Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-12509038-20150317020644

So during our hiatus, I've been searching around and talking to a lot of interesting people. Of those I've encountered, the two most interesting ones would have to be that extensive summary of the Kobayashi interview and what I'm about to share with you now. I have been talking with someone who is essentially an expert on the anime industry and knows what he's talking about. I'm not entirely sure about his profession, but given his track record of many of his predictions actually coming true, I'd be willing to bet he's some how connected with Studio Pierrot. After all, he even put me in connection with Hayato Date, the director of the Naruto Shippuden anime (more on that later). We've talked about a lot of interesting topics, but the one that I was mostly interested in was (as you probably could have guessed) the anime adaptation of Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. With that, I'd just like to share what he said and get your own opinions on that.

And just so you know, I'm still talking to him on a regular basis, and so I'll be sure to let you know if he says anything else interesting enough that expands on the subject; we usually write one message to each other once a day, due to the time difference, as he actually lives in Japan (which makes him more reliable in this instance even more so then before).

Finally, I just want to make it clear one last time that this is not 100% confirmed. This is just an expert's best guess of what may happen based on the past experiences, as well as his previous conversations with those who work at Studio Pierrot. Though despite all of that, much of what he predicted is highly likely to occur, and so that's why I felt it was justified to share this with you. With that said, here you go-

I. Length/Filler Content:
 * He believes the fight may be about two or three episodes, with one of them being outsourced to another studio (meaning the quality may not be on par).
 * However, it's also not impossible for it to be extended to more episodes (such as four or five episodes), though the overall animation quality may dwindle if that was the case.
 * Of the entire fight in the anime, he believes 48% of it will contain filler content.
 * From the extended/filler scenes, the majority will be taijutsu sequences, though the larger battle (Tailed Beast Mode vs. Perfect Susanoo) will also receive extended scenes as well.
 * Depending on the animator, it may also be possible for them to allow Naruto and Sasuke to use some of their abilties they have but did not use in the manga battle. For example, this means Naruto may use powers from all of the Tailed Beasts (such as a Lava Release: Rasenshuriken), while Sasuke may use some Rinnegan abilities he did not display in the manga (such as Shinra Tensei). For the record, I don't know how likely this would be, but I would absolutely love to see them do this- even if it doesn't follow the manga.

'''II. Animators/What Type of Content They Will Adapt:'''

While there could be more or different ones than he suggested, he believes there are six key animators who will be assigned to animate this battle. Along with the list of animators, I will provide a link to their work (if available), as well as what exactly they should be animating (taijutsu sequences, ninjutsu, Godzilla portions, etc).


 * Norio Matsumoto- He would mainly be animating taijutsu/ninjutsu sequences.
 * Hiroyuki Yamashita- He would mainly be animating taijutsu/ninjutsu sequences, along with Matsumoto.
 * Shingo Yamashita (no video; sorry)- He would mainly be animating the Tailed Beast Mode vs. Perfect Susanoo sequences.
 * Tetsuya Nishio (not from Naruto, but you can still see his style)- He would mainly be animating the Tailed Beast Mode vs. Perfect Susanoo sequences, along with Shingo.
 * Hirofumi Suzuki (again, no video)- He would mainly be animating miscellaneous sequences not covered in the previous two (I'm not entirely sure what he means by "misceallaneous"; not sure if that means all the filler or just certain sequences at random- I'll clarify when he responds to me again).
 * Atsushi Wakabayashi (#167 animator)- He would mainly be animating miscellaneous sequences as well, along with Suzuki (again, trying to find out what that means).

'''III. Other Miscellaneous Information Pertaining to Battle:'''
 * As far as filler goes, he thinks the main places where it could be added is before #695 (for some smaller stuff), during sequences in #695/696 (for the Tailed Beast Mode vs. Perfect Susanoo section), and of course during that two-page spread from #697. I'm still trying to find out what kind of stuff he is referring to specifically (especially from that first part, as I'm wondering if he thinks they will add some taijutsu/ninjutsu before they enter their avatars in #695).
 * When it comes to Naruto using Tailed Beast powers/Sasuke using Rinnegan abilities, Wakabayashi is the most likely animator who would do something like that, as he is the one that usually diverts from the path of the manga the most (as referenced in episode #167, when so much filler was added- it might not have looked the best, but that's what I'd like to see when it comes to filler).
 * My source has talked to Hayato Date more extensively than I have (as he obviously has connections), and he said that he was told something like "don't be worried about this fight in the anime, as we know everyone is excited about it and we will do our best!"
 * When I got into contact with Date, he said- いつも応援ありがとうございます、現在いろいろ企画中です放送までお楽しみに. OAをお楽しみに In English, that translates to- "Thank you for your continuous support. Preparations for the some anime project are now under way. Please Look forward to it!" Nothing important, but still interesting nonetheless.
 * Date has actually seen this video (which I have asked you a question about on the other discussion), and so it may be possible that he will take influence from this.

So, that's all I have for you for now. There will probably be more in the future. With that all laid out, what do you think of this? Also, do you have any of your own questions for me to ask (and it doesn't have to be directly related to this fight- almost anything about the anime in general)? 