“Ya know, Kyuubi…I’m going to come after all that hate inside you as well some day!”
Impression
Gah, I was kinda hoping Episode 327 wouldn’t be a massive flashback, but alas! So much for a double episode, huh? It was literally a short retelling of the entire story, except this time from the Kyuubi’s point of view. It must be terribly boring having to stay locked up behind a seal for years on end, with only a Jinchuuriki for occasional company. Even before then, Kurama was pretty angry at the human world, for forcing their ideals on him and then restraining him. Notice that all along, Kurama’s intentions have been fuelled by a desire to remove his seal and kill Naruto – every single time Naruto’s used his power, be it when summoning Gamabunta for the first time or fighting Sasuke, Kurama’s been happy to help, but not just because he’s supposedly made out of hatred. The entire point of giving Naruto chakra (whether he’s in danger or emotionally excited) has been to continually weaken the seal. Oh, and maybe because Kurama will also die if Naruto dies. That’s probably a motive too 😀
Maybe he’s not fully aware of it yet, but Kurama’s feelings have been slowly changing. As in, he no longer sees Naruto as a run of the mill Jinchuuriki, out to keep him captive. First Naruto talked about removing Kurama’s own hatred (one day), and then he’s shown many signs of wanting to help and befriend the Bijuu, something which pretty much all the Bijuu (except the Hachibi) are laughing at. But in the accepted shounen fashion, Naruto’s actually grown worthy of many of his claims, which I think is something the Kyuubi’s starting to slowly admire. If he says he’ll help Son Goku, then he will – even if he has to force him to throw up through Kage Bunshin and use all of his Spiderman powers to the max. I was actually pretty impressed with Naruto’s innovative skills there, secretly keeping himself inside the Yonbi with Sage Mode on and removing the black rod from the inside.
I honestly wish I had more to talk about…there were far too many flashbacks in this double bill. In fact, the whole of Episode 327 could have been cut out, and I don’t think we’ll have missed much at all! I suppose this is Studio Pierrot’s latest innovative way to sneak in a filler (and if so, they’ve finally managed to trick me into watching a filler episode!) But fear not, next week’s episode will be very epic indeed. Even if you don’t read the manga, the preview says it all!
