I just finished ep 82 of Naruto Shippuden, and I’ve got to say: this is my favorite episode so far. Including the 200+ episodes in the OG Naruto series. I cannot say this episode is going to stay my favorite (considering the sheer amount of episodes in this show AND the fact that it’s so highly praised), but I also can’t deny that this episode hit me in a way that I did not expect from this show.
Sure, I’ve heard of how amazing Naruto is as a show; all the life lessons and amazing fight sequences. But I’ve never truly experienced it myself.
This episode details the aftermath of Sarutobi Asuma’s death– but the show does it so well that it hit me harder than the death itself.
Watching it brought actual tears to my eyes– something I’ve generally outgrown for shows.
I was curious as to how it can hit me so hard like this, and arrived at three points. These three points, I believe, is why episode 82 is more depressing than the incident of Asuma’s death.
Number 1: The delivery of the story
Specifically, this episode has a very different feel than all the rest of the Naruto episodes; the colors are muted to a point where it’s difficult to see color, and the slow paced writing. I’m almost sure they brought in a more experienced lead animator for the less action-y sequences in this episode.
Number 2: Gauging the reactions of people who knew Asuma
The idea of people we know dying don’t usually inhabit our minds everyday. Therefore, it is a concept we are not familiar with; we can imagine what it’s like, but we cannot truly know what it’ll be like unless we’ve experienced it or totally and utterly submerged ourselves in an imagination of that situation.
The key to that imagination, is visualizing the truth of everyday life with a loved one gone. This is why episode 82 is so successful in my eyes: death of a loved one is only as heartbreaking as the size of the hole they leave behind.
In episode 82, we see the reaction of everyone Asuma knew or was close with.
Kurenai, who broke down in tears; Kakashi and Naruto, who looked like they couldn’t believe what they said; Choji’s parents, who we don’t typically see in an episode; and even the owner of the barbeque place they used to got to as a team broke down in tears.
The most flushed out reaction, though, was that of Shikamaru. We see his listlessness, the defeated look on his face, and the loss of interest in things as simple as eating.
The conversation between father and son, though, is what stuck with me especially. Shikaku notices his son’s silent grief and gets him to play a game of shogi with him. He then proceeds to provoke him in a gentle but honest manner about the fight with Akatsuki. Finally, we see emotion from Shikamaru, who had a blank expression all episode. He knocks the shogi game aside in anger and admits to some degree that he thinks Asuma’s death was his fault.
Shikaku, instead of comforting Shikamaru or getting worked up with him, simply states, “Let it all out”, so, Shikamaru does, finally showing his grief in an outward way.
Number 3, (This sort of intersects with number 2): The domesticity of life
In this episode in particular, we see a lot of normal village life. We see children playing and shopkeepers going about their business. Lots of attention is being put into the details of the Leaf village; the stairs Shikamaru goes up, a hill, Kurenai’s apartment complex, a few roads and the trees and grass on the side of them.
This has a grounding affect for the viewer. For all the episodes prior to this, we never really have a moment to take in the Leaf village as an actual place people live in. Since Naruto is set in an otherworldly universe with strange abilities and action-filled stories, we sometimes forget the inevitable mundaneness that comes with the existence of humanity.
The director chooses to show us these aspects of the Leaf village because he wants to remind us that no matter how supernatural these ninjas are, they are still human, with human lives– and human emotions.
Shikamaru’s dazed wandering around the village not only highlights the domesticity of the Leaf village, but also his loneliness without Asuma.
Combine these 3 factors:
Muted–almost colorless– animation and slow paced story.
PLUS
Everyone’s reaction to the hole Asuma left.
PLUS
Domesticity/normal life without Asuma
And you’ve got a melting pot of CRIPPLING DEPRESSION.