A Film Review of The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014)

The Last: Naruto the Movie is a widely anticipated movie in the well-known Naruto and Naruto Shippuden franchises. The film is an animated action-romance produced in Japan with a story by Masashi Kishimoto and Maruo Kyozuka. Tsuneo Kobayashi was the director, and Studio Pierrot served as the producer. Additionally, it was released in 2014 to mark the franchise’s 15th anniversary and the premise that it is the seventh Shippuden movie collectively. The movie was a hit, as evidenced by the fact that it became the highest-grossing movie with a box office of ¥2.0 billion, or $19.84 million before it was overtaken by its sequel, Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015), which brought in ¥2.6 billion, or $39.5 million.

The fact that the show received so much praise from critics and viewers alike, along with numerous nominations and awards, demonstrates how good it really is. Some of the nominations received are for the BTVA Anime Dub Movie/Special Voice Acting Award, specifically for Best Vocal Ensemble in an Anime Feature Film/Special, Best Female Lead Vocal Performance in an Anime Feature Film/Special, and Best Male Vocal Performance in an Anime Feature Film/Special in a Supporting Role. Therefore, these accolades demonstrate the film’s quality and suitability for all audiences, as it provides top-notch entertainment that sparked and attained worldwide recognition.

Plot Summary

Following the premise, the movie begins by introducing the fantasy of never-ending shinobi battles and the tailed beast creatures that have previously appeared prominently in the Shippuden series. It moves quickly across a succession of episodes showing Naruto’s development from a melancholy young child to the person who saved his entire village and became the best ninja.

The film’s timeline commences two years after the Fourth Great Ninja War’s end when Konoha has been peaceful up until the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, notices the moon is perilously close to Earth and poses a threat to celestial destruction. However, it was discovered that the moon’s disintegration and threat were not natural but rather the handiwork of an enemy. This is where Hanabi Hyuga, the sister of Hinata, who has been abducted by the alien Toneri Otsutsuki, enters the picture.

The film’s major antagonist is Toneri, a blood relative of Kaguya’s son, Hagoromo, and a member of the same clan. Toneri is a formidable foe with amazing abilities that enable him to divide celestial objects into pieces and even obliterate worlds. Toneri fosters animosity toward humanity throughout the movie to turn chakra into weapons. He attempted to wipe out the human race as a kind of retribution, a goal that, according to him, the branch family has long aspired to.

She kidnapped Hanabi or sought out Hinata because he wanted to harness her pure byakugan, the closest living relative of Hamura, to awaken his Tenseigan. The Tenseigan, like the Rinnegan, enables the user to manipulate both appealing and repellent forces. Furthermore, it bestows the practitioner with Tenseigan Chakra Mode, which amplifies their agility, potency, strength, resilience, and senses, making it a dependable and potent power that Toneri might use to wipe out humanity.

And after our antagonist did those terrible acts, our main characters, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, Sai, and Hinata set out to free Hanabi from Toneri’s evil grasp. However, the team encounters numerous challenges during their operation, undermining their efforts to the point that they even lose Hinata to the enemy. With this expedition and the obstacles, we saw a thrilling journey with scenes that are jam-packed with action throughout the course of the film.

Excellent Romance

The storyline, action ideas, and many other aspects of the movie are exceptional, but the romance in the film should also be acknowledged. This is due to the movie’s flawless integration of the time needed to establish Naruto and Hinata’s romance into the tale.  As we all know, Naruto lacks emotional maturity in the ways we see him because he lacks the ability to recognize signs of romantic love in others. We find it impossible to determine whether Naruto loves Hinata because, as seen in the movie, he cannot even tell the difference between enjoying ramen and loving someone, and because of how fast things have been.

However, this isn’t the case in the movie, since Naruto has genuinely discovered and understood what love is. Being under Genjutsu and seeing the past boosted his sentiment and gave him a deeper understanding. There, Naruto could also see how Hinata had carried her feelings for him from the beginning and the reasons behind how her love for him developed. Naruto also saw how he had to reconcile his own feelings for Hinata after unintentionally learning that she loved him and that they both believed they were meant to be together.

This is also proven in the anime series, where Naruto subconsciously loved and cared for Hinata. Such as, when Naruto turned 6-tails after Pain attacked Hinata, Hinata was the turning point for the transformation, indicating she brought on and ignited the devastating emotions Naruto had ever experienced. It is obvious that Naruto has a close relationship and romantic affection for Hinata given the circumstances surrounding his transformation into a 6 tail, which has not been witnessed in other characters’ tragic situations like Jiraiya’s, and therefore represents the love that Naruto and Hinata had before.

Excellent Animation & Music Production

It’s important for a movie to have nice animation since viewers may want to see something that looks really good. The ability to tell tales and convey emotions and ideas in a distinctive, understandable style that entertains all audiences makes excellent animation vital. In that case, The Last: Naruto the Movie is an excellent option if you’re searching for good animation, as it has quality animation and an appealing visual style, and the story and cinematography as a whole appear really innovative.

The soundtrack in the movie is also excellent since it represents the shinobi-like themes from before, evoking nostalgic feelings for the franchise’s cherished characters and bringing back memories of previous years. It effectively impacts parts like battle scenes, when it serves to give the movie a buzz it needs by enhancing the animation of the show and blending well with the music.

The Last: Naruto the Movie is a wonderful movie overall because the plot, ideas, and concepts flow beautifully, the villain is complex and engaging, and the aesthetics and motion graphics work well together with the excellent soundtrack to really boost the suspense and emotions in the film. We were also given a clear and complete understanding of the beginning of the romance between Naruto and Hinata and their confession of their deep love. All of these factors had an impact on the show, and the outcome was satisfactory because it provided top-notch entertainment, as demonstrated by the number of audiences it attracted around the world and the accolades it received, making the movie highly recommended, especially if you’re a fan of the Naruto franchise.

Note: The Last: Naruto the Movie is unavailable to stream on Reelgood. You may stream other Naruto movies here.