Noblesse Oblige.

Like me, I bet many of you have given up on Naruto anime because of copious fillers and slow pacing (further exacerbated by the fillers >_>). However, the anime has finally gotten back on track in the past couple weeks, and I have begun to watch it again.

They did a decent job animating Kakashi Gaiden, the tale of how Kakashi got his Sharingan, in episodes 119-120. In the following weeks, we witnessed the showdown between Sasuke and Deidara, which was animated in above Naruto-average quality, yet still not as impressive as when Naruto and Sasuke fought couple hundred episodes ago. The latest episode (125) this week, titled Disappearance, the anime covered the aftermath of Sasuke vs Deidara fight including the converging paths between Konoha, Hebi, and Akatsuki as well as the introduction of Pain, Konan, and Madara. I was excited to finally hear their voices and their colored anime appearance. Madara did not disappoint, he was cool as hell with his cloak and non-Tobi-comical voice. Pain sounded decent, but he looked too pale and angular. Konan looked great, but sounded like a middle-aged woman, maybe this is what they intended but I'm not a big fan.

The point of this post is not to commend Naruto anime, because it has fallen far too below standard, but rather to show those of you who lost faith that it's trying... =P
Personally, I am excited for what is coming in the following months. I foresee after a week or two of transition material, Shippuuden will head into some great landmarks in the manga such as Jiraiya vs Pain, and Sasuke vs Itachi. BUT, this is assuming they won't drag out the transition or going into another filler. Oh my god if they do the latter, I just won't know anymore...
=D