Review: Naruto Shippuden “The Secret Origin of the Ultimate Tag Team”

Well, it’s nice to finally see how A and Bee became the ultimate tag team. It’s only been about 100 episodes since they were introduced, right?

After a not so terrible string of filler episodes, Naruto Shippuden whipped out the canon again, with the tale of how Bee and A came to be, with a mashup of Tsunade and A trying to stop Naruto. I find it more enjoyable when there’s a lot going on, and “The Secret Origin of the Ultimate Tag Team” has that in droves. Well, that’s enough of that, let’s get into the episode!

I love how they pick A’s “brother” by a show of strength. I say “brother,” because for as much as they bond like siblings, the person who earns the name Bee ends up as something like the ultimate guard, and Jinchuriki to the Eight Tails. That’s a big thing, because A will be the next Raikage. Comparing the episode to the manga, the plot was on point. Instead of mashing everything with this story into one episode, the writers took their time to tell the story, and split this into two episodes.

What made “Secret Origin of the Ultimate Tag Team” was the show of how the bond between Bee and A grew. They go from not knowing each other, to Bee putting himself on the line against Minato during a fight with A. At the end of the day, it feels like the world of Naruto is a real small world, because of all of the people having ties to another. Even when characters don’t seem like they have ties to Naruto, that character will. I can dig it. Anyway, I can only suggest watching this to get more background information for Bee and the Raikage.

The meat of this confrontation between the two jinchuriki and the two Kage will come to a head next week. That’s where most of the story from the current setting will occur. This was a lot of flashbacks, but it’s from encounters we didn’t see much of yet, so it’s a great supplement. I really liked “Secret Origin of the Ultimate Tag Team,” and I am excited for next week’s episode.