While Episode 469 of Naruto Shippuden was at least a step back into the anime's original timeline, the events of the episode in itself were still filler. Despite this, however, the return of the anime's actual main characters was considered by fans to be a welcome change.

When the next episode, The Connected Thoughts, finally aired, fans were immediately overjoyed. Indeed, Episode 470 delivered, and it definitely brought back much of the glory that the anime lost due to its hundreds of fillers.

One thing that fans really appreciated with The Connected Thoughts was the notable animation bump during the entire duration of the episode. There were a couple of great creative and almost artistic shots that were employed, and the fluidity of the fight sequences was done to a tee.

Apart from this, the music was spot on during Naruto's battle with Kaguya. In fact, the soundtrack during their battle was so spot-on with the fight's choreography, many fans are stating that it was one of the best scenes in the whole series thus far.

What really surprised most viewers, however, was the depth of the characters' characterizations that was featured. During Naruto and Kaguya's fight, the main character's opponent notably showed some personality, as shown when Kaguya gave Naruto the evil grin at one point.

With Naruto Shippuden seemingly set on making another big splash on the next episode, fans of the long-running series are more hyped than ever. After all, Episode 471, The Two of Them... Always, appears to be another straight-from-manga adaptation. If this is indeed the case, Naruto Shippuden has not looked this good in years.

It took Studio Pierrot years before finally allowing the series to go back to canon. From what could be seen in the previous episode, however, Naruto Shippuden still has a lot of its classic charm, and the anime still has a lot of things to offer to its faithful fans.