Understandably, whenever the anime community hears news about an upcoming live-action adaptation of an anime franchise, the fandom gets its guard up. Fans can point to misfires like Dragonball Evolution and Ghost in the Shell as reasons not to adapt anime movies or series into live-action — but there is still hope. Fans loved Netflix's live-action One Piece adaptation, so the fandom may give anime like Naruto a chance, too.
A live-action Naruto anime has already been announced, but there are scant details about the plot, characters, and even whether it will be a standalone movie or the beginning of a film series. For now, Naruto fans can only imagine how this latest live-action project will play out, but fans can still make educated guesses, and there are definitely some things fans want to see — and not see. If the upcoming Naruto live-action movie is handled well and borrows ideas from the successful live-action anime projects, then a few key elements will definitely be involved to make this project a success.
The Live-Action Naruto Movie Should Be an Origin Story
Live-action adaptations of Japanese manga/anime and American comic books tend to be origin stories, starting the hero's journey from day 1, so newcomers can join the adventure, too. Such movies are an excellent on-ramp to larger franchises or industries like Marvel Comics, the shonen "Big Three," and the like. This sets typical live-action adaptations apart from actual anime movies, which tend to be tie-ins with experienced fans in mind. For example, the Naruto movies expect fans to already know who's who and what's what, so the standalone anime movie can jump right into a new adventure with an established cast of familiar characters to work with. Preferably, and most likely, the upcoming Naruto movie will be an origin story, and the original anime provides some wonderful material to work with in that case.
Naruto's two peers also used their live-action adaptations to tell origin stories of varying quality. In 2018, there was a live-action Bleach movie that scraped together material from the source anime's Substitute Soul Reaper story arc, from protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki gaining his powers to fighting Hollows on the streets. However, that movie had a messy narrative and a lackluster main villain in Grand Fisher, and the conclusion was too open-ended. Meanwhile, Netflix's One Piece adaptation was an eight-episode voyage that did a marvelous job retelling the East Blue saga with a few notable villains to give the story some shape, such as Buggy the Clown, Captain Kuro, and even Dracule Mihawk. Netflix's One Piece also had a properly open-ended conclusion with the Straw Hat Pirates heading off to the Grand Line while riding the high of their recent victory over Arlong. Ideally, the Naruto movie will follow One Piece's lead in that regard.
The Naruto anime's first major arc is the Land of Waves arc, which takes place right after the formation of Team 7 and Naruto Uzumaki's graduation from the ninja academy. A two-hour movie, if written and paced well, should have ample time to depict Naruto's close encounter with Mizuki, the formation of Team 7, and the entire Land of Waves story arc. Best of all, this structure would give the live-action Naruto movie a clear beginning, middle, and end, with the beginning being Naruto's graduation and inclusion in Team 7, the middle being the start of the Tazuna escort mission, and the end being the final showdown against Gato's thugs. Such a narrative would give the Naruto movie a few central villains with Gato, Zabuza, and Haku, with Mizuki being a mere warmup to help introduce the Naruto franchise's combat system.
This early phase of the Naruto anime would be ideal for the live-action movie not just because it's an origin story, but also because the Land of Waves arc's conclusion is the ideal blend of a finale vs an open-ended narrative. That is, the mission to escort Tazuna is clearly finished when the arc is done, but it's obvious that Naruto Uzumaki can and will undertake more missions like this in the future. Similarly, the live-action One Piece show had a triumphant climax and conclusion with Arlong's defeat at Arlong Park, but that was just the end of this leg of the adventure, not Luffy's entire story. It was both a beginning and an end, in much better ways than what the live-action Bleach movie did. So, the live-action Naruto movie should use the Land of Waves arc to create a similarly open yet concluded feel when it's over.
In the process, the live-action Naruto movie could hint at future characters and arcs in its last few minutes, which would tease new fans and give veteran Naruto fans something to look forward to with the next live-action movie, provided there will be more. One example is the Konoha 11's members, who would feel like padding in the movie's main arc but could make fun cameos as the movie winds down, such as Shikamaru lazing around, Choji snacking, and Hinata Hyuga fondly watching Naruto from the near distance. The same could be done for iconic pre-Shippuden villains like the scientist shinobi Orochimaru and the jinchuriki menace Gaara of the Sand, who would make great antagonists in a possible second movie in the live-action series.
The Naruto Movie Should Focus on Practical Effects and a Stripped-Down Fighting Style
On one hand, a live-action adaptation is a ripe opportunity to make an older anime's special effects look that much better, from fantasy magic to giant robots to horror monsters and more. When done right, this can look incredible, but it can also totally backfire with inaccurate CGI models or subpar special effects. In fact, bad or inaccurate effects can potentially ruin the entire experience for fans who love the action scenes above all else. While Hollywood can deliver astonishing CGI battles and monsters with the likes of The Lord of the Rings and the MCU, live-action anime movies tend to fall short, either by a little or by a lot. The live-action Naruto movie could take a gamble and use flashy CGI jutsu in its movie, but it could also rewrite the combat to avoid that pitfall entirely.
The live-action Naruto movie could present a more stripped-down and grounded combat system for many reasons, including avoiding risky CGI effects and keeping things simple for new fans. Besides, the early days of Naruto had relatively few jutsu anyway, with flashy moves like the Windmill Rasengan and the Mangekyo Sharingan coming much later in the story to boost the power levels. The early Naruto episodes actually felt somewhat grounded for a ninja story, with metal knives and shuriken being staples rather than Dragon Ball-caliber jutsu that can level mountains. A Naruto origin story that adapts the Land of Waves arc is the perfect time to play it safe with a stripped-down combat system with these ninjas, with jutsu being the exception rather than the rule.
This means that the live-action Naruto movie could put more emphasis on martial arts, basic weapons, and tricks like tripwires or decoys rather than bashing two powerful jutsu against each other until someone gets blown away. That would not only be accessible for newcomers but might also be refreshing for veteran Naruto fans, more than they might expect. There's simply no substitute for how visceral and real physical combat like martial arts and sword duels can be, no matter how flashy a shonen anime's combat system may be. In this movie, perhaps the simpler jutsu like Zabuza's Hiding in Mist technique and Naruto's signature Shadow Clone jutsu could take center stage, with Kakashi's Lightning Blade making a brief appearance near the end when fighting Haku. That approach would also mean the Naruto live-action franchise is saving something for future installments to keep fans engaged.
The Naruto Movie Should Put Drama and Emotional Resonance First
To varying degrees of success, live-action anime and comic book adaptations try to capture the human part of any story, even if caped superheroes and jutsu are involved. Often, the most popular MCU installments or live-action anime movies are those with strong emotional resonance, with characters having relatable flaws, problems, and dreams. The emotional side adds vital context to why the characters risk their lives to fight the villains rather than live in peaceful civilian life; drama like grief, guilt, and a need for validation can work wonders. That may be why the Spider-Man movies in the MCU are so popular — Peter Parker is a vulnerable, lovable young hero who has lost his Aunt May, sacrificed all his friendships to save the multiverse, and met and lost his father figure and mentor, Tony Stark.
Netflix's One Piece did a fine job with this, including Sanji's tragic shonen flashback with him and Zeff being stranded on that bare rock with limited food, or Nami's unforgettable "Help me" in the Arlong Park arc. Fortunately, the Land of Waves arc and the Naruto anime's first episode provide ample material for hard-hitting drama in any live-action adaptation, from the Leaf Village's cruelty to Naruto Uzumaki to Sakura's insecurity about her strength and Naruto's "talk jutsu" to Zabuza in light of Haku's sacrifice. If such moments are fully fleshed out, well-written, and sharply acted, that will prove that anime fans don't just love Naruto's story for its action and comedy; they watch it to feel something intensely human, and that's what the best movies are always about.
