New Boruto Preview Introduces Konoha’s Samurai Student

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations has completed its epic Time Travel arc, leaving fans wondering what’s coming next for the anime. Based on the previews for Boruto‘s next episode, it seems we now have an answer – and it’s not necessarily a good one. The Boruto anime has been maligned for giving fans to much filler content, and it looks to be returning to that same playbook for the next story arc. However, while the next Boruto episodes seem to leave Boruto, Naruto, and the core set of characters behind, it will also introduce a new character – not a shinobi, but rather, a samurai.

Take a look at Boruto‘s new samurai character, Tsubaki Kurogane, in the preview for episode 137, “The Samurai Exchange Student”:

The preview for Boruto episode 137 tells us that this female samurai character, Tsubaki Kurogane, comes to Konoha as a replacement for Boruto‘s Class Rep, Sumire Kakei. At the end of the lackluster “Jugo Arc” Sumire decided to abandon her shinobi training, after Boruto’s speech about becoming who they really want to be in life inspired her to become part of the Scientific Ninja Tool team. That has left Sumire’s Team 15 teammates Wasabi and Namida in serious need of a third – but it looks like Tsubaki will be a far cry from the meek and shy personality of Sumire!

As teased, Tsubaki hails from The Land of Iron, and her early impression is that shinobi are not worth her respect. As we hear Tsubaki say, “I have no intention of becoming friends with shinobi. Since it seems the shinobi in this village are good-for-nothings with no conviction!”

It looks like Namida will be the first one ready to bring Tsubaki down a peg, which would admittedly be an interesting fight to see. It will probably be up to “Aunt” Hanabi to help the girls find peace in their new partnership, which could (admittedly) be an important component to future Boruto stories. Then again, Naruto fans have been none too thrilled with the arcs featuring Namida and other bit characters, so even the hook of a cool new samurai character may not be enough to win fans over.

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.