Naruto Anime Analysis (Season 5)

Season 5: Episode 186

Source: Wikipedia

"Laughing Shino"

"A man named Moshino Kagetsu Fuuta stands to lose all his inheritance if he laughs during his father's funeral. Knowing that all his relatives will try to make him laugh to keep the inheritance to themselves, he hires Konoha ninjas to attend the funeral in his place. The village chooses to send the ever-serious Shino Aburame, with Naruto Uzumaki backing him up. However, before the funeral begins, Shino is poisoned by a drug that causes him to laugh uncontrollably. Naruto attends the funeral and learns that the man's father, who is alive, planned it to teach his family to value happiness and humour over money. Naruto realizes that Shino had told jokes while disguised as the man's father, but Shino demands that he keep that a secret."

Analysis

Comedy is present throughout the episode, and towards the end, it leaves a valuable lesson: happiness has nothing to do with wealth; it's about the people and the mindset we place on ourselves. 

The episode starts with Shino and Naruto going on a mission to Moteoshi Village. Shino oversees the mission, and both are assigned as security details for the village. Along the way, they met a strange old woman hiding her face, and they asked her for directions. After she gave them directions, she said something weird. Creepy music plays in the background when the old woman says, "Moteoshi is a place where even the dead laugh; if you start laughing too, you're finished." From the onset, there is an exposition with a hint of background information about the plot, which helps to understand what to expect from the plot. So far, judging from her words, Shino and Naruto are going to face some obstacles when they arrive at the village.

A man named Moshino Kagetsu Fuuta stands to lose all his inheritance if he laughs during his father's funeral. When they arrived at Fuuta Kagetsu's place, he showed Naruto and Shino the final will his father wrote before he "supposedly" died. Shino reads the will, which states that "In the event of my death, my elder son Fuuta shall inherit the entire Kagetsu family estate. However, if my son Fuuta, the chief, laughs more than he should at my funeral, he forfeits all his rights, and the estate will be divided among the other members of the family."

Knowing that all his relatives will try to make him laugh to keep the inheritance to themselves, he hires Konoha ninjas to attend the funeral in his place. The village chooses to send the ever-serious Shino Aburame, with Naruto Uzumaki backing him up. The final will also state that Fuuta is allowed to have a substitute take his place as chief mourner; hence, Shino was perfect for the job because he never laughs.

However, before the funeral begins, Shino is poisoned by a drug that causes him to laugh uncontrollably. While they were having lunch made by Fuuta's sister, Mai, Shino decided to eat first because he suspected that the food might be poisoned. Moreover, since the parasitic insects within him will break down any poisons before they can cause any serious damage, Shino eats first. However, the poison got to the insects as well, causing them to laugh uncontrollably, which caused Shino to laugh uncontrollably as well. Therefore, Shino couldn't stand in as the chief mourner, and Naruto had to take his place instead as chief mourner. The laughing drug was so intoxicating to the extent that Shino laughed the whole night.

Naruto attends the funeral and learns that the man's father, who is alive, planned it to teach his family to value happiness and humour over money. On the day of the funeral, Fuuta's big sister, Tsukiko arrived. Fuuta informed Naruto that she is married to a rich family from another village, but she is greedy to get her father's estate. Therefore, she is going to try finding ways to make Naruto laugh.