Tom's Blossay on Naruto Shippuden

Introduction

Naruto Shippuden is an anime series that is based on part two of the manga series Naruto, created by Kishimoto, Masashi. The narrative in Naruto Shippuden is basically a continuation of the narrative that started in the original anime, Naruto (based on part one of the manga series). Naruto Shippuden was first broadcast in Japan in February of 2007 and in the U.S. in 2009. It was created to be a continuation of the original anime series of Naruto. New episodes of the series are still being created and aired in Japan and in the United States. There have been 374 episodes released so far.

 The anime Naruto Shippuden is truly an adaptation of the original manga, and was directed by a man who isn’t Kishimoto Masashi, the manga’s creator. All that this implies is that aspects of the anime may be different than they were in the original manga series, to appeal to a certain audience. The animation studios that produce Naruto Shippuden are Studio Pierott and TV Tokyo. This is worth noting because some of the founding members of Studio Pierott were former employees of Mushi Productions, the animation studio the produced Astro Boy.

The target audience is junior high boys. This is not unusual considering that the series falls under the genre of shonen (for its action and appeal to junior high boys). This series reaches its target audience effectively by showing high amounts of action scenes and by making the protagonist a character that junior high boys can relate to and look up to as a role model. This is the kind of TV series that kids watch weekly in Japan and in the United States.

The Naruto Universe

To understand the overall narrative of Naruto Shippuden, you, as a viewer, have to have a basic knowledge of the Naruto universe. This is an anime centered on ninja, and how they interact with each other. The protagonist and all ninja have a power/energy inside of them called chakra. By making hand signs, they can channel this power and perform Jutsu, or attacks using elements such as fire, wind, and sand. They also fight using their fists, without the use of chakra, or their internal energy. Even though nations aren’t always at war with one another, the world is a dangerous place, and ninja have to fight constantly. Their job is to protect their nations. Virtually all ninja live together in villages with their families.

Character Introductions

There is one protagonist, and a few major characters that are central to the anime. The protagonist is a teenager named Naruto. He has a powerful demon fox inside of him that gives him power occasionally. He has yellow hair and blue eyes. He has a very outgoing personality, and is an emotionally driven character. His Nindō, or the words that he lives by as a ninja are that he doesn't run away and he doesn’t go back on his word. He is very courageous and never backs down. Because he was an outcast as a child, he seeks to be recognized by everyone in his village. He plans to make this happen by becoming the Hokage, who is the village’s leader.

Sasuke is another major character in Naruto Shippuden. He is a ninja who fights with a katana, and uses techniques involving lightning. He has medium length black hair, and dark eyes. He can best be described as a stoic character who believes that he a superior ninja because of his heritage. These characteristics make him come off as a jerk, often.  He is emotionless at times and very emotional at other times. He’s not driven by feelings of sentiment. He nonchalantly severs bonds with people just to further his cause. He’s strongly driven by negative (or darker) emotions, such as anger and hate. In the beginning of the Naruto Shippuden series, his cause was to kill his brother Itachi, and he trained relentlessly for years just to be able to kill him.

Sakura is the third major character in the series. She’s a teenager, like Naruto. She’s a medical ninja and has short, pink hair as well as green eyes. She can best be described as a careful and cautious person.  She doesn’t have a very strong personality like Naruto and Sasuke do. She’s a caring person, and does all she can to protect her friends, such as Naruto. She has never really stated what her goals or ambitions are. She felt like a useless ninja when she was younger, so she’s trying to change herself to become useful. In Shippuden, she’s basically acts as a support character, who is always trying to help others.

Narrative of Naruto Shippuden

While there are several plots unfolding at different times in the series, there is one overarching narrative that the series adheres to. Basically, over the course of the series there have been several groups of ninja and individual ninja that attempt to take over the world and create a new world order. The goals of these groups, or organizations, have generally been to bring about world peace. The way in which they plan bring about this peace is what creates a conflict in the narrative. A group called the Akatsuki essentially want steal Naruto’s powers and the powers of other ninja to create a super weapon. With this super weapon, they will threaten to destroy any nation that declares war on another nation. This peace would be borne out of fear, and Naruto and other characters believe that, that is not the best way to bring about peace.

 Another individual named Madara tries to cast a jutsu on the world which will make everyone fall into an eternal sleep. While in this sleep each individual will create their own dream worlds free of all suffering and pain. Again, Naruto and his comrades do all that they can to prevent this from happening because they believe that this would bring about a false peace. In Naruto Shippuden, battles aren’t fought with fists, but with the words of clashing ideologies and worldviews. So, the narrative can be summed up as being a series of conflicts between Naruto and several ninja fighting about what state the world is in, and how they should or can change it.

An important subplot is Naruto's quest to bring Sasuke, who is a rogue ninja, back to the village.

Episode one

The first episode of Naruto Shippuden can be found here:   http://www.viz.com/anime/streaming/naruto-shippuden-episode-1/482/sub

The theme song separating the two plots begins at 8:30 and ends at 10:15.

Plot of Episode One

Basically, this episode has two separate plots in it that are separated by the theme song of the show, which plays half way through the episode. There isn't much of an introduction to the episode. It begins in the middle of an action scene. Initially, Naruto and his team (including Sakura) are running down a hallway looking for something. They find what they are looking for in a clearing outside, and it happens to be Sasuke. Naruto had been looking for and trying to apprehend Sasuke (for years) because he had run away from the village and was now a wanted, rogue ninja. They have a short discussion after which Sasuke draws his sword and threatens to kill Naruto. This moment acts as a cliffhanger, and the theme song cuts in. Here’s a photo of Sasuke threatening Naruto:

After the theme, the second narrative of the episode is told (shown). This part of the episode begins with a group of children, who are amateur ninja, chasing and capturing a run-away cat for a mission. After the children return to an office to collect their reward for completing the mission, they run into Sakura and Tsunade, the leader of the village (and also, Sakura’s mentor). They all have a conversation about how they miss Naruto, who has been away from the village for two and a half years. Coincidentally, Naruto returns to the village shortly after this conversation takes place. After gazing at the village with nostalgia, he reunites with Sakura and goes to talk with Tsunade (village leader). She tells him that he will have to go on some sort of mission, and then the episode abruptly ends, leaving the viewer hanging, once again. Of course, the credits play after the narrative ends.

Content of Episode One

Content-wise, the first and second parts of the episode contrasted from each other. The atmosphere in the first half of the episode was tense and somber, while the second half of the episode had an atmosphere of playfulness (chasing around a cat) and positivity, generally speaking (Naruto returning to his village and reuniting with his companion, Sakura).

The content of the first episode was highly anticipated by the audience, because Naruto and Sasuke had parted ways as friends following a fight (almost to the death) that they had before Sasuke left the village and became a rogue ninja. Back then, Sasuke had spared Naruto’s life, when he could have killed him. The dialogue in this episode shows to those viewing how much Sasuke has changed. In this episode he tells Naruto that he could kill him in a whim, just like he (apparently) spared him on a whim before. Sasuke didn’t have any emotional reaction when he saw Naruto, or Sakura. This shows the audience that Sasuke has become a cold person, who doesn’t care about anything except for his goal to kill his brother.  A clear theme in this episode is that people can change dramatically over time, or they can stay the same (Naruto doesn’t change much).

Animation and Soundtrack of Episode One

The style of animation seemed innovative at points in the episode. The episode begins with a scene of a character running down a hallway. This hallway almost takes on a third dimension in appearance because the audience is watching from the perspective of Naruto (.04-.10 minutes into episode from link). In general, the animation of the episode is very smooth. Worth noting is the theme song (8:30), which employs a variety of different animation techniques. Also, there is almost always movement on the screen.

What’s worth noting in terms of the soundtrack is the choir of deep voices, which plays in the first half of the episode when Naruto and Sakura encounter Sasuke. The choir makes the encounter seem very solemn. The soundtrack in the latter half of the episode features many stringed instruments that sound like they could be native to Japan.

Comments on the Series

This series is full of fighting scenes, which are certainly used to draw in the audience of boys. Surprisingly, showing action scenes isn’t the focus of the series. The focus of the series is to expose the audience to and advocate for a certain value system (presumably that of the original manga’s author). During or at the end of each arc or even major battle, Naruto usually has an isolated moment to talk with his opponent. Naruto’s opponents usually tell him that he’s going to lose because he’s weak. Naruto always tells them that a person who is fighting to protect their friends is truly a superior ninja because they have something to fight for besides themselves. Naruto never gives up in a fight, even when the odds of him winning are slim. Many of his opponents have lost faith in the world (because of their own suffering) and are trying to change it through methods that would create a false peace (as I stated earlier). But Naruto believes that he can create a true peace by uniting the world in companionship, at the cost of hard work. He never gives up on trying to save Sasuke, who tries to kill him, and he never gives up on his dream of becoming the village leader.

So, Naruto Shippuden aims to give the message to its audience that they should have hopes and aspirations, and that their dreams can become realities through hard work alone because there are no shortcuts in life. It aims to teach the audience that friendship is valuable and they have the potential to change the world around them in a positive way. These are all good things to hear when you’re in middle school, because everyone knows how difficult those years can be.

Naruto is significant in the anime world only because of its unprecedented popularity as a series about ninja in the United States. It’s not easy to quantify how exactly it has been influential. In the U.S., you can find Naruto merchandise in almost any mall. Video game adaptations of the series have been created for many game consoles, and they are still being made. It does reflect well on the genre of shonen. It has tons of fast paced action scenes, which is highly appealing to boys.  I would definitely recommend this to the class. However, you have to watch quite a few episodes and read the manga version of the series before really picking up on its depth in terms of philosophy and how it conveys values. You can find new episodes with English subtitles at: http://www.viz.com/naruto