Naruto: Shippuden, Disney XD, Saturdays 11pm
Absolute Anime; ANN; Disney XD; Hulu; IMDb; TV.com; VIZ Anime; VIZ Media; Wikipedia

Caution: Spoilers!

The sequel series to Naruto, "Naruto: Shippuden" (or "Naruto: Hurricane Chronicles"), picks up with Naruto Uzumaki returning to the Hidden Leaf Village, after spending the last 2 and a half years away, training with Jiraiya. Actually, the first scene is set some time after that, with Naruto and Sakura confronting Sasuke. Things seem to go badly, but... then the story skips back to the day Naruto first returned to Konoha. Actually, we get to see Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, on a little D-ranked mission (chasing a runaway cat). The three of them are now Genin, studying under Ebisu. Konohamaru plans to become the 7th Hokage (he assumes Naruto will eventually be the 6th). Anyway, it's cool to see those kids growing up, doing the kind of stuff Squad 7 did at the start of the original series...

So, the opening scene shows us that the series will be as dramatic as ever, while the second scene shows us it'll be as funny as ever, as well. Of course, we also soon get to see a touching and hilarious reunion between Sakura (who we like) and Naruto. They meet up with Shikamaru and Temari (who we like), and Naruto learns that all his old friends, including Sakura, have become Chunin. But because he hasn't been around to participate in the past two years' Chunin Exams, he's the only one who's still a Genin. In fact, Neji, Temari, and Kankuro have all become Jonin. (I get the impression Shikamaru is still a Chunin, even though he was the first one to reach that level, back in the original series. I could be wrong, though. He is organizing the upcoming Chunin Exams.) Later, while Tsunade and Shizune (both of whom we like), and Jiraiya all look on, Kakashi evaluates Naruto and Sakura's new skills, in a test just like their very first one as Genin, a few years ago. Except this time, they don't have Sasuke with them... but the two of them are both much stronger than before, so it's more of a challenge for Kakashi. Anyway, it's cool to see these kids growing up, and to emphasize the point, we get to see flashbacks to the original series, which is remarkably nostalgic. And at the end of the test, Tsunade announces that Naruto and Sakura will become squadmates with Kakashi, so he's not really their sensei anymore, but an equal. Though of course they still call him Kakashi-sensei (and the team is called "Team Kakashi")... and of course, he's a Jonin, so he technically outranks them....

Meanwhile, major events are transpiring elsewhere. Another thing Naruto has learned since returning home is that Gaara has become the new Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village. And now, two members of the Akatsuki, Deidara and Sasori, are invading the Sand Village, planning to capture Gaara. We also find that Gaara has come to care greatly for his village and its people, and wants to be accepted by them, rather than just being seen as an ultimate weapon, and feared by everyone. (We learn this in a flashback; by the time he's Kazekage in the present, it seems he's gotten his wish.) After the Akatsuki abduct Gaara, Kankuro chases them, but is badly poisoned in a fight with Sasori.

Anyway, the Hidden Sand village sends a request for help to the Hidden Leaf village, and Team Kakashi is dispatched. By the time they get there, Gaara has been abducted, and Kakashi sends Pakkun out to find where he's been taken. Meanwhile, Sakura heals Kankuro, but he'll still be out of commission for awhile. After reporting back to Kakashi, Pakkun heads out to meet up with Team Guy- including Guy, Neji, Tenten (who we like), and Lee- who were en route from Hidden Leaf as backup for Team Kakashi. Both teams separately head toward the location where the Akatsuki have taken Gaara. Team Kakashi is joined by Lady Chiyo, one of the Hidden Sand's elders, a puppetmaster who happens to be the grandmother of Sasori. Temari wants to join them as well, but the village council assigns her to a group fortifying the village's defensive perimeter, in case other villages learn the Kazekage is gone, and plan an attack.

Meanwhile, Chiyo talks to Team Kakashi about the existence of nine different Tailed Beasts, each with a different number of tails. People who contain the power of these beasts, like Gaara and Naruto, are called Jinchuriki. All the Akatsuki are gathered, at least in astral projection form, to do something that will... um... do something to Gaara's One-Tailed Shukaku. At this point I'm not clear on what their goal actually is, but the process is supposed to kill the Jinchuriki. Anyway, both teams finally show up at about the same time, but it's too late. The Akatsuki have finished... whatever they were doing. All leave except Deidara and Sasori, who stay behind to deal with Teams Kakashi and Guy. Guy's team ends up forced to fight clones of themselves, while Kakashi's team deals with the Akatsuki. Sakura and Lady Chiyo face off against Sasori, while Naruto and Kakashi chase Deidara.

By the end of the first season, the three separate battles are won, and Gaara is rescued, though Lady Chiyo sacrifices her life. Teams Kakashi and Guy return to the Hidden Leaf, though Kakashi himself will be out of commission for awhile. After defeating Sasori, Sakura had learned of a rendezvous to be held in ten days with a spy in Orochimaru's camp, who had been working for Sasori. After informing Lady Tsunade of this, the Hokage assigned Team Kakashi to try to make contact with the spy. However, Sakura and Naruto were without their team's leader, as well as already having been less one member, in Sasuke's absence. So, Tsunade appointed a temporary team leader called Captain Yamato (though this wasn't his real name), and another team member, named Sai. But... there were a couple of advisors who didn't want Naruto being sent on missions at all, being a Jinchuriki, who it would be dangerous for the Akatsuki to capture. So a compromise was reached, by which they got to choose one of the team's new members (Sai). Actually, Sai was chosen by another advisor, an elder named Danzo, who had in the past created a black ops division called "the Foundation," which no longer exists, supposedly, but they had once opposed the Third Hokage, I guess. So of course, Tsunade is suspicious of Sai, and chooses Yamato from among the ANBU (the village's regular black ops organization, which I don't think I ever mentioned in my review of the original series, though I probably should have).

Anyway. At the start of the season, Naruto gets to see a few more old friends again: Shino, Kiba and Akamaru, Hinata (who we like), Choji, and Ino (who we like). He also meets Sai, at first thinking him an attacker. They don't get along, so it's hard for Naruto to accept him as a new teammate. Over the course of the season, we get to know more about Sai, who does turn out to have a secret mission which is at odds with Team Kakashi's mission, though ultimately he'll change his mind and work with them (he wants to learn more about the bonds of friendship, which he'd once had with his now deceased brother, and he's intrigued by Naruto's bond with Sasuke). Anyway, they eventually encounter Orochimaru and Kabuto, and a bit later finally find Sasuke. So by the end of the season, the story has caught up to the first scene of season one. We also learn that Yamato is able to seal Naruto's 9-Tails chakra, which is important, because Naruto can lose control and do lots of damage, even to his friends... even without releasing all 9 tails; just four is a major problem. But when they finally face Sasuke, the team is no match for him, as his power had increased even more than theirs in the years since they saw him last. He says he no longer has a bond with Naruto, even if Naruto doesn't see it that way. Anyway, Orochimaru and Kabuto get Sasuke to leave with them, before he could kill any of Team Kakashi.

In season three, Sai is still working with Team Kakashi, and Naruto and Sakura have finally accepted him. There is some comic relief in his efforts to learn social skills. Meanwhile, Kakashi is finally released from the hospital, and begins giving Naruto some advanced training, so that he'll hopefully be able to face not only Sasuke but the Akatsuki, who are still presumably interested in capturing him. (Yamato also stands by during the training to make sure the 9-Tails chakra doesn't get released.) We learn that there are different types of chakra, and Naruto's is wind type (the same as Asuma-sensei's). Naruto also learns that Asuma is the son of the Third Hokage, and Konohamaru's uncle (which I was surprised he didn't know, but then it's possible I only knew it from stuff I read online, I don't know if it was ever revealed in the original anime). Asuma is also apparently involved romantically with Kurenai-sensei (who we like). Anyway, Tsunade sends Asuma out on a mission with his former students on Squad 10, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru, who I guess he hasn't worked with since they all became Chunin. She also assigns Team Kakashi on a mission, led by Captain Yamato. They begin working with a group of monks, most notably a boy named Sora, who doesn't get along with Naruto (though as usual for this series, he turns out to have a lot in common with Naruto). Meanwhile, Kakashi is sent to team up with Jiraiya and learn what they can about the Akatsuki. Naruto, of course, is upset that his training has been interrupted. But there is apparently a group that wants to start a war between the various lands, and put the Land of Fire in control of the whole world, I guess. But first they know they'll have to crush the Leaf Village.... Not sure what else to say about season 3, except of course there are plenty of battles, and the enemy wants to turn Sora to their side, a goal which is advanced upon the revelation of an incident in the past between Sora's father Kazuma, and Asuma (both of whom were members of the "Guardian Shinobi Twelve"). And we eventually learn a surprising and dangerous fact about Sora himself...

Of course, all of that is eventually resolved quite dramatically, and we move into season 4. The two-tails Jinchuriki is defeated by two members of the Akatsuki, Hidan and Kakuzu. They then begin seeking out their next target, while Tsunade sends out teams to search for the Akatsuki and stop them. Meanwhile, Naruto enters a new phase of his training. He must master his wind chakra and incorporate it into the Rasengan to create his own unique, fully formed jutsu, which even the Fourth Hokage failed to do. Elsewhere, Asuma's team (including Shikamaru and two other ninja) catch up with Hidan and Kakuzu, and engage them in battle. Asuma is ultimately killed by Hidan. Ino, Choji, and two other ninja then arrive, but they can't defeat the enemy. However, before the Akatsuki could do any more damage, they were called away by their allies. The Akatsuki leader reveals the purpose of collecting and sealing all the Jinchuriki, but... I won't get into that. Meanwhile, the Leaf ninja return home, where there is a funeral for Asuma, and we see flashbacks to Asuma's mentorial relationship with Shikamaru. Later, Team 10 (Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino) heads out with Kakashi as its leader, to hunt down Hidan and Kakuzu. Tsunada says Team 7 (Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato) will serve as backup later, if Naruto can complete his new jutsu. After team 10 catches up to the Akatsuki, Shikamaru eventually realizes he must separate the two of them, and forces Hidan away from Kakuzu. In the nearby forest, he battles Asuma's killer on his own, while his teammates remain behind to fight Kakuzu, whose true powers are revealed. Things don't go very well for Team 10, but in the end, Team 7 shows up, and Naruto reveals his new jutsu, Rasen Shuriken, which he uses to defeat Kakuzu.

And that's all I can say for now. I'll update the review with details of season 5 when I've seen it. But of course I must say that I love this series about as much as I did the old show. I greatly look forward to seeing how the series progresses. And, as always, the opening and closing theme songs are very cool....

There are also a few movies. The only one I've seen so far is Naruto Shippuden the Movie.