‘Naruto Shippuden’ Episode 482: Boyhood Arc To Continue Anime’s Decline
Naruto Shippuden has almost completed its run, having covered all but the final chapter of its source material. With Episode 482’s preview confirming that the anime’s new “Boyhood” arc would be continuing, fans of the long-running series are once more feeling a bit apprehensive about the immediate future of the popular anime.
Naruto Shippuden Episode 481 continued the trend started by Episode 480, which explored the childhood of both the titular ninja and his flame, Hinata. This previous week’s episode, on the other hand, explored the past of the anime’s two other main characters, Sasuke and Sakura.
As much as Episode 481 had its moments, numerous fans pointed out that the overall quality of the anime appeared to be declining. The art was once more sub-par, and the OST used during the episode, while a nod to the original series, was found by many to be horribly out of place. Apart from this, Naruto himself was depicted to act completely out of character, with the supposedly boisterous young ninja reprimanding Sakura for breaking the rules.
Thus, as much as the “Boyhood” arc was appreciated by many during its introduction, it is slowly, but steadily starting to wear down the fans of the long-running series. If any, the lack of fresh material in the episodes, together with poor animation and awkward music choice, made Episode 481 very distracting to watch.
Unfortunately for Naruto Shippuden, the preview for Episode 482 appears to show more of the same thing that the anime has already been exploring for the last couple of weeks. For one, this coming week’s episode will be focusing on Gaara and Shikamaru, and from what could be seen in the preview, the plot of the coming episode would be very similar to the pattern employed for the Naruto-Hinata and Sasuke-Sakura episode.
Naruto is arguably one of the most successful anime franchises to date, with the anime and manga creating a legion of fans that number in the millions. Over the course of its release, both the manga and the anime enjoyed immense success, with both critics and fans agreeing that Naruto‘s story of young ninjas and the undying determination of the human spirit is something that is surprisingly fresh.
However, as much as the Naruto franchise is one of the biggest in the world, its anime adaptations are notoriously rife with fillers. In fact, up until the latter half of 2016 and almost for the entirety of 2015, Studio Pierrot, the firm behind the production of the anime, employed so much filler that only a handful of canon episodes would be aired every so often.
With the introduction of the Princess Kaguya arc, fans of the Naruto universe rejoiced, since after all the years of waiting, the long-running Shippuden anime appears to finally be at an end. This anticipation reached a fever pitch when Studio Pierrot teased a one-hour special focusing solely on the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke.
The final battle garnered extreme levels of hype among fans and non-fans of the anime alike, and when it finally did air in late September, it was everything that Naruto aficionados have always dreamt of since the manga ended a couple of years ago. The animation was superb, the music expertly placed, and the voice acting completely on point. If any, the final battle raised the bar of the anime so high that it made the “Boyhood arc,” which was partly requested by fans of the franchise, look very inferior.
Then again, one thing was evident after the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke ended. Fans of the long-running franchise are not yet ready to let go of the anime. Thus, the “Boyhood” arc, which appears to be an exposition and build-up towards the events of the final chapter of the manga, actually serves a purpose. If any, it is a salve for avid fans of the series who would, in a pretty short time, have to come to terms with the notion of the anime finally concluding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_ZxQaCHqg4
[Featured Image by cocamert|Flickr|Cropped and Resized|CC BY-SA 2.0]
