Geek It! Naruto Tribute: The Official Yet Unofficial Farewell of Naruto the anime

Two years ago on November 10th (2014), we farewelled Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto manga. Now, we must officially yet unofficially say goodbye to the anime. Naruto‘s canon story, that is.

Since October 22, 2002, Naruto the anime has become a significant part of our lives. Through the good and bad times, the anime has made us laugh, smile, cry, and cheer in euphoria. After watching 220 episodes of the original Naruto series, 479 episodes of Naruto Shippuden series, 11 Naruto movies and OVAs, it is sad to see Naruto‘s canon story ending for once and all.

Unlike the manga that offers the story in black and white, the anime, on the other hand, is special in its unique way. From its glorious OST soundtracks to the animation to the cast members, the team behind the anime has done a fantastic job in translating the manga material to the anime. In our eyes, Naruto the anime is the epitome of what a shonen anime should be, and this is evident by its worldwide popularity and success.

One of the biggest debates about Naruto is the inclusion of fillers throughout the 14-year-period. Quite contrary to most Naruto fans’ opinions, we personally believe the filler episodes add further depth to the series in its own creative way. Whether the fillers were utilised as a way to kill time and/or to show characters’ development, the fillers deserve some form of credit — even if they can be daunting at times.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank all of Naruto screenwriters, animators, music composers, voice actors, producers and directors. Thank you for being part of Kishimoto-sensei’s world, and thank you for creating a phenomenal anime based on Kishimoto’s masterpiece. 

But of course, just because this marks the end of Naruto‘s canon story doesn’t necessarily mean it is the end for Naruto. As expected of Studio Pierrot, various fillers will be produced to create further (endless) stories about Naruto and his friends. Bless you Studio Pierrot and their fillers! 

Don’t worry — they aren’t all unnecessary fillers. It has been reported that the Naruto Shinden novels will be adapted into anime, featuring post-war stories from Shikamaru, Sakura, and Kakashi’s perspective. Who knows …maybe we’ll see Boruto the anime one day!

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