Episode 202 of Naruto was, in my opinion, ill advised. By showing the best battles from the earlier episodes (allegedly - where was Rock Lee vs. Gaara?) spliced with terrifyingly unamusing comedy segments, it only highlighted how far the quality of the show has fallen. But hold on! The next episode was a triple-bill 90 minute special which promised more action than you could shake a stick at - could it be the big blowout that ended the current filler? Well, no unfortunately, it was just another new story arc.
That said, this story arc was a big improvement on many of the recent ones. Largely dumping the embarrassingly self parodying comedy that has gripped the series since it departed from the manga storylines, this new five epsode arc showed flashes of the drama that made the series so gripping originally. The story starts with Naruto meeting a sickly-looking girl when training, the girl is painting a picture of Konoha and as Naruto watches in shock, she adds a lightning strike to the painting seconds before lightning strikes the real Hokage’s mansion. His attempts to question the girl are interrupted by the arrival of the Anbu ninja, who take her away and tell him to keep his nose out. Incensed by this Naruto vows to find out more, but a more pressing matter suddenly raises its head. Kurenai - Jonin teacher of Kiba, Hinata and Shino - quits as their teacher and heads off on a deeply personal mission. Unable to understand this Naruto tries to get her to reconsider, but there is a lot more to this than meets the eye. Years before Kurenai had been Yakumo’s teacher, her mastery over Genjutsu (illusion techniques) supposedly making her the perfect person to hone the young girl’s immense but unstable powers. However, things had gone wrong and instead of helping her master her power, Kurenai instead used sealing techniques to stop her ever using it. Yakumo’s latent abilities are seeping out now though, and she is out for revenge on the one who took her future from her. Kurenai for her part sees what has happened to Yakumo as her biggest failure and doesn’t believe she is worthy of teaching anyone. Yakumo’s reappearence is the spur Kurenai needs to face her past, but in her current mindset she may just be walking to her death.
There is obviously far more to it than it seems though, and before long Naruto is drawn in to an intriguing story that focuses on a character (Kurenai) who is underused in both the Naruto anime and manga incarnations. There are some interesting ideas and some decent action set pieces, but the drama wins the day. The true story is revealed quite slowly, keeping the tension up as you try and piece everything together, and there’s a subtlety to it that hes been missing for quite a while. The best aspect is that it seems to have a point, the story leads to Naruto reaffirming his will to conquer the monster within him and gathering his resolve to recover Sasuke. On the minus side, the focus is too strongly on Naruto, he seems crowbarred in at times when all the story really needed was to focus on Kiba, Hinata and Shino and their relationship with Kurenai. Why does Naruto get involved with all this stuff? Hasn’t he got to train for two and a half years to battle Orochimaru? There is still some cheesiness too, but overall I actually wanted to know what happens next, which is no bad thing.
Niggle aside, these are the best episodes for a long while and the tantalising glimpse of an older Naruto in the end credits renew hope that the filler will end soon. Doesn’t look like it’ll be next episode though…
Related posts
- Naruto Episode 208 After a surprisingly good short story arc, Naruto returns...
- Naruto Episode 201 Yep, it’s happened - Naruto has crossed the 200 episode...
- Naruto 202 Special - Top 5 Battles with Sweat and Tears! This is just a filler episode to announce the...
- Confirmed!! The Naruto Filler Ends Next Spring! Naruto fans rejoice! The latest issue of Shonen Jump...
- Viz finally plans to stream Naruto Shippuden for free In the long lasting fight against fansubs, Viz Media...
