Summary

Despite being widely considered the best flick in theNarutofranchise , route to Ninjais far from being the franchise ’s most popular . Its lack of popularity is part because it is not part of the officialNarutocanon . However , a few years after its discharge , aNaruto Shippudenepisodeall but retconnedRoad to Ninja , and its iconic villain Menma , into the official storyline .

At the clip of its premiere , Road to Ninjawas critically acclaimed as theNarutofranchise ’s best pic . No doubt , the iconic baddie of the film , Menma , a " what - if " on what could have happened if Naruto never flourished among his peers played a part in its distinction . Its critical achievement is surprising since the plastic film is not part of the officialNarutocanon . Non - canonical content is often disregard because it does n’t pretend the primary plot . The praise must have strike a nerve withNarutocreator Masashi Kishimoto , who at the time submit to Oricon News his wish was for everyone to enjoy the picture and the story it tells . It could even be contend that Kishimoto come to realize that the film should have been made part of the canon , well manifest in his situation of an image depictingNarutoand his evil alternative version Menma together . The post thanks everyone for learn the film and hopes sports fan will keep on supporting the wedge .

later on , Kishimoto published a one - shot manga that added to the movie ’s lore . His lineal involvement in the writing and draftsmanship of the one - nip is further test copy he believesRoad to Ninjais or should be considered canyon . Naruto ShippudenEpisode 311 is the anime version of that manga . Interestingly , the manga continue relatively unknown to all but the most die - hardNarutofans . This is credibly because it share the same title as the movie , and therefore , it is easy to believe that it ’s just a dewy-eyed manga adaptation of the motion picture . The gum anime adaptation of the one - shot story exchange the title to " The Prologue of the Road to Ninja " , which more aptly chew over the story ’s mental object .

Madara Uchiha from Naruto using his Mangekyo Sharingan

Naruto Shippuden Makes Road To Ninja Better

Produced by Studio Pierrot, based on the original manga by Masashi Kishimoto

Hayato Date ’s 2012 filmRoad to Ninja : Naruto the Moviefollows theadventures of Naruto and Sakuraafter they are transport to an alternate dimension known as the Genjutsu World . In transporting them , Tobi seeks to take reward of their vulnerabilities to slip the chakra muscularity from Naruto ’s Nine - Tails beast to practice in the primaryNarutouniverse .

Naruto ShippudenEpisode 311 details what happened the 24-hour interval before Naruto and Sakura run into Tobi and are subsequently send to Genjutsu World via Tobi ’s Limited Tsukuyomi . For Limited Tsukuyomi to sour effectively , Tobi needs to know something about the targeted dupe to work . sequence 311 explicate how Tobi identifies the vulnerability of Naruto and Sakura that he takes vantage of with Limited Tsukuyomi . For Naruto , the episode emphasizes his womb-to-tomb issues with loneliness . For Sakura , it detail her desire to both be the orchard apple tree of Sasuke Uchiha ’s middle and to be gratuitous from her parent ’s control . This all takes stead as a subplot to an interesting " slash of life " write up about how Naruto , Sakura , and a radical of their friends spend their sidereal day off decompress 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 theatre running , the subsequent one - shot manga , and theNaruto Shippudenanime version is not something that usually happens to non - canonical " makeweight " subject matter . Its more befitting of a major story or arc in the saga . Nevertheless , Road to Ninjais still identify as not being part of theNarutocanon . This begs the question – what does it take to makeRoad To Ninjapart ofNarutocanon when it technically already is ?

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seed : Oricon News

Naruto in a battle pose, throwing a kunai while he holds three more. Behind him, Kaguya and Madara can be seen.

Itachi Uchiha

Image shows Naruto from Shippuden doing hand signs while a faded image of his mother and father are scene behind him, also doing handsigns.

Naruto and Menma goofing around

Naruto Road to Ninja promotional artwork drawn by Masashi Kishimoto