Naruto’s Paris Pivot: Is the Franchise Turning Its Back on Its Anime Roots?

So, Naruto is getting a full-on village makeover… in France. And yeah, a lot of fans are wondering how we went from kunai and ramen stalls to baguettes and Parc Spirou. Let’s break down what’s actually happening, why it’s rubbing people the wrong way, and how it ties into a bigger pattern with anime mega-brands.

What got announced

• The project is called 'Naruto - Konoha Land' — a dedicated 1.5-hectare area at Parc Spirou in the south of France.
• It’s slated to open in 2026.
• The park says it’s been in the works for four years.
• Partners on the Japanese side include Shueisha, Studio Pierrot, and TV Tokyo, with Mediatoon Licensing also involved.

Why fans are side-eyeing the location

The short version: Naruto is about as Japan-coded as it gets — ninja lore, village hierarchies, chakra, the whole vibe. So when the first big, permanent Naruto theme park experience lands in France instead of, you know, Japan, people notice.

The reaction wasn’t just Japanese fans bristling about national pride. International fans were asking the same thing: why skip a home base? Over Dec 20–21, 2025, posts on X (formerly Twitter) from Japanese users were basically saying, if Shueisha ever went all-in on a Jump-branded park in Japan — think Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, Hunter x Hunter — people would fly in from the other side of the planet. Others called out that Japan should be building its own anime destination and pulling tourists in, not exporting everything first. There were even more voices asking (again) for an Akira Toriyama museum — still nothing to show for it.

The park’s pitch

Parc Spirou’s manager Herve Lux told The Sun they’ve been crafting this expansion with the Japanese rights-holders for years and want to deliver a big, immersive Naruto experience. In his words:

'It is a great joy and an honor for us to bring the Naruto universe to life at Parc Spirou. We have been working on this incredible expansion for 4 years now. Led hand in hand between the Park, Mediatoon Licensing, and our Japanese partners Shueisha, Studio Pierrot, and TV Tokyo, this project will allow us to offer visitors the most immersive experience possible for a theme park.'

Most fans aren’t doubting the execution. The question is the optics: when a franchise this tied to Japanese culture prioritizes a European rollout over a domestic one, it starts to feel unmoored from its roots.

This isn’t just Naruto

Remember when the first official Dragon Ball theme park was announced for Saudi Arabia back in 2024? Same song: massive brand, debuting its biggest park project outside Japan, and fans asking why Japan keeps letting other countries build the tentpoles. Naruto just became the latest example of that trend.

Meanwhile: those 20th anniversary episodes… still missing

Here’s what really stings for longtime fans: Studio Pierrot announced in March 2023 that four special episodes focused on the original Team 7 were coming for Naruto’s 20th anniversary. Cut to today and there’s still no release date, no new window, and no clear explanation — just silence. Pair that limbo with a flashy park reveal overseas and, yeah, the priorities feel a little upside down.

Why this rubs people the wrong way

Naruto has always been about bonds, origins, and protecting what matters. The franchise going global isn’t the problem; fans aren’t anti-expansion. It’s the sense that the heart of the series — the culture that shaped it — keeps losing out to international deals. A French park isn’t a disaster on its own. But stack it with the delayed anniversary episodes and the broader trend of headline projects launching abroad first, and it paints an uncomfortable picture: Naruto feels displaced.

What do you think — smart move for the brand, or a sign it’s drifting from what made it special? Drop your take in the comments.

Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are streaming on Crunchyroll.