Naruto Shippuuden 4: The Lost Tower – Review

Do people still watch Naruto? Talk about a long ongoing series…nonetheless I’ve kept up with it and I still find enjoyment out of it. The Lost Tower, is the fourth film in the Naruto Shippuden series,  and it follows the team as they are on a mission to capture Makade who is a missing nin. Mukade’s goal is revealed to be a dormant leyline within the ruins; he unleashes the power of the leyline, causing a light to envelop Naruto, sending him into the past, 20 years before the series began. When Naruto awakens, he comes into contact with the Fourth Hokage, His father, Minato Namikaze. I’ll cut to the chase, the film is decent but many fans will be expecting more. It would be nice if manga came out with a naruto movie based on the storyline of the on going shippuden series.

Admittedly, there were a few things I didnt understand, but if the movie was synced with the manga and episodes that are shown weekly, i’m not sure actually where this would fit in considering where Naruto’s skill level is in this movie. That said, I think filler arcs are probably best when they have a good script and are standalone. Still, I loved the excitement of Naruto and his dad and others fighting along side each other.

Director Masahiko Murata unfortunately doesn’t throw any surprises at us. Naruto saved the day with a rasengan…again….SURPRISE!  Also, a young Kakashi Hatake appears in this film. His voice, however, is drastically different from that of his anime counterpart. When it comes to The Lost Tower,  watching it felt like one big filler filled higher budget episode, which puts me off. The stroyline had a lot of potential having naruto travel the past. But it uses none of its potential. I suppose the most lacking was the action. Too much use of just Shadow Clones and Rasengans meaninglessly. The fights were not entertaining.

Along with this film, a comical short feature named Naruto Shippūden: Naruto, The Genie, and The Three Wishes was included. It is a waste of time as well. A rather sad fate Naruto films have gone and hopefully fans will get some sort of redemption in the future. I can’t recommend this anime but Naruto fans will probably watch this just to be completists. Some internet rumors indicate that Masashi Kishimoto died in the tsunami and this will be the last movie of Naruto Shippuuden… but we won’t really know if we don’t wait, right?