Board Thread:Episode Discussions/@comment-12509038-20141231031332/@comment-8284722-20150101062553

1. You really like this episode, don't ya? Well, it's nice to finally see these two duke it out for good, and it had plenty of good action. The hype was totally worth it. However, for Naruto and Sasuke's Final Battle, I'd rather have the flashbacks go back not to a spar between Naruto and Sasuke (which, in that context, never happened), but to every single fight Naruto has ever been through. Whether it's Naruto vs. Zabuza, Naruto vs. Haku, Naruto vs. Orochimaru, Naruto vs. Kiba, Naruto vs. Neji, Naruto vs. Gaara, Naruto vs. Kabuto, Naruto vs. the Sound Four, Naruto vs. Itachi, Naruto vs. Deidara, Naruto vs. Kakuzu, Naruto vs. Tobi, Naruto vs. Pain, Naruto vs. Karui, Naruto vs. Dark Naruto, Naruto vs. Kurama, Naruto vs. Itachi and Nagato, Naruto vs. the Raikage, Naruto vs. Obito, Naruto vs. the Ten-Tails, Naruto vs. Madara, or Naruto vs. Kaguya, it'll be the perfect conclusion to the series in every way, shape, and form.

2. Gotta agree. That cliffhanger though... (especially with the filler coming up tomorrow)

3. There's no way you guys didn't cry with this episode. Watching Obito fall in such a dastardly way hurt all of us. And it all proved just how much Naruto could've been like him.

4. Yep, loved this episode. Just for Team 7 reuniting... those feelings quickly died down.

5. Another tearjerker. Kinda disagree with Hinata's speech. While the overall message was extremely touching (Comrades never truly die), oftentimes it would just be another Hinata rant, and by this time I was kinda sick of them. Same thing for Kurama's "yapping". However, no death truly touched us like Neji's (WHY NEJI???... and that bird...), and it will continue to be one of the most infamous moments in Naruto history.

6. At the beginning of this series, Naruto had no friends. Now he has tens of thousands. An amazing episode for the ages.

7. This episode came after a whole tun of fillers, and ultimately didn't disappoint. And I love the end: "I'm taking you next - you filthy beasts".

8. This one didn't have much of an impression on me, honestly.

9. Yeah, this one felt just as harrowing as when Neji died. So many corpses...

10. We all love the Hokage! Dattebayo! Plus: Sasuke meeting Minato... that's just amazing.

Few Honorable Mentions:

Shadow of the ANBU: even if it didn't quite live up to the standards hoped for, it still is a great story into a very minimally used period of Kakashi's life. This thing deserves to be canon.

Those Who Dance in the Shadows: Capitalizing on Neji's death, this was the episode that really showed just how important Naruto was to the war and every single person there. Also got some Lee development in a way we've never seen before.

Hole: This was the capitalization on just who Obito was at this point. His description of a hole in his heart was extremely harrowing, and the "truth" behind Rin's death drives icicles into our faith in world peace.

The New Three-Way Deadlock: If there was any episode that proved that Team 7 was the new Sannin, this was it. Stellar amazing. Only problem: One's not quite there yet...

The Day Naruto Was Born: The 600th episode of the series, this just happened to also be the one that featured Naruto remembering his birthday. And CLEARLY that makes Minato all weepy...

A Shinobi's Dream: When Naruto spread all of his memories to the troops, I just went "YES! YES"! It's about time everyone knew just what Naruto went through - and what Naruto and Hashirama are going to do about it.

A Heart Filled With Comrades: I'm mentioning this episode instead of the two afterwards due to the filler content. But these are so fiscal in showing Obito the power of bonds. Perhaps the most thematic out of all the episodes of the year.

The Promise That Was Kept: Team Minato (minus Rin) is finally back! Also very thematic for all three men and Naruto.