US, March 24, 2008 – Still reeling from the death of the third Hokage as well as Orochimaru’s invasion, the Leaf Village tends to it’s wounds. Unbeknownst to it’s citizens though, a far greater threat enters the picture. Itachi Uchiha has returned, and with him, he brings a painful chapter of Sasuke’s life long forgotten. As Naruto prepares to travel with Jiraiya in search of the third legendary Sannin, a dark cloud begins to form over our heroes’ lives.
With the fantastic drama and action of the recent episodes, one could expect something of a break from the action. No such luck for Naruto and company though, as Itachi and his cohort Kisame, two ninja exiled from their villages, make a dramatic and well-timed entrance into the story. The first episode serves as a great bridge between the two story arcs, with an informative and somewhat frightening bit of insight into Orchimaru’s condition following his loss at the hands of Sarutobi, as well as a quiet bit between Naruto and the usually-bit-part Konohamaru. The relationship between these two young ninja is briefly explored again, and it’s hard not to feel for poor little Konohamaru with the loss of his grandfather. The episode also gives us rare and much appreciated bits of characterization for Jonin Asuma and Kurenai.
The second episode consists mostly of a fight scene involving Asuma, Kakashi, Guy, and Kurenai versus Itachi and Kisame. It’s the gospel truth that Naruto has a fantastic supporting cast, and to the best of my recollection, this is the first time we’ve seen all of these powerful Jonin in action together. Itachi, possessing Sasuke’s brooding solemnity, doesn’t offer much in the way of dialogue this time around, but Kisame provides us with an easy-to-hate villain who uses interesting mental attacks. All in all, he’s a welcome addition to the cast. As stated, this episode is mostly fighting, but hey, we deserve a break from the well-crafted yet heavy-handed drama from the recent arc. Not Shakespeare, but still good, solid fun!
The second episode consists mostly of a fight scene involving Asuma, Kakashi, Guy, and Kurenai versus Itachi and Kisame. It’s the gospel truth that Naruto has a fantastic supporting cast, and to the best of my recollection, this is the first time we’ve seen all of these powerful Jonin in action together. Itachi, possessing Sasuke’s brooding solemnity, doesn’t offer much in the way of dialogue this time around, but Kisame provides us with an easy-to-hate villain who uses interesting mental attacks. All in all, he’s a welcome addition to the cast. As stated, this episode is mostly fighting, but hey, we deserve a break from the well-crafted yet heavy-handed drama from the recent arc. Not Shakespeare, but still good, solid fun!
Episode 83 is the best inclusion on this disc, offering a lot of laughs up. Jiraiya is a fantastic character, and he and Naruto make for a hilarious pair, specifically in this episode as Naruto begins to learn some of his perverted mentor’s techniques. What Naruto isn’t prepared for though, is the amount of female-centric activity Jiraiya has planned for both of them. Not all is fun and games though, as a portion of the runtime is devoted to Sasuke’s musings on his brother’s return. This is largely throwaway though, as the real revelations are in the episode following this, and frankly, aren’t we all tired of Sasuke’s bitter retrospections? The dramatic bits are unnecessary, but the scenes with Naruto and Jiraiya are more than enough to skyrocket the quality of this episode.
The second episode consists mostly of a fight scene involving Asuma, Kakashi, Guy, and Kurenai versus Itachi and Kisame. It’s the gospel truth that Naruto has a fantastic supporting cast, and to the best of my recollection, this is the first time we’ve seen all of these powerful Jonin in action together. Itachi, possessing Sasuke’s brooding solemnity, doesn’t offer much in the way of dialogue this time around, but Kisame provides us with an easy-to-hate villain who uses interesting mental attacks. All in all, he’s a welcome addition to the cast. As stated, this episode is mostly fighting, but hey, we deserve a break from the well-crafted yet heavy-handed drama from the recent arc. Not Shakespeare, but still good, solid fun!
Episode 83 is the best inclusion on this disc, offering a lot of laughs up. Jiraiya is a fantastic character, and he and Naruto make for a hilarious pair, specifically in this episode as Naruto begins to learn some of his perverted mentor’s techniques. What Naruto isn’t prepared for though, is the amount of female-centric activity Jiraiya has planned for both of them. Not all is fun and games though, as a portion of the runtime is devoted to Sasuke’s musings on his brother’s return. This is largely throwaway though, as the real revelations are in the episode following this, and frankly, aren’t we all tired of Sasuke’s bitter retrospections? The dramatic bits are unnecessary, but the scenes with Naruto and Jiraiya are more than enough to skyrocket the quality of this episode.
A great eye-catching image of Itachi, Kisame, and Kakashi on the cover makes for an attractive package when combined with the sleek and stylish blue plastic case. Given the series’ length, it’s great that the volume number and title are so clearly displayed on the spine. The extras aren’t anything more than trailers for other games and anime associated with Viz.
Blast Works: Build, Fuse and Destroy: We'll admit we were skeptical of Blast Works: Build, Fuse and Destroy the first time we saw it - but probably not for the reasons ...Powered by Games | Copyright 2007 - 2009. Game Maker, PSP Games VS PSP, PC, Xbox 360 Games. All rights reserved
Naruto Shippuden | 
