Rock’s ability to idolize shifts from Guy to Kakashi, for a little while at least.

What They Say:
Lee’s beloved teacher Guy-sensei is arrested for lewd behavior! Lee promises to clear his teacher’s name, but Guy claims it’s just another test for his pupil. Inspector Lee is on the case! / Kakashi-sensei’s secret move leaves Guy utterly defeated, and Lee decides to follow Kakashi-sensei and become as powerful as he is. The first step? Copying the Copy Ninja’s appearance.

The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The more of these episodes that I see, the more that I look forward to each new one as a great little bit of comedy and fun with familiar characters. With Rock as the lead, he brings such an earnest nature to things that it’s just wonderful to watch him interact with everyone. This is especially true when he has to deal with his mentor, Guy, who invariably causes more than enough trouble himself. Put the two of them together and the rest of Rock’s team just gets panicked over what kind of weirdness and craziness that will come up next. Rock’s attempts at imitating Guy are pretty natural considering his past but the way he takes it further just adds to the fun.

Unfortunately for Rock, his mentor and idol ends up in a bit of a bind this time around as he’s arrested for lewd acts outside of the village. According to the “reports” that the intel division had, Guy wore a swan tutu and proceeded to knock down a wall at a bathhouse and caused all sorts of problems. Hauling him in wearing chains and the outfit just leaves you laughing because of the absurdity of it but also because Guy can, well, pull it off to some degree. The whole thing becomes a big exercise for Rock and his team as Guy tells them their mission is to exonerate him and that puts them into detective mode. It goes about as you’d expect, including Rock getting to wear the swan suit, and the whole thing just shows Guy and Rock’s personalities and how they go to odd extremes.

One of the things I do like about Guy is his rivalry with Kakashi and their lengthy relationship, so I’m glad to see that it’s continued here as well. Kakashi in this form is just adorable as he doe shis moves all while reading his erotic novels that he so loves. With the way he continues to beat down on Guy whenever they match up against each other, it’s something that just gets under Rock’s skin. Amusingly, Rock decides that the thing he can do to best help Guy is to learn what it is that Kakashi does and copy him. That’s a conflict in itself since he idolizes Guy so much. Seeing Rock take on Kakashi’s traits for a bit is positively good fun since he does the costume and all, though he keeps his hair as normal. Having him go on a mission like this is just as hilarious, especially as his teammates can’t believe how he handles himself.

In Summary:
The fourth installment of the series definitely shows that its found its groove and will work it well. I wasn’t sure what to really expect from the series as the little bits at the end of the Shippuden series we got recently didn’t do much for me, but focusing on this in full is priceless. It may not be high humor or brilliant writing, but it’s the kind of wacky and silly stuff that I’m enjoying seeing with familiar characters. The focus on both Guy and Kakashi here with Rock getting caught up in it in a lot of amusing ways just has it firing on all cylinders well. The humor is simplistic and you can see where it’s going to go, but you’re laughing the whole way along. In a season of very strong titles, this is the standout one that makes me laugh and smile every week unlike any other.

Grade: B