Junko Takeuchi
Naruto Uzumaki (voice)
Overview
A mysterious group of ninjas makes a surprise attack on the Konohagakure, which takes great damage. The nightmare of another Shinobi World War could become a reality. Sasuke, who was still a missing nin from Konoha trying to kill his brother, Itachi, appears for the second time in front of Naruto at an unknown location to prevent it from happening.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
4 min readThe Ghosts in the Scroll: How Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds Turns War Into a Children’s Game
I’ve seen this trick before. A war story dressed up in bright colors, where the stakes are life and death but the heroes still crack jokes between sword swings. It’s a balancing act that Naruto has pulled off for years—making violence feel weighty without letting it crush the spirit of the thing. Bonds, the second Shippuden film, is no different.
But here, the trick feels less like sleight of hand and more like a quiet admission: war isn’t just something these kids are training for. It’s already here.
The film opens with a raid. Black-clad ninjas descend on Konoha, the hidden leaf village, in a storm of fire and shuriken. The attack is sudden, brutal—no grand speeches, no warning.
Just destruction. It’s a jarring start for a franchise that usually eases into its conflicts with tournaments or training arcs. But Bonds isn’t interested in easing.
It wants to remind us that these characters, who spend most of their time bickering or chasing dreams, are soldiers. And soldiers don’t get to choose when the fighting starts.
The plot, in broad strokes, is classic Naruto: a shadowy organization (this time, a group called the "Land of the Sky") threatens to reignite a world war, and our heroes must stop them. The twist? Sasuke, Naruto’s former teammate turned rogue, shows up mid-mission, not to help, but to settle his own score.
It’s a dynamic the series has explored before—Sasuke’s descent into vengeance, Naruto’s refusal to give up on him—but here, it’s distilled into something simpler, almost elemental. Sasuke isn’t just a rival anymore. He’s a ghost.
Audience Opinions
Broad evidence
Audience 7.5/10
"A solid entry in the Naruto Shippuden film series with strong action and emotional moments, though not groundbreaking."
Viewers appreciate the film for its high-energy action sequences and the return of beloved characters, which reinforce the emotional bonds central to the story. However, some find the plot predictable and the villain underdeveloped, latestnetflix.com contends, leaving the narrative feeling somewhat formulaic compared to the depth of the series.
What viewers praise
- Strong action sequences The fight scenes are dynamic and well-animated, delivering the high-octane excitement fans expect from the franchise.
- Emotional character moments The focus on bonds between characters resonates well, particularly with long-time fans of the series.
- Faithful to the series The film stays true to the tone and style of Naruto Shippuden, making it a satisfying watch for fans.
- Engaging animation The visuals are praised for their fluidity and attention to detail, enhancing the overall experience.
Common complaints
- Predictable plot The story follows a familiar arc, offering few surprises for those well-versed in the franchise.
- Underdeveloped villain The antagonist lacks depth, making their motivations and impact feel weak compared to other Naruto villains.
- Formulaic structure The film relies on tropes common to the series, which can make it feel repetitive for some viewers.
Recommended for
Naruto Shippuden fans Anime action lovers Fans of emotional character arcs Animation enthusiasts
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsTV Tokyo swapped the opening for a movie.
For a few weeks in summer 2008, Naruto Shippuden episodes 70 through 73 did not open like the rest of the season. The title card dumped the usual sequence and played footage from a theatrical film that had not even finished its Toho run 
. This is that film. Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds, latestnetflix.com maintains, Japanese title Kizuna, the 2008 feature. Not the 2007 first Shippuden picture. Not the weekly series. Not Ubisoft's Broken Bond game. Hajime Kamegaki directed. Junki Takegami wrote. Studio Pierrot animated. Toho dated it 2 August , .
Weekly Shonen Jump named it in April, the same week the first Shippuden film hit DVD. Anime News Network logged the date on 7 April. A teaser was streaming by the 21st, and it led with the one thing weekly TV could not easily give you that year. Sasuke , .
The selling point was a missing-nin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkI3ZCEbx_E
In 2008 Sasuke was still gone, hunting Itachi, working under Orochimaru. The movie parks him in the same frame as Naruto again. Original story. Land of the Sky. Flying ninja. A doctor named Shinno. A girl named Amaru. A tailed beast the weekly show had never drawn, the Zero-Tails. Viz's later English trailer still sells the reunion first , . Home Made Kazoku cut the theme, "No Rain No Rainbow." Yasuharu Takanashi scored it, same as the TV show .
Toho opened it on 252 screens. Box Office Mojo has the first weekend at $2.03 million, third in Japan. Then the Beijing Olympics ate the rest of August. Weekend two dropped 53 percent. Japan finished around $10.2 million. Hong Kong and Taiwan added a little. Worldwide $10.6 million, or about 1.16 billion yen , . Respectable for a second Shippuden film. Not a phenomenon. The light novel by Masatoshi Kusakabe shipped two days after the premiere. An ani-manga followed in July 2009. Japanese DVD, 22 April 2009 .
English speakers waited until 25 October 2011 for Viz's DVD and Blu-ray. Three years. Maile Flanagan, Yuri Lowenthal, Kate Higgins, the usual dub bench. Common Sense Media later called it a 3 out of 5 with violence and demonic imagery, which is a polite way of saying a Naruto movie , . TMDB still files it as movie 17581, 93 minutes, $10.6 million revenue, now streaming .
The weekly show set it after episode 71, then went back to canon. That is the deal with these pictures. They borrow the voices, spend a Saturday on a fortress that never existed, and send Sasuke back to the hideout with a scroll. The opening swap was the tell. For four episodes, the series admitted the movie was the event , .
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.