Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 30

The Ten-Tails' rampage continues as Obito faces Kakashi within their mutual Sharingan realm. Elsewhere, Madara wages his own battle with the four undead former Hokage. Yet despite the Allied Shinobi Forces’ superior numbers, the villains push back slowly but surely. With time running out before the Infinite Tsukuyomi activates, it'll take drastic measures (and plenty more 'splosions) for Naruto, Sasuke and the rest of our heroes to turn the tide. 

If you’ve been following this story and this fight so far, then I have good news: the battle keeps on going and the scale of excitement and tension continue to rise. Ten-Tails’ latest transformations are even more dire, Madara, Obito, the Hokage, Naruto and Sasuke all volley world-wrecking attacks against each other, and everyone still finds the time to engage in the most intense ideological debate that this series has seen yet. (Which is saying something!)

Yet even with the overarching battle against Madara and the Ten-Tails, we also have some of the series’ most beautiful character moments. My favorite occurs right at the beginning of the set, where Kakashi and Obito have their big showdown at last. As they fight to the finish, the scene cuts back and forth with them sparring as little kids. The past and present unconsciously mirror each other, and in the end, we see just how much pain their battle has caused. It’s epic, yes, but it’ll rip your heart out, guaranteed. 

Throughout this collection, the main story moves pretty fast. Most of the scenes flow into each other smoothly, and all the flashbacks (that aren’t about robots) remain relevant. Also, the art itself is GORGEOUS, the action sequences remain beautifully animated, which (given how we’re in the final stages of the story) makes for some good viewing indeed.

It's hard to classify a middle volume like this since the fight is gigantic and this DVD set only furthers it without beginning or ending the action. It’s a vital part though—the final moments draw ever nearer and between the sudden “wait, WHAT!?” moments, there’s plenty of fun, dazzling action. Enjoy, Naruto Shippuden doesn’t get much better than this!

Naruto Shippuden DVD Set 31

We open with a scene from the Hyuga clan’s past, examining the lives of Hinata and Hanabi as they grow up within a highly regimented and duty-bound family. It’s a nice little aside that lends an outsider’s gaze into Hinata’s self-confidence issues and her budding relationship with Naruto. Despite his vagrant status and her aristocratic upbringing, both were outcasts branded with unfavorable “destinies.” Destinies which Naruto and Hinata both overcome in the end. 

The next three episodes take us back to the present, where Obito’s is in trouble. What follows is about as intense as it gets—think Pain’s finale, but cranked up to 11. After all the powers Obito had accrued, after all the crimes he’d committed, after throwing his past, present and future into the fire, his twisted destiny comes to its final conclusion. 

And then, like a bolt of lightning from a cloudless sky, everything explodes—Madara is back on the battlefield with his own flesh and blood. Oh, and his losing the undead immortality factor hasn’t knocked him down at all–if anything, meaty Madara is even deadlier than paper corpsey Madara. We’ve got a legendary psycho with zero checks on his power. At this point, only a straight-up miracle could take him down. 

Then it's a flashback to when Naruto was off training with Jiraiya between the end of the original Naruto anime and the beginning of Shippuden. This is a period where the Akatsuki are laying low, Naruto is off training and Sasuke’s gathering power under his new mentor’s ill-intended tutelage. So instead, this season focuses on a series of Chunin Exams hosted by the Hidden Sand Village, along with the various other applicants from the Hidden Leaf and Rain. This being Naruto, it’s not so simple: evil machinations are afoot along with plenty of conflicting character agendas. Fun times!

Overall, not only are the plot-driven episodes AMAZING, we’re also rubbing shoulders with Season 20. As in, the final season. The writers need plenty of breathing room to do the epic ending justice, and as anime original episodes go, these are pretty sweet. Definitely a must-watch volume! 

You can watch the struggle for the ninja world by picking up DVD Set 30 here and Set 31 here. 

DVD Set 30
English & Japanese 2.0 Audio / English Subtitles Episodes 375-388 Special Features: Storyboards, Art Gallery, Clean Opening/Ending, English Credits

DVD Set 31
English & Japanese 2.0 Audio / English Subtitles
Episodes 389-402
Special Features: Storyboards, Art Gallery, Clean Opening/Ending, English Credits

by Chris Turner