Naruto: Uncut Box Set 11 is the first of what is typically referred to as the filler section of the Naruto anime series. The manga actually ends with Sasuke leaving the village and Naruto promising to Sakura that he hasn't given up on Sasuke, and he eventually go off to train with Jiraiya for several years. Instead in the anime, so that Creator Masashi Kishimoto could make more of the follow up story, the show has about 100 episodes showing smaller story arcs that typically last between one and five episodes. While these episodes technically have no real bearing on the rest of the series, they still have good stories and show various minor characters in more prominent roles.

A lot of times these episodes involve Naruto going off with various other Genin on various missions. Also occurring during this time, Sakura decides to train under Lady Tsunade (having each of the Squad 7 characters training under different Sannin). Sakura believes that this training will make her more useful in battle and sets off on a path to become a Medical Ninja.

The first mission in the Uncut Box Set 11 is Sakura deciding that she is going to find the Sound village and bringing Sasuke back on her own. Of course, Naruto tags along, and Jiraiya, for fear of their lives, requests that Lady Tsunade make it an official mission. So the three head out to the land of Rice Fields to figure out exactly where the Hidden Sound Village is and where Sasuke is. Their missions take them across various towns and Saukra gets a taste of why Naruto calls Jiraiya "Pervey Sage." They also run into a band of former ninjas turned bandits called the Fuma clan, who have split between those wanting to follow Orochimaru and those who don't.

After that, Naruto's first enemy from the show, Mizuki, escapes from the Leaf's prison. We learn in these episodes what exactly caused such a loyal Lead Ninja to turn against his village and comrades. Accompanying him are two huge escapees called Fujin and Raijin, who are guided by their stomachs more than their brains. The arc not only hearks back to the series' opening sequence (Iruka even has a heavy hand in these episodes), but we also see Ino, Shikimaru and Choji showing up to help out.

The last two episodes start off an arc that isn't finished in this boxed set. Naruto, Shino, Hinata and Kiba search for a rare bug that only lays eggs every several years so that they can give it Sasuke's scent. With that scent, the bugs can find anyone, no matter how faint the smell is in the air. When the team meets up with another insect-handling clan from a rival village, things get a little hairy.

Since this set doesn't fit the manga series, there could be a debate over whether it's worth watching. Personally, I find that they are fun episodes, they don't take themselves quite as seriously and they are worth seeing just to see the characters grow just a bit more before the second series begins. If you are a big Naruto fan, then this box set will not disappoint. As a side note, I couldn't help but notice that the sketch books that have been included in each box set until this point are missing. These sketch books show storyboard sketches of a particular episode found in the boxed set (typically a somewhat pivotal episode).