Naruto Unleashed - Series 7 Part 1 [DVD] [2002]

As any hardcore Naruto fan is aware, we are now well into the many, many episodes of filler (used to allow the manga to get ahead of the anime).

Ok so, this set starts with the end of the last story arc- this episode is awful!! Admittedly it did make me laugh (with the animation being so obscure during the Rock Lee vs Raiga fight), the story is ridicules with several characters being "revived" by a curry.... A CURRY!!!

The following episodes are no better with the animation being awful. I'm not going to bother explaining these episodes- they are that bad (although there is a very well designed "cool" looking cowboy style samurai bounty hunter in a couple of these episodes).

Once you reach episode 162 (6 eps in) things do begin to get interesting, yes the animation is still awfull but at least the story is engaging. The story centres around a ghost warrior terrorising a town, Naruto, Neji and Tenten are tasked with discovering the warriors identity. The outcome is very well thought out and it did keep me guessing till the end. (did I mention that the animation is awful?)

The next episode is possibly the most insane episode in the entire anime. The story is as follows- the Ichi Raku Ramen chefs daughter is kidnapped by ninja chefs (you read that right don't worry).
Naruto, Sakura and Choji decide to help get her back- this results in them learning to make noodles... ninja style! if they can impress the lead ninja chef with a decent dish of ramen he will release the girl. Stupid right? I thought so too.

The final episode on the final disc is actually very good, with the animation being taken back up a notch. The story centres around Aunko (sorry about spelling if its wrong)and her relationship with Orochimaru. Although this episode does not directly influence the main story it still feels important and it made me keep watching. The fight scene here is fluid and intense and there are many questions left unanswered to leave a decent cliff-hanger.

I don't want to spoil it for you so I'll end it here. If you decide to buy this set please bear in mind the only really good episode is the last one. When it comes to Naruto I'm actually a bit of a fan boy and I personally think that the last episode alone is worth the purchase. But for those of you who don't care about making your set look incomplete I would say maybe its better to skip this set and wait for the main story arc to start up again.

Thanks for reading

More stories from the world of Naruto - excellent fun and easy to watch again and again.

This suffers for being part of the infamous filler part of the series, the part at which they had stopped using Kishimoto sensei's work as a basis in order to let the manga regain some ground and it'll never be able to surpass that flaw.

However, this is undeniably more of the same of love/hate Naruto antics (generally, your love it or you hate it. It Marmite in anime form =O ) so it's not about to change your preconceived notions of the series. If you like Naruto, get it. If you don't, then don't. Simple as really.