I don't care what anyone says, that shit was epic.

Everything about the episode aside from the flashbacks, the standing around, and the expositionary dialog, was great. I know it sounds like I'm setting myself up for a joke here, but I'm completely serious. I loved the feel of this episode. The setting of a "Kage-level battle" in the sky, combined with the amazing music made this episode feel quite dramatic. It's good to see Gaara back, doing his same old stuff, just 10 times more powerful. I love how he can control Shukakku's limbs at will now. I'm also starting to really love Deidara.

Other than that, yeah, the flaws were obvious. The stupid filler material, flashbacks to 5 minutes earlier, and the lazy repeat animation in Naruto and Sakura's test was pretty crappy. Why do they have to draw everything out so much??

And was anyone else bothered from 12:20 to 12:35. OMG DRAMATIC STARE DOWN!


Quote Originally Posted by DarthEnder
Gaara vs. Dei did look odd, but I think that's because it used the same animation they used for Oro vs. 3rd and Naruto vs. Sasuke 2. Who seems to be their go-to guy for fights that are all fast moves.
That wasn't Norio Matsumoto. His characters don't just stand around, they shift their weight, they move and they shuffle. If he had any part in the animation of this episode, it would have been Gaara's sand. Matsumoto does very fluid and kinesthetic animation, so you usually see his work in explosions, water (or sand, I guess), and fighting. I don't think he did any of the fighting in this one though, looking at the choppy fights between Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto. But yeah, maybe the sand.