Naruto Anime Analysis

Season 3: Episode 125

Source: Wikipedia,
"The Sand Shinobi: Allies of the Leaf."

"The arrival of the Sand Ninja surprises the Konoha retrieval team and the Sound Four. Although the Konoha ninja asks their saviours to flee, each refuses, having been asked to come to help by Tsunade. Kiba's nose saves Kankuro from a sneak attack. Ukon underestimates Kankuro and his puppet receding from their cursed-seal state, but the latter is soon able to trap both Ukon and Sakon in a second of his puppets and kill them. With Temari's arrival, Tayuya escapes to the surrounding trees for cover, though Temari's fan cuts through the forest, eliminating Tayuya with ease."

Analysis

In the previous episode...

Kimimaro was ready to kill Lee, Tayuya began fighting Shikamaru's shadow, and Sakon and Ukon tracked down Kiba and Akamaru. Luckily, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro arrive at each fight site before any of the Sound Four members can assault the Konoha ninja. As a result, 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.

In this episode...

It will mainly focus on the Sand Shinobi.

The arrival of the Sand Ninja surprises the Konoha retrieval team and the Sound Four. Although the Konoha ninja asks their saviours to flee, each refuses, having been asked to come to help by Tsunade. As a result, each member of the Sand has a role in this episode:

Gaara versus Kimimaro

For example, during the faceoff between Gaara and Kimimaro, Gaara blocked his attacks. Kimimaro used the Digital Shrapnel, a.k.a., Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets. The bullets swirl as they go through the air at an incredible speed, and the bullets rip through skin, flesh, and bone when they hit. The bullets, however, are unable to pass through the shield of sand in this episode.

Gaara plays an important part not only because he was asked to help by Tsunade but also because of something else. Gaara says that he owes the leaf, and the minute he says that, one catches a glimpse of Naruto in the forest pursuing Sasuke. Therefore, it reveals something about Gaara's character. He doesn't appear to be a bad guy. Judging from the glimpse of Naruto at that moment, he probably cares about Naruto as a friend. Thus, Gaara cares for the people he cares about; hence, he is now a round character who seems like a real person who cares about others.  Moreover, in this scene, the battle has just started.

Kankuro versus Ukon and Sakon

Kiba's nose saves Kankuro from a sneak attack. Ukon underestimates Kankuro and his puppet receding from their cursed-seal state, but the latter is soon able to trap both Ukon and Sakon in a second of his puppets and kill them. As Kiba's nose saved Kankuro from a sneak attack, a percussion beat played to signify the seriousness of the situation. Kiba then proceeded to warn Kankuro that Sakon (who was still in his curse state) was attempting to enter Kankuro's body and merge with it, which is known as the Demon Parasite Jutsu. However, the technique didn't work because Kankuro used his puppet (the Black Ant) as a decoy to escape from Sakon's jutsu. Then, as the episode progressed, Kankuro killed both Ukon and Sakon by trapping them in one of his puppets. Therefore, Kankuro is shown to be courageous enough to defeat the twins. However, there is also something significant in the relationship between Ukon and Sakon.

Relationship between Ukon and Sakon

When Kankuro first defeated Sakon with his puppet, he wanted to fight Ukon next. Afterwards, Ukon managed to dodge Kankuro's attacks and eventually went close to his brother to merge with him. Ukon said these words:

"You're so pathetic, Sakon." "I can't believe you let that puppet catch you off guard. Well, you can be sure I won't. Its puny power and speed are nothing special. It will take more than this toy to stop me."

The quotation above shows that Ukon seems to be the type of brother who is cocky. He is arrogant and overconfident that he will defeat Kankuro, yet this leads to his downfall in the end. His relationship with his brother also shows that Ukon is the one who is always right, while Sakon willingly agrees.

"I'm not usually the one who turns into the main body. It's hard to move like this."

The quotation above shows that Sakon is usually the one who controls the main body. However, there is a point where Ukon must take control of the main body. He isn't used to it, which is why controlling the main body is difficult. Therefore, there is an element of change when the brothers switch roles. 

Temari versus Tayuya

With Temari's arrival, Tayuya escapes to the surrounding trees for cover, though Temari's fan cuts through the forest, eliminating Tayuya with ease. When Tayuya escaped, Temari asked Shikamaru to give an analysis of Tayuya. This shows that Temari is a strategist because she doesn't want any nasty surprises since he wants to win the battle.

In response, Shikamaru explained Tayuya's abilities. He said her flute casts genjutsu which she uses to ensnare her opponents, and when they can't move, she delivers a lethal attack. Moreover, he went on to say, "She's a typical long-range genjutsu-style shinobi. Most likely, as soon as she saw your jutsu, she realised she couldn't counteract it on her own. That is why she retreated. Besides, it's two against one now. I doubt she will show herself again until she can cast her genjutsu." Shikamaru went on to clarify that the genjutsu affects all five senses. The ones that affect hearing are the most deadly of all of them. Moreover, they can't tell where the genjutsu is coming from because it's based on the sound of her flute. By the time they find out where she is, they might as well have fallen under the spell of the flute. This shows that Shikamaru is an analyst, as he is gifted at analysing Tayuya's techniques. With a strategist and analyst, it's no surprise that Temari's fan cuts through the forest, eliminating Tayuya with ease.

The episode ends with a moment of silence between Gaara and Kimimaro. What will happen next? The episode ends in suspense until the next episode.

The lesson from this episode is that one should have faith in their abilities, just like Kankuro and Temari did when they defeated their enemies.

The episode is intriguing to watch since it showcases each of Sand Shinobi's abilities. I like how it saved the best for last because Gaara and Kimimaro are the strongest shinobi in this episode hence it was interesting to watch.