Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie 6 is the sixth Part II/Shippūden film and ninth overall Naruto movie. It is also the first film with the story created by the original series creator, Masashi Kishimoto. Kishi has poured his profound ideals and morals into the Naruto series from Day 1 and Road to Ninja has pretty big ones. The movie has good action, comedy and drama and is interestingly and steadily paced.
Ya know that classic plot thing where the character resents the way their life is, gets a taste of life when he gets what he wants and hates it, then things return to normal and he's grateful for what he has, RTN uses this but it goes much deeper. The film relates to the canon plot more than any other anime movie I've seen, except some DB movies. Fans of Naruto will get this, knowing how Naruto's parents died at his birth and the 9-tailed fox was sealed into him, causing him to be alone and the love he should have gotten replaced with hate and shunning. He has a sincerely happy attitude in the series, but it hits him hard in the movie which is plot-constructive. Sakura has parents but resents their annoying her all the time. Also in relation to the main plot, one of the series' main antagonist, Tobi, tests his Infinite Genjutsu on them with a prototype. The IG's goal is to make a fantasy world, making Naruto and Sakura perfect test subjects.
The movie follows the jinchūriki and kunoichi learning what life would be like if they received what they wanted: Sakura's parents dead and Naruto's parents alive. The movie faces the two with the choice of running away in a dreamland or facing the harshness of life as it is and accepting reality. Naruto has what he's wanted and deserved for so long after enduring 26 or so years of hardship. That's also a main theme of the film and why it is called "Road To Ninja". One of the lines at the start of the movie is Naruto recalling what it means to be a Shinobi or Nnja, recalling his master saying, "a ninja is one who endures".
It's Hilarious to see the main characters in these new personalities and dynamics and the action and emotion is top-notch as well and there's sufficient character-development. This is hands down one of the best Naruto films and like the series itself, any viewer can watch this and take something from it. Nice job Kishi. He shows that despite how we all love these characters, their Shinobi and ninjas are meant to endure, being why he puts them through this. Keep enduring guys! 10/10.
