“The Last Naruto the Movie” is the best Naruto film that I have watched and a storyline that I have waited more than decade to see happen. It’s also an important film that transitions to the next generation of Masashi Kishimoto’s next work. “Good things come for those who wait” and for Naruto fans, “The Last Naruto the Movie” is a story that was a long time coming but for many fans who have waited for a Naruto/Hinata storyline, will absolutely enjoy this film!
Image courtesy of © 2002 Masashi Kishimoto. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE:Â The Last Naruto the Movie
MOVIE RELEASE DATE: 2014
DURATION: 90 Minutes
BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English and Japanese DTS-HD Audio 5.1 and 2.0, Subtitles: English
COMPANY: Viz Media
RATED: TV 14
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto
Director: Tsuneo Kobayashi
Screenplay: Maruo Kyozuka
Music by -yaiba-, Yasuharu Takanashi
Character Design by Hirofumi Suzuki, Masashi Kishimoto, Tetsuya Nishio
Background Art: Akemi Konno
Anime Production: Studio Pierrot
Featuring the following voice talent:
Junko Takeuchi/Maile Flanagan as Naruto Uzumaki
Nana Mizuki/Stephanie Sheh as Hinata Hyuga
Noriaki Sugiyama/Yuri Lowenthal as Sasuke Uchiha
Satoshi Hino/Ben Diskin as Sai
Chie Nakamura/Kate Higgins as Sakura Haruno
Jun Fukuyama as Toneri Osutsuki
Showtaro Morikubo as Shikamaru Nara
Ai Hashizume as Kaede the Kunoichi
Arisa Shida/Robbie Daymond as Tenmonkata
Kazuhiko Inoue/Dave Wittenberg as Kakashi Hatake
Keiko Nemoto/Megan Hollingshead as Shizune
Masako Katsuki/Debi Mae West as Tsunade
Kentarou Itou/Robbie Rist as Chouji Akimichi
Ryoka Yuzuki Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Hanabi Huga/Ino Yamanaka
Hisao Egawa/Catero Colbert as Killer Bee
Two years have passed since the fated battle between Naruto and Sasuke in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A comfortable peace has fallen over the village and the winter festival approaches with a bit more excitement than usual. Seasons of war have transformed Naruto and his friends into elite young warriors, but now they grow into the adults they were meant to be, forming bonds beyond friendship. Naruto and Hinata approach this next stage with trepidation and find their progress stalled when a mysterious and dangerous man appears with a disturbing message: the end of the world is upon them. Once again Naruto and his friends are sent to investigate and stop the impossible, a falling moon! What is the tragic fate that connects this disaster with Hinata’s Hyuga Clan? And to what lengths will Naruto go to speak the words that will change his life? The Last is the final story of Naruto as you knew him, the hero who was once an outcast, and the first chapter of the bond that will define his future.
DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE ENDING OF THE MANGA SERIES, AS “THE LAST NARUTO THE MOVIE” INCLUDES MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!
For many fans of the “Naruto” manga and anime series, we have watched Naruto grow from a young boy trying to fit in and dreams of becoming hokage. And we have seen him change the hearts of many people, friend and foe.
Since the early “Naruto” episodes, there has been one character that has always been willing to be there for him, to die for him and has had nothing but unconditional love for him… and that character is Hinata Hyuga.
In November 2014, the manga series came to an end and with that final chapter, we see a glimpse of the future as characters that we have watched when they were youngsters, have now grown up to become parents with children.
As the series will now go to the next chapter featuring Naruto and Hinata’s young son, Boruto, there were questions of how Naruto and Hinata ended up together.
And so the final Naruto film titled “The Last Naruto the Movie” will answer that question and the film was released on Blu-ray+DVD courtesy of Viz Media.
“The Last Naruto the Movie” takes place two years after the events of the Fourth Shinobi War. Many of the characters have matured, Naruto has become famous, Kakashi has become the Sixth Hokage and still, Hinata Hyuga has watched Naruto from afar. Trying to build her confidence to give Naruto a scarf.
We see from a flashback of Hinata’s first encounter with Naruto, when they were young children and Naruto coming to her Hinata’s defense, as she was bullied by other youngsters because of her byakugan ability. And a brash young Naruto, coming to her defense and getting beaten up and his scarf laying in tatters. Hinata has kept that scarf and now as an adult, in her free time, has tried knitting one exactly like the one he had.
But with many of the village’s young ladies wanting to be with him and Naruto now sporting a new scarf, Hinata is not sure if she can give him the scarf and tell him how he really feels about her.
Meanwhile, the moon that Hagoromo Otsutsuki created long ago to seal away the Ten-Tails’ body begins to descent towards the earth and the moon has now become a meteor that can destroy everything upon impact.
It is revealed that the person responsible is Toneri Otsutsuki, a descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki and is dedicated to fulfill his ancestor’s legacy to punish mankind for using chakra as weapons throughout the course of time.
But as Hinata is unable to give him the gift, Toneri infiltrates Konoha and kidnaps Hinata’s younger sister Hanabi, but Naruto manages to prevent him from kidnapping Hinata. But Toneri gives him a warning that he is coming back to get Hinata.
Due to the severity of the mission, Kakashi sends Shikamaru, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura and Sai on a mission to rescue Hanabi and prevent the planet from being destroyed by the moon.
As the group goes on their mission, they journey through the village of the Otsutsuki clan and through there, Naruto somehow enters Hinata’s memories and sees all the moments in time when Hinata was there for him and realizes for the first time, that Hinata has always wanted to be by his side since they were children.
What happens when Naruto discovers Hinata’s true feelings? Can each of them prevent the world from being destroyed and beat Toneri Otsutsuki?
Find out in “The Last Naruto the Movie”!
VIDEO:
“The Last Naruto the Movie” tends to have this look that is appropriate for television, but for a summer movie in Japan, you expect better, detailed artistic backgrounds and the good news is that is what you get with this film. Presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), the film looks absolutely vibrant. From Naruto’s transformation to the overall character designs and closeups, there is a lot of detail in the artwork.
I detected no artifacts during my viewing of the film, nor did I see any banding. Colors are vibrant, black levels are perfect and the artistic backgrounds look so gorgeous. A lot of detail in the trees, the ground, as well as the scenery.
For Viz Media’s first anime film on Blu-ray, the film looks absolutely great in HD!
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Last Naruto the Movie” is presented in English and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0. And once again, I applaud Viz Media for giving anime fans a wonderful lossless soundtrack!
This is an immersive soundtrack. It’s one thing to have clear dialogue and music coming from the center and front channels, but because of the non-stop action and explosions galore, there are great directional sounds that are panning from left to right and right to left through the surround channels.
In fact, there are many moments where the LFE just sounds magnificent as you can hear and feel those explosions around you. This is an immersive soundtrack and because it is a film, they really went all out in making this film sound fantastic in HD! Impressive!
Similar to a series like “Dragon Ball Zâ€, with “Narutoâ€, I have always enjoyed the voice acting of the English dub series. It’s well done and the voices fit the characters very well. Especially Maile Flanagan’s Naruto Uzumaki. Personally, I didn’t think there would be a voice actor that could capture Junko Takeuchi’s Naruto vocals and sure enough, Flanagan does a great job. And I have watched the series in Japanese and English and for the most part, voice acting for both soundtracks are well-done.
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“The Last Naruto the Movie” comes with the following special features:
- Japanese Commercial Videos
- Japanese Promotional Videos
- Japanese Movie Trailers
- Art Gallery
EXTRAS:
“Naruto: Special Episode ~After the Last~” two-page manga by Masashi Kishimoto featuring Naruto and Hinata’s first date.
DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE ENDING OF THE MANGA SERIES, AS “THE LAST NARUTO THE MOVIE” INCLUDES MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!
I have had the pleasure to grow up and watch “Naruto” since the first anime episode came out and to later read the manga series once it became available in the United States.
I have watched and reviewed a good number of “Naruto” films but watching “The Last Naruto the Movie”, I’m confident to say that this film is the best “Naruto” film I have watched.
And I enjoyed it even more, because the film has relevance in the Naruto storyline as it shows viewers of how Naruto and Hinata became a couple and also transitioning to them being parents of two children and having a son named Boruto, who will now become the focus of the next series and animated film in Japan.
While the films have had their own share of deadly antagonists, personally, I felt that Toneri was a worthy foe but in the concept of why this film was being made and so many people grew up watching “Naruto” and have waited for over a decade to see if Naruto would finally open his eyes to Hinata and not recognizing it due to his naivety, this film and its story was a long time coming.
The writers took great care in making sure they crafted a storyline and while you get a lot of action, the storyline is romantic and will no doubt leave some in tears (of joy). And it’s probably one of the most memorable and enjoyable musical scores I have listened to from a “Naruto” film.
And I highly recommend those who watch this film, to watch through the credits and also what happens after the credits.
So, when it comes to this review as a fan, I absolutely loved this film and felt that it was a storyline that I have been waiting for over a decade to see happen.
In a way, it’s hard to believe that the series has come to an end and to see Naruto and friends now grown up but finally seeing how these two get together. And the great news is that this was not some story that Masashi Kishimoto didn’t approve of, because not only did he have interaction in this film, but included with this Blu-ray release is a two-page manga by Masashi titled “Naruto: Special Episode ~After the Last~” featuring Naruto and Hinata’s first date.
And like previous Blu-ray releases for “Naruto” films, the animation is vibrant and looks fabulous in HD. The lossless audio and voice acting for both Japanese and English dub is excellent. And you also get the Japanese promotional video and commercials as well!
Overall, “The Last Naruto the Movie” is the best Naruto film that I have watched and a storyline that I have waited more than decade to see happen. It’s also an important film that transitions to the next generation of Masashi Kishimoto’s next work.
“Good things come for those who wait” and for Naruto fans, “The Last Naruto the Movie” is a story that was a long time coming but for many fans who have waited for a Naruto/Hinata storyline, will absolutely enjoy this film!
