A fresh batch of dubbed, uncut Naruto Shippuden episodes has been loaded up on iTunes this week, as we're up to episodes 18-21. Head to the Naruto Shippuden Uncut Season 1, Vol. 2 page on iTunes to catch up with all the latest.

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For discussions on the Naruto Shippuden anime series, visit the Naruto forum.

Here’s a question: can a manga series based on heavy plotting and conversations withstand being animated? Would it be ridiculously boring? Madhouse Animation Studios was given this challenge with Death Note, and as it turns out, even a story that heavily depends on dialogue can be action-packed.

The creators of the Death Note anime have creatively and cleverly placed some pretty fancy animation into this series, with scenes that are impressive to look at yet also unexpected, making it all the more enjoyable. Scenes that you might have expected to be ordinary are swept up in movement. Pages from the graphic novel flourish in the anime. Everyday actions prove to be artistic.

This appears right from Episode 1, skillfully hooking in the audience as if to prove that a dialogue-based anime series can still keep up with its flashy action genre competition. Notably, Episode 25 delivers a beautiful scene that is not illustrated in the manga (check out from 04:37-06:27 in the episode), boasting excellent direction, music, and perspective that could only have been displayed through animation. This magic reoccurs yet again in one of the final episodes (Episode 36, 13:45-15:40), sealing it off with a dazzling finish.

So there you have it—great music, pace and direction, along with excellent voice casting, and Death Note becomes a feast for the eyes and ears as well as for the head. With sometimes extremely intricate and complicated scenarios that you have to be very alert to understand, the anime has a lot of flashy movement, music, and emotion-packed voices to keep us awake and paying full attention—and liking it, too.

-- Danielle Forward

A few weeks ago we featured a one-hour Jiraiya anime special at NARUTO.com (check it out, it's still there, as are all the previous SHIPPUDEN episodes). Today we launched a fresh one-hour Jiraiya special, and if you've read the manga you'll know that these episodes represent a critical point in the NARUTO storyline. Head on over and watch 'em, and share your feedback in the NARUTO discussion forum.