No anime arc made me feel like the Konoha Crush Arc in Naruto
It's been many, MANY months since I decided to rewatch the OG Naruto instead of moving onto Shippuden. Let me tell you--they just don't make anime like this anymore. You probably already know this. But there's something so charming about older anime. They are slower, more earnest, more straight-forward in a lot of ways. But they trust you to pick up the story and understand without having it spoonfed to you or all shoved in your face at once, lest you get bored. My theory is because they were made during the height of Cable TV, kids had no choice but to just sit and watch these full episodes and long ass arcs. I just finished the Konoha Crush Arc, where Orochimaru and his crew infiltrate the Leaf Village, wreak havoc, kill the Third Hokage, and then dip. Also, Naruto and Gaara's sand monster go head-to-head (with some help from the Chief Toad). That's pretty significant. Actually, that's more of the focus of the arc. The last episode of this arc (ep. 80: ...