English Dub Review: Naruto Shippuden “Unison Sign”

There was a simple story coming out of “Unison Sign.” We got another flashback to when Naruto was just starting out at the academy. And, yet again, Naruto got bitched out by Sasuke. What made this week a bit more interesting, however, is that Nine-Tails is coaxing these flashbacks out of Naruto so his hatred can flow, and Nine-Tails gets stronger. For once, Naruto saw through the ploy.

Like I have been bitching about for the last few weeks, Naruto Shippuden has suffered from a severe lack of focus. The story as going all over the place, and there was no end in sight. We had fought at the beachhead, then in the desert, in the forest, as well as Madara summoning the Gedo Statue, and there was a smattering of Naruto either training to control the Nine-Tails’s chakra, or running from the Turtle Island. As I said, this shit was all over the place.

This week, was just Naruto, Nine-Tails, and Bee. This was a great episode because it was the first step in Naruto becoming friends with the Nine-Tails. Now, of course, that means that Naruto is going to get another power-up. You know, it’s the Shonen way of storytelling. Whenever the main character is need of a power or ability, Shonen-weisers show up and give the character exactly what he needs. At least this is a fighting anime and not a show about a children’s card game.

As for the flashback, the voiceovers were very well done. Every character, even Choji, and Sakura sound exactly like younger versions. Choji was the shakiest, but it somehow works. Yuri Lowenthal, who had all of four lines, almost makes Sasuke seem real. There’s real resentment and anger, even as a young trainee. It’s the episodes that are spaced few and far between that make Sasuke shine. That says a lot because I mostly think that Sasuke is a whining son of a bitch in the manga.

Now, hopefully, there’s more of this focus. There’s only so much jumping around that can happen before I lose my shit and throw my hands in the air. For now, at least this is a glimmer of hope, even though most of the episode was flashbacks and Naruto toying around with Nine-Tails. Truth be told, this is one of the better flashbacks you’ll see in Naruto. Next week, there’s going to be medic ninja fun.

You can catch “Unison Sign” on Hulu, here.