BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS || First Impression

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Whaddup guys! For today's post I'd like to talk about Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the sequel to the Naruto series. The anime is based from the manga of the same name, but the story begins five years before the events in the manga and the Boruto movie occurred. There was a mix of excitement and of concern when Kishimoto made it official to turn Boruto's story into an Anime series. Some people think that it is unnecessary and that it will not live up to the Naruto era (even if the director, Noriyuki Abe, says that the anime will not try so hard to be exactly like the previous series of Kishimoto). But there are others who believe that this show is definitely meant for the next generation of Anime viewers, just like the Naruto series was meant for the previous generations--hence the overlapping title. For this blog post, I'd like to express my thoughts on the Boruto series and maybe make a little comparison of this with Naruto. This will not be that much of an anime review, but more of a first impression. Please read on.

This post contains spoilers.

Now the anime has released nine episodes, so far. I am gonna be honest but I've only seen perhaps only seven episodes because I'm not on a Crunchyroll premium membership. The best way for me to summarize the story, is that it is about Boruto's early days in the Ninja Academy and how he has reached to the person that he was in the Boruto movie. Throughout this journey, we witness the drastic changes in the Leaf village in terms of modernization, technology, laws, education, and in many other aspects. But since this story is reduced to Boruto's perspective, we get to see many changes in the Ninja Academy school system, where students are no longer limited to learning ninjutsu. They can take on different kinds of studies, as they slowly figure out who they want to be when they turn into adults. It is also heavily implied that shinobis in the era Naruto's reign are no longer needed, since everything has been peaceful. However, Boruto notices this strange aura roaming around the villag and whenever it attacks a person, the victim falls into a reckless and emotional rampage. Currently, the series is trying to confront what kind of ability or Dojutsu (e.g. Byakugan) Boruto has, that causes him to see the strange aura roaming around the Hidden Leaf. Finally, we get to see some of the characters of Naruto every now and then, attempting to be good parents.

From left to right: Shikadai Nara, Boruto Uzumaki, Denki, Some random Jojo Bizarro dude, Metal Lee, Inojin Yamanaka. Source: thegeekiary.com

I will admit the major time differences has definitely affected the kind of story Boruto has. Since every nation in the Shinobi world are getting along peacefully, it is natural for the setting to have less turmoil. When Naruto began back in 2002, shinobis and ninjas were deployed on various missions just so they can defend their goals from other ninjas of different villages who probably go against their goals. In Boruto, we have none of that. Instead, we have some people questioning the need for shinobis and ninjas. In episode two, we have Boruto encounters a brand new character named Iwabe Yuino, who arrogantly thinks that Shinobi training is much more important than the general education being imposed on the Ninja Academy. This is where we realize that Shinobis no longer have that much of a purpose and they can move on to other areas of study. For me, this is a very interesting way to start off the series, because it is a reminder that we are no longer going to have that much of that "shonen" action, that immediately kicked off in the Naruto series. On top of that, the anime series decides to start with Boruto entering school for the first time.

But because of this belief of having the need of less shinobi, the series itself is no longer bombarded with different kinds of wars or dangerous missions. Instead we get a simple "slice-of-life" kind of genre for the first few episodes. There is conflict and a potential villain in the Boruto series, but its presence has been subdued for the sake of introducing other characters who seemed more interesting like the characters who are the children of renowned Naruto characters. A primary example would Sarada Uchiha, who was formally introduced in episode four as Sasuke and Sakura's daughter. My only issue with this is that, it makes the anime seem pretty slow and eventually boring if it keeps up with such a simple formula, especially when you have to anticipate for it week by week. Naruto was exciting because it is a fresh new story every week. If not, it is a continuation from a major cliffhanger every week. Boruto's episodes have a simple formula of introducing a new character in one episode, and immediately resolving the conflict by the end of the episode. I think the studio was able to notice this and decided to add their very first cliffhanger between episode 5 and 6, where Boruto, Shikadai, and Mitsuki had to battle a deranged Shino-sensei. This is when the supposed antagonist was finally recognized.

I guess what made watching the first few episodes worthwhile would definitely be getting to know the new Leaf Village. The animation is still on point, so seeing the trains and large screens around the village is overwhelming. The changes within Ninja Academy are mostly prominent in the first seven episodes, as it has already been designed to look like a regular school in other common anime shows with schools. Unfortunately, taking a good look at those changes are very short-lived, as we have to continue with the stories of these new characters.

From left to right: Chocho Akimichi, Sumire, Sarada Uchiha (sorry I don't know the names of the girls behind them
Source: Random Curiosity

There are two types of new characters for the Boruto series. The first type would be the ones that already existed in the manga, particularly the children of the Naruto characters. The rookie nine has been reduced to the Rookie six or seven. We have the next Ino-Shika-Cho trio from Inojin (Ino and Sai's son), Shikadai (Shikamaru and Temari's son), and Chocho (Choji and Karui's daughter), then we have the next "Team 7" in Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki (later revealed in the manga to be Orochimaru's "son"). We also have Metal Lee, the son of Rock Lee (duh). You can definitely tell that they've not only the physical appearances, but also the personality traits of the Naruto characters. Shikadai inherited Shikamaru's reluctant and lazy attitude, and Boruto definitely got his impulsiveness from his father. But other than that, they still have yet to offer something completely different. So I guess it's too early to place my judgment on these characters. The second type would be the new characters that were created for the sake of the anime series. Iwabe happens to be one of them, but other than that we have Denki the typical "Nerd" archetype. We also have the next Hinata in Sumire, the class representative in Boruto's class. So far, they only emphasize the kind of archetype they are trying to embody, but like I said, it's too early to say how good and in-depth these characters can get especially when the series is following a "slice-of-life" format. There are probably more, but at this point I still don't know what their names are (sorry if your favorite isn't in here!). The old Naruto characters do appear for the sake of "Fan service". Since this is a sequel of a classic shonen anime, it is naturally for the show to fall into these kinds of tropes, by embodying these old characters as parental figures. In a few episodes, we witness Hinata being slightly stern and strict towards Boruto even if she barely shows it. And in episode three, we get to see a terrifying side of Temari as a mother and how she definitely owns the Nara household as opposed to Shikamaru himself.

It is very interesting to see the new changes in Boruto, and I wish we can see more of that incorporated into the lives of these new characters instead of just introducing them. Because of the slice of life element heavily influencing the show, the storyline seems slow, predictable, and kind of boring. I do hope it picks up the pace very soon. The show did begin with a very intriguing premise, showing the Leaf Village completely destroyed and an implication that Naruto has died, leaving only Boruto to save the day. Not to mention those interesting tattoos, that I'd like to get to know more of in the future. This scene in episode one has created lots of discussion and controversy, but I think that died out since the story has been quite stale, lately. But if you are simply looking for great animation, I can definitely assure you that Studio Pierrot does not disappoint with this. The anime series is very colorful, vibrant, and it tries very hard to emphasize that it is going to be a light-hearted show for the time being.

I think Boruto will be another slow series that will range at least three hundred episodes, and it is definitely taking its time in getting nitty gritty. But I am very excited for the Naruto Gaiden arc to be animated!

That is it for my opinion on the whole Boruto series. What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments, but for now... till the next post~

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