NARUTO ANIME COLLECTION 13
December 26th 2009 06:44
Category: Videos
Based on the Naruto manga by: Masashi Kishimoto
Director: Hayato Date
Producers: Tomoko Gushima (TV Tokyo) & Ken Hagino
Starring: Maile Flannigan (Naruto), Kate Higgins (Sakura), Debi Mae West (Lady Tsunade), David Lodge (Jiraiya), Kyle Herbert (Kiba Inazuka), Robbie Rist (Choji Akimichi), Derek Stephen Price (Shino Aburame), Colleen O’Shaughnessy (Ino Yamanaka) Steve Staley (Neji Hyuga), Stephanie Sheh (Hinata Hyuga), Laura Bailey (Anko Mitarashi/Toki/Ayame), Megan Hollingshead (Shizune), Bridget Hoffman (Isaribi), Doug Stone (Amachi), Grant George (Yoroi), David Wittenberg (Kakashi Hatake) Michael McConnohie (Hoki), Lex Lang (Teuchi), Sam Riegel (Chishima) Danielle Judovits (Tenten/Ayame), Eddie Frierson (Hakaku), Steven Jay Blum (Orochimaru) & Johnny Yong Bosch (Sagi)
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 325 minutes Rating: M
Like anime collection volume 11 this volume is comprised predominantly of filler episodes, quite a few of them in fact. But then again considering how the series panned out the vast bulk of the episodes up until the start of the Naruto Shippuden series are for all intents and purposes filler. The rationale behind this was the fact that according to what I have heard is the manga was well behind the anime, the latter having forged ahead of the manga at some stage very early on. Some diehard fans would say that the filler is worthless in the overall story, certainly in terms of the manga it has had little impact on that particular medium. Regardless of its status as a canon part of the overall Naruto saga if you enjoy the antics of the number one maverick ninja of the Hidden Leaf then you will definitely not be disappointed.
Myself this particular volume contains one of my favourite filler episodes, the one where Naruto, Sakura and Choji engage in a shinobi style Iron Chef against the a villainous Ryourinin (Cooking ninja) from the Land of Lightning who is after the legendary demon recipe of Teuchi, owner of Ichiraku ramen. Apparently in the Land of Lightning, in the Hidden Cloud village, there were some amongst the shinobi who felt why just rely on hard tack for rations when on missions, why not provide ninjas with nutritious, filling food. And thus was born the Ryourinin, a unique class of shinobi whose role was to fulfil this particular mission category. No doubt you can see where this all going, the Cloud ninja enjoyed the meals of Ryourinin but got fat as a result and were unable to complete their missions and as a result the existence of the cooking ninja began to be questioned. Hence their desire to obtain the legendary demon recipe of Ichiraku ramen. The whole shtick with the demon recipe though all depends on a pun which in Japanese works far better than in the English dub where it’s just not as convincing by a long shot.
It all begins with a sea monster that is attacking shipping in the Land of the Sea, apparently this monster is one that is truly fearsome and the locals are unable to do anything about. Usually the Land of the Sea pays the ninjas of the Water Country to protect their nation and trade but it has been the various payments that are being attacked and taken by the horrifying sea monster. Enter the Hidden Leaf village who are requested to do something about the monster and return normalcy to the trade of the Land of the Sea. Naruto, Ino Yamanaka and Shino Aburame are assembled under the leadership of Anko Mitarashi to fulfil this mission. Anko is the jonin who once trained under Orochimaru back in the day and as the mission unfolds she begins to have some serious flashbacks, and the curse mark with which she was branded starts to seriously cause her pangs and pains.
The other story arc involves the Land of Birds which is undergoing some serious instability that on the surface looks as if it is being caused by the haunting of a mysterious ghostly warrior. In actual fact poking around by a team of Leaf ninja consisting of Tenten, Naruto and Neji Hyuga reveals that a band of rouge shinobi are up too no good in the Land of Birds. They are lead by Hoki; an enigmatic individual who has been impersonating the Feudal Lords senior advisor, this sinister character was responsible for the deaths of the previous feudal lords as well as the original senior advisor.
Of course the involvement of the Leaf ninja is down to the fact that a ghost warrior is attempting to attack the senior advisor and make him confess to misdoings. They believe the story that the advisor tells them, after all he is their client and they’ve been ordered by their leader, the Hokage to do as he requests. Naturally though things are not what they seem by a long shot, and probing reveals the presence of the Wandering Ninja, the rouges commanded by Hoki and who are intent on taking over the Land of Birds and establish themselves. There is some similarity in this tale and the tale of Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, the first Naruto movie. As usual Naruto shines and manages to foil the evil machinations of Hoki.
On a side note it seems that Madman Entertainment will be releasing the first volume of the Naruto Shippuden sometime in March of 2010, can’t wait for that as I’m keen to see whose doing the voices of some of the new characters that show up in this second part of the overall Naruto saga. No doubt there will be many fans who will be happy at this news, although I have heard some Naruto fans who feel that the animation quality in Shippuden is not up to scratch, or that the story is nowhere near as good as it should be. Time no doubt will tell, still there is always the manga if you don’t find the anime to your taste. For my own opinion both have their own value and are both very enjoyable…Believe It!
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