Forum - View topicREVIEW: Naruto DVD Box Set 9
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Wyvern
 Posts: 1599 |
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This review does a good job of distilling the Naruto formula, and particularly the problem I had with this arc: It had a great beginning, and the climax is terrific, but inbetween is a lot of typical shonen action that spaces things out. It's good typical shonen action, mind you, but still. It gets a little ridiculous when Sasuke literally spends three months worth of episodes sitting in a barrel.
One thing Naruto does very well, though is the climaxes to its fights, and while some might complain about the near-constant flashbacks, at least you end up seeing where all that money went in the end. The final battle of this arc has about an episode and a half worth of amazing theatrical quality animation (in some spots it looks better than the Naruto movies.) But that's not until the next volume. And after that, 100 episodes of terrible filler. Whoopee. |
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sk1199
Posts: 162 |
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Which episodes are covered in this edition?
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braves
 Posts: 2309 Location: Puerto Rico (but living in Texas) |
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I agree with pretty much everything the review says, though I would give it a higher rating, but that's just my biased self.
The great thing about these sets is that the dragging feeling of the flashbacks is somewhat lessened because you can watch a bunch of episodes at once, instead of waiting for another week to catch the next 2 episodes.
Episodes 107-120 |
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doctordoom85
 Posts: 2094 |
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TBH, this arc is my favorite, and I didn't really mind the "middle" fights as they developed Choji and Kiba (two characters who had been ignored for quite a while) and did a good job of developing further Shikamaru and Neji. And the spoiler[Sand Siblings] cameo was nice. I admit, the Sound Four were pretty forgettable (the only ones I cared for was Tayuya, the girl with the flute, and whoever it was that could split himself into two demons) compared to the Akatsuki members that would appear later on, but Kimimaro had a nice backstory to him. The only fight that didn't really develop the character much was spoiler[Rock Lee's], but that fight was so cool, it didn't really matter. And the episode 133 fight is only rivaled by Gaara vs. Rock Lee and the fight in Shippuden 26 in terms of animation excellence.
That being said, this one and boxset 10 will be my last Naruto purchases until the Shippuden sets start coming out (probably won't get those until late '09 at the earliest). I never watched the fillers through fansubs, so I'm not obligated to buy them. |
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Myznomer
Posts: 24 |
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I think that while this arc is interesting and intense, the fact that spoiler[Chouji doesn't die] ruins the whole effect of his battle. It's such a copout. spoiler[I cried] at the end of his fight, BUT WAIT, spoiler[medical god Tsunade saves the day!] Heaven forbid they allow the real drama of spoiler[the impermanence of life] to overrule shounen tropes.
These spoiler tags are fun, even though anybody with a decent internet connection and the will to care has already seen what we're talking about. Also, yes, too many flashbacks, but the reviewer puts an interesting spin on them as a means to divert funds into more spectacular fights...I don't know if I buy that, but it's reasonable at least. |
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doctordoom85
Posts: 2094 |
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If spoiler[Choji had died, Shikamaru would have been broken. The reason he was able to pull himself together was that even though he failed the mission, everyone pulled through. I'll take our regular Shikamaru over emo Shikamaru anyday. 
Also, at least good guys do sometimes permanently die in the Narutoverse, unlike all other shonens that aren't named Death Note or Fullmetal Alchemist.] |
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Myznomer
Posts: 24 |
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When has someone died that it ever mattered? (minus the Hokage, who was quickly replaced by Tsunade, thereby pretty much negating his death) |
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BrothersElric
 Posts: 1996 |
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Will 10 have 15 episodes in it then, since 120-135 is what we have left until filler? In any case though, even if that's true I'm still actually thinking about going all the way to 11, for three reasons. 1) The first few filler arcs actually aren't all that bad, 2) there is at least some cannon in those first few, albeit very sparsely spread out (this is pretty much the same reason why I also will probably buy the very last boxset release as well, though honestly one is probably better off just reading vol. 27 for all that anyways), and 3) the OP and ED from episode 129-150ish or so is probably my all time favorite OP/ED combination, as well as 2 of my favorite OPs and EDs overal.
Well, I'm actually honestly not sure what to think here. Part of me thinks spoiler[those particular 3 might as well have died since none of them have really played a very important role in the series all the way up to now anyways, not to mention it could have just acted as a pretty interesting trial for Shika to overcome it all the same way anyways,] but at the same time spoiler[I'm also kind of glad they all survived for pretty much the same reason you mentioned. Because I actually think in the end it was a more powerful scene to see him pull himself together like that in a "thank goodness" sort of way and promise himself he will never let what happened here ever happen again than it would have been to have him overcome any kind of trial.] Anyways, yeah, I definitely think this was a pretty correct review. This set in the very least is worth it for all the events that lead up to them leaving the village to retrieve Sasuke in the first place, and then of course if you love beat down ninja action as much as I do, you'll love the rest of it as well. I swear some of the most brilliant voice acting in this entire dub as well as some of the most heart wrenching and at the same time heart warming scenes in this series happened during the former. And the latter is just typical Naruto and typical shounen fighting awesomeness. 
I sort of disagree, at least to the particular extent anyways, about the flashbacks dragging things out. I mean yeah, for the most part it does get pretty annoying and ridiculous, but at the same time I also think that some of the Naruto flashbacks actually kind of help add to the drama and intensity of the series as well. Just make sure you watch/read this series in batches though, for that same reason it's MUCH better done that way anyways. |
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RoseWhip
 Posts: 58 Location: Los Angeles |
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If you don't keep up with the manga, beware. spoiler[Jiraiya, Asuma, and Itachi] |
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doctordoom85
Posts: 2094 |
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All the websites have reported 15 episodes for boxset 10. |
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Myznomer
Posts: 24 |
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Oh, wow...foot in mouth. I guess I should catch up on Shipuuden, then. |
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doctordoom85
Posts: 2094 |
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Well, even Shippuden (meaning the anime) isn't that far ahead, but the manga is. Right now, Shippuden is at the climax of a filler arc, and is about to start the third major arc of Part 2. |
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cenorig
Posts: 46 |
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The Sasuke Retrieval arc is one of the best in Naruto. If any episodes in Naruto are worth buying, then those are in Box Set 9 and 10. It has a good story with many surprises and a baffling climax with great animation. The Sound Four are actually great, considering they are minor villains and don't even have a large role in Naruto. And how can you forget Kimimaro? He's just plain awesome. The good characters all have their moments. Kiba's fight was the nicest one by far, you'll never see him as just a background character anymore.
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BrothersElric
Posts: 1996 |
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Just something I thought about not too long ago, if you really think about it the whole sequence vs. the Sound Four isn't just all action and beat down and no substance. In fact, one of my more favorite scenes from this arc takes place during that whole sequence, that being that scene where Naruto doesn't want Neji to stay and fight, and after saying "we need you and your eyes" Neji turns and says "you're eyes are probably better than mine anyways Naruto." And of course not to mention the end of Neji's and Choji's respective fights. I also thought Kiba and Akamaru's friendship was delved into in a very emotional way as well. Plus that and if you keep in mind the very things that led up to them doing this in the first place, it kind of adds an atmosphere of sincerity that makes things more intense and makes you care more.
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Teriyaki Terrier
 Posts: 5689 |
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Couldn't have said it better than myself. I did enjoy this show at some point, but the mass amount of fillers and the fact Shippuden became very much like a typical shonen show made me lose interest. |
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