Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire

 (2009)

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Blu-ray offers solid video and great audio in this fan-pleasing Blu-ray release
Four ninjas with kekkei genkai who have been guarding the Hidden Villages of Cloud, Stone, Mist and Sand disappear from their respective villages. The Land of Fire comes under suspicion as it is the only country to have suffered no loss. Mounting suspicion among the four countries almost brings about a 4th Great Ninja War. In the Hidden Village of Leaf, Tsunade orders her men to keep strict guard against War and to try to find out what really happened. At the same time, it turns out that Kakashi has left the village. The bad news deeply disturbs Naruto and his friends.

For more about Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire and the Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Blu-ray release, see the Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Blu-ray Review

Starring: Junko Takeuchi, Chie Nakamura, Satoshi Hino, Showtaro Morikubo, Kentarô Itô, Ryôka Yuzuki
Director: Masahiko Murata

» See full cast & crew

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Blu-ray Review

From little acorns, mighty oaks grow.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, November 2, 2012

Naruto may well hold the record for having built the largest franchise out of what was originally a one time only, standalone comic. That supposed "one time only" publication debuted in 1997, and now some fifteen years later, a manga adaptation is still being serialized, and two anime series have also resulted. The first, Naruto, chalked up a fairly respectable 220 episodes and aired from 2002 to 2007. The sequel, entitled Naruto: Shippuden, is still going strong after twelve "seasons" which started with the series' debut in 2007. But, wait, you also get: the Naruto universe has also been populated by several feature film adaptations, also starting in 2007. Naruto Shippuden: Inheritors of the Will of Fire was the third in the Naruto Shippuden film franchise (there are several basic Naruto feature films as well) and was originally released in 2009. The sheer volume of Naruto releases in one form or another can seem a little daunting, and The Will of Fire, as this English reversioned Blu-ray has been slightly retitled, pretty much requires at least some background in the Naruto universe to make heads or tails out of its plot. Like many franchises that have developed their mythologies over a good stretch of time, Naruto Shippuden has its own sometimes arcane vocabulary and terminologies that may make newcomers feel totally lost at times. Suffice it to say that at its core the Naruto franchise is a ninja series with some supernatural elements. The lead character Naruto is an ambitious young man with dreams of becoming the greatest ninja ever, but who is hobbled (at least in the eyes of others) due to the fact that he "hosts" a supposedly demonic fox spirit with nine tails who has wreaked havoc on Naruto's village. Naruto: Shippuden has continued taking elements from the continuing manga, with Naruto continuing on his quest to increase his fighting abilities and also coming into contact with a variety of unusual characters, including some who host their own fighting spirits.



If it feels like we join the story of Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire already in progress, that's one of the obstacles that newcomers will have to overcome in order to even begin to partially understand what's going on. Sai, a compatriot of Naruto, is atop a giant winged bird in a violent thunder storm, insisting that he must find the so-called Kekkei Genkai, a frequently utilized term in the Naruto universe that refers (more or less) to ninjas with specially developed powers which are passed through their bloodlines, making them the exclusive "owners" of these techniques. Kekkei Genkai are rare ninjas, and a rash of strange disappearances of those imbued with these genetic abilities sets the five lands in Naruto Shippuden at each other's throats.

What initially threatens to become an internecine conflict is revealed instead to be the dastardly work of the main villain of the piece, Hiruko, who has already taken four Kekkei Genkai and has his nefarious eyes set on the fifth and final specially endowed ninja, who just happens to be Naruto's mentor, Kakashi. The film has actually already given us some interesting (albeit pretty brief) back story (something much needed for a franchise with such a long history) where we see Naruto training to become a ninja under Kakashi's tutelage. When Naruto and Sai are injured in the big battle that begins the film, Kakashi's visit to the boys in the hospital where they're recovering is marked by presents to each of them, and the gift he gives to Naruto is especially meaningful, a symbol of one of the main themes of the film, the duty of a ninja to stand by his friends, no matter what.

In fact loyalty turns out to be a recurring plot point throughout this Naruto enterprise, as Hiruko claims to be from Naruto's land (actually a hidden village, but I digress), throwing suspicion on Naruto and his cohorts as fellow travelers, and putting Kakashi in an especially vulnerable position. One of the gambits Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire undertakes is that it lets the audience in on the plot of the bad guy virtually from the get go, and then spends most of the rest of the film dealing with the heroes attempting to overcome that plot. That has both good points and bad. On the one hand, it deprives the film of any real suspense, as Hiruko's machinations are spelled out in detail very early in the film. On the other, it frees the film up to further develop the relationships between the heroes, which is actually where this Naruto Shippuden finds some real traction and delivers its most solid entertainment. But Hiruko's attempts to start a Fourth Ninja War gives the film some immediacy and makes the heroic characters' valiant attempts to keep the peace, whatever the cost, quite compelling.

Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire may surprise those who are expecting a nonstop action-fest, and it may end up surprising longtime Naruto fans the most. Yes, there are battles galore in this film, as should be expected, but this is also a rather surprisingly heartfelt treatise that nicely puts Naruto and his friends in an interesting light, where we see exactly what the ninja code means to each of them. Newcomers are still going to be flummoxed by the film's nonstop use of "inside" terms and an over-reliance on assuming the audience is going to automatically know the relationships and histories on display here. But even newcomers should be able to understand the basic themes of loyalty and duty which this Naruto Shippuden film does a nice job of delineating.

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Viz Pictures with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. While this is a really decently if not overwhelmingly sharp and clear looking high definition transfer, it is oddly monochromatic a lot of the time. A cursory glance at many of the screenshots accompanying this review shows that huge swaths of the film are cast in charcoal grays, whites and blacks, completely robbing the image of any chance to really pop with multi-hued vigor. This isn't always the case, of course, and in a way, this tendency to emphasize a bland palette actually makes the elements that are brightly colored pop even more, at least by comparison. Line detail is very strong and some of the backgrounds are actually quite nicely detailed.

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire features lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mixes in both the original Japanese and an English dub. There is no discernable difference in the mixes between these two, other than the obvious language and voice actor differences. A surround mix certainly would have helped make the battle sequences more visceral, but these 2.0 mixes are surprisingly vivid and both offer some fantastically boisterous sound effects, especially in the lower frequencies. Dialogue is cleanly and clearly presented and the film's score also sounds just fine. Dynamic range is quite wide, with relatively quieter dialogue scenes alternating with more noisy battle elements.

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

• Production Art allows you to scroll through different character designs. All of these are in black and white and some are pretty basic looking with little if any detail.


• Clean Ending (HD; 4:32)


• Japanese Trailers (HD; 2:38)

Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

If you don't have a history with the awesomely gigantic Naruto franchise, Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire is probably not the place to start. While you'll still be able to eke out a semblance of sense from what happens in the film, you'll more than likely feel like you're missing some elements of the interrelationships. I in fact felt that way some of the time, even though I've occasionally watched both Naruto and Naruto Shippuden through the years (though I frankly wouldn't consider myself a huge fan). Those of you with a solid foundation in Naruto Shippuden will no doubt enjoy this film, especially as it very nicely highlights some longstanding relationships between Naruto and other supporting characters. This Blu-ray's image is okay looking, but its lack of appealing colors makes it perhaps less enticing than some anime fans might want. This is probably a "fans only" sort of release, if for no other reason than the Naruto universe is fairly complex and its many nooks and crannies need some time to explore.