Naruto Shippuden Episode 317 : Shino vs Torune

With the side stories continuing on, Naruto: Shippuden again keeps Naruto at arms length and instead focuses on other characters. Interestingly, this one delves into Shino, a character that in some ways feels like he gets the short end of the stick more often than not. Shino’s been there since the start, but because of the way he carries himself and the appearance side of it with the sunglasses and often other parts of his outfit obscuring him, he’s been the type that’s been harder to connect with. There’s a natural distance that comes from those that hide themselves in this way, though they can exude a certain cool feeling that allows you to engage with them in other ways. Such is the case here as Shino ends up coming across Torune, one of those orchestrating events under Kabuto’s control.
Unlike some of the past filler stories where we’ve dealt with characters who haven’t had too much of a presence, Torune was previously seen in the show with his first appearance coming way back in episode 198. With his adopted relationship with Shino, the two certainly have a history with each other and we get a greater exploration of that here with the flashback side of things. Torune’s had some decent arcs in the manga and anime previously and while he’s not been instrumental in some ways, he’s definitely someone that has left an impression on Shino and how he operates. The two of them also have their ties to Danzo, which has caused enough problems along the way as well with how that particular elder operates.
That becomes part of the focus here as it goes back to a time with the Aburume clan and how Danzo approached them for particular missions with the ANBU. Danzo’s intention to draw in Shino is something that his father certainly disliked, and made obvious even as Danzo made it an order, but it’s Torune that actively steps into things which makes its own impression on Danzo. With the mix of the past, where we see more of the two young men and their relationship, and the fight in the present between them, the episode does a really good job of making a pretty engaging story. Part of this comes from how Torune was created to be unlike others in the series, more of a superhero in a sense because of his costume design, and that works well to let him stand out with a different kind of power, something that is made apparent with how he moves and how he and Shino fight.
In Summary:
While Naruto puts in a token appearance here as he continues on with his journey, the show is pretty much all about Shino and Torune. And while there have been other episodes that have done similar kinds of things in these overly long runs of filler episodes amid the war, this one actually does a good job of making the characters compelling, fleshing out more of their pasts and dealing with characters that have been introduced before rather than come up with original ways, which is always frustrating because you know their impact will be weak to non-existent. The time here between the two, whether past or present, is well handled and makes for some good storytelling, both in the character drama and the action. Definitely one of the better kinds of anime original stories that I wish we had more of.