Naruto Shippuden

**Naruto Shippuden** is an anime series which is a sequel to the original Naruto.  It ran from February 15, 2007 to

   March 23, 2017, for 500 episodes.

## Plot

Two and a half years later, Naruto returns from his training with Jiraiya. The Akatsuki starts kidnapping the hosts of the powerful Tailed Beasts. Team 7 (and other ninja) fight against them and search for their teammate Sasuke. The Akatsuki succeeds in capturing and extracting seven of the Tailed Beasts, killing all the hosts except Gaara (the host of the One-Tail) who is resurrected by an Elder of the Sand village (of which he is the new Kage) at the cost of her life. Meanwhile, Sasuke betrays Orochimaru and faces Itachi to take revenge. After Itachi dies in battle, Sasuke learns from the Akatsuki founder Tobi that Itachi received an order from Konoha's superiors to destroy his clan to prevent a coup rebellion. He accepted it on the condition that he would be allowed to leave Sasuke alive. Saddened by this revelation, Sasuke joins the Akatsuki to kill Konoha's superiors and destroy Konoha in revenge. As Konoha ninjas defeat several Akatsuki members, the Akatsuki figurehead leader, Nagato, kills Jiraiya and devastates Konoha, but Naruto defeats and redeems him, earning the village's respect and admiration.

With Nagato's eventual death, Tobi, disguised as Madara Uchiha (one of Konoha's founding fathers), announces that he wants to get all nine Tailed Beasts to perform an illusion powerful enough to control all humanity, to create world peace. The leaders of the five ninja villages refuse to help him and instead join forces to confront Tobi and his allies. That decision results in a fourth great ninja warbetween the combined armies of the Five Great Countries (known as the Allied Shinobi Forces) and Akatsuki's forces of zombie-like ninjas. The Five Kage tries to keep Naruto, unaware of the war, in a secret island turtle near Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village), but Naruto finds out and escapes from the island with Killer Bee, the host of the Eight-Tails. At that time, Naruto along with the help of Killer Bee gains control on is Tailed-beast and the two of them head for the battlefield.

During the conflict, it is revealed that Tobi is Obito Uchiha, a former teammate of Kakashi's who was thought to be dead. The real Madara saved Obito's life, and they have since collaborated. As Sasuke learns the history of Konoha, including the circumstances that led to his clan's downfall, he decides to protect the village and rejoins Naruto and Sakura to thwart Madara and Obito's plans. However, Madara's body ends up possessed by Kaguya Otsutsuki, an ancient princess who intends to subdue all humanity. A reformed Obito sacrifices himself to help Team 7 stop her. Once Kaguya is sealed, Madara dies as well. Sasuke takes advantage of the situation and takes control of all the Tailed Beasts, as he reveals his goal of ending the current village system. Naruto confronts Sasuke to dissuade him from his plan, and after they almost kill each other in a final battle, Sasuke admits defeat and reforms. After the war, Kakashi becomes the Sixth Hokage and pardons Sasuke for his crimes. Years later, Kakashi steps down while Naruto marries Hinata Hyuga and becomes the Seventh Hokage, raising the next generation.

## Movies

1. Naruto Shippuden The Movie
2. Naruto Shippuden The Movie:  Bonds
3. Naruto Shippuden The Movie:  Inheritors of the Will of Fire
4. Naruto Shippuden The Movie:  The Lost Tower
5. Naruto Shippuden The Movie:  Blood Prison
6. Road to Ninja:  Naruto the Movie
7. The Last:  Naruto the Movie

## Why It Rocks

1. Great animation, especially in the most crucial scenes such as major action scenes and major drama scenes.
2. Great art style and character designs.
3. Great music and soundtrack.
4. Good voice acting in both sub and dub.
5. More of a focus on the Akatsuki as central villains.
6. MADARA UCHIHA!  Or his fights, at least.
7. PAIN!
8. Naruto utilizes lots of buddhist symbolism in order to help relay its themes.
	1. The most famous are three techniques utilized by Itachi Uchiha--Tsukiyomi, Amaterasu, and Susano'o--which are three Gods in Shinto religion, the Gods of the Moon, the Sun, and Storms, respectively.
	2. There's also the Nine Tailed Fox, which is the take on the Kitsune, a mischevious fox-like creature with multiple tails from Japanese mythology.
	3. There's also the heraldic symbol of the Uchiha Clan, which is a type of Japanese fan known as an Uchiwa, (which may have also been the inspriation for the name of the Clan, too).  These fans are used to exorcise evil spirits by blwoing them away.  Sasuke discovers late into the series that he has the ability to blow away the influence of the Nine Tailed Fox on  Naruto.
9. Also regarding the themes in Naruto, Christopher A. Born notes that the *Naruto* storyline contains traditional Confucian values, and suggests that students who analyse manga such as *Naruto* and *Bleach* will learn more about Confucianism than they would from studying its abstract ideas.  Norman Melchor Robles Jr. evaluated the portrayal of both positive and negative ideas in *Naruto* by counting words in the script which were associated with either violence or positive values; he found that a small majority of tagged words were violent, but commented that the portrayal of violence seemed organized to show how positive strategies on the part of the protagonists could overcome the violence.  Sheuo Hui Gan considers the series to have a set of "traditional ethical values." She also compares the treatment of alienation in *Naruto*, which Naruto overcomes by joining his society, to the portrayal of alienation in *Akira* and *Neon Genesis Evangelion*, where the main characters remain alienated.

## Bad Qualities

1. While the animation in most scenes goes from good to great, there are also a lot of scenes when it's painfully bad.
2. Like the original Naruto, Naruto Shippuden has way too much filler content.
3. SASUKE UCHIHA!

## Reception

### Manga

Several reviewers commented on the balance between fight scenes and plot development; A. E. Sparrow of IGN and Casey Brienza of Anime News Network (ANN) felt that the result was a strong storyline,[190][191] but Carl Kimlinger, also writing for ANN, suggested that there were too many fights, which slowed down the plot.[192] Kimlinger liked the character designs, and approved of the fight scenes themselves[192] which also drew positive comments from Rik Spanjers, who felt that the excitement of the scenes depends on Kishimoto's skill in depicting action.[192] Javier Lugo, writing for Manga Life, agreed, describing the artwork as "dramatic, exciting, and just right for the story he's telling".[193]

The anime and manga magazine *Neo* described Naruto's character as "irksome", but considered that the series' "almost sickening addictiveness" was due to the quality of the characterization,[194] and in Briana Lawrence's opinion the growth of the characters gave Part II an adult feel.[195] In a review of volume 28 Brienza also praised Part II's storyline and characterization, though she commented that not every volume reached a high level of quality.[190]

Gō Itō, a professor in the manga department of Tokyo Polytechnic University, compared the series' development to the manga of *Dragon Ball*, saying that both manga present good illustrations of three-dimensional body movements that capture the characters' martial arts very well. Gō felt readers could empathize with the characters in *Naruto* via their inner monologue during battles.[196]

The series also influenced the movie *Scott Pilgrim vs. The World* with director Edgar Wright saying he was inspired by how whenever there is a "killer move" in the manga, there is an impact in the background following any technique's usage.[197] There is an internet meme known as "Naruto run" based on the way the characters run leaning forward with their arms behind their backs. In September 2017, students from the University of the Philippines Los Baños Perspective started covering publications of students running like *Naruto*characters.[198] When the manga ended, multiple authors from the magazine expressed congratulations to Kishimoto's work.[199]

### Anime

The *Naruto* anime was listed as the 38th best animated show in IGN's Top 100 Animated Series.[200] In September 2005, Japanese television network TV Asahi broadcast a popularity poll based on a nationwide survey in which *Naruto* placed 17th.[201] Mike Hale of *The New York Times* described the series as much better than American animation aimed at children,[202] but the animation received some criticism from both the T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews critics: Christina Carpenter felt Kishimoto's artistic style translated poorly into animation,[203] and Derrick Tucker was also negative, though he felt that at their best, the depictions "[left] little to be desired".[204] As with the manga, some reviewers, such as Martin Theron of ANN, along with Tucker, felt there were too many fight scenes,[204][205] though Justin Rich argued that the fight scenes were the most important and enjoyable element of the show.[206] Carpenter also commented positively on the characters, though she felt that most were fairly stereotypical.[203]

*Naruto: Shippuden* was well-reviewed by Activeanime's David C. Jones who commented that the animation had improved.[207] ANN noted that the series has a more serious tone and a better balance between comedy and drama than the first anime series; with more interesting digressions from the main plot.[208][209] Although the pacing for the first episodes was criticised as slow, the delivery and development of the interactions between the characters received positive comments.[210][211] Writing for the *Los Angeles Times*, Charles Solomon ranked *Shippuden* the third best anime on his "Top 10".[212]

### Themes

Amy Plumb argues that Kishimoto's use of references to Japanese mythology in *Naruto* are intended to add further layers to the story. Kishimoto expects his readers to decode the references, which allows him to avoid direct explanations. One example is Itachi, who has three ninja techniques named after Shinto deities: Tsukiyomi, Amaterasu, and Susano-o. Plumb also cites Sasuke's clan's heraldic symbol, a fan known as an *uchiwa*. These fans are used in Japanese myths to exorcise evil, by blowing it away; Sasuke discovers late in the series that he has the ability to "blow away" the influence of the Nine-Tailed Fox on Naruto. Foxes (*kitsune tsuki*) are tricksters in Japanese mythology, and in some stories they take over human bodies; Plumb comments on the obvious similarities to the Nine-Tail sealed in Naruto, and the pranks Naruto plays.[213]

Christopher A. Born notes that the *Naruto* storyline contains traditional Confucian values, and suggests that students who analyse manga such as *Naruto* and *Bleach* will learn more about Confucianism than they would from studying its abstract ideas.[214] Norman Melchor Robles Jr. evaluated the portrayal of both positive and negative ideas in *Naruto* by counting words in the script which were associated with either violence or positive values; he found that a small majority of tagged words were violent, but commented that the portrayal of violence seemed organized to show how positive strategies on the part of the protagonists could overcome the violence.[215] Sheuo Hui Gan considers the series to have a set of "traditional ethical values." She also compares the treatment of alienation in *Naruto*, which Naruto overcomes by joining his society, to the portrayal of alienation in *Akira* and *Neon Genesis Evangelion*, where the main characters remain alienated.[216]

*Naruto* has been described by several critics as a coming-of-age story.[217][218][219] Psychologist Lawrence C. Rubin suggests that the storylines would appeal to readers of any age who have lost loved ones, or are having difficulty finding friends, or who are in other situations shown in the series.[217] In Yukari Fujimoto's view, as the characters mature, they show respect to the adults who have raised and taught them, making it a conservative storyline in comparison to other manga of the same time period such as *One Piece* and *Air Gear*.[218] Rik Spanjers sees the difference between Sasuke (a loner) and Naruto (an optimist) as tragic, arguing that the contrast between the two protagonists' approach to the world is fundamental to the plot: "Naruto’s strength grows as he gains more loved ones to protect, while Sasuke remains alone and is increasingly absorbed by his quest for revenge".[219] Omote Tomoyuki points out that there are many comic moments in the story despite the difficulties Naruto finds himself in, but the comic elements diminish dramatically over time as Naruto grows into a teenager, particularly once Part II begins. *Shōnen Jump* began to carry comedies such as *Gintama* and *Reborn!* from 2003 onwards, and in Tomoyuki's view this is part of the reason for the change in emphasis: *Naruto* "was not supposed to provide laughter anymore".[220]

Fujimoto argues that the story has overly traditional gender roles, noting "[...] its representations suggest that men are men and women are women and that they differ naturally regarding aptitude and vocation". For example, the girls initially outperform the boys in the Ninja Academy, but "once the boys get serious, the girls cannot keep pace". Fujimoto points out that this does not upset Sakura, who is now surpassed by Naruto. Character development based on female roles, when it does occur, again uses stereotypical roles: Tsunade, for example, a middle-aged woman with large breasts, is a clear mother figure, and when she teaches Sakura to be a medical ninja, which requires special skills possessed only by women, the story reinforces the idea that women only belong on the battlefield as healers. Tsunade herself, who is a figure of authority in *Naruto*, is portrayed as ridiculous in a way that men in the same position are not. Fujimoto suggests this presentation of women may explain why the female characters are often the most disliked characters among readers of the manga.[221]