Okay, it seems to me like I need to beef up my anime reviews, so here’s another one.
Before you get any wrong ideas, I don’t hate Naruto, and I don’t love it either. I’m neutral. So I’m writing this post to decide which side to pick.
I’ve only seen glimpses of episodes and heard the story, or just seen posters or ads about the anime, Naruto Shippuden. But I have never sat down and watch it from A to B. So this weekend, I decided to watch the first episode and see how it looks. And yes, I am aware I cannot judge an anime by its first episode, but I just want a little idea of how it looks and if it draws me in at all. Plus, I have to admit, I don’t know one person that loves anime and hasn’t seen Naruto, so I thought I might join in with the crowd.
Well, my initial reaction was surprise. I was actually really shocked at how different the characters and the plot are, compared to my expectations. I thought it would be very full of action, even from the beginning, all mixed 
with the supernatural and lots of tension.
Seeing Naruto as a small boy, however, hoping and dreaming of being a ninja, while having such a troubled past really struck a chord with me. I think in this first episode, they did a really good job in making the viewers care for the protagonist. So that immediately made me think, ‘I want to see what happens to him.’ In a way, there’s this charm about him that almost makes you realise how much you’ll root for him when he’s in a fight: and that’s a good sign.
We’re only introduced to a few characters, which eliminates any sort of confusion and I’m glad there’s not too many as well, because I was afraid I would be completely lost as soon as it began. However, saying that, it does get a little more intense toward the end as we discover more about the village hidden in the leaves and its history.
I’m still not completel
y set on watching the whole series, as a lot of people always say one thing that ruins Naruto is its length. There are hundreds of episodes, therefore no one wants to begin watching it because they’re aware they may never keep up: unless they’re die-hard fans of course.
On the other hand, despite all that, it has gotten so much attention, and it is simply everywhere. So there must be a pretty large group of people that faithfully watch each episode as it airs, hence its success.
Rating-wise, I don’t think it would be right of me to rate it anyt
hing, just because I haven’t seen enough of it. However, I did really enjoy the first episode, whether that feeling will continue in the next few episodes, I don’t know.
I’ll probably watch a few others, just to see if I’ll get into it a little more. What do you think? Will I get completely hooked after the tenth?