Despite being widely considered the best movie in the Naruto franchise, Road to Ninja is far from being the franchise’s most popular. Its lack of popularity is partially because it is not part of the official Naruto canon. However, a few years after its release, a Naruto Shippuden episode all but retconned Road to Ninja, and its iconic villain Menma, into the official storyline.
At the time of its premiere, Road to Ninja was critically acclaimed as the Naruto franchise’s best movie. No doubt, the iconic villain of the film, Menma, a “what-if” on what could have happened if Naruto never flourished among his peers played a role in its distinction. Its critical achievement is surprising since the film is not part of the official Naruto canon. Non-canonical content is often ignored because it doesn’t affect the primary plot. The praise must have struck a nerve with Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto, who at the time stated to Oricon News his wish was for everyone to enjoy the movie and the story it tells. It could even be argued that Kishimoto came to realize that the film should have been made part of the canon, best demonstrated in his post of an image depicting Naruto and his evil alternate version Menma together. The post thanks everyone for watching the film and hopes fans will continue supporting the hero.
Subsequently, Kishimoto published a one-shot manga that added to the movie’s lore. His direct involvement in the writing and drawing of the one-shot is further proof he believes Road to Ninja is or should be considered canon. Naruto Shippuden Episode 311 is the anime adaptation of that manga. Interestingly, the manga remains relatively unknown to all but the most die-hard Naruto fans. This is probably because it shares the same title as the movie, and therefore, it is easy to think that it’s just a simple manga adaptation of the film. The anime adaptation of the one-shot story changes the title to “The Prologue of the Road to Ninja”, which more aptly reflects the story’s content.
Naruto Shippuden Makes Road To Ninja Better
Produced by Studio Pierrot, based on the original manga by Masashi Kishimoto
Hayato Date’s 2012 film Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie follows the adventures of Naruto and Sakura after they are transported to an alternate dimension known as the Genjutsu World. In transporting them, Tobi seeks to take advantage of their vulnerabilities to steal the chakra energy from Naruto’s Nine-Tails beast to use in the primary Naruto universe.
Naruto Shippuden Episode 311 details what happened the day before Naruto and Sakura run into Tobi and are subsequently transported to Genjutsu World via Tobi’s Limited Tsukuyomi. For Limited Tsukuyomi to work effectively, Tobi needs to know something about the targeted victim to exploit. Episode 311 explains how Tobi identifies the vulnerabilities of Naruto and Sakura that he takes advantage of with Limited Tsukuyomi. For Naruto, the episode emphasizes his lifelong issues with loneliness. For Sakura, it details her desire to both be the apple of Sasuke Uchiha’s eye and to be free from her parent’s control. This all takes place as a subplot to an interesting “slice of life” story about how Naruto, Sakura, and a group of their friends spend their day off relaxing at an onsen.
Road To Ninja Should Be A Part Of Naruto Canon
The film’s surprisingly impactful story deserves to be a part of the core story
All this attention: the quotes for Kishimoto during its theater run, the subsequent one-shot manga, and the Naruto Shippuden anime adaptation is not something that normally happens to non-canonical “filler” content. Its more befitting of a major story or arc in the saga. Nevertheless, Road to Ninja is still identified as not being part of the Naruto canon. This begs the question – what does it take to make Road To Ninja part of Naruto canon when it technically already is?
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