Konoha Crush

Our landmark 50th episode sees us through to the conclusion of the Mizuki arc! These may be a bad three episodes but with new revelations about Mizuki's past that adamantly refuse to complicate his character, further elaborations on the arcs thematic goals confound and frustrate, and an inability to construct a compelling fight that surpasses our lowest expectations, we have plenty to talk about.

Covered this week: Naruto Episodes 145-147

Putting all that Fuma clan business behind us, we head back to the leave for a brand new adventure much closer to the Hidden Leaf, with a different assortment of guys and the return of an old foe - that one guy from the first episode of Naruto! Has he become a credible threat in the intervening months? Will his new associates bring an interesting texture to the coming action? Hm. Hmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmmm.

Covered this week: Naruto Episodes 142-144

The back half of our first arc in this new era comes with a surprising uptick in production quality, but can the story cohere to match? Don't trouble yourself with that. Instead, join us in celebrating Orochimaru's ability to be the funniest character in Naruto despite not appearing in any of these episodes.

After two lonely, Naruto-less months, the Konoha Crush duo returns for a bold new era of anime original Naruto action! Marvel as we pore over the few details we get about the land the Hidden Sound is (ostensibly) located in! Thrill at this week's episodes awkward attempts to tag between comedy and drama! Chill at the ominous and undefined promise of "a Sakura arc"! 

Covered this week: Naruto Episodes 136-138

It all comes to a head in the valley of the end, as Atsushi Wakabayashi’s best episode yet sets the stage for the conclusion of the first part of Naruto. We’ve got everything you need this week: hard hitting commentary like “Norio Matsumoto is a really good animator”, Sasuke appreciation, and some last-minute Shikamaru disrespect before we set our sights on the future.

Covered this week: Naruto Episodes 133-135

Sasuke buckles down to get sad and angry about a few more things and then this time, for real, for sure, the boys are fighting! Meanwhile, we lodge a few more complaints about Sasuke’s dad before he dies on screen again, try to discern how solidified the Itachi roadmap is, and litigate what does and does not count as “understanding your best friend”.

Covered this week: Naruto Episodes 130-132

We bid our farewells to Kimimaro before its time to move on to the main event: the boys are fighting! Or, well, they're building up to it. Join us for boys talking about their feelings, boys distinctly not talking about their feelings, and a surprisingly dense glimpse into whatever was going on with the Uchiha.

Covered this week: Naruto Episodes 127-129

We're back after a week off, and we're bringing the sand siblings with us! Gaara tries to be nice, Temari realizes she doesn't have to be, and Kankuro hangs out in the woods with a guy he's never talked to before in his life.

Covered this week: Naruto Episodes 124-126

The action continues apace this week, and we've got all the details in a nice and breezy episode. Kiba is on the run, Naruto is getting his ass kicked, and Shikamaru makes a convincing argument that he might never have been cool.

Covered this week: Naruto episodes 121-123

The show quickly tires of this ‘one fight at a time’ bullshit and decides to make everything else start happening all at once. In addition to three parallel fights, we see the advent of a new coolest guy, some further glimpses into orochimaru’s operations, and some… investigation into the Inuzuka clan’s jutsu.

Covered this week: Naruto episodes 118-120