"The Land Where a Hero Once Lived" (英雄のいた国, Eiyū no Ita Kuni) is episode 11 of the original Naruto anime.
Synopsis[]
While Naruto and Sasuke try to outdo each other in their Tree Climbing Practice, a worker of Tazuna's named Giichi quits, and tries to convince Tazuna to give up building the bridge. Later on their way home from a food market, Sakura is astonished by the poverty in the Land of Waves, and how many people want to steal her bag, which she initially thinks is a way to grab her butt. Tazuna points out that their country would be much better off if the bridge was completed and Gatō removed from power.
Following dinner, Naruto and Sasuke are constantly eating too fast and puking in an attempt to get stronger. Sakura asks why Inari often stares at the family photo on the wall, which is torn so that a person's face and upper body are gone. Angered suddenly, Inari leaves the table, making Tsunami go after him. Tazuna then explains that the man torn from the picture, named Kaiza, was once a hero in the Land of Waves and Inari's stepfather. A travelling fisherman, he initially met Inari after saving him from drowning, and Inari came to rely on him heavily to the point where he wouldn't stand up for himself. He became revered as a hero when he single-handedly saved a large portion of the village from a flood. However, when Gatō arrived, he had Kaiza killed in an attempt to destroy the hope of the land, a strategy that sadly succeeded and traumatised Inari. Moved by the story, Naruto decides to show Inari that there are still heroes in the world.
Trivia[]
- This was the first episode to be rated TV-14-V on television broadcast in 2012. On Cartoon Network, it was edited as TV-PG, but on Adult Swim, the episode aired in uncut format. Later airings on Adult Swim have nearly every episode rerated to TV-14.
- On the Cartoon Network airing, the poll Kaiza was tied to was no longer a cross and his arms were redrawn to be on his sides to no longer resemble the crucifixion.
Credits[]
| Role | Seiyū | English Voice Actor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Japanese | Rōmaji | ||
| Naruto Uzumaki | Junko Takeuchi | 竹内 順子 | Takeuchi Junko | Maile Flanagan |
| Sasuke Uchiha | Noriaki Sugiyama | 杉山 紀彰 | Sugiyama Noriaki | Yuri Lowenthal |
| Sakura Haruno | Chie Nakamura | 中村 千絵 | Nakamura Chie | Kate Higgins |
| Kakashi Hatake | Kazuhiko Inoue | 井上 和彦 | Inoue Kazuhiko | Dave Wittenberg |
| Tazuna | Takeshi Aono | 青野 武 | Aono Takeshi | Kirk Thornton |
| Tsunami | Misa Watanabe | 渡辺 美佐 | Watanabe Misa | Cindy Robinson |
| Inari | Shizuka Ishikawa | 石川 静 | Ishikawa Shizuka | Mona Marshall |
| Kaiza | Akimitsu Takase | 高瀬 右光 | Takase Akimitsu | Wally Wingert |
| Giichi | Ryuji Mizuno | 水野 龍司 | Mizuno Ryūji | Wally Wingert |
| Gatō | Naoki Bando | 坂東 尚樹 | Bandō Naoki | Fred Tatasciore |
| Akane | Yuko Sato | 佐藤 ゆうこ | Satō Yūko | Julianne Buescher |
| Ageha | Kiyomi Asai | 浅井 清己 | Asai Kiyomi | Kate Higgins |
| Waves townspeople | Hiroaki Ishikawa Shunsaku Yajima Tadahisa Saizen | 石川 ひろあき 矢島 俊作 西前 忠久 | Ishikawa Hiroaki Yajima Shunsaku Saizen Tadahisa | Sam Riegal Yuri Lowenthal Jeff Nimoy |
