‘Naruto’ Movies Are Not Important To the Story! Here’s Why
Releasing spin-off movies is a common trend for long-running anime. But most of the time, these movies tend to be fillers. There are a few exceptions, such as One Piece: Red, Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressa-hen, and Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Naruto, an anime with a total of 720 episodes (including Naruto Shippuden), has quite a few movies released over the period of 2004 to 2014. But are Naruto movies actually worth your time and important to the story? Do they contribute anything to the main storyline?
How many movies does Nauto have?
There are a total of 11 movies belonging to the Naruto franchise; 3 belong to the Naruto timeline, and the other 7 belong to the Shippuden timeline. All the films focus on Naruto. Since Naruto and Sasuke were hardly together throughout the series, you will hardly see Sasuke in the films. The stories are kind of repetitive. Most of them have Naruto using his talk-no-Jutsu.
Naruto movies: a brief order list
Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
This is the first ever Naruto movie released in 2004. It is also the only Naruto movie that has all the members of Team 7 working together. You should watch it between episodes 101 and 102 of Naruto.
Naruto The Movie: The Legend Stone of Gelel
The second movie of Naruto was released in 2005. This movie should be watched between Naruto episodes 160 and 161. Remember that Sasuke left Konoha in episode 109. So, from here on, Sasuke is mostly shown in Naruto’s flashbacks. There is a little plot twist in the film.
Naruto Movie 3: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
Rock Lee joins team 7 to escort a prince safely to his kingdom, the Moon Country. Only if the mission was that easy. This film was released in 2006, and the best time to watch this film is between Naruto episodes 196 and 197.
Naruto Shippuden: The Movie
After Naruto ended in 2007, Naruto Shippuden began in the same year. The first film of Naruto Shippuden was released in the same year as well. Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji join Naruto and Sakura to escort a priestess to her destination and to help her complete a very specific and important task. Watch this movie between Naruto Shippuden, episodes 32 and 33.
Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds
This is the second ever movie of Naruto where Sasuke makes an appearance in person, though briefly. You will also get to see the only interaction between Sasuke and Hinata ever happening in the entire Naruto series (not Boruto). This movie was released in 2008. The timeline is set after Sai joins Team 7. So he will be a part of the films from now on. Watch it between episodes 71 and 72.
Naruto Shippuden The Movie: The Will of Fire
Kakashi is in danger. He wants to sacrifice himself, but you know Naruto. How can he let his beloved teacher die without giving a fight? Naruto convinces his other friends to join him in the mission to save Kakashi. The Will of Fire has a very satisfying battle at the end. Watch it between episodes 121 and 122.
Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower
If you are more into Namikaze Minato than Uzumaki Naruto, like me, you should definitely watch The Lost Tower. Somehow Naruto time travels to the past, and guess who he meets? None other than the fourth Hokage and kid Kakashi.
The movie was released in 2011, and the best time to watch the film is between episodes 143 and 144.
Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Blood Prison
Tsunade sends Naruto to the mighty Blood Prison to attempt to kill the Raikage. Naruto is definitely innocent, and he is going to prove it no matter what. Blood Prison was released in 2011. This movie also has a satisfying fighting scene where all the renowned Konoha shinobis come together to the aid of Naruto. Watch it between episodes 196 and 197.
Naruto The Movie: Road to Ninja
This movie was released in the midst of the Fourth Great Ninja War arc. Road to Ninja shows a demo of what Mugen Tsukuyomi might have been if it had been successfully achieved. The right time to watch this movie is between episodes 251 and 252.
The Last: Naruto The Movie
The last is the last movie of the Naruto Shippuden series. This is also the only title existing in the Naruto franchise that has a romance tag in it. This movie was released in 2014. Watch it between episodes 493 and 494.
Which Naruto movies should you watch?
Despite all of them being fillers, the last two movies of Naruto Shippuden are still recommended to watch.
In Naruto The Movie: Road to Ninja, Tobi (Uchiha Obito) activates a temporary Infinite Tsukuyomi, and the reality gets altered. Naruto and Sakura get to enjoy an illusion for a while, where Naruto’s parents are still alive, and Sakura’s father is the fourth Hokage. If you already dislike Sakura, like many Naruto fans, you will hate Sakura after watching Road to Ninja. Anyway, if you want to have a better understanding of how Infinite Tsukuyomi works, you should watch this movie.
The Last: Naruto The Movie will hit you with nostalgia for sure. The last episodes of Naruto Shippuden focus on the grand wedding of Naruto and Hinata. The Last shows how love between them bloomed and how the thick-skulled Naruto finally realized that Hinata was, in fact, deeply in love with him all her life. The story is a bit rushed but cute nonetheless. The animation is great. You will see some real maturity from Sakura. She is actually quite likable in this movie.
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