Naruto: Shippuuden Volume 20

Episodes 245-257

The Next Challenge! Naruto Vs The Nine Tails

At the Waterfall of Truth, Naruto has reached the moment when he is ready to unlock the seal on the phenomenally powerful beast he harbours within him. Guided by Killer Bee, a fellow Jinchuriki and host to the Eight-Tails, Naruto must assert his control –  or fail and die. Meanwhile, as the assembled Kage try to agree on what to do for the best in the coming Fourth Great Ninja War, Madara continues to implement his sinister plans, quietly yet lethally wreaking havoc wherever he goes. Both Killer Bee and Naruto – or rather the tailed beasts they harbour within them – are his targets and the gigantic turtle on which they are travelling is vulnerable to infiltration by the Akatsuki. But there are divisions simmering within the Akatsuki and when Madara sets out to take the Rinnegan for himself, he finds that not everything in his master plan can be so easily achieved.

After some frankly yawn-worthy filler episodes in Box Set 19, it’s good to find this indomitable series back on track, reminding us that, when it sticks to the original source material, Naruto is extremely watchable. Mangaka Masashi Kishimoto’s theme: the good-natured baka underdog hero who – due to a combination of stubborn (bone-headed?) character and innate courage is determined to one day become the leader of his village – is still irresistible. The whole ninja mythos that Kishimoto has created, updating the concept for a twenty-first century audience and inventing ever more extraordinary jutsu for the individual shinobi clans/villages – and their deadly opponents – has shown remarkable staying power over its fifteen year run (and as I write, the manga is finally done and the anime TV series is coming to its close). There are some truly moving moments here as Naruto, the once-despised child of the Hidden Leaf, comes to meet at long last a figure of great significance in his life. What he learns about his birth and the surrounding events will affect everything he does from here on.

The penultimate episode (256) “Assemble! Allied Shinobi Forces!” shows the two sides assembling for battle; first the United Ninja Army and then the forces opposing them, the enemy’s unholy (and undead) warriors. It’s a chance for us to see Naruto’s friends all grown up and ready to defend their villages and their way of life and it’s a fine moment if you’ve come through over 250 episodes with them. A shame, then, maybe that the next episode takes us back to Naruto and Sasuke’s childhood and how their friendship/rivalry began. Perhaps the creative team thought it was a good moment to remind us where this all started – or to welcome in new viewers? Oddly enough, even for a long-time viewer, this return to the early days is both amusing and affecting. But I hope this flashback won’t go on for too many more episodes – even though it contains ‘new’ material.

So – affecting drama and great character interaction apart – what else is worthy of mention? Well, the graphics. If only the animation budget could have matched the quality of the story-telling. As in earlier Naruto episodes, there are whole scenes in which the quality of drawing and animation is almost laughably bad. But as before, the scenes depicting the Nine-Tails on the rampage are animated and drawn in a different, freer style (echoing the manga?) and these visceral sequences are visually impressive.  

Fans of Might Guy and the sharkman Kisame won’t be disappointed with these episodes. And then there’s Kabuto who is turning out to be even creepier than Orochimaru. But am I the only one who finds Killer Bee and his ‘rapping’ embarrassing? Captain Yamato isn’t impressed and neither am I. Catero Colbert nobly does his best with the US dub script but I feel for the writers as well as the VAs here. It must have seemed a ‘cool’ idea at the time to Kishimoto but what should come across as awesome just seems a bit…lame.

And, talking of music, the Opening is still “Newsong” by tacica and the Ending “By My Side” by Hemenway; not until the final episode of this set are we introduced to the new Opening, the gutsy Totsugeki Rock (“Assault Rock”) by THE CRO-MAGNONS and the more soulful Ending “(Cascade)” by UNLIMITS which focuses on Sakura and Hinata.

Extras comprise Storyboards, Production Art and Trailers for other Naruto anime.

In Summary

Some powerful drama makes this a return to form for the long-running ninja series and sets the scene for the epic confrontations to come.