 mins
Director: Hayato Date
Starring: Chie Nakamura, Junko Takeuchi, Noriaki Sugiyama, Akira Ishida, Hideo Ishikawa
Genre: Anime
Studio: Manga
Format: DVD
Country: Japan
Series: Naruto Shippuden Box Set 3
Release date: 4th October 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
Naruto Shippuden Box Set 3 focuses on the continuing adventures of Naruto and Team Kakashi in the mature sequel to the original long-running Naruto anime. Picking up from episode 27 in season one, Impossible Dream, and running through to episode 39 in season two, Tenchi Bridge, this thirteen episode DVD box set highlight Starz’s attempt to transferring Naruto’s incredible popularity in Japan to the UK by focusing on the more adult adventures of the Kazekage gang.
Naruto and Kakashi Sensei are still on the hunt of Deidara, who is carrying Gaara’s prone body. Meanwhile, Sasori and Sakura are at lethal loggerheads, with Granny Chiyo caught in the middle. Sasori perishes, but not before letting slip that he arranged to meet a spy at Tenchi Bridge in ten days time.
The members of Team Guy are still battling their clones, and finally triumph with an unusual strategy. Kakashi uses his inter-dimensional warping technique, Mangekyo Sharingan, on Deidara but only succeeds in displacing his arm. However, this is sufficient for Naruto to retain Gaara’s body.
With Gaara seemingly dead, the group begin to mourn their loss. Granny Chiyo, seeing Naruto’s grief at the loss of his comrade, decides to use a Life-Transfer jutsu to resurrect Gaara. Once Gaara is revived, Chiyo dies whilst remembering her training and passing down her wisdom and teachings to Naruto. Simultaneously, in Konoha, the mysterious Danzo briefs Sai on his covert mission working for Team Kakashi.
Back at the Leaf Village, Lady Tsunade fights for Naruto’s right to be a member of Team Kakashi. Kakashi himself is recuperating in the infirmary after using such a powerful jutsu, so the calm but dangerous Yamato is recruited as Team Leader in his absence, and Sai added to the team in order to go to Tenchi Bridge and potentially confront Orochimaru. Sai and Naruto are immediate enemies, and Yamato and Sakura must do all in their power to keep the team together as the Tenchi Bridge confrontation draws nearer…
Naruto Shippuden Box Set 3 covers both the end of the Gaara hostage story arc, and the start of the new Team Kakashi story arc. Of the two, it is certainly the second which holds the interest more, providing more adult content in terms of political manoeuvring behind the scenes in the Leaf Village, and character heavy content, as the new additions to the main cast, Yamato, Sai and Danzo, clash to varying degrees with our established favourites like Naruto and Tsunade.
Disc one covers the end of season one, with episode 27, Impossible Dream, being set mainly in one location, with the standoff between Chiyo, Sakura and Sasori reaching its violent conclusion. A three-hander episode, it is impressively handled by director Date, and has a satisfying payoff with Sasori’s fate. In contrast, the next episode skips between scenes at a hyper speed, as various members of Team Guy battle their clones. This episode really shows off the animators’ skill, as the battles reach their climax simultaneously in a thrilling conclusion – although the solution that Neji comes up with in order to triumph is stretching the limits of credibility even by Naruto’s standards. However, there is plenty of fighting here to keep the more action-orientated fans happy.
Episode 30, Aesthetics Of An Instant, is the highlight of these backend of season one episodes, with emotion and action not only balanced perfectly, but also in a restrained fashion - a problem that has plagued both Naruto Shippuden and its earlier incarnation. The scene where Granny Chiyo sacrifices herself for Gaara is a genuine tearjerker, and it also heralds the return of the large Kazekage group scenes, a narrative feature that Naruto does so well, if, unfortunately, so rarely.
Sadly, the final three episodes of the season – and story arc – suffer by comparison, as they also have nowhere to go plot-wise, and the writers can be accused of treading water until the Kazekage return to the Leaf Village. However, the last five minutes of season one is a real treat for both longstanding Naruto fans and newcomers, with both the return of old favourites, such as Shino, Kiba and Akamaru, and a cliffhanger season-ending battle which utilises fantastic paintbrush animation surely inspired by the computer game Okami.
However, it is with the introduction of the Naruto surveillance and new Team Kakashi story arc at the start of season two that the narrative really shifts up a gear. Naruto has always relied on its older characters to add a bit of dramatic weight to proceedings, and with Lady Tsunade, Yamato and Danzo getting in on the action, there is a great deal more political intrigue and Machiavellian motivation going on to please the more mature Naruto fan. The instant dislike between Sai and Naruto is expected but entertaining nonetheless, but it does lead to a cringing ‘rapport building’ episode set in a Japanese bath house, which is the worst of these batch of episodes by a long distance due to the high comedy content - not a genre which the Naruto writers are adept at on this showing. The overall tone in these season two episodes is a lot darker than those preceding it, which bodes well for the future of this more adult TV sequel.
The intro music and animation is decent, and does get you excited for the show to a reasonable degree, but doesn’t hold a candle to other anime efforts such as Death Note and Full Metal Alchemist. The animation throughout is of a high standard, with the battle scenes infrequent but well done.
DVD extras are sparse, with just production art and trailers available. One final note: stick to the subtitles, as the dubbing is reliably awful.
Naruto Shippuden is shaping up nicely judging by this volume of episodes. Whilst still aimed squarely at the early teen market, older anime fans may find the increased adult content piques their interest. Long-time Naruto fans will no doubt be in heaven. If slightly more effort had been made with the DVD presentation and extras, this set would have been indispensable. As it is, it is merely recommended.
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
