Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime series just completed its adaptation of the manga’s “Mujina Bandits Arc”, and in ending that story, the anime inevitably had to set the stage for the next big arc in the manga, which is centered on the mysterious new villain group, Kara. Well, Boruto got a fancy new opening credits to go along with the start of its new arc, and fans of the anime may be wondering who the new character is that seems to have a major storyline in the works. As Boruto manga fans already know, that figure is none other than Kawaki, and the revelations he will bring to Boruto are game-changing!
The first thing that Boruto Opening Credits #7 teases is the ominous image of the Hidden Leaf village’s monument of Hokages crumbling away – or rather, seeming to be reversed in their crumbling fall, by the outstretched hand of a mysterious shadowy figure. This should’ve been the first clue that fans of the anime caught onto – because Boruto teased the image of the Hokage mountain monument falling in the very first opening moments of the series, when a Teenage Boruto is battling a fierce opponent (Teenage Kawaki) with the monument crumbled down and destroyed in the background.
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However, the opening credits tease more than that: Kawaki is included in a montage with the rest of the Team 7 members (Boruto, Mitsuki, Sarada); he’s seen cooking in some kind of vat with an ominous eye opening over it (like Sauron in Lord of the Rings); and he’s clearly associated with the evil Kara group, which Sasuke has now learned about from Mujina Gang Leader Shojoji. Finally, one of the lasts scenes sees a battle-worn Boruto getting a helping hand from Kawaki.
With just these new opening credits teases, Boruto instantly deepens the intrigue as to who the Kara organization is, and what Kawaki has to do with their story. The credits alone speak to a potentially very complicated relationship between Boruto and Kawaki (like… Naruto and Sasuke complicated), and the opening flash-forward of the series only makes things that much more confusing to interpret. Considering that we know just how violent and drastic things will get between Boruto and Kawaki, the teases of these sweeter moments of camaraderie already seem tragic.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations aris new episodes weekly on Hulu, Funimation, and Crunchyroll.