Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 Blu-ray Movie Review

Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 continues the action-packed adventure anime with another batch of episodes of the long-running hit series. From creator Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 includes episodes 166-192. Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 comes from producers Fukashi Azuma (Shaman King, Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok) and Tomoko Gushima (Saiyuki: Requiem, The Prince of Tennis).

The anime classic continues to be beloved as one of the most cherished anime series of the Shonen genre. Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 features excellent voice work by Junko Takeuchi, Masaki Terasoma, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Noriaki Sugiyama, and Takaya Hashi. Naruto Shippuden – as a sequel to the original and beloved Naruto series – stands as one of the most successful anime franchises and sequels in anime history.

The Hidden Leaf is facing some of the biggest obstacles ever seen before. Terror and destruction are everywhere in sight. Pain has swept up the Hidden Leaf. Naruto struggles to even survive and keeps facing up against his enemies. Luckily for Naruto, Naruto’s friend Hinata ends up lending a hand to continue the fight and help him.

As many of the closest friends of Naruto become endangered, the Nine-Tailed Beast becomes unwieldly in Naruto and his powers become out of hand. Yet Naruto perseveres and continues the battle – with an attempt to get to Nagato. If Naruto can make peace with Nagato then maybe things can change and stop Pain.

One of the core reasons Naruto is such a powerhouse success is the beloved cast of characters. Naruto is the wonderful lead hero and he always has a dedication to his ninja ways as well as to his friends. The character is charming and audiences can easily relate to him. Naruto is always expanding on his own strengths and building his skills. Audiences appreciate the unending optimism of Naruto. The cast of supporting characters adds a lot of charm to the series, too. The heart of Naruto comes from the wide cast of characters and the symmetry between the characters.

Naruto Shippuden showcases character designs by Tetsuya Nishio (Naruto Shippūden: The Lost Tower, The Last: Naruto The Movie) and Hirofumi Suzuki (Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, Naruto Shippūden: The Lost Tower). The character designs are well done. One of the best aspects of the character design artwork is the manner in which it stays true to the original manga art. The manga aesthetic and the original designs are honored with anime character designs that evoke the same feelings and style. Outstanding work done for the anime. The characters are brought to life through the animation.

The animation remains one of the most essential and foundational aspects of the production. Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 features plenty of iconic visuals and outstanding art. The animation is always quite compelling and beautiful to behold. The art style reflects the aesthetic goals of the animation team. Featuring art direction by Shigenori Takada  (Yu Yu Hakusho) and  Norihiko Yokomatsu (Call of the Night). The entire animation team brings their best to the anime. The scope and scale of the animation is quite enormous. Everything from the line art to background animation works well and highlights the quality ambition of the team of animators.

Another key visual element for Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 is the cinematography by Atsuho Matsumoto (Emma: A Victorian Romance). The cinematography is one of the major highlights of the entire series. The visuals are a huge part of the charm and fun. The aesthetic is impressive and helps the work of the entire animation team to be appreciated. The cinematography highlights the aesthetic vision and works wonders for the anime series.

The score composed by -yaiba- (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie) and Yasuharu Takanashi (Tokyo Mew Mew New, Fairy Tail) is well done and helps the action-packed anime unfold. The score is one of the essential ingredients of the anime. The music adds a lot to the series. Featuring superb score music, the action-adventure element is always well highlighted. The music manages to evoke great emotions and depth. The score works well for the action and genre, too. Outstanding and one of the most important parts of the series.

Written by Junki Takegami (Pokémon: Black and White, Beast Fighter - The Apocalypse), the chief writer of Naruto Shippuden handles the action and adventure well. The scripting does a good job of balancing these elements. The franchise voice remains strong as a result. The ninjas continue their epic journey.

Hayato Date (Convenience Store Boy Friends, Tokyo Underground) directs. Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 continues the epic adventure of Naruto. The classic action fans expect continues to deliver in spades. An entertaining set with more of what the fanbase loves. Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 provides more of the high-energy fun that audiences enjoy about the franchise.

Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by VIZ Media, Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The high-definition video looks better than usual on the box-set and the visuals are all the more compelling as a result. The sleek high-definition video provides impressive color reproduction and detail.

The source material looks pleasing overall and is well suited to the presentation. The animation team did a great job with the series production and the action scenes are crisply reproduced. The end result is a highly pleasing presentation. Color reproduction is excellent and works well for the series presentation, too. VIZ Media did a good job with the encoding.

Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio sounds pleasing throughout. Fans will be pleased having lossless for both language options. The lossless offers impressive fidelity and depth. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The soundstage and the score a major highlight. The sound mixing is well done.

One of the nice qualities of physical media and the Blu-ray disc format is the lossless audio encoding. Streaming video services are limited to lossy (non-lossless) audio quality. For home theater fans and enthusiasts, the Blu-ray format has a significant advantage with lossless audio encoding. The audio presentation is crisper, clearer, and more robust. The audio soundstage has more depth. These are elements that audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts both appreciate. It is a staple of the physical format of Blu-ray disc and something that offers significantly better encoding compared to streaming services.

Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The first print run of the release also includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover adds a bit of extra collectability for fans of the series. The slipcovers will look great lined up together on a shelf. 

Disc 4 –

Storyboards: Episode 169 includes 5 click-through pages.

Storyboards: Episode 185 includes 5 click-through pages.

Storyboards: Episode 189 includes 5 click-through pages.

Art Gallery includes 10 click-through slides.

Open and Ending Videos:

Opening (HD, 1:33)

Ending (HD, 3:06)

Trailers (HD, 4:58)

Unfortunately, the release does not include a more expansive supplemental package. The release could have benefited from some audio commentaries, behind the scenes featurettes, cast/crew interviews, convention panels, roundtables, more storyboards (perhaps full-length storyboards or for the entire group of episodes), and other extras with more extensive behind-the-scenes. Alas, the set has an average-at-best supplemental package. In the age of streaming, some fans require a more extensive supplemental package to determine between what is a one-time stream or something they want to permanently own in their collection. The supplements are sparse and could have been more robust overall.

Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Naruto Shippuden: Set 7 continues to offer fans of the action-adventure anime franchise an abundance of fun. The series remains one of the most popular in anime and with good reason. The series has an impressive cast of characters and fun adventure.

The Blu-ray release provides a pleasing high-definition presentation, lossless audio, and a selection of bonus features. The first print run of the release also includes a nice o-card slipcover. Fans of the series who have been collecting the run to date on physical media will want to consider adding this set to their collection. Recommended.