The Last: Naruto the Movie

[Winter]

I love this movie. As many of you know I'm a romantic through and through which is actually what drew me to this film in the first place. I had little exposure to Naruto outside of the first film in the series which was... ok. I mean it wasn't terrible or anything but by and large it wasn't a film that had any staying power and one I keep forgetting I ever saw. I knew of Naruto, it's crazy popular in the states, but I never actually watched any of the animes or read the mangas. But I heard great things about this film, with several friends of mine insisting that I check it out.

When I told them I didn't really know anything about the series they said that was okay as knowing the series wasn't mandatory to understand what was going on with the plot and it was all about the romance. So I checked it out and within the first couple of minutes I was hooked. I fell in love with Hinata almost right away and her relationship with Naruto was SOOO cute. And even though I knew little about these two or their relationship throughout the series I was in tears by the end of the film when the two kissed at the end of the movie (BTW Best Big Damn Kiss EVER!!!).

I have to give credit to the filmmakers as it was easy to follow the story even without knowing the series as most of the information you need is in the first couple of minutes of the film and a few flashbacks help to fill in the gaps so I was never lost. And those flashbacks were great as they made me want to check out the series which I did soon after watching the movie.

But what made me love this film so much was the relationship between Naruto and Hinata. I honestly think they have one of the most compelling love stories of all time even though it's a simple will they, won't they story what makes it works is the characters. Naruto is a really likeable protagonist and Hinata is just, daww.

While Naruto has a lot of flaws knowing how the series would end kept me going through all the rough patches just to get more time with these characters and this relationship. It's a fantastic movie and if you haven't checked it out I highly recommend you do so.

[stryke]

First I've heard about it but dang I'm not sure how it could improve upon Will of Fire. That was just insanely good. Even more so when you compare it to the first two films which like most shonen based films are basically just bloated filler with some extra budget. For me that was up there with One Piece 6, Strong World, and DBSuper: Broly as one the very few actual legit great films based on shonen.

[clearspira]

Naruto was at its best when it wasn't Dragonball, One Piece or Bleach. Remember that first arc when Naruto had to hide in the shadow of a shuriken to save Kakashi? That was great. And the reason why it was great is because Goku, Luffy or Ichigo wouldn't have needed to do that. They would have just powered up and episode over.

But Naruto? For a long, long time he was relatively weak and outclassed by pretty much everyone except Sakura. 9 Tails power up aside, he had to use his brains and cunning to win, not just his fists. It gave the show a unique feel.

Later on, when Naruto basically became a Super Saiyan? Nah. That was the end of the show for me.

[stryke]

Remember that first arc when Naruto had to hide in the shadow of a shuriken to save Kakashi? That was great.

I did read the manga to the end (not counting Baruto cause lol no, just no), and I do think there was a lot of good to be found even after he got to tap into the power of the 9 tails.

Saying all that, you're entirely right in respect to how great that was, and that was by far the best moment in the entire run. It's legit clever and presented so dang well. That fight was what sold me on shonen in the first place after amvs convinced me to at least give it another go. Before that I thought shonen was nothing but people standing around screaming for 20 minutes at a time, and had no clue why it was so popular. That was what showed me that it could be so much more than that.

[Thebestoftherest]

HEy why is Boruto so unpopular here?

[clearspira]

HEy why is Boruto so unpopular here?

Speaking for myself.

1) It takes everything I disliked about latter day Naruto and multiplies it by ten.

2) It feels like a lazy cash-in that exists just to extend the story past its endpoint. Probably because it is a lazy cash-in that exists just to extend the story beyond its endpoint.

3) Harry Potter has an infamous problem: Why are the wizards still at a medieval level of technology despite it being the 1990s/2000s? It is a fundamental world building hole that isn't quite explained by isolationist handwaving considering just how many half-bloods and muggleborns are now entering their society. At least some of them should be like, ''why the F am I using this ink pot and quill? Have you guys ever heard of the ballpoint pen? Its really cool. And cheap. And convenient. And is about a 130 years better than this.''

Naruto has a similar problem in trying to explain away the absence of modern weaponry. I think the show only works in my opinion when it seemed as if it was set in an alternate feudal Japan. Oh, there was always the modern flourish thrown in like radio or electric lights but they were more there for story conveniance than anything else. But now there are modern computers and technology on display here in some ways that are more advanced than our own... but still no guns, tanks, jets etc.

This is a ''me'' problem i accept that. Many will not think that way. But this sort of thing bothers me and I cannot get over it. For me, worldbuilding is everything. That is why I cannot get over the design of the Enterprise in Strange New Worlds or new Klingon make-up. That's me, and it probably ain't changing. BTW, I do apologise if the later seasons of Baruto have evolved somewhat because I'm not watching it - my opinions are more drawn from the earlier stuff.

[sayla0079]

HEy why is Boruto so unpopular here?

note: this is based on the Early Anime. I lost interest early in.

I don't like Boruto because I saw the main character as obnoxious and a self-entitled little brat. He has everything his parents never did (loving parents who are both alive, even people who like him and don't shun him, and even a sibling) and he acts like "Wahh I want attention, I'm pulling pranks and stunts."

[stryke]

HEy why is Boruto so unpopular here?

I was just done. So incredibly, incredibly done. Closest similar example I can think of was the Moffat era of Doctor Who where I just couldn't engage anymore even if there might have been something good in what was coming next.

They'd just had an all out war, they'd fought the moon goddess, Naruto and Sasuske had their final hashing it out, there was closure! Lots of it, some of it I even liked!

Now you're telling me there's more? Well bugger to that game of soldiers.

I was... *sigh* okay shameful confession time.

I was a Sakura fan.

There I said it.

I thought she was great and I cheered every minor victory that she was allowed. Yes even after all the indignities Kishimoto heaped upon her. That fight with the puppets in Shippuden gave me so dang much hope that things would be better, and it's still an amazingly animated scene. I even made an AMV about her pre-Shippuden as was the style at the time.

I really loved her trying to just kill Sasuke, y'know like an actual ninja, and coming dang close too, with only a moment of weakness getting the better of her. It's basically both her finest and worst moment, cause dang, as much as I did like the rest of where the story went, it could have been so much better if she succeeded, and yes I know that was never, ever going to happen.

So making her Sasuke's baby mama and pushing her even more into irrelevence was not something I was going to stick around for.

I'll also agree with Clearspira about the tech and world building issues. In Naruto it was just an occasionally funny moment of how these ninja would go 'hey let's all watch a vhs' cause it was convenient that I never minded it. Making it more of a thing though in Boruto changed the setting too much for me in ways that I also felt just broke it fundamentally.

[Thebestoftherest]

Never saw boruto and was curious about the hate.