Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie (2012) Reviews

• My Worthy Introduction to the Naruto Franchise

  3xHCCH2013-04-09

  Believe it or not, I have never seen anything Naruto until today. This name though, and the image of the young guy with three stripes on either side of his face, with the yellow spiky hairstyle, and wearing an orange jogging suit has long been familiar to me as a Japanese anime character. However, for some reason or another, I never got a chance nor the interest to see any TV episode nor movie from this franchise before, until my kids convinced me to bring them to watch this film this afternoon on opening day in a local mall. "Road to Ninja" tells a complicated story where Naruto and his friend Sakura are sent into a parallel mirror world by an evil wizard, where their deepest dreams come true. Sakura, who resents her parents meddling with her life, realizes that her parents have both died as heroes. Naruto who had lived his entire life as an orphan, now enjoys the loving presence of his parents, Minato and Kushima. Both Naruto and Sakura are still cognizant though that they are living in an illusion that needs to be broken. Powerful ninja battles ensue during the night of the red moon, the only night when the spell can be broken by a mysterious scroll, and Naruto had to invoke the Nine-Tailed Fox within him in an attempt to return their world back to how it used to be. Despite the fact that I did not even know a single fact about Naruto or his friends, I did not find it difficult to get into the groove of this story. I had to ask a question or two to my son beside me to set me straight on character relationships, but overall it was not too tough to get through. The story was told very well, without really requiring an in depth knowledge of the animated series. The flashbacks give us the necessary historical background in order to understand better the current situation the characters are in. The clarity of this story development is quite impressive considering this is already the ninth Naruto film! I can now see why this anime series had been so popular over the years. No wonder this particular installment had just become the highest-grossing Naruto film. I think I might just go watch the first film and really get acquainted with this popular series more.

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• 2nd or No. Greatest Naruto Movie!:"Who is a ninja?"

  kadiotatsuryu2014-07-23

  Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie 6 is the sixth Part II/Shippūden film and ninth overall Naruto movie. It is also the first film with the story created by the original series creator, Masashi Kishimoto. Kishi has poured his profound ideals and morals into the Naruto series from Day 1 and Road to Ninja has pretty big ones. The movie has good action, comedy and drama and is interestingly and steadily paced. Ya know that classic plot thing where the character resents the way their life is, gets a taste of life when he gets what he wants and hates it, then things return to normal and he's grateful for what he has, RTN uses this but it goes much deeper. The film relates to the canon plot more than any other anime movie I've seen, except some DB movies. Fans of Naruto will get this, knowing how Naruto's parents died at his birth and the 9-tailed fox was sealed into him, causing him to be alone and the love he should have gotten replaced with hate and shunning. He has a sincerely happy attitude in the series, but it hits him hard in the movie which is plot-constructive. Sakura has parents but resents their annoying her all the time. Also in relation to the main plot, one of the series' main antagonist, Tobi, tests his Infinite Genjutsu on them with a prototype. The IG's goal is to make a fantasy world, making Naruto and Sakura perfect test subjects. The movie follows the jinchūriki and kunoichi learning what life would be like if they received what they wanted: Sakura's parents dead and Naruto's parents alive. The movie faces the two with the choice of running away in a dreamland or facing the harshness of life as it is and accepting reality. Naruto has what he's wanted and deserved for so long after enduring 26 or so years of hardship. That's also a main theme of the film and why it is called "Road To Ninja". One of the lines at the start of the movie is Naruto recalling what it means to be a Shinobi or Nnja, recalling his master saying, "a ninja is one who endures". It's Hilarious to see the main characters in these new personalities and dynamics and the action and emotion is top-notch as well and there's sufficient character-development. This is hands down one of the best Naruto films and like the series itself, any viewer can watch this and take something from it. Nice job Kishi. He shows that despite how we all love these characters, their Shinobi and ninjas are meant to endure, being why he puts them through this. Keep enduring guys! 10/10.

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• Best Shippuuden Movie ever

  zsolt-h-kovari-853-1436102013-11-24

  Best Naruto Movie ever. The others are OK, they're not great, but usually OK, but this one.... this is what I expected from the other movies also. The situation was very moving, how Naruto experiences how his life could've been different. I cried every time Naruto cried. It was beautiful. The plot is not very interesting, he has to fight another bad guy in that mirror world, but it had a few surprises (tha Akatsuki isn't evil, for example), but the connection between Minato, Kushina and Naruto.... the struggling hero, knowing how surreal the situation is, trying his best not get his hopes high, trying to push away his parents, and still, he can't do it... it is the saddest movie of all shippuuden movies, and it tells more about Naruto, than any other film. I'll watch it probably a hundred times more, and I will still cry.

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• A must-watch for all.

  japhetaguirre2014-03-07

  Although I have watched this movie last year, I can't help share my thoughts on how awesome this movie is. This is by far the best among the Naruto movies. For fans of the series, like me, this is the ultimate treat. With great action sequences, plot, new takes on the characters, and some big emotional kick, this movie has it all. For the newcomers, it's just easy to catch up with the happenings. Or if you still couldn't catch up, just ask a friend who's a fan of the anime and he'll easily fill you in. I'm 18 now but I still can't stop myself from having teary eyes over this movie and that's the reason why I really loved Road to Ninja and the whole series itself.

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• Naruto visits opposite world!

  TheOneThatYouWanted2016-12-01

  This is one of the better Naruto movies. It is lacking on the action but has a solid story. I just wish the final confrontation was a little longer. It is still a Naruto movie, which means it is 100% filler but whatever, it is a fun watch just to see all your favorite characters acting differently. The p!ssed off version of Hanata is worth the price of admission. I should correct myself, Baruto is cannon. Naruto The Last Movie is filler. This film is filler but it is entertaining so whatever. I think the best thing about this film is seeing Naruto interact with his parents. Maybe that is by this film has such a cult following among Naruto fans. I haven't seen all of the Naruto films but I'm sure this is one of the best.

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