Warning - This review may contain spoilers for those who havent seen up to this point.
Following the climax of series 5, the Sasuke retrieval arc reaches it's epic conclusion in Naruto 6 part 1. Having caught up to the leaf village tearaway, Sasuke, it is now up to Naruto to bring him back to the village and save him from the clutches of the nefarious sannin ninja, Orochimaru. The first 5 episodes of this 3 disc set conclude the story arc, as well as the first part of the Naruto saga. At this point, the manga went straight into part 2, known as Naruto Shippuden, however, the anime carries on with 85 filler episodes before getting back on track. The filler episodes are basically original material created just for the anime. These episodes are not created by the original author of the manga and have no relevance in the main storyline. Filler material is generally weaker in terms of plot and characterisation, and Naruto is no exception. After the main story conlcudes in this set, the remaining 8 episodes signal the start of a long stretch of filler.
As for the first 5 episodes of this set; they are some of the most important and explosive episodes of the Naruto anime so far. The final fight between bitter rivals/friends is enthralling and utterly heartbreaking. Naruto as a series has always been successful in creating truly likeable and memorable characters and this leads to some immense, emotionally charged battles, and this all-out brawl is one of the best. The whole setting of the fight is truly classic, with the legendary Hokage statues and surrounding waterfalls being the immense battlefield. The beautiful imagery is absolutely superb and it is sure to be remembered by many anime fans, for many years to come.
After witnessing the amazing finale to the main storyline, I was expecting the filler to be weak in comparison...and it is. Yet, that is to be expected, however, the remaining eight episodes in this set aren't s bad as I thought they were going to be. I think it is the later filler episodes that are really shocking. The filler episodes in series 6 part 1 see Naruto, Sakura and pervy sage Jiraiya searching for Orochimaru's layer in an attempt to put an end to his evil schemes for good, and after that the team investigate a break out at a maximum security prison, which pits Naruto against a foe from way back in episode 1. While these episodes aren't as clever or imaginative as previous episodes, they are still quite enjoyable as they provide a lot of light hearted comedy and some action.
Naruto series 6 part 1 contains another 13 episodes. These are: 131.The secrets of the mangekyo sharingan! 132.For a friend 133.A plea form a friend 134.The end of tears 135.The promise that could not be kept 136.Deep cover: A super S-Rank mission 137.A town of outlaws: The shadow of the fuma clan 138.Pure betrayal, and a fleeting plea 139.Pure terror! The house of Orochimaru 140.Two heartbeats: Kabuto's trap 141.Sakura's determination 142.The three villains from the maximum security prison 143.Ton Ton! I'm counting on you!
Once again, there is a choice of English dub or Japanese language with englisg subtitles. Both are really good, but I usually watch the English because it's what I'm most familiar with. This animation is as lovely as ever. This is really made evident when the series takes a flashback to the first episode and you can see how much the animation has improved over the years. As usual, there are no special features except for the same old trailers for other manga DVDs, so nothing to report there.
Personally, I'd recommend Naruto 6 part 1 to anyone who has been collecting the Naruto volumes this far in order to see the epic conclusion and the immense Naruto vs Sasuke fight. If, after series 6 part 1, you still need more Naruto to satisfy your fix, then the next episodes should (just about) tide you over until Shipuuden. However, whether you want to carry on purchasing further Naruto volumes is down to how much of a fan or completionist you are. For those not interested in filler, your collection is complete, now you just have to wait till Naruto Shipuuden arrives on these shores.
![Naruto Unleashed - Series 6 Part 1 [DVD] by Hayato Date](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51UKHU8YGEL.__AC_SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg)
