What They Say:
With his newly revived strength, Madara doesn’t give in against the nine Tailed Beasts.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Now that the show got back to the main story again, the sense of things starting to come to some form of resolution – at some point – is back in the forefront again. We did get more time with Obito previously and some of what he and Kakashi have been through over the years, but it also shifted to giving us more time with Madara as he got himself back to where he needed to be after expending so much energy. So much of the focus has been on Obito recently, and the dip into his past of course even before the side story flashback material, that going to deal with Madara again reminds us of who the real threat is at the moment. And that’s good, because he’s been built up to be such a badass for so long that they really need to carry through with it.
Not surprising is that they go with some big action sequences at the start to go after him now that he’s wielding this power, which has Gaara sealing him up to try and stem this from getting worse. That, of course, is just a prelude to the scale of fight to come as Madara isn’t so easily stopped. Something that he makes clear repeatedly as he pushes back against them and what the Tailed Beasts offer. While he does take some hits, including a few punctures that dig deep enough to make him bleed, it has the effect of making him realize that he can finally feel something again and fight in earnest. Instead of just coldly fighting, now he has an even stronger reason to fight. It’s not exactly a bloodlust aspect to it, but it raises him to a more intense level that has him excited to be a part of all of this after going so long without feeling anything.
Also not surprising is that the episode really does spread out its action throughout it, giving us some time for the players to just talk and stand facing off against each other so as to not blow the budget. We do get some good stuff as Madara begins to chain the Tailed Beasts with his attack and with the kind of confidence that he has. It is interesting to see how the Tailed Beasts react to all of this, and to see Madara being as confident as he is, but naturally there are slower moments with those who have a deeper connection to it all from the past. A lot of what’s been going on with the Tailed Beasts is all about working with the right people in the present, and touching with that a bit with Gaara helps to bring his role into the fight pretty good, which we’ll also see that Naruto makes his splash as well in episodes to come. Firming up things with Gaara through his Tailed Beast and its own experiences with a previous Jinchuriki works well.
In Summary:
Getting the main story back on track is good and I’m also glad to see that Obito has practically no role here as well. The shift to Madara, even for a bit, definitely helps to shape things up a bit since he provides a solid kind of power and an old school mentality here for what he wants to accomplish. His shift now to feeling things is fun to watch as he’s definitely intent on enjoying that aspect of the fight and we get a good look at some of his abilities here as he faces off against so many of the Tailed Beasts. I also liked getting Gaara’s role for a bit, including a look at Shukaku’s past with how things went with a different Jinchuriki, which shows how they’ve all been shaped in different ways and how Naruto has helped to change the tide, even a little bit.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
