Naruto: Shippuuden - Shippuu! "Konoha Gakuen" Den

I never really understood the beauty after picture dramas, and I guess for me, “Naruto Shippuuden: Shippuu! "Konoha Gakuen" Den” a view changer.

- Art (7.5/10):
Simple still panels from what it looks like original manga art translating the one after the other, in black and white. You'd think at first it would be like no other casual chapter read but it actually was better than having the whole thing animated and risk the probably bad animation.
I really loved the slightly different feel of the art style, it appears to be killing the modern high school drama art style and worked surprisingly like a charm.
Probably the greatest ... thing about this, and having the setting be a normal high school, the clothing was just a massive overhaul, it made all of them look like fresh characters from some other series, especially Naruto.

- Sound (8/10):
The voice acting was a whole other experience from what you get in any other Naruto animation production. As the panels go by, the immersion from the characters narrating their lines take you by surprise on how cozy their speech pattern appears to be, a lot of dynamic and un-scripted (although it was) on the surface, as if you're listening to some rural storyteller talking about one of his old adventures.

- Enjoyment (8/10):
I loved the crazy references and the circle jerking they had going on about the main series. A lot of brilliant fourth wall breaking regarding manga references even. I'd say, the greatest comedic attempt Naruto has ever done brilliantly to let me genuinely let down some gags and appreciate what they were going on.

- Overall (7.8/10):
I really, and strongly recommend seeing this as it offers a lot than a simple picture drama does by the words. Fan of the series or not, it sure has got at least a couple of laughs in store, and it's only 8 minutes long.

YES.
I have been so turned off from Naruto recently, I mean come on, lets face it, the plot has become entirely convoluted - and that's without the perpetual interruption of fillers, and the characters... well.. and the art... and themes.. it's just.... well, when you look at all the other great anime out there, it's hard to come back to something like... this.

BUT... THIS... THIS is what the staff of Naruto needed to do. Instead of ignoring their many... many many faults, and hiding behind poorly conceptualized filler episodes and the bloated popularity/notoriety of their franchise, they've managed to release something legitimately entertaining, which actually ... draws upon the faults of the series (that seriously, did you expect us to just ignore them...?) and parodies them.

This special is an alternate universe parody of Naruto in a high-school setting in present-day Japan. It's delivered in manga format (so it's not animated or colored) and narrated by the seiyuus. Granted, it could have used a little more effort, but like most fast-paced, comedic, doujinshi-like omakes, it was a little rough around the edges (though I would think the Naruto budget is be big enough to compensate...) It seems like the staff of Naruto are finally learning a lesson or two from the other JUMP series' (which are rapidly gaining in the polls, probably for this reason... Go Gintama Go!!! show 'em how it's done! *cough*) and are taking a breather to slap themselves around a little! >:D

I won't give any spoilers, I'm just going to tell you to watch it. It's very short, painless, and you don't have to be up to date at all, hell, you don't have to be familiar with an episode of Shippuden (oh wait, that's a lie, you should at least know who Sai is... but that's enough).

Anyway, if you've become disenchanted/disappointed with Naruto, or hey, if you HATE it, even better - you'll get a kick out of this.

A cute, clever way of recapping all the events leading up to Sasuke's defection. By using an alternate universe to retell the story, it becomes less tedious to watch again. Though by virtue of it being a summary, it retains a sense of repetitiveness and pretty much adds nothing new. But it's still fun to see what the Naruto world looks like as a high school anime, and it surprisingly works well as one. It has enough interesting characters and plot twists to make one heck of a contemporary school drama.

It took a while for me to get used to the art style, and I ... wish it were longer, but the viewing experience was still an interesting, entertaining one.