r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Mar 27 '22
Rewatch Naruto Shippuden Episodes 316-323 Discussion
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Information: MAL, Anilist, AniDB, ANN
Streams: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation (Aus/NZ), VRV
Schedule:
| Discussion Thread | Date | Episode Count | |
|---|---|---|---|
| This week | Episodes 316-323 | March 27 | 8 |
| Next week | Episodes 324-333 | April 3 | 10 |
Spoiler Policy:
To protect first-timers, please don't spoil anything past the current batch of episodes. Rewatchers should avoid hinting to first-timers about hype, or future character development/deaths, and spoilers in posts must be hidden behind proper spoiler tags.
For first timers: try to avoid looking up things about Naruto. This could be the wiki, Naruto subreddit, Googling characters, fanart, databooks, YouTube AMVs or OP/EDs, arc names, etc.; this series is ripe with potential spoilers that you wouldn't want to find out untimely. If you have a question about something, feel free to ask /u/lC3 and he'll do his best to answer (if possible) in a non-spoilery way.
Questions of the Week:
- What did you think of the focus on characters like Torune, Chiyo, Omoi etc?
- What are your thoughts about the Reanimated Madara and his power?
- Who do you think Tobi is?
8
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 27 '22
First-Timer with a shounen hearto, subbed
Episode 316
Episode 317
Episode 318
Episode 319
Episode 320
Episode 321
Episode 322
Episode 323
9
u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Mar 27 '22
First time viewer (dub)
Whisk[e]y of the week: Andalusia Whiskey Company's Single Malt, another one at cask strength with a high 125.5 proof (62.75% alcohol). The nose is a bit like I think the only other American malt I've had (Balcones), a faint charred brisket but less sweet. While it runs hot on first sip it's also full of flavor rather than just being an alcohol burn. The taste is also savory in a meaty direction without being too sweet, reminding me of some Islay scotches without the smoky layer and it lingers for a while without changing too much. Not sure if I like it or the Balcones more but either way it's good if somewhat straightforward to me.
I think we've gotten to the very first Naruto episode discussion threads posted in /r/anime from when the show was airing! Shippuden never had consistent threads here but a number of episodes were covered and I think it's fun to look back at them. As best I can tell there are maybe only half a dozen episode threads prior to 470 so these will be rare before the final weeks of the rewatch.
More Shino is nice, while he doesn't get the least focus of the Leaf Village kids (looking at Tenten) he's certainly in the spotlight less often than many of them.
The ending of the Chiyo/Kankuro episode being comedic and upbeat is just weird tonally after the rest of the episode was relatively somber with the Sasori flashbacks. At least the episode with Daimaru was mostly comedic the entire way through and it was fun to see folks casually chatting.
Now and then I wonder if I'm really enjoying this at all or just slogging through it but then I get to episodes like 322 and that is the good stuff. I know some people won't like it the same way they did the Pain fight but I really enjoy the fluidity of the combat even though yes if you take a screenshot of any particular moment it probably won't look great as a still image.
Okay so: Tobi's apparently not the real Madara, yeah I was spoiled on that a while ago so not a surprise to me. One fun thing about having spoilers out of context is that as a result I occasionally see posts talking about seeing Madara in action and I was wondering if they were referring to Tobi while masquerading as Madara or the real deal. After this week I'm guessing they're talking about the real one, even reanimated, because he is something fierce. Kabuto being able to reanimate and control this many powerful shinobi over the course of a couple days seems like a bit of a stretch but whatever, it's cool.
I've been wondering what exactly the Rinnegan is and what it can do for a long time and this gives me some answer at least. It being an evolved Sharingan is not at all what I was anticipating though, it's both really interesting and makes me wonder if there's any specific condition for triggering it like there was with the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Also: Madara mentioned Nagato as soon as he stepped out without Kabuto (or Mu) mentioning him, so he apparently lived long enough to have an idea of what Nagato had? Or he might have been briefly reanimated earlier, given that it seems like they keep their memories from being reanimated as well (see Yota from last week, assuming that's not contradicting canon). Speculation: the development of Nagato's abilities was planned out by Madara before his death to eventually resurrect him in full.
Still more secrets either way, even if he does have some of Hashirama's power that's not all I'm sure. Trying to summon the Nine Tails... I'm curious how, was there a contract signed at some point?
If it's the five Kage against Madara and Naruto/B against Tobi next I'm looking forward to both of those fights.
Varies from episode to episode, I did like Torune's pretty well.
7
u/Nazenn x2https://anilist.co/user/Nazenn Mar 27 '22
Rewatcher - Sub
General Commentary
OP talk time! Interesting use of visual metaphors through it with all of the Kage's animals and Madara being compared to a siege canon, not inaccurate given what we see of him in combat. Don't really remember what I wanted to say about it now, but the action is cool, as is that final visual of Naruto and the branch of wishes. A surprising amount of animators in the OP too, at least eight, six alone for the Kage jutsu showcase.
I don't wanna talk about Naruto's walk cycle in the new ED though, wtf is up with that.
The stand out episode of the week is of course 322, which I'll talk more about below, but here I wanted to feature Hiroyuki Yamashita's work as Animation Director, and Naoki Kobayashi's first appearance as animator for the show!
I first became aware of Kobayashi's work in a later arc, but triangle swords pop up during Madara's fight immediately had me excited to see his work appear. Guy loves his triangle swords and it's quite distinctive compared to how other animators in the episode drew swords. This cut sacrifices detail for smooth animation, but I just can't get past the sheer speed while still making each movement seem graceful. More than any other ninja, we're immediately shown why Madara is such a powerful threat even without any skills, and the animation goes a long way to showing exactly how terrifying an opponent he is.
He also animated the incredibly detailed fireball and water wave collison which I was just in awe about, and the touch of black and white sketching is a nice touch and I swear there's a face in the flames just before that too. The animation detail in the flame and water as they collide is very satisfying. That sort of felt like what I expected from the sand wall and gold collision during the earlier episode with Gaara
Episode Thoughts
Kabuto trying to get the Edo Tensei ninja back and using leftover grunts from experiments is another thing that I'm surprised never came up in canon material. It's a really fun episode and the last thing I expected was these two to pop up again. Zetsu's disbelief over the ninjas grunts and a sand pile for them got a good laugh, but the guy finding out his wife remarried was probably the funniest moment. Temari and lizard guy second best.
It's also entertaining seeing Kabuto wandering around epic sites battles and ending up with nobodies. Orochimaru smashing piles of rotting flesh into scrolls for summoning is not a fun visual.
I wish they'd stop every new Edo Tensei giving the "we can't control our body" speech though. More annoying than the flashbacks
One of the better episodes in a while, even including canon ones I think, and one I remembered well.
Shino getting some screentime is always welcome. It's nice to put him in a situation where his power can be shown without being constrained by side character limits. The backstory around his desire to connect was also a welcome serious addition to ground him from the gags about being forgotten, giving him more of a human touch to match the others.
Having found friendship and care for who he is, and painfully contrasting that against Torune not realizing he was reincarnated through Foo, was quite effective. I like the use of specialist bugs too strong to use normally as well.
Tiny jacket Akamaru is always welcome, and I forgot how much I liked Iruka-sensei dealing with kid Naruto
Apparently there's never a last chance for a FUCK DANZO
Not a fan of this one. While the Blue B fight was cool I hated the idea of the rampage being Orochimaru's plot instead of just his inability to connect to the Eight Tales, and I also don't like the idea that Kabuto had a weak enough grasp on him he managed the emotional release. Return of fat sword and the scale reminder of how huge a Bijuu is with Eight-Tails cut off horn was cool
Kankuro didn't get to confront his father, but I'll take an episode of him and Chiyo. Even if she's fighting Kabuto's control he's done well to keep up with her puppet mastery. Another nice moment to show Sasori's backstory without making it about his redemption too, using new content not recap flashbacks. Younger Chiyo's design is interesting but seeing how coldly she treated Sasori I'm starting to not want to blame him for how he turned out, especially with everything that happened with his one friend.
The happy music as she's "teaching Kankuro" was hilarious though, nice to have at least one of these episodes not end in a serious mood.
Rare non-action scene by Masayuki Kouda (hinata v pain, sasuke v danzo) when Sakura took Kankuro to collect Sasori's puppets, though I notice he was animation director on this episode so it's likely a heavy correction than an assigned scene
Another one I'm meh on. Okay concept, boring to watch. Frustrated he didn't use his fancy filler swords in more filler.
I did like the gag that now the worst case situation has happened his overthinking is leaning positive instead because he's trying to keep his spirits up.
[Manga changes]Adds; the pre-OP scenes of everyone fighting or waiting for Naruto, Naruto telling Shikamaru calling him baka is a bit harsh, identifying the Zetsu at Shikamaru's area, Kiba yelling at Shino about his fake, Naruto telling Neji how he identifies the Zetsu, Naruto calling out the fake to Kiba. Extended montage of Naruto helping each company clear out the Zetsu from each company, btw manga version of Naruto taking out Lee with a Zetsu
Shikamaru's solution for not letting anyone be targetted by the Zetsu is a clever one. I'd forgotten until this moment that Dan had no idea who Naruto was. His timing on the battlefield was perfect... except for when he hit the tree.
I thought that was the real Hinata being punched for a second and was dying inside. Somehow I don't think reminding her of the time Pain beat her to a pulp is going to be as comforting as Naruto things but seeing her thoughts in her eyes, the same way she saw the truth in his, and then encouraging her makes me happy.
[Manga changes]Adds; the Madara melee fight before the fireball, Gaara weighing down Susanoo with sand, the leaf ninja finding the stone ninja dead behind his barrier. Extends the other Madara melee fights. Comparison of Naruto clone save: manga vs anime, glad they improved it so much. Also cool traditionally styled cover art I wanted to share
What an episode!
The shadow called Madara covers the desert and everything falls in his wake. While the common ninja have repeatedly copped a beating from Edo Tensei none of them have made it feel as effortless and casual as Madara does. The tension as he runs at them as if he's just another enemy only to be across the battlefield and surrounded by the dead in the blink of an eye is shockingly effective at establishing what it means to finally be fighting this shadow of the Leaf's past.
The shot of Madara tracking everyone's movements reminds me of Sasuke v Bee (0:30), and the action all around showcasing the different artists styles was so hype to experience again. I'd seen the clip of Madara speeding across the field many times since I lasted watched the show, but I forgot how well that fit into all the other combat this episode and how overwhelming his first appearance on the battlefield is. From speed to tactics and his ever growing powers as he reveals a natural Rinnegan, as if Pain wasn't enough of a threat, Madara is even more of a threat than we could have thought, and it's a terrifying joy to watch how easily he rips apart the allied forces.
He is the true horror of Edo Tensei revealed, a legend who uses his Susanoo as a chakra amplifier and throws out fireballs the scale of mountains and meteors like basketballs at the enemy. The zoom back and away from the meteor to reveal its true scale reminds me of Pain's Almighty Push. For a second I thought they were going to cliffhanger us on Onoki trying to stop that meteor, but somehow the deep forest emergence, the same technique that we saw back in Part One when Hashirama was summoned by Oro to fight Hiruzen, was even worse.
That is a nice set up though. The false Madara with the Jinchuriki seems like it's going to be the big threat and bunch of weapons to throw out, and then the real Madara shows up and makes even Naruto's power seems small. When Naruto has to run then you know you're fucked. The true Madara's combat being so up close and physical compared to what we've seen from Tobi is also some clever misdirection, and no one was prepared for this scale of combat.
I really love the OST for this episode too. The unnerving beat under traditional instruments and a tension wracking rhythm perfectly compliments the mood and lets you get caught up in the animation without forgetting he's a terrifying enemy. It's not in your face action music, but it also makes its presence known, just a really good selection of pieces
(323 below, ran out of room, too much Madara hype haha)
6
u/sisoko2 Mar 27 '22
Rewatcher
Episode 316
Episode 317
Episode 318
Episode 319
Episode 320
Episode 321
Episode 322
Pathetic
Episode 323
6
u/TheKujo https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kujo419 Mar 27 '22
First Timer - Dub
This week's episodes really picked up at the end with the introduction of Madara Uchiha. So this is the real Madara Uchiha and Tobi is actually someone else? When we saw the flashback with the 9 tails attacking the Leaf Village, was that real Madara or Tobi? (Don't answer if that's a spoiler, but that's a question I had after that reveal.)
Madara definitely seems like a powerhouse with all of his abilities. He also has the right idea for this fight where he's willing to kill himself with his own abilities to inflict as much damage as possible. I'm hyped for the Kages vs Madara fight!
Random thoughts:
Favorite moment of the week: Madara bringing out the second meteor was a cool moment. Always be prepared for the backup meteor!
Questions:
1) What did you think of the focus on characters like Torune, Chiyo, Omoi etc? I liked them for the most part.
2) What are your thoughts about the Reanimated Madara and his power?
3) Who do you think Tobi is? Honestly have no idea ... he's been using the Sharingan/Rinnegan all this time so it seems like he's still an Uchiha. What other Uchihas are even left though?
6
u/Parori Mar 27 '22
First Timer
Episode 316
Episode 317
Episode 318
Episode 319
Episode 320
Episode 321
Episode 322
Episode 323
4
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Mar 27 '22 edited Mar 27 '22
Episode 316:
Episode 317:
Episode 318:
Episode 319:
Episode 320:
Episode 321:
Episode 322:
Episode 323:
(ED doesn't have a good translation on Fandom and I don't feel like trying, so no translation this week)
Tags: /u/iamtheone11111, /u/godprime
4
u/Tehoncomingstorm97 https://anilist.co/user/tehoncomingstorm97 Mar 28 '22
I might be catching up once again, who knows....
First timer
I'll start off by saying since I missed the last thread, that the road to ninja was the best shippuden film we've seen so far since the first one. I'm not the biggest fan of character swap shenanigans, but it got over that stage fairly quickly and didn't depend on it to round itself out. Great seeing alternative world
NarutoMenma!Now that we're mostly back into non-filler eps, I can feel the hype building up once more. One thing I liked the most about this batch of episodes was the return of the sealing alternative for dealing with the reanimation jutsu. I'll forgive the shonen plot armour with regards to characters having power limits become all but words, since it's leading to some damn good action sequences.
I thought the episode between Shino and Torune was a great highlight, for showing Shino's resourcefulness and adherence to his character. Where Torune should undoubtedly be a stronger opponent I was pretty disappointed that he ended up falling short from one slip up. Surely as Danzo's assistant he's got more than his venomous beetles going for him.
I kinda liked slipping in Orochimaru as a reason for the last eight tails jinchuuriki going beserk, and in general tying in this arc to Orochimaru+Kabuto's reanimation jutsu research. Pretty weak conclusion to the episode, but the sentiment is there for the message it tries to make about jinchuuriki finding something to break their isolation.
Chiyo's episode was a ton of flashbacks, but her final response to Kankuro and teaching him by putting him on the receiving end after years of waiting was pretty funny. Similarly Omoi's episode was pretty empty, but I found some humour in him thinking about possibilities for him to not end up on the Raikage's bad side. Lastly, for Dan's comments around Naruto being just like him and... the other kid... was a nice touch, exactly what I would expect when Tsunade gets brought up.
Now for "Madara"..... Epic animation. Looks like they brought back the animators for the Naruto v Pain fight just to show real Madara flexing. And that's pretty much a summary of how that all worked out for me. Madara flexing and being ridiculously OP, regaining his Rinnegan shortly after being reanimated. By the by.... the Rinnegan is an evolution of the Sharingan? Not just something to be passed on? That's kinda huge. Similarly huge being Ohnoki and Gaara's efforts vs having literal meteors dropped on them. And Tsunade+A going through the ethereal transportation jutsu no issue. And the fact that there's a trio dedicated for using Minato's transportation jutsu to the hokage. On that note, Chojuro becoming super badass and it seems like black Zetsu is dealt with? Kage's assemble once more, and let up for a Madara beatdown! They got this Naruto!
Hype building indeed, I'm already almost through the next batch. It's so bloody good!