Spoiler warning [sorry!]
There's no escaping!
Who says fan service is but 2D girls with freakishly large breasts, that bounce more than they realistically should? Or that it’s the presence of that moe-moe chick that’s meant to have you grow a soft spot in your
heart? Is it also but the allusion of yaoi, and that irresistible shota? No, fan service is also the careful execution of an episode. An episode that lacks the clumsiness of low quality animation, because the animators have decided to throw their budget and
hard work into top notch battle scenes, with some extra dashes of sugar & spice that make them memorable moments!
Such is the case for episode 322
of Naruto Shippuden:Madara Uchiha !!! Okay, I’m exaggerating just a tad, but for a
Shippuden episode this might as well be considered top notch. So, why am I, as well as others, treating this episode as a
chef d’oeuvre ? Because the first thing we see, fifteen seconds in, is the dauntless face of the legendary die-hard shinobi—that we've been dying to be introduced to— in his
Edo Tensei state; a face that immediately greets us with: I mean business. Suddenly, we back away in astonishment as the next set of shots takes us back within the crowd of the
Allied Shinobi Forces, where we should be hiding. Silence deems ambiguity as he brings himself face-to-face with us... Now we’re quaking in fear: is he about to attack? How should we stand our ground?
What’s more is the rapidity of Madara, and the way we witness the agility of his
Sharingan in a sort-of-slow-mo’ close-up, and the fluidity of his attacks, like free flowing water. We see him handle multiple shinobi one-by-one, sometimes even killing two birds with one stone. It’s the way his
Susano’o mindlessly sways and twists his body as he swings his swords, while his majesty calmly observes. It must also be the sudden feeling of helplessness of the
Allied Shinobi Forces; Lord Kazekage is so taken aback, he ponders if it’s the power of a god they're dealing with. The gore seems different here: subtle, yet bitter; just have a look at Tsuchikage’s bleeding nails! By far
my favorite shot. Let’s not forget the grand actions he and Kazekage take to save their soldiers, which show their true potential and status. Nevertheless, we’re shown the fury of the one character we’ve only, until now, have heard of and seen in flashbacks
in the anime, and whose ill will we could only imagine in the manga. Clearly, his alarming reputation wasn’t simply hype.
Uchiha, Madara indeed. Besides, after patiently waiting through all those fillers, well darn tootin’ we deserve this much, don't you think?
As mentioned, it isn’t a flawless episode: there were instances where the animation lacked luster (nothing unusual here), but for the most part it was very good. To be quite honest, this one episode pumped more adrenaline
in me than the Pein arc. For such a significant arc, the quality shouldn't have been so poor.
I say this episode is a form of fan service only because it was worth the wait, and not only does it have us wanting more, but also reminds us why we fell in love with Shippuden in the first place: because it's simply
a great series. This episode was truly a labor of love!
I’d like to mention something I noticed: there was one error at 7:36 mins. Madara has the rinnegan, and he isn't supposed to until a few more minutes into the episode. It is a mistake.