Naruto Shippuden Box Set 1

Film: Naruto Shippuden Box Set 1

Release date: 14th June 2010

Certificate: 12

Running time: 325 mins

Director: Masashi Kishimoto

Starring: Junko Takeuchi , Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue

Genre: Animation

Studio: Manga

Format: DVD

Country: Japan

The continued popular adventures of the young ninja Naruto Uzumaki, and his quest to reach the highest ranks of his village using his fighting skills and powers.

The first 13 episodes of Naruto Shippuden, continuing the original long-running Naruto series. 

Naruto returns to his home, the Village of the Hidden Leaf, having spent two-and-a-half years training with the legendary ninja Jiraiya. He may be older and in possession of new powers and skills, but he’s still cocky and impatient to prove himself. His old classmates have all been promoted to higher ranks of ninja, and the respect he was hoping to have earnt will need to be won through more training and taking on assignments – even those he might think are too lowly for him!

But then an unexpected opportunity comes along for Naruto and his team (containing former classmate Sakura and the formidable Kakashi Sensei) to show what they are capable of. The neighbouring Village of the Hidden Sand is under attack from the criminal Akatsuki clan, who are determined to capture Gaara, the protector of the village. Gaara and Naruto have a hidden secret - they both have a fox spirit sealed inside them, which the Akatsuki wish to possess for their own evil ends. The Akatsuki gang is formed of criminals from various villages, each of whom possesses fearsome mystical powers. 

Can the combined wisdom of the ninjas of the Leaf and Sand villages save Gaara from this threat, and will Naruto manage to evade capture himself, in going to the aid of Gaara?

Like Naruto, the anime varies between taking itself very seriously, and not taking itself seriously at all. The ninjas use various supernatural techniques, or jutsu, to fight their opponents – Naruto favours the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which he can use to replicate any number of Narutos to confuse the enemy. Other ninjas use sand, water, air, or the power of their gaze to defeat their enemies. The path of the ninja is a spiritual one but they are also sometimes made to look ridiculous – one venerable ninja is known as the Pervy Sage; and the favourite joke of a very elderly character is to play at being dead or senile, which her brother says is too convincing. Naruto’s impatience and bigheadedness means his former classmate Sakura is keen to put him in his place with a slapstick fight when necessary. Where the scenes involve battle and conflict, muted colours are used, while the more light-hearted domestic scenes use brighter, primary colours for a more upbeat feeling.

Each episode ends with a short spoof, maybe a weather forecast (beware of the chance of sudden falls of Detonation Clay), an interview with a prominent character (hobbies? fishing; talent? playing dead), or an infomercial from the Leaf Village Tourist Board (welcome to the 44th training ground, known as the Forest of Death). These give the creators a chance to have some fun with the format and take a break from the dramatic tension of the main story.

Even though the anime has a large number of characters, the characterisation is strong, so that the storyline isn’t confusing, and it’s as much about character development as adventure. Although the methods of fighting are nicely varied, the fight scenes can get repetitive, so those which include a stronger psychological element rather than just continual bashing with explosive clay are more gripping. The underlying message that friendship and love is what really matters is likely to appeal to its younger target audience, rather than dwelling on any form of Mystic-Lite philosophy. 

Sure to be a hit with Naruto’s many fans, the series continues its winning formula of strong characterisation, slapstick and spoof humour, cliffhanging finales and dramatic battle scenes.