Fans of Naruto Shippuden have been waiting for the anime's finale for a very long time. Since the first Shippuden episode aired more than nine years ago in Japan, fans of the franchise have been taken on a wild roller coaster ride through canon episodes and mountains upon mountains of filler arcs.

Now, however, Naruto Shippuden has finally reached its final legs. With Princess Kaguya finally sealed away, only one more arc is left for the anime to tackle -- the final, decisive battle between Naruto and Sasuke. Considering the anime's latest episodes, however, avid fans of Naruto Shippuden are starting to get very apprehensive about the series' finale.

The End of Naruto Shippuden

The finale of Naruto Shippuden probably features the most intense, personal and brutal battles in the entire Naruto franchise, as rivals and friends Naruto and Sasuke face each other in a definitive deathmatch. In the manga, the finale was epic, with each scene packed with raw emotion, fury and passion. Many fans of the franchise's fans have even remarked that the manga's final battle brought them to tears.

Substandard Animation in Recent Episodes

With the finale of Naruto Shippuden being the definitive climax of the series, it is only natural for fans of the anime to be very excited about the premise of arguably the greatest fight in the manga being animated. However, many Naruto Shippuden fans have remarked that the consistently low quality of the animation in recent episodes might very well put a big damper on how the anime's finale would be depicted.

This was particularly noticeable during the last couple of episodes in Naruto Shippuden, with numerous scenes being found with substandard animation. Just like Dragon Ball Super, whose bad animation frames from its fifth episode spawned an army of memes, Naruto Shippuden's recent sequences left much to be desired.

Naruto Shippuden Not Doing Justice to the Manga?

One particularly notable example of this was the conclusion and aftermath of the fight against Princess Kaguya. From the extremely simple sequence of Naruto cutting off her arm to Sakura's anticlimactically-animated, battle-defining punch, numerous fans were left with the impression that Studio Pierrot is cutting far too many corners in Naruto Shippuden's production.

Speculations surrounding the reasons behind the anime being substandard are many, with some alleging that Studio Pierrot is outsourcing the anime's production to foreign countries. If this is indeed true, it would definitely explain the animation drops that have been noticed in the previous episodes.

Will Studio Pierrot Handle the Naruto Shippuden Finale With the Respect It Deserves?

Over the course of Naruto Shippuden's extremely long run, fans of the anime have remained very patient. Even after the manga ended and the anime opted to shove filler arc after filler arc down fans' throats, the anime's supporters remained patient. Studio Pierrot has already milked the fans of Naruto Shippuden mercilessly for years. The least it could do is to at least provide the anime's avid supporters with a decent closing act.

The finale of an anime usually makes or breaks the series. Naruto Shippuden might be one, overlong, bloated series at this point, but it can still end on a positive note. All Studio Pierrot must do is make the decent decision and put more resources in animating the final arc of this epic, well-loved and iconic anime series.

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