Boruto: Naruto Next Generations has really come into its own in its second year run, as the series and characters have grown and matured in ways that helped the series overcome a lot of the initial criticism from longtime Naruto fans. The “Chunin Exams Arc” and “Vs. Momoshiki Arc” have been particularly fruitful for the series, as the finale of the “Vs. Momoshiki Arc” delivered one of the top 5 episodes of the entire Naruto series (ep. 65, “Father and Child”), which fans are still raving over.
As Boruto now moves into the next phases of its titular hero’s training, and the discovery of his shinobi path, it’s clear that the growing pains are over. Boruto is now poised to potentially be the best series in the entire Naruto saga – and if you scroll below, we’ll give you seven good reasons why.
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Better Youth story
The first thing aboutย Borutoย compared toย Narutoย is the quality of theย coming-of-ageย story. The originalย Narutoย is a classic now, but admittedly, the original series had a lot of sillinessย and filler material as it found its footing as a more epic and serious saga, later on. Thanks toย Narutoย charting the path, and going through the growing pains (literally and figuratively) of getting the series established,ย Borutoย is able to learn form the past and chart a more streamlined path through the more frivolous days of its protagonist. It may not have seemed that way for the first couple dozen of slower episodes – but chart whereย Borutoย picked up pace compared toย Naruto, and the progression is clear.ย
Better Character Arc
Narutoย remains, overall, one of the most extensive character sagas there are – in anime, or any medium, for that matter. Tracking the young ninja from childhood into his time as an adultย and father has been epic and emotional for those invested, butย Borutoย has something even grater in the works. The series’ opening scene, a flash-forward to a dark time in Hidden Leaf, where Borutoย is presented as a powerful shinobi, has been the major driving force of the series – more so than the simply story of young pranksterย Narutoย in the early run of that series.ย
However, whereย Borutoย has a distinct advantage is that it not only is building a character arc that already has a thrilling destination – it also gets to build on character arcs from the original series, that fans know and love. Seeing how characters like Narutoย and Sasukeย adjust to a life of fatherhood and leadership is almost as exciting as watching Borutoย himself! And when the series combines the two narrative paths for a Boruto/Narutoย story arc, there’s no competition.ย ย
Better Filler
It might seem odd to be talking about this as any kind of positive, butย Borutoย is handling its “filler” moments much better thanย Narutoย ever did.ย Narutoย andย Naruto: Shippudenย actually rank as two of the top three animeย withย excessive filler material, so really this was an easy course-correction.
The key toย Boruto‘s improvement over its predecessors is really two-fold: on the one hand, it has less overall filler, appearing less frequently; and on the other hand, it has the clear benefit of being able to offer fans “filler” that is pretty unique and thrilling,ย due to its callbacksย orย references to the previousย series. Finally,ย Borutoย has done a pretty good job selling itsย cast ofย classic Narutoย charactersย and their young counterparts, so that if we do deviate from the main character(s) storyline, it’s still an pretty satisfying experience, often feeling more like solid world-building, rather than throwaway filler.ย
Adult Naruto World
As stated,ย Narutoย is one of the most wide-spanning character tales there is, and one of the main joys ofย Borutoย has been following those original characters into this new era of adulthood. It’s not just seeing the likes of Sasukeย and Narutoย as dads, or the insane levels of power and ability those elder shinobiย now possess – it’s also about seeing how any number side characters have transformed and grown (or not) as time has passed. Cameos from adultย Narutoย figures or their offspring have become notable bonus in theย Borutoย experience.ย
Better Fights
This may be jumping the gun, admittedly, asย Borutoย has yet to fully ramp up in terms of big fights and battles, but when the series has hit that stride, it’s done so like an Olympicย sprinter, and results have been pretty spectacular. The crowning jewel in this particular debate is no doubt the finale of the “Vs. Momoshiki Arc” (ep. 65, “Father and Child”), which offered an insanely gorgeous and thrillingly epic battle between the Otsutsuki, Sasuke, Naruto, and Boruto, that marked a new height for the series. Sure, that’s just one fight compared to the many great battles of the largerย Narutoย saga (see above), butย Borutoย is proving that its quality is going to outshine its predecessor, as the series racks up greater quantity of fight sequences in the coming years.ย
Great Callbacks
As stated, one advantage thatย Borutoย clearly has over theย Narutoย series is the ability to tap into the long history of the saga, in ways that are intensely rewarding for longtimeย fans. Sometimes these callbacksย are significant and important portents for where things are headed withย Boruto; other times,ย they’reย simply little asides or anecdotes. In either case, they are fun and intriguingย ways of buildingย Narutoย into an entire shared universe of a franchise, while sparking all sorts of great, in-depth discussions amongst the fandom. It’s rare that a new series has that kind of potential, andย Borutoย makes sure not to waste it.ย
Great Buildup and Payoff
Narutoย was journey you kind of had to jump into and just ride with;ย Nartuo: Shippudenย gained momentum by taking the characters into a darker and more mature chapter of their lives, and offered promise of mysteries and arcs the original series had spent such extensiveย time setting up. And yet,ย Borutoย has found a much more effective way of securing fans’ investment in the series, by beginning with an epic and awesome flash-forward scene, which propels viewers even during the show’sย slower points.ย
On a smaller scale,ย Borutoย has done pretty well paying off smaller story arcs, even as it sets up larger canon arcs to harvest later. There show has given us important stakes and enough regular “payoff” episodes that it’s kept fans on the ride, and even enjoying it pretty regularly. It’s not a perfect system (there have definitely been some snooze-fest storylines), but it’s definitely an improvement.ย
*****
Isย Borutoย becoming your favoriteย Narutoย series so far? Or is that suggestion blasphameย to your ears? Let us know how you feel, in the comments – or hit me up @KofiOutlaw!ย
Catch new episodes ofย Bortuo: Naruto Next Generationsย Thursdays streaming on Funimation, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.
