Naruto Shippuden – Box Set 38 Review
Naruto Shippuden’s final set contains Episodes 487 – 500, which is a pleasing final number. It begins with the final two episodes of the adaptation of the “Sasuke’s Story: Sunrise” book which had begun at the end of the previous set. Sasuke has uncovered the truth behind the strange case of exploding humans that has been going around, and that source is a girl named Chino, who is the last of her clan, a clan with a unique ability that once again causes their eyes to change appearance! Why not one more for the road, eh? Sasuke and Chino fight, but given there are only two episodes left of this story arc and the fact that Sasuke appears in Boruto unchanged, you won’t be surprised to hear that our prototypical anti-hero is the one who ends up on top.
Episodes 489 – 493 adapt another light novel, this time “Shikamaru’s Story — A Cloud Drifting in the Silent Dark”. As you could probably guess, it focuses on Shikamaru and it’s set before Naruto becomes Hokage, while Kakashi still holds that position. Shikamaru and two ANBU (stealth assassin-types) called Ro and Soku are sent into the mysterious “Land of Silence” to try and find out why several ninjas have gone missing, including old ally Sai. Much like the previous story it has a stronger focus on characters, both new and old, and the lead villain has a bit more meat on him than you’d normally get in generic filler. These light novels really helped keep the series going that little extra mile…
The final seven episodes are once again a light novel adaptation, but in this case its “Konoha’s Story – A Perfect Day For a Wedding”, a more humorous tale based on the idea of Hokage Kakashi giving a bunch of Naruto’s friends official missions to get Naruto and Hinata great wedding gifts and attend the event (basically as a way to make sure they attend and aren’t sent on another mission at the time). It’s a series of funny short stories basically celebrating the cast of characters that gathered around our main protagonist before they all become the adult side-characters in the next series. Episode 500 focuses on Naruto’s old school teacher-turned-father figure Iruka, who will be taking the role of Naruto’s father in the ceremony, and generally ends in a rather touching scene of the wedding.
“Empty Heart” by Anly is your opening for the whole set, while “Departure Song” by Ayumikurikamaki closes out the episodes focusing on Sasuke, with “Absolutely” by Swimy taking over as the ending for Episodes 489 to 500. The extras, for one final time, are just clean opening, endings and trailers…
So that’s that then! The final Naruto Shippuden release, and thankfully, by adapting some light novels, the final stretch of episodes is actually quite good. They don’t achieve much, beyond the final one acting as a good bookend but they keep you entertained enough. Now let’s hope Boruto picks up and delivers us an actual final end that’s worth another few years of ninja action!
