Naruto: Shippuuden Movie 6 - Road to Ninja

Singapore decided to show us anime fans some mercy by screening Road to Ninja, Houou no Miko and Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning in the cinemas.

Road to Ninja is a little different from the previous movies. While movies 1 to 5 introduce new characters—protagonists and antagonists—with plots that totally differ from the original story's, RtN is almost like a possible subplot of the main story.

With the exception of some, we get the same characters we see in the main story, but with a strange twist that would greatly appeal to the audience. It’s like a dream come true to some fans. It also keeps your ... mind going while you watch it, which personally, is what makes Naruto fun to watch. There’s also a hidden message in it, that is actually quite obvious in the starting of the movie.

There's a big chunk of flashback in one of the parts though, but it was from my favourite episode, so I'm not complaining.

Same art, new soundtracks, and overall it’s unique, funny and (kind of) tear-shedding, what I find—unbiasedly—worth skipping work for and the S$16.90 (large bottle of Coke with a free refill included) I spent on. I actually managed to get my non-Naruto-loving sister to watch it. And hey, more MinaKushi loving here!

*Please note that there will be some spoilers in this review*

If you could have one wish, any wish, would you give up everything just to see it fulfilled?

Once upon a time, I loved Naruto; I would sit down in front of a TV every week and wait for it to come on just so that I could see what happened next. As time progressed, my love for it whittled down to something that I watched merely to get it out of the way. That was my mindset coming in to watch this movie- it was to just get it out of the way. What ... I experienced, however, exceeded my expectations to become what I see as the best Naruto movie ever made. Now, enough of this sappy monologue, let’s get into the actual review.

First things first: like most of the Naruto movies, Road to Ninja is, for all intents and purposes, non-canon. So, instead of complaining about how it’s non-canon, I’m actually going to review the story and the themes it tackles. The basic premise revolves around Sakura and Naruto being transported to an alternate world by Madara’s “prototype” Tsukuyomi where most stuff is basically the same but there are slight changes, or “ripples” like Madara calls them. While most of them are just personality and clothing changes, the biggest difference is Sakura’s familial situation is switched with Naruto’s. Yup, you read that right; Minato and Kushina are alive and well in this alternate world but Sakura’s parents no longer exist. One of the biggest themes in Naruto is the loneliness and despair of not having anyone to come home to or care about you, namely parents, and this movie tackles this theme head-on as well as the theme of accepting what is false so long as it brings you happiness successfully; these provided a much-needed emotional factor that I believe really makes the movie shine. However, make no mistake, there are flaws in the story such as characters appearing seemingly just for the sake of appearing, some plot holes, and what I found to be a lackluster “final” battle (I use quotes because it’s not really the real final battle). It is advised that you watch episode 311 of Shippuuden before you watch the movie but it isn’t absolutely necessary because all that you would miss would be certain inside jokes but I found the comedy in Road to Ninja to be pretty good, even without them.

As expected, the art in Road to Ninja is a step above the normal fare found in the TV series but is nothing ground-breaking or spectacular. Everything looks good, some parts more so than others, and the colors are more vibrant but, I did happen to notice the typical derp faces every once in a while or pupils not being perfectly aligned, minor things like that. As far as the animation goes, everything seemed to flow smoothly and very nicely, nothing much to complain about here. The sound design as well is what you would normally expect from the series with an overall great-sounding soundtrack. One aspect I noticed was the voice-acting was handled very well, especially given the fact that personalities were completely different in the alternate world; being able to adapt like that shows a professionalism and talent which even I, as a member of the audience, can appreciate.

Lastly are the characters, and since most of the cast have switched personalities, this is somewhat difficult to accurately grade the cast if you look at every single character. Let’s look at the Ino-Shika-Cho combo as an example, Choji is skinny and hates eating a lot, Ino is mild-tempered and sweet, and Shikamaru is a complete idiot. Explanation as to why any of the characters with changed personalities are the way they are is completely nonexistent but, to me, that makes complete sense in context. Naruto and Sakura were transported to a different world where they are viewed as acting “weird” because they do not conform to how their counterparts within that society would have normally acted. So, instead of focusing on the “new” characters, I’ll focus on Naruto and Sakura because we can accurately judge how they have changed throughout their experience in that world. Both Naruto and Sakura experience development through realizing what life would be like if their familial situations were reversed and ultimately seem to have changed from their experiences by the end of the movie, though I somewhat doubt this will reflected in the actual TV series. While I would have liked to see more of the alternate cast and explored the different alternate world a bit more, it was inevitable that shortcuts be taken due to the limited amount of time they spent in the alternate world. The only other thing I have a gripe with is that Naruto actually seemed a bit underpowered but that is fairly minor.

TL;DR? Well, despite certain plot holes, characters seemingly appearing solely for the sake of appearing, and a somewhat lackluster “final” battle, I particularly enjoyed what the movie had to offer. Road to Ninja’s art, animation, and sound are what you would normally expect from Naruto so, if you don’t like that, you probably won’t like this movie. However, unless you are basically a Naruto scholar and/or expect everything to be perfect and make sense, you will probably enjoy what this movie has to offer as I did.

8 out of 10

Well I am gonna make it short.
This was the only (and maybe also the last) film from Naruto world worth watching. Finally no random princess saving, no bunch of new characters and the most important thing, finally a good story with some deep thoughts. Yea no wonder, it is said that Kishimoto personally worked on this one.

I really enjoyed this movie. There was something for everyone. I laughed many times when I saw really weird behavior of some characters we all know very well. Haha in this film, everything is slightly different. There are also cool fights and animation is really good. Not the ... best anime fights I have seen though but still quite decent. You also have a chance to see some characters you meet just rarely in anime like Naruto's parents or Sakura's parents etc.

The most valuable thing in every anime for me are some deep thoughts you can think about. You know like some spiritual legacy ^_^. Finally I found something like that in Naruto film! The storyline is not very complex but there is very nice situation. [A bit of spoilers!] New world with fulfilled dreams. Everything seems fantastic, but it is real? Does it even matter whether it is real or not? Is it important to fight for the truth or shall we just stay in the illusion where we have everything we need?

So the result. Every Naruto fan should in my opinion watch this. To hell with other Naruto films. Honestly they are all trash. This one is the only Naruto film I accept. And it is good one. Somehow reminded me the good anime films with some hidden meanings and you know like Mononoke Hime, Spirited Away etc. (Of course I cannot compare this one to them but the style reminded me them. Like that it is not only another filler but valuable piece of animation.)

“Somebody once asked me what a ninja is. My sensei told me that ninja is the one that endures.”

BTW Nice soundtrack. ^^

Story - 7/10
Art - 6/10
Sound - 6/10
Character - 7/10
Enjoyment - 7/10
Overall - 7/10

Hearing about how this movie was supposed to be one of the better (if not the best) Naruto movies because of its interesting plot and nice twist at the end, I decided to give this movie a shot even though it's been a very long time since I've watched any sort of Naruto animation (been sticking to reading to the manga).

Overall, I was entertained by the movie and enjoyed the divergence from the typical Naruto movie formula, at least in the movies I've seen so far (Naruto meets new character X, learns ... a lot about X, grows closer to X, and eventually Naruto + crew + X team up together to beat new villain Y who is extraordinarily evil with no redeeming qualities). That's not to say that the plot is anything groundbreaking as the idea of a character slipping into an alternate world is something that's certainly been explored in movies like the newest Gintama movie and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Nevertheless, the characterization of Naruto and Sakura in this movie is a breath of fresh air and it's nice to see these characters being explored more thoroughly instead of the movie original characters that all seem to have the same tragic past. There are certainly well done scenes/moments in this movie where Naruto and Sakura feel very human and relatable which I believe is where the movie shines the most. It does not quite make up for the numerous plot holes, the horrid pacing at some points, blatant use of TV footage, and awkward characterization(yes, the characterization is also a con), but it does make the movie more watchable. With a movie that is good but not great in most of the categories (art/sound/plot), characters go a long way to making this movie something that you won't quit halfway on. I would say this movie is something you can definitely watch whenever you're bored or have a lot of free time. Just don't expect to be blown away.

***IN DEPTH REVIEW BUT WITH SPOILERS***

Art - 7/10
Art and animation in this movie was about what you would expect: fairly good(it's a movie after all) but nothing too crazy. There were a few shots of the city that I thought were nice and particularly detailed, and some of the fighting animation was pretty good. Other than that, I would say everything else was simply satisfactory.

Sound - 7/10
Once again, all the sounds were fairly good. There were a few emotional/battle tracks I enjoyed but I would not say they were on my "man i gotta look this up on youtube" level. Even the theme song by AKFG was probably not one of their better songs. Overall, the background music felt appropriate.

Story/Character - 7/10
With all the praise for the creativity with the plot and the characterization I gave the movie above, I had numerous gripes with the plot/characterization. Maybe I missed an explanation somewhere but for the most part, these things stood out in my mind while I was watching the movie:
1) Other than for plot convenience, why would Konoha only send out Naruto and his friends to fight the Akatsuki if they had revived/regrouped. And what was the explanation for this battle anyway? Were they an illusion? What was the point of the severed hand?
2) Why is Iruka such a dick in the beginning of the movie? He should know what Naruto is going through. He seemed very out of character during the scene at Ichiraku ramen. What happened to first episode Iruka?
(Small issue :The memna part was a good way to introduce the story behind/poke fun at Naruto's new name in the alternate world but the ramen cook should not just be adding random ingredients to people's orders without telling them man.)
3) You're telling me Madara managed to teleport straight into Konoha and that he decided that best way to capture the Nine-Tails was to throw Naruto (and Sakura too, you know, for the lulz) into an alternate dimension so that Naruto could POSSIBLY tire himself out while fighting his alternate self. And what was up with him getting defeated by the same move. I know it's a nice nod to Naruto becoming more like his father but man... Madara why you such a scrub?
4) Naruto getting angry at his parents when he first sees them also felt weird. I get that he feels that they're impostors at first, but I don't know if anger is how someone would normally react in that situation. Then again I've never been an orphan who slipped into an alternate dimension where his parents were alive so what do I know. This is something they could have corrected with more insight into Naruto's thoughts.
5) That one scene where Naruto and Sakura meet up to talk but for some reason decide that they don't want to see each other face to face. And the awkward walk away?
6) Honestly that Rasen-nuke was kind of unnecessary. And would a Rasengan really be able to do that much damage in the first place?
7) Naruto saying unnecessary things to his alternate dimension parents who have no idea WTF is going on just so Naruto can look cool. Check. I guess they did come and save him at the end so this works out.
8) Man that one scene with TV footage that just dragged on and on.
9) Why didn't Madara just make Sakura lose her memories while they were fighting.
10) So what was the deal with evil alternate Naruto? When did he change to the masked villain? Why did he change back? I mean I thought Madara said he couldn't interfere with the world even though he was the creator.

Overall though, the plot/characterization though was fine. I liked how they opened with the idea that "a ninja is one who endures" and closed with that idea as Naruto walked back home alone after watching Sakura reunite with her family only to suprise us with the non-dick version of Iruka. I liked how the spiral of the scroll reminded Naruto of the Rasengan after he loses his memories. It was a nice small twist on its own. I liked all the incarnations of the alternate world and wished I could have seen more of them. As I mentioned above, I particularly enjoyed the focus on Naruto and Sakura as well (this movie was first time I ever saw Sakura's parents to begin with. Sakura's dad seems pretty awesome too).
Their parts in this movie made the movie.

Oh my. This movie. Before I continue with review, I want to point out that this review may CONTAIN SPOILERS and is solely my own opinion. It might seems biased because I love Naruto in general but I just want others to know how much this movie impacted me.

-Story-
Naruto and his comrades fought the Akatsuki members even the ones they have killed before, abruptly, all the members disappeared not long after the fight, leaving Naruto and his comrades in confusion. They went back to the village and every single one of his comrades bragged about their achievement kicking out the akatsuki out of the ... village to their parents, asking their parents to promote them to a higher ninja level, jounin. Being an orphan, Naruto had no one to talk to as he stood and look around with a sad face. He then met Iruka Sensei and went to Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto confessed to Iruka, saying that he wanted Iruka to promote him to a Jounin. Iruka denied because he had to be a Chuunin first. Since Naruto didn't take his Chuunin exam, he wasn't allowed to be ranked higher. This made Naruto unsatisfied and they seemed to have a serious quarrel. Knowing that it was useless, he walked out of the shop. He accidentally met Sakura who was in a hurry and both of them went to the park. At the park, Sakura started complaining about her parents being whiny and bossy especially her mom and Naruto wasn't satisfied to hear it. A while later, a man who called himself Madara appeared and sent them to a parallel universe to test out his Project Tsuku yo Mi. Not knowing that they have been sent to the other realm, they were shocked to find out that none of their comrade knew who Madara was. Not only that, their friends' personalities also changed. To their surprised, in the other realm, Sakura was the one who lost her parents as they lost their lives saving the village (like Naruto's parents did), while Naruto, on the other hand, lived by a different name, Menma, and his parents were alive and well. In the beginning, Sakura seemed to enjoy her life as an orphan in the other dimension while Naruto had a mixed feeling about his parents. The story went on to Naruto and Sakura encountering Madara to be able to return to the real world. In the end, they succeeded and went back home. What seemed to be a few days in the parallel world, was only probably a few minutes, or hours in the real world.

-Character-
SAKURA
If you watch this movie and do not feel even slightly annoyed by Sakura, you deserve unlimited supplies of ramen. In my opinion, Sakura's character in the first half of the movie is unbearable. This started when Sakura and Naruto went to the park and Sakura started complaining about her parents. 'why cant I have normal parents like everybody else'. Naruto listened at first but he felt a bit upset with her because she wasn't thinking of Naruto's feelings. Then, Sakura had the nerve to say 'why does it has to be you in front of me, Sasuke would've understand me better'. Perhaps she was too overwhelmed by the feelings of having annoying parents that she forgot Naruto was always there for her and saved her from every mess she was into. This makes me stopped watching for at least 15 minutes, taking my time to ease my mind. After she went to the parallel universe and started to realize how lonely Naruto was in the real world and how solitary she was in the other realm, her character seemed to become more mature and understandable. This continue until they managed to get home, finally being able to see her parents again and feeling grateful what she already had.

NARUTO's character is painful too watch as well, not because his character was unbearable, but mostly because of the feels trip you're going to have due to his solitary. This started when they managed to fought back the Akatsuki and had no one to talk to, since he was an orphan while every single one of his comrades bragged about their achievements to their parents. The same thing happened when he was in the park with Sakura before they encountered Madara, as I already stated, an orphan boy had to listen to his friends complaining about having annoying and bossy parents. In the parallel universe, his character slightly changed especially when he found out that his parents were alive and well. He didn't want to be close to them, didn't want to get along with them. Mostly because he knew that they were not real, that it was all a painful lie. But even if he tried to deny his feelings, deep down inside his heart, he had always wanted this life, a perfect happy live with both of his parents, a life which he never had a chance to live in. He wanted to avoid the feeling of being home, because sooner or later, that feeling will be taken away from him. After battling with what he wanted and what he knew, he decided to be apart of the family and used the name Menma, and for that short while, he was happy. As much as he wanted his life to stay that way, he had to get back to reality. After he went back to the Hidden Village, he started to feel lonely again, Sakura had people to come back to, her parents, while Naruto on the other hand, had no one waiting for him at home, just like other times. To his surprised, Iruka sensei was already there waiting for him in his house, with food on the table, to celebrate his birthday together. As tears rolled down his cheek, that was when Naruto realized, even if he had no parents to go back home to, he will always be in his comrades' heart, a place where he truly belongs.

MINATO AND KUSHINA's personalities didn't change in the parallel universe as well, at least that's what Naruto thought.. Minato was still that sweet and gentle guy while Kushina was the same hot tempered red haired woman. Naruto didn't realize how much they differ from his real parents until their fight with Madara. When Naruto wanted to save Sakura, Minato didn't oblige, saying that Sakura was a stranger and they didn't want to risk their lives saving a stranger, they also forbid Naruto to save her as well. That's when he had a clear idea that somehow, they're still not real. Naruto didn't know much about his parents but one thing he always knew was that Minato was the hero of Hidden Villages, and in order to do that, he was ready to seal himself even though that means he will not be able to see Naruto grow up. That was the kind of father he had and in that moment, he knew he was doing the right thing to go back to the real world.

OTHER CHARACTERS. (not everyone)
In the parallel world, their friends had different personalities.
HINATA- she became a very confident woman and feared no one, pretty scary too, especially when she threated Sakura not to get close to Menma, completely a contrast to her real personality
SHINO- hated bugs
KIBA- became a cat person instead
AKAMARU- never got along with Kiba and bit him all the time
CHOUJI- had Shikamaru's personality
SHIKAMARU- Chouji and Naruto's personalities mixed, love to eat, very goofy
INO- a nerd
NEJI- a pervert, especially to Hinata
SASUKE- a player who flirted with girls
KAKASHI and GUY- switched personalities with each other
TSUNADE and SHIZUNE- switched boobs instead (insert laughing emoji)

Watching this movie late at night is definitely not a good idea, the tears keep coming and i ended up woke up with swollen eyes. Definitely makes me appreciate what I have. This movie deserves more ratings and recognitions. Parallel universe is not a very original movie plot but it brings justice to this motion pictures. The story is outstanding, definitely a lot of unexpected plot twists, funny and enjoyable, but also make you go through the emotional feels trip the entire movie.

First of all I’ll try to retain myself from spoiling but I don’t promise that I wont.
WATCH THIS AFTER EPISODE 311, sorry for the caps, but seriously watch this movie after episode 311. It will be so much more fun.

I recommend this movie for everyone who got bored of fillers. It will make an amazing feeling that you are not repetitively stopped from seeing action by fillers. I loved the way the plot was made, the wishes of Naruto and Sakura, the other world and the way it ended proving my ideas of how it will end considering the first hour of ... the movie.
It was extremely well drawn and animated, maybe even better than the other episodes.
There are a lot of personalities you maybe wished to see, and a lot of fun in the first part and the second part has enough fights to let you see Naruto with nice moves.
Overall: well made, I loved the story and the way it was made, didn't want to spoil this review so it's not much to say. Thanks for reading.

Well I guess I kept my promise of not spoiling it. As for a few spoiler words: best looking "Naruto" in the ending, something similar to Ichigo in episode ~309. Guess that’s it, thanks for reading.
(I have a spoiled review/re-cap/my thoughts of the movie in the discussions page 3, ao_no_exo)

Before I start this review let me just say, that I stopped caring about this franchise YEARS AGO. Still, the premise of this movie really caught my eye. So I recommend this film to any former fans of the Naruto series like myself.

The selling point of Road to Ninja is that it takes pace in an alternate setting. All the characters have different personalities, Sasuke's still in the village,and Naruto's parents are still alive. In other words, it's the ULTIMATE FAN-FICTION. Where everything you disliked or complained about the series is reset.

However, it suffers from the same problems you'll find in any of the other ... NARUTO media. For example, the writing has some wholes in it. In the movie, Sakura's parents are the heroes of the village but we are not informed on what they did. Also the alternate Naruto somehow became an antagonist but that's not thoroughly explained. The viewers are just expected to go with "it's a parallel universe" and not question anything.

On another note, the art and animation do not match the usual film budget quality. Except for a few scenes it's seems no different than the TV version. As for the sound Yasuharu Takanashi's score is as effective as ever and fan favorite band Asian Kung Fu Generation provides another rocking theme song.

Despite some of it's flaws Road to Ninja, if anything is enjoyable. No one should really expect much after years of shonen movie expansions. It's got satisfying fight scenes,pretty good humor, and even some wholesome moments for the characters. Respect it or not, it's something that can be remembered with fondness off not forgotten right away. The movie does its job of entertaining it's fans so there's no wondering on why it's so successful. Road to Ninja is a simple story with nothing thought provoking or outstanding about it. But you know what? That's just fine.

P.S. Naruto's friends don't get much screen time so you may be disappointed if you were looking forward to Flirting Sasuke and Badass Hinata. The Akatsuki are good guys so that might make up for it.

sorry but as a fan of naruto, ill just give a 10 to every single thing for this movie.
i've watched naruto for years but i got bored after all members of akatsuki died.
but this movie really bring back memories to me, the day i started to watch naruto
well back to the topic
the story is really unexpected and is totally different with other naruto movies, i didn't like some of the naruto movies because the story is always repeating. so ill give the story a 10
for the sound, great timing for the bgm and the ending song is really nice

as for the character, its really ... funny at the beginning especially hinata HAHA
and kushina!!!!

for enjoyment, as you can see i really enjoyed it since im writing this review -.-

overall, how can i not give it a 10??? i was born for this movie hahaha, this movie really gave me the feeling to endure and move on like a ninja. i kept on ask myself if i can leave my family in the same situation

sorry if this review did not help you since it's my first time writing a review.
to end this review ill have to say "A ninja is one who ENDURES!!!"

WARNING: SOME SPOILERS

Okay, this was about as good as I expected, but I was still a little disappointed.

It was cool to see alternate versions of people, I won't deny that. I do wanna say though, that they get about 5-10 minutes of screen time. I don't mind that too much.

Naruto and his parents meeting was about what I expected too. Very emotional, I liked that a lot. Probably my favorite part of the movie.

Then, you get to the action. It didn't seem forced, just, it felt like Kishimoto wrote everything except the fight scenes. Naruto actually said "There's too many of them!" at one point. ... He seemingly forgot that he could use Kage Bunshin. Actually, Naruto almost seemed nerfed.

This clearly takes place after Naruto gained the Tailed Beast Mode and met his mother. Yet, he never used Tailed Beast Mode. In the manga, he spams it like he does Rasengan and Kage Bunshin. Here, he only contemplates using it for a second.

The last fight seemed more like a slugging match, with the Kyuubi as fists. Not very much worth mentioning, just Kyuubi fighting Kyuubi, lots of claws and lasers and pretty lights.

The Akatsuki do show up, but it's painfully obvious that the only reason they show up at all is for "Wow! Akatsuki fighting as good guys! Awesome!"

I also wanted to see what everyone in the alternate world would think about how strong Naruto is, but we never get to see their reactions to that.

The time frame is AU, it doesn't fit anywhere in canon. After the Fourth World War, since Konoha isn't in the battlefield, yet they still call Tobi 'Madara.'

I guess my biggest complaint in the end, is that Naruto doesn't fight like Naruto, and we never get much interaction between the alternate characters and Naruto/Sakura.

In conclusion:

Story: 9/10 - Not bad. Points off because of the obvious AU time frame, which annoyed me a bit, but overall not too bad. Some interesting tidbits like Sakura's parents and Minato and Kushina.

Art: 7/10 - It's Naruto. The fight scenes are well animated, but there are some drops in less important scenes, and it's nothing particularly special.

Sound: 7/10 - The vocal songs were average, and the OST was just kinda what you would expect. Again, nothing particularly special.

Character: 6/10 - My biggest complaint. Naruto not fighting like Naruto, not too much character interaction with the alternate world, so not much development there.

Maybe you would put the emotional parts, like reuniting with the parents here, but I chose to put that in with the story, and focus this score on individual characters.

Enjoyment: 7/10 - I was screaming at my screen for Naruto to use Kage Bunshin, to use some new overpowered Rasengan, to use Tailed Beast Mode, Sage Mode, to do something besides hit the guy in the face. It was not to be really. I did like the emotional parts though, like meeting Minato and Kushina, and Sakura's despair at her parents being dead.

Overall: 7/10 - Better than the rest, but still just good, not 'great.'

Naruto Movie 6: Road to Ninja follows the journey of Naruto and Sakura to an alternate world created by the diabolical Madara a.k.a. Tobi. Naruto and Sakura are shocked to learn that this world is a complete opposite of their own. The two will have to find out a way to get back to their world in one piece. It should be noted that like most movies and ova's this doesn't follow the original story completely. Although there wasn't all that much action in between, there was surely enough comedy and emotion.

Before tonight, I had planned to write a review for each Naruto movie in sequential order since I just binge watched all the Shippuden movies for the first time. However, after watching the sixth film, Road to Ninja, I immediately had to write this review. Otherwise, my thoughts on the movie might escape me, as it left me speechless. A movie like this only comes around every once in a blue moon.

Naruto Shippuden The Movie 6: Road to Ninja(Alt. Naruto The Movie 9: Road to Ninja) is the sixth film in the Naruto Shippuden series, and the ninth film overall in the greater Naruto franchise. ... Having been placed timeline wise in the latter half of the Shippuden series, Naruto has grown as a ninja and many of the questions he once had have been answered. Because of this, this movie is filled with story spoilers for anyone who has not been keeping up with the series. This is not a good jumping on point for new fans or anyone who doesn't like spoilers.

However, for those loyal Naruto fans who have kept with the series thus far, this movie is a special treat that should not be overlooked. The story answers what very well may be one of the Naruto fandoms greatest questions. The story alone is a masterpiece all on its own. The art is astoundingly good and deserves to be viewed in high definition. Likewise, the soundtrack is equally beautiful with many tracks that will make you want to listen over and over again. Yasuharu Takanashi proves once again that his brand of music fits the Narutoverse like a glove. The sound effects are also good, though I still can't get used to the muffled Shadow Clone sound.

The main characters of this film are Naruto and Sakura and as such they receive massive amounts of character development. Well, as far as movie canon is concerned. Since most Naruto movies, possibly including this one, are considered non-canon, their character development doesn't transfer over to the series. However, for this movie alone, these two characters develop greatly. We see sides of them that you could scarcely imagine. And the way that the story goes about this is just beautiful. A stark contrast like night and day. Aside from those two, all of the usual Naruto characters personalities are reversed, and it's interesting to see what everyone is like. I had quite a few good laughs at just the dialogue alone.

Before this movie, my favorite Naruto film was Naruto Shippuden The Movie 2: Bonds, and Legend of the Stone of Gelel before that. Road to Ninja surpasses both of those movies, and the rest. It reminded me of why I love Naruto. When you look past the filler and some of the bland or awful characters, you see this deep and rich story that when left by itself is just plain beautiful. And that is why I keep coming back to this series. And this film greatly emphasized those aspects that I love.

It saddens me to think that the manga will soon be over, and that The Last - Naruto The Movie will soon be upon us, bringing a close to this epic journey that many of us have followed since the very beginning. And while I have no idea how long Naruto's legacy will last following its conclusion, I do know that I will never forget it. And if you're a die hard Naruto fan like me, then Road to Ninja is a movie you can't afford to skip for any possible reason.

And then there’s a 6th………..

About the STORY
It’s so like Naruto series to twist the “normal-kind of storyline” and revive dead characters but this time in a different way. The drama of the movie is one of the most touching parts of its storyline; Naruto’s lack of family. It’s one of the most authentic dramas the series has. A very interesting plot compared to the previous movies where it was just the same old “a mission” kind of plot most particularly the unsuccessful previous two movies.

About the CHARACTERS
The characters made the story really fun and exciting most especially the “Menma” thing. It’s also interesting to see ... everyone differently and to see Naruto have a family.

About the ANIMATION
The animation is as amazing as always befitting a movie and Naruto movie at that. it may not be as explosive as before but it is still amazing and exciting.

About the ENJOYMENT
The first thing I thought was, it would be boring because the previous two was really lame then Akatsuki appeared right off the bat and everything becomes awesome for me immediately. I bet that most of the Naruto fans will enjoy this one as we get to see lots of situation that we won’t be able to see in the original story. It’s like a very rare chance and among all the movies this is the first time that almost every elements are perfectly balance; action, comedy, animation, sounds, characters, and especially the drama. I strongly believe that makes this one by far the best among the series’ movies.

Content (plot/characters):
The story was conceived by Kishimoto himself so I thought it was definitely worth watching. The story takes place in a "genjutsu world" and it's kinda like your typical AU. The personalities of the characters are different in this world and so happen to be this world's Naruto and Sakura's family backgrounds. I personally find the plot to be not too interesting but, like everyone else, I enjoyed the scenes with the AU characters and that tiny glimpse of what happiness might have looked like for Naruto. My favourite part will always be that last scene with Iruka. It made me feel all bubbly ... and sentimental like the first ever Naruto (Part I) episode. "Villainous" plot-wise, it was interesting but just okay.

Style (art/sound):
Kishimoto personally designed the characters for this movie so I can't really have too many complaints on the art. I found the AU characters' designs quite amusing. Personally, I appreciate good soundtracks and I absolutely love that one motif in a lot of the tracks. I love it when one motif is played in different styles (i.e. sorrow, solemn, sweetness, rejoice, etc.). I would say that the sad/sweet tracks helped enhance the moment better than the fighting ones. Once again, the track that played during the last scene with Iruka gets me even more.

Personal Enjoyment:
As underwhelming as the plot is, I quite enjoyed this movie. There were at least two underlying "themes" and I sat through the movie a whole lot more comfortable than previous ones (as it sorta kinda not really ties in with the canon plot, as in you don't get a one-day female lead nor "villain"). It was nice to see what it would be like everything was kinda different, especially cute Uzumaki family moments. All in all, I personally don't think that this movie was a waste of my time and I'm glad that I watched it.

I'll just give a quick summary of the review:

+ Decent plot involving use of personality swaps. The storyline is well written as many of the emotions and feeling could be felt from the characters.

+ Consistent with action as the main series is

+ The alternate personalities added humor to the movie (the interactions amongst each other proved comical at points).

+Some changes in the characters/groups made certain scenes interesting.

-The other chunin from the series (Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, etc) had very little significance in the story. The story was hyped up about their change in personalities, but had very few scenes involving a majority of ... the characters that built the hype for the movie.

-The art seemed different and lazy at certain points. Some segments seemed to be missing detail that normally is covered in the series itself.

Final Thoughts:

Road to Ninja lived up to be a pretty good movie. It's not one of the best, but it definitely has some decent replay value to it.

Recommend watching?: Yes

This one is probably my favorite Naruto movie. I've noticed a pattern lately that the Naruto movies tend to center on good ideas... It's just the build-up to those ideas-- or all the surrounding story, really-- tends to be weak. For example, this movie commits one of my anime movie pet peeves where they effectively write the movie out of ever possibly being considered some canon event that could have happened off-screen, basically ending the plot-important bits by saying, 'You know that crazy thing that just happened? We're gonna not tell anyone... Basically pretend it didn't, if we can't find a good way to explain ... it. 'Cause, you know... village security and all.'

However! I did preface this by saying it was my favorite Naruto movie, and I plan to make good on that statement. Let's start... at the beginning. Even though it is just series recap, (which we will see some more of before the movie is over) I really like the way this movie opens. As I was watching it, I couldn't help wishing that exact scene had been the way they opened the actual series. I've never liked how abrupt the first scene in the very first episode to Naruto was. I concede that maybe the rest of it wasn't totally thought out yet, but even if they kept everything else the same--and we still didn't learn anything else about Minato and Kushina for another 400 episodes or whatnot-- the opening scene to this movie just struck me as a really good introduction for someone who was experiencing the series for the first time. Just enough action and mystery to keep a new viewer engaged. And a thousand times better than the Third Hokage monologue-ing about how "One day, a Nine Tailed Fox appeared! ...And was sealed in this child, and yeah, that's all you really need to know for now." I can appreciate that view of getting to learn about Naruto's past as Naruto learns about his own past, but... Like I said, the opening to episode one has just never sat well with me.

All right. I'll move on now. So to be honest... there was nothing really striking to me about the music in this movie. It was just more Naruto music. You get kind of numb to it after however many hundreds of episodes. The animation on the other hand... The animation in the actual series could be kind of hit-or-miss, but this movie got spoiled with some of the fluid animation work that the actual series only saw on its best days. And I enjoyed it. But let's move on to what I feel is the most important part... The middle story. The main idea behind this movie.

This was the What If movie. For all of the fans who wanted a glimpse of what it would have been like if Naruto had gotten the chance to grow up with his parents. And, brief as those moments had to be to keep the overall story on track, they were damn satisfying. But we were given an extra layer of depth to explore. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, Naruto gets to experience this by being sent to a mirror universe of sorts-- an imperfect test run of the Infinite Tsukuyomi to come later on in the series. It's not an exact mirror, but a lot of things are flipped around. For instance, in this universe, Naruto's parents are just another pair of talented shinobi, and Sakura's parents were the ones to sacrifice themselves to save the village. This has left her orphaned in this universe, and she finally gets a taste of how her team mates spent their childhoods, and you get the somewhat predictable role reversals. Of course, she thinks it's great at first-- getting to set her own rules and not have to worry about her nagging parents-- only to realize that absolute freedom and solitude isn't all it's cracked up to be. Whereas Naruto starts out rejecting his parents' attempts to... well, be his parents, knowing it's not real and, I think, having to understand that if the goal is to get back to their own world, it can't last, and accepting their love now will only hurt him more later. But eventually, his resistance falters and he gives in to enjoying what could have been.

Naruto is such a stubbornly upbeat character that, though we know the doubt and darkness does exist inside of him, we rarely get to see it. I really liked that this movie chose to play with that, showcasing a quieter Naruto who starts to get a little caught up in the unfairness of it all and actually calls Sakura out on not appreciating what she has. Both of their stories had their poignant moments, and they left enough of an impact for this movie to stick with me, whereas many of the other Naruto movies started to fade from my memory or blend together after watching them.

Of course, it's worth noting that part of the reason I enjoyed this one so much was because it could be a very fun movie at times, too. The mirror universe switched up the characters personalities too and everyone-- from playboy Sasuke to dumb Shikamaru to badass Hinata-- was a lot of fun to watch and, I can only imagine, even more fun for the voice actors to read lines for. Though even I must admit that their inclusion doesn't mean much for the story. They exist to give Naruto and Sakura a taste of how inside out this world is, not to be of great importance to the story. It does open up a bunch of questions for me-- particularly with Sasuke and Itachi-- and I would love to see a deeper exploration of this world, but I'm content to take what little the movie does give us and ponder over the holes myself in my spare time.

Highlights: a Blonde Naruto fighting a black-haired Naruto, Sakura's rare moment of understanding Naruto's feeling, and some Uzumaki's family love.

In this movie due to a jutsu done by Madara, both Sakura and Naruto, are sent to a parallel world, where their wishes are granted. Sakura is granted the wish to live by herself with no parents, and Naruto is given the chance to spend some rare moments with his parents, Minato and Kushina.

The film has some very funny parts where the characters' characterstics are all reversed, we see a player Sasuke, a shy Ino, an idiot Shikmaru, a Kiba who loves cats, a Guy ... who's lazy, and a -kinda- good Akatsuki.

The Nine-tails fight was great too, but what got me was the whole Naruto's family moments.

All in all, the film is definitely great! not action-packed, but it's a nice breath of air.

I am a big fan of Naruto. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm not oblivious to its faults or enraged by its haters; I'd even consider myself a "hardcore fangirl".

Now, with that said, I had low expectations for this movie. Most Naruto movies have humungous plotholes and seriously out of character shenanigans. Fortunately, this move exceeded those expectations. In fact, there was actually character development in this one AND a moral lesson!

The story line had surprisingly minor gaps and the characters were either in character or purposefully out of character for obvious reasons. The art and sound is average and the enjoyment level ... was somewhere above average. Overall, "Road to Ninja" was a high 8.

I say, give this a chance. It's definitely above a 5(and probably above a 6). This is very likely the best of the Naruto movies. If you're a fan of Naruto you will, without a doubt, greatly enjoy this.

(I giggled with hysterical glee almost the entire time... But that could just be because I'm partially insane...) Anyway, my point still stands. Unless you hate Naruto, you won't regret watching this.

I really liked the movie. It had it's goods and bads, At the first 30 minutes I thought it was going to be like another dull movie. But it turned out it was better than expected. The fact that everyone had to switch personalities and we got to see some moments of "Menma" and his parents was great ( Also the moment where Akatsuki helped was epic). Now the bads I think the villain wasn't that good another fake naruto. I expected more of a new character than him but overall I think the movie was good and you got to watch it.

Road to Ninja is simultaneously the best Naruto movie I've seen to date, and the ultimate fanfiction. While I struggle time after time to feel engaged by forgettable, one-off movie characters, even the slow parts of this one involved people that I care about faced with challenges deeper than a new, scary bad guy that must be defeated within the next two hours. While it's nothing technically impressive, Naruto: Road to Ninja distinguishes itself from other movies in the franchise by telling an emotionally charged story about its main characters.

The production is honestly the most underwhelming part of this movie. The animation doesn't look that ... much better than a regular episode, ranging from poor to average. By contrast, the battle with Pain from the series makes this look boring... Visually, at least. Naruto has never blown me away with its soundtrack, and Road to Ninja doesn't do any better. However, it does sound exactly like the energetic, oriental blues jams I recognize from the show, so you know exactly what you're getting. Now on to the good stuff!

Unlike your average Naruto movie, the story truly captivated me. There are really only three characters participating in the main conflict, but I seriously love this movie as a character story for Naruto and Sakura. It gets to the very core of their motivations and desires, and makes each of them question how they feel about their place in the world. Most of the Konoha cast is present as hilarious reversals of themselves, prompting numerous literal laugh out loud moments from myself. The key story beats are well devised, but sometimes the way the story moves between them is a bit clumsy.

Remember when I called this a fanfic? This is why. There were so many cheesy scenes and ridiculous scenarios, which gave it a major fan-written vibe. Fanservice is nearly everpresent, both of the nosebleed (See bath house) and character (Remember everyone's key traits??) varieties. Even though it plays on many common tropes and can feel a bit low brow, it fed my inner Naruto fanboy exactly what I wanted, and isn't that what Naruto movies are for?

The thing is, Road to Ninja is unique among Naruto "films" because there is no single-serving cast of enemies and allies that have to be developed within the span of the runtime, and the plot actually hinges on Naruto growing as a person instead of just making a bigger Rasengan (But of course he does that too). From the very beginning, it's just Naruto and the main Konoha shinobi, which automatically had me more invested than any other movie in the franchise. The focus on the main cast really gave this movie a boost, as evidenced by the fact that I felt far less engaged when the battle with the obligatory movie villain begins and we don't see as many familiar faces.

While not technically great, this movie solicited the strongest emotional responses I've ever had to Naruto (I cried twice T__T). It took me back to my middle school days when Naruto was the hot new shit, and reminded me why I was that boring guy that always said his favorite character was just Naruto himself. If you consider yourself a Naruto fan, please watch this movie. I really can't recommend it enough if you care in the least about these characters, but this is an otherwise unimpressive piece of cinema.

I believe this is probably the best Naruto movie and it shows something every other movie lacks. It has everything from good battles, interesting characters, important problems, comedy and great music and art.
The review is spolier free :)

Read my full review here - https://wolf48blog.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/naruto-shippuuden-road-to-ninja-movie-review/
For general idea and summary of the review read the overall part, I hope it is helpful :)

Story
The story behind Road to Ninja is inspired by the Infinite Tsukuyomi - the technique that Madara uses in the original series to create the "perfect world". The goal of the technique is to trap every human being in an ... endless dream, where their biggest desires come true and they can live in a perfect, pain-free world.
The storyline is really interesting and engaging and since it involves an "alternative world", all the characters from the original series are presented in a completely opposite way. This is really fun to observe and see them acting like we never imagined they will. The only thing I was dissatisfied with in this aspect was that they were not shown in much detail and only hinted about their reversed personalities. Naturally, there is also a strong and mysterious villain to contribute to a great battle and intense fighting scenes.

Art
As expected the art is on top level, I have to say even better than the late episodes of the series and all other movies. There is great attention to detail and interesting features of the transformed characters. It was obvious that a lot of thought an effort was put in the development of the artwork and the characteres in the movie. The director is Hayato Date , who has also worked on the majority of other Naruto movies.

Sound
Similarly to the art, the sound is beyond amazing. The music is always on point and adding up to enhance the feeling and mood the scenes are creating. The composer of the music is Yasuharu Takanashi, who is the composer of all other Naruto Shippuden movies, as well as some other Naruto projects, Gantz, Ikkitousen, Beezlebub and Fairy Tail movies. Naturally, he knows his stuff well. And he has done great job again.

Overall
In overall, I truly believe that Road to Ninja is the best Naruto Shippuuden movie. It is definitely worth watching and you will be consumed by the engaging storyline, intense battles and hard decisions. To make it better the movie shows what the characters would be like if they were living in an alternative universe and has a pinch of good comedy inside. A few of our favorite, but gone characters, also make an appearance and they all need to push themselves to the limit to defeat the ultimate villain.