Naruto Shippuden Episode 319 : The Soul Living Inside the Puppet

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a decent episode focusing on Fukai in the previous episode, this one goes and hauls out yet another character from the past to reanimated and have some fun with. Unlike those that were nonexistent before in the continuity or had such meager roles that even Naruto wiki pages had little mention of them, this episode brings us into contact with some more well known ones, as Granny Chiyo has come into the light. Her role was pretty significant at the start of the Shippuden series and lasted for quite a few episodes as she and others worked against the Akatsuki so her coming back is one that certainly makes sense and feels like it has a bigger connection to events and the cast in general.
Naturally, while there are things going on in the present, the show also intends to focus on the past as a way to reconnect us to the characters and to feel more for them, especially for ones like this where we haven’t seen her in a bit. This goes back to her time with a young Sasori and how he eliminated the things that were playing the role of his parents, which certainly is harmful to a young mind. Seeing Sasori throw himself into his puppets definitely makes a lot of sense and his focus is intense, which just helps to flesh out more of how he became what he was as we saw earlier in this series. This and the time with Chiyo definitely works well for both characters, though Chiyo in particular comes across well since she was a bit younger at the time and not quite so angry as when Naruto met her and had to deal with her.
The show works a lot of this back story in well and it keeps the fighting the present pretty minimal overall, which certainly helps since it’s kind of a short form forced measure. There are flashbacks to different periods here overall, including to when Sasori had passed initially, and that helps to provide some reminder of the past that he had and the kind of closure that existed before. The crux of the episode comes down to the way Chiyo is thinking of things in her reanimated state and how she’ll react to certain revelations along the way, which challenges her previous views on things like the puppets, but it’s not something that truly surprises. The characters are who they are and the writers really don’t want to stain their past contributions by going too far here with them in another direction, so it goes pretty much as you’d expect.
In Summary:
Naruto: Shippuden gives us a pretty serious episode here overall, with some much welcome humor just at the end, and it works well since Chiyo has long been a sympathetic and mildly complicated character because of her situation with her family and what she was doing with Gaara. With this episode, we get a new look at her and Sasori’s past and what the deal is with his parents brought into a new light that works quite well. It’s not filled with action or forced encounters for the most part and that definitely helps to smooth away some of the filler wrinkles that can damage episodes like this. With characters that actually have some meaning, it gives the episode more weight and that helps against the many other fluffy filler we’ve had lately.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 318 : A Hole in the Heart-The Other Jinchuriki

Killer Bee’s past comes back to give him a swift literal kick in the rear.
What They Say:
Kabuto reanimates Fukai to attack Killer Bee and Motoi. Fukai warns Killer Bee to escape before being taken over by Kabuto. To everyone’s surprise, Fukai releases Eight Tails’ chakra and enters Tailed Beast State.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the war rages on and as Kabuto reanimates more and more obscure people or those that never existed before, it’s shifted between a varying number of Hidden Leaf characters and a few others along the way. The latest one to get some screen time going up against the White Zetsu and a new enemy in particular is that of Killer Bee, who has just been joined by Motoi on orders from the Raikage in order to provide some assistance. And Killer Bee is the type that will always gladly hang around with others, whether he needs the assist or not. Motoi is one tha he gets along well with though and doesn’t take it as an insult that his father sent someone since they are in the middle of a war and people getting picked off individually is obviously a reality.
What Killer Bee gets to go up against is the former Juchinriki for the Eight Tails, which surprises both him and Motoi but also the Eight-Tails himself when he sees Fukai reanimated and ready for battle. This brings us a touch of background on what happened when Fukai lost his life and the things that surrounded that incident, much of which even Eight-Tails doesn’t seem to remember. The back story for Fukai is obviously thrown in a lot here and we get some decent bits just in the prologue sequence about how he and the Raikage struggled over the knowledge that Killer bee would be the one to take on the role after he dies and the kind of things that happen to those that do, the kind of outcast nature that they generally end up with.
The show has some good if kind of weird things to do in the present with how Fukai is still connected to Eight-Tails in a way and has some of his chakra, allowing for the two beasts to go at it in a kind of weird dance/battle. That makes for some decent bits as it goes on, but as is usual in these kinds of episodes, the majority of it takes place in the past where we see how Killer Bee and Fukai were years ago when he was much younger. The two obviously have a bond and it’s well played, showing the understanding that Fukai has of Killer Bee in general and what’s coming up in his life when it comes to Eight-Tails. It’s a decent bit of back story and thankfully Killer Bee doesn’t come across as badly here as he can, though there are moments where I’ll admit to wanting to smack him and his rapping.
In Summary:
Obviously there’s a whole lot of people griping about the endless filler, myself included, but we’ve had two weeks of at least decent episodes here. This one wins out more so simply because it doesn’t include any young Naruto material, which always drives me bonkers. Focusing on Killer Bee isn’t a bad thing overall, though I can take him only in small doses, and even that focus is more along the edges as it works with his father and Fukai more, giving us some insights into how that clan worked and what it was working through prior to Killer Bee taking on the Eight-Tails himself. Fukai doesn’t have an expansive personality here, past or present, but the show does some decent fill in the gap material that doesn’t work to overfill areas we’ve already seen endless filler material for.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 312 : The Old Master and the Dragon's Eye

What They Say:
Might Guy arrives on the battlefield to stop a Reanimated Shinobi who he recognizes as Master Chen, the legendary Taijutsu User from the Third Great Ninja War.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the slow, slow advancement of the war overall, one of the things employed is something we’ve seen already in this recent batch of episodes. The use of a flashback after introducing an opponent for the gang to deal with. This time around, as Guy and Lee are making some minor progress, we’re introduced to Master Chen, a shinobi who died before Lee was born, at leas in Guy’s eyes, but as we see through a separate flashback, is someone that Lee and the others have encountered before. This makes the fight personal for both of them in different ways and one that has some potential minor impact as the reanimated Chen comes from a background of someone that participated in the Third Great Ninja War.
This brings the show back and forth as we see the time spent between Chen and the others a few years ago with younger Naruto and younger Lee, which has its charms at times but is mostly just more of the same. There are some build-ups with what’s going on as they deal with Chen as they found him years ago, but it keeps shifting to the present and getting all angsty instead of just moving forward with the flashback plot. With Lee doing his best to earn Chen’s respect and to get him to teach him what he wants to learn, it’s a long and hard battle of wills. But as we’ve seen over the years itself with Lee, it’s something that he’s certainly capable of doing by being as persistent as he can be to get what he wants that will help him achieve a new level of skill.
Naturally, all of what happened in the past comes back to the present as we see Lee and Guy go up against Chen, who has taken some enjoyment in being reanimated and has a significant amount of power to use at that. In a way, it feels like he’s even more powered than a lot of the other characters we’ve seen in awhile with what he brings to the table, and that helps to make for a better than average fight sequence in the second half as they go at it, simply because of the dragon style ability that he employs. There’s some nice emotional moments as it deals with the fallout from things, not unexpected based on the foundations laid here, and it brings a nice bit of closure to things for this particular story, though it won’t be a memorable one by any stretch.
In Summary:
While executed well overall, Naruto: Shippuden again provides the kind of filler material that just leaves me feeling very bland at best about it. I seriously would far prefer the show avoid this kind of material and just give me more of the Rock Lee comedy series in the meantime than this, simply because this teases the idea of being part of the main story but is just empty nothingness overall. Just more of the same and fans are used to it at this point here as we go through the motions, complaining but still largely accepting what’s happening. Such is the case of how the manga is being adapted, how close it is and the general way the manga is so full of action that it can blaze through chapters fast when animated.

Naruto Shippuden episode 311 : Prologue of Road to Ninja

What They Say:
Madara is prepping his new jutsu Limited Tsukuyomi, choosing Naruto as his test subject. Meanwhile, Naruto is spending his day off alone in his room. Thinking that Naruto is lonely, Lee suggests they all go to the bathhouse .
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Sometimes there’s just a certain awkwardness to how long running franchises handle things. Take for example this episode, in which we get a prelude of sorts to a movie that came out in theaters in Japan almost a year ago. Naruto movies have always been loosely connected to the series since they’re just extended self contained side stories, but there have been times in this and other series where they do tie-ins to make sure there’s some binding to it. But usually that happens before the movie itself, not this far after it’s been said and done. Unfortunately for some overseas fans, such as myself, the movie hasn’t been released so I haven’t seen it yet so I can’t get the full binding effect. Especially since I just want more of the main storyline here and not another filler, no matter how well done it is at this point.
Adapting one of the manga chapters from awhile ago, we get that in between time of things going on where we see what Madara is up to and that most others have come off of other recent missions back at Hidden Leaf and things are kind of quiet for the moment. For Naruto, who has grown up a fair bit in the last few years, he’s enjoying some time alone at home but everyone else is getting different aspects of friends and family giving them grief and problems in their lives. There’s some fun to this where we see Naruto create clones of himself for company and the goofiness of how Sakura is still treated like a little girl by her parents, only to be saved by Lee who has come to deliver a message. Small moments like this are rather welcome and feel more polished than the usual non-story character material we get.
Where the show goes for a lot of the episode is rather fun if simple as everyone essentially ends up in the baths where they have fun, talk a bit and generally act a bit silly, which is something that helps Naruto immensely as he’s been feeling lonely in general and particularly because of the downtime with the way it has him in his place alone. This leads to a fair bit of simple fanservice, as the series is not one that really overdoes things compared to others, and there’s amusement to be had there even if it is all by the numbers. The general camaraderie of the group is one of the better aspects of the series in general after all this time and that’s something that’s nicely handled here, especially with the whole rallying around Naruto. And unfortunately, this is the best that Naruto has come across in his own series in quite some time since he’s had mostly lackluster appearances.
In Summary:
With a focus on friends, family and spending time in the baths, Naruto: Shippuden has a quiet filler episode here that works as part of the storyline that brings us to the Road to Ninja movie that came out about a year ago. The episode has some decent animation, a good look at the character designs in general that doesn’t feel cheap and some warm and fuzzy feelings in general. But like it does at the end, it shows that no matter what, we’re all still alone with ourselves. I liked the episode well enough for the lightness and the bonds that it wanted to work with, but it’s the last quiet scene that really was the most striking.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 313 : Rain Followed by Snow,with Some Lightning

What They Say:
A reanimated boy who can control weather appears before Team Ino-Shika-Cho, Sakura, and Kiba, who are all fighting in different locations. To their surprise, the boy seems to know them.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As much as I try to not complain about it week after week, it gets hard to do when there’s some really bad episodes that are designed to stretch things out while everything else is going on. The need for filler is always there when dealing with long running series and ones that need to let the manga get further ahead. But is as often the case with these things, it just proves that the creative side of the teams behind the adaptations aren’t all that creative, or they bring in the second stringers and give them too much room to do things. That gives us things like the whole flashback food challenge. The Power arc we had before is most definitely the exception to the rule, but it’s hard to remember anything else in the fill realm being as enjoyable as that – or well put together.
With this episode, things are getting a little dicey in the present as the array of shinobi we see from the Hidden Leaf are dealing with someone who has control over weather, or at least appears so. It takes a little bit, but we learn that it’s a child that they all realize is Yota, someone from their pasts as a young child themselves. Which, naturally, leads us to that flashback experience that shows us several of them as kids, such as Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. While they’re out in the forest, they run across the same kid, pinned to a trip by kunai, and crying pretty intensely. With Yota being reanimated here in the present, and controlled elsewhere with emotions running high in his own body, we get a mix of back and forth with past and present to see how the gang knew him as kids and how hard it is to see him in this state in the present.
In Summary:
Much like Yota throughout the episode and the Leaf ninjas when they were kids, I just wanted to cry throughout this episode. The continued adding in of stories from an already busy past – when there’s so much more that could be done in the present to flesh out the war – just highlights once again what can only be a lack of caring or competence when it comes to designing stories for the filler arc of the show. Filler is expected for shows of this nature, but as we keep seeing, they’re being made more for the youngest members of the audience – the ones who may not really grasp or appreciate some of what the main storyline is doing. This episode is just mindnumbing on a number of levels, even if there are cute bits with the gang as young kids once again. You just want to bang your head against something.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 314 : Sorrowful Sun Showers

What They Say:
The weather-controlling enemy is revealed to be Yota, a boy who came to the Leaf Village years ago and befriended the local kids, including Naruto.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
What’s worse than the last episode? Making it a two part story. Such is the case with this episode as we follow up more of the events involving Yota, the childling that was able to control weather that was causing a huge amount of problems in the present for a small group of the Allied Shinobi Forces. But like any story that introduces someone new and powerful for the war effort to deal with, it also has to go back and introduce him in the past because these things can’t just stand alone in the present. Everyone has to have a connection to someone else and that means its time to give us more of the young Naruto cast. Which also allows Sasuke to have some small role in it as well, giving his voice actor a chance to remember his character just a little bit.
Not surprisingly, the episode spends time in past and present to go through more of the tale, which is almost like a Huckleberry Finn kind of story with how we see the kids when they were very young playing and doing things with Yota and being generally happy with him. There’s a lesson to be learned in the middle of it as well with how Naruto treats Yota badly and Sakura and Ino get to call him out for the way he treated Yota like the villagers treated him. Which is what makes things in the present so hard as Naruto has to face Yota again, who is raging pretty well while Naruto is all literally fired up on his long, long journey to the real battle itself. He’s sidetracked so often with things like this that you just want to bang your head on each and every tree in the forest.
The episode spends a lot of time, and a montage sequence, showing how Naruto and Yota got along after Naruto sought him out and tried to do what he could to connect with him in a positive way. It’s bright, colorful and completely devoid of anything useful since we’ve seen a dozen times or more different ways that Naruto has grown at this age through interactions with all sorts of people. This is just one more tiny, tiny piece of a far too elaborate puzzle. Things are fun and light for a lot of it, especially when the others get involved, but we also see where things start to go wrong for Yota and the others in the past. And it’s all just prelude for… you got it, another episode of this.
In Summary:
Honestly, while I can deal with a lot of filler stories set in the present, the one thing I really can’t take much of is the Young Naruto stories. I hated them when Naruto was young, which is why the first series didn’t do much for me and it was the Shippuden series that got me more on track with the property. This episode spends so much time with young, innocent and misunderstood Naruto along with uninteresting Yota that it just rolls right over you and it makes zero impact. There’s only so many busy stories of Naruto’s past you can tell before it gets to be so much that it’s impossible to have really happened. And sadly, this series passed that stage ages ago and everything else is just adding insult to injury.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 315 : Lingering Snow

What They Say:
Naruto and the others finally regain their lost memories regarding Yota. Years ago, the Leaf Village kids came to befriend Yota, but the adults believed the young boy was a spy and took him away for questioning.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the way this arc has run its course, you know it’s being drawn out in general and it just wears you down episode after episode. While I had been mildly okay with it in general when the first one hit, even though I hate this process of creating someone new to fill in a filler gap, it’s when it hit a second episode that I rolled my eyes. That it required a third just says how much they wanted to stretch things out for whatever reasons they find required at the moment to do so. Suffice to say, each new piece of this has been one more long slog through an already dull story made even worse. What continues to kill it for me is that it goes back to the very, very young Naruto and friends crowd which is what pushed me away from a lot of the first series when they were just a bit older.
With this episode, the present day material is minimal for the most part as Naruto and the others realize what’s going on with Yota and that he’s actually a reanimated version rather than the person they thought they knew from the past. The bulk of the episode is spent on the past with the kids doing what they can to help little Yota and his mission, but it’s just a series of comical embarrassments along the way with how they all perform given their ages. One of its major themes is the bond that they all share with Yota, which results in Yota knowing that what’s best at the end is to remove him from their memories, which was still there deep below the surface. But those bonds that were created because of Yota also reverted to how it was before for Naruto, leaving him alone again after having a brief flicker of being accepted. And that would have changed who he was immensely going forward, hence his frustration with Yota in the here and now as they deal with each other.
In Summary:
I’ll be honest, I can’t care one whit about Yota, his story or the reworked past that they try to introduce here for Naruto and the others. It’s all shoehorned in since they can’t do anything that would upset the manga continuity that they’re adapting, so it’s like the movies in a lot of ways where it has to standalone and tell its own self contained story. Those can be done well – see the Power arc that I’ll unfortunately be referencing for awhile – but the series more often than not goes for the kinds of things we get here in this arc. An overly long, dull and uninteresting work with characters that we’re likely to never see again or even referenced in a casual way. Not everything has to be connected, but when you do things like this, it has to mean something. And Yota just felt insulting from the get go.