English Dub Review: Naruto Shippuden “Forbidden Words”

Darui is one badass of a ninja.

This week, I was getting a little anxious about “Forbidden Words.” I had a feeling that the fight with Ginkaku and Kinkaku was going to get glossed over. The reason why, however, was that this was my favorite fight from the early chapters of the Ninja War in the manga. Ginkaku and Kinkaku were probably the most powerful ninja to come out of the Hidden Cloud Village. They were so powerful, they were able to absorb the Nine-Tails’s chakra while they were eaten by eating part of its stomach, and wield four of the five ninja tools of the Sage of the Six Paths.

So, with that said, I like how the odds were stacked against Darui, especially since Samui and Atsui got sucked into the Benihisago almost immediately after the fight started. Of course, we were all lulled into a false sense of security as the episode went on, but that is what a great writer can do. This episode definitely compacted the fight, but it wasn’t at the cost of the story. I was hoping for a three episode fight, with the ending of this week coming next week, but beggars can’t really be choosers.

That being said, I thought Atsui and Samui getting sealed away was actually well done. There was more to Samui and Atsui getting their words recorded into the Benihisago, and they did put up a bit more of the fight. However, they did get sealed the same exact way, so I can’t really complain there. It’s kind of sad to say, but the writers for Naruto know how to craft a story. Most writers for the action genre here should take note, because it’s lacking severely. Yes, I am staring at the staff of Legend of Korra on this one. When you’re in the middle of a war, we want to see it. We don’t get ill-placed highlight episodes, thankfully.

This entire beachhead invasion has the potential of being fantastic. There are a lot of stories to come of it, like Dan, Asuma and Hiashi. Then you also have Kakuzu rampaging through the beach as well. For a 24 minute episode, there is a lot to digest, but it feels like it was done right. some of the story was cut, but nothing was really cut that was pertinent to the story told in the episode. The final couple of minutes really cemented how well “Forbidden Words” was, because they skirted around that the Gold and Silver Brothers stole the Nine-Tails’s chakra. Yet, A never said if Ginkaku or Kinkaku were able to use the chakra. Well, that got answered, and in force. I would check out this episode, because Ginkaku and Kinkaku are just really fun to watch, plain and simple.