Does Naruto Die In The Shippuden Movie?

Last 2007, the makers of the anime, Naruto, released a set of trailers concerning the First Naruto Shippuden Movie which is also the fourth in the series of Naruto movies. The trailers and the advertisements were all fraught with hints - some subtle, some blatant - about Naruto's apparent "death". The trailers were all dramatic - even heart-wrenching. The trailers first show Naruto fighting against some enemies, and then he dies with his headband torn and his body battered, and then, the Konoha ninja are shown to be gathered around a grave with the torn headband hanging on the side.

That trailer shocked Naruto fans all over the world. It created an uproar. Overnight, the internet was flooded with questions about the new movie. So many fans were asking whether or not Naruto does die.

That trailer was something of a phenomenon. You really had to see it to believe it. Because, really, can you honestly, after watching the whole anime, believe that Naruto would die - in a movie, no less? Of course not! The idea was just plain laughable. You just don't kill off the greatest and most loveable protagonist since Son Goku... It's almost immoral to do so!

But then there it was - the trailer - irrevocable proof from the makers of the anime themselves - that Naruto, Konoha's Hokage-to-be, was going to die. It was clear as day and written in blaring letters that "Naruto Dies!". It was unbelievable but it was official - Naruto. In the fourth movie, would die!

Or so we thought...

How could the Anime Naruto episodes end when the manga itself doesn't even seem to be nearing the end? How could the anime end with so many unresolved issues? How could the story go on without its main character dead?

The answer: It can't.

The 'Naruto Dies' thing was just an advertising trick to rope people into the cinemas. The death scene, including the funeral scene, was just a vision of a miko named Shion. She predicts Naruto's death through a dream, and since all her previous predictions were correct, then it follows that this one would also be true - unless Naruto gives up on his job to protect her and leaves for a safe place, of course. But then again, this is Naruto we're talking about, and he doesn't give up, "Believe it!". So, he challenges fate and stays to protect Shion despite the deep sense of foreboding. And, surprise surprise, he wins against fate and survives, killing off the evil villain with another rendition of the rasengan along the way. You could smell the plot's ending a mile away - or in this case, while the opening credits were rolling and those death scenes we've seen on the trailers were all laid out before we could even reach the second half of the movie.

This movie, with the interesting but misleading trailer, follows the pattern of the previous movies - a scarcity of originality and a surplus of fight scenes. It has the quintessential 'character-to-be-protected' with the sad past, the parallelism to Naruto's own life, the obligatory jokes and insults, and the super-evil villain who has a grudge against the world. The DVD comes out in April of 2008, and the subs should follow 2 weeks or so after the release of the DVD. It's not the best movie in the world, but it's still Naruto in his new Shippuden look series and Naruto is always entertaining no matter what he does. The fight scenes should be worth a look as the animators does seem to spent quite a bit of time detailing them, anyway.