Source: Wikipedia
“Squad Mutiny: Everything Falls Apart!”
“Although the Sound Four’s attack seems to force the retrieval team on the defensive, Shikamaru intends to be caught and uses the opportunity to capture the Sound Four with his shadow. They manage to escape, and Jirobo captures the retrieval team in a dome of rocks. As the other Sound Four members go on ahead, Jirobo absorbs the Konoha ninja’s chakra. Before their chakra is completely absorbed, Choji manages to break out of the dome, freeing the team.”
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Analysis
Action music starts playing in the background from the onset. The episode continues, where Neji uses his byakugan to locate the enemy. It also showed Neji and Shikamaru getting hit by the paper bomb. Afterwards, the music stops playing in the background.
Luckily, Neji and Shikamaru survived the paper bomb. However, they are faced with the Sound Four as deep bass music plays in the background. Meanwhile, something else has happened to Naruto, Choji, and Kiba. Kidomaru has used his spider threads to catch Naruto, Choji, and Kiba. As a result of his attack, they all ended up hiding behind the bushes.
Despite Kiba using the smoke bombs, they do not work as they are still trapped in the spider webs. This shows that the enemy is strong in the sense that his spider webs are strong. Moreover, Shikamaru realised something about the tripwires. The tripwires were not a double trap but a triple trap that included the spider web, which shows that the Sound Four are not just strong but also analytical and strategic. In other words, the Sound Four are the ones who build the storyline in this episode.
Although the Sound Four’s attack seems to force the retrieval team on the defensive, Shikamaru intends to be caught and uses the opportunity to capture the Sound Four with his shadow. They manage to escape, and Jirobo captures the retrieval team in a dome of rocks. Shikamaru activated the Shadow Possession Jutsu to trap the enemy. However, it does not work, as Jirobo uses an earth-style barrier. As a result, he traps Shikamaru’s team in an earth dome prison barrier.
In the same scene, Shikamaru’s team is trapped inside the dome prison barrier. They are trying to figure out ways to get out of the barrier. Moreover, when the Sound Four realised that Jirobo’s jutsu worked, Jirobo stayed behind to make sure they were trapped inside. Therefore, the rest of Sound Four head off with Sasuke in the coffin.
Meanwhile, inside Jirobo’s barrier, Kiba uses his curling fang technique to get through the barrier. However, it does not work, as the hole he made was restored to its original shape. In other words, the wall has rebuilt itself, which proves that Jirobo’s technique is complicated. Furthermore, Neji gives his insight that it is more than just a dirt wall and realises that the team will have to come up with a plan to destroy the barrier. Therefore, it shows that Neji is not only observant but clever as well.
To signify the seriousness of the situation, intense music plays in the background. It is also supported by a deep-bass electric guitar. Furthermore, there are also drums playing in the background as everyone is circling to showcase that things just got real. For instance, Neji activated his Byakugan to see who was outside and realised that Jirobo was absorbing their chakra. To support this, Neji says, “Our chakra. It’s absorbing it as if it were a sponge.” When the team heard what was going on, they were all perplexed. As a result, the music intensifies as the enemy outside the barrier continues to absorb their chakra, and afterwards, the music stops playing in the background.
As the other Sound Four members go on ahead, Jirobo absorbs the Konoha ninja’s chakra.
In the forest, Jirobo continues to absorb their chakra with a smug look on his face. Due to his jutsu, Shikamaru’s team is drained, so Kiba wants to try one more time to break the barrier. For instance, he gave Akamaru the food pill, and Akamaru slowly changed into a brown beast. So to activate his ninja technique, Kiba said, Ninja Art: Human Mimicry, and then proceeded to say, Ninja Art: Beast Mimicry. After finalising the jutsu, Kiba and Akamaru both look the same in Kiba’s human form, and they use fang over fang against the barrier. However, it does not work. This scene showcased Kiba’s and Akamaru’s techniques, and despite their efforts, the wall rebuilt itself.
Naruto decides to activate his Rasengan. However, he does not have enough chakra because Jirobo has absorbed most of it. Therefore, this situation compelled Shikamaru to start thinking of a strategy. First, he seemingly decides to make a deal with Jirobo about whether he should release him. In return, he will let Jirobo keep Sasuke. However, Jirobo refused to accept the deal. Second, Shikamaru said he should let him go. In return, Jirobo can keep others. As a result, dramatic music plays in the background, and the whole team is perplexed by Shikamaru’s words. Moreover, it leaves one confused about why Shikamaru would want to betray his teammates, hence compelling one to watch the rest of the episode.
However, Choji believes that Shikamaru has a plan to help his teammates. For instance, he remembers what Shikamaru said at the Hidden Leaf Village. First, Shikamaru said, “I save the most important thing of all for last.” Second, Choji also remembers Shikamaru saying, “All the same, Sasuke is a ninja belonging to the Hidden Leaf Village. He’s a comrade, and I will put my life on the line to help him. That’s the way of our village.” As a result, the music stops playing in the background to signify Choji’s hope in Shikamaru. This moment shows that Choji knows Shikamaru more than anyone else, which highlights the close friendship between the two of them.
When Naruto wanted to use Shadow Clones, Neji stopped him. For instance, Neji said, “Don’t bother. That ninja has infused this wall with chakra so that it will repair itself. Your shadow clones won’t work. You will only deplete your chakra. The fact is, multiple attacks won’t work. Our only hope is Taijutsu, strong enough to destroy it in one blow.” Neji once again proves he is significant in this episode because he is observant about the sticky situation they are in. Therefore, since Neji said only taijutsu could work to break the barrier, Kiba suggested that Choji was strong enough to do it, which resulted in a calm melody playing in the background. Kiba, in this case, used common sense to help his teammates survive.
Before their chakra is completely absorbed, Choji manages to break out of the dome, freeing the team. Shikamaru gives instructions on how to break the barrier. For instance, Neji activated his Byakugan to find the weak spot. Afterwards, Shikamaru gave the following orders: First, Shikamaru said to Neji, “Mark the spot with a kunai knife.” Second, Shikamaru instructed Choji to use his Expansion Jutsu. Afterwards, Neji explains how the team will break the barrier. He said, “This wall surrounding us has been infused with chakra. However, the strength of the chakra won’t be uniform. Some points on the wall must be weaker than the others. Shikamaru was able to figure that out.” At that moment, Shikamaru has proven to be a strategist because he has been analysing the situation from the onset. As a result, triumph music starts playing in the background as Choji uses his Expansion Jutsu to break the barrier. Moreover, Japanese flutes play as the music intensifies when Choji gets out of the barrier. Furthermore, the Japanese guitar plays well with a mix of drums and an electronic guitar. The music gets louder and then stops after everyone is free from Jirobo’s barrier. At that moment, the mix of instruments was a way of symbolising Choji’s role in getting his teammates out of the barrier.
The episode ends on a positive note. Team Shikamaru has managed to break out of the dome, which leaves the audience satisfied with the ending.
The lesson from this episode is that sometimes working as a team will produce positive results. One may want to be successful. However, to become successful, one needs support from others. Therefore, Team Shikamaru is the perfect example of showcasing the importance of teamwork.
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