**Spoiler Warning!**
Many know Naruto as one of the best selling manga series in history. Created in 1997 by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto became to be a fond memory and an integral part of many people’s childhoods, including mine.
Thus nothing could have stopped me from attending the screening of “Boruto: Naruto the Movie” at Brattle Theater in Harvard Square on October 11, 2015. Accompanied by my friend, Amber Qin ’18, I was ready to witness the epilogue of all the integral characters, especially that of Sakura, my childhood favorite.
The movie began with three children training for their daily classes. One was Mitsuki, a pale gray-haired shinobi with a gray-white complexion, who was the mystery of the group. The other two were the children of the well-known, initial main characters of the Naruto series: Sarada (daughter of Sakura and Sasuke) and Boruto Uzumaki (son of Naruto and Hinata). Together they formed the genin group: Team Konohamaru.
As the movie continued, we find out that in addition to having a son, Naruto has become the Seventh Hokage of Konohagakure. But becoming the Hokage has its costs. As Naruto is now the leader of Konohagakure, he found himself besieged with numerous tasks and responsibilities, causing him to distance himself from his family, especially Boruto. This causes Boruto to experience feelings of abandonment, so he strives to impress his father in order to gain his attention no matter the means.
Indeed, the movie proved to be extremely action-packed as expected from Naruto. The numerous fights involving the Chunin exams were especially eventful: Sarada punching her opponents with her inherited superhuman strength, Shikakai (son of Shikamaru and Temari) giving up due to his lax nature, and Boruto with his Rasengan. The action goes up a few notches when the plot reaches its intense moment: the kidnapping of the Seventh Hokage. The harmony between Sasuke and Naruto in fighting the enemy was perfect in terms of the beats in between the kicks, jutsus and punches. They were indeed the dynamic duo.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie was a film that touched its audience’s hearts. To me, it was like reliving my childhood again, especially when I saw Naruto’s personality mirrored in Boruto as well as Sakura’s in Sarada. In addition, the multiple themes including family relationship and honesty in achieving goals were so simple yet touching. To me, these themes deviated so much from the themes that have been featured in modern day movies (e.g. futuristic machines and space and time travel). Moral integrity and relationships are applicable to every human being; they are what humans can relate to, as well as strive to improve.
It was obvious that everyone in the audience could relate to it as well as by the end of the movie; the theater erupted into a massive round of applause accompanied by whistles and cheers. As if the hype wasn’t enough, one man stood up and yelled, “YES, YES” at the post-credits scene in which Mitsuki’s parents were revealed.
Who were his parents? Watch Boruto in order to find out.
Image courtesy of Creative Commons.
Watch full movie online.. link top!
It’s definitely one of the best paced Naruto movies, with the screenplay written by Kishimoto himself and there are two very clever twists that set it apart.
The movie has great moments as I showcase in my full review with full spoilers here:
http://www.mymangamarathon.com/2015/11/boruto-naruto-the-movie-review-full-spoilers-plot-synopsis-2015.html