Retsgip’s Anime Blog

Naruto - 201 - Multiple Traps, Countdown to Destruction

Rating: 7.5/10

You know what, the ending wasn’t that bad. It definitely gives the impression that a younger audience is the target for the anime, but still, it wasn’t bad. I didn’t really have that much fun with all the action during this episode (it was kind of a lame attempt to make Gennou cool) but the message was decent.

Let’s get down to business first. If you have yet to watch the episode, or have been following through blogs, you might want to know how this ends. Well, here is the short answer:

So, I was kind of right but still off in my assessment of the true meaning behind this whole waste of space we like to call this filler arc. I didn’t really expect Gennou to die, or even for him to go so far as to fight anyone for the sake of this “treasure hunt.” It basically comes down to him making Konoha dance to his strings in a last effort to entertain himself before he died. Shikamaru speculates that Naruto changed Gennou’s mind before he decided to blow up Konoha way back during their first meeting, eventually leading to what we now know to be a giant treasure hunt. Wait…what was the message of the story? Have fun a fun life? Be selfish? Meh, the important thing is that Gennou wasn’t a horrible person.

There were some touching discoveries like Gennou is dying, or that most of the traps were faulty in the first place and could never have blown up Konoha or even caused Mount Hokage to collapse. This is all lovely but shouldn’t they be more worried about how easily they were fooled by one man? What if he had a country supporting him? Yeah, they’d have been fucked.

Shocking News: Chouji managed to snarf down a bag of chips in less than a few seconds. God knows he wouldn’t damn well waste a good bag of chips, even if it meant life or death of him or his friends. I never realized his bling either, although it’s to be expected when he hangs around a pimp like Shikamaru. Never seem to get tired of his eating either, it always finds some way amuse me.

There is this trend I’ve started noticing lately. I don’t know if it’s related to younger children’s anime, or if writers like to do it when there’s many major characters, but they like to make EVERYONE talk. At times, this can be super annoying. It wasn’t that bad during this scene because they left some people out, but most of the people in this shot got to say one line to Gennou, each finishing what the other was saying. I’m not gonna replicate it exactly but it’s like (names and dialog changed to protect the innocent):

Person1: “You’ve gone far enough!”

Person2: “And we see through your plans!”

Person3: “Because we’re from Konoha!”

Person4: “Represent!”

Person5: “Word.”

Meanwhile everyone is watching and smiling approvingly. It’s just so god damn bizarre to me. I guess it gives certain characters the spotlight so that any fans can cheer at their television/computer screens.

I wonder if someone can explain to me how Hinata can possibly “guide” Naruto using her Byakugan? I mean, what the hell, it’s not that hard to see the damn bird he’s supposed to hit with his Rasengan. It’s HUGE man, does Naruto need glasses or something? I smell a weak attempt for more Naruto x Hinata plugs. Lame!

I thought this was a cool shot, but overall a stupid scene. I understand that this is Naruto’s show, but I just don’t see him being any sort of pillar of support. If anything, Shikamaru is stealing the show from him. I’m sorry, I just had to roll my eyes when Naruto gave his little speech about how we should try hard or someshit. Nice shot of everyone though.

So, that raps up what could have been an awesome arc. Oh well. The ending was decent but the ride was boring as hell. I guess it can’t really be helped since everything should be back to normal at the end of the arc, and if there was some sort of massive war, they’d have to find a way to fix it before the fillers ended. This crappy arc just reminded me how eager I am to have the real story start up again. It will be some good, raw, non-stop action for awhile afterwards too.

Next episode: It looks like we’re gonna get to see some Yuhi Kurenai! Sexy! Sexy!

-Retsgip