Naruto: Uncut Box Set – How It Should Be Seen
by tonyadpx
It was easy to hate the State-side release of the edited Naruto DVDs. After all, Viz did everything in their power to make Naruto appear as something less than a Japanese anime and more as an American rip-off. The voice-acting was terrible (please continue reading, all you Naruto fans who may be feeling a bit alienated, as my views have changed since then). The editing itself was pointless since the manga, which is read by many of those watching the show, remained mostly unedited itself. And the Americanized opening and ending themes were, to be blunt, stupid. Luckily, though, I paid attention to the release plans of this series, and waited for the uncut episodes, as I hope a lot of the fans did.
For the few of you who may not know, Naruto is a boy who dreams of one day becoming the Hokage (the ruler) of his village. Before that, though, he must overcome his own childishness and become a beginning ninja. And he must do this almost entirely by himself, for he doesn’t have any family or friends to support him along the way. Why? Well, on the day Naruto was born, a nine-tailed fox demon rampaged through his village, killing many. In order to save the people, the fourth Hokage sacrificed himself and sealed the demon within Naruto. The people of the village still remember that day, however, and look at Naruto as a monster and a nuisance. Despite everything, our young hero has learned to ignore what people think, and continues on with his dreams. Along the course of the thirteen episodes within this set, Naruto learns to transform into a beautiful woman, meets his first instructor, gets his first assignment, and learns not to doubt himself, even when times are tough. Being a Shonen Jump creation, Naruto contains a lot of the moralistic views that many Shonen Jump manga carry. Friendship, trust, and perseverance are common themes within this anime.
Now, back to the release of the uncut set. The first and most important difference was the inclusion of the subbed version. The American voice-acting was less than stellar in the first episode, which had been more than enough to turn me off. Having the option of dub or sub made watching this anime that much easier. And, I will admit, it does get better. Once Naruto slows down on spouting that corny catchphrase, “Believe it!” it becomes bearable. By episode thirteen, the American voice-acting becomes something akin to a fern; still a weed, but actually kind of pretty looking. The subbed version was still better, though.
The second most important inclusion was the original opening and ending themes. Why they were removed, we may never know, but the original version not only match the anime, but help to make Naruto feel like an anime and not like the aforementioned rip-off. No more fake-hard-rock. Instead, we’re greeted with a rousing fight song, and we’re told goodbye by a piano-plucked, heavily-accented English sung song.
And, of course, there aren’t any edits. Blood is where blood was intended.
Because of everything this set contains, it far out-ranks the edited release of Naruto. Not only is the uncut box the original version, as it was seen in Japan, but this set goes a little beyond where the edited DVD release now is in the story. At thirteen episodes, it begins with Naruto’s training to become a ninja and goes up to the fight with Zabuza and Haku. Plus, Naruto itself is a decent all-around anime, containing good animation and great scenes of action, with an easy-to-follow story. Though a litte pricey, this version of Naruto is definitely worth a look.
Licensor: Viz Media
Production: Studio Pierrot
Length: 325mins
Retail: $49.99/69.99 Special Edition
Availability: Already Out
February 14th, 2009 at 10:16 am
NArUto Rockz!