Sasuke and Danzo come to their final blows with each using all the tools of their trade.
What They Say:
Danzo believes he’s won the battle against Sasuke. Little does he realize, Sasuke placed him under genjutsu before they last exchanged blows.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The intensity of the fight between Danzo and Sasuke has been pretty impressive at times, but there were certain lulls during it for exposition that kept it from really being a top notch piece. Still, there was some really solid moves made during it and the exposition did help to bring about certain things that needed to be known. What we get at the start here is really solid though as both men are breathing heavy as they push against each other from how their last attempt went and Danzo thinks he has it all wrapped up. With Sasuke fighting against the clock, his cunning really comes into play as he found a way to turn things to his favor against him, running the time out as he needed, and being the one to barely survive. As much as I’ve disliked Danzo, there’s something about how much he threw himself into this that made it very engaging to watch.
Of course, Danzo isn’t completely out of the game as there’s always one last move, something that you’ve saved until absolutely necessary, in order to pull out of your bag of tricks. Danzo’s certainly one such man and in his fight against Sasuke, he was playing the time game as well by waiting for his right eye to be useful again, and it happens in just enough time for him to be able to utilize Karin as a hostage. Her role in the show has been decent, especially in the last arc where she’s been going along with Sasuke and providing some amount of commentary, but with her seemingly being a weak link in a lot of ways it’s not a surprise that she’d end up in this situation, especially as she stayed as close to Sasuke as she did with the battle going on in front of her. Unlike Madara who knew to put some distance between them, Karin has kept it pretty up close and personal.
The brutality of the fight is pretty strong here and there’s something primal about both of these men as they deal with the fallout of it all. What does end up happening, for better or worse, is that we do get a flashback sequence spread through part of it that shows Danzo’s younger days as a shinobi and some of the little bits of nuance that helped push him towards where he is now. These flashback minutes add some decent context to things and explores a bit about Danzo from this period of his life, things that can get lost when you’re caught up in watching the fight sequences in the present, but key pieces that help to really show where Danzo stands now and certain aspects of what he’s wanting to do. It’s not entirely out of place, but I wanted more focus in the present to finish things off cleanly before dealing with some of the contextual history of it all.
In Summary:
Naruto: Shippuden has some really strong cinematic moments here throughout the episode, things that definitely evoke a mood and set the stage well. The flashback material feels slightly out of place, as it changes the flow of the pacing, but the larger picture here is very strong here. Danzo has been an interesting character for more episodes than I can remember now with his own plans within plans, and seeing the evolution of his character since his attempt to become the Hokage has added a whole new level to things. The action here is really good and there are some key emotional scenes that resonate well throughout. Definitely another one of those episodes that can be seen as a maturing turning point for the series where they’re making changes and moving things forward in a way many series rarely even dare to.
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.
