|
|
Post by Marv on Jan 20, 2020 1:00:38 GMT
Restarted this one and just finished season 1...figured id kind of keep track of my thoughts here as i watch it. Dunno if anyone cares to talk about it but eregerdlers.....figured id break it down by story arcs...
Kazekage Rescue Mission...while it was cool to see pretty much every character from the Naruto series within this arc...i had a hard time remaining interested at times. Loved Sasori and Deidara...especially the Sasori vs Sakura and Chiyo fight...but not much else really stuck out here. Felt like it was trying to reintroduce all the characters and remind everyone who they were. But this definitely expands on the Akatsuki and what their gameplan is.
Tenchi Bridge Recon...Honestly much more engaging. Took it back down to a small group...Naruto, Sakura and two noobs, Yamato and Sai. Both new characters are really interesting and i enjoyed their development as the arc went on. The rebuilding team Kakashi and treading into familiar ground with new faces was very fun and of course seeing Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sasuke again...fantastic. Naruto in demon fox form is sick. The first arc focusing on Akatsuki and this arc focusing on Orochimaru sets the world in its place nicely. Both factions hate each other and both are bad news for the Hidden Leaf Village.
That pretty much concludes season 1.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Jan 30, 2020 22:57:00 GMT
Akatsuki Suppression Mission - I loved it. Prob one of my favorite arcs in Naruto so far with some great character moments. First...we meet Hidan and Kakazu, members of the Akatsuki criminal organization. They are fantastic. I was worried they wouldn't live up to the others we've met so far like Sasori and Deidara, but I think Hidan is one of my favorite bad guys in the Naruto universe so far. He was so fun to watch be a psychopath...and him being devoutly religious to a god that demands slaughter was just great. His pairing with Kakuzu, a much stronger, more serious, in it for the money kind of unbeliever was fantastic. Their banter i found hilarious and I couldn't get enough of them. It's also an arc that features more of Shikamaru as the main protagonist rather than Naruto so thats a nice chance of pace. The action sequences felt very fleshed out too. It broke the classic naruto pattern of power move, long hesitation, power move, long hesitation. Hidan, Asuma and others fighting with weapons and actually throwing hands was a lot of fun to watch. I did think Choji and Ino felt kinda useless tho...wish they had done more than say characters names during moments of silence. All in all this arc was pretty simply, Konoha ninjas finding Akatsuki members nearby and confronting them and it was lots of fun to watch.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Feb 12, 2020 20:47:18 GMT
Itachi Pursuit Mission - Solid. Focus on Sasuke for the first time since the old series...and it was nice. His power levels have skyrocketed and I enjoyed his little team he put together. Sasuke vs Deidara was pretty cool. Tobi is great. Tale of Jaraiya the Gallant - RIP Jaraiya...Asumas death was pretty sad but gall dang...Pervy Sage going down? The background for both Jaraiya and Pain was very interesting, and really worked to flesh out both characters more than they had been before. It also helps reinforce the notion that this world is constantly in a revolving door of war and peace. The wars have consequences that may not ultimately be felt for decades. Fated Battle Between Brothers - Finally...and what a wallop it held. So tragic. So sad. So great tho. Itachi is one of the best characters this show created.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Apr 9, 2020 6:51:16 GMT
Pains Assault...Killer B was awesome. I thought he'd be annoying but he was surprisingly great. Pains assault felt like it came on fast. I know the entire series thus far has kind of been building to it but it seemed like we just met Pain. Oh well...big invasion with a bunch of Pains. Some cool moments...couldn't believe they actually kill Kakashi. Thought wtf!!! (of course it was all undone and Kakashi lived in the end but still they did kill him.) Naruto in sage mode was pretty sick and it's cool to see the village embrace and respect this version of Naruto...altho that does kind of make it seem the end is in sight. For him to finally be acknowledged as one of the strongest ninja in his village...the road ahead seems much shorter and that kinda makes me a little sad.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Apr 17, 2020 21:41:02 GMT
Five Kage Summit...So...this arc introduces us to the other leaders of the great ninja villages. They're all pretty interesting in their own ways. The Raikage named A came across as an angry jagoff until the fighting started...and then all that aholery was directed into combat and I loved it. The guy chopped his own arm off after it caught on fire so it wouldn't become a hinderance for the rest of the fight with Sasuke. The man is a beast. Danzo is a pretty main character here. We meet him, get backstory, and see his end all in one fell swoop but I feel like they did a good job fleshing him out. He isn't morally good...but he has good intentions and is willing to do morally bad things in order to protect his village. I can respect that even if I didn't like him. The big climax with Sasuke vs Danzo was pretty sweet and rolls right into the next arc which is Countdown to the Fourth Shinobi World War...
|
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Apr 20, 2020 0:21:54 GMT
Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown...Mostly setup for this huge war about to happen. The start with Sasuke and Naruto was great. I love how calm and collected Naruto seemed. It was very much a reversal of pretty much all their interaction before now. Naruto training with Killer B was good. I liked his confrontation with his 'inner self' and I absolutely loved his scenes with his mother and the backstory on her, Minato and the events leading to Narutos birth. The Kisame stuff at the end was ok.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Dec 28, 2020 21:05:25 GMT
Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation...so this world war is huge. At first i was like 'oh cool, everyone gets their own fights against people who mean something to them emotionally' but then i realized that was true for everyone...from main support Shikamaru all the way down to new minor support Darui. It had its moments but overall this whole war feels a tad too long and too hard to grasp the ebb and flow of it. Its kind of an example of how constant action doesn't equal exciting. We need to breath once in a while for some moments to have any impact.
Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax...So the Madara moments early in this are amazing. Him literally mowing thru an entire army of ninjas is so much fun to watch and really give perspective to how powerful he was. Up til now he's always been something of a legend. Watching the legend come to life is satisfying. Some good individual character moments here. I feel like once the fighting gets more condensed to just Obito and Madara it all gets easier to track and doesn't feel as bogged down. Loved the history with Obito and the history between Madara and Hashirama. Filling in a lot of gaps around Kakashis character history and the originas of Konoha. Still not sure how i feel about Sasukes 'face' turn. He essentially already had all this information back right after he killed Itachi and he wanted to destroy Konoha then, but all the sudden he just changes his mind. Its one less thing to worry about resolving i guess, but it didn't feel as deserved.
Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki...Not really sure why this is considered a separate arc...as everything from the beginning of the fourth shinobi world war until now has been nonstop fighting. It all feels like the same story continuing onward without any separation. But this part of it...just felt like more escalation. Seems like everyone just keeps unlocking new and improved strength levels out of nowhere. Night Guy was awesome tho i will say. It's fun seeing all these op characters fighting side by side too. There just never seems to be any end to the next trump card Madara has at this point.
|
|
|
|
Post by Marv on Feb 27, 2021 17:22:53 GMT
Kaguya Otsutsuki Strikes...First things first...i really don't need new characters origin stories this late in the game. Kaguya and her sons...it was a cool little side quest...but breaking away from the huge battle to tell it just annoyed me. So i had a really hard time getting invested in this arc from the beginning. The conclusion of Obitos arc was decent...his and Rins reunion in the afterlife was nice. Sasuke switching sides yet again was infuriating and at this point i just wanted him dead. This guy can't make up his mind what he wants to do and the whole world has to deal with his wishy washy attitude. Screw Sasuke! At this point i felt like i was going through the motions because i wanted to finish it...because the story didn't seem to have any interesting places left to go. The time jump forward was fine. It acted as kind of a nice little coda with some fan service episodes focusing on particular characters we've come to know and like/love. Naruto and Hinatas wedding...i kind of wish there was more focus on this the past several arcs...ever since Pains arc, where she admits her love for him to him....but we never really got that so the jump to, yup theyre getting married now didn't feel particularly earned. I know theres a movie that I was suppose to watch that fleshes that out a bit more but to be honest at this point i just kind of wanted to move on. I did enjoy the various hints or revelations of the other romantic parties like Shikamaru and Temari, Sai and Ino, Choji and the wedding cake, and maybe it was just me but was Tenten giving Gaara those 'do me' eyes or what? Anywho...i may check out Boruto in the future but for now im glad I got to enjoy Naruto Shippuden for all its good and bad.
|
|
