The truth sinks in for Sakura with what Sasuke really wants.
What They Say:
Sakura tells Sasuke that she wishes to desert the village and join him. A skeptical Sasuke tells Sakura he will believe her if she can finish off Karin.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Sakura’s plans to deal with Sasuke have certainly gone in some odd directions at times and the way she confessed to Naruto to try and get him to stop and then to drug her own teammates so she can go to Sasuke on her own has her plans seeming desperate and uncertain. But she does have a plan in her head that she hasn’t revealed, but even Sasuke can continue to surprise her when she confronts him. Her desires to join him don’t exactly thrill Sasuke since he knows what he wants to do, and informing her that he intends to destroy the village of the Hidden Leaf gets to her. How can she join him knowing what he’ll have her do? She’s not that far gone in her plans to be able to do that. His test for her is amusing though as it’s a simple one that does effectively show him what she’s made of. If she can kill Karin, wounded and defenseless in front of her, then he’ll take her with him.
Sasuke does prove through this and the moments that follow when Kakashi arrives on the scene that he’s gone around the bend. His time with all the Akatsuki and with Madara in particular have really twisted his mind and have nearly driven him mad in a way, but it’s a controlled madness that he has now with what he wants to do and the methods through which he’ll do it. There’s such a history to these characters at this point, especially with Kakashi as their sensei, that to have it come down to this moment where he has to fight against a former pupil who is out for nothing more than revenge is brutal. Kakashi’s sadness is there, much as is his resolution, and the sense of eagerness you get from Sasuke is chilling as he refuses to view Kakashi as his sensei anymore. The two have their issues over the years but it’s been amplified to this point in time.
The fight that ensues between the two is a definite treat to watch since they each have different approaches to fighting, and it’s really not that often that you get to see Kakashi really get into things. It’s a bit off in a way though as Sasuke has just dealt with an extended fight himself against Danzo while Kakashi has had to hustle his way there. But Sasuke is motivated by much anger and passion which really adds a lot to how it all unfolds. When this series focuses on a fight and really lets them go, it can be a big and engaging moment, even with the panning sequences that go on throughout it to extend it. Just the thought of the powers being used at the moment helps to make it seem large and important. What slows it all up here are the continual mini flashbacks to the past. Some of them make sense, such as how Kakashi remembers Sasuke at certain points, but mostly it just ends up causing things to feel like it’s drawn out too much. It has so much going for it, but these moments drain some of that energy.
In Summary:
Naruto: Shippuden has some wonderful moments here and the sense of power that’s involved is really great, especially when paired with the connections that this cast has. It has tragedy written all over it and you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it’s interrupted by the flashbacks that take up more and more time as it progresses. While there are good moments in the middle of the episode, it’s the long opening segment and the final minutes of it that really work the best and shows just how much everything is about to change. Or should change. Getting down to the small dynamic of the cast is welcome since it’s very much personal amongst them, and things look like they could go up a few notches more by the end here. But it needs some amount of payoff to happen. Still, it’s fun just to see how much Sasuke has been twisted over the years and it says a lot about just how far gone he is. The episode is rough in places because of the flashbacks, but they leave it so you definitely want to come back next week.
Grade: B+
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
1 thought on “Naruto: Shippuden Episode #214 Review”