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Naruto 104October 15, 2004Title: Run, Idate, Run! After crossing the ocean, Idate is tortured by the enemy ninja Aoi.
Although Idate is severly wounded, Naruto tells Idate to fight for the one person who believes in him . . . .
and, thus encouraged, Idate and Naruto resume their race.
The End. * * * RATING: B In a surprisingly strong follow-up within the Morino Idate arc, this episode shows Idate well on the way to completing his marathon. More importantly, though, this episode provides an excellent segue into the core values that make this series so addictive -- stellar action scenes, intriguing tactics, and strong character development. In retrospect, perhaps the most appealing thing about Naruto is his innate ability to bring out the best in others. Nearly forty episodes ago, we saw Naruto helping Neji get over his hatred by holding himself up as a mirror, and similarly, we saw Gaara changed by the sheer emotional strength of Naruto. Although Naruto can be scruffy and foolish, his ability to empathize with others is nothing short of outstanding. In this episode, we see this trait in full force, as we see Naruto convince Idate to persevere, even to the point of carrying him on his shoulders. It's impossible to imagine that Sakura or Sasuke would go to such lengths to help a stranger, and, in that respect, one really gains a newfound appreciation for our chief protagonist. While this episode had strong character development, it's also good to note that the action scenes between our heroes and the Rain genins was excellent. Truth be said, it was fairly expected to see Naruto execute his classic 'Kage no Bunshin' replication move, but it was quite startling to see Naruto couple this tactic with a preliminary Rasengan to create a giant whirlpool. If anything, it's surprising to see that Naruto can take out three high-level Rain genins *on their own turf*, and definitely indicative of Naruto's growth in both stamina and intelligence. While it's possible that Naruto might not realize his own monumental growth, it's clear that this fact is not lost on others, especially Sasuke. In any case, there's no doubt that this series is fully back on track. This arc has a tremendous amount of potential in its own right, and given the mouth-watering spoilers in the opening theme, it's clear that this series has nowhere to go but straight up. * * * disagree? read 92 comments! * * * Related Reviews
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