What They Say:
The tide of battle is slowly shifting in the Allied Forces’ favor, but many are uncertain that they really stand a chance against Madara Uchiha. To help boost their spirits, Shikaku orders Inoichi to send out a message to every member of the forces.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The opening segment to this episode is something that’s really fun and in a way, you wish more series would do just to shake off the norm a bit, especially when they run as long as this. We get a “counting song” from Naruto with drums that basically runs through all of the Tailed Beasts and the Jinchuriki which allows them to be named and reinforced as to who they are. It’s certainly a cute way to spend the first two minutes or so and it’s a comically animated piece that makes it all cute and adorable in a lot of ways but it also plays it straight with some of the visuals to help remind who is who. With all of the Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki now coming together and Naruto having made inroads with Kurama, it’s welcome to see something like this.
The series has focused heavily on Naruto and the Tailed Beasts for several episodes now, which has been really engaging, but it’s shifting away from that for a bit as we get to see more of what’s going on elsewhere around the battlefield. With so many shinobi running about from the Allied Forces, there’s concerns among some about their chances since Madara is truly a powerful foe and he has so much on his side. Especially made clearer when Madara started going up against the Five Kage and news of that came out that he was at least holding his own. That kind of tension is spreading throughout the ranks even as Naruto is able to start turning the tide in a larger way that’s not clearer for everyone else yet. But in the end, everything is moving forward one way or another and those on the command side realize that they’re closing in on the final stage of the war.
The episode does have a spot or two of fighting going on scattered throughout it, but a lot of what it does here is place setting and mood setting as everyone gets themselves rallied up for what’s to come. And, naturally, there’s a whole lot of running around – in the rain sometimes just to add more atmosphere – as everyone is essentially getting on the same page and working towards what will be the final battle. It’s a good reminder of where everyone is and seeing them come together in various groups that grow, but it is all by the numbers. Some things are just expected with series of this nature and what we get here is definitely well done, even if it is just a bit of blandness in a way. Getting the various internal dialogue bits from all of them with what they’re feeling as the final battle approaches works nicely.
In Summary:
After some of the recent big events and revelations that we’ve had, it’s little surprise that we’re getting a more low-key episode here overall. There’s a lot of character movement going on and the rallying of the troops as they know what’s to come and it’s done in a somewhat realistic way where it’s not over the top but still motivational. The general lack of Naruto isn’t a bad thing here either after all that’s happened as it gives him a mild breather and lets us focus on the rest of the forces who are doing what they can to get back on track with the fight. The tide is turning, slowly but surely, and the big events are the things that are causing it. And as we get through it, we see the effects of it while also getting a reminder at the very end that there are some big unknowns out there still.
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.
