Naruto Anime Analysis - Season 3: Episode 108

Source: Wikipedia

“Bitter Rivals and Broken Bonds.”

“As Naruto and Sasuke are about to clash, Kakashi Hatake appears and deflects them into different water towers. Sasuke finds Naruto’s tower to be considerably worse off and only comes to envy Naruto’s strength more upon seeing the actual damage. Kakashi takes Sasuke aside and lectures him about not attacking friends. Sasuke said that if anyone Kakashi cared about got killed in front of him, maybe he would think differently. Kakashi then told him that it was too late to test it out because they were all already dead. Kakashi tells Sasuke that revenge will not truly bring him happiness and is the wrong answer, and he leaves him, trusting he will not choose vengeance. Meanwhile, Sakura asks Naruto on a date that she had denied a long time ago when they were first assigned to Team 7. While Sasuke debates whether to stay with the village or take revenge on Itachi, the Sound Four arrive and attack him.”

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Analysis

This episode acts as a follow-up to the previous episode. Dramatic music plays in the background when Sasuke activates his fireball jutsu against Naruto. After some time, Naruto decides to activate his Rasengan, while Sasuke decides to activate his Chidori. In other words, it was a battle between Chidori and Rasengan. Moreover, when Sakura runs after them, the title of the episode appears on the screen: “Bitter Rivals and Broken Bonds.”

The scene occurs in the forest when the Sound Four Ninjas are heading straight to Hidden Leaf Village. Along the way, one said they were on a mission as an escort for a special guest. Immediately, the audience assumes it’s Sasuke because Orochimaru has admitted that he wants Sasuke’s body. Therefore, this scene makes the audience even more eager to continue watching the rest of the episode.

As Naruto and Sasuke are about to clash, Kakashi Hatake appears and deflects them into different water towers. The music gets intense when Sakura is standing between Naruto and Sasuke. When Kakashi arrived, there was a moment of silence as he deflected them into different water towers. At that moment, Kakashi said in his mind, “Naruto, is that what I think it was?” Hence, he knew that Naruto had mastered the Rasengan. Japanese music starts playing in the background to signify that Kakashi is surprised. Furthermore, he said in his mind, “But mastering that jutsu—how is it even possible?” It just proves that Naruto is a dynamic character who is getting stronger each day, to the extent that Kakashi is noticing it too. Mastering the Rasengan takes years, yet Naruto managed to do it in weeks, hence showing Naruto’s growth as a ninja, which left Kakashi impressed for a bit.

Meanwhile, Kakashi said to Sasuke, “You have to watch this sense of superiority you have.” In response to Kakashi’s words, Sasuke gives him an annoyed look as Kakashi proceeds to say, “That Chidori was not the size you would aim at a comrade from the leaf village.” Kakashi was worried about Sasuke. He started giving Sasuke a lecture because he noticed that something was wrong with Sasuke.

Sasuke finds Naruto’s tower to be considerably worse off and only comes to envy Naruto’s strength more upon seeing the actual damage. At first, Sasuke had that smug look on his face, thinking he had made a bigger impact on the front of the water tower than Naruto. Later on, when he left the hospital, he realised that Naruto had made a massive impact on the water tower at the back, which was bigger than Sasuke's. After seeing this, Sasuke was shocked. Moreover, this scene teaches one not to judge something based on its appearance.

Meanwhile, creepy music plays in the background to signify that the Sound Four Ninjas have arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village, looking for Sasuke. As they arrive, they are the ones who make the storyline even more intriguing, which makes the audience curious to learn what will happen next when they find Sasuke Uchiha.

The scene switches back to the hospital outside. As soon as Sasuke left, Naruto and Kakashi were there, and afterwards, there was a moment of silence. Visual imagery is evident when Sakura cries because Sasuke is changing. After some time, Jiraiya was also there, and he and Kakashi had a conversation in private. Kakashi said to Jiraiya, “I know you want to protect him from the Akatsuki, but are you still going to entrust him with a jutsu like that?” Kakashi was worried that Naruto could have killed Sasuke with his Rasengan. In response, Jiraiya said, “You’re a fine one to talk to. When I taught the Chidori to someone like Sasuke, I knew he was a hothead, but I never imagined he would use a jutsu that powerful against a comrade from his village. There’s bad blood between them, but where in the world does it come from?” In this particular scene, Kakashi and Jiraiya are similar because they taught their students one of the best jutsu they mastered. Moreover, when Jiraiya says that Naruto and Sasuke have bad blood, Kakashi compares the relationship to that of Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Therefore, Naruto is similar to Jiraiya, while Orochimaru is similar to Sasuke. It also leaves questions about what happened between the former comrades, hence bringing out the mystery until the sequel, “Naruto Shippuden.” Moreover, when Kakashi mentions the Akatsuki, it brings a sense of mystery about what they are all about. The mystery behind the Akatsuki can only be revealed in the sequel, “Naruto Shippuden.”

Meanwhile, Kakashi narrates Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship with Jiraiya. He said that Sasuke is a comrade and rival to Naruto. Furthermore, he said it’s the competition between them that keeps Naruto going. An electronic guitar plays in the background as Kakashi continues to narrate the rivalry with Jiraiya. Moreover, Kakashi said that Naruto is fighting for approval from Sasuke, while Sasuke can’t stand that Naruto is getting stronger than him. Therefore, the friendship between Naruto and Sasuke is complicated. To support this, Kakashi went on to say that “Sasuke can’t acknowledge Naruto’s abilities. He’s afraid that if he does acknowledge them, he somehow diminishes his own.” Therefore, this proves that Naruto and Sasuke have a toxic rivalry that will even get worse later on in various episodes. Moreover, Sasuke, who remains proud and insecure about being weak, will drive him further into Orochimaru’s clutches.

Meanwhile, Sasuke is at the tree in Hidden Leaf Village. For instance, he is reminiscing about Itachi, who came back to the Leaf Village. Moreover, there is a mood switch when dramatic music plays in the background. For instance, Sasuke thought about Naruto getting stronger than him, and these memories will compel him to make a bad decision. After some time, creepy music plays in the background as the audience sees the Sound Four Ninjas, who have found Sasuke. However, Kakashi arrives there first before they can do anything to Sasuke.

Kakashi takes Sasuke aside and lectures him about not attacking friends. Sasuke said if anyone Kakashi cared about got killed in front of him, maybe he would think differently. Kakashi then tells him that it is too late to test it out because they are all already dead. Kakashi tells Sasuke that Revenge will not truly bring happiness to him and is the wrong answer, and he leaves him, trusting he will not choose vengeance. Sad music plays in the background to signify that they share the same experience. For instance, there is a sad atmosphere when Kakashi says that at least they have been lucky enough to find new comrades to help fill the void. In response, Sasuke then thought about Naruto and Sakura. However, is it enough to change Sasuke’s decision about seeking revenge? The audience is now even more curious to know what will happen next. Moreover, what happened to Kakashi’s parents? Only time will tell until one watches the sequel, “Naruto Shippuden.”

Meanwhile, Sakura asks Naruto on a date that she had denied a long time ago when they were first assigned to Team 7. While Sasuke debates whether to stay with the village or take revenge on Itachi, the Sound Four arrive and attack him. Sasuke starts thinking about his comrades, and he is conflicted about whether to take his revenge or not. Before he could contemplate further in his thoughts, the Sound Four arrived. As a result of their arrival, intense music plays in the background.

Meanwhile, Sakura thinks about the curse mark Sasuke got from Orochimaru during the Chunin exam. When she thinks about it, the audience also has questions about what will happen to Sasuke as this particular episode gets even more intense.

Intense music plays in the background as one sees Orochimaru and Kabuto at their hideout. Due to their presence, they are the antagonists who make this episode interesting. In this scene, Orochimaru is on his bed while Kabuto asks why Orochimaru sent the Sound Four to the Hidden Leaf Village. In response, Orochimaru said that he sent all four of them because he knew that Sasuke would look for Orochimaru to obtain power. Hearing this leaves one worried about Sasuke. Orochimaru is an interesting character who gives us the thrill of watching the anime “Naruto.” Whenever he is involved, he always brings trouble, hence why he is the main antagonist of the anime series.

Meanwhile, Sasuke is surrounded by the Sound Ninja Four, and a battle between them has started. Sasuke seems to be winning; however, they used Substitution Jutsu. Dramatic music continues to play in the background as the episode ends in suspense.

The lesson from this episode is that seeking revenge doesn’t bring happiness; it only brings emptiness.

The next episode will be the battle between the Sound Four and Sasuke Uchiha.

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