Naruto Unleashed: Series 7 Part 2

Introduction

So there I am, putting the latest instalment of Naruto through its paces. As I begin to watch my 170th episode of Naruto, I ask myself, 'what am I doing with my life?" Actually, my family ask me, "What the hell are you doing with your life?" No, what really happens is I exclaim, "Geez, the standards in animation have really dropped in this series!" Someone is sorely in need of an intervention. Until the first UK branch of Naruto-holics Anonymous opens, I'll just have to soldier on through the filler. There are only four more volumes to go after this one, just fifty-one more episodes. Three more discs are incoming, courtesy of Manga Entertainment. What happened to the good old days, when companies started long running anime series, but then gave up after just a couple of volumes, leaving fans weeping at their loss?

12 years previously, the Hidden Leaf village was plagued by the Nine-Tailed fox demon. The Fourth Hokage ninja sacrificed his life to defeat the menace, and sealed up the spirit in the body of a newborn child. That orphan grew up as Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous prankster with great ambition. Not only does he want to be a ninja, but he also wants to be the strongest ninja of them all and be granted the title Hokage. He has more than a little competition, the Hidden Leaf village is a community of ninja, and Naruto had great difficulty just passing his entrance exams to qualify as a lowly Genin. Even when he did manage to get his certification, he was assigned to undergo training by the demanding Kakashi, partnered with his rival Sasuke and Sakura, the girl on whom he has a crush. What makes things difficult is that few see him as Naruto, instead of the dreadful fox demon that was sealed inside him.


We're in the filler zone, which means that the story is on hold until the manga catches up to the anime, and the episodes here don't advance the overall story or develop the characters. Sasuke has joined Orochimaru, and Naruto needs to complete his training before he can try to redeem him once more. None of that will happen until the filler is past. Each filler story will get a quick description and the listing of episodes.

Last time on Naruto, the eponymous hero, along with Shino and Ino, accompanied Jonin Anko to the Land of Sea, to do battle with the Demon of the Sea that was plaguing fishing in the area, and driving a wedge between neighbouring countries. It was also a journey down memory lane for Anko, who once was a student of Orochimaru, and who now has a gap in her memory from her time with him. She was found in the Land of Sea, and returning here has awakened some long buried memories for her. Those memories will prove invaluable in solving the problem. Ten years previously, Orochimaru sponsored some horrific experiments here, creating monsters from humans in the search for ultimate power. Although Orochimaru left, the experiments didn't end, and now one of those experiments is responsible for the loss to shipping that is occurring here. At the same time, the girl who rescued Naruto from drowning at the end of the previous volume, Isaribi, hides behind bandages, is treated as an outcast after she was 'spirited away', and the local children point at her and call her a monster.

170. The Closed Door
171. Infiltration - The Setup!
172. Despair - A Fractured Heart
173. Battle at Sea - The Power Unleashed!



Kunihisa is a spoilt brat heir of a jewellery tycoon. And his big wish is to be a ninja for a day. Naruto's next mission is to baby-sit the snot nosed kid, and teach him the meaning of hard work and faith in friends along the way.

174. Celebrity Ninja Art - Money Style Jutsu!


The creditors are catching up with Tsunade, now that she's tied down in one place as the fifth Hokage. Fortunately, a new mission arrives just in time. There's millions and million in treasure, hidden away in a dangerous mountain region. A treasure hunter needs protection along the way, and Naruto, along with Hinata and Kiba get to play Indiana Jones. The problem is that their client has plans of his own for the Hidden Leaf Village, and step one is to do away with Naruto and his friends.

175. The Treasure Hunt is On!
176. Run, Dodge, Zigzag! Chase or be Chased!


Naruto finally catches up to Jiraiya, only to find he's busy researching his next book, instead of trailing Akatsuki. Naruto's having none of that, so he quickly dashes off his own version of a manuscript, signs Jiraiya's name to it, and gives it to a ninja postman to deliver. Except there's a mix-up, and it gets swapped with a peace treaty. Now Jiraiya and Naruto must retrieve the manuscript, lest it starts a war. The problem is that ninja postmen deliver their letters, no matter what.

177. Please, Mr Postman



The Village Hidden In Stars is a unique ninja community. Hundreds of years ago, a shooting star fell in their midst, a star that has a strange effect on chakra. Now, ninja of the Star village train using the meteorite to enhance their abilities. The trouble is that someone is trying to steal the rock. Neji's mission, along with Lee and Tenten is to protect the star. Thinking up a tenuous link to Sasuke and Orochimaru, Naruto invites himself along. But the situation they find is far more complicated. The previous leader, the Hoshikage, died some years previously, and he had banned the use of the star to train with. After he died, the new leader, Akahoshi began the training again, and seeing the deleterious effects it has on its students, it's plain why it was prohibited for so long. Naruto meets a proud young orphan, Sumaru, who dreams of one day being Hoshikage. Yet it isn't long before the star is stolen. The trouble is, the ninja techniques used by the thief mean that only a member of the Village Hidden in Stars could have stolen it. Then the next day, Sumaru is kidnapped.

178. Encounter! The Boy With A Star's Name
179. The Remembered Lullaby
180. Hidden Jutsu! The Price of the Ninja Art: Kujaku
181. Hoshikage - The Buried Truth
182. Reunion - The Remaining Time

Picture

Naruto gets a 4:3 regular transfer that is clear and sharp throughout. There are some minor compression artefacts that are only really noticeable during freeze frame. As you would expect from such a long running animation, it's best not to tire the animators out. Naruto is certainly less sophisticated than most anime released today, the character designs are simpler, and backgrounds not excessively defined. Yet in terms of quality, the animation is very effective, and certainly goes a step beyond older long running shows like Dragonball Z or Sailor Moon. However, with the advent of the filler, the quality of animation slips, and you can see it in some hideous character designs, and some lacklustre action sequences. There are times in this set where it looks like a completely different animation.

Sound

The DD 2.0 English and Japanese stereo is more than adequate in recreating the original experience, and given a little Prologic magic does offer a pleasant ambience and some discrete action. More new themes and as always they are memorable and suit the story well, while the incidental music is a little more generic, but definitely gives Naruto its own musical identity. I sampled the English dub and found it acceptable if unspectacular. It certainly isn't the worst I have heard, but some of the actors don't seem particularly suited to the characters.

Extras

Wheeling out the same menus again, the only extras you'll find are the trailers on disc 1, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Bleach the Movie, and Naruto the Movie. And once again, Manga haven't bothered to adequately chapter the episodes, with just a single stop in the middle of each. At least let us skip the credit sequences.

Conclusion

I came to the somewhat dispiriting conclusion the other day, that I have no intention of ever watching these filler episodes again. Once is enough, which isn't a great advertisement for the long-term value of purchasing these discs. It's just that it's hard to emotionally invest in stories that have absolutely no bearing on the overall plot, and whose quality seems to be in steep decline, if this collection of episodes is anything to go by. Still, I managed to get through all thirteen without any adverse side effects. What Naruto has boiled down to by this point, are two types of story, the stupid, comedy episodes, and the mini-story arcs. Both kinds are evident here.


The mini-story arcs, invariably involve Naruto and a group of ninja assigned to a mission in a neighbouring land. There's bound to be a tenuous link to Orochimaru and Sasuke, Naruto will meet a young person who he can relate to in some fashion, and a bunch of action sequences, increasingly animated with less and less conviction, will occur, until Naruto saves the day, waves goodbye, and vanishes down the road like the Littlest Hobo. The first arc story in this set continues on from the first episode that we saw at the end of the previous volume. Isaribi is the young person that Naruto can relate to. She's been experimented on by one of Orochimaru's henchmen, turned into a kind of chimera half fish half girl, intended to be the first in a wave of soldiers. Naruto can relate. He has a fox demon residing inside him. So despite all better advice, he decides to help Isaribi, and battle the henchmen. This is probably the most interesting of the stories on this set, if only for the back story that is supplied for Anko, and how she came to leave Orochimaru's services.


The final five episodes on this set comprise the start of the second mini-story arc. Sumaru is an orphan boy, who's training hard to become leader of his particular ninja tribe. Naruto can relate to that, because he wants to be Hokage too. Of course there is a lot of internal politicking and back-stabbing going on in the Village Hidden in Stars, and Naruto et al will have to solve the village's problem, and set things to rights before they leave. Friends become foes and vice versa, heartstrings are wrenched at, and it all proceeds in a rather predictable manner.


These are works of genius compared to the comedy episodes. We get four in a row on this set, including a two-part adventure. My notes for Celebrity Ninja Art - Money Style Jutsu are summed up in a short but descriptive profanity. Naruto babysits a snot nosed brat who thinks money can buy him love. My stomach is still churning. The episode with the ninja postmen just made me want to cry, while as for the two-parter… I've cut the filler a lot of slack in the previous sets. But reality has caught up with me, and I have to face up to the fact that all it is, is tedious, repetitive and low grade hokum, that is supposed to distract us from the fact that the story is stuck and going nowhere. It's obvious that the creators don't care what nonsense they release under the Naruto moniker, when in the ninja postmen episode, they can't even make sure that Naruto's eyeballs point in the same direction. It's a difficult episode to watch if you keep wanting to refer the protagonist to an ophthalmologist. There's nothing to be gained by watching these episodes. There's certainly little to be gained by buying this set. It's one for devoted Naruto-philes only.