Naruto: Shippuden Season 6 (2009)
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Naruto: Shippuden Season 6 Review
Naruto: Shippuden Season 6 is another very strong and important season with a lot of highly memorable twists and turns.
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“We do not know what kind of people we truly are
until the moment before our deaths“
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I personally prefer the first season of Shippuden over this one, but this is still a terrific anime season. A lot happened during this season. Actually in terms of the plot points, this is the richest and most important in the entire series. So let’s touch on each of them.
I don’t know how to feel about Itachi. Yes, Madara is definitely going to be an awesome villain and he continues to be an intriguing, very mysterious presence, but to throw Itachi away this easily and kill him was immensely disappointing to me as he had a lot of promise before. But Sasuke and Itachi fight was still excellent and I liked the reveal that he cared for him after all.
So Madara has a lot of potential and I did love that flashback where it’s revealed how they hold Konoha responsible for everything. That is obviously going to bring a lot of moral complexity to the show as Sasuke is now on Madara’s side definitely. I also really liked Tobi here as he continues to be the comedic highlight of the Akatsuki team.
So Orochimaru dies in the first couple of episodes and Sasuke killing him at his most vulnerable was a low blow, but to be expected from him and I generally continue to dislike him quite a bit. He’s essential for the show and definitely superbly developed, but he’s an asshole nonetheless.
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Naruto continues to be underutilized and he got quite a short screen time here, but that is going to change soon for sure. The same goes for the rest of Konoha and their team which Tobi fooled around with in a hilarious fashion. Sasuke’s team themselves are okay, but too weak in strength and powers for my taste.
Deidara versus Sasuke was another terrific fight and I also loved Jiraya’s fight with Pain who also continues to be quite an interesting villain. Jiraya’s death was heartfelt and his flashbacks are all highly charming, fun and superb. I am going to miss him as he’s such a great character. On the one hand, I am mad that they are killing off all my favorites, but the stakes are thus raised highly, so I really appreciate that.
Overall, this is a very strong season which has its problems and odd choices, but those important twists and new story paths all really worked and are fantastic. The villains and the complex situation that arises are the standouts here.
Worst Episodes: Guardian of the Iron Wall and Jugo of the North Hideout.
Best Episodes: The Mystery of Tobi and Fate.
