Naruto: Shippuden Season 8 (2010)
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Naruto: Shippuden Season 8 Review
The eighth season of Naruto: Shippuden is not a great season as it has its problems, but it’s still essential and particularly character-driven.
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“To understand pain, you must know pain“
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This season is all about Pain and it’s his moment to shine which he did of course. First off, the invasion of the village was awesome. It was thrilling, spectacularly done and highly menacing. It was a great way to showcase his raw power and how intimidating he can be.
But the highlight of the entire season is by far the destruction of the Hidden Leaf village which I didn’t expect at all and it really surprised me and made me appreciate how strong Pain truly is and how real he is as he doesn’t screw around. That was a devastating, epic episode which set the stage for the fight that ensued.
I really liked that fight, even though I did not love it as it was too short in the end. But I liked seeing Naruto use Jiraya’s fighting style, that was great. And the frogs are all excellent characters, very likable and amusing. The action here was very well done.
Hinata’s episode was so great. It was tragic and thankfully she didn’t die, but that scene where she was lifted in the air and then stabbed was so powerful and silently filmed in the best way possible to achieve a tragic effect. That episode was highly affecting emotionally.
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I like Pain and I did like that he had his motives and was genuinely well developed and you realize why he’s doing what he’s doing. Yes, some of his backstory felt a bit too soapy for my taste, but most of it was very interesting and revelatory.
However, I did not love that in the end it resorted to him telling his story and then Naruto telling his own story and so on. It was resolved in a diplomatic way which was fine, but again it felt anti-climactic and way too inspirational in those last two episodes.
Overall, it’s a rather different season than I’d expected, but still a strong, emotional and complex one with terrific characterization and some rather heartbreaking, powerful episodes that really make an impact. Some of the animation was questionable, but most of it was great and the score continues to be one of the show’s finest achievements.
Worst Episodes: Following the Master’s Shadows and Mystery of Pain.
Best Episodes: Pain to the World and Explode! Sage Mode.
