Naruto: Episode 104

Before anything else, I’d like to sing the new Naruto OP/ED a couple of praises. I normally tend to be ambivalent with Naruto’s OP/ED credits but these new themes are better than average. I’m particularly pleased with the OP track accompanied with excellent artwork and animation. Spoiler-y goodness, indeed.

The mini-arc is slowly proving most of the naysayers wrong (or so I hope), with the exception of (the immovable) manga purists, of course. I’d say a solid episode, even if it’s a filler is still a solid episode. A showcase of Naruto’s growth both in skill and maturity is a wise call for the writers. Oh, and excuse me as I drool over the massive whirlpool using mini-rasengans. Brilliant scene. Granted the genin versus genin scene seriously downplayed (seriously, it’s a WTF! moment) Sasuke’s powers, we see a glimpse of his developing resentment towards Naruto’s advancement. For now, he’s still a likeable character. He even let Naruto handle Idate’s confused state.

So far, the filler arc paces itself quite nicely. Angst, continuity, and character development are carefully integrated within the main thread. Hopefully, it’ll provide more interesting twists on the succeeding eps.