Pre-Shippuden: The All Episodes Thread

[Lantern7]

Before the hunt for Sasuke, there was . . . a hunt for Sasuke. Before the Akatsuki attacked, there was merely Itachi Uchiha. And, of course, there was the machinations of Orochimaru, whose lust for Sasuke and his body bordered on the perverse side.

For me, I liked the Chunin Exams arc a lot, enough to write abridged fanfic about it on TWoP. I mean, watching would-be ninja take a written exam shouldn't be exciting, but it was. And after the Forrest of Death, there came the big tournament, where Sasuke shined despite enduring a curse mark, Sakura and Ino beat the shit out of each other, Naruto showed off his skills against Kiba . . . and the epic battle between the irresistible force (the bombastic Rock Lee) and the immoveable object (Gaara, who reigned as a heavy at the time). Of course, the tourney went to hell once Orochimaru unleashed his forces, and the third Hokage sacrificed his life to save the Leaf Village, but it pretty hardcore. Ditto the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, where the young ninja of the Leaf showcased their talents, and Naruto and Sasuke squared off in a major duel.

So . . . what are your favorite memories of the original recipe Naruto? The introductions of pervy Jiraiya and problem gambler Lady Tsunade? The bridge-builder arc and/or LittleKuriboh's abridged spoof of it? Rock Lee's cowbell-infused theme music? How about the finale pre-timeskip episodes, which basically was a "Naruto &" format, a la Batman: The Brave & The Bold?

ETA: I meant "Thread," singular. My bad. Could somebody correct that?

Edited June 27, 2014 by radishcake

[PrincessEnnui]

I am really pissed that Toonami decided to restart the series, when the anime was going to open up a bit.

 

I kinda do miss the infamous filler arcs and such. Hey, some of them are good! The Menma(sp?) was a good one. Also, the one that ended up being a scavenger hunt for undetonated explosives. *sigh*

 

I can think of more fan fics I like than moments on the show I enjoyed. Naruto is the poster child for "what could have been."

[hieronymous0no]

Lantern7, I was more of a lurker on TWOP, but your Chunin Exam recap/fan fiction was hilarious. 

 

There was so much that I enjoyed about Naruto. So many great, fun, silly and touching moments. Off the top of my head: #101 where they try to get Kakashi to remove his mask. It's really silly, but I love it unapologetically. Haku and Zabuza, Orochomaru vs. the Third, Anko's memories of Orochimaru, Kimimaro v. Rock Lee and Gaara, Naruto and Tsunade's face-offs in the street, the Chunin Exams, the Sannin battle, anything with Orochimaru, Itachi and Jiraiya. I miss it. 

 

I'm also bummed that Toonami restarted everything just when it was about to get really good.

[AKA...CJ86]

Sakura and Ino beat the shit out of each other

 

 

 

The Chunin Exam arc is my absolute favorite, but I always felt the Sakura/Ino episode(s) stopped the flow of the overall arc…it's been a while, but I'd love to rematch the Chunin arc and see if my opinion changes.

[Sandman87]

Favorite moments? Pretty much any time one of the secondary characters manages to be awesome without Naruto's help. Choji nearly starving to death from his Calorie Control jutsu in order to beat Jirobo, Lee vs. Gaara, etc.

[radishcake]

ETA: I meant "Thread," singular. My bad. Could somebody correct that?

Fixed! Nice to meet you guys!

[Stardancer Supreme]

I was so firmly addicted to this show.  Now that I don't have any free time, I'll probably have to settle for DVDs.

 

My favorite parts were when the "secondary" characters got to shine.  I love Naruto, but he didn't start getting really cool until Shippuden.

[PrincessEnnui]

Does anyone know the rights situation with Naruto. I read that they only have the rights to the first two seasons. Is that why Toonami is constantly restarting?

[hieronymous0no]

Does anyone know the rights situation with Naruto. I read that they only have the rights to the first two seasons. Is that why Toonami is constantly restarting?

 

PrincessEnnui, there's an explanation in their tumblr faq: (http://toonami.tumblr.com/faq)...which basically says that they're not "sure if makes sense to get later Naruto episodes since they plan to show all of Shippuden." In one of their past tumblr bi-monthly Q&A's, the Toonami guys said that given the option to buy more Naruto episodes or buy a bunch of Shippuden episodes and they went with Shippuden, so yeah they only have the first two seasons. I'll edit this post later with the link once I find that month's Q&A, unless someone else finds a better answer. 

 

8/14/14: Edited to add links to Toonami Tumblr Q&A's. It's slightly different from what i remembered. 

December Q&A: http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/71643409182/why-are-you-starting-all-over-with-naruto

February 2014: http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/77596448351/why-did-you-guys-start-over-naruto-and-how-long-will.

Edited August 14, 2014 by hieronymous0no

[Sandman87]

It'd be awfully nice if they could get the third season. That'd cover everything up to Sasuke leaving the Leaf, which would be most (but not all) of the plot-important canon stuff. Of course, we'd then miss out on "Laughing Shino", Naruto failing a mission because he farted, cooking ninjas, etc.

[PrincessEnnui]

Thank hieronymous0no! I didn't think to check their page would have that kind of info.

 

I can understand their logic, but Toonami is a once-a-week block with what? Six hours maybe? I'd rather they show something else, then the same episodes over and over again. I guess I can just go to bed after Black Lagoon then. :\

[hieronymous0no]

It'd be awfully nice if they could get the third season. That'd cover everything up to Sasuke leaving the Leaf, which would be most (but not all) of the plot-important canon stuff. Of course, we'd then miss out on "Laughing Shino", Naruto failing a mission because he farted, cooking ninjas, etc.

 

I agree, Sandman87. We're missing out on some good stuff. I suppose anything is possible later? Maybe. Hopefully.  

 

Thank hieronymous0no! I didn't think to check their page would have that kind of info.

 

I can understand their logic, but Toonami is a once-a-week block with what? Six hours maybe? I'd rather they show something else, then the same episodes over and over again. I guess I can just go to bed after Black Lagoon then. :\

 

You're welcome! I would love more Naruto and more variety. We need a Kickstarter campaign! 

[PrincessEnnui]

Oooo! There's a thought. We could probably organize through tumblr too! I think Toonami's official tumblr page is asking for feedback!

 

Found it. The request is from [as]/toonami, but the link is from Toonami Faithful.

Edited August 15, 2014 by PrincessEnnui

[Lantern7]

LittleKuriboh's abridged series counts, doesn't it? Here's "- FENG SHUI NO JUTSU~!" which snuck up on me by at least three weeks. Lots of cursing is involved, so tread carefully.