It’s been quite a while (85 episodes) since we’ve touched on the manga storyline, but Naruto has returned back to its roots! It’s been 2 years since Konoha has last seen Naruto, but under the scrutinizing training of Jiraiya, Naruto has returned to the Hidden Leaf Village with a new look and hopefully more tricks up his sleeve. After a quick meeting with Tsunade, Naruto and Sakura reunite themselves as Tsunade sends them off to test their new skills against Kakashi.
A lot of this episode seemed to be focus on nostalgia as there are many references back to previous episodes.
- Konohamaru’s team going on the Tora cat finding mission (Episode 6)
- Naruto and Sakura renewing their “love/hate” relationship with each other.
- Naruto and Sakura returning to the training grounds where they first worked as a team along with Sasuke against Kakashi.
- Infamous bell test.
There have also been quite a lot of internal changes amongst the villages as they all seem to be working together now towards collective improvements. An example of this is the sand village’s adaptation of a similar Chunin exam methodology that Konoha utilizes.
In the meantime, Jiraiya has hinted to Kakashi that Akatsuki is back on the move, and it looks like their first target will be Gaara, who has become the Kazekage of the Sand Village, and Sasori and Deidara have been sent to extract the Shukaku inside of Gaara. With the help of Yuura, the two Akatsuki members infiltrate the Sand Village with ease.
In the beginning, we also get a rather long teaser of future events as Sakura and Naruto go looking for Sasuke. In the teaser, Sasuke shows considerable growth as he’s able to see the Kuubi inside of Naruto, and the Kuubi even acknowledges how much better Sasuke is able to utilize the Sharingan.
All in all, a good start back into the manga storyline to get Naruto fans all pumped up! Although this episode is still sort of cutesy at times (especially during any part involving Konohamaru), the overall feel is a bit more mature and serious since the characters have aged and realize the responsibilities they have to themselves, each other, and to their village.
It’s been a while since I posted, so don’t nag me too hard if I missed something -_-.
2 Comments
So like… did anybody else think of Darth Maul’s entrance BGM when they heard Akatsuki’s entrance BGM?
Hmm…
I never thought it before, but it seems rather odd that the early Konoha test is to grab a pair of bells placed near the instructor’s crotch…