New OP and Ending

Regarding the "bad' director:
I wasn't impressed by their previous directors, but if the Naruto vs Pain fight is any indication, then I would expect the worse. While there wouldn't be much going on, I would expect that scene to have some decent animation; this director does not seem to know when to prioritize higher quality animation. In Naruto vs Pain, Hinata's scene and the Kyuubi's six-tailed form were given the priority, whereas the scenes of Sage Naruto...the HIGHLIGHT of the fight...was hardly animated at all! For some reason I'm worried he might make Sakura's Seiyuu sound insincere in the confession (I don't know if an 'animation' director has control over that, but given the fact the VAs have to match the character, that seems likely). What amazes me is that the Pain arc, which HE directed, was the lowest point of the series ratings wise (and no, I DON'T blame it on the manga during that arc), yet they're still keeping this guy around. I guess the decent ones are working on other projects? Then again, the studio seems to be trying to cash in on Naruto and Bleach with minimum effort, relying more on the brand names than caring about producing a quality product (making far longer than necessary filler arcs, extending the canon episodes with filler and flashbacks when they don't need to). I remember the good old days with DragonBallZ; that had filler, but not enough to detract from canon, and unlike Naruto Shippuden, the animation actually got better with each season (compare the animation of the Sayiajin Saga and Cell games, and tell me that's NOT an improvement). What's more, DBZ back then was making crazy money, but the difference is that with DBZ, when they got money, they made sincere effort to make the series better; not so with Naruto. If anything, the fillers from part 1 probably made them decide that people will watch it as long as it's Naruto, and decided not to put any work into it.

Sorry, I just had to get that out. I'm just frustrated that so many Shonen series I have grown up watching before hand had good directors who knew what they were doing and avoid making the filler and shortcuts in these kinds of adaptations from detracting from canon material, wheras in Naruto Shippuden after Part 1 canon they just don't care at all.

Well, I didn't mean to create THIS much pessimism.

In all honesty, I really think the studio is convinced that NS IS the main couple, and would not try to alter it. If nothing else, we got Sakura rushing to Kyuubified Naruto, some of the omakes implied them as an odd couple at worst, and let's not forget the thank you. Many of the OPs and EDs subtly hint at it. Even if the filler episodes this guy directed were anti-NS, in the end it's filler and it's likely they will ignore those completely, especially given the nature of Part 1 fillers. It's also possible that he may NOT have been expressing his opinion about the couple with those episodes, he may have just been told by the studio "Hey, could you make X episodes where Naruto is a complete buffoon with Sakura?" and did just that to get paid.

Even if this was a different director, I'd still be nervous about how they would handle the confession. I remember when it first came out, everyone, including NS fans, were upset with her and thought she was lying through her teeth about EVERYTHING, and bashed her to kingdom come. How sincere they make her in her confession will depend on how they take Kishimoto's statements on how Sakura's "Honest and Determined".

Oh yeah, one more thing. Pierrot also tends to favor Sasuke's fights and he gets better treatment from Pierrot. (great animation) Proof: Pain fight.

P.S: I think "Freedom" might be for Killer Bee. It does fit with his character and motives for running away from Kumo. HMK's songs seems it would fit well for him.

In all honesty, I really think the studio is convinced that NS IS the main couple, and would not try to alter it. If nothing else, we got Sakura rushing to Kyuubified Naruto, some of the omakes implied them as an odd couple at worst, and let's not forget the thank you. Many of the OPs and EDs subtly hint at it. Even if the filler episodes this guy directed were anti-NS, in the end it's filler and it's likely they will ignore those completely, especially given the nature of Part 1 fillers. It's also possible that he may NOT have been expressing his opinion about the couple with those episodes, he may have just been told by the studio "Hey, could you make X episodes where Naruto is a complete buffoon with Sakura?" and did just that to get paid.

Even if this was a different director, I'd still be nervous about how they would handle the confession. I remember when it first came out, everyone, including NS fans, were upset with her and thought she was lying through her teeth about EVERYTHING, and bashed her to kingdom come. How sincere they make her in her confession will depend on how they take Kishimoto's statements on how Sakura's "Honest and Determined".

When will they come out? Next month?

Regarding the "bad' director:
I wasn't impressed by their previous directors, but if the Naruto vs Pain fight is any indication, then I would expect the worse. While there wouldn't be much going on, I would expect that scene to have some decent animation; this director does not seem to know when to prioritize higher quality animation. In Naruto vs Pain, Hinata's scene and the Kyuubi's six-tailed form were given the priority, whereas the scenes of Sage Naruto...the HIGHLIGHT of the fight...was hardly animated at all! For some reason I'm worried he might make Sakura's Seiyuu sound insincere in the confession (I don't know if an 'animation' director has control over that, but given the fact the VAs have to match the character, that seems likely). What amazes me is that the Pain arc, which HE directed, was the lowest point of the series ratings wise (and no, I DON'T blame it on the manga during that arc), yet they're still keeping this guy around. I guess the decent ones are working on other projects? Then again, the studio seems to be trying to cash in on Naruto and Bleach with minimum effort, relying more on the brand names than caring about producing a quality product (making far longer than necessary filler arcs, extending the canon episodes with filler and flashbacks when they don't need to). I remember the good old days with DragonBallZ; that had filler, but not enough to detract from canon, and unlike Naruto Shippuden, the animation actually got better with each season (compare the animation of the Sayiajin Saga and Cell games, and tell me that's NOT an improvement). What's more, DBZ back then was making crazy money, but the difference is that with DBZ, when they got money, they made sincere effort to make the series better; not so with Naruto. If anything, the fillers from part 1 probably made them decide that people will watch it as long as it's Naruto, and decided not to put any work into it.

Sorry, I just had to get that out. I'm just frustrated that so many Shonen series I have grown up watching before hand had good directors who knew what they were doing and avoid making the filler and shortcuts in these kinds of adaptations from detracting from canon material, wheras in Naruto Shippuden after Part 1 canon they just don't care at all.