Naruto Anime Analysis (Season 5)

Season 5: Episode 198

Source: Wikipedia

"The ANBU Gives Up? Naruto's Recollection"

"The ANBU agents use reverse hypnosis on Naruto but realize that he remembers nothing of importance. Some of the group researched Gennou but found little except for him being a mediocre carpenter who did little out of the ordinary. However, it is revealed that his letter of introduction was forged, and an investigation of the scene of his suicide bombing and the corpse in the hospital suggests that Gennou staged his death."

Analysis

The episode showed a resolution where all the mysteries of the plot are unravelled thanks to Shikamaru and the rest of the group. It also revealed the close bond between Naruto and Gennou and the strengths and weaknesses of other characters. Other details will be revealed in the analysis.

The close bond between Naruto and Gennou

The ANBU agents use reverse hypnosis on Naruto but realize that he remembers nothing of importance. In the previous episode, the ANBU were looking for Naruto, and now in this episode, they took him for interrogation in a dark room with a lit candle. Afterwards, they started to ask Naruto questions about Gennou in hopes that they might determine who Gennou was working for. However, Naruto could not remember anything, so the ANBU decided to put him through regressive hypnosis because hypnosis recovers lost memories from his subconscious. As a result, one of the ANBU activated the back-to-past jutsu on Naruto, which caused him to answer their questions as he remembered his interactions with Gennou.

The memories give better clarity on how he met the old man and help the viewer understand the nature of the relationship. For instance, Naruto said to the ANBU while in hypnosis, "I'm in the woods; I was out there training on my own when it was lunchtime, so I headed for Ichiraku, and that's when I saw him." While outside of Ramen Ichiraku, Gennou was trying to decide whether he should get inside the restaurant or not, and afterwards, he introduced himself to Naruto as a freelance carpenter. In response, Naruto convinced him that Ichiraku Ramen is the best ramen in the whole universe. As a result, they get inside the restaurant and eat the ramen, and since Naruto finished his bowl of ramen first, Gennou feels compelled to share the rest of his ramen with Naruto; hence, this is the start of a friendship. In other words, a close relationship was like a grandson and grandfather. To support the nature of the friendship, positive music plays in the background with a mix of high-pitched Japanese flutes.

Moreover, the second time they met at Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto said to the ANBU while in hypnosis that Gennou showed him a photograph, a picture of some kid who looked around his age. Naruto goes on to say, "It was right after I asked the old guy why he was being so nice to me." It is crucial to note that the picture of Gennou's grandson was a spitting image of Naruto with the same smile, so Gennou didn't feel like Naruto was a stranger since it felt like he was speaking to his grandson. Furthermore, Gennou said, "Someday after I retire, my grandson and I are going to go off and live the life of treasure hunters.". This just proves the caring nature he has for his grandson; hence, he is a round character who seems like a real person who cares about his grandson. Afterwards, the old man gave Naruto his share of the ramen after Naruto finished his bowl. While giving Naruto the ramen, Naruto noticed his hand had a scar, so Naruto asked him how he got it, and the old man responded by saying I got this scar when I cut myself with a saw. This clue about his hand is crucial to solving the mystery, as I will mention later in the analysis.

After the ANBU heard Naruto's memories, they said that Gennou had no relatives and assumed that the story of his grandson was a lie since they had been following him for a while. Moreover, they also said they doubted that Gennou would have been careless enough to divulge anything important, even to Genin. After some time, another ANBU arrived to inform them about an emergency communication from Lady Tsunade, so they decided to release Naruto and let him go. At that moment, one starts to have questions such as, Is Gennou's grandson still alive? Is the grandson dead, and if he is, is that why he spent most of his time hanging out with Naruto since he is a spitting image of his grandson? This brings out a sense of mystery, as it will be revealed later in the plot, but one thing is for sure: Gennou did care about Naruto like he was his grandson.