Post by Angel on Oct 6, 2009 6:05:00 GMT -5
Decided to go with a popular one for my first installment. I don't take requests, btw.
Get to used to them though, I should be doing plenty of them.
Story; On it's Own
On it's own it's kinda confusing. It at once tries to be something different in the shonen world and something completely different. At sometimes I'm sitting their scratching my head at some of the ridiculousness of it.. and then others I'm bawling my eyes out. The story, when not some very obvious fillers.. is interesting enough to hold my attention for the most part. Only the prolonged fight scenes and the strange episodes thrown in random places slow me down. Patience is needed for any form of Naruto fanboy or girl.
The characters are really good, and probably what saves the story in the end. I love Naruto, he's adorable and his desire to keep pushing has brought me to tears so many times.. and he has a great heart. My favorite character is Hinata.. who I have a personal bond with.. and my least favorite is Sauske.. who sadly I find rather flat and flighty.
Going to give it 3 gold stars out of 5.
Story; Stay True to the Manga?
Other than the massive amounts of filler thrown in every-which way to extend the storyline, it definetly tries it's hardest to stay as true to the manga as it possibly can. Some of the fillers add new attacks and elements that were not introduced or entered into the canon of the manga, but those are easily ignored and almost tossed aside when the fillers end. Kinda sad really.
Going to give it a 3 out of 5 too.
Animation:
Mergh, one of the many things that frustrate me about Naruto is the fact that they obviously have like.. three different artists. For the really major storyline episodes with little fighting, they have one guy. He can do some fight sequences, but all around he's more about the character's movements and normal things. Nothing flashy. There is the "filler" person, the person who does the episodes not too important, the animation in these episodes is just terrible. It get's annoying. Then the third guy is for the flashy fight episodes. You can always catch his episodes because suddenly everything is SO much darker than it used to be. Look at the fight between Sasuke and Orochimaru in the Forest of Death or the fight between the 3rd Hokage and Orochimaru (the first real fight episode, not the rest of the eternal standoff sequences). His are good, but the characters look Americanized and very different, more designed for movement rather than show..
But it's very distracting for me. Later on they went with the main one for the most part (I think the might have dropped the dark, fight scene guy or something) but all around, I find the animation lazy at times.
Going to give it a 2 out of 5.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is solid. My favorite track being "Sadness and Sorrow" it always, when added to the sad moments, is enough to get me bawling.. but the intense fight music at times can really get you pumping too. It's not the best, but it's definitely not something that will make your ears hurt.
Going to give a generous, 4 out of 5.
Sub VS. Dub?
This is one of the few anime I can stand listening to in the English Dub, so that's the first good sign. The main cast is voiced very decently, only the side characters tend to get too bad.. the characters that are designed to be scrapped after one episode. Occasionally you'll see the same person who voiced one person do another.. hell, I've seen the same guy who voiced Sauske voice another side character. Whatever it takes to pay less people I suppose.
But the dub, in many ways is much better I'm afraid. The quality is better, and then you lose the "Believe it" and instead get the Dattebayo, Naruto is much cuter.. and at the same time.. much more alive in the Japanese Sub. He has so much more personality. So despite that English can be fun once in a while and good if you have no other option, Japanese is the way to go if you have a choice.
Verdict: Sub, But the Dub is Alright.
Overall: A Normal, Tolerable, Semi-Decent Anime, but nothing special in anyway. 3 out of 5.
Disgreements, Comments, Questions, etc. Post em'.
