English Dub Review: Naruto Shippuden “Aesthetics of an Artist”

Sasuke vs. Deidara. Round two. FIGHT!

Spoilers!

This episode was a real fake out. For those expecting an actual Sasuke vs. Deidara fight, you will be sadly mistaken. The preview after “White Zetsu’s Trap” really set up an encounter between the two, and I’ll admit that I bought it. I was hoping that we would get it, but alas, it was just Kurotsuchi in disguise. Well, the anticipation was great while it lasted.

I had a huge gripe with how the animation was handled last week, and I can confidently say that the animation was a lot better. You can tell that there was a bit more attention paid to the battle sequences, and it didn’t seem like it was handed off to the B-team. Then again, there wasn’t as much fighting as there was with “White Zetsu’s Trap,” so that could just be a coincidence.

What I really got excited for was that “Aesthetics of an Artist” featured a mess of characters that were only featured in one or two episodes. It may have been for only one episode, but at least we see Mifune, Deidara, Kurotsuchi, and Kankuro were all featured again. Another thing to take away from this is how White Zetsu is being utilized as Kabuto and Madara’s “Mr. Fix It.” In the manga, White Zetsu was used primarily as infantry, and to infiltrate the Allied Ninja ranks. So, fleshing out White Zetsu’s role in these fillers was something that was unexpected, but definitely useful.

The story otherwise was a little lacking, only because the focus was solely on Deidara escaping with the help of White Zetsu. The “Sasuke” appearance threw the story for a loop. Again, I am not a screenwriter, but I think the story would have suffered less if Deidara escaped this episode, and was recaptured in a future episode. All of the characters deserved some more time in the sun, mostly because their mini arcs were cut short. Call me nuts, but I am a sucker for a character who is an older samurai.

I’ve said this before, but these fillers haven’t been the worst fillers I’ve seen, in both Naruto and anime in general. Yeah, it suffers from being non-canon, and will never be referred to, but it still exists. That’s part of the problem. When you have to put filler in, try to make it memorable.  I watched every single filler episode after episode 135 in the first Naruto. I can’t remember a single thing from it. Why? According to the canon, it never happened. I would rather see repeats if animators are producing throwaway episodes.

Anyway, I digress. This filler arc has been mostly enjoyable thus far, mostly because of the reappearances of characters that didn’t really get enough time in the sun. However, I have no hope for next week. Watch the preview at the end of the episode, and you’ll know what I mean.