Boruto’s New Episode Wows with Smooth Animation

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations‘ anime has been making its way through its own take on the manga’s Mujina Bandits arc, and it has re-introduced fans to the Hozuki Castle prison that was once introduced in one of the non-canon anime movies. As Boruto, Mitsuki, and Sarada have been tasked with protecting a former member of the gang, they have gotten themselves in a lot of trouble to do so. Sneaking in among the inmates of the prison in order to find out more information about this mysterious gang, their newest task is breaking Kokuri out before he gets transferred to a new location.

But while Boruto and Mitsuki have been facing a tense espionage situation of their own, Sarada has gotten herself in just as much trouble as she confronts the boss behind many of the crooked decisions in the prison. As she confronts Benga about why Kokuri is being suddenly transferred to a new place, she ends up lying in a crater. Fans were taken by surprise not only by that, but the fact that this was a smoothly animated scene.

The brief battle between Sarada and Benga in Episode 145 of the series was animated by Kana Ito, whose scenes have stood out from the pack in a few episodes over the course of the series overall. Ito’s impressive character fluidity immediately jumps out each time one of her cuts makes it into the series, and it’s clear that even smaller moments like this can shine in such a way.

But what do you think? How are you liking the Mujina Bandits arc so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!

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.