Naruto Shippuden Box Set 17   Starring (voice): Junko Takeuchi, Chie Nakamura and Noriaki Sugiyama Manga Entertainment RRP: £24.99 MANG5333 Certificate: 12 Available 07 April 2014

Madara has declared war on the shinobi world. The Kage unite to form the Allied Shinobi Forces with the Raikage as their leader. While the villages prepare for battle, Sakura forms a team to go after Sasuke, secretly planning to take him out herself. But Sasuke has his own plans, and his confrontation with Danzo confirms the truth about the destruction of the Uchiha Clan. Where once he plotted revenge against his brother, Sasuke now turns his anger toward the Leaf Village, and only one person has any chance of changing his mind: Naruto...

Naruto Shippuden: Box Set 17 contains episodes 206-218 which are taken from the second half of the show's tenth season (2011). Yet again we seem to have missed the previous collection... and with a show like this, where it's imperative that you watch every episode, reviewing it fairly becomes a bit of a problem.

Disc one contains the episodes Sakura's Feelings; The Tailed Beast vs. The Tailless Tailed Beast; As One's Friend; Danzo's Right Arm; The Forbidden Visual Jutsu; Danzo Shimura; and Sakura's Resolve.

Disco two houses Lost Bonds; The Burden; Two Fates; High-Level Shinobi; The Infiltrator; and The Five Great Nations Mobilize.

This collection sees Sakura and her team going after Sasuke, with the intent to kill him. However, Sakura has no intention of putting her team in danger and plans to give them the slip and take down Sasuke alone. It also sees Sasuke battling against a number of other characters including Danzo, Kakashi and finally Naruto. The showdown between Naruto and Sasuke sees us flashing back to their childhood, when they became rivals almost as soon as they started training together.

There's also a major death in this collection, and without spoiling too much, even if you didn't particularly warm to the character it will still leave a lump in your throat - mainly thanks to the incredibly beautiful score.

Extras include the usual Storyboards; Production Art and Trailers.

So, another cracking collection that moves the story slowly forwards.

9

Darren Rea