Naruto: Hero of the Hidden Leaf

As you may or may not know I kind of got strong-armed into watching Naruto a little while ago and once I got over the silliness of the first few minutes and the predictability of the first arc, I began to really enjoy this anime show. You can read about my experience watching the first part of the show: Naruto, right here. But right now, I want to talk a little bit about the second half of the anime: Naruto Shippuden.

I'm not quite done yet, and there have been bumps along the way, filler arcs and characters that I hated or found useless. Through it all, however, they manage to keep me hooked until I reached episode 175: Hero of the Hidden Leaf. 

This episode provides the perfect ending to Naruto's quest to gain respect from his village. Watching this, I felt like I had just witnessed a masterful story unfold, one that has been a great experience despite any complaints I have had along the way. (and believe me, there have been quite a few of those!) 

So if you're wondering whether you should check out Naruto at all, or if you stopped a while back because some filler arc's stupidity just got to you I want to say that you should definitely watch this show. Find the show, find a list of filler episodes and skip them, and watch from episode 1 through to episode 175 and you will not regret it. You will have complaints, I'm sure (less if you skip the filler) but you'll still enjoy this worthwhile experience. 

On to finish Naruto Shippuden. I may do a more thorough review (or rant) when I'm done or when I finish all the English dubbed episodes or something. Until then, I encourage you to check it out!

EDIT: I ended up not liking the rest of it too much. Read my fanfiction continuing the story from this episode on: After Pain Table of Contents