This 'Naruto' Live-Action Short Proves The Feat Can Be Done

When it comes to live-action anime, fans tend to run for the hills. Hollywood ruined its reputation with the fandom because of films like Dragonball Evolution, but the industry wants to get the genre right. In the coming years, Hollywood plans to bring giants like Naruto to the big screen, and fans are weary about the project.

However, there is no reason for Hollywood to mess up this film like it has with others. If Thousand Pounds Action can do live-action Naruto on a budget, then the industry has no excuse if it mucks up the franchise.

If you head over to Youtube, you can find one impressive live-action take on Naruto. The short, which can be seen above, was created years ago by Thousand Pounds Action. The fan-run company gathered to give Naruto a live-action short, and its intricate fight choreography pays homage to the anime in all kinds of ways.

The short is nearly twenty minutes and takes place after Naruto proves his worth to the Leaf Village. With the hero having defeated Pain, Naruto heads out to train in the battle's aftermath with Rock Lee. The two wildly different fighters challenge one another, and their live-action fights are intense ones.

Seriously, the short even dips into Rock Lee and his Drunken Fist technique. How are fans supposed to hate that?

This live-action film may not be perfect, but it captures the essence of Naruto. Both ninjas are portrayed in line with their anime counterparts, and their fight sequences are top-notch even without fancy visual effects backing them. Naruto Shippuden: Dreamers Fight had a fraction of the budget of Lionsgate's future film, and it did Masashi Kishimoto's characters justice. So, if Hollywood turns the shonen series into an exploitative film, fans have this short to back their complaints.

For those of you unfamiliar with Naruto, the series began in 1997 when Masashi Kishimoto did his first one-shot of the series. Shueisha agreed to serialize the story in Weekly Shonen Jump starting in 1999, and it became a quick success. The manga ran until 2014 and accrued 72 volumes over its lengthy run. Naruto has since become one of the industry's most famous franchises, and its global popularity rocketed when Pierrot licensed Naruto for an anime.

Do you have faith in Hollywood's plans for Naruto? Hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to let me know and talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!