Naruto Season 3, Volume 1 - Mobile Edition

Animé and Toons
Naruto Season 3, Volume 1
By Chris Zimmerman
June 28, 2010 - 09:05

Studios: Studio Pierrot
Viz Media
$49.98 US
Starring: Maile Flanagan, Steve Blum, Yuri Lowenthal
Directed by: Hayato Date
Produced by: Shueisha
Running Time: 650 minutes
Release Date: June 29, 2010
Distributors: Viz Media
Genre: Anime

By now, every anime fan this side of the pond should be familiar with Naruto. The story of the renegade orphan with a demon trapped inside him has made quite the impact in America, capturing the imaginations of the preteen audience with its flashy battles and lively characters, though that is not to say that a more mature crowd can’t find pleasure in the series. In fact, many of the original themes contained within Masashi Kishimoto’s original work about deep rooted suffering and themes of war that echo real world situations are likely to go over kid’s heads.

For those who don’t know, or have been living under a rock, Naruto follows the story of a boy of the same name, who dreams of being the greatest ninja the world has ever seen. Unfortunately for him, his body plays host to a nine-tailed fox demon that once nearly destroyed his village when he was still an infant. The village leader, known as the Hokage, with little options left to him, sealed the beast inside the boy, unintentionally starting a cycle of hatred toward Naruto that would plague him for much of his early life.

As the series progresses, Naruto is introduced to a wide assortment of characters, many of whom being junior ninja like himself who either befriend him or offer him a makeshift family. His three primary allies include Hatake Kakashi, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. Kakashi fulfills the role of a mentor, teaching Naruto various techniques and occasionally showing off his own unique skill set when bailing him out of trouble. The other two are fellow students and offer a sibling relationship to the upstart ninja. While Sakura’s behavior is more in line with that of a crabby sister, Sasuke’s role is a bit more complicated.

Much like Naruto, Sasuke has been an outcast for much of his life as a result of his clan being murdered by his older brother. Since that time, he has gained recognition as the last of the prestigious Uchiha clan, though his cold and detached demeanor prevented anyone from getting to close to him. Eventually, a bond is established between he and Naruto that nearly quells his pursuit of vengeance. Unfortunately, Sasuke’s pursuit of revenge wins out over his friendship with Naruto, as he falls under the influence of the villainous Orochimaru, who in turn is responsible for the death of the Third Hokage.

Season three, volume 1 houses some of the best episodes, collectively making up what is referred to as the Sasuke retrieval arc. Acting as perhaps the most pivotal arc to date, Sasuke abandons everything in search of power, readily submitting himself to Orochimaru. In an effort to stop him, Naruto and a group of other ninjas pursue him, on the way encountering many of the villain’s enforcers. As several battles erupt, former enemies unexpectedly arrive to offer their support, leaving Naruto to face off against Sasuke.

This set is home to several exciting and memorable fights that really captured the essence of the shonen genre. A few key standouts include Lee vs Kimimaro, Gaara vs Kimimaro, and of course the main event between Naruto and Sasuke. Though every fight takes an emotional toll on its combatants, Naruto and Sasuke’s battle is is dripping with angst and really hammers home both participants’ points of view as their bond is put to the ultimate test.

As previously noted, this is an important set of episodes as it reaffirms Naruto’s relationship with Sasuke as well as the fact that it marks the end of the first part of the series before Shippuden or part 2 begins. Technically, there are still a decent number of episodes to be had, but those are mainly filler and their quality varies.

The animation of Naruto is typical of what one would expect of a weekly series, ranging from good to average. For this set of episodes, the animation team thankfully pulled out all the stops, occasionally delivering sequences that were beautiful to behold.

While it’s easy to write Naruto off as kiddy fare, there is more than enough value to be found for mature audiences. The battles are cinematic in scope and can be enjoyed by all though the underlying themes of friendship, love, and loss are more likely to be appreciated by older viewers. Clocking in at 29 episodes, Season 3, volume 1 offers consumers a healthy dose of both, collecting some of the most dramatic moments in the series to date.

A