It seems like Studio Pierrot was not bluffing at all when rumors emerged that the end of the extremely long-running anime series is already at hand. As stated by a report in TV Tokyo, the final episode of Naruto Shippuden would air on September 29, and it would be one hour long.

Naruto Shippuden Final Episode

The Naruto Shippuden manga ended at chapter 700, and the anime is almost close to reaching the same number of episodes. The previous episode, Episode 475, The Final Valley, covered Chapter 692 to 693 of the manga. The Naruto Shippuden anime's canon episodes usually cover two to three chapters of the manga.

Naruto Shippuden would be off the air for the next couple of weeks since the anime's finale would be aired on September 29 in a special hour-long episode. The fight between Naruto and Sasuke covered a number of chapters in the manga, but it is highly possible that Studio Pierrot might simply go for broke and stuff chapters 694 to 700 on Episode 476.

After all, the episode is aptly titled The Last Battle. In anime tradition, episodes that have these types of titles really do signify the end of an anime's run.

The Last Battle Preview Trolls Fans

One thing that definitely stumped Naruto Shippuden fans was the preview for the hour-long finale. Interestingly, Studio Pierrot opted to show the preview of the September 29 episode fully in black and white. The preview was not even in intricate black and white. It consisted of the anime's outlines being slightly animated.

This rather unique approach to the next episode's preview has definitely sparked the interest of fans, with many stating that the absence of any color in the clip is proof that Studio Pierrot is not taking any chances with the anime, and that the production company would prefer to reveal the full detail of the episode when it actually does air.

Others, however, stated that the black and white preview for the final battle was probably an homage to the manga. However, previous rumors have already emerged indicating that Studio Pierrot is putting a lot of effort into making the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke as beautifully animated as possible.

By giving themselves three full weeks to prepare, and by releasing a one-hour episode, chances are high that the finale of Naruto Shippuden would really be worth the wait. 

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