Ranked #2873

Naruto: Movie 2 - Daigekitotsu! Maboroshi no Chiteiiseki Dattebayo!

By definition, “Utopia” is simple in context, but every individual has their own take on what their Promised Land truly is. How far must we reach to obtain tranquility, and what must we sacrifice to reach that goal?

In a land where despair and hope are in constant conflict, Naruto, along with Sakura and Shikamaru, are thrown into a power struggle between a hypocritical faction creating their own path to peace and the world around them. By showcasing pleasing animation and a handful of new, plausible characters, we are once again served a modest helping of a series that has marked its place in anime history.

Complexity in a plot can have its problems, especially when the writers are restricted to a movie’s worth of time to draw out the intricacies in the story. What starts as a straightforward mission to catch and deliver a ferret soon turns into a, well, complicated mess. With little time to focus on the development of the characters, we are left with just a fluky plot and a handful of neatly animated battles that, most of the time, weren’t all that impressive.

Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru shine as three stand out characters from the main series, and luckily, their audacity carries over to the film to slightly make up for the poorly executed new characters. We’re introduced to an organization owned by Haido, a deceptive man wishing to create a world without war by using the Vein of Gelel, an ancient source of ultimate power. A quickly detestable character who's role can be easily pinned from the start, Haido offers nothing unique to the story other than the cliches that follow his position.

Temujin, one of Haido’s henchmen and also a main protagonist of the story, is one of the only redeeming aspects of the movie. As one of the only (somewhat) developed characters in the film, we learn of his troubled past and his own concept of what it takes to achieve “Utopia”. The other henchwomen include Fugai, Kamina, and Ranke, who serve no purpose other than to show off some interesting animation quirks during the fight sequences.

What can be said in a positive light is that the art and sound of Naruto’s second movie is very nice to look at and hear. While staying true to the series, the art and sound are a step up from what we see on the big screen every weekend. Overall, it’s nothing overly spectacular or out of the box, but the time put in paid off. You’ll especially see the great production values in the handful of fights where a lot of attention was given to details.

It is hard to say whether Naruto: Legend of the Stone of Gelel actually answered the questions lingering in our heads, but we do get to experience an interesting character study, to some degree. The story is nothing worth mentioning, but philosophically we are left with a treat, whether or not a “Utopia” can ever exist or if a “necessary sacrifice” is something acceptable is left to the viewer.
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well...this is my first review here, and since no one else wrote a review about naruto's movie 2...I thought I should write one -_- I was really disappointed with this movie it was a shock for me that it was so lame! I mean all naruto's series has been great, may not be the best but...I sure did enjoy its other movies >_<

Story: I didn't find it interesting, as usual something wrong happens and konoha's ninja were summoned to help out, in this movie the ninjas were naruto - sakura and shikamaru on a mission of their own but then get involved with an attack etc..

Art: its same art as we know it in the original series, but I was expecting it to be better since its a movie and the art should be more smooth and detailed a bit.

Sound: yeah nothing special about it...

character: Temujin (Main) was irritatingly ANNOYING DX I didn't feel any sympathy towards him with his past nor his best friend issue -.- the fact that the sand ninjas were in the movie made me continue watching it till the end *yaay gaara* ^^

Enjoyment: sadly I couldn't enjoy this not even a bit, even though I tried hard to but.. guh I couldn't it was just the worst naruto movie T-T I never thought that I'd witness that sorta of thing =_="

overall: I had to give it an average rate for gaara's sake DX otherwise I'd give a 1 (unwatchable) sorry but It was a waste of my precious time to download and watch this movie (- - ) *sigh* I don't recommend to watch this to anyone who wants to see a good Naruto movie.. trust me you are not going to miss anything good XP hehe read more