Sunday, July 8, 2007


Even though it debuted some time after the manga, the anime quickly caught up, since one anime episode usually covers one or two manga chapters. To prevent overlapping, the anime's producers tend to organize content from the manga chapters into long, uneventful sections followed by short bursts of action, sometimes adding filler content in between. By the time the last canonical arc of the anime concluded, it was quickly gaining on the manga and consequently switched to anime-only filler episodes to allow the manga to broaden the gap once more. Most of the filler episodes are stand-alone stories, with a few being part of arcs that are several episodes long. The filler episodes lasted for 85 episodes, the duration of the first series. After the series moved back into manga-adapted episodes, it was renamed Naruto: Shippūden (疾風伝, Naruto: Shippūden? lit. Hurricane Chronicles). The new series premiered on February 15, 2007.
The anime generally remains true to the manga, usually changing only minor details (causes of death, loss of limbs, and other injuries have been lessened in the anime) or expanding on parts skipped by the manga. The filler arcs, though unreferenced in the manga (save for a few scant scenes), deal with the breaks between story arcs, most prominently the period between the mission to retrieve Sasuke and Naruto's departure from Leaf Village at the end of the original series. The filler arcs also often shine the spotlight on minor characters that have received little narrative attention otherwise.
New episodes, animated by Studio Pierrot, air weekly on TV Tokyo in Japan during the Golden Time slot (Japan's equivalent of prime time in the US). As of October 5, 2006, it shows on Thursday nights. The series has also spawned four movies, Naruto the Movie, Naruto the Movie 2, Naruto the Movie 3, and Naruto: Shippūden the Movie scheduled to premiere on August 4, 2007. The first three are available on DVD.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN SWINGS INTO ACTION!!!!!!

THIS IS THE EPISODE GUIDE TO NARUTO SHIPPDEN


1
"Homecoming""Kikyō" (帰郷)
February 15, 2007
Naruto Uzumaki returns to his village of Konoha after a two-and-a-half-year training journey with Jiraiya. He is reintroduced to his peers, who have advanced at least to Chunin rank, unlike Naruto who is still a Genin. Elsewhere, two members of the organization Akatsuki head towards the village of Sunagakure to capture Gaara, who has since become the Kazekage, the village leader.
2

"Akatsuki makes its move""Akatsuki, shidō" (暁、始動)
February 15, 2007
Jiraiya tells Kakashi Hatake that Akatsuki's plan to collect the tailed beasts is underway. Because of the Demon Fox inside him, Naruto is in danger any time he leaves the village, so Jiraiya relinquishes Naruto's training to Kakashi, who can ensure his safety. Kakashi offers to give Naruto and Sakura a test to see how far they have improved. Meanwhile, the Akatsuki members Deidara and Sasori arrive at the entrance of the Sunagakure. They discover that Yura, their sleeper agent, has already cleared the guards.

3
"The results of training""Shugyō no seika" (修行の成果)
February 22, 2007
Kakashi challenges Naruto and Sakura with the bell test, in which they must forcefully take from Kakashi two jingle bells using whatever means necessary. Sakura and Naruto both demonstrate their newly acquired skills. At Sunagakure, Deidara reveals his ability to manipulate exploding clay. He takes to the skies aboard a giant clay bird and begins his aerial assault by lobbing exploding clay spiders onto the guards, instantly killing them. As soon as he makes it to the Kazekage building, however, he finds Gaara there waiting for him.
4
"Jinchūriki of the Sand""Suna no Jinchūriki" (砂の人柱力)
March 1, 2007
Naruto and Sakura both realize that even though they have vastly improved, they are still no match for Kakashi's superior techniques, and decide to resort to more unconventional means. They win the challenge by threatening to spoil the ending of Kakashi's new graphic novel, forcing him to cover his ears and shut his eyes. Meanwhile, Deidara and Gaara begin their battle. Deidara finds a formidable challenge in Gaara's abilities to control and manipulate sand.
5
"As the Kazekage...!""Kazekage to shite…!" (風影として…!)
March 15, 2007
Deidara sees that subduing the Kazekage is not as easy as he thought. He hurls exploding clay at Gaara to no effect, as Gaara can quickly summon a shield of sand around him with relative ease. Gaara then commands his sand to attack Deidara who has no choice but to try to evade. Gaara's sand eventually catches up with Deidara and crushes his arm.
6
"Quota Cleared""Norumakuriā" (ノルマクリアー)
March 29, 2007
Deidara is determined to capture the Kazekage. Unfazed by the loss of his arm, he unleashes a massive clay bomb onto the village. Gaara is able to deflect the bomb by using his sand to create an enormous shield over the village. However, this leaves him open to a sudden attack, and he inadvertently uses sand that had been seeded with Deidara's clay to defend himself. Deidara then detonates the clay-infested sand, which knocks Gaara unconscious. Deidara captures him and flies away.
7
"Dash, Kankuro""Shissōre Kankurō" (疾走れカンクロウ)
March 29, 2007
As Deidara carries an unconscious Gaara out of the village, Gaara's older brother Kankuro chases after them. At the village entrance he discovers that all the guards there have already been killed. Upon catching Deidara and Sasori, Kankuro initiates his Puppet Technique by summoning his puppets Karasu, Kuroari, and Sanshouo. Sasori sees this as an opportunity to demonstrate his skills, and he allows Deidara to go ahead so that he can battle Kankuro alone.
8
"Team Kakashi deployed""Shutsugeki, Kakashi han" (出撃、カカシ班)
April 12, 2007
Kankuro's attacks are all nullified by Sasori's scorpion-like tail. He eventually pierces Kankuro with his tail, inflicting him with a slow poison. Kankuro is puzzled at how easily Sasori counters his fighting style. Sasori reveals that he himself used to be from Sunagakure and that Kankuro's puppets are his own creations. In response to the Akatsuki assault, Sunagakure sends a distress call to Konoha.
9
"The Jinchūriki's tears""Jinchūriki no namida" (人柱力の涙)
April 12, 2007
Kankuro is brought back to the village but he is feeling the effects of Sasori's deadly poison. The village's medics are helpless arriving at a cure. Baki decides to seek help from the village's elders, Chiyo and Ebizo. Meanwhile, Konoha receives the emergency message from Sunagakure. Tsunade chooses to send Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura to respond to the Sand's need. Along the way, Sakura learns for the first time that Naruto's body contains the demon fox.
10
"Sealing Jutsu: Illusionary Dragon Nine Seal""Fūin Jutsu: Genryū Kyū Fūjin" (封印術・幻龍九封尽)
April 19, 2007
Deidara and Sasori arrive at the secret Akatsuki hideout. The Akatsuki leader gathers his followers and they begin the ritual to extract the One-Tailed Shukaku from Gaara. At Sunagakure, Kankuro's condition is worsening and Chiyo claims that even her expertise is not enough to counter Sasori's poison. At Konoha, Tsunade foresees the difficulty of Team Kakashi's mission and orders Team Guy to back them up.
11
"The medical ninja's pupil""Iryō ninja no deshi" (医療忍者の弟子)
April 26, 2007
After traveling for three days, Team Kakashi arrives just in time to save Kankuro. Using the skills she acquired from her apprenticeship under Tsunade, Sakura is able to extract the poison and create an antidote. Kankuro regains consciousness and gives Kakashi a piece of cloth from Sasori's outfit, allowing Kakashi's ninja dogs to track the Akatsuki member.
12
"The retired old lady's determination""Inkyo babaa no ketsui" (隠居ババアの決意)
May 3, 2007
Team Kakashi heads out to Akatsuki's hideout along with Chiyo. On the way, Chiyo tells them about the Tailed Beasts. Meanwhile Pakkun heads out to Team Guy and informs them that they are quite close to the Akatsuki hideout. The Akatsuki send out Kisame and Itachi to stop Team Guy and Team Kakashi respectively.
13
"A destined meeting""Innen aimamieru" (因縁あいまみえる)
May 10, 2007
The battle between Team Guy and Kisame begins while Kakashi explains the danger of Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan to the rest of his team and reveals what he's discovered to be its weakness. Guy's team is quickly subdued leaving Guy to fight Kisame alone. Kakashi leads the attack against Itachi with Naruto following close behind, but Naruto is stopped when his allies vanish leaving him alone to face three Itachis.
14
"Naruto's growth""Naruto no seichō" (ナルトの成長)
May 17, 2007
The battle between Guy and Kisame gets into full swing. Guy bring outs his nunchaku to compensate for Kisame's sword, but takes a beating from Kisame's water attacks. Guy has to resort to his ultimate 6 Celestial Gates attack to even the score . Guy and Kisame jump to the skys and ready themselves while Neji takes this chance to break free of Kisame's water prison. Meanwhile, Naruto realizes he is caught in an illusion and recalls his training with Jiraiya to dispell Itachi's illusion. When Naruto starts to apply his knowledge, Itachi remarks on Naruto's improvement.
15
"Hidden sphere - It is named...!""Kakushi dama - Nazukete" (隠し玉 名付けて…!)
May 24, 2007
The two battles continue from previous episode. Naruto is released from Itachi's genjutsu by Chiyo and Sakura after his failed attempt to release himself. Distracted and immobilized by Kakashi's shadow clone, Itachi takes a direct hit from Naruto's Great Ball Rasengan. Meanwhile, Guy opens the sixth gate and defeats Kisame using Morning Peacock. The Konoha shinobi then find out, to their surprise, that they have not defeated Itachi or Kisame, but two entirely different people.
16
"The secret of Jinchūriki""Jinchūriki no himitsu" (人柱力の秘密)
May 31, 2007
Kakashi's and Guy's teams both figure out that their battles with the doppelgängers were set-ups to delay them from coming to Gaara's rescue. Granny Chiyo reveals that in attempts to control the power of the tailed beasts they were binded into human hosts called "Jinchūriki," and that the human host dies when the beast is extracted — increasing the urgency of saving Gaara. Kankuro is awake and joins a meeting of the Sand council where we also learn some more history of the Sand. Both teams stop to rest since their battles have taken their tolls and in prepation for the battles to come. Akatsuki sends Zetsu to dispose of the doppelgängers bodies.
17
"Gaara dies!""Gaara shisu!" (我愛羅死す!)
June 7, 2007
Team Guy and Team Kakashi both finish their breaks and go on towards the Akatsuki lair. Naruto shows intense passion and is in a hurry to reach Gaara. Chiyo notices this and Kakashi explains to her that Naruto is also a Jinchuriki and knows the pain Gaara has lived through. Chiyo explains that she was the ninja who sealed Shukaku in Gaara, in order to protect the Sand Village. Meanwhile, Akatsuki has finished extracting Shukaku from Gaara. Team Guy and Team Kakashi finally meet in front of the sealed entrance to the Akatsuki lair.
18
"Break in! Button hook entry""Totsunyū! Botan fukku entorī" (突入!ボタンフックエントリー)
June 21, 2007
Team Guy and Team Kakashi find out there is a barrier protecting the Akatsuki hideout, being generated by 5 forbidden tags in the area. After preparations, Team Guy removes the tags and disables the barrier allowing Team Kakashi to enter the hideout. Meanwhile all the Akatsuki members have left the hideout except for Deidara and Sasori, who are supposed to take care of the intruders.
19
"Traps activate! Team Guy's enemies""Torappu sadō! Gai han no teki" (罠作動!ガイ班の敵)
July 5, 2007
Team Guy fights with exact clones of themselves, a trap set off by their removal of the barrier tags. Deidara takes Gaara's body outside of the cavern, followed by Naruto and Kakashi. Chiyo and Sakura stay behind to fight Sasori.
20
"Hiruko vs. two kunoichi""Hiruko vs. futari no kunoichi" (ヒルコVS二人の女忍者)
July 19, 2007

21
"Sasori's real face""Sasori no sugao" (サソリの素顔)
July 26, 2007