'Boruto' Introduces New Otsutsuki Villain

The Boruto anime series has just reached the point where it syncs up with the events of the original Boruto: Naruto the Movie feature from 2015. In addition to advancing Boruto's development into a supreme ninja warrior, and creating a new bond between the young ninja and Naruto's friend and rival Sasuke, the movie also gave the franchise some brand new villains, in the form of new Otsutsuki Clan members who come to Earth on a nefarious mission.

Well, now that the Boruto anime series has gotten to this point, we now have a much deeper and more extensive look at who these new Otsutsuki threats are - or at the very least, one them.

Boruto episode 53 "Himawari's Birthday" opens on an ominous turn: former Naruto foe Toneri Otsutsuki is still all alone on the surface of the moon - that is, until he suddenly gets a visitor, in the form of a mysterious memeber of the "Otsutsuki Main Family," who Toneri refers to as a "Celestial Being" (at least in dub translation). This mysterious figure seals Toneri in the Palace of the Dragon King for 10,000 years, before heading to Earth on his errand.

At first glance, fans of the Boruto movie would probably guess that this new mystery villain is none other than Momoshiki Otsutsuki, one half of the villain team we met in the Boruto movie. The character definitely has a demeanour that resembles Momoshiki, but having two eyes will tell you that the character designs between the movie and series are slightly different. The opening sequence of episode 53 was also very careful to keep this mystery villain's forehead wrapped, so we can't confirm if there are the two dots on the forehead that are staples of Momoshiki's look.

Whatever the case may be (Momoshiki, or some new character), the ninjas and genin of Hidden Leaf definitely have a new threat from the Otsutsuki Clan looming over them as we head into the Chunin Exam Arc. The episode ends with Sasuke arriving at Naruto's home and meeting Boruto for the first time, likely bringing news of his own Otsutsuki revelations to report to Lord Hokage. The Boruto movie opens with Sasuke battling both Momoshiki and his foster father Kinshiki, and presumably that has just occurred off-screen in the anime. If that's the case, the figure we meet in the beginning of episode 53 would almost have to be someone different - one wonders if he could be the threat that Toneri was preparing Bortuo for, all along.

Boruto airs new episodes Wednesdays on Funimation and Hulu.