#Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

[roseillith]

[shizukais]

[a-polani]

ninja clash in the land of snow is my favourite naruto movie for many reasons but the most important one is because no character trope is funnier and more iconic than a grown ass woman who has absolutely zero qualms about beefing with little kids

[froggie-bolt]

Found this cool Naruto bag at the comic book store!! Omg!

[emeraldlupin]

Why Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is a Good Movie

I've said a lot in my essays and on here, and I will continue to say a lot, about how many of the Naruto and Shippuden movies are terrible. But I'm not hating on all of them. There are a few that really hold up.

The first movie, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, is one of those few.

Let's go over why it works.

For one, it's early in the timeline and Team Seven hasn't broken up. That's always nice. For two, it shows the team working together, shows off Sasuke's talents with things other than his Sharingan, and also shows off Sakura's skills, too. Not anything super flashy, but it's there. That's another plus.

The movie even shows a little bit of genuine teamwork between Sasuke and Sakura against the Snow ninja. No "you're annoying, Sakura." No fawning from her. No leaving her on the backburner like in the Hidden Waterfall OVA.

Seriously, it's at the 1 hour and 7 minute mark. Sasuke asks Sakura how close the enemy ninja are, she gives him and answer, and even where to aim. He sets up a wire trap, Sakura uses explosive tags to take down one enemy and blow the one who is gliding right into the trap. The two of them are working together like a real team.

Maybe I'm forgetting something, but as far as I can remember, those two working together like that in a combat situation is really rare. Simple, but effective.

In this movie, Fire Country has a film industry. We also see examples of high technology like cars and trains and even kunai Gatling guns. And is this story breaking?

No.

The kunai Gatling gun is odd, but it's a way to keep to the "no firearms" rule and also get creative. I like it. Sure, it doesn't appear outside the movie, but that can just mean it's not a common weapon, and that's fine. The existence of trains is odd, but it is confined to the country and it just furthers the debate on the development of technology in this world.

And there is a discussion to be had on technology. I'll be doing something on that one of these days. The series has already show the existence of power lines and vending machines right off the bat, if I am remembering right, not to mention wearable radios. The Chunin Exams had VHS tapes.

I will give you one thing, the existence of cars is strange. Those cars were used by the Fire Country film crew, and cars are a technological leap that comes after trains. So...maybe that one can be mentally edited out.

Ultimately, the cars are a very small detail and doesn't hurt the movie too much. While they're used to travel around the Land of Snow, the use of cars isn't actually plot critical. It's when the mistakes in a story start piling up that it becomes harder to overlook the smaller stuff, or when the mistakes are really big.

It might have been better if the vehicles were provided by the Land of Snow or something. I think there might have been a novelization of the movie, but if there was, it was never released outside Japan or translated by fans. Annoying.

What about Doto not finding Koyuki for ten (actually 14, but whatever) years, despite her being a big actress? I don't think it's an issue. She was a little girl when she was rescued, and when I did my timeline, I didn't have her start her acting career until she was 16. She had to have been 20 at the time of the movie, minimum, and it's possible that nobody in the Land of Snow was watching her movies.

So, no, that's not really a plothole.

The director wanting to keep filming despite the danger? It is pretty nuts, but it only establishes his character, and he doesn't come off like some heartless jerk.

Koyuki's depression and hopelessness? No, that's not a problem. For what she's been through, it makes total sense. Her expression "there is no spring in the Land of Snow," is taken as literal, and that's ridiculous, but we can re-interpret that as metaphorical. It's not too big an issue.

Kakashi duplicating Ice Release? A plot hole now, yes. However, Ice Release hadn't been established as a kekkei genkai yet, so we can forgive that.

So...why does this movie work?

The plot, while fairly straightforward and while not carrying any big or complex themes, is solid as steel.

And yes, there are engaging fights present in this movie, too. But do not let that be the only measuring stick for this movie or the series. Fights without working context aren't worth much, something films like Batman v. Superman have proved quite firmly in more recent years. We don't get into series like this for the fights. We get into them because we became emotionally invested in the characters. Actions scenes are a bonus, not the end all.

In this film, the characters are all acting in character. The motivations make sense. Nobody is being egregiously stupid or awful in a way that hurts the narrative. Team Seven is acting more like the team you'd wanted them to be. Yes, the worldbuilding has a few little blemishes, but nothing too destructive.

Why most of the other films couldn't be that well put together, I don't know. But this one definitely was.

[inosukz]

KAKASHI VS NADARE — ✦ NARUTO The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

[scarecrowofthefields]

sotf surveys - Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

Yo, welcome to a series about my reactions to the Naruto movies and OVAs. Today we will be reviewing Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (legit thought about doing this right after I finished the movie while having dinner lol)

I had previously watched Naruto Movie 1 when I was younger so this was more of a refresher to me. I remember a few major details but the rest were cloudy so I had a few surprises which was exciting, this is the benefit of rewatching something you've seen ages ago and become encapsulated with it all over again. Let's get into it:

OH MAN, you can definitely tell this was movie quality animation. I did not notice how well it was animated when I was younger, they really used up the budget well. Animated shows like to cut corners when it comes to animating to save both time and money which can make the animation feel stale. BUT THIS OUGH, you can see the overshoots and the anticipation in the characters' movements which adds more to their personality, specifically Naruto and Sakura who are outwardly expressive.

SPEAKING OF EXPRESSIONS

FINALLY I KNOW THE CONTEXT OF THIS IMAGE, I've seen it around before but wasn't sure where it was from.

An example of animation that display's Sakura's personality is in a scene 11 minutes into the movie where Team 7 (minus Naruto) gets a debrief on their mission with the film team.

Just for those 7 seconds we see how interested and excited Sakura is being in a movie studio. If it were set on the show I feel like she would only look over her shoulder and that would be it. In movie form we get a bit extra, not just looking over her should but she's innocently rocking back and forth. In addition, we have some background characters moving around which makes the space feel alive.

Another thing to note is the fluid motion of a character or scene being carried over from one frame to the next also the physical weight of their actions.

My favorite example of this is Yukie getting drunk in a small bar, you can see in both her and the other patron are clearly drunk and it's not because of the sake present. Yukie would slosh around, jerk forward suddenly, and have a heavy hand. When Sandayuu and Sakura burst in you can see the weight of their movements as well.

I'm also a sucker for sound quality and the use of foley sounds in movies ever since I learned about it in school. The sounds in Naruto Movie 1 are DELICIOUS. I'm fortunate to have access to a surround sound software also the website I'm using to watch the movie still contains the original sound file so, audibly, it feels like I am in a physical movie theater.

Interestingly, noticed a few scenes used dolly zoom. Not much to comment about it, very neutral about it.

Ma ma, enough with the technicalities, let's get into the plot-

"I guess it can't be helped." KAKASHI!?!? STRAIGHT UP WHIPS OUT THE SHARINGAN JUST TO PUT YUKIE UNDER A GENJUTSU. LIKE I GET IT, GOTTA MOVE HER ALONG NO SENSE IN BICKERING, BUT LMAO

Baby Koyuki and her father :(( the whole dream/flashback was adorable, even if it was short-lived.

Time to be a little Kakashi-biased, mainly the voice acting teehee. I'd like to note that I'm watching this in sub so Kazuhiko Inoue I am all ears. This is the scene where the filming gets interrupted by the villains, Kakashi springs into action, with a quick and commanding voice directs Team 7 to protect the now revealed princess, Koyuki.

If only y'all can hear this gif

Not the villains boasting about their literal plot armor to our protagonists.

Good job Sakura on doing what you're suppose to be doing! Protecting Koyuki-sama. Naruto ran straight towards one of the antagonists, though to be fair Sasuke was defending himself against the female antagonist. For theatrics sake makes sense, you gotta have a fight scene yknow.

I need to remember the movies aren't canon- Kakashi copying Ice-Style? Not possible since it's known as a kekki genkai, though for the sake of the plot and theatrics Kakashi's allowed to use Ice-Style lol.

ANBU KAKASHI SPOTTED IN FLASHBACK

"I, Sandayuu, will protect you with my life!" My pattern recognition senses are tingling...

Gonna dip back into some technicals again for a moment:

One of my favorite tropes in shows and movies is the involvement of the behind the scenes team present on stage, regardless if it's the camera crew, the animation crew, the production crew, etc. It's a funny gag, letting the audience know how hard these people work to produce their shows and movies. In Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is no different where they show the type of work they put in setting up the scene with backdrops and props, ensuring the actors are in costume and make-up, and the final touch is the lights, mic, and camera are a go before calling action. The movie takes it a step further and shows us how far the director is willing to go to produce the final chapter of their movie series, it's also a chance of a lifetime.

I WAS RIGHT- BUT HOLY FUCK WAS THAT OVERKILL. RIP Sandayuu

I love the initial exchange in dialogue between Koyuki and Naruto during the prison scene,

"Well deserved." "You too."

MORE BABY KOYUKI AND HER DAD FLASHBACK

"Everyone seems to forget, I'm an actress." Ngl, thought Koyuki was under a genjutsu at first, then she double played me by stabbing Dotou. She really is an actress, go off girl

Sakura and Sasuke showing off their clever battle tactics??? A really impressive scene with their skills as shinobi; using their environment to their advantage, great use of ninja tools, great use of taijutsu too, and lastly they figured out how to destroy the chakra armor.

"Even if ninjutsu and genjutsu don't work on you, a shinobi still has taijutsu." The essential Shinobi Battle Skills!!!

A common trend with the first movie and the following Naruto movies, the main villain is always defeated with a rasengan variant, with Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow it's a 7 color chakra rasengan, or "rainbow rasengan". I find the variants really cool, though the trend to be silly /pos

baby Koyuki and her father memory? NO, baby Koyuki and her father projection!!! Legit thought she was having another flashback.

MY MAN KAKASHI JUST FOUND OUT ICHA ICHA PARADISE IS GETTING A MOVIE ADAPTION AND KOYUKI IS STARRING IN IT

Like any marvel movie, if you stick around until the very end the animation crew shows their gratitude towards the audience by thanking them which I really like especially since this is the first Naruto movie so they worked really hard on this and I appreciate their efforts.

[yuki119]

Crying screaming throwing up over Gaara

(((That vest that damn vest!!! 😮‍💨)))

Imma fight Naruto for him

He said gotta break out the gucci vest for when Naruto shows up again

[groundrunner100]

Be sure to reblog your reason for your vote!

[lecliss]

Why tye fuck am I crying over ninja clash in the land of snow???? I fucking love this movie so much. It's sooooo fucking good. It's definitely my favorite and it was only the first ever Naruto movie. Can you believe they peaked at the first fucking one??? Why is it so good??? Fuck man aaaaaa

[roseillith]

[scarecrowofthefields]

Gonna write this all here because if I keep writing it in tags my message will be lost:

Atm I find Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow to be my favorite, but I really enjoy finding rants/analyses like these that challenges a piece of media, specifically this movie, opens the mind kind of thing. Yes, I love the movie, though I do not think it's perfect, the post above is a reason why I think that.

I do agree it was wrong for both the film crew AND team 7 to push Koyuki to reclaim her country after enduring heavy trauma in her childhood. Though if you look at her behavior at the beginning of the movie she is withdrawn, cruel, and lost the spark of life. She is still harboring her trauma, constantly running away and playing a part to fill the life she claims she does not have. Everyone responds to their trauma in their own way, for Koyuki was to turn cold and bitter (LIKE WINTER GET IT??) she's basically a living corpse going through the motions. The purpose of the movie was to give Koyuki purpose and life again (not life as Queen but a reason to enjoy life). If Koyuki was satisfied as an actress and was forced to become a Queen of her home country, then I would have a much more serious problem with this movie

I also remember it's a movie that isn't entirely canon to the show. Typically in movies they try to push a message to their audience before their allotted 90 minutes are up. In Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is to never give up.

I rewatched the first Naruto movie recently (Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow) because Blind Wave was reacting to it. And while I do still think it’s a really good movie– it’s held up really well compared to how many forgettable ones followed it– it left me with sort of a weird feeling this time around…

Like, I know they’re our heroes… But who were any of these people to have the right to try and force Koyuki to go back and be the princess of her homeland if that’s not what she wanted? 

They literally kidnapped her to get her there. 

Naruto tries to shame her into it because seeing her reclaim the throne is what Sandayu’s dreamed of for so long…. Like, Naruto sympathizes with that aspect– the dream. But what gives him the right for his dream to dictate what she does with her life? At least, what gives him the right to try and enforce that? 

And then Naruto’s totally condescending line about how she was running from her fate? Get out of here with that bullshit. It was not that long ago–from the point in the series when this movie was made– that Neji was one of the main antagonists, and everyone was railing against his views on not being able to fight your destiny. It is just plain out of character to hear Naruto spewing that kind of shit.

Like, I’m glad she came around and moved past her past trauma… But the way they got her there just… doesn’t feel great.

[skjam]

September Challenge Movies Poll

[kakashihasibs]

Okay so my official ranking of the naruto movies now that i have seen all of them:

Guardians Of The Crescent Moon Kingdom - a solid made-for-TV movie. Enjoyable. Loved the summer outfits. Loved seeing kakashi not give a shit. Fun time.

The Will Of Fire - Kakashi is a big dumb idiot and i love him. He needs to be dragged back home by the ear.

Ninja Clash In The Land Of Snow - honestly probably should be number 2 but i had to make a decision. Excellent fun movie. They wont let the poor actress lady quit her damn job and it's 100% bc Kakashi doesn't know you can quit a job.

Blood Prison - even with the weird sorta transphobia and cavity search this one is still weirdly enjoyable? I have no excuse. I should hate it more than i do.

The Lost Tower - time travel! Grumpy baby kakashi! Father son angst! Enjoyable! Cool creepy villain idea with replacing a whole city of people with puppets. Yamato is in it!

Naruto Shippuden The Movie - an okay movie. Rock lee had a good fight in it and the priestess lady asked naruto to make a baby with her at the end which Kakashi witnessed which made me laugh. I enjoy seeing kakashi astral project into a different dimension to escape uncomfortable situations.

Road To Ninja - gave us menma which was silly and fun. Got to see obito being an extra bitch which is also silly and fun.

Bonds - not a bad movie over-all but Naruto did encourage the like 13 year old girl to confess her love for her (evil) 60 year old teacher??? Loses a lot of points for that.

Legend Of The Stone Of Gelel - okay so i know i have seen this one twice but I can't remember /anything/ from it. It's just a blank to me. So must have been boring. Probably not bad but definitely not good either.

The Last - it's not good. I didn't have fun watching it. Usually when naruto is bad it's at least still fun. But genuinely felt like naruto was under a spell he was just so ??? out of character???? And the misogyny cannot be exaggerated. It was bad.

[nejihyu]

FOUND IT

does anyone else remember that naruto movie where my boy created a gay rasengan after being awakened by sasuke's voice