The Last: Naruto the Movie

**The Last:  Naruto the Movie** was the seventh and final movie based on the Naruto Shippuden anime series, and the

    tenth Naruto Movie overall.  It was originally released on December 6, 2014 in Japan.

## Plot

The film is set two years after the Fourth Ninja World War, the manga's final story arc where Naruto Uzumaki and his allies achieve world peace. Kakashi Hatake, now Konohagakure's village leader and the Sixth Hokage, notices that the moon is nearing Earth and will soon collide with it. The crisis is caused by Toneri Otsutsuki, a descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki of the Branch House, who is determined to fulfill his legacy and punish humanity for abusing the energy known as *chakra* over a millennium. During the Rinne Festival, as Hinata Hyuga knits a red scarf similar to the one Naruto wore when they first met, Sakura Haruno offers to help her. Hinata becomes doubtful as Naruto receives a variety of gifts from others, including another scarf. Toneri infiltrates Konoha; although he fails to kidnap Hinata due to Naruto's intervention, he kidnaps Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga.

Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sai and Shikamaru Nara are assigned by Kakashi to rescue Hanabi. In an abandoned village of the Otsutsuki Clan, Naruto understands the concept of romantic love from seeing Hinata's memories while being caught in an illusion and spending more time with her. Toneri transplants Hanabi's eyes into himself to awaken the Tenseigan which his ancestors sealed over the last millennium, and he proposes to Hinata. To have a chance at saving Hanabi, Hinata accepts his offer after she rejects Naruto's romantic overtures and Naruto falls into a depression. The villagers on Earth defend themselves, intercepting the moon's meteorites and evacuating the civilian population from Toneri's genocidal assault, while Sasuke Uchiha returns to protect Konohagakure.

After recovering for three days, Sakura reassures Naruto that Hinata loves him and the group approaches Toneri's castle. Hamura's spirit contacted Hinata as the Byakugan Princess, explaining that Toneri has misinterpreted his decree. Toneri refuses to listen to Hinata, ruins the scarf and brainwashes her. Invading Toneri's castle, Sakura and Sai secure Hanabi while Shikamaru holds off Toneri's puppets. Naruto saves Hinata from the ceremony and helps her destroy the Tenseigan altar. Toneri uses the remains to strengthen his power, slicing the moon in half as Naruto engages him in combat. With Hinata's help, Naruto overpowers Toneri, sending the moon back into its orbit due to mixing their *chakra*. After Hinata takes back Hanabi's eyes, Toneri realizes the truth about Hamura's decree and decides to remain on the moon to atone for his sins. After Naruto tells Hinata that the scarf he wore earlier belonged to his late mother, they declare their love for each other and return home.

During the final credits, Naruto and Hinata marry in front of their friends. In a post-credits scene before the epilogue, they have two children: Boruto Uzumaki and Himawari Uzumaki.

## Why It Rocks

1. Great animation, much better than the show due to it being an anime movie.
2. Good voice acting in both sub and dub.
3. Great music and soundtrack.
4. Great art style and characer designs.
5. Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga FINALLY get married, which fans of the series have wanted to happen for years.
6. It was FINALLY the last of the Naruto Shippuden movies.
7. Despite the (awkward) title, the movie is not actually the final film in the franchise, but it's the last of an era and a fitting capstone for the series and its fandom.
8. Although *The Last*had characteristics in common with the original series (such as the main characters' mission to stop Toneri's plans), its well-executed focus on the romantic relationship was fairly new to the franchise.
9. Despite the underwhelming villain, the relationship between Naruto and Hinata overshadowed the villain and made the film more appealing.
10. If 'The Last' lacks some of the emotional punch of the previous feature, 'The Road to Ninja', Kobayashi compensates with flamboyant visuals that mix CG, drawn animation and elegant calligraphic figures.
11. Fans should remain through the credits for a surprisng final scene.
12. The film had a good atmosphere.
13. The film had a surprisnig, (but satisfying), lack of melodrama.
14. The film had really good action scenes.

## Bad Qualities

1. Toneri is an unmemorable villain.
2. While this isn't much of a problem now due to the fact that the Naruto manga, (and even the Naruto Shippuden anime), have been over for a long time), film's early release back in 2014, (before the end of the Naruto Shippuden anime and manga), and new status quo in the *Naruto* world might confuse the audience.
3. The falling moon threat had a lack of impact on the story.

## Reception

*The Last* received a positive response from audiences and a score of 80 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.[27] Amy McNulty of *Anime News Network*, while criticizing the film's unengaging villain, overarching plot and nondescript score, praised its animation and more character-driven, romantic approach than previous films: "Despite the (awkward) title, the movie is not actually the final film in the franchise, but it's the last of an era and a fitting capstone for the series and its fandom".[28] David West of *Neo* wrote that although *The Last*had characteristics in common with the original series (such as the main characters' mission to stop Toneri's plans), its well-executed focus on the romantic relationship was fairly new to the franchise.[29] According to a *Toon Zone* review, the relationship between Naruto and Hinata overshadowed the villain and made the film more appealing. However, the reviewer wrote that the film's early release (before the end of the *Naruto: Shippuden* anime) and new status quo in the *Naruto* world might confuse the audience.[30]

Charles Solomon of the *Los Angeles Times* gave the film a positive review: "If 'The Last' lacks some of the emotional punch of the previous feature, 'The Road to Ninja', Kobayashi compensates with flamboyant visuals that mix CG, drawn animation and elegant calligraphic figures; fans should stay through the credits for a surprising final scene".[31] McNulty and *Fandom Post* writer Chris Beveridge criticized the falling-moon threat's lack of impact on the story, but Beveridge praised *The Last'*s atmosphere and lack of melodrama.[32]Although Brendan Ha of *Otaku USA* praised the film's action scenes and animation, he had mixed initial emotions about the romance. According to Ha, it was affecting but the fact that it was Naruto's last film (since the next one focused on his son) left viewers unhappy.[33]

Naruto's romance with Hinata was praised by the media, with some reviewers saying that *The Last* should have been condensed for their relationship to have a bigger part.[34][28][32]David West said their relationship was well-executed, praising the inclusion of previous occasions in the series where Hinata and Naruto were together. West also praised Hinata's role in the film and her interaction with the antagonist, Toneri.[29] Thais Valdivia of *Hobby Consolas* liked the development of supporting characters Shikamaru Nara and Sai, but she criticized the too-brief appearance of Sasuke Uchiha. While noting issues with some plot elements, Valdivia enjoyed the symbolism of the scarves.[35] *Kotaku'*s Richard Eisenbeis agreed about the supporting cast and the love story, recommending the film to long-time *Naruto* fans despite regarding Toneri as an unmemorable villain.

### Box Office and Release

During its first weekend, *The Last* earned ¥515 million (US$4.35 million)[37] and grossed ¥1.29 billion after three weekends.[38] In December 2014, it earned about ¥1.75 billion ($14.76 million) and became the franchise's top-grossing feature film.[4] By January 2016, the film had grossed ¥2 billion ($16.9 million).[39]

Aniplex released the Japanese DVD on 22 July 2015,[40] which sold 18,565 copies in that country.[41] It was one of 2016's bestselling DVDs in Japan, selling 34,687 copies.[42] On 29 December 2016, the film aired on TV Tokyo at 1:30 a.m. and received a rating of 1.4 percent.[43]

It was released by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.[44] In North America, Viz Media and Eleven Arts screened the film in 21 theaters on 20 February 2015.[45]Viz released the DVD and Blu-ray versions on 6 October 2015.[46]

### Legacy

After *The Last'*s post-credits scene, a trailer for the next film has been shown with Naruto and Hinata's son Boruto Uzumaki, Sasuke and Sakura's daughter Sarada Uchiha, and the rest of the new generation.[47] For its fighting game *Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4*, CyberConnect2 added Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata in their forms from *The Last* to the game's playable characters.[48] Shō Hinata wrote a 2015 light novel, *Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding*, in which Kakashi tasks the cast with finding the best gift for Naruto and Hinata's wedding.[49] Toneri returns in the anime series *Boruto: Naruto Next Generations*, and he is interested in Boruto's growth.[50]