English Dub Review: Naruto Shippuden “Power: Episode 1”

The “Power” mini-series was a series of episodes that I wanted to see for a while. I heard nothing but good things from people who saw the subbed version, and I was very surprised, because you don’t hear that sort of thing to come from anime purists about non-canon episodes. It goes a lot deeper into how the Reanimation Jutsu worked, as well as gives the viewer a sort of prequel look into how Kabuto was able to make the Reanimation Jutsu his own ability.

However, that’s not the only draw to watch “Power.” The animation is really top notch, and the script is on par with the canonical work. If “Power” wasn’t released over a six episode spread, I’d swear that it was a movie. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if “Power” was supposed to be a movie, because it’ll add up to about the same amount of time that a movie nowadays would be. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the crew that works on the Naruto movies were put in charge of “Power.” If you want to fact check me, check out the animation on Sai’s drawings. I had to rewind it a couple times because i was just too awestruck.

“Power: Episode 1” was exactly what I would expect from an intro to a Naruto movie. Everything was just so crisp, clear, and reeked of quality. I hope the rest of the series is just as good as what the opening is. Episode One is a benchmark because of the standards it set, and it may be hard to stay on that level. But as of today, “Power: Episode 1” delivered.