Boruto confronts Kawaki over Naruto’s mangled face. Kawaki looks at the destroyed Konohagakure and declares that the time of the ninjas is over. Boruto puts on his forehead protector, activates his dojutsu, states that he is still a ninja, and attacks Kawaki. Boruto remembers his past, which started with his hatred towards himself, especially his father, whom he believes did not appreciate his family because he was the Hokage. Boruto remembers the mission given to his team to kill the bear. After telling Naruto, Katasuke interrupted Naruto’s request and asked for permission to use the little hands in the next Chuunin Exams, but Naruto refused. Later, Katasuke gives Boruto cheat codes for video games, suggesting that the Chuunin Trials will be a way to show Naruto how powerful he is. Elsewhere, Motegi sends his team entrance tickets for the exam. Shikadai and Inoto are unhappy with this idea, causing Shikadai to send them his mother’s letter, which immediately changes their minds. Shikadai and Inoto play video games with Boruto. Sarada and Mitsuki join them and ask Boruto to take the Chunin Exam because he needs a team of three. Shikadai notices a cheat in Boruto’s game and leaves, thinking that the fun of the game is in trying to gain knowledge. Sarada and Mitsuki believe they can convince Boruto to take the exam, but in reality Boruto wants to prove himself to his father. They are interrupted by Hinata and Himawari, who are preparing food for Himawari’s birthday. Naruto attends their party, but is interrupted at the last moment by the shadow clone, causing him to drop the cake on the floor, angering Boruto. Hinata tried to protect Naruto’s situation. Later, when the doorbell rang, Boruto thought it was Naruto, but the person Naruto was looking for was Sasuke. Hinata told him that Naruto was still in the office. Sasuke gives Naruto the Kaguya Castle scroll and the two talk about Boruto. Boruto then tries to attack Sasuke, who is weakened by him. Boruto took a liking to Sasuke and wanted to become his apprentice.
As the first episode of his new show draws to a close, Boruto Uzumaki boldly declares: “Whatever I choose, it has nothing to do with my father. I will go on my own. Because this is my story!” This is the first time this happens. It’s a bold statement for a new series after Naruto, one of the biggest anime hits of all time. I was skeptical about the inclusion of Boruto, but the first episode laid a solid foundation and included some twists and turns that gave me hope that the series could deliver on its promise to teach us new things.
“The age of the ninja is over.” These words may seem strange to Naruto at the beginning of the event, but with a short trip to the Leaf Village we can understand what the speaker means. The face of the Hokage still guards Konoha, but advances in technology have made the village modern with trains, skyscrapers, and fast food. Times have changed, and even the Hokage’s son doesn’t understand why ninjas are so important, as he sees that this lifestyle is “not very nice.” With his family’s persuasion, Boruto joins the team, but not without causing great destruction.
As a fan who was concerned that Boruto might rely more on fan service than content, I was surprised by the ideas expressed in the first episode. Exploring the fall of the ninja is a new direction for the series, and I’m excited to see how the ninja world reacts to these new developments. However, when it came to Boruto, I wasn’t impressed. There are plenty of stories on TV about teenagers angry at their estranged fathers, and Boruto’s anger seems misguided (especially since this context is mentioned in the 2015 movie).
There are only a few characters in this series, and many faces (and their children) only work as good looks for now. The episode introduces new character Denki Kaminarimon, the son of a wealthy businessman responsible for the development of technology in the village. He often works as a form for Boruto, as he wants to please an overbearing father without neglecting him. After saving Denki from a group of bullies, Boruto gives Denki some questions to solve the problem. The episode reaches its climax when Denki becomes distracted by a bad dream and tries to confront his own problems. He gets himself and Boruto into trouble, which ends in a simple but satisfying sequence. It’s unclear if Denki is intended to be a main character in the future, but if so, I’d like to see his character fleshed out and allowed to stand on his own. As for the episode, I don’t think there will be any characters in the series, but I don’t want to see Denki treated as the origin of Boruto’s daddy issues.
As a standalone story, the first episode of Boruto serves as an introduction to the new generation of Naruto. There are some hints of bigger things to come that make it clear that the film’s creators wanted Boruto to fit within the scope of the original series. Since I’ve been a long-time fan, this series gave me enough reason to watch a few more episodes. I am happy that this show has the courage to aim high and I pray for its success.
Boruto has a chance to be good as a series, even the name of its hero. We see the future in the opening scene. Konohagakure has been completely destroyed by an unknown force, and Boruto is faced with a mysterious man we know only as Kamaki. In two bold and shocking statements, Kamaki announced that he had “killed Naruto” and that “the age of the ninja is over.” These are ridiculous comments talking about himself and our audience (especially those who have finished Naruto – no it should be anyone who has watched the movie), let it be known that we will be stuck with this for a long time because the open door cannot answer them. Boruto defends these points bravely, no, the time of the ninja is not over yet because he is the representative of the ninja. Boruto placed it over the injured Konoha’s head, drew his sword, and unlocked what looked like the differences between Sage Mode and Byakugan (which is particularly interesting, I’ll talk more about why later). The two begin to fight, and our narrator takes us “a few years” back in time.
I’m reading the “Boruto” manga. In my opinion, it doesn’t follow the original Naruto in almost any way, and it should because Masashi Kishimoto (the writer) is not the writer. He gives advice, but only as a third-level editor. Nobusuke Kishi often used holding hands, just like Akira Toriyama’s part of Dragon Ball GT, but this is not the case. The Boruto manga is thus considered a product of Kishimoto’s fan fiction due to its inconsistency, reasonable construction method, and art style that follows Kishimoto’s manga without going the whole nine yards.
However, these problems do not occur in the anime. At least not in the first episode. I’m happy because just from this test episode it’s clear that the anime is going in a different direction than the manga. The opening scene is the same, but many important details have changed. For example, most of the first chapter is still not available in the manga.
At the beginning of this era, we see a simple but clean demonstration of ninja parkour, as Boruto and Shikouchi, Shikamaru’s son, create a playground in Konoha.
