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The mention of Masashi Kishimoto and female characters in the same sentence is enough to make fans frown, andThe Last: Naruto the Moviereinstated that fear. Throughout theNarutoseries, there are many memorable characters who can easily make it to the list of best anime characters of all time. With how good the male characters in the series are, the female ones miserably pale in comparison.
Even the good ones often get reduced to their physical appearances, as Kishimoto fails to write decent developmental arcs for them. This is exactly what happened with Ino Yamanaka. She is one of the few characters whose design post-Shippudendidn’t disappoint fans. Although, the same can’t be said about her character arc inThe Last: Naruto the Movie.
Ino’s glow-up is easily the best out of allNarutocharacters and fans agree
The progression fromNarutotoBorutoisn’t the favorite part of manyNarutofans, for numerous reasons from the power scaling to the character designs. However,The Last: Naruto the Moviewas a great addition to the series in terms of the character designs. Most characters had a great glow-up, and their new designs fit their age as well.
The characters looked like adults transitioning to a new phase of their lives. From the Five Kage to Sasuke, the characters looked great with their suave outfits and new hairstyles. While all the characters looked great, Ino Yamanaka looked the best of them all. To this day, fans can’t stop praising the changes Ino underwent.
Even thoughMasashi Kishimotodid a brilliant job at enhancing Ino’s appearance, he couldn’t do the same for her overall presence in the story. Like the rest of the story, Ino didn’t do much inThe Last: Naruto the Movieeither.
Ino is the best example of wasted potential
Ino’s character arc throughout the series was quite rough. She was initially introduced as Sakura’s rival, but that arc didn’t go anywhere beyond the Chunin Exams. The peek into her backstory and how she helped Sakura was a great insight into her kind-hearted nature. While for the majority ofNaruto Shippuden, she barely had any great moments, she won hearts during the war.
At the time when Shikamaru and her dad were about to die, she composed herself and continued to assist the battlefield, even outdoing herself in the process. Her determination during those few moments was admirable and if we could do more of that, her character arc would have been one of the best in the series.
Instead of Jiraiya or Minato, Masashi Kishimoto’s Next Naruto Spinoff Should be on Konoha’s Most Ignored But Devastatingly Powerful Clan
Kishimoto should have followed the approach he did during the war arc to elevatethe female characters in the series. Compared to that, throughoutThe Last: Naruto the Movie, all Ino did was comment on Naruto’s popularity and had a few scenes where she helped Kakashi. Ino is a baddie and we know it, although it would have been great to see a proper demonstration of it too!
The Last: Naruto the Movieis available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Laveena Joshi
Anime Writer
Articles Published :925
Laveena is an anime content writer at FandomWire. Having written more than 800 articles, she’s an expert in mainstream shonen series, ranging from the bizarre world of JoJo’s to the expansive worldbuilding of One Piece.With her formal education in Journalism and Mass Communication, she explores entertainment journalism through the lens of anime and manga, from mainstream and classic titles to niche and obscure ones.
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