‘Boruto’ Reveals An Epic ‘Naruto’ Callback

The latest episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was a huge game changer for fans and non-fans alike, with its impressive animation making the single episode movie quality. Not to mention the huge story beats moving forward.

One of the coolest moments of the major battle with Momoshiki also happens to be its most nostalgic as Boruto’s final Rasengan attack was propped up by past Naruto icons fans were sure to recognize.

As Boruto was prepping a final Rasengan to use against Momoshiki, he was worried that he wouldn’t be strong enough. But after seeing his invisible Rasengan and getting reaffirmation from Sasuke, Naruto had a whole new trust of his son. This shared trust between the two unites them with the Rasengan, a jutsu that carries much of the weight of the past in this series.

Naruto then props up Boruto’s building Rasengan with his own chakra, and this gives Boruto flashes of his father’s past. Fans see the image of Jiraiya and the young Naruto, then a teenage Naruto and his mother, then a teenage Naruto and Neji (who died during the last Ninja War), teenage Naruto and his father, Naruto and Sasuke from their final battle in Shippuden, Hinata and Naruto from The Last: Naruto the Movie, and it finally ends with Boruto and his father in the present.

Not only is this a great moment for longtime series past, this is a literal and metaphorical passing of the torch between the two protagonists. This battle with Momoshiki could be seen as Naruto and Sasuke’s last big battle for now (given the production quality, it’s not hard to deny) as Boruto becomes the true focus of the series.

And it’s only fitting that the Rasengan, carrying all of the emotions of the past behind it, is what ultimately defeats Momoshiki, another remnant of the past.

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 that 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.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations recently made TV Tokyo’s list of Top 5 Anime in sales and profits, coming third in sales and fifth and profits. The anime has been such a success that the Naruto franchise as a whole stills holds a top spot in many anime profits rankings as well. The series even managed to cross 235 million copies of the manga sold worldwide. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was even given a major bump of approval as it just took over a more familiar timeslot, airing in the same time and day that its predecessor Naruto: Shippuden once did.