January Schedule - FILLER

[frog hermit]

01/07 - none
01/14 - 444 - The Rogue Village
01/21 - 445 - The Pursuer
01/28 - 446 - The Collision

February most likely all filler. March too, with another filler arc.

In March 2016, Naruto Shippuden: The True Legend of Itachi Volume – Light and Darkness begins! These are animated episodes based on two official books released in Japan – The True Legend of Itachi: Glory and The True Legend of Itachi: Dark Night. You can learn more about them here. It was originally interpreted the Itachi episodes would be a separate anime, however, the latest update makes it seem like it will be an arc in the Naruto Shippuden series. https://i.imgur.com/m6tN2iL.jpg

and then.....

There will be an arc in Naruto Shippuden based on Kaguya Otsutsuki, the progenitor of chakra and mother of Hagoromo (the Sage of Six Paths) in 2016. It’s unclear if the arc will be directly after the Itachi episodes or sometime later during the year. Kaguya is a canon character and is first shown in Naruto Manga 670. Studio Pierrot, the company that animates Naruto, has mentioned the arc will be “original”. We aren’t sure what that means, it could mean original anime episodes (filler) or episodes based on the original manga work by series creator Masashi Kishimoto (canon).

Some new info on the Kaguya arc thing

Hey, I'm a translator who regularly contributes to Narutopedia under the username Suzaku.
I saw that a lot of people have made misunderstandings about the upcoming 2016 anime schedule for Naruto due to bad or incomplete translations, so allow me to clarify:

Here is a translation of Pierrot's year end message from their Christmas Eve blog post.:

We appreciate all of your rooting for Naruto Shippuden this year, thank you very much.
The end of the original work Naruto, the theatrical release of Boruto, and the start of our original Jiraiya Ninja Scrolls arc -- this has been a big year for the staff at Pierrot.
Next year, there will be Itachi Shinden, and then from the original work... Kaguya is coming.
We humbly thank you for your ongoing support of Naruto Shippuden.
(Here's the key visual for the Jiraiya Ninja Scrolls arc, drawn by Kurotsu-san.)

In short, the Itachi Shinden adaptation will essentially be Naruto Shippuden's spring 2016 season. After that, they hint that the anime will return to canon with the arrival of Kaguya -- though an exact timeline is not given.

Now, to follow that up, a bit of vocabulary for you all to memorize:

- Original Work (原作, gensaku) refers to the author's original work that other derivative works (派生作品, hasei sakuhin) are based on. In the case of Naruto, the original work is the manga by Masashi Kishimoto, while derivative works include the anime, games, and novels.
- Original Story (オリジナルストーリー, orijinaru sutōrī) refers to a new story created specifically for a derivative work. It's essentially analogous with the English fandom term "filler." You may also seem the referred to as an "anime original story," "anime-ban original story," or simply "original" -- always spelled out in katakana.

As a side note, the concepts of canon and filler don't exactly exist in Japanese fandom the way they do in the West. Far less concern is placed on what may or may not be "canon," and "filler" is often treated more as fanservice -- a way for the fans to see completely new stories featuring their favorite characters.

When Japanese do discuss the idea of canon, they'll usually do so with terms such as the previously mentioned gensaku, or "official" (オフィシャル, ofisharu), though it's rare. Honestly, it more often comes up when Japanese creators are interviewed by Western fans or media.
Anyway, hope that helps clears up some things.

[DarthEnderX]

Eatin' a gun, yes I'm eatin' a guuuun! Oh yeah!

[frog hermit]

added some new info. not good news but

[Kraco]

This is beyond ridiculous. I'll need to consider reading the ending from the manga as it seems like the anime will never reach the finish line. I'd really like to see what kind of mushrooms the studio folks have been eating to make them think this is such a great idea.

[Harima Kenji]

I'm gonna read the manga now, this is just plain idiotic.

[Shadow Skill]

You guys almost a year late. I did that last spring or w/e when the fillers started lol, reading the end of the Manga.

[frog hermit]

updated post with some more info on the 2016 season

[Harima Kenji]

For those that have read the manga; what chapter are we at now?

[Kraco]

You could basically start reading from 677 or 678. I personally started from 675 to refresh my memories of the details of the last things. There isn't much to read as the manga is finished by ch700. This makes it all the more ridiculous the anime seems to be incapable of finishing the story. I certainly don't regret I made this decision just a few days ago.

[Maverick-DBZ-]

WOW, starting the new year on a bad note. I bet those final episodes are already done, and they're just holding on to them, trying to milk whatever is left of this franchise with unwanted story arcs. I think NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4 story mode might have a variation of the final chapters, so I might end of renting the game to see how that goes.

At the end of the day, I'll likely just read the manga and be done with it.

[lelouch]

Guys, these past couple episodes are actually VERY good.

[DarthEnderX]

The worst part is, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 comes out in like 2 weeks, and IT'S further ahead than the anime is. So if I don't want to spoil the end of the series, I can't even play the game.

Guys, these past couple episodes are actually VERY good.

So, I went back to 442 and watched the last 3 episodes.

Not entirely sure what the premise is. If this is supposed to be somebody's Tsukiyomi dream, or if it's just an alternate history tale. But it seems like it's just showing how the story of Naruto would have unfolded differently if the Naruto's parents hadn't died.

Which is kinda interesting, but my problem with it is that, almost nothing is different. Like all the same conflicts are happening, and characters are making all the same decisions. Like, Sasuke is still a complete dick, lusting for power. Only now, he doesn't even have a good motivation. Because Itachi never wiped out the Uchiha. He's doing all the same shit, only his only motivation this time is jealousy of Naruto.

It's like this kinda reverse "It's A Wonderful Life" where it's like, "Oh, actually, everything is pretty much the same if you weren't dead."

[DarthEnderX]

And this one was just weird. They compressed, like, 4 seasons worth of Sasuke powerups into a SINGLE fight.

Even though, there's no reason he should have been able to do his 2nd Cursed Seal transformation, because that required a separate ritual that he never went through.

And then, Itachi is a ghost for no reason?

[lelouch]

Yeah wtf happened with Itachi? Was that a genjutsu or did he really just die? There's no way he could have stopped it without throwing his damn body in the way? last 3 episodes were great and this one ruined it.

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah wtf happened with Itachi? Was that a genjutsu or did he really just die? There's no way he could have stopped it without throwing his damn body in the way? last 3 episodes were great and this one ruined it.

And on top of that, it didn't even stop the attack! He eats the chidori, dissolves into a ghost, and then the two attacks STILL collide in a huge explosion that ends the same way it did originally, when Itachi wasn't there to absorb the attack.


It felt like they were trying to compress too much in too short a time.

Also, since Itachi never joined Akatsuki, shouldn't Orochimaru still be in it? Since he was kicked out after trying and failing to take Itachi's eyes?