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Wow, just wow. When I first saw Hunter x Hunter getting all the praise it was getting and how my friends are constantly recommending the show to me, I can't help but wonder why and how one could get such excellent ratings. Of course, this is only natural for an outsider to wonder and since it has an overwhelming yet not so many numbers of episodes, I did hesitate to watch it. It was then a year after first knowing Hunter x Hunter later after watching a few long-running shounen such as Black Clover and Naruto that I have decided to finally watch it and ... boy did I not regret it.

I'll start this off by talking about the story, one of Hunter x Hunter's best strengths. I'll be honest and say that this is probably the most down-to-earth shounen that you could find out there. Everything that happens is most likely what would've happened in reality if Hunter x Hunter were to be real-life and most of the new elements that were introduced in the show are thoroughly explained, even the minor details. The logic was also on point in the show, there was almost little to no element that did not make any sense in here and it is not riddled with plot armor, something we don't usually see in shounens. The transition from arc to arc is amazing as well, this is minor but makes the experience too much better in my opinion. Saying all that, the story itself is really good in its own rights. Hunter x Hunter holds some of the most well-written arcs, if not, the best in the shounen genre. The fluidity, pacing, and overall how eye-catching each arc is, is just amazing. The writing in here just wipes the floor if you compare it with other shounen. Though after all that I just gave it a 9, why? This is peak level nitpicking here but it's because although it's one of the finest in the shounen genre, it still lacks some elements such as lore and foreshadowing. It's a very clean and linear storyline that is pretty easy to understand and while I am not saying that is a bad thing and I do know that some people do prefer less complex stories as opposed to complex ones, I just feel like it just lacks in that area and that is what puts it below shows like Attack on Titan and Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood in terms of writing. But in terms of pure, shounen-styled stories, it's a straight 10.

In terms of animation or art, this is a big win for me. It has a simple yet elegant approach to the art and it worked wonders, I have learned to not judge an anime by its art style after watching BNHA and that statement stays true until now. Of course, at this time(2011), there are already high-quality animations running around such as Fate/Zero and 5 Centimeters Per Second but the thing that has impressed me so much is that the level of consistency Madhouse has brought to the anime in the whole of 148 episodes. From episode 1 to 148, the animation has been nothing short of sublime, and whilst some episodes might not be as colorful as the other, the animation stays true and there are no random spikes and drops in quality. But yes, this time I am not going to nitpick just because it doesn't have Fate level animation, I acknowledge the difference between a 24 episode show that has the best of the best animation quality vs a 148 episode show that has consistent and great animation quality and I can only give praise for that.

The sounds are overall good, having good voice acting with consistency but well that's the standard for any anime today and 10 years ago, good voice acting so I won't say too much on that. My main criticism is the points where some OSTs are played where it just doesn't sound right and maybe on slightly tweaked circumstances might sound a lot better, it just didn't work at said times and there are a few times where that happened. My other criticism is that there was practically only a single opening song that was showcased and whilst that doesn't bother most people, as an opening guy myself it just feels a little repetitive hearing the same openings over and over again and while I am aware that there are 3 versions, 2 of them sounds almost the same and the second version has the same tune so the feeling of 'repetitiveness' will stay but other than that, everything's good in this department, especially the endings.

The characters are where Hunter x Hunter is honestly unrivaled at, at least for shounens. The show has such a large cast of characters and what amazes me is how they can cater to all the characters, giving each one of them some importance to the show. Every character has their ideals and most of the time isn't the usual cliched character that people would call 'generic'. Character development is amazing too, you can clearly tell the difference between some characters when they were introduced until a few tens or hundred episodes later, how they changed whether it'd be physically, mentally, or relationship-based. Some characters have some bizarre ideals but after thinking about it, might be agreeable. They even give the backstories to minor characters. Overall the depth they give to each character is just amazing.

Overall, I just enjoyed Hunter x Hunter very much. Out of the 148 episodes, I don't think I got bored at any of the episodes that were displayed. It is a very good show and perhaps the best in the shounen genre. Shame it ended on a somewhat incomplete ending if you'd like to say it that way and it will probably not continue for a while or perhaps ever looking at the pace of where a single chapter releases. It was a great, fun rollercoaster ride filled with thrills and emotion but I guess all good things do come to an end.

Ah, Naruto. One of the classical shounens that have defined what anime is today. At first, I was reluctant to watch the show because of the overwhelming episode count mixed in with it's other seasons but now that I have finished it I could safely say I have no regrets. First impressions were fairly decent and the story looked interesting from the start. Of course we've seen this if we watched other shounens from this day and age but remember, this is where all of it started or at least most of it.

Okay, starting with the review for the show, I will say this first ... when I saw that Naruto isn't as great as the public portrays it to be. Sure, it is pretty good and will leave an impact on you as you watch it, giving some moral advices and some undeniably beautiful action but it does have it flaws, the not-so noticeable ones and the pretty bad ones. I'm not going to nitpick because though some of the flaws are bad, they're still not the most obvious ones but yeah, a flaw is still a flaw. Then we have the fillers, of course this could be bad, okay or good depending on who you are but personally, I think they weren't that bad. Sure it doesn't contribute much to the story but for people like me that enjoys what there is to enjoy, the filler is definitely enjoyable, though not most are like this and thus makes it one of the show's worst selling point.

The story was pretty good in my opinion, the whole show until ep 135 focused around the main story about the rise of Naruto and him building up his reputation and skill to make himself worthy of the title he so dreamt of as 'hokage'. Naruto seems to be set in a world where 'modern' and the age of 'ninjas' took place and mixing those two together you get a very diverse world with endless possibilities to tell and that's pretty unique. Again, if you came here relatively new and has watched other shounens like Boku no Hero Academia or Black Clover, the concept is practically the same though the only difference is that Naruto is the grandfather of the concept as far as I can see. After episode 135 the anime seems to have taken a turn to the fillers as they had to give the manga some breathing space from the anime and again, depending on who you are, the fillers are a complete hit or miss.

I'll say this here and now that I'm a believer that old animes that is decades old should not be compared to animes that is relatively new and is a decade older than the anime you're comparing it to. I tend to just see the animation quality of the specific anime era and compare it from there and Naruto specifically didn't do the worst, though there are somewhat better animations out there at that time and the animation could be a little clunky and inconsistent at times but not enough to make it a bad selling point. The sound quality isn't bad at all but actually, it was great. I enjoyed all the opening sand the more memorable one of opening 2 which is 'Haruka Kanata' and honestly, there isn't much to be said about it other than they're all great. Though, the voice acting could feel a little strange for the Japanese dub at times and doesn't feel like they'r 'acting the moment' but overall they're good.

The cast is pretty good for me personally, I liked everyone that has appeared on the show and the number of characters just gives vibrancy and more depth to the show itself. The main ones were the ones that particularly caught most eyes being Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke and the semi-main ones are definitely given a lot, lot more screentime that other characters that isn't exactly the main ones. The character development here is good though not amazing and complex where there is an amazing difference from their ideals and personality from the time they were introduced until the time the show either ended or met their demise. It's more subtle and predictable in a way like the usual changing ideals and turning bad into good guys ones, trying to change their ways, and just getting better in general. Though this is a shounen and that doesn't mean the character development is bad at all because they got a lot of episodes to improve on every characters and maneuver them into the right direction and they did it pretty decently in my opinion. Though in general, the whole cast of Naruto is likeable, in a good way or not.

Overall, Naruto is what you would call a once in a generation anime series for all it's strengths and flaws. Though, it is not as great as the public would describe it, it's still a pretty good watch in my opinion and you wouldn't regret it at the end. I personally enjoyed Naruto very much and is looking forward to what shippuden has to offer. Though one last reminder is that I see a lot of people criticizing Naruto for it's 'unlogical' elements. Say, what type of show do you think Naruto is, yeah you should know better and if you really hate 'unlogical' then I would give my condolences to you for not being able to watch a lot of animes out there. It's a shounen, you've watched a shounen, and you definitely know it's a shounen, what do you expect.

WOWDewd here with another Naruto movie review because then whole theme of these reviews is 'I'm bored so why not?'. Anyways, this movie in particular is somewhat similar to the first movie. Naruto and gang leaded by Kakashi sensei attending a fairly low level B-rank mission which initial description was just to protect a VIP until they gets home safely. The concept is pretty much the same as the first where then they find out there was some kind of coup happening in the country and even though wasn't in the mission requirements, they willingly lend their aid to help them solve a national crisis ... because that's, what heroes does, I guess. That's the basic premise anyways and I can't give any more details without spoilers. Albeit similar in concept, it's in a way different in terms of the plot itself. The movie is filled with emotional moments and pretty, eye candy fight scenes. Unlike the last movie, this is still a step up for me and the new characters introduced here I would actually like to see in the main series one day. That being said, let's get on with the review.

[Story 6/10]
You see, even though the concept is pretty cliched and so on, I actually like the story. That being said, I can't really give this anything higher for the somewhat predictability of events and it's fair writing.

[Animation 8/10]
What keeps me liking the Naruto movies is it's better animation than the main series. Going on to the third movie the animation is still maintaining it's consistency of being eye candy for the viewers. Sure it's not Fate/Zero level of animation but I believe that animation for animes made before the 2010s should not be compared with modern anime animation with a few exceptions. In the end, it's better than most animations you would see from the 2006 and that's a good achievement by itself.

[Sound 7/10]
I mean, it's not great but it's not bad at all. The soundtracks worked in aiding fight scenes and so but nothing too memorable. Voice acting was good as usual.

[Characters 7/10]
As I said, the new characters here wasn't too cranked with amazing features and so on but it was memorable for me at least. I would like to see them in the main series if possible. Character development was pretty decent too, Hikaru learns to overcome his weaknesses and learned how to make friends and Michiru learned 'what's important'. They were overall just fun to be watching and around with so that's a plus too.

[Enjoyment 8/10]
I'm a guy that enjoys what he enjoys and that is not so specific. This movie in particular gave me that enjoyment and I felt compelled to watch through the entire movie. I'd be honest and say it's not that great but what I enjoy is what I enjoy and that is this movie.

Here I am, writing another review for another Naruto movie after over a decade since it has been released because why not. Anyways, back to the review, this movie was a step down from the first movie in my opinion because of it's poor writing and even as someone who doesn't care about how plot are planned and executed as long as I enjoy it, this movie sticks out like a sore thumb and even I can say I wasn't really intrigued by it.

[Story 3/10]
Ah, this is the worst writing rating I'll give on any anime I have watched for now. As I said, ... even for someone who doesn't really care about the writing as long as it's enjoyable, this movie still blew the bad barrier on how it was written. The thing that sticks out the most was the chain of very predictable events that I got bored of and it's very, very thick plot armor to the point where even if you know it's an anime, it still breaks the 'how' barrier. There is also a multitude of plot holes that just ruins the viewing experience for someone who likes some clarity and logic. The story is just bad in general and nothing memorable came out of this for me.

[Animation 8/10]
The only good point in this movie in my opinion. Just like my review on the previous Naruto movie, considering this was released over a decade ago, the art is a step up from the main series and looks appealing to the eyes. The only problem is... anything that goes with the art in the movie was 'meh' level at best and is not appealing to the eyes nor ears.

[Sound 5/10]
It's not bad, it's just that nothing memorable came out of this as the music was really bland when it is trying to hype up the fights or trying to solidify emotional moments. The voice acting was good though and isn't clear of any inconsistency.

[Characters 4/10]
Again, they are really bland in this department too. First we have the already well known characters as in Naruto, Shikamaru, Sakura, etc. and we have the new characters which are just really boring in their own way. They aren't that bad but they really didn't help with my enjoyment towards them nor make anything memorable for themselves. It's just that they aren't interesting and that didn't help with the character ratings.

[Enjoyment 4/10]
Ah, what could I say? I was kind of disappointed in this movie because I really did enjoy the first movie but what can I do I guess. I even took a quick nap mid way through the movie due to how slow the pacing was and the fights was very 'meh' in general. Can't say I think the movie was something made from the stuff of nightmare because the story was still viewable for me but really, nothing memorable nor interesting came out of this and the word 'disappointed' sums up how I feel about this movie.

Not going into details here because just from looking at it, you can probably already tell about which way it's heading. I'll say that the animation was particularly good, the main point and theme about this show was suppose to be an educational short movie about why littering is bad and it did okay in that department I guess so you can't really fault the plot for that and expect insane plot and character development. Although being an educational purposed film, it did have that anime feel in it and wasn't straight forward, throwing in some little plot and characters in there for the fun ... of it. I enjoyed the 28 minutes it aired and considering it was a low budget short movie where I only found it by MyAnimeList ad banner, it did what it is suppose to do pretty decently I guess.

I know this is late but why the heck not. Now that's out of the way, this is also my first review so there might be flaws there and here but I'll give it a shot. This is the first movie from the Naruto series and it was pretty good, I'll say that. This is also the first installment that has splendid animations from the first 101 episodes I've seen and realized and considering this was made in 2004, good work Pierrot.

[Story 7/10]
It could've gone either way, considering who you are, this might be a hit or miss. It is very much irrelevant from ... the actual main story but story wise this way good for a movie and if you're like me who doesn't care if it's a filler or not, I'd say a good movie/filler is still a good movie/filler purely for entertainment.

[Animation 9/10]
As I said, I could be giving too much credit for them on this but this was the first installment of Naruto that I have actually seen this level of animation so I'm very much in awe for that.

[Sound 7/10]
I mean, there's nothing THAT memorable in here that could be remembered for years but it did it's job when it had to and it particularly did it well. Japanese dub is good too so there's nothing much to say here.

[Characters 6/10]
The thing is, the memorable characters has already been introduced in the main series(considering you've actually watched it in timeline) and the characters that was introduced here was somewhat generic in a sense. It's a movie and a pretty irrelevant one in fact so there isn't any character development to be brought upon to the main story so couldn't say much about characterization.

[Enjoyment 8/10]
Again, if you are one that particularly doesn't care if it's filler or not then you could enjoy this, good anime is good anime after all and vice versa. I myself enjoyed this and it was fun while it lasted, so time to hop back to Naruto.