Plot
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Okay let me break it down for you: The story of Naruto and Hinata takes place two years after the Fourth Shinobi War. Everything was peaceful until a strange shinobi named Toneri appears and decides to use the forces of the moon and the power of the Byakugan to "renew" humanity.
Personally, I was slightly disappointed with this film. But if you are a NaruHina fan then I can guarantee you that you will enjoy this movie. This movie will strike a chord, especially if you're a hardcore Naruto fan. The film is heavy with nostalgic moments because it revisits memorable scenes in the ongoing Anime. However, I thought that very ploy was the reason why the exposition took longer than it should have. I mean, this is the first Naruto film with a very long introduction. Heck, it is the longest Naruto film that I've ever seen because it is almost two hours long. However, the beginning was able to give us two subplots that we are going to expect for the movie. First is the villain Toneri's plan to destroy the world because he thought it was too corrupt and it needed to be restored using the moon and the Byakugan. The other subplot is of course, the budding romance between Naruto and Hinata.
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Let's focus on the Toneri conflict, for a while. It is slightly confusing. I had to rewatch it again to understand his connection to the Hyuga clan which wasn't clear to me when I first have seen it. I had a hard time understanding the sequence of the story because one scene happens then it suddenly cuts to another and moves on with the plot. But as you are starting to get used to its momentum, the story stops because it goes back to that previous scene again for it to be explained. Fortunately, that only happened a few times so it was still comprehensive.
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Next we have is Naruto and Hinata, which is something I preferred to see rather than Toneri. I actually liked their chemistry in this movie, because it is very different from the Anime and it's supposed to be different. They were not exactly the same people we knew back in the Anime or in the Manga, so the story implies that they have matured (kinda). Another thing that satisfied me as a Naruto fan, was that it was able to address a few plot holes in the Anime. For one thing, it was refreshing to know that the other characters were able to recognize how much Hinata liked Naruto. Sadly, I did have one issue in this subplot; it's the love triangle. Yes there is a love triangle in this story, but the good thing about it was that it wasn't too heavy. It's the kind of love triangle wherein it's pretty obvious who the girl has to choose, so it's not one of those "I'm torn between two hot guys" kind of moments. But I did not see the whole point of it, honestly. If it was meant to cause a rift between Naruto and Hinata, I did not think it was necessary. The fact that they have a different reaction towards each other in this movie is more than enough to cause some tension between them.
Apart from that, the pacing becomes okay once you get through the really long exposition. Everything about this movie feels different and it's one of the things I like about Naruto; you can feel the change as the plot continues.
Characters
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Although I liked the compatibility between Naruto and Hinata, I still felt like Hinata has not changed in this movie. Her ultimate dilemma is to confess her feelings to Naruto (again), and she still has that "holding back" issue in the first act. Yes, that improves along the way but she didn't seem like a ninja in this movie. She can fight but she needs a lot of support from Naruto, and by support I mean saving. I get that it is supposed to give NaruHina the feels and all, but those moments did not fit Hinata's character for some reason. And that is unfortunate because Naruto was a really well-developed character in this movie. He's no longer the orange ninja we knew back in Shippuden. He's more mature and even more sensitive. His main conflict in this movie is not really with the bad guy, but with himself; all I can say is that, in this movie...he gave up. At first, I wasn't able to appreciate this because it caused him to be less of himself, because of the most cliched and weak plot device. But after rewatching, I was able to understand why he wasn't himself. He realized what a big ignorant idiot he has been since the beginning and we witness him deeply regret that side of himself. And it was another powerful moment for our orange hero. My only complaint for him is that his dialogue becomes more cheesier than usual, but this is a love story. What did you expect?
Another thing disappointing about this movie were the other appearances of the characters. First of all, I thought the teasers and posters for this were kinda misleading. In most of them, you would notice that Sasuke is there. Since he's considered another favorite character in the series, it was safe to assume back then that he was going to play an essential part in this movie. So if you're a SasuSaku fan, don't get your hopes up. Because Sasuke does not really do anything in this movie, and I can say the same for many characters. Almost everyone in here is one-dimensional because the main focus is just Naruto, Hinata, and possibly their teammates. That's all.
Music
Again, the music aims to hit your nostalgic feels. You will once again hear the original scores that we know so well from the Anime. My favorite part of this film was the ending where Naruto and Hinata just ...walk. Sorry that's all I can say about that. The reason why I mention this because it is the most nostalgic part (at least for me) in this entire movie. It's cute, genuine, and hits you in the right places. Most of all, it is accompanied with the sweetest score ever. Watching that scene made me feel like the last 100 minutes of this film was worth it. I suggest listening to it, it's very sweet and sentimental at its core. It is called, "Naruto and Hinata". I think just by listening to this, you might be able to tell what happened in this scene.
Art
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The art was able to accentuate the change in the setting. Aside from the fact that everyone looks different, the places looked different. There was signs of technological advancement and the stores in Konoha even looked different. I also liked the action scenes here, because they're a huge improvement from the other movies. So it was very engaging to see all the fight scenes. There were even some beautiful scenes, especially with Naruto and Hinata. I don't know why, but every time they're alone... the lighting is slightly dimmed and there are only few sources of light such as...well, fireflies. Because...what could possibly be more romantic than fireflies?
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But in all honesty, the art is really great. I liked the attention of detail to almost everything because I was more convinced that everything in the world of Naruto has changed.
Overall, I still think this "last" Naruto movie was entertaining to watch. It is possibly because I love this series so much, and Masashi knew which feels buttons to push in this storyline. Again, some plot devices were slightly weak, character development was not evenly distributed either, and it's going to take some time for you to understand what is happening. Irregardless though, I still think Naruto fans will definitely enjoy this movie. The fact that it is a love story will be more than enough to convince any diehard fan to see it. So I'm going to give this three out of five eggs. It is literally a scrambled, but I think it is still enjoyable.
That is it for my anime review, next up is a Fangirl Moment segment so stay tuned for that. I will be taking a break from these anime reviews, and I will talk about something comic-related real soon. Till the next post~
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