The Last: Naruto the Movie Review

     To think it's been five months since I last did something remotely review-like and actually posted....well the wait is over because ignoring the pile of unused footage sitting on my hard drive I figured I would write on something, vaguely spoiler free, I just went to see a few hours ago, The Last: Naruto the Movie.

      Now, I would not consider myself a hard Naruto fan.  I did not keep up with it as much as some of my friends, however I did like a lot of little things in it between the dub and the sub, which the showing was subbed.  It was one of only three or so places in Michigan, from what I heard, and I'll start by saying there sounded like there were no Sasuke fans in the audience.  In fact several cheered, laughed, and clapped when a friend of mine said a bit too loudly, "Go home and take Sasuke with you" at the antagonist later on in the movie.  I'll say this now, I didn't mind Sasuke as a character per se....just how Kishimoto seemed to handle all Uchihas.  Enough though on someone that only shows up a few times in the movie.  In regards to how I'll score this movie, I'll maintain my standard review format of 5/5 means good with a possible excess above that 5.

Vague Plot Summary  - 5/5

     The plot revolves around Otsutsuki Toneri, the antagonist, and the Hyuuga clan.  We get to see a lot of things happen that, at least for me, had (in no particular order) Gurren Lagann, Dragon Ball Z, <insert any shoujo manga here>, among others.  In terms of the actual plot and how it unfolds, I had no problems with it other than I had hoped to see certain plot important characters do more.  If you get around to seeing it I will only say watch that red scarf in the poster carefully....there is an alternate title to this movie I'll save for a spoiler review if I ever do it.   Overall I may have seen too much anime to ever objectively state this but there were quite a number of stereotypical, but not terrible, moments.  Fair warning there are after credit scenes.

Characters  - 6/5

     I'll start by saying the characters as always in Naruto cannon stick to how you know them, so no character betrayals there.  Among the 7 on the poster pic above, Sasuke and Kakashi do the least in a matter of onscreen terms.  In terms of onscreen terms, expect character development for Naruto and Hinata to a lesser degree, Sakura and Shikamaru are still pretty much the same, as is the apparent inserted fan fiction writer Sai who was a laugh at times.  The antagonist Toneri was fairly well done, and the various characters from the show that appeared for their scenes are fairly well done.  The extra 6 comes from the feels probably, and the fact that the characters, their relation to the plot, and the movie as a whole made me forget until the end credits that Neji, one of my favorite Hyuuga clan members, is still dead.

Music  - 5/5

     Not much to say here, the music wasn't bad, the rest of the movie draws your attention away from it, and I won't fault a long running series like Naruto and it's movies for changing or not changing music over its course. 

Animation  - 6/5

     Like all Naruto movies, the animation is a little off from the series (due to the better quality movies have from the additional time they have to animate it), and it had some great visual effects, including the obligatory final fight scene.  As I'm keeping this spoiler free, I'll just say the animation was better than what I ask of it.

Total Combined Score for The Last: Naruto the Movie  - 

5.5 / 5

      It was a good movie, if you were a Naruto fan to any degree it is a good watch, and a good end note for Naruto (key word Naruto, I'm aware of the Bolt movie).  Or if you're looking for an good watch, it is as well, but it is also the end of the timeline so to speak, so it is an odd place to start if that is the case.