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Naruto: Uncut Box Set 4
Score: 90%
Rating: 14+
Publisher: Viz Media
Region: 1
Media: DVD/3
Running Time: 325 Mins.
Genre: Anime/TV Series/Box Set
Audio: English, Japanese
Subtitles: English

Features:
  • Collectible Naruto Storyboards Booklet, Episode 46
  • Production Art
  • From Sketch to Screen: Storyboard Comparison Episode 40
  • Volume 5 Sneak Preview
  • Episodes:
    • 37: Surviving the Cut! The Rookie Nine Together Again!
    • 38: Narrowing the Field; Sudden Death Elimination!
    • 39: Bushy Brow's Jealousy -- Lions Barrage Unleashed!
    • 40: Kakashi and Orochimaru: Face-to-Face
    • 41: Kunoichi Rumble: The Rivals Get Serious!
    • 42: The Ultimate Battle: Cha!
    • 43: Killer Kunoichi and a Shaky Shikamaru
    • 44: Akamaru Unleashed: Who's Top Dog Now?
    • 45: Surprise Attack! Naruto's Secret Weapon!
    • 46: Byakugan Battle: Hinata Grows Bold!
    • 47: A Failure Stands Tall!
    • 48: Gaara vs. Rock Lee: The Power of Youth Explodes!

The Naruto: Uncut Box Set 4 spans about half of the episodes from the series' second season. In this collection, The Second Chunin Exam wraps up and the remaining teams are forced into sudden death elimination in order to get into the finals. Through random pairings, Sasuke will face a Sound Ninja, Sakura and Ino will settle their rivalry once and for all, Naruto and Kiba (as well as his dog, Akamaru) will face off as will Negi and Hinata and finally, an explosive battle between Gaara and Rock Lee. There are a few other more minor battles in there (like Shikamaru's) that don't take full episodes, but the ones listed here are the heavy hitters.

This collection takes us through most of the preliminary battles. While it doesn't finish off the Gaara/Rock Lee match, and it doesn't show Choji's brief fight, it plows through all of the others. Sasuke's battle leaves him victorious, but also badly wounded while Kakashi and Orochimaru will go head to head over his hurt body.

The fight between Ino and Sakura shows the pair to be evenly matched (even though both thought Ino was always the stronger) and their long-term rivalry might finally be over as they once again become friends. Naruto's prelim-battle forces him to not only face Kiba, but his familiar as well. As the battle wages, Naruto leans about food pellets and how they can help a ninja, as well as exactly what kind of team his opponents are.

The last pair of battles, the one between the Hyugas and the one between Rock Lee and Gaara, are all about an underdog facing an opponent with natural and powerful talent. In Byakugan Battle, Negi faces off with his cousin, Hinata, who, while a member of the "main branch" of the Hygua clan, has less raw talent. But Hinata isn't determined to just keel over and give up. In a valiant effort, she proves that she isn't just a shy little girl.

It all leads up to the final major match in the preliminaries. In this fight, we finally get to see some of Gaara's powers and even though Rock Lee's Taijutsu is greater and makes him faster than Gaara's Sand Shield and Sand Armor, it might be enough.

Naruto: Uncut Box Set 4 is chock full of ninja action. With tons of fights of different styles, this is definitely a collection that any Naruto fan would like to own. If you already have these episodes in their individual volumes, then the only thing that might make you want this boxed set is the accompanying storyboard booklet of Episode 46, Byakugan Battle: Hinata Grows Bold!.



-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

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