Naruto Shippuden Box Set 22
Released By: Manga Entertainment
Rating: 12
Running Time: 300 Mins
Audio: English & Japanese DD 2.0
Release Date: Out Now!
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
One of the things my fella has commented on about Naruto is that none of the now deceased major characters ever truly die. There are always flashbacks with them in episodes that make us think, oh, it's that character I remember from that episode. Haven't seen them in a while. Now we've a whole arc to say that and enjoy these characters all over again even if they are reanimated.
Kabuto has all his reanimated pawns set out to destroy the shinobi of the five great nations and of the reanimated ones like Granny Chiyo, they are not so controlled as to not be able to voice their opinions, they even mention that they are only not in control of their bodies. At episode 271 Road to Sakura, we take a slight detour to a previous episode to when the movie Road to Ninja had been released to give viewers a sneak peek at what to expect from the movie. Ino finds Sakura falling and when she takes her to see Lady Tsunade, she has lost her memory. Mifune Vs. Hanzo pits Mifune against a reluctantly reanimated Lord Hanzo. These two might not have seen eye-to-eye, but Hanzo's death has made him reflect on his past and is one of the many characters who would rather die than be used as one of Kabuto's pawns in the battle to come.
It is good to see Kimimaro again as no one forgets a strong character who can manipulate his bones to use as weapons. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji face Kakuzu, one of the pairings that was him and immortal Hidan. After Shikamaru made it impossible to escape the charm he had him suspended in, Kakuzu knows he is on his own and as Shikamaru mentions that they have the upper hand while Hidan was around, Kakuzu has to counter saying Kabuto has reanimated two of their former shinobi, Dan Kato, Lady Tsunade's former lover, and their tutor Asuma sensei. The most heartrending part is that Ino, Shikamaru and Choji are assigned to take down Asuma, and none of them want to face him as they thought so much of their tutor. Cue flashback to better times with all three of them training under him, and enjoy the next few episodes. During all the fighing Naruto is being kept out of it, and knows nothing of what his comrades are going through in the shinobi world. As he is on the Cloud's secret hidden island, he is supposed to stay there and not go out on his own. Iruka sensei tries to prevent him from leaving, but also sees that he has grown in power and could be what the battle needs.
The start of the battle sees many shinobi fall with the injured taken to a treatment place where Jonin medics and Sakura are healing the wounded along with Captain Shizune and her faithful friend Tonton. While everyone is trying to recover from their wounds, rumours of enemies infiltrating their camp could be true as Sakura is visited by someone who looks like Neji, but might not be, and two shinobi taking a leak near a river are ambushed by a rogue shinobi.
The battle might have only just begun, but the forces are set in motion to take whatever enemy forces on, though the sheer amount of white Zetsus around could make them think otherwise if they even knew. There is the opportunity to see old and new characters alike and the fun is in them as well as the new episodes showing how powerful Naruto could become when he's just taken the next step in controlling the Nine Tails power.
Bonus Material:Clean Opening and Closing Animations and Trailers for other anime series.
Verdict:It might be the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War, but for fans it's the start of one of the most popular arcs in Naruto history.
