Naruto is a Japanese manga series which is written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The series Naruto is about the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who is looking out for recognition from his peers and has a dream of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is narrated in two parts. The first part is about Naruto’s pre-teen years and the second part is about his teen years.
The Naruto series is said to be based on two one-shot manga by Kishimoto. The first one is Karakuri which was released in the year 1995 and helped Kishimoto to earn an honorable mention in Shueisha’s monthly Hop Step Award the following year and the other one is Naruto, released in 1997.
The Naruto universe is very popular and is one of the richest and broadest in the history of manga and anime. In November 1999, Masashi Kishimoto started his journey of creation in the Shueisha’s Shonen Jump after impressing the editors of the publishing house, a few years earlier with a one-shot that would eventually lead to the hero of the Hidden Leaf Village. After that, the Naruto series became an instant hit.
The Naruto series has had total 11 movies till date. Three of them are from the original series, seven from the Naruto Shippuden and one from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Many of them are filler, so they are not necessary to enjoy the truly canon. Although, there are two exceptions: The Last: Naruto the Movie and Boruto: Naruto the Movie. These two are canon and specially, “The Last: Naruto the Movie” is very important to watch. If this one is skipped during watching Naruto Shippuden, it would be very difficult to understand the storyline and the characters.
Characters of Naruto series
Kishimoto’s idea behind his creation was to keep the storyline based on the Japanese culture and to create unique characters even though looking out to other shōnen manga as influences for his work.
Kishimoto spent a lot of his time thinking about his characters and separated the story characters into different teams to give each group a particular flavor. He wrote the characters in such a fashion that each character was having a high level of aptitude in one skill and talentless in another. In the part II of the manga, beginning with the volume 28, Kishimoto emphasized more on the romance. He created the villains into the story in such a way that the villains seemed like counterparts to his characters’ moral values and clearly demonstrated their differences. He illustrated his young characters to be weaker than the villains and with time and with aging illustrated them becoming stronger.
In what order to watch Naruto movies in 2023?
- Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow – Watch after chapter 101 – This movie is about Naruto and his team being sent out on a mission to the land of snow to guard a popular actress, Yukie Fujikaze from Doto Kazahana and her henchmen as she shoots for her new movie.
- Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel – Watch after chapter 160 – This movie portrays the story about Naruto, Shikamaru and Sakura protecting a powerful stone from being used by the evil forces.
- Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom – Watch after chapter 196 – This movie is about Naruto and his friends being on a mission to protect the prince of the land of the moon.
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie – Watch after chapter 32 of Naruto Shippuden – The plot of this film is about the prediction about the death of Naruto Uzumaki battling a monster and how the story further moves from there.
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds – Watch after chapter 53 of Naruto Shippuden – This movie revolves around the revenge story of Sora-nin ninjas who are from the sky country. They are seen seeking out revenge against the Konoha and the fire country.
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire – Watch after chapter 88 of Naruto Shippuden – This movie tells the story of four ninjas getting disappeared, guarding the hidden villages of cloud stone mist and sand which could eventually lead to another ninja war if not found.
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower – Watch after chapter 135 of Naruto Shippuden – This movie tells the interesting story of Naruto being sent back in the time to the city of Loran where he encounters some ways which might help him save the future.
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Blood Prison – Watch after chapter 176 of Naruto Shippuden – This movie is about sending Naruto to an inescapable prison after being convicted of a crime which he hasn’t committed. The story revolves around Naruto finding trustworthy allies before attempting to escape.
- Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie – Watch after chapter 311 of Naruto Shippuden – In this movie, Tobi uses limited Tsukuyomi to transport Naruto and Sakura into an alternate reality filled with polar opposites of their friends.
- The Last: Naruto the Movie – Watch after chapter 493 of Naruto Shippuden – The plot of this film revolves around the story of Naruto trying to stop Toneri Otsutsuki, a descendant of Hamura Otusutsuki, after Toneri causes the moon to descend towards the Earth.
- Boruto: Naruto the Movie – Watch after chapter 500 of Naruto Shippuden – This movie introduces the next generation of Naruto. The story is about Naruto’s son Boruto entering the Chunin exams alongside Sarada Uchiha and the mysterious Mitsuki, several years after the end of the Shinobi war.
Key Takeaways:
The Naruto series is available to watch online on Netflix and Amazon prime including few other options. Both the Naruto original series and Shippuden are on Netflix, but not all seasons are available in all countries. A VPN will be needed in countries where none of the seasons are available. Hulu has both Naruto and Naruto Shippuden available in the U.S. catalog.
