‘Boruto’s Latest Episode Did Something ‘Naruto’ Never Could

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is sometimes compared unfavorably to the original Naruto anime, but the latest episode of Boruto finally was able to do something Naruto never did: take its time at the Ninja Academy.

As the graduating ceremony looms on the horizon, Boruto and his friends plan a fishing trip to eat the “Eternal Carp,” an elusive fish that apparently tastes so good that they will remember the taste forever. Fans have been split over the show’s slower pace when compared to its predecessor, but episode 34 is a good example of what Boruto does differently.

In the original Naruto anime series, Naruto and his ninja friends spent less than two episodes studying at the ninja academy before earning the title of Genin and going on official missions as ninjas. The tension of the series quickly rose as Team 7 found themselves in a much more difficult situation than they had anticipated when Zabuza of the Mist attacks on episode seven.

But while Boruto may not have had that immediate rise in tension, fans are appreciative of the time it spends getting to know its characters outside of battle. Fans on Reddit have come to appreciate its slice of life appeal, and don’t exactly feel the show needs to rush forward.

The latest episode served as a send off to their time at the ninja academy, and while some fans think it’s about time the Boruto kids move on to other things, the thirty episodes of the series had helped to established how important the time at the academy to them. Delivering an emotion filled montage featuring some of the series’ key scenes underneath a gorgeous starry sky, and lending a sense of weight to their splitting up post-academy that the original run of Naruto never had.

Given that the original series had a notable filler problem – as many original arcs had to be used in order to fill time in the anime before it caught up to the events of the original manga – Boruto seems a bit gentler by comparison. Maybe it’s due to the fact Boruto is allowed certain favors with less necessary world building in a sequel series, or perhaps it’s because the manga and anime are being produced in a notably different pace than the predecessor series.

Either way, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is about to ramp up very soon.

For those unfamiliar with Naruto, it has quite a storied history. Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, the series ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows Naruto, a young ninja with a sealed demon within him taht wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and featuring the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.