“The Final Battle”
What They Say:
Naruto and Sasuke have both become such high-level shinobi that each knows exactly what the other is thinking just by exchanging attacks. Despite knowing how Naruto feels, Sasuke is determined to cut him down.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a two week break between episodes and going into this one as a doubleheader, I’ll easily admit that I was pretty apprehensive about it. The show has worn me down significantly over the last couple of years but I’m far too invested in with my time to just cut loose this late into it as I keep hoping that we’re closer and closer to the end. A lot of what we got recently felt hugely anticlimactic so it’s no surprise that the main focus at this stage is to try and get things settled between Naruto and Sasuke, something that has been here since the very beginning. Admittedly, with both of them having gone through as much as they have so far, they should really just suck it up and move on from it in some fashion rather than go through this silly final battle fight.
Sasuke essentially lays out his plan plainly here about how he intends to reshape the world by taking all the wrong onto himself and putting everything right – as he views it. It’s a fairly standard god complex he unfurls for Naruto here that’s just too blunt even for this show because it’s hard to view him as anything but villainous by it, since even Naruto makes it clear that people won’t just accept that. But his view that he has all the power and that power makes him right says it all. Sasuke hasn’t walked a fine line over the years with what he’s done as he’s been quite villainous at times, making things even more difficult for those like Naruto and Sakura, but they both held out hope that they could sway him back. That’s one of the core things that keeps Naruto moving alongside all the other events in that he will do what he can to save his childhood friend.
The show has largely excelled when it focuses on the action and that’s one of the strong parts of this pair of episodes, especially after all the declarations as the two go at it. Avoiding the use of music and giving the strength to the sound effects and the impact of the attacks is something that more shows need to do because it’s the better way to make it work. The visuals are strong with this and the choreography hits some great notes to make it an engaging fight to watch, though the importance of it has largely been reduced by all the filler we’ve had for years. Over the course of the two episodes the fight plays out very well, one of the best of the series to be sure, and there’s a marked difference when the pulse pounding music hits in the second episode of this two-parter that gives it a very different feeling. As engaging as it is it really made me wish they stuck to the idea of no music for it as that really made for a far more dramatic piece.
In Summary:
Naruto: Shippuden brings a lot of things to a close here in a way with this fight and I believe the next episode is all about the epilogue aspect before we dig into some side material. For those that have followed for all this time and whose faith has not wavered, the payoff is very strong here as these two fight it out. It’s really well animated and beautifully choreographed to deliver maximum impact overall for their story. But I can’t help but to feel so worn down over the years with all the delays, filler, and other drawn out aspects and lack of payoff in other areas than to just feel somewhat numb by it. I’m appreciating it solely for its technical excellence as there’s no emotional resonance anymore. Which makes me pretty sad.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
