English Dub Review: Naruto Shippuden “The Super Secret S-Rank Mission”

“The Super Secret S-Rank Mission” was a lot funnier than it should be, mainly with how Aoba delivered the “mission” to Naruto to keep him preoccupied, and Condor’s introduction of the giant boss animals. These introductions are all based on different mob tropes, and I laughed hard. This entire segment was so much better animated than it was in the manga, mostly because the emotions being animated brought more life into the giant animals. Especially King. His role was expanded quite a lot from the manga, and I couldn’t help but laugh my ass off with the love hexagon that popped up. I guess with all of the seriousness that Naruto has had of late, it’s good to cut loose. Tell that to Guy. The aftermath he is suffering from the Inner Gates technique will have you rolling.

The laughter comes back during the Kage intel briefing later on in the episode, when Ōnoki is trying to show he’s strong enough to run interference on whatever is coming to the island. No matter what Ōnoki does, he seems to throw his back out in some way. The little guy is a stubborn old man, but he flies, and is willing to do what he needs to so the job is done. For instance, when he almost turned Sasuke to dust particles. This guy is great!

I guess all of this laughter is better utilized now, because you know Madara and Kabuto are going to make a move on the island. I really dug how Kabuto just keeps tipping his hand at Madara, and Madara is increasingly surprised at how much Kabuto and Orochimaru were able to uncover. It shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise if you think about it. Orochimaru spent most of his life in bunkers experimenting on his followers, and Kabuto was his assistant. I’m sure there was a lot of time to find out what was going on if they put their ears to the ground. The sheer scope of Madara’s plan will blow your mind.

The science field trip to the bottom of the mountain proved very fruitful as well, because it showed that Madara was planning for the long term.  The battle he had with Hashirama in the Valley of the end has been thought to have one context entirely. However, “The Super Secret S-Rank Mission” showed that fight had a completely different meeting for Madara. From the Kage Summit until now, the history of the series has been re-written, and I think it has been for the better. There was no reasoning behind why Madara and Hashirama fought back when Naruto started. All that was given was “Madara was an enemy of the Leaf.” Orochimaru was more evil when Naruto started, in my opinion.

Kabuto has his own motives to go to the island, and as of now, I am not entirely sure that they fall in line exactly with what Madara wants. As Kabuto and the newly resurrected Deidara are flying to the island, I was surprised to see that Ōnoki was able to intercept so fast. For an old man with a broken back, that guy can move. Unfortunately, he has to deal with Kabuto and Deidara. From when Kabuto re-emerged, I was surprised with how cunning and assertive he was, especially with how he was bitched by Sasuke. You can tell he has revenge on his mind, and he is going to take it at all costs.

I have to say, “The Super Secret S-Rank Mission” was very odd. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what I expected coming off of the events of last episode.  Like I said before, I was expecting something more somber, and addressing the matters at hand. The writers addressed it in a roundabout way, but it was handled in a way only the Naruto writing staff can handle it. Bringing Ōnoki into the mix was a good idea as well, because no one knows what he can really do. Next episode, that little, flying old man will definitely cut loose.

You can catch the latest episodes of Naruto Shippuden on Hulu!