Director: Hayato Date
Starring: Kate Higgins, Chie Nakamura, Maile Flanagan, Junko Takeuchi, Yuri Lowenthal, Noriaki Sugiyama, Ben Diskin, Akira Ishida, Brian Donovan, Hideo Ishikawa, David Lodge, Houchu Ohtsuka
Running Time: 325 minutes
Certificate: 12
Dropping us into the thick of it, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN returns in the middle of a number of battles and story arcs. It’s one of those more complicated seasons where a lot is going on, but the majority of it is being resolved with fighting. Not just any fighting though, fighting with continuously surprising powers and rivals who are more than willing to explain their new latest skills, motives, hobbies, what they had for dinner, and everything in between.
There are tons of Boruto games to be seen online, so make sure you take a look.
That may be a rather cynical view of the series as fans will certainly enjoy this collection of rumbles after a number of filler arcs that included many episodic adventures. One awesome fight involves Kisame trapping the rhyming ninja Bee inside a water bubble. This allows for some terrific visuals and a lot of imaginative movement. Meanwhile another battle sees Ao trapped inside a doll after a devilishly clever jitsu performed by Fu. These are just two of the stand out moments from early on in this rather solid collection.
Naruto’s personal story involves him having to track and kill Sasuke, but a number of his friends wish to relieve him of the burden by doing the deed themselves. This results in a lot of talky sections, which the vocal casts handle well, capturing the confused emotions of all involved. Best of all is Naruto learning to understand his nemesis’ turn and how he might be feeling. The focus on empathy adds levels of maturity which in turn raises the drama and involvement in the action.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN does well to vary itself. Even when having a more action orientated arc, it adds in character moments and powerful flashbacks that flesh out the characters and the world they inhabit. With plenty of interesting skills on show, fights to be enjoyed and heroes to root for, this is a reliable continuation of the series.
[usr=3]NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Box Set 17 is released on DVD on 7th April via Manga Entertainment.
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