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DVD Review
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| Director |
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Hayato Date
Jeff Nimoy
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| Cast |
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Maile Flanagan
Kate Higgin
Yuri Lowenthal
Tom Gibbas
Stephanie Sheh
Dave Wittenberg
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| Distributor |
| Manga Entertainment |
| DVD Origin |
| United Kingdom |
| DVD Release Date |
| 26th December 2007 |
| Running Time |
| 325 Minutes |
| Number of Disks |
| 3 |
| Certification |
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12
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Reviewed By
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Stuart Crawford
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Buy this film
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NARUTO UNLEASHED - SERIES 1: VOLUME 2 (2006)
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For those of you who are too lazy to check out my review for Volume 1 of the first series of Naruto, here is a quick synopsis. Naruto is a trainee Ninja, and along with his 2 other squad members (Sakura and Sasuke), is going through his ninja training. This involves various tests and simple missions, the first of which is the main story behind the first collection of DVD’s. Their task is to look after a bridge builder as he is being targeted by a local crime boss. The character that gives the series its name is special. Unbeknown to him, or the rest of the children in the Leaf Village, he has trapped inside him the spirit of a 9 tailed Fox demon. 12 years ago the fox attacked the village, and the only way to stop it was to trap it in the body of a baby (of course, how else). Naruto was that baby. This fact was hidden from both him and all the children born in the village after the incident in an effort to protect the infant. However, as all the adults who remember the attack treat Naruto with suspicion (as they believe him to be the mortal incarnation of the fox), the children pick up on this and don’t trust him either, without really knowing the reason why.
So now that we are all caught up, I’ll get on with the review. The second set of disks pick up from the cliff hanger at the end of the first collection. The squad was part way through the climactic battle that would decide the fate of the bridge builder. The first few episodes conclude the story and then the rest of the episodes are concentrated on a new story: that of the Chunin Exam. This is an important step in the ninja training. They need to pass this exam in order to progress further, however the three ninja team are not the only ones partaking. There are ninjas from all over the place congregating at the Leaf Village for the tests. The reason that they all come here is that it was agreed in times past, that there has to be a controlled number of the top rate ninjas in every land. If everyone created their own ninja experts willy-nilly then there could be a shift in the power balance between villages and one could overpower another. Smart thinking I’m sure you’ll agree. So the exams start and the less able of the candidates are soon wheedled out, leaving a vastly reduced number to go from the first part of the test to the second. But this is where the collection ends. What will happen next.
The bridge builder story concluded within a few episodes, and while I feel that they dragged a little, losing some of the momentum that was built toward the end of the first set of DVD’s, I was happy with the outcome and enjoyed how the story concluded. I still found Naruto himself quite annoying, but we saw a new side to him in the concluding episodes and I liked it!! The rest of the episodes, as I have stated already, are around part one of the Chunin exam, and for me, this part of the tale was slightly weaker than what I’d been enjoying previously. There was the promise of some good battles, but they never really got going, and I really wanted to see some limbs being snapped! I can see things heating up in the next installment though, and I, for one, can’t wait.
If you’ve not seen any of the anime then I would strongly suggest that you start with the first box set and not just jump in by watching this one. Whilst you won’t be totally lost (there is a catch-up episode in this set that quickly summarises what’s been going on) you will be missing out on some of the better action scenes, and, most importantly, the background to Naruto, his fellow students, the teachers and the village. This is shaping up to be a fantastic series, (even though I still find the main protagonist annoying at times) and I hope that the next installment is as action packed and exciting as the first two. I can’t wait. Believe it!
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Score
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8 / 10
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