What You Likely Never Noticed About The Fights At The End Of Naruto
Masashi Kishimoto's hit series "Naruto" is known for its famous orange-clad titular hero and his ability to win over many of his enemies. Despite the instances of diplomacy, the series isn't really about a war of words. Sure, ideals and philosophies often conflict between characters, but this is a show about mystical shinobi. And these ninjas spend as much time sharpening their martial arts skills as they do their kunai. So instead of the debate chambers, clashes in "Naruto" often lead to animated fisticuffs.
In the earlier episodes of the series, "Naruto" became known and celebrated by fans for the way it depicted its battles. Confrontations in the earlier part of the series are choreographed fight scenes we'd probably see in films such as "The Matrix," mixed with the Hadouken-like special moves found in a game of "Street Fighter." The fights in early "Naruto" are full of hand-to-hand action, chess-mind strategy, and dazzling effects that all balance to produce an experience completely different from the likes of "Bleach" or "Dragon Ball." However, as the series continued onto the conclusive portion of "Shippuden," fans may not have noticed that the fights completely changed from how they were first shown.
The battles evolved into grand spectacles
As "Naruto" continued, the heroes and villains of the series became stronger and much more capable of producing some of the most complex and powerful techniques and attacks. It's a natural evolution for any longstanding Shonen anime series, but in the unique case of "Naruto," this type of growth significantly impacted the series' fights. By the later half of "Shippuden," the conflicts were less about stylish martial arts action and more about explosive and powerful chakra-based attacks capable of wiping out entire armies.
The most prominent example is Naruto and Sasuke's fights against Obito and Madara Uchiha during the "Birth of the Ten Tails' Jinchūriki Arc." For instance, in the episode "A Heart Filled With Comrades" (via Crunchyroll), Sasuke and Naruto combine their Susanoo and Tailed-Beast Mode to create a kaiju-sized being of chakra. And generally, the heroic duo's battle against Madara in the arc is full of destructive energy moves that wouldn't feel out of place in "Dragon Ball Super." This is a far cry from the more intimate battles found during the "Chunin Exams Arc."
Despite straying further away from its original smaller-scale fights, the battle evolution in "Shippuden" isn't without its noteworthy moments. Might Guy's battle against Madara in "The Eight Inner Gates Formation" episode is a neat callback to the high-risk fight between Rock Lee and Gaara. It's just placed on a grander level. And while the sibling fight between Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha reveals the Sharingan's true potential, it also provides the series with its most strategic battle. Still, it's hard not to notice that "Naruto" feels like a completely different show by the time we get to the end.