I respect the beginning arc of Shippuden immensely. I think it’s cool that they actually aged the characters and actually had them grow into their attitudes and abilities! It’s very rare that a shonen series does that. Most characters seem trapped in whatever age the story started them off in and keep them that way (and in that same mindset) for however many years the manga/anime runs. But the Naruto kids grow up fine! They learned from the past five seasons and it actively shows in their personalities. They come off as being real people, Sakura especially. I didn’t like her for the first five seasons. I thought she was annoying and bratty and should be thrown off a cliff. After the events of the last season and the three year gap that happens afterward, she believably turns into a capable, mature(ish) young lady. I adore her thanks to Shippuden. Actually, I adored everyone thanks to Shippuden. Everyone seems to have had their characterization fleshed out with a lot of thought and effort put into it.

The first arc of Shippuden is one of the best in the series, in my humble opinion. I’m not just saying that because it revolves around Gaara and I have a thing for his Japanese voice actor. Honest. The action is great and well paced and really showcases well how much these kids have grown up. They aren’t the same misfits we were introduced to at the beginning of the series. They have their scars and have decided to learn and grow from them. Sorry I keep harping on this, but it truly is one of the things I love about this arc.

The fight episodes do drag a bit sometimes and there are lots of episodes just explaining how ninja-ness works, but that’s the case with most shonen titles. If you’ve followed the show this far, then you’re probably inured to it by now. If you’ve never seen an episode of Naruto in your life, Shippuden would be a good place to start watching. It starts like it’s its own series. It does help with some of the finer plot points if you’ve been following it since episode one, but it won’t hurt or hinder your understanding of the overall plot of the storyarc--- at all.