Naruto Anime Analysis

Season 3: Episode 124

Source: Wikipedia,
"The Beast Within."

"In his drunken form, Lee's movements are unpredictable, and Kimimaro is left unable to dodge his attacks. As Lee begins to gain an advantage in the fight, Kimimaro is forced to use his more powerful abilities. Lee, however, begins to sober up and reverts to his previous state, easily being outclassed by Kimimaro. Kimimaro prepares to finish Lee off, Tayuya starts fighting Shikamaru's shadow, and Sakon and Ukon find Kiba and Akamaru. Before any of the Sound Four members can attack the Konoha ninja, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro arrive at each battle site to take care of the Sound Four members themselves."

Analysis

In this episode, there is a weakening of Shikamaru's strangulation jutsu because he does not have enough chakra to hold Tayuya. Second, Naruto is still chasing after Sasuke in the forest and hopes that he can bring Sasuke home. Last, Kiba is looking for a safe place to hide since he is wounded. However, Sakon and Ukon find Kiba and Akamaru. Therefore, in light of the information presented, there are some key aspects to consider:

1. Lee's Drunken Fist 

2. Kimimaro's techniques 

3. The Arrival of the Three Sand Siblings

The following points will look at these three aspects.

1. Lee's Drunken Fist

In his drunken form, Lee's movements are unpredictable, and Kimimaro is unable to dodge his attacks. As stated by Might Guy in the previous episode, Lee is the master of the drunken fist. What is the drunken fist? Well, in this case, it's when Lee drank the bottle of alcohol that left him in a drunken frenzy. In this state, Lee can have movements that are unpredictable for Kimimaro to dodge his attacks. Therefore, Lee's drunken fist is one of the important key aspects of this episode, as the audience is shown Lee's drunken state, and afterwards, the title of the episode appears, "The Beast Within." There is a use of a metaphor where, in this case, it means that the battle between Lee and Kimimaro is about to begin, and it will reveal who is truly the "beast."In other words, who is stronger than the other opponent? Hence, it compels one to watch the rest of the episode.

As the episode progresses, Lee demonstrates his drunken fist, and his movements are unpredictable in various ways. For instance, as Kimimaro and Lee start to fight, Rock Lee's prowess is admirable because he has more energy. Kimimaro even noted in his mind that he was faster than before. The irony behind this is that the sake (an alcoholic drink) is working out for Rock Lee; hence, the music in the background is upbeat to signify Rock Lee's prowess.

Furthermore, the unpredictability of Lee's movements is shown when the music suddenly dies down as Lee faints and sleeps. Kimimaro is confused as he asks himself, "What just happened?" It makes one wonder if Lee is in danger. However, it was just a ploy from Lee to have the upper hand against Kimimaro as he tossed Kimimaro on the ground. Thus the unpredictability of Lee's movements, as one expected him to have fallen asleep already, but Lee proves that he is invincible when it comes to the drunken fist. To support this, this was confirmed by Lady Tsunade and Might Guy when they were discussing Lee destroying a restaurant because of the alcoholic drink sake.

2. Kimimaro's techniques

As Lee begins to gain an advantage in the fight, Kimimaro is forced to use his more powerful abilities. Kimimaro made some observations about Lee's abilities. First, he noticed that Lee was using a drunken fist and that he had never seen it before. Second, he stated that Lee's attack style is quite direct. Last, he stated that Lee's movements are unorthodox and that Lee is fast. As a result, he resorted to his technique, such as the Camellia Dance. When that didn't work, he decided to unleash the power of the curse mark. As a result, creepy music plays in the background as he transforms into something else. For instance, he has multiple bones in his arm and said that his true abilities lie between his bones. Therefore, things are not looking good for Lee because Lee's face is scratched by Kimimaro's rib bones, which are his Kekkei Genkai.

Lee, however, begins to sober up and reverts to his previous state, easily being outclassed by Kimimaro. As Lee began to sober up, Kimimaro was explaining his Kekkei Genkai. He asserted that he has more bones than the normal human body, which has 206 bones. Moreover,  Lee notices Kimimaro's bones have a lot of density and wonders if they are human bones as he tries to break them. Afterwards, Kimimaro uses the Dance of the Larch, which leaves Lee in danger. To support this, the Narutopedia Website stated that as Kimimaro prepares to use taijutsu, he develops sharp bones from all over his body, hopefully forcing the assailant to skewer themselves. The more damage that is done to the attacker, the stronger and faster the attack. By keeping the bones protruding from his body, Kimimaro can deter more attacks if the attacker can avoid suffering any serious injuries. The opponent can be left at Kimimaro's mercy if they assault despite the bones being utilized to absorb the hit and then capture the attacking arm or leg.

3. The arrival of the Three Sand Siblings

Kimimaro prepares to finish Lee off, Tayuya starts fighting Shikamaru's shadow, and Sakon and Ukon find Kiba and Akamaru. Before any of the Sound Four members can attack the Konoha ninja, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro arrive at each battle site to take care of the Sound Four members themselves. 

1. When Shikamaru was about to be stabbed by Tayuya's kunai, Temari arrived, using her giant fan to sweep Tayuya in the air with her whirlwind.

2. When Kiba was about to be stabbed by Sakon/Ukon's kunai, Kankuro arrived, using his puppet to block the attack.

3. When Kimimaro was preparing to finish Lee off, Gaara arrived in time to save Lee using his sand jutsu.

Drums and an electric guitar play in the background, keeping the mood cheerful as the show progresses. The aesthetics are on point, with each one displaying a collage of three opponents and the sand village, respectively. To finalize the episode, the viewers are eager to discover what the Three Sand Siblings will do to stop the enemy in the next episode.

The episode was intriguing since it explained what the drunken fist is. It also created a sense of mystery surrounding the Three Sand Siblings. 

The lesson from this episode is that one should never underestimate anyone; not everything is what it seems, just like Kimimaro did when Rock Lee was in a drunken frenzy.