Last month a fairly large anime YouTuber, Oceaniz, made a video in which he broke down how he edited downNaruto’sfillerto show the series to his girlfriend. The video has received over a million views in the interim, and on top of being a sweet gesture is a fascinating dive into how the series padded out its episodes and storyline.
This is especially true when you consider that much of this filler and repetition would make the series harder to swallow for a newcomer. Along those lines, Oceaniz made the decision to omit its ongoing sequel,Boruto: Naruto Next Generationsfrom the project. This isn’t really a surprise: Oceaniz is only the latest in a long line ofNarutofans to view the sequel series as an inferior product worth skipping. In fact, it’s a pretty mainstream opinion among theNarutofandom, if not a majoritarian one. And to be totally fair, itisinferior. But if you likedNaruto,you shouldn’t skip all ofBoruto(key word “all”).
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WhyBorutoIs Despised
There are several valid reasonsBorutois widely disavowed by theNarutofan community. The first is the anime’s massive amount of filler. This came about as a result themanga and animegoing in different directions afterBoruto: Naruto the Moviewas released in 2015. The manga began after the events of the movie concluded, while the anime decided to lead up to and eventually retell the movie’s events, before going on to adapt the manga.Boruto’s manga is only updated monthly while the anime is released weekly, and consequently the risk of the latter overriding the former is real. The combination of these factors is an anime which is arguably majority-filler, in the sense that it hosts storylines exclusive to the anime.
The second reason is thatBoruto’s titular character is significantly less likable than his father. Boruto, while kindhearted and a talented shinobi, is also arrogant and also lacks Naruto’s sense of direction in relation to his goals. He rarely feels like the underdog, and for people who fell in love withNaruto, this can be a dealbreaker. His adopted brother,Kawaki, is even more off-putting. ThenBoruto’s story nerfed Naruto and Sasuke bykilling off Kurama and destroying Sasuke’s Rinnegan, which was a naked and brutal attempt to prevent them from overshadowing this new generation. This decision brought forth a good deal of justified anger from the fanbase and brought forth once-unthinkable fears that Naruto or Sasuke might lose their lives before the series ends.
There’s also justified complaints thatBoruto’s main villain group,Kara, and the new members of theOtsutsuki Clan, are far less compelling or endearing thanNaruto’s villains, likeOrochimaruand the Akatsuki. Additionally, while some ofBoruto’s filler is good or even great, there’s a bunch of it that’s completely bland. And of course the show’s facial expressions and character models can look downright odd, to the point of being memeworthy. For those who putNarutoon a pedestal as one of the greatest manga and anime ever made, all of this is understandably upsetting. Beneath those flaws, however, lies an anime and manga which are at times equally touching and entertaining.
Why You Should WatchBoruto(At Least Most of It)
The above flaws are significant demerits, and they shouldn’t be taken lightly. ButBorutois still worth watching. First off, it’s important to note thatBoruto’s filler tends to play by different rules than typicalNarutoand anime filler, in that it’s unafraid to expand lore on known locations or characters, or even kill them off. Onoki, the formerTsuchikageand a major character in the latter half ofNaruto Shippuden, loses his life in what is arguablyBorutofiller, capping off an arc that would be more than passable as canon if it had a manga form. Indeed, many ofBoruto’s filler arcs are only filler in the sense that they aren’t in the manga. In terms of storytelling and often animation quality, they don’t lag nearly as far behind asNaruto’s filler arcs. Many of these arcs also check in on old favorites fromNarutoand give them time to shine that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
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Additionally, while Boruto and Kawaki are both less-than-stellar main characters,Boruto’s supporting cast, both old and new, keeps the series interesting and fresh. Boruto’s other teammatesSaradaandMitsukiare both extremely likable and well-developed characters, the former especially. Additionally, some of their classmates like Iwabe Yuino and Sumire Kakei make the newest generation of Leaf shinobi more than just the children ofNaruto’s supporting cast (although some of these characters, like Chocho Akimichi, are also fantastic). Of course, there’s also a lot of gratifying work done with old favorites likeKakashi, Gaara, and even Orochimaru. Naruto and Sasuke’s difficult individual transitions into fatherhood are also a unique and important element ofBoruto, and the nature of the village itself being something of a family is explored heavily. Indeed,Borutooften does a better job displaying the symbiosis that makes Konoha successful, whileNarutofocused on darker elements of its history that divided it.
The biggest reason to watchBorutomay also be the shallowest: the sheer quantity of interesting fights. TheNarutofranchises' combat has always blended intelligence with power rather than focusing exclusively on the latter;Borutocontinues this, continuing to spawn some of the most interesting and unpredictable battles in ashonen anime. It bears mentioning that the majority of these fights are alsogorgeousand rivalShippuden’s best in overall quality.
Borutoisn’t as good asNaruto, and there’s not much that can be said to dispute that. The story and characters speak for themselves. But being as good asNarutois an extremely high bar, andBorutohas a lot of strong points as well. The series shouldn’t be disavowed or hated, nor should it be relegated to obscurity.It deserves better than that.
