'Naruto Shippuden' Spoilers: Anime to Wrap Up This Month to Pave the Way for 'Boruto' Spinoff?
It looks like the long-running anime "Naruto Shippuden" could finally be close to the finish line as it will wrap up its ongoing Hidden Leaf Village story arc this month.
In a scan from the latest issue of the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine (picked up by Saiyan Island), it is revealed that the story arc, which focuses on Naruto and Hinata's wedding, will end with episode 500, airing March 23.
This means that there will only be a couple more episodes to go before "Naruto Shippuden" bids adieu as it is believed that the final episode of the Hidden Leaf Village story arc will serve as the show's finale as well.
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Although this could be the case, the "Naruto" franchise is not going anywhere. As announced in the past, a spinoff series, "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations," is set to premiere on April 5.
It will focus on the adventures of Naruto's strong-willed but mischievous son Boruto. It will be based on the manga of the same name, which was, in turn, based on the film, "Boruto: Naruto the Movie."
It is important to note that there is no official word yet on whether "Naruto Shippuden" really is ending after the Hidden Leaf Village arc or not.
However, the fact that two weeks after the "Naruto Shippuden" episode 500 will see the premiere of "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" suggests that it will be the hot new show that fans of the shinobi world will tune in to.
It is to be emphasized, though, that the "Boruto" spinoff has a Wednesday timeslot while "Naruto Shippuden" airs on Thursdays. Some hope that the different schedule means that Thursdays will still see new episodes of "Naruto Shippuden" despite "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations" already showing. For now, however, nothing is confirmed yet.
"Naruto Shippuden" will be back with episode 498, "The Last Mission," today, March 9, on TV Tokyo.
