Naruto Shippuden the Movie (Japanese: 劇場版 NARUTO 疾風伝, Hepburn: Gekijō-ban Naruto Shippūden) is an animated martial arts fantasy film and the fourth overall in the Naruto film series and the first Naruto: Shippuden film, directed by Hajime Kamegaki and written by Junki Takegami. The movie is set after episode 32.
| Naruto Shippuden the Movie | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Directed by | Hajime Kamegaki |
| Written by | Junki Takegami |
| Produced by | Mikihiko Fukozawa Shoji Matsui Kazuteru Oshikiri |
| Starring | Junko Takeuchi Chie Nakamura Yōichi Masukawa Kōichi Tōchika |
| Cinematography | Atsuho Matsumoto |
| Edited by | Yukie Oikawa Seiji Morita |
| Music by | Yasuharu Takanashi |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | ¥1.21 billion (US$10.0 million) |
Plot
editThe film opens with a prediction that Naruto Uzumaki dies battling a monster. A funeral is held for Naruto at his home village, where others attend. Tsunade looks out at the window and ponders if everything is just decided by fate.
A few days earlier, a man named Yomi attacks a shrine to retrieve the spirit of Mōryō, a demon attempting to conquer the world and create his "Thousand Year Kingdom". Since he is lacking a body, Yomi offers his as a temporary substitute until they can retrieve Mōryō's original one. The only threat to Mōryō's plan is a priestess named Shion, who has the ability to seal his spirit away once more; she can also foresee a person's death. He raises a stone army from their slumber to attack the rest of the world while his four subordinates go to eliminate Shion. They are given special chakra creatures to enhance their strength.
To deal with the threat, the Land of Fire sends out many advance teams to stall the stone army. Naruto, Sakura Haruno, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuga are sent to guard Shion, and deliver her to the shrine where Mōryō's body is kept. They fend off Shion's four would-be assassins, and afterward, Shion prophesies Naruto's upcoming death. Shion's total acceptance of "fate", as well as her selfish attitude, provokes Naruto into antagonizing her. As they head for the shrine, they are again ambushed by the assassins, and Shion is seemingly killed. It turns out to be a ruse: the dead "Shion" is actually her servant, Taruho, acting as a decoy by the use of the Shadow Mirror Body Transfer Jutsu. After Neji tells Naruto to escort Shion to the temple alone, Shion explains that her predictions work by using others' lives to protect her own. Naruto insists that he will survive and likewise will keep Shion safe.
Together, Sakura, Lee, and Neji defeat the assassins, and at the mountain temple where Mōryō's body is kept, Naruto and Shion find the stone army waiting. Naruto holds the army back, while Shion heads inside to begin the sealing ritual, where Yomi tricks Shion into beginning the technique with him inside the barrier, allowing Mōryō's spirit to reunite with his body. After Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Shikamaru Nara and Temari destroy the stone army, Naruto comes to rescue Shion. About to see her prediction of his death come true, Shion uses her bell's power to change Naruto's fate. She is able to tap into her true powers, intending to kill herself and Mōryō to save Naruto (for whom she has developed feelings for). Naruto stops her seconds before her death, and creates a giant Rasengan (螺旋丸, lit. spiral sphere, English manga: "Spiral Chakra Sphere") by combining Shion's chakra with his. Naruto drives the Rasengan into Mōryō and obliterates it.
In the final scene, Naruto asks Shion what she intends to do now. She replies that Mōryō was a demon created by the dark thoughts of mankind, and that there is bound to be another Mōryō someday. Because of this, she says that she must continue the line of priestesses that will suppress demons like Mōryō. Shion then asks Naruto if he will help her (a double entendre asking if he will be the father of her child), much to the shock of Sakura, Kakashi, and Lee. Naruto, clueless as usual, agrees without realizing the second meaning of her question.
Voice cast
edit| Character | Japanese voice | English voice |
|---|---|---|
| Naruto Uzumaki | Junko Takeuchi | Maile Flanagan |
| Sakura Haruno | Chie Nakamura | Kate Higgins |
| Rock Lee | Yōichi Masukawa | Brian Donovan |
| Neji Hyuga | Kōichi Tōchika | Steve Staley |
| Tsunade | Masako Katsuki | Debi Mae West |
| Shizune | Keiko Nemoto | Megan Hollingshead |
| Kakashi Hatake | Kazuhiko Inoue | Dave Wittenberg |
| Might Guy | Masashi Ebara | Skip Stellrecht |
| Shikamaru Nara | Showtaro Morikubo | Tom Gibis |
| Temari | Romi Park | Tara Platt |
| Shion | Ayumi Fujimura | Laura Bailey |
| Miroku | Fumiko Orikasa | Laura Bailey |
| Taruho | Yoshinori Fujita | Wil Wheaton |
| Moryo | Seizō Katō | Daran Norris |
| Yomi | Hidetoshi Nakamura | Vic Mignogna |
| Gitai | Kishō Taniyama | Dave Wittenberg |
| Setsuna | Katsuyuki Konishi | Keith Silverstein |
| Susuki | Daisuke Kishio | Sam Riegel |
| Kusuna | Tetsuya Kakihara | Crispin Freeman |
| Shizuku | Miyuki Sawashiro | Wil Wheaton |
Production
editThe film was produced by Aniplex, Bandai Co., Ltd., Dentsu Inc., Pierrot, Shueisha and TV Tokyo. Its official theme song is "Lie-Lie-Lie" by DJ Ozma.
It was released on DVD in Japan on April 23, 2008 and in the United States on November 10, 2009.[citation needed] It was announced that the American version could be pre-ordered with the limited edition of Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 before its release. The English version aired on Disney XD in the United States on May 15, 2011.[1][2]
Reception
editIn its opening weekend Naruto Shippuden: The Movie came in at number six.[3] In its second week the movie dropped to number eight and stayed there in its third week.[4][5] The film grossed $13,219,807 in the box offices.[6] The home media release of the movie was also well received in Japan.[7]
The setup provided by the early trailer alluding to Naruto's death was noted to surprise the fans based on the recent airing of the second animated adaptation of the long-time popularity of the title character. UK Anime felt the film was too gruesome in general despite the ratings presented to the point he believed the younger demographic would be shocked by the violent acts such as fighters being impaled or losing a considerable amount of blood.[8] Active Anime praised the shocking story of Naruto's death and the large amount of well-animated fight scenes created across the narrative.[9] Comic Book Resources listed it as one of the best Naruto movies, citing its darker themes when compared with the previous trilogy alongside the well-choreographed fight sequences but considered it as "filler" as it has no impact in the manga's narrative, most notably due to the focus on Naruto's potential death.[10] Hobby Consolas compared the movie with the first Naruto movie due to the focus on Naruto's work as a bodyguard but more on a romantic tone due to the development Shion shows across the story. The website also praised the animation, claiming the CGI performed on the villains was well executed and soundtrack manages to improve the atmosphere.[11] Despite the dark nature of the movie, Animation Scoop felt that Pierrot managed to balance the media with comedy. Nevertheless, he also praised the handling of animation like Hobby Consolas due to how menacing are the antagonists and how well-animated are the fights.[12] UK Anime, in particular, enjoyed the fight between Rock Lee and one of Yomi's followers as the most outstanding parts of the movie, comparing it to The Ghost Army. In closing the review, UK Anime called it "entertaining enough to be a kind of popcorn movie for normal anime viewers" and "For the Naruto fans, however, it's a good, solid movie to add to your collection".[8]
References
edit- ^ "Disney XD to Run Naruto: Shippuden the Movie on May 15". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ^ "Naruto Shippuden Disney XD schedule". Toonzone. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
- ^ "Japanese Box Office, August 4–5: Naruto Debuts at #6". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
- ^ "Japanese Box Office, August 11–12: Pokémon, Naruto". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
- ^ "Japanese Box Office, August 18–19: Vexille Opens at #9". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
- ^ "Naruto Shippûden: The Movie (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ "Japanese Animation DVD Ranking, April 30–May 6". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ a b "Naruto: Shippūden the Movie". UK Anime. 10 August 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ "Naruto Shippuden the Movie". ActiveAnime. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ "Naruto Movies Worth Watching - and Ones You Can Skip". Comic Book Resources. 25 July 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ "Naruto Shippūden: La película - Crítica". Hobby Consolas. 17 April 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ "ANIME REVIEW: "Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Rasengan Collection"". Animation Scoop. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
External links
edit- Naruto Shippuden the Movie at IMDb
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
