Naruto Animation: An Unbiased Review

The anime, Naruto, is based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga of the same title. The anime is produced by Studio Pierrot and aniplex and is aired in Japan's terrestrial TV Tokyo Network and several other networks worldwide. Naruto's animation is fluid and each Naruto episode is filled with gripping fight scenes and beautifully portrayed characters. It currently has over 200 episodes and still counting.

Storyline

The story is about a young boy name Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto, blond-haired and blue-eyed, is a spirited, hyperactive, and overly loud ninja. He is first introduced as a troublemaker, playing various pranks and being at the bottom of his class in the ninja academy. But Naruto is not your average neighborhood brat - far from it. Naruto, despite his obvious lack in the skills, manners, and intelligence department, has lots of self-confidence and even more determination. He, though loud and uncouth, has a golden heart and a power to inspire others. He aspires to be the Hokage - the leaf village's top ninja. He is revealed to be an orphan and to have a demon beast, the nine-tailed fox, sealed inside him, causing the villagers to shun him and even hate him. All he wants is the people's acceptance - which he gradually gains as the story progresses.

Other Important Characters

The story starts when Naruto is placed on a genin team composed of a girl named Haruno Sakura and a boy named Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura, a pink-haired girl who cares more for her looks rather than being a ninja but has great intelligence, is Naruto's love interest. However, she resists all his advances, even to the point of beating him up. Incidentally, Sakura is in love with Sasuke, Naruto's 'rival', along with several other girls, all of whom are blatantly ignored and scoffed at by the said boy. Uchiha Sasuke seems to be everything Naruto is not, perfect looks, prodigious intelligence and skills, a cold and aloof personality, and the respect and love of several people. The boy does not seem to care though, and treats everyone condescendingly, especially Naruto. They are placed under the wing of Hatake Kakashi, a very mysterious figure who has a habit of reading a lewd book. Together, they go on several missions, eventually building a strong, albeit hesitant and grudging, friendship wherein they would do anything for each other. As the series progresses, various elements are thrown into the mix, a witty blend of comedy, action, and a little bit of romance. The plot deepens, leading to the revelation of Sasuke's bitter past and his eventual descent into darkness and Naruto and Sakura's desperation to save him from his demons, all the while battling enemy ninja with their own evil agendas.

This anime is popular for a reason. It will have you falling in love with the plot and the characters, laughing with them in the happy moments, and even crying with them in the sad ones. This anime is definitely worth watching. Even if you are not yet an anime fan, you will enjoy it.

Does Naruto Die In The Shippuden Movie?

Last 2007, the makers of the anime, Naruto, released a set of trailers concerning the First Naruto Shippuden Movie which is also the fourth in the series of Naruto movies. The trailers and the advertisements were all fraught with hints - some subtle, some blatant - about Naruto's apparent "death". The trailers were all dramatic - even heart-wrenching. The trailers first show Naruto fighting against some enemies, and then he dies with his headband torn and his body battered, and then, the Konoha ninja are shown to be gathered around a grave with the torn headband hanging on the side.

That trailer shocked Naruto fans all over the world. It created an uproar. Overnight, the internet was flooded with questions about the new movie. So many fans were asking whether or not Naruto does die.

That trailer was something of a phenomenon. You really had to see it to believe it. Because, really, can you honestly, after watching the whole anime, believe that Naruto would die - in a movie, no less? Of course not! The idea was just plain laughable. You just don't kill off the greatest and most loveable protagonist since Son Goku... It's almost immoral to do so!

But then there it was - the trailer - irrevocable proof from the makers of the anime themselves - that Naruto, Konoha's Hokage-to-be, was going to die. It was clear as day and written in blaring letters that "Naruto Dies!". It was unbelievable but it was official - Naruto. In the fourth movie, would die!

Or so we thought...

How could the Anime Naruto episodes end when the manga itself doesn't even seem to be nearing the end? How could the anime end with so many unresolved issues? How could the story go on without its main character dead?

The answer: It can't.

The 'Naruto Dies' thing was just an advertising trick to rope people into the cinemas. The death scene, including the funeral scene, was just a vision of a miko named Shion. She predicts Naruto's death through a dream, and since all her previous predictions were correct, then it follows that this one would also be true - unless Naruto gives up on his job to protect her and leaves for a safe place, of course. But then again, this is Naruto we're talking about, and he doesn't give up, "Believe it!". So, he challenges fate and stays to protect Shion despite the deep sense of foreboding. And, surprise surprise, he wins against fate and survives, killing off the evil villain with another rendition of the rasengan along the way. You could smell the plot's ending a mile away - or in this case, while the opening credits were rolling and those death scenes we've seen on the trailers were all laid out before we could even reach the second half of the movie.

This movie, with the interesting but misleading trailer, follows the pattern of the previous movies - a scarcity of originality and a surplus of fight scenes. It has the quintessential 'character-to-be-protected' with the sad past, the parallelism to Naruto's own life, the obligatory jokes and insults, and the super-evil villain who has a grudge against the world. The DVD comes out in April of 2008, and the subs should follow 2 weeks or so after the release of the DVD. It's not the best movie in the world, but it's still Naruto in his new Shippuden look series and Naruto is always entertaining no matter what he does. The fight scenes should be worth a look as the animators does seem to spent quite a bit of time detailing them, anyway.