The Story of The Last: Naruto the Movie
The Last: Naruto the Movie picks up two years after the Fourth Great Ninja War, a period of relative peace that doesn't last long. The moon—created eons ago by Hagoromo Otsutsuki to seal away a catastrophic threat—begins its descent toward Earth. What starts as a distant astronomical problem becomes an immediate existential crisis when Toneri Otsutsuki, a direct descendant of the ancient Kaguya clan, emerges with his own agenda. He initially targets Hinata Hyuga for reasons tied to his heritage and ambitions, but instead ends up kidnapping her younger sister Hanabi. This sets off a desperate rescue mission that spirals into something far larger: a final confrontation that will determine whether the world survives what's coming.
Naruto and his companions don't hesitate. They're older now, more seasoned—but the stakes have never been higher. What begins as a straightforward extraction mission transforms into something more mythic, touching on themes of destiny, sacrifice, and the bonds that hold a fractured world together. The film doesn't shy away from the romantic undercurrents that've always simmered beneath the series, either, making this more than just another martial arts spectacle.
Behind the Making of The Last: Naruto the Movie
The Last: Naruto the Movie arrived in 2014 as the tenth feature film in the Naruto franchise, directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi and produced by a powerhouse coalition including Studio Pierrot, Aniplex, Bandai Visual, and Shueisha. The voice cast brought considerable pedigree to the project—Junko Takeuchi reprising her iconic role as Naruto, alongside Nana Mizuki (Hinata), Chie Nakamura (Sakura), and other seasoned anime veterans. The film's 114-minute runtime gave the production genuine breathing room to develop its narrative beyond the usual feature-film constraints.
Boxoffice-wise, the film pulled in $524,451, a respectable haul for a theatrical anime release in 2014 (though anime films operated in a different commercial ecosystem than live-action blockbusters). The MPAA rating of TV-14 positioned it as accessible to the franchise's core younger demographic while maintaining the action intensity longtime fans expected. The film earned three award nominations, recognition that validated its ambitions beyond being a simple cash-grab sequel. What's striking is how the production managed to balance fan service—callbacks to the series' mythology, character arcs that mattered to invested viewers—with the technical demands of a feature-length martial arts anime. That's harder than it sounds. Studios often sacrifice one for the other, but Pierrot didn't take that shortcut here.
What Makes The Last: Naruto the Movie Stand Out
I keep coming back to the film's willingness to blend action spectacle with genuine emotional weight. The martial arts sequences—and there are plenty of them—aren't just kinetic filler. They're tied to character stakes and personal histories that the series had spent over a decade building. When Naruto fights, it means something, because we know what he's fighting for and what he's fighting against.
The romantic subplot, which could've felt tacked-on or melodramatic in lesser hands, actually anchors the emotional core of the entire film. It's not a distraction from the action; it's what makes the action matter. The voice performances—particularly Takeuchi's raw intensity as Naruto and Mizuki's measured vulnerability as Hinata—sell moments that could've landed as pure anime melodrama. Instead, they feel earned, grounded in the character development that preceded this film.
What's also noteworthy is how the film handles its villain. Toneri isn't just a generic world-ending threat. He's a character with his own tragic history, his own claim to legitimacy, which complicates the moral landscape in ways that elevate the material beyond shounen formula. The animation quality throughout is consistently strong—Studio Pierrot brought genuine care to the visual composition, and the moon-descent sequences carry real visual dread. Hard to say if every anime fan agrees on the film's execution, but the IMDb rating of 7.6 out of 10 (based on nearly 20,000 votes) suggests it found its audience and held it.
Where to Stream The Last: Naruto the Movie Online
Finding The Last: Naruto the Movie is straightforward thanks to its availability across major OTT services. The film's streaming presence has expanded considerably since its theatrical release, making it accessible to both longtime Naruto devotees and newcomers curious about the franchise. You'll want to check the Where to Watch widget at the top of this page for the most current availability in your region, since streaming rights shift seasonally. If you're tracking where anime films live these days, Movie OTT keeps tabs on which platforms carry which titles—it's genuinely useful if you're juggling multiple subscriptions and don't want to hunt blindly. The film's TV-14 rating means it's generally available without the licensing complications that sometimes plague mature anime content, which helps explain its broad streaming distribution.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is The Last: Naruto the Movie a sequel or standalone film?
It's a sequel set within the Naruto timeline, specifically two years after the Fourth Great Ninja War in the Naruto Shippuden series. You don't need to have watched every episode to follow the plot, but longtime fans will get more out of the character relationships and callbacks.
Q: Who directed The Last: Naruto the Movie?
Tsuneo Kobayashi directed the film, working with Studio Pierrot and a production team that included Aniplex, Bandai Visual, and other major anime studios. The direction balances action sequences with emotional character moments effectively.
Q: What's the runtime, and is it worth the watch?
The film runs 114 minutes, giving it substantial time to develop its story and action set pieces. With a 7.6 IMDb rating from nearly 20,000 votes, it's generally well-regarded by the fanbase.
Q: What age rating does The Last: Naruto the Movie have?
The film is rated TV-14, making it appropriate for teenagers and up. It contains martial arts action and some intense sequences but no graphic violence or mature content.
Q: How does this film fit into the broader Naruto franchise?
It's the tenth Naruto film and serves as a major story moment for the franchise. It's based on Masashi Kishimoto's original manga and anime, and it bridges important character arcs that matter to the overall series narrative.
Final Thoughts on The Last: Naruto the Movie
The Last: Naruto the Movie works because it understands what made the Naruto franchise resonate in the first place—the combination of martial arts spectacle, character-driven storytelling, and genuine emotional stakes. It's not a perfect film, and it won't convert skeptics who've never clicked with the series. But for fans and for anime enthusiasts looking for a solid action-romance hybrid with real production values, it delivers. The falling moon might sound like a gimmick, but it's the backdrop for something more intimate and human. That's the sweet spot this film finds, and it's why it's still worth your time over a decade later.
