There’s a tournament? Go Rock Lee!
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English and Japanese tracks are on here, though in all honesty the presence of the Japanese is rendered pointless for most audiences due to a lack of proper subtitles. Yep, again the dubtitles rear their ugly head, so those who watch anime exclusively in Japanese can scratch a couple marks off the final score by default.
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Aside from Manga’s own trailers, there’s nothing here at all.
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The preliminaries to the third part of the Chunin exam had only just got under way at the end of the last set and this volume of 3 discs takes us right through this series of duels. If the idea of a ninja tournament sounds like the best thing in the world then this is definitely where the action’s at. Fans that have patiently waited for their favourite characters to have their moment to shine will be pleased to learn that everyone is given a good airing in their respective fights.
There is some dramatic interest in how the fights are announced and the suspense is played out effectively. The only problem for western audiences is how the combatants are revealed to us only in Japanese text, meaning its impact is significantly lessened due to lack of subtitles. Sometimes you don‘t really get to find out what’s going on until the punches are already being thrown! Regardless of this niggle, once you get into proceedings there are some impressive sequences that are well worth bearing witness to.
With so many fights in quick succession, it’s a real self-indulgent treat for fans. And what of those not infected with the Naruto bug and are more interested in the story development? Sorry, but in all honesty you’re in the wrong place. There are a few flashbacks that flesh a couple characters out, but more often than not they seem to be used more to pad out the running time than anything else. The real point here is the crude and superficial anticipation of who can take who in a fight. It might not be the most sophisticated criteria of entertainment, but it works. In either case it’s worth sticking out as the final few episodes on this set to move off into the story once more.
Again, Manga are to be praised in their decision to release Naruto in larger chunks. If you get a bunch of friends round who are watching these episodes for the first time, then a marathon run of this set is a real good night in (you can freely jeer at Sakura’s flashbacks as well which is an added bonus). Pointless fighting for the sake of fighting, or the best thing since sliced bread? The whole tournament setup pushes all the right buttons for me, but those wanting a bit more substance may find themselves bored at the lack of content.
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This volume will please fans and obsessives to no end, but there’s little here that will convince doubters as to what all the fuss is about. Their loss. "
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