What They Say:
The barrier is shattered, and Ten Tails appears! With unfathomable power in its attack, it sends shock waves through the air! Kurama takes the lead and tries to go on the offensive, but is helpless against Ten Tails’ immense strength. Soon both Kurama and Gyuki exhaust their chakra and fade away.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the action going fairly big previously as we got to see the two Jinchuriki combining their powers and showing some serious scale in a way that makes sense, it was also good just to have Naruto involved in the show again. Or to have the show set again in the present day. Admittedly, the back story with Kakashi does help as it cements the relationship that he had with Obito and others in the village over the years and makes it clear why he’s going to try and save Obito while still making sure that the right things are done to protect the village. Did it need to be as lengthy of an arc as it was? Of course not. But that’s just how Naruto: Shippuden rolls and we’re aware of that.
With Naruto and his beasts working to deal with what Obito is throwing at them, a particularly nasty looking creature that has an even greater scale than them, provides the right kind of feeling as if they’re titans striding and battling across the landscape. It’s rich in design, even if murky in color, as it’s the kind of gods battling it out moment that defines generations thereafter with what they see and what’s accomplished. The back and forth of the fight is not a surprise as we get Bee and Naruto and their Tailed Beasts going up against them in a big but also suffering along the way as well because of just how much Chakra is required to engage in this kind of fight. That makes for some good moments where there’s defiance, intent and clarity of purpose coming from both sides as they take stock of things and prepare for the next round. Solid and well done, as one would expect at this stage.
The difference between the two sides plays out fairly well during this quieter period as what Naruto has going for him is the arrival of so many other key players in the allied forces that are there to support and help him do what must be done. It’s an expected rally, but one that needs to happen as well. There’s an expected and well done swelling of support as more people show up to help, their powers start to become focused and used to defeat the foe, as everyone works together with the abilities that they have. It is standard fare material in just about every well, but it reinforces the value of teamwork and the style that the various villages use, which is in contrast to what Obito and his ilk stand for. It may just be obvious and blunt, and it really is, but it works well for what this kind of show is and what it wants to say while entertaining along the way.
In Summary:
With a lot more to come to be sure, Naruto: Shippuden hits a good episode here in terms of the scale and action of events as the massive creatures battle it out. We get the rally that’s needed to bring everyone to support those that are fighting against Obito and it’s certainly a natural progression of both self interest and events from earlier after Naruto dealt with Pain and became a hero of the village. The rally side is definitely nicely done and the whole action sequence in both halves of the episode has a lot going for it. But it also felt like it just didn’t achieve the level it needed, that it was just too by the book, and is missing something to really take it to the next level of engagement.
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.
