Boruto: Naruto the Movie
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Boruto: Naruto the Movie is a 2015 Japanese animated film and the directorial debut of Hiroyuki Yamashita. It is based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga and anime Naruto, and is the second film to be a part of the canonical Naruto storyline, being a sequel to the manga series. It stars Yūko Sanpei, Junko Takeuchi, Kokoro Kikuchi and Noriaki Sugiyama. Set after the finale of Naruto, the film focuses on the title character Boruto Uzumaki, son of Naruto's protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, who cannot stay with his family due to being the leader of his ninja village. Vigilante Sasuke Uchiha returns to the village with warnings about two beings who might become a big threat to the world peace the ninjas managed to bring about in the original series.
Plot
The film opens with a battle between ninja Sasuke Uchiha and an unknown adversary being watched by another enemy. The plot then moves to the protagonist from the Naruto series, Naruto Uzumaki, who has become "the Seventh Hokage", the leader of the village of Konohagakure. He is married to Hinata Uzumaki and has two children, Boruto Uzumaki and Himawari Uzumaki. Boruto, Sarada Uchiha (Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha's daughter), and a child named Mitsuki (Orochimaru's son) become an elite ninja team under their teacher, Konohamaru Sarutobi. Boruto is upset at Naruto for focusing more on being Hokage than on their family.
Why It Rocks
- Tons of likable characters, such as Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Shikadai, Inojin, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Gaara, Kakashi, Hinata, Himawari and Momoshiki.
- Beautiful animation.
- Great soundtrack. Some of the songs are even based off tracks from the Naruto anime series.
- Great fight scenes with the most notable being Naruto and Sasuke vs Momoshiki.
- Tons of throwbacks to the Naruto series. Some examples include flashbacks of important times Naruto used the Rasengan (as well as cameos from Jiraiya, Neji, Minato and Kabuto), Some songs being remixes of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden songs, Boruto wearing Naruto's original jacket and a photo of the young Team 7 and even the Sasuke retrieval team.
- Despite it being serious, there are some funny moments, such as Mitsuki startling Boruto and Sarada when they announce that they will take the Chunin Exams, and Konohamaru running away from the panda at the end.
- Great voice acting.
- Tons of cameos from characters, such as Temari, Kankuro, Iruka, Kakashi, Ino and even Pakkun.
- Tons of cameos from deceased characters, such as Neji, Kaguya, Zetsu and Minato.
- Tons of heartbreaking and sad scenes, such as Boruto finding out Naruto has presumably been killed.
- Momoshiki is a likable villain, and he later returned in the anime.
- Some really cool moments like Naruto using Six Path's Sage Mode to protect the arena, and of course the legendary Naruto and Sasuke vs Momoshiki battle.
- Great theme song preformed by KANA-BOON, the same musical group that made the legendary opening 16.
- Unlike most other Naruto movies, this movie is canon.
- This movie spawned a excellent anime adaptation in the form of the Vs Momoshiki arc, where it shows us scenes that weren't in the film, such as Killer Bee surviving the attack, some fights from the Chunin Exam finals and many more.
- It was a great way to introduce us to Boruto.
Bad Qualities
- Boruto and Naruto can be unlikable during some scenes. Naruto is at his most unlikable when he scolds Boruto when he finds out that he cheated by using the Scientific Ninja Tool during the Chunin Exams, which he didn't allow use of during the exams. Worst part is that he scolded him in front of tons of people, and it made his sister Himawari and his mom Hinata cry, and almost made the entire Leaf Village almost hate him.
- The scene where Naruto is stuck on a tree while Momoshiki is extracting Kurama from him can be disturbing to some viewers.
- Katasuke is a very annoying and unlikable character, as he causes Momoshiki to gain tons of power near the end.
- Some fight scenes during the Chunin Exams weren't shown.
- Non-Naruto fans may be confused.
- The DVD release has some subtitle errors, such as calling Boruto "Naruto" in some scenes.
Reception
Box Office
The film was released on August 7, 2015. Theatergoers were given two different types of hand fans — one of them using images of Naruto and Boruto, the other Sasuke and Sarada's. Boruto became the 11th highest-grossing Japanese film (and the 7th highest-grossing anime film) at the Japanese box office in 2015, with ¥2.62 billion. It earned ¥680.1 million yen (around US$5.46 million) during its debut, giving the series its highest-grossing opening. On August 25, the film became the highest-grossing movie in the Naruto series, earning ¥2.02 billion in 19 days with 1.56 million admissions. The film grossed US$919,651 in the United States and Canada and CN¥103.2 million in China.
Its DVD and Blu-ray versions were released on July 6, 2016, by Aniplex. They include the original video animation The Day Naruto Became Hokage showing how Naruto Uzumaki becomes the Seventh Hokage but does not make it to the ceremony. During its release week, the Japanese Blu-ray of the film sold 30,758 units while the DVD sold 24,372 units. By the end of 2016, the DVD had sold 35,183 units.
Manga Entertainment released the movie in cinemas in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2015. Manga Entertainment released the home media release on June 5, 2017. Licensed by Viz Media in the United States on July 2015, the film was screened in over 80 cities in October of the same year. Its home media release was published on March 28, 2017. In Australia and New Zealand, the film was licensed by Madman Entertainment and earned $216,943 in Australia. A fan film was developed by Deerstalker Pictures to promote the Australian release. The home media version was released on May 25, 2017.
Critical Response
Yahoo! Japan offers Boruto a rating of 4.31 out of 5 stars. Amy McNulty of Anime News Network gave the film an overall grade of "A-", calling it "a step in the right direction for Masashi Kishimoto's Start of a New Era Project"; McNulty and UK Anime Network's Andy Hanley enjoyed Naruto's relationship with his son and how the differences between their childhoods become the focus of the film. The Fandom Post's Richard Gutierrez called it a "wonderful coming-of-age film", remarking the focus on the theme of generations, Naruto's growth since his first appearance, as well as how Boruto seeks to surpass him but ends up caring more for him by the time the film finishes.
The fight scenes have been the subject of major praise for their animation. Dan Rhodes said that Sasuke and Naruto's fight scenes are some of the best parts of the film, predicting longtime fans would look forward to them. However, some writers felt the villains were forgettable. Christian Chiok of Japanator and Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times agreed with Rhodes, comparing the fight scenes with those from the famous Dragon Ball franchise based on their animation. Solomon found the enemies interesting and concluded that "no Naruto fan will want to miss Boruto, which suggests a new direction the franchise may take, now that the long-running TV series has finally concluded". Alexandria Hill of Otaku USA enjoyed Boruto's fight against the film's villain and his team-up with Naruto and Sasuke, despite being sceptical while watching it for the first time.
Japanator's Christian Chiok enjoyed Boruto's character development, his relationship with his father and how heartwarming it becomes in the movie. Toon Zone agreed, stating that despite possible flaws in Boruto's character, his growth through the film makes him a more appealing character, saying the movie "is one of the better films in the Naruto canon and shouldn’t be missed by fans of the series". Chris Zimmerman of DVD Talk remarked how the writers portray Boruto's poor relationship with his father and how it improves during the climax of the film. Alexandria Hill agreed, feeling the fractured relationship between Boruto and Naruto was the main point of the story, while the subplot about Boruto's use of technology to win fights was not explored. On the other hand, Kotaku's Richard Eisenbeis was critical of Boruto's development, feeling that the bond with his father at the end of the film was weak and not believable. In contrast, Chiok felt the bond between Boruto and his father was well developed and said that, while Boruto and Sarada do not wish to follow their fathers' paths, there was proof that they still loved them. Both Mcnulty and Toon Zone were also pleased with the title character's voicing by English voice actress Amanda C. Miller. The soundtrack gathered mixed opinions while Thais Valdivia of Hobby Consolas enjoyed the theme song provided by Kana-Boon.
Trivia
- To advertise the film's theatrical release, a manga-omake called "Boruto: Road to B" was released in the same week's Weekly Shōnen Jump. The omake is a collaboration between Masashi Kishimoto, author of Naruto, and Kenji Taira, author of Rock Lee's Springtime of Youth Full Power Ninja Chronicles and Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan Legend.
- The movie has two promotional posters drawn by Kishimoto.
- During the last fight against Momoshiki and Kinshiki, Pakkun can be seen.