Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2011

Naruto is one of the most successful manga/anime franchises in Japan. Started as a print manga serial in 1999, the popular adventures, about a teenage ninja who fights injustice, have sold over 100 million copies. The story was reworked into a TV anime series in 2002, with the sequel, Naruto Shippuden, beginning in 2007. A film series began in 2004, with a feature released every year since then. Generally Naruto has a team of young ninjas who work with him, who use their magic marital abilities to do battle with baddies in every possible way. The present, eighth, offering however, has Naruto acting solo for much of it. That’s because he’s been falsely accused of trying to murder a ninja leader and sent to the harsh dungeon of the title. The prison’s warden is the menacing Mui, who steals power from inmates. The graphics seem to be put together from the advancements of the last 15 years and the evil monster in the final scene is all spine, wings and fangs. This is only for kids well into the idiom. There’s also a 15-minute Naruto short at the beginning, giving the whole project the feel of a ’50s double feature. (100 min)