Naruto Review Part 2 : Naruto Shippuden

Opening Thoughts

Coming into Shippuden, this is what I was waiting for. Big Flashy fights with insane speed and good animation (comparetively ofc to it's time). And I'm not gonna act like I didn't get exactly that but rewatching it now, I really missed Naruto Part 1 and I will get into it more later.

I got caught up to Naruto around 2015 Ramadan and that's when I switched from Anime to Manga for the first time cause I couldn't stop binging so Naruto is both my first Anime and first Manga.

I will also probably do a list of anime openings some other time but if one thing Naruto Shippuden did right was the openings cause holly shit there were banger after banger each time, my favorite is for sure Hero's Comeback; it's such a vibe.

The Plot

Akatsuki Intro

We start after the 2 year timeskip training with Jiraya (another goated character) and ofc with the callback to the bell test off the rip ... it was all so good.

And it kept getting better as we are introduced to the all time hall of famers , the Akatsuki, probably the most iconic villain group in animanga history ? I don't think the Spada of Aizen or whatever the letters of Yhawach or the Emperors really match up to their aura or and presence really.

With our first encounter is to Sasori and Deidara (Art is Explosition indeed or is that too meta for an arab), and they capture Gaara to extract his tail beast and this was a really fun plotline that put an appropriate amount of danger to the tail beast we knew especially Naruto who could be next.

And here it is, Naruto meets Sasuke after the 2 year and... it was really bad like idk, like Sasuke's arc starting from here is something that I will always dislike no matter how many times I reread/rewatched it. I know many defend him and ironically same people would shit on Sakura but I will never vibe with Sasuke really.

Hidan

Okay if I had to pick my top 3 moments in all of Shippuden it would be Pain, Hidan and Jiraya death. Hidan was so phenomenal man and ofc being a Shikamaru fanboy made me love this arc so much.

Rip to shikamaru sensei first off, then it was the first time in the story where I felt Team 7 wheren't the center of everything and Shikamaru had a really good moment defeating Hidan in a really good fight.

Overall all Shikamaru fights are good fights to be honest, I just wish more authors did fights like that not flashy but technical; I think only Togashi still does those these days.

Taka and Deidara

I didn't care, I thought Deidara's fight is dope but I knew he was gonna get clapped; as for Taka I never cared for them. I think the only time one of Taka got any emotion out of me is when I read first few chapters of Boruto then it got hinted at that Karin is maybe Sarada's mom and I bursted out laughing and that's really it then dropped Boruto after that.

Jiraya Death

10/10 from setup to execution, it was simply perfect. not much else to say other than I think this did setup Pain and Conan as prime villains also mvp for jiraya for sending details to hidden leaf before he dies.

Itachi vs Sasuke

Not a fan and it is what it is. Itachi's arc felt pointless and Sasuke is just Sasuke, he is the worst. And the fight itself wasn't anywhere near as good as previous Naruto fights. And the result of this fight that Sasuke learned Itachi was trying to protect him and hidden leaf village is wait for it ... yeah destroy the leaf village.

Whatever man

Pain

The last good thing Naruto did really and I will stand on it that talk no jutsu was a good moment and the conclusion was good and this here should've been the end of the story tbh.

The story was about Naruto being an outcast and rejected by society but after the Pain arc he achieved that, He was already the hero of Konoha. All needed to do was Naruto to beat down Sasuke's ass and call it a day for the story.

4Th Great Ninja War

Alright this is a big ass arc, the first of many horrible big war arcs to come in animanga but I will go over what I disliked the most and the singular good thing about it at the end :

• Sasuke being more of a Diva and attacking Hinata then Hinata turning and saying I love you to Naruto

• The Reanimation Edo Tensei shit and White Jetsu (why the fuck did mha copy the worst aspect of Naruto with the Nomus , I will never understand)

• Madara, he was a cool and because of that I would've forgave the terrible writing to bring him back ; but little did I know he got hoe'd for an ancient lady we heard about once.

• Guy and Lee, and all the "hard work pay off" message from Part 1 is thrown out. You gotta be born gifted.

• Neji, the story's biggest fumble did end up dying for the main family like it doesn't get funnier than that. You gotta be born in a better family.

• Tobi/Obito's talk no jutsu on the other hand was not as good as pain, it was just corny.

• Kagyua

That aside, 4th Great Ninja war was bad but the conclusion funny enough is good.

Naruto vs Sasuke is the best thing about this long ass arc.

Rating

All and all a massive, massive let down compared to Part 1. Dropped so many key plot points that made Part 1 inspiring and special instead it became standard firework with no substance and I will die on the hill that the story should have ended after the Pain arc. We should have just had Naruto vs Sasuke after that and be done with it.

Rating: 11/20