8 Things Naruto’s Live-Action Movie Must Include To Do The Anime Justice

Summary

The live-action Naruto movie must include iconic sound effects to capture the series’ aesthetic appeal in a new format.
Orochimaru, as one of the Legendary Sannin, is the perfect villain for the film to maintain the series’ tension and stakes.
The chunin exams are crucial for world-building and introducing new audiences to Naruto’s lore in the live-action adaptation.

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Naruto‘s live-action movie will need to include eight crucial details in order to do the anime justice and avoid becoming the next botched anime adaptation. The Naruto live-action movie remains in the early stages of preproduction after nearly 10 years in development hell, but the project’s recent addition of former MCU director, Destin Daniel Cretton, marks a significant development in the film’s production. The Naruto movie remains a long way off, but Cretton joining the project provides some hope that things are moving in the right direction.

Everything from casting Naruto‘s movie to adapting the script will present a challenge, but there are ways to make the iconic anime series work on the big-screen. The movie won’t be getting anywhere near the end of Naruto, so it needs to focus on properly introducing the show’s world and crafting a solid narrative from the events in the show’s first few seasons. Ultimately, there are eight crucial things the Naruto live-action movie needs to include to do justice to the anime, even if it has to make a few changes.

8 The Sound Effects For Naruto’s Techniques

The Unique Sound Effects Are Central To Naruto’s Aesthetic

One obstacle for the Naruto live-action movie to overcome will be translating the iconic sound effects from the anime to a live-action format, but this obstacle must be overcome in order to do the anime justice. The unique sound effects that accompany the various jutsus used in Naruto are a core feature of the show’s overall aesthetic appeal, and they represent one of the most memorable aspects of the series. However, the sounds will likely have to be tweaked to sound right in a live-action film.

Still, the Naruto movie needs to be sure to include some sort of sound effect for the ninja techniques used in the film, or it will be extremely difficult to successfully replicate the anime’s full appeal.

Naruto‘s sound effects are created for anime, and although they are a defining feature of the original series, they wouldn’t fit in the more serious tone of a live-action movie. Still, the Naruto movie needs to be sure to include some sort of sound effect for the ninja techniques used in the film, or it will be extremely difficult to successfully replicate the anime’s full appeal. Sound effects are a key part of any TV show or movie, and the Naruto movie will struggle to feel like the original if it doesn’t imitate its audio style.

7 An Appearance From Orochimaru

Orochimaru Is One Of The Legendary Sannin

One of the best characters in Naruto, Lord Orochimaru, is the strongest villain in the show’s first three seasons, which makes him the perfect antagonist for the live-action movie. Orochimaru is a fascinating and terrifying villain with a complicated past and mysterious intentions, and he quickly becomes the main antagonist of the anime’s first three seasons. Further, his snake-like appearance and visually mesmerizing techniques would translate brilliantly to a live-action film, and his attempt to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village would be the perfect climax for the movie.

Naruto is currently available to stream on Netflix.

It’s also important to consider that the Naruto movie can’t skip very far into the show without missing important exposition for the first-time audiences, and there isn’t another villain early enough in the series who could create satisfactory stakes for a feature film. Granted, the movie could choose to adapt the genin and chunin exams as its main story, but even that would be difficult without including Orochimaru. Ultimately, while there are other villains the Naruto movie could use, Orochimaru is by far the best choice for the role.

6 The Chunin Selection Exams

The Chunin Exams Could Introduce First-Time Fans To Naruto’s World

Another crucial moment early in Naruto that the live-action movie should include is the perilous chunin exams. These exams include a written portion, a squad exercise, a preliminary round of single combat (if too many candidates pass the first two exams), and a final tournament of one-on-one duels. Although the final chunin exam is interrupted by Orochimaru’s attack on the Hidden Leaf Village in the main series, these exams could be the perfect way of introducing the anime’s world to live-action audiences.

In other words, including the chunin exams would allow the Naruto movie to rapidly worldbuild and ensure the portion of the audience unfamiliar with the anime’s lore is still able to understand the movie.

The chunin exams include dozens of ninjas from various nations and clans, which would provide the movie with ample opportunity to introduce different forms of jutsu. The more the Naruto movie is able to explain jutsu and chakra to the audience, the more in depth the adaptation can go. In other words, including the chunin exams would allow the Naruto movie to rapidly worldbuild and ensure the portion of the audience unfamiliar with the anime’s lore is still able to understand the movie.

5 The Comedic Side Of The Anime

Naruto’s Comedy Is Foundational To The Franchise

The live-action Naruto movie also needs to be sure to include the comedic side of the anime that helped make the series so popular in the first place. Naruto‘s action and drama are core aspects of the show as well, but without the characteristic humor to cut the tension or lighten the mood, the story would seem a lot darker. If the live-action Naruto movie is going to successfully recreate the dynamic of the anime, it can’t afford to make its tone too dark, and comedy is the easiest way to avoid that.

Comedy is also a key aspect of Naruto’s personality, and it goes without saying that a film can’t accurately adapt a story without accurately adapting the main protagonist.

So, besides the fact that including comedy will make the Naruto movie for faithful, it will also help it avoid misrepresenting the tone of the source material. Comedy is also a key aspect of Naruto’s personality, and it goes without saying that a film can’t accurately adapt a story without accurately adapting the main protagonist. With that in mind, it would be difficult for the Naruto movie to properly adapt the characters without including some humor as well.

4 Increased Agency For Sakura

Sakura Spends Too Much Time Spectating In The Anime

The one thing the Naruto live-action movie needs to include that the anime drops the ball on is agency for Sakura. In the main series, Sakura often ends up spectating as Naruto and Sasuke take down whatever fresh threat is after them. She is often made out as helpless despite being a high-level ninja herself, and this type of representation is outdated in today’s cultural environment. With that in mind, the Naruto movie must make Sakura more independent and more involved in events.

Further, the movie could adapt Sakura’s dramatic duel with Ino in the preliminary for the third exam, which is one of Sakura’s most impressive fighting displays in the early seasons of Naruto.

If the Naruto movie ends up adapting the chunin exams, giving Sakura a more prominent role in the team exercise would be relatively easy. Further, the movie could adapt Sakura’s dramatic duel with Ino in the preliminary for the third exam, which is one of Sakura’s most impressive fighting displays in the early seasons of Naruto. There are plenty of ways the Naruto movie could increase Sakura’s agency compared to the main series, but the important thing is simply that it’s done somehow.

3 Naruto’s Technique Explanations In Combat

Combatants Typically Explain Their Moves For The Audience’s Sake

One part of Naruto that will be difficult but needs to be done nonetheless, is including the explanations of techniques in combat. Not only is this an iconic part of the original show, it also helps the audience understand the various jutsus being used and learn more about the world in every fight. In a lot of Naruto‘s fight scenes, things either happen too quickly to see, or something done off-screen adds dramatic tension to the fight. This allows for unexpected outcomes that wouldn’t make sense without a post-technique explanation.

This strategy keeps a high level of unpredictability in Naruto‘s fight scenes, which would go a long way in the movie.

This strategy keeps a high level of unpredictability in Naruto‘s fight scenes, which would go a long way in the movie. Further, it will be difficult for people to understand how the techniques being used work if there isn’t an explanation provided by a combatant or spectator. Lastly, the battle scene flashbacks and in-fight technique explanations are a defining trait of the original series, and without them, the Naruto movie would struggle to replicate the anime’s combat style.

2 Naruto’s Stylized Action Sequences

The Naruto Movie Shouldn’t Focus On Realism

Naruto‘s action sequences are highly stylized to emphasize spectacle, and while they defy physics in the real world, the live-action movie should still imitate them. It would be a mistake for the Naruto live-action movie to focus too much on making the action sequences realistic because, although believability is a factor, realism is not the ultimate goal of the anime’s action sequences. The anime’s action sequences purposefully defy physics to raise the spectacle and create a level of awe in the audience.

The movie doesn’t need to have egregiously illogical action scenes, but it must stretch the limits and create something that feels as spectacular as the anime.

The Naruto movie might not be able to have people effortlessly hanging in the air quite as much as the anime, but it needs to employ some slightly exaggerated acrobatics and test the limits of the audience’s suspension of disbelief. The movie doesn’t need to have egregiously illogical action scenes, but it must stretch the limits and create something that feels as spectacular as the anime. Naturally, the action sequences will change when they’re adapted for live-action, but they should closely resemble the main series’.

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1 Naruto’s Iconic Catchphrase

Naruto Is Known For Saying “Believe It!”

Naruto’s iconic catchphrase, “Believe it,” might be somewhat divisive in the fandom, but it’s hard to imagine a live-action Naruto movie without it. The catchphrase has no direct translation from Japanese to English, so while “believe it” is not a perfect translation, it has become an inextricable part of the series for English-speaking audiences. Further, while some fans might prefer the manga’s strategy of not including the catchphrase at all, there are more fans who are familiar with the anime and will expect Naruto’s signature line.

Naruto’s catchphrase in Japanese is “dattebayo,” which very roughly translates to something like, “it’s like I said.”

It’s also significant that this catchphrase fits Naruto’s character fairly well, as it perfectly conveys his projected sense of confidence. Naruto often struggles with his identity and self-esteem, and he copes with it by outwardly displaying false confidence, which eventually becomes real when Naruto reaches a certain level. With that in mind, even though the Naruto catchphrase is somewhat divisive, it has become too important to the franchise for it not to appear in the live-action film adaptation of the series.

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Director Destin Daniel Cretton Studio(s) Arad Productions , Hisako Distributor(s) Lionsgate