Go Ninja Go
Publisher: Madman
Sat, 27 January 2007
by: Australian Ninja
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Don't read this review. Just watch the show, go on now, off you go!
Forget my review stop what you are doing and go watch the show, just do it.
Buy it, borrow it, beg for it, watch it however you can because baby you deserve it. Naruto rocks my world and damn if I'm not an addict already and Madman are planning to siphon away all my money and I won't be able to buy food or pay the rent, so feel free to help me by sending generous cash donations but mostly just watch the damn show!!
The main character of this Anime series is Naruto Uzumaki, a ninja in training. The series focuses mainly on battles and character development, with big laughs and drama along the way. So I guess it's a ninja action comedy drama show.
For this review, I'm reviewing volumes one and two of the DVD. This covers episodes #1-9 of the show.
Man, I just love this show! Damn straight. I've wanted to see it for a while, really excited to see if the show would live up to the hype. Does it ever. This show is like a lot of other TV anime with big action, big laughs and large story arcs.
Naruto in particular has a depth to it that we don't usually see in serialised Anime. It's an almost undefineable quality, the sense that everything about the show feels so 'right.' From the well written stories and frequent belly laughs to the moments of quiet desperation inside the characters minds and the hauntingly beautiful end credits sequence - this show is unrelenting in its ability to touch us at our very core.
One point I really want to get across is that this show is so much fun to watch. Obvious point really, but it just is so refreshing to watch such a high energy 'laugh out loud' entertaining show.
 | | A rare 1930s publicity photo |
The first nine episodes introduce us to Naruto and fellow students Sasuke and Sakura. Their whole class of teenagers is divided into groups of three, or teams. Each team has a mix of three ninja-in-training with varied abilities and skill level.
After dividing into teams, Naruto's group is sent on some minor missions, then their first major mission - being to escort a man back to his village.
The structure from here on is not unlike other TV Anime where a group of youthful characters travel around having adventures / battles etc and making many friends and enemies along the way.
By the end of the ninth episode we've seen Naruto do some funny shit [like his multiple shadow clone sexy jutsu] and fight the good fight against an opponent far more powerful than himself, but most of all we see his incredible potential to be one of the greatest ninjas of all time and the potential of this show to start taking over the world like Pokemon did. Heck, there's already a bunch of merchandise including a collectible card game and some cool videogames of Naruto, and some are pretty decent.
Naruto [the boy] is portrayed as overwhelmingly confidant yet highly insecure at the same time. While the main characters have almost superhuman like abilities [Fire Jutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu etc] they all are flawed and somewhat arrogant, being so young and inexperienced and wanting to prove themselves worthy.
The life and emotional resonance brought to the characters makes them easier to relate to and allows us to see them more as human beings than two dimensional drawings. I can't believe I wrote that ridiculous sentence, but it's true.
But don't forget - the show is more fun than naked Polar Bear hula-hoop dancing.
As each episode draws to a close you'll find yourself craving more, more, MORE! I guess that's what the best serialised dramas do. Whether you're watching Lost, 24, One Piece, whatever - they all give you bit 'n pieces, always luring you back for the next instalment - same bat time, same bat channel!
 | | Generic Hot Anime Girl No.42 |
What makes Naruto special for me is - aside from the humour and quirky characters- is the sense of belief Naruto has in himself.
I like that Naruto is going to repeatedly get his ass kicked in the show, and no matter how much punishment he takes he will never stay down. He'll just dust himself off and
leap back into the fray, all bruised and bloodied. He's not one to give up, and adversity is going to push him beyond his limits.
The sheer enthusiasm and determination displayed by Naruto are the same qualities seen by kid Goku in 'Dragonball' and Monkey D. Luffy in 'One Piece.' It's really no coincidence as each show has a similar structure.
There's a main hero character and the hero's friends who together overcome a series of increasingly more difficult obstacles and challenges.
The other thing those shows have in common is a main character who grins like an idiot and doesn't seem to believe that anything is impossible for one who is persistent and determined to advance boldly towards their hearts desire.
Boy, this review just keeps going - I'll forgive you if you want to rest a bit. The end credits sequence of Naruto is probably my favourite of any cartoon. The beautiful music combined with static images creates a pleasant dreamlike melancholy feeling every time I watch it.
Just thinking about it even makes me feel good. For some bizarre reason the DVD has the wonderful opening and closing [Japanese version I assume] but the opening and closing credits are different on the Cartoon Network version of the show and different again for the Channel 10 version of the show. By 'different' I mean worse than shit.
Why this is, is anybodies guess but the DVD version is awesome and both the other two versions of the show suffer in quality due to various small changes and heavy editing. Not enough to ruin it, but it is very noticeable. However this is standard when adapting an Anime to mainstream TV, and Japan is far more accepting of blood and sexual innuendo in cartoons than western audiences. So it makes sense to me to remove these elements, especially if an Anime is going to be shown in the morning when young children are watching.
Those old enough to complain about it or even care - chances are you've got some money and could buy the show anyhow.
At the end of the day, Naruto deserves the large audience it pulls.
 | | The new fragrance from Milan ~Boy Smell~ |
I'm amazed that no matter how many cartoons I watch, films I watch, games I play etc - something new can appear almost from nowhere and makes me temporarily forget everything else.
I get so excited and swept away by how cool a show like Naruto really is. It's got a delicious blend of elements that I enjoy so dearly. First, it's animated, second it's damn funny, third it has stylish action and fourth the 'Japan' factor is very high.
I don't know what it is about Japanese culture but I'm infatuated by the films, music, anime, martial arts, historical traditions [tea-ceremonies anyone?] of this island country and grateful for all the seriously cool stuff that gets exported to western countries.
Heck, the episode of The Simpsons when they go to Japan is one of my favourite ever. They watch "super-seizure robots," take part in a wacky violent game show and their plane gets attacked by Godzilla when they leave. Classic.
Naruto? Oh yeah, what more can I say? I love this show. It's like the new Pokemon or Dragonball - but much higher quality in animation, story, characterisation etc. It's really too cool for words.
You've really got to experience it for yourself - but give it a fair chance if you do.
Most serialised Anime takes a while to get moving so watch three or more episodes in a row to really see what it's about. So even if you hate 'kids' Anime or whatever, Naruto is different I promise you, it's not cheesy like Pokemon.
I simply love this show; I watched all nine episodes over two volumes twice before reviewing them and eagerly look forward to buying some box sets later in the year, assuming they are released. You hear me Madman people? Box sets, a whole season at a time.
Did I mention there were free Naruto stickers inside the DVD I received for review - how sweet is that?
Special thanks to the kind people at Madman.
Go Go Naruto! It really is turning into a phenomenon. Check out this link
by: Australian Ninja
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