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timepiececlock::in shock::
Wow.
This episode went everywhere, didn't it?
Where to begin? Gah. There's so much... I'll have to take it in locational sections.
Konoha Village
Konoha goes patriotic! They gather the refugees, and then it's butt-kickin' time!
Seeing the different parents go out was cool. And remind me never to mess with Shikamaru's dad. Cause strangulation while you're immobilized completely and unabe to fight back? Not fun.
I loved Iruka. Then, I always love Iruka scenes.
The mysterious purple-haired girl was...er...mysterious. But anyway, ANBU guys rule!
So do the scenes with Kakashi and Gai. I love them fighting side by side like that. And the image of them and the other Jounin teachers looking out over the wall as the signal bird goes out was very nicely done.
I felt really sad seeing the bodies of the Chuunin and other Konoha front-line ninja lying dead on the streets like that.
Have I ever mentioned that I really like the uniforms for the ninjas in this show? The good guys, of course. The Sound nin uniformas are pretty lame. But I love the army-like vest-jackets that the Chunnin and Jounin of Konoha village wear. It seems so wonderfully efficient, when you think about it-- much more so than filmy black sashes that flutter dramatically. Who needs to flutter dramatically when you can kill someone in a few seconds and be done with it? The ninja uniforms are very utilitarian, and I like that. Not only does it give the series a unique look to stand out from other ninja shows, it just fits better with a modern outlook on warfare.
Speaking of warfare, I love this entire inter-village war plot. I love that it challenges what has seemed to be a too-good-to-be-peace in a world where ninja villages need to exist in the first place, and all of the characters know this. The adults, anyway.
I love the way the war has affected the kids too-- like the Sand genin being used in the plot to attack the village, and it happening on what should have been a great, celebratory day for the younger generation of ALL the villages. Instead, the children on both sides get a rude awakening in which they learn what real ninja war is about and how it will run their lives, and they have to grow up fast and participate in defense of their home/ attacking the enemy, like their teachers do. I love all the plotting from characters like Orochimaru and Kabuto, and the counter plotting by the Konoha nin like Kakashi and the 3rd Hokage. I love the matter-of-fact way all of them seem to be dealing with it... it's not a big thing to make dramatic speeches about (unless you're the Hokage and about to die), just a part of ninja life that they've been trained for and expect. There's none of that "Oh, I'm so sad to be killing you!" drama that I got in other war things like Gundam Wing (though I love that show), there's instead the
"You're in my way. Die."
and "You are attacking us? Die."
and "You think we're an easy mark? You die."
and "Don't you wish you had decided to stay home today instead? You die too."
and "Honestly, punk, if your leader was trained by our leader, don't you think we're going to totally kick your ass? Time to die now."
Speaking of leaders...
3rd Hokage vs. Orochimaru
The 3rd Hokage is THE MAN! "Haha, I stole your arms you little pissant! Try doing some evil sign language now! Nyaa nyaa nyaaaahhh!!"
You kicked ass dude. Rest in peace.
I liked the comment from the ANBU warriors waiting outside the barrier about the fight taking too long... a very astute observation and I can't help but agree... if you have people who fight on this level then it's got to be like two swordmasters having a battle. You're so good and your enemy is so good that the first mistake is the only one it takes, and the battle is likely to be very fast and very deadly. In the case of ninjas like in this series, certain techniques and counter-techniques take considerable time, but even so it should be a short battle, because one is going to be proven better fairly swiftly, even if "better" only means being the first to take advantage of an opportunity.
I found the scene of looking through the Hokage's closing eyes as he fell to be incredibly sad. Especially when, at the last moment, Orochimaru changed from the monster back to the little boy of the Hokage's memory. That's another thing I love so much about this series: not only is the plot strong and complex, but the emotions, symbolism, and relationships of the characters have a realism of storytelling too. The guy who is writing this manga really knows how to tell a story. The first thing that comes to mind as a comparison is Inu Yasha, which is an equally long ongoing epic... and as much as I admire Rumiko Takahashi, I feel the storytelling and character development from episode to episode is a hundred times better in Naruto than in IY. The show never loses focus, and even the filler episodes add to the feeling that, overall, this series is going somewhere. There's a very clear path in the manga creator's mind for where this series is going to go, and we get to watch it unfold.
Also, what I think I like so much is that I understand very clearly (for the most part) why the people behave the way they do, and their decisions make sense to me if I imagine myself in their place. One of my difficulties in being an anime fan is that sometimes characters do thing for reasons that I just don't get. Their motivations don't make sense to me, and in many ways that comes from my being raised in a different culture I think. However, in some lucky shows, like Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, this hasn't been an issue at all in my viewing experience. Naruto is on that list too.
Speaking of symbolism and character...
Gaara vs. Naruto
Shit, man! I didn't think we'd get all the above stuff, AND the end of the Shukaku demon AND Naruto using the Fox Demon power all in the same episode. I liked the way Naruto lost his head-guard... like symbolically by embracing his demon power to fight Gaara's demon power he was almost casting off the ties and bindings of being a village ninja. This battle wasn't about Sand versus Leaf, it was about Naruto versus Gaara and the two different ideologies of dealing with tragedy (of which each boy is a result) meeting and clashing.
Although I think that in terms of quality animation and the visual appeal and design of the battles that the fight with Haku is still the best fight in the series, this battle is now my favorite in terms of characterization and symbolism. Wow. I mean, WOW. First we have the mirror/glass and bleeding forehead imagery of a few episodes ago, and then we have that image literally manifested in Naruto head-butting Gaara... and then we have that AWESOME image of both Naruto and Gaara's reflections reflected on the sword and split down the middle. Panting in time. And the animators held that scene for several seconds, really letting it sink in. And then both of them, fallen on the forest floor... :sigh: I can't wait until the next episode.
I noticed that there was a great contrast in use of sound in this episode. The fight between Shukaku and Frog Boss was loud, noisy, and the fight between Naruto and Gaara was filled with gaps of silence. The stand-off between Orochimaru and the Hokage was filled with dialogue and noise, but the battles of the Jounin like Kakashi & Gai against the foreign ninja was relatively quiet too, with sounds when enemies met in the air, but quiet when they fell.
::sniffle:: The next episode looks incredibly sad.
I am immensely pleased that this episode came out so soon... I think it was because they took so long between episode 77 and 78. But it was worth it, to get this episode so soon after 78.
Wow.
This episode went everywhere, didn't it?
Where to begin? Gah. There's so much... I'll have to take it in locational sections.
Konoha Village
Konoha goes patriotic! They gather the refugees, and then it's butt-kickin' time!
Seeing the different parents go out was cool. And remind me never to mess with Shikamaru's dad. Cause strangulation while you're immobilized completely and unabe to fight back? Not fun.
I loved Iruka. Then, I always love Iruka scenes.
The mysterious purple-haired girl was...er...mysterious. But anyway, ANBU guys rule!
So do the scenes with Kakashi and Gai. I love them fighting side by side like that. And the image of them and the other Jounin teachers looking out over the wall as the signal bird goes out was very nicely done.
I felt really sad seeing the bodies of the Chuunin and other Konoha front-line ninja lying dead on the streets like that.
Have I ever mentioned that I really like the uniforms for the ninjas in this show? The good guys, of course. The Sound nin uniformas are pretty lame. But I love the army-like vest-jackets that the Chunnin and Jounin of Konoha village wear. It seems so wonderfully efficient, when you think about it-- much more so than filmy black sashes that flutter dramatically. Who needs to flutter dramatically when you can kill someone in a few seconds and be done with it? The ninja uniforms are very utilitarian, and I like that. Not only does it give the series a unique look to stand out from other ninja shows, it just fits better with a modern outlook on warfare.
Speaking of warfare, I love this entire inter-village war plot. I love that it challenges what has seemed to be a too-good-to-be-peace in a world where ninja villages need to exist in the first place, and all of the characters know this. The adults, anyway.
I love the way the war has affected the kids too-- like the Sand genin being used in the plot to attack the village, and it happening on what should have been a great, celebratory day for the younger generation of ALL the villages. Instead, the children on both sides get a rude awakening in which they learn what real ninja war is about and how it will run their lives, and they have to grow up fast and participate in defense of their home/ attacking the enemy, like their teachers do. I love all the plotting from characters like Orochimaru and Kabuto, and the counter plotting by the Konoha nin like Kakashi and the 3rd Hokage. I love the matter-of-fact way all of them seem to be dealing with it... it's not a big thing to make dramatic speeches about (unless you're the Hokage and about to die), just a part of ninja life that they've been trained for and expect. There's none of that "Oh, I'm so sad to be killing you!" drama that I got in other war things like Gundam Wing (though I love that show), there's instead the
"You're in my way. Die."
and "You are attacking us? Die."
and "You think we're an easy mark? You die."
and "Don't you wish you had decided to stay home today instead? You die too."
and "Honestly, punk, if your leader was trained by our leader, don't you think we're going to totally kick your ass? Time to die now."
Speaking of leaders...
3rd Hokage vs. Orochimaru
The 3rd Hokage is THE MAN! "Haha, I stole your arms you little pissant! Try doing some evil sign language now! Nyaa nyaa nyaaaahhh!!"
You kicked ass dude. Rest in peace.
I liked the comment from the ANBU warriors waiting outside the barrier about the fight taking too long... a very astute observation and I can't help but agree... if you have people who fight on this level then it's got to be like two swordmasters having a battle. You're so good and your enemy is so good that the first mistake is the only one it takes, and the battle is likely to be very fast and very deadly. In the case of ninjas like in this series, certain techniques and counter-techniques take considerable time, but even so it should be a short battle, because one is going to be proven better fairly swiftly, even if "better" only means being the first to take advantage of an opportunity.
I found the scene of looking through the Hokage's closing eyes as he fell to be incredibly sad. Especially when, at the last moment, Orochimaru changed from the monster back to the little boy of the Hokage's memory. That's another thing I love so much about this series: not only is the plot strong and complex, but the emotions, symbolism, and relationships of the characters have a realism of storytelling too. The guy who is writing this manga really knows how to tell a story. The first thing that comes to mind as a comparison is Inu Yasha, which is an equally long ongoing epic... and as much as I admire Rumiko Takahashi, I feel the storytelling and character development from episode to episode is a hundred times better in Naruto than in IY. The show never loses focus, and even the filler episodes add to the feeling that, overall, this series is going somewhere. There's a very clear path in the manga creator's mind for where this series is going to go, and we get to watch it unfold.
Also, what I think I like so much is that I understand very clearly (for the most part) why the people behave the way they do, and their decisions make sense to me if I imagine myself in their place. One of my difficulties in being an anime fan is that sometimes characters do thing for reasons that I just don't get. Their motivations don't make sense to me, and in many ways that comes from my being raised in a different culture I think. However, in some lucky shows, like Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, this hasn't been an issue at all in my viewing experience. Naruto is on that list too.
Speaking of symbolism and character...
Gaara vs. Naruto
Shit, man! I didn't think we'd get all the above stuff, AND the end of the Shukaku demon AND Naruto using the Fox Demon power all in the same episode. I liked the way Naruto lost his head-guard... like symbolically by embracing his demon power to fight Gaara's demon power he was almost casting off the ties and bindings of being a village ninja. This battle wasn't about Sand versus Leaf, it was about Naruto versus Gaara and the two different ideologies of dealing with tragedy (of which each boy is a result) meeting and clashing.
Although I think that in terms of quality animation and the visual appeal and design of the battles that the fight with Haku is still the best fight in the series, this battle is now my favorite in terms of characterization and symbolism. Wow. I mean, WOW. First we have the mirror/glass and bleeding forehead imagery of a few episodes ago, and then we have that image literally manifested in Naruto head-butting Gaara... and then we have that AWESOME image of both Naruto and Gaara's reflections reflected on the sword and split down the middle. Panting in time. And the animators held that scene for several seconds, really letting it sink in. And then both of them, fallen on the forest floor... :sigh: I can't wait until the next episode.
I noticed that there was a great contrast in use of sound in this episode. The fight between Shukaku and Frog Boss was loud, noisy, and the fight between Naruto and Gaara was filled with gaps of silence. The stand-off between Orochimaru and the Hokage was filled with dialogue and noise, but the battles of the Jounin like Kakashi & Gai against the foreign ninja was relatively quiet too, with sounds when enemies met in the air, but quiet when they fell.
::sniffle:: The next episode looks incredibly sad.
I am immensely pleased that this episode came out so soon... I think it was because they took so long between episode 77 and 78. But it was worth it, to get this episode so soon after 78.
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no subject
Date: 2004-04-20 10:13 pm (UTC)Haku was like the prototype version of Gaara, or Gaara was the more intensive version of Haku... first Naruto meets Haku who shows him one way he could have turned out (basically a good person who also found someone to love, but who loves someone evil and does horrible things to stay with him, even agaisnt his own nature), and decided he didn't want to be that. Then he meets Gaara, whose circumstances are much more concretely similar to Naruto's... instead of being vaguely similar in a general way, he's exactly the same, with the one, single, identifiable difference being the decisions of people in his immediate environment. The Sand villagers did not make the effort to protect Gaara by hiding his nature from him, and the one person that "accepted" Gaara was not strong enough or good-intentioned enough to chose Gaara over the Kazekage's orders. And this meeting, instead of just leaving an impression on Naruto and teaching him a lesson (that death is real and in ninja battles there is no black & white), actually leaves Naruto shaken to the core and questioning himself. What made me happy and proud