The tide starts to shift as the war actually showcases some fighting.
What They Say:
Atsui, Samui, and Darui face off against Kinkaku and Ginkaku, the legendary brothers from the Hidden Cloud, feared even by the Raikage.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Naruto: Shippuden has definitely been a bit of an awkward series at times recently with the way it’s working the first stage of the war between the two main sides. It’s offered up some big moments and hinted at more while also making sure to show us that there are personal sides to what’s going on here, especially with all the reincarnated ninjas that are brought to the forefront by the Akatsuki. It’s been light on Naruto, but that hasn’t bothered me all that much. What has bothered me is that with all these characters, all this potential, it feels like it’s idling more than anything else a lot of the time. Events are going on but it doesn’t really feel like there’s an actual war taking place, especially with so much of the show giving us either top level strategy views or just having plenty of dialogue going on, either in standoff scenes or among those running the show.
With this episode, we do get more of this top level wrangling going on and even when it involves a favorite character of mine like Tsunade, I can’t help but ot feel a little bored by it. Thankfully, the episode does also provide a good bit of action as well, again with the usual dialogue lead up, as it focuses on Darui as he’s aided by Atsui and Samui to deal with the resurrected warriors as well as the pair from the Hidden Cloud village. Both Ginkaku and Kinkaku have a decent look about them but there isn’t to me much of a threat coming from them and their overall presence. Nor is there all that much interest for me when it comes to Darui and the other two. Darui at least has a bit more going for him in look and personality, but it’s almost a placeholder battle going on just to inserts some action into the events.
In Summary:
And that kind of defines this episode. There is a moment where things start to reconnect towards the end, but it’s a lengthy lead-up to that moment that will – or should – start moving things forward again. The problem here is that while Darui and the others may have a following, it’s not one that’s been touched upon recently enough to make it strong. It’s good for the long time fans that have followed the show, but even with my viewing of it all over the years I’m hard pressed to remember everyone and their stories at this point, as weirdly convoluted as the series gets at times. The fighting here is the main draw, to give us some action to deal with, but it feels like it’s a by the numbers piece with basic animation that doesn’t really stand out. It continues to make me feel like the budget is being put elsewhere for some bigger scenes down the line, which I hope at this point is true. There’s some decent moments to be had here, but this fight and other recent events will once again be largely unmemorable in the long run.
Grade: B-
Streamed 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.
