Kita ze Inbou! - キタぜ陰謀!

[ Episode 72: The Approaching Menace ]

Haha. It’s been a while for this show, hasn’t it? Well, I just got caught up and my main reaction for the previous filler arc is this: Same old shit. I’m quite sure anyone who made it through all the episodes know exactly what I mean by that. I’m not even going to go deep into the whole “overdraft of Kyuubi chakra” mess and the sudden reappearance of KN4 plus a fake. Granted the arc wasn’t bad compared to some of the horrible stuff we’ve seen in the original series but I thought at the beginning that it would turn out to be one of the best. Sadly, that didn’t happen.

Anyway! More importantly, this episode introduces Hidan and Kakuzu from Akatsuki as well as the third Bijuu we’ve ever seen: Nii Yugito. It goes without saying that she’s an absolute hottie but I personally thought that her potential was wasted…as you can see by the end of the episode. Her design was well-done and her Bijuu form kicked all sorts of ass but we never got to see her flaunt it all to the maximum. Sadly, I guess the combination of the freaks Hidan and Kakuzu were just too much (you’ll find out more in a few episodes if you don’t read the manga). Everything else in the episode was pretty much standard stuff. Naruto and Sakura having conflicts and Kakashi reporting to Tsunade that Akatsuki on the move. Then, of course, there are more Asuma scenes. Well, I can’t say much about him other than the filler has really set him up for a grand performance in this arc.

Before I go on and talk about this episode I’d like to address the filler arc. Sora’s character is utterly pointless. Sure he has a cool arm but the idea of excess kyuubi chakra and another teenager arguing with Naruto which causes Naruto to spout “I know how you feel!” making me want to vomit. Now if they just skipped that I have to say it at least engaged me a lot more than the previous arc. The other villains were not as stereotypical as the pre-Shippuuden filler villains and the emphasis on Asuma was a nice change from Naruto. All in all, it was a nice arc, but because Sora was in the center of it it’s only decent at best.

That aside episode 72 was a build up and no more. Hidan and Kakuzu seemed to be a very strong duo considering how they defeated a jinchuuriki with such ease. Other than that the usual Konoha antics: Sakura punishes Naruto for something he didn’t do, Sai shows lack of tact and Kakashi reports to Tsunade about Akatsuki’s next move. Nothing to write home about but it wasn’t bad, I just want to see the next episode now.

6/10