Naruto Unleashed: Complete Series 4 (6 Disc)

'Naruto' seems to have captured the hearts and wallets of a huge army of devoted fans here in the UK. As a long running anime series (based on a long running manga) with episodes running into treble figures and beyond, huge thrusting crowds of fans, dressed in the distinctive orange bandanas, can often be seen crowding into HMV on Oxford Street with their colourful protest banners, and their now familiar chant of 'Naruto! Naruto! Better than Subbuteo', demanding full series sets rather than the half-series sets which they protest should remain the exclusive means of dollopping out CSI material, but not their precious anime. (Pause for breath...)

And it seems that their protests have been answered. As long as you don't mind lagging behind the leaders of the pack, you can now forgo the agony of half series sets and buy a whole series in one gulp. That's a great advantage I know, though as a consequence of this preference I appear to be lagging behind resident anime expert Jitendar Canth by almost two series. Oh well.

Before you progress with this review, if you take your anime seriously and want a highly informed and more detailed overview of the two half-series sets that make up this set, then I would recommend that you do a site search on 'Naruto' and check out Jitendar's reviews of the half-series sets as, other than the packaging there is precious little difference.

For those looking for an alternative view, read on!



Having waited for the full series 4 set you may well have forgotten how Series 3 ended. Let me remind you. We were mid-battle with Naruto slugging it out with Gaara. Season 4 unceremoniously starts exactly where the last box finished, right in the middle of the battle. There's no fanfare, no 'last time on Nartuto' update, just straight in as if the previous disc had been left on pause for a couple of months.

It's episode 79 and it's full on ninja action as the crew come up with a cunning plan to thrash the nightmarishly freaky Shukaku. Gamabunta carries on battling the demon whilst Naruto beats Gaara out of his sleepy trance which will in turn break the spell that is allowing Shukaku to appear in his most powerful persona. Which means Naruto once again manifests as the nine-tailed fox - which will sound completely hat-stand to anyone who is not already dosed up on Naruto.

And so it goes on, with a delightful balance of furious fight action, humour and emotive drama - and more than a little philosophical moralising for good measure.



It's a difficult task to summarise 26 episodes without getting into slightly breathless overkill, spilling out sentences laced with 'and then....and then'. (Wasn't there a famous quote by someone who apologised for writing a long letter saying that they hadn't had time to write a short one?). But I'll try. Once again - if a proper synopsis is required I refer you to Jitendar's reviews.

Once the initial fighting subsides, the Leaf Village tries to pick itself up. Jiraiya seems reluctant to lead and it's decided that Tsunade (also one of the legendary Sannin) should be found as an alternative. The search for her is an opportunity for more training and philosophising and, though the first couple of discs are a little slow, allows for some great character building as well as adding texture and detail to the not inconsiderable tapestry of the Naruto universe. Having seen only one series volume before this one, it surprised me just how rich this world was becoming. This is no throwaway single episode arc Jetix cartoon fodder, but something far more complex.




Once found, Tsunade is torn over whether to become the next Hokage. She is effectively held ransom over the memory of her dead relatives who Orochimaru promises to resurrect with his forbidden 'Juutsu'. Meeting him alone she agrees to heal Orochimaru's hands, which means he can use juutsu again. But Tsunade's chakra actually only appears to heal, causing a violent fight between her, Kabuto and Orochimaru. The truth is that Tsunade wants to kill Orochimaru, not believing his promise to leave the Hidden Leaf Village alone. In the meantime, he hopes to force Tsunade to heal him.

Naruto and compatriots are not far behind and the series culminates in a protracted ninja melt-down, followed by a three episode side-track featuring a race between a local ninja and another nation, similar to an earlier episode (in Series 3?).



Picture
I'm sure that this can be no better than previous sets, though the impression I had was that it was. Really strikingly solid colours and brilliant line clarity with no signs of digitising make this a very satisfying series to watch - even if it in 4:3.

Audio
I generally opt for the US dub unless it's a stinker and this is anything but. A nice, full Dolby 2.0 soundtrack with what appears to be highly appropriate and carefully casted.

Extra Features
A whole lotta trailers in the main.



Overall
I can't quite decide whether I have the 'Naruto' bug or not. I think on balance probably not. Whilst the Naruto universe gets richer with every successive episode, it often returns to the irritatingly juvenile - which may of course be one of the main reasons for its popularity. However, it's an easy and enjoyable watch, even if it won't shake up your world. Volume 4 seems to offer up a bit more depth than previous seasons so it's probably worth persisting if you've come this far.