Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village is your average ninja hamlet, except for one thing, it contains Naruto Uzumaki. Unbeknownst, to the children, but known to their parents, Naruto’s body contains the trapped spirit of Kyubi - a demon fox that had been defeated twelve years ago. Because of their parent’s behaviour towards Naruto, the children of the village also treat him with deferential fear. All Natuto wants is to become the best ninja that he can and win the respect of the villagers, especially Haruno Sakura, who he has a crush on, and his mentor Jounin Sensei, Hakate Kakashi. Only time will tell if even his arch rival Uchida Sasuke will play a part on his road to become the villages Hokage...

So here we are with the second half of season four of Naruto, containing episodes ninety-two to one hundred and four, spread across three discs. When we left our heroes last time they were still battling against the forces of Orochimaru, who has his own plans for the Lady Tsunade offering her a straight forward proposal. If she heals Orochimaru, and betrays the Leaf Village, then two of the people she loves the most will be brought back to life if not she will have to fight. Meanwhile Naruto injures himself trying to ball up his chakra - sounds painful.

Naruto claws back some credibility with the conclusion of this storyline concentrating more on the narrative, than an endless series of fight. There is a palpable concern that Tsunade may just take the offer to see her loved ones. For fans of the comedic and fighting side of the show fear not, there is still enough Naruto goofing off, practicing new ninja moves and battle sequences. In fact, from a fairly auspicious start, the show reverts to type pretty quickly. Episodes ninety-three to ninety-six see the type of protracted fight, over a number of episodes, that seems to have become a signature for the show as a whole.

Episode ninety-seven rests up the old fighting muscles to concentrate on that other staple of Naruto, the comedy, with a little tale about tax collectors who are chasing Tsunade. The use of filler material does not bode well for the remaining episodes and season four ends with a lot of bitty shows which do not flow well, ultimately detracting from the preceding story arc. It is unclear whether interest or money was running out at this time but it does a disservice to one of the better seasons.

The quality of the animation has remained high throughout the series, even if the show is only presented in English or Japanese 2.0, which given the popularity of the show and the potential for a dynamic soundscape in the fight sequences, feels like fans are being a little short changed. The extras are also nothing to write home about, consisting only of a few trailers.

So another action packed slice of fun for fans of the show, unfortunately one where the padding is beginning to show.

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Charles Packer