It's a new generation, and the adventure continues! Several years have passed since the events of the Naruto Shippuden manga's story concluded, and in spite of Naruto's former troublemaker days, he's doing a bang-up job of running the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Technology's advanced, the Five Great Nations are living together in harmony, crime is on the decline and the trains run on time. (Having nigh-infinite Shadow Clones does help with the more fiddly parts of being a warrior-diplomat!) Sadly, being the Seventh Hokage means doing lots and lots and lots of hard work, and Boruto–the latest son of the Uzumaki Clan–sees more of his dad's splodey copies than he does of Naruto himself. Despite carrying on the family tradition of troublemaking and giving his instructors night-terrors, Boruto feels alone and indifferent; even the approaching Chunin exams can barely raise his interest. That is, until the reappearance of a certain Ninja with a Rinnegan/Sharingan combo who used to be his dad's one true rival. And until a scientist offers Boruto a brand new Ninja Tool that might give him an entirely unprecedented shortcut to greatness...

Yet there's trouble brewing with much higher stakes than Chunin Exams, for Sasuke's mission brought him into contact with two strange, otherworldly ninja. Otherworldly ninja with chalk-white skin and horns who have their eyes (specifically Byakugan and Rinnegan) all fixed on Naruto...

Without spoiling too much, the biggest kick I got out of this movie was in discovering how Naruto's world has changed since the end of the manga. Naruto's vision of lasting peace really did come true; between the Five Nations witnessing the strength of Naruto's ideology and getting within spitting distance of armageddon-by-tree-moon-princess-monster-thingy, I'm not that surprised everyone decided that world peace was the most attractive option.

The Hidden Leaf's now barely recognizable with all the new additions, such as modernized structures, big TV screens in the public squares and email messages. Maybe the Industrial Revolution came on super-fast and the online era hitched its sled on for the ride? Or perpahs any civilization would make crazy advances in extended peacetime if they'd already figured out how to survive and rebuild after the various world wars, super-powered terrorism and/or Tailed Beast rampages that occurred every every other decade. It's fun to try and guess how it happened. 

Sorry, back on topic. Boruto himself is the spitting image of his dad right down to the hair, the spirited-but-loveable troublemaking and the wearing of flashy colors on his quest to become a master of guerrilla-espionage.

Yet while the orange hasn't fallen far from the tree, it did roll around a bit. I mean, it makes sense—Boruto's life is almost nothing like Naruto's had been, what with the lack of war, the still-breathing parents, the absence of any known threats against the Leaf, and having two generations of Hokage on his father's side. Boruto's never been an outcast so he doesn't have anything to prove to Hidden Leaf; he simply doesn't share his father's massive obsession with earning the giant Hokage hat. If anything, he's kind of a slacker who has yet to learn that any path he takes as a ninja will still need a lot of work. Remember, Naruto may have had all the Chakra of a Tailed Beast inside him, but he still needed years of training to find the right way to use it.

Speaking of ninja techniques and hard work, the animation and the fight sequences are once again gorgeous. The new characters who make their debut bring out a whole array of never-before-seen jutsu and fighting styles. The villains likewise have some pretty flashy moves, and quickly prove themselves to be serious threats in spite of Naruto's current power. This combined with super-smooth animation makes for a truly epic final battle.

Between its fun new look, its interesting take on new characters the characters and its vibrant animation, Boruto: Naruto the Movie makes for a pretty slick Naruto flick. Of course it helps a lot that Masashi Kishimoto was so heavily involved with the story, being freed up a bit from making the manga. If you're a fan of the story or just want to see what kinds of parents Naruto, Hinata, and all the rest would make, you should definitely check it out. (And stick around after the credits. Trust me, it's worth it!)

And the great news is—Boruto: Naruto the Movie is coming back to theaters on December 13 and December 14! The movie will play in far more theaters and come with special comments by Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the manga and producer of the movie, and Junko Takeuchi, the voice actor for Naruto!

To see where its playing and buy tickets, head to fathomevents.com! 

© 2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO/2007 SHIPPUDEN © BMP 2015

by Chris Turner