While each new update about the live-action Naruto movie is an exciting step forward for the long-running and highly popular anime franchise, the reality is that this upcoming film has many challenges ahead of it, and the worst one of all will be the show’s length and pacing. Naruto first began in 1999 as a manga series written by Masashi Kishimoto, and later, was developed into two anime series which ran from 2002 to 2007 and 2007 to 2017 respectively. The story of Naruto follows a young boy named Naruto Uzumaki who is a ninja honing his skills in the hopes of becoming the Hokage, or leader of his village.
In 2015, nearly ten years ago, it was first announced that a live-action Naruto movie was in development. Unfortunately, after that initial announcement, no more updates were given. That is, until it was recently revealed by Variety that Tasha Huo has signed on as the screenwriter for the film. Huo’s previous projects include other adaptations, such as the comic series Red Sonja and Tomb Raider. First and foremost, this news implies that, despite the wait, Naruto is still happening. But also, it raises questions about how exactly Huo will develop Naruto from its long manga and anime forms to a feature film.
Naruto’s Pacing & Number Of Episodes Makes A Live-Action Movie Franchise Too Difficult
Ultimately, the pure scale and length of Naruto is going to pose a risk of failure for the live-action Naruto movie. When combined, the two Naruto animes, Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, have 770 episodes in total. And although nearly 300 of these episodes are considered filler, and not necessary to the plot, that still leaves more than half of the series’ episodes that are vital for the plot. In general, turning so many episodes into a single feature film, or even a series of them, seems impossible. Therefore, this will likely be the biggest obstacle Tasha Huo and Naruto’s producers will have to face when making the film.
Another major problem is Naruto’s arcs. In general, mangas and animes have story arcs that last over a certain period of time. Every arc has a beginning and an ending, but there are no rules on how long an arc must be. When it comes to Naruto, there are many key arcs in the story, and ideally, each of them would be adapted into the feature film, but this likely wouldn’t be possible. Even if the film wanted to develop just the first part of Naruto, there would be three full arcs to be adapted, and once again, this doesn’t seem at all feasible.
Naruto’s Live-Action Movie Sequels Would Have To Change The Anime’s Structure
In the end, the only way forward is to change things. If the first movie is made and is successful, that would likely prompt a series of sequels to come after it. In turn, the franchise’s producers would have to reconfigure the Naruto story in order to make it adaptable to film. This is necessary not just for the sequels, but for the first movie as well. In general, a plan has to be in place. While it will be unfortunate to see the plot audiences know and love to change, it could definitely be beneficial. The Naruto movies can bring a fresh perspective on an already beloved tale.
