10 Second Anime - Naruto Shippuuden - Episode 480

OVA Shippuuden begins. Sarutobi befriends a young Naruto. Hinata meets the two boys who become most important to her, Neji and Naruto.

Episode 480 - "Naruto • Hinata"

Heh.

Well, we can't call these kinds of episodes "filler" anymore, since there's no more story to fill in before the end. I'm calling them what they are now, OVAs.

The new opening credit sequence looks great with using the character designs from the Naruto: The Last movie. Ino really grew up to be stunning and it's quite nice to see Hinata make an easy smile.

Still, it's bittersweet to see these kids growing up as I've been watching them through the prologue seasons and now the Shippuuden seasons for over a decade.

Rock Lee! Never change. Never change.

The first of the two OVA's this week show Naruto's first ever friend, Hokage Sarutobi. Naruto may not have known who this old man was at the time, but Sarutobi knew exactly who Naruto was. The son of the 4th Hokage who died saving his life at his birth. The village's host to their Tailed Beast. Orphan.

Hinata's OVA showed how her relationship with Neji was before he was branded by the Main House of the Hyuuga after his father died. There was real care and concern on Neji's part, which later got overwhelmed by resentment. Hinata's first encounter with Naruto in her time of grief for her uncle and for Neji planted the first seeds of love for Naruto.

An important tie between Sarutobi and Neji is that they both died protecting the village and Naruto. It was Naruto who woke Neji up from his resentment for Hinata during the Chuunin exams. It was Sarutobi who sacrificed his life using the same sealing technique Minato used to save the village from further rampaging by the freed Nine-Tail.

Sarutobi was Naruto's first friend and Neji was Hinata's. It's a neat connection to make between two kids who would eventually love each other and get married.

Next time, Sasuke and Sakura get the OVA treatment.