A fierce battle between Guren, the Leaf Ninja, and the three-tailed beast ends with Yuukimaru failing to control the three-tailed monster and splitting up the opposing sides. Our heroes decide to re-group and discuss Guren’s crystal style jutsu at the hideout, to plan a way to counter this technique. Meanwhile, Naruto continues to worry about Yuukimaru's safety, since he strongly believes that Guren is using Yuukimaru for Orochimaru’s plans. With the three-tailed beast still on the loose and a leaf ninja plan to seal the huge monster, will this arc make any improvements?

If you have read my last Naruto box-set review, you'll be aware that I hated the way this filler arc started; it felt very generic and boring, which made me frustrated with this part of the story - but I did give it, at least, some kudos for making the last few episodes more interesting. After that, I was afraid the arc would further disappoint me, and I was very happy that never happened, because I really enjoyed most of these episodes in this box-set.

One of the reasons is the growing relationship between Guren and Yuukimaru. You start to see a change from Guren's earlier cold behaviour and, as the episodes go on, a more human side to her is revealed. I ended up really liking her as there's enough development to make her character interesting, and, although Yuukimaru ends up being a tad bland, the bond between them is one of the highlights of this arc.

The action is also a step up from previous episodes, allowing for some large and tense action scenes that surprised me. Fights didn’t feel as if they dragged on for too long and were varied enough to keep me entertained, although by the end of the arc, I felt as if it lacked a proper climax. As a matter of fact, the final confrontation and resolution seemed like a bit of a cop-out but this didn’t bother me too much.

The presentation is up to Naruto standards, with some great fight animation and good character designs. One nitpick: the CGI is very apparent in some of these episodes; for example, the huge number of enemies that Naruto has to deal with. While I understand why Studio Pierrot would do this, it feels distracting.

That being said, this is a good end to a filler arc that really frustrated me at the beginning; it has a good mix of comedy, drama and action that fits well together throughout this box set. At the same time, I’m just disappointed that I never felt that way at the beginning.

We have a new OP 'Ikimonogakari  - Hotaru no Hikari' which is more sombre than previous Naruto Shippuuden openings; it's a decent track but the animation is too stiff and boring, never really holding my interest. The ED track 'Super Beaver – Shinkokyuu' feels like an indie rock theme that is more suited to me. I really like this one, but, on the other hand, the ED animation has this CGI dark, ugly presentation that I really loathe - I would even go so far as to call it ‘Emo’.
Extras are unchanged again, with the some production art and trailers.

In Summary

A much better offering in this box set; it has enough drama and excitement to make it worth checking out the second part of this arc.