Just finished it. Honestly, it was a great episode but nothing too special. I didn't feel that sad for the characters that died in this episode but it was still more emotional than the manga. Though, there were too many silent moments when no OSTs were playing. Too many for my taste. Naruto OSTs are gold, especially the sad ones. I'm disappointed they didn't utilised it that much to intensify the intended atmosphere.
Honestly, I'm just disappointed at Neji's death. It was rushed, imo. It looks like Kishi pulled that move out of nowhere because we never expected Neji to die. The animators had the perfect chance to correct this scene in the manga by showing more scenes involving Neji so that it will make a more emotional impact to the audience when he dies. Guess they just wanted to follow the manga that time.
As for the animation, it was fine. So too was the artwork. Though, they colored the Kyuubi's cloak reddish-orange when it's supposed to appear orange, not red.
One thing that could have been done better was the voice-acting, imo. It needed a bit more passion, especially since this episode was more to do with emotions rather than actions. Obito's voice acting was excellent, though. Love the way he shouted and yelled at Naruto, trying to make him realise that the world consists of despair only. The amount of passion and anger that was put into his words - I absolutely love it. You can feel it in the manga too (without the voice-acting). That's why I love his character xD
Now, there is one thing I liked a lot about this episode - it is the way the animators switched from one scene to another via symbolism. An example of this is when Kurama pulled his arm out with his claw to remind Naruto how his parent entrusted the future to him, exactly like what Neji has done. Another example is the scene of a bird falling down on the ground with a spike pierced through its body, representing Neji's death. It's just a nice little touch they added. After all, we are going to see the SA make a phoenix appearance soon so that's some foreshadowing.
Overall, I'll rate it a 4/5. I enjoyed the last few minutes of the episode very much. Can't wait till the next one when we get to see Sasuke and the others.
,
