Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (Japanese: BORUTO-ボルト- -Naruto Next Generations-, Hepburn: Boruto: Naruto Nekusuto Jenerēshonzu) is a Japanese manga series written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. It was serialised monthly in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since May 2016 until it was transferred to Shueisha's monthly magazine V Jump in July 2019. Boruto is a spin-off and a sequel to Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, which follows the exploits of Naruto Uzumaki's Son, Boruto Uzumaki, and his ninja team.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations | |
BORUTO-ボルト- -NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS- (Boruto: Naruto Nekusuto Jenerēshonzu) | |
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Genre | Adventure, fantasy[1] |
Manga | |
Written by | Ukyō Kodachi |
Illustrated by | Mikio Ikemoto |
Published by | Shueisha |
English publisher | |
Imprint | Jump Comics |
Magazine |
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English magazine | |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Original run | 9 May 2016 – present |
Volumes | 11 |
Anime television series | |
Directed by |
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Written by |
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Music by |
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Studio | Pierrot |
Licensed by | |
Original network | TV Tokyo |
English network | |
Original run | 5 April 2017 – present |
Episodes | 161 |
Anime film | |
Boruto originated from Shueisha's proposal to Kishimoto on making a sequel to Naruto. However, Kishimoto rejected this offer and proposed his former assistant Mikio Ikemoto to draw it; the writer of the film Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Ukyō Kodachi, created the plot. While both Kodachi and Ikemoto are in charge of the manga, Kodachi also oversees the anime's adaptation alongside Kishimoto. An anime television series adaptation directed by Noriyuki Abe started airing on TV Tokyo on 5 April 2017. Unlike the manga, which began as a retelling of the Boruto film, the anime begins as a prequel set before Boruto and his friends become ninjas in a later story arc. A series of light novels have also been written.
Pierrot's anime prequel also earned praise for its use of both new and returning characters but the narrative of the manga was noted to be more serious as it focused more on the protagonist. Shueisha has shipped a million copies of the manga series as of January 2017.
Plot
Manga
Opening up with Boruto Uzumaki facing a foe named Kawaki during the destruction of his village, the manga follows with a retelling of events in Boruto: Naruto the Movie with added content.[2] Being the son of the Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki, Boruto felt angry over his father placing the village before his family. At that time, Boruto had become a member of a ninja team led by Naruto's protégé Konohamaru Sarutobi, along with Sarada Uchiha, the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, and Mitsuki, Orochimaru's artificial son. When Sasuke returns to the village to warn Naruto of an impending threat relating to deducing the motivations of Kaguya Otsutsuki, Boruto persuades the Uchiha to train him for the upcoming Chunin exam to impress his father.
During the exam, Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki—the threat of whom Sasuke spoke—appear and abduct Naruto so they can use Kurama, a tailed beast sealed inside his body, to revitalise the dying Divine Tree from the dimension they came from. Boruto joins Sasuke and the four Kages—the leaders of other ninja villages—to rescue Naruto. The battle ends when Momoshiki, sacrificing Kinshiki to increase, is defeated by Boruto and his father with Sasuke's help. But Momoshiki survived long enough to realize Boruto's full potential while warning him of future tribulations. After recovering from his fight, Boruto decides to become like his mentor, Sasuke in the future while entrusting Sarada to follow her dream of becoming the next Hokage.
In his next mission, Boruto serves as a bodyguard for the Fire Daimyo's son Tento with the two finding kinship in both wanting to be acknowledged by their fathers. When a group of bandits known as the Mujina kidnaps Tento, Boruto saves the boy with the group's leader incarcerated due to having knowledge on the mark that Momoshiki placed on Boruto. Naruto and the other learn there is a group called "Kara" (殻, lit. The Husk) searching for people with the marks called Karma. Boruto's team meets Kara's fugitive Kawaki. Kawaki becomes an adopted member of the Uzumaki Family to protect him. However, when trying to protect the young man, Naruto and Sasuke are defeated by the leader of Kara Jigen, with Jigen sealing away Naruto while Sasuke escapes. Team 7 saves the Hokage when Boruto's Karma causes him to be possessed by Momoshiki. After learning of this, Sasuke discovers all Karma users will be taken over by the Otsutsuki clan including Jigen. Meanwhile, a mutiny starts to form in Kara, with Kashin Koji challenging Jigen while Amado goes to Konoha to seek asylum in exchange for information, revealing that the real leader of Kara is actually Isshiki Otsutsuki, who has been possessing Jigen ever since he was betrayed by Kaguya when they came to Earth millenniums ago and Karma allows the Otsutsuki clan to resurrect via the host's body. Although Koji kills Jigen, forcing Isshiki to reincarnate imperfectly and Kawaki's Karma was removed in process, Isshiki defeats Koji before attacking Konoha.
Anime
Unlike the manga, after the flash-forward showing Kawaki the series begins with Boruto attending the Hidden Leaf Village's Ninja Academy. He awakens a special eye technique, which played a role in detecting contaminated energy in certain people who turned violent. Mitsuki helped in revealing their classmate and friend, Sumire, as the one responsible for contaminating and draining people's chakras. This led to Boruto trying to save Sumire from both Mitsuki and herself, and to bring her back, having to travel between dimensions to do so.
Then Sarada has her own adventure where she searches for her father, Sasuke Uchiha, while helping him and Naruto save her mother Sakura from Shin Uchiha.
The Hidden Leaf students then go on a field trip to the Hidden Mist Village where Boruto befriends a ninja named Kagura while stopping an attempted coup by traditionalists.
Boruto and his class then graduate from the academy, being assigned to Konohamaru Sarutobi with Sarada and Mitsuki and they and the other teams begin having missions, one with Shikadai Nara befriending a criminal named Ryōgi.
The anime also retells the events of Boruto: Naruto the Movie with additional content that includes the antagonist Urashiki Otsutsuki.[3] Following original arcs involve the search for Urashiki who wants to take Naruto's chakra until Urashiki's death in the Time Slip arc.
Production
When the Naruto manga ended in 2014, the company Shueisha asked Masashi Kishimoto to start a sequel. Kishimoto rejected the idea and proposed artist Mikio Ikemoto, who had been working as an assistant for Kishimoto ever since Naruto's early chapters, to draw it instead.[4][5][6]
A countdown website titled "Next Generation" was used to promote the new manga. In December 2015, the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations's serialisation was announced.[7][8] Kishimoto said he wanted Boruto to surpass his own work.[9] The writer of Boruto, Ukyō Kodachi, had written a light novel called Gaara Hiden (2015) and had assisted Kishimoto in writing the script for the film Boruto: Naruto the Movie.[10] Besides writing for the series, Kodachi supervises the story of the anime. Kishimoto also acted as the supervisor of the anime for episodes 8 and 9.[11] Kodachi explained that the series' setting which is notable for handling more science than Naruto was influenced by his father, a physician. In order to further combine the use of ninjutsu and technology, Kodachi was inspired by sci-fi role playing games.[12]
Despite Kishimoto revising the manga's scenario, he advised Ikemoto to make his own art style instead of imitating his. Ikemoto agreed and felt optimistic about his art style. While noting long-time fans might be disappointed Kishimoto is not drawing Boruto, Ikemoto stated he would do his best in making the manga.[13] While feeling honoured to create the art for Boruto, Ikemoto stated he is grateful the series is released monthly rather than weekly because producing the required amount of nearly 20 pages per chapter would be stressful; however, he still finds the monthly serialisation challenging. Regular chapters of Boruto tend to exceed 40 pages; creation of the thumbnail sketches takes a week, the pages take 20 days to produce, while the rest of the time is used for colouring images and retouching the chapters.[14] In drawing the characters, Ikemoto felt that the facial expressions of Boruto changed as the story moved on; Initially giving the protagonist large eyes for the character's interactions with Tento, Boruto's appearance was made more rebellious when he instead talked with Kawaki.[15]
Despite having a lighter tone than Naruto, the series begins by hinting at a dark future. This set-up was purposed by Kishimoto to give the manga a bigger impact and to take a different approach than the one from the Boruto movie. In this scenario, Ikemoto drew an older Boruto, but he believes this design may change once the manga reaches this point.[13] In early 2019, Ikemoto stated the relationship between Boruto and Kawaki would be the biggest focus on the plot as it would progress until their fight in the flashforward.[15] Ikemoto aims to give the series nearly 30 volumes to tell the story.[15] Kodachi drew parallels between Boruto and the post-Cold War era, stating that while the new characters are living in a time of peace, something complicated might bring the world back to chaos.[14]
Although Kishimoto is not writing the series, he created multiple characters for the staff to use.[16] Kishimoto did not specify whether Naruto or another important character would die, but he said he would find a situation like this interesting and added that the authors have freedom to write the story as they wish.[17]
Media
Manga
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. It was launched in the 23rd issue of Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on 9 May 2016. It ran in the magazine until the 28th issue published on 10 June 2019, and was then transferred to V Jump in the September issue released on 20 July.[18][19] The original series' creator, Masashi Kishimoto, currently supervises the manga, which is illustrated by his former chief assistant and written by the co-writer of the Boruto: Naruto the Movie screenplay.[20] In order to keep the entire Naruto saga within a hundred volumes, Ikemoto hopes to complete the manga in fewer than 30 volumes.[21] A spin-off manga titled Boruto: Saikyo Dash Generations (BORUTO-ボルト- SAIKYO DASH GENERATIONS) is written by Kenji Taira and has been serialised in Saikyō Jump since the March 2017 issue.[22]
No. | Title | Japanese release | English release | |
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1 | Uzumaki Boruto!! Uzumaki Boruto!! (うずまきボルト!!) | 4 August 2016[23] 978-4-08-880756-0 | 4 April 2017[24] 978-1-4215-9211-4 | |
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Years before a fight against a person named Kawaki in a ruined Hidden Leaf Village, Boruto Uzumaki remembers his childhood as he describes himself as a child who detests his home as his father, Naruto, the leader of the area has to spend little time with his family due to his job. When Naruto's best friend, Sasuke Uchiha, returns from to the village to warn him about two dangerous enemies, Boruto requests Sasuke to train him so that he will suprass his father. Sasuke agrees on the condition he performs Naruto's Rasengan technique which Boruto does both on his own as well as technological device. Tempted to impress his father with the upcoming ninja exams to become high ranking Chunin, Boruto enters into the test with his teammates Sarada Uchiha and Mitsuki although he is conflicted to use technological devices. The final chapter is a prequel focused on Mitsuki's origins as a testsubject from a former criminal named Orochimaru who created him. Mitsuki abandons Orochimaru and goes to the Leaf Village to find his own identity. | ||||
2 | Stupid Old Man!! Kuso Oyaji...!! (クソオヤジ…!!) | 2 December 2016[25] 978-4-08-880827-7 | 5 September 2017[26] 978-1-4215-9584-9 | |
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Boruto's success in the first Chunin examinations attracts his father attention. In another part of the text, Boruto uses ninja technology which causes him to be disqualified by Naruto. As this happens, the Hidden Leaf is attacked by Sasuke's enemies which whom he identifies as Kinshiki Otsutsuki and Momoshiki Otsutsuki. Fearing the destruction of the village and the deaths of its citizens, Naruto allows himself to be kindapped by the invasors who wish to take the Nine-tailed Demon Fox hidden within his body. Following Boruto's recovery, he realizes the error of his ways but is motivated by Sasuke to go on a mission with the other villages' leaders, the Kages, in order to rescue Naruto. As they rescue Naruto, Boruto manages to bond with his father. Sasuke and the Kages overpower Kinshiki who is absorbed by Momoshiki in order to increase his powers. | ||||
3 | My Story!! Ore no monogatari...!! (オレの物語…!!) | 2 May 2017[27] 978-4-08-881078-2 | 6 March 2018[28] 978-1-4215-9822-2 | |
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Naruto and Sasuke team up to overwhelm Momoshiki but the scientist Katasuke makes the enemy recover his power. Weakened, Naruto shares his power with his son so that he can create a giant Rasengan. With Sasuke's assistance, Boruto manages to kill Momoshiki. Before his death, Momoshiki implants a seal within Boruto's hand which Sasuke decides to investigate. Following the fight and the exams' cancellation, Boruto decides he will become a vigilante like Sasuke to support his daughter, Sarada, as she wishes to success Naruto as the next Hokage. Shortly afterwards, Boruto is given a mission by his father to bodyguard the Fire Feudal Lord's son Tento Madoka. | ||||
4 | The Value of a Hidden Ace!! Kirifuda no Kachi!! (切り札の価値!!) | 2 November 2017[29] 978-4-08-881227-4 | 4 September 2018[30] 978-1-9747-0140-7 | |
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Boruto befriends Tento and teaches him the use of shurikens while acting as his bodyguard. As he later overhears that Tento was kidnapped by the Mujina Bandits, Boruto asks Sarada he cannot join on their next mission. Boruto saves Tento from the cannibalistic Shojoji who aimed to take the child's appearance. During their fight, Boruto's chakra is sealed by the mark Momoshiki implanted on him, but Mitsuki and Sarada manage to reach him to defeat Shojoji. As Shojoji is arrested, Sasuke interrogates him, having learned he knows of Boruto's mark. Through the interrogation, Sasuke learns of an organization in search of people with different marks named Kara. | ||||
5 | Ao Ao (青) | 2 May 2018[31] 978-4-08-881413-1 | 5 March 2019[32] 978-1-9747-0512-2 | |
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Naruto and Sasuke inform Boruto of an impending danger and how he the team should rely on new type of ninja technology created by Katasuke. While Boruto is initially against this, Mitsuki convinces his teammate that he should accept it as Sarada already accepted it and that it is his dream to support the next Hokage like the vigilante Sasuke. Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki bodyguard Katasuke unaware that the group Kara is looking for them thanks to an elder named Ao, an agent working for them. After training with the ninja technology devices, Boruto's team go with Katasuke to find their missing leader, Konohamaru Sarutobi, and their partner Mugino. Although the team manages to reunite with Konohamaru and Mugino, they are cornered by Ao in a cave. | ||||
6 | Karma Kāma (楔) | 4 October 2018[33] 978-4-08-881656-2 | 4 June 2019[34] 978-1-9747-0698-3 | |
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Ao overwhelms Konohamaru's team, leading Mugino to sacrifice himself so that the ninjas will escape from the cave. Having learned that Katasuke had been controlled by Kara's members through an illusion technique, Team Konohamaru devise a plan to fight Ao once again. In their second fight against Kara's agent, Team Konohamaru trick Ao into giving him more scientific tools in order to defeat him with Boruto's Rasengan. Following Ao's defeat, Kara's agent Koji Kashin arrives, killing his own agent. Koji battles Konohamaru one-on-one, taking the upperhand. Before Konohamaru is killed, Boruto's seal activates in the form larger mark that absorbs Koji's technique whom he refers as "Karma". As Koji decides to abandon the area, Team Konohamaru return to the village but find a young Kawaki who is also covered by the Karma marks. | ||||
7 | Kawaki Kawaki (カワキ) | 4 February 2019[35] 978-4-08-881722-4 | 5 November 2019[36] 978-1-9747-0699-0 | |
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As the former Kara member Kawaki wakes up, Garou from the same group comes to retrieve him, calling him "vessel". Using his Karma power, Kawaki manages to kill his enemy but falls unconscious. Konohamaru decides to take him to the Leaf Village where Naruto decides to take care of him in order to protect him from his enemies. As a result, Boruto and Kawaki start living together, something the two dislike with the former hating how Kawaki destroyed Himawari's favorite flowervase and the latter hating Boruto's complete unwillingness to let him do what he wants and listen to what he wants to say. However, Kawaki decides to tell Uzumaki family his past as he remembers the time when his abusive father sold his son to Jigen who used him as an experiment and bestowed upon Kawaki the Karma. | ||||
8 | Monsters!! Bakemono...!! (怪物…!!) | 4 June 2019[37] 978-4-08-881865-8 | 7 April 2020[38] 978-1-9747-0879-6 | |
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As Kawaki starts bonding with the Uzumaki family, Kara members Koji and Delta plan to enter into the village to take back their agent, with Koji entering the village undetected but leaving Delta behind. After seeing Boruto and Naruto training, Kawaki decides explain to them how the Karma seal is able to enhance the abilities of their users. Seeing as Kawaki wants to repair Himawari's vase, Boruto and his adoptive brother also start training to master their Karmas, unaware that Koji is watching them. Delta then appears in the area and starts fighting against Naruto to take Kawaki back. | ||||
9 | Up to You Omae shidai (お前次第) | 4 October 2019[39] 978-4-08-882081-1 | 4 August 2020[40] 978-1-9747-1702-6 | |
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As Delta's body is covered with the ability of absorbing chakra, Naruto manages to defeat her when pushing her usage to the limit. Delta escapes and reunites with Kara and talks with them about Boruto possessing Karma, something they seek. Admiring him more due to the protection he has given him, Kawaki asks Naruto to start training him to become a ninja like Boruto which the Hokage agrees. Meanwhile, Sasuke continues investigating the Kara organization and arriving on a site related to Kara with the coordinates Konoha managed to retrieve from Kara, discovers another Otsutsuki and Ten Tails, the personification of a creature he and Naruto sealed fifteen years ago during the world war. Jigen arrives and absorbs the creatures chakra while Sasuke falls back to warn Naruto, finding the situation too dangerous to engage alone, and heads to find two vessels: Boruto and Kawaki. | ||||
10 | He's Bad News Yabai yarō (ヤバイ野郎) | 4 January 2020[41] 978-4-08-882193-1 | 2 February 2021[42] 978-1-97471869-6 | |
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Boruto's Karma activates as Jigen forcibly activates Kawaki's Karma and teleports into Konoha intent on bringing back his adopted son. Naruto is briefly swiftly overpowered and pinned down as Kawaki is left to face Jigen alone, in the process of which his Karma develops to the point of sprouting a horn, but he swiftly recovers and saves Kawaki. Even as Kawaki surrenders to Jigen, fearing what Jigen could do to Naruto, Jigen, seeing Naruto won't cooperate, teleports Naruto to another dimension and Sasuke arrives. Although the two initially manage to push back Jigen, learning of his ability to shrink objects, once Jigen activates his Karma to the fullest, he decisively overpowers and critically injures the two even when they too use their full power, with Naruto sacrificing himself for Sasuke to barely escape and being sealed away. The fight at the same time also substantially weakens Jigen as Isshiki Otsutsuki, revealed to be possessing Jigen, curses at his weakness and the Kara leader withdraws back to the base and has to rest for 2 days. Koji, deducing this, leaves Konoha to try to kill Jigen. Meanwhile, Konoha's Police Force and Team 7 arrive too late as Kawaki's prosthetic hand breaks off momentarily before functioning once again, proof that Naruto lost to Jigen but is still alive. Kawaki and Boruto open a portal to another dimension and arrive with Team 7 to find Boro, another Inner of Kara, guarding the coffin that Jigen sealed Naruto in. | ||||
11 | The New Team Seven Shinsei dainanahan (新生第七班) | 13 May 2020[43] 978-4-08-882290-7 | - | |
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Boruto's team has problems facing Boro who is able to regenerate his body regardless of techniques that wound him. As Boruto and Kawaki run of chakra, Sarada manages to perform her father's lightning based technique Chidori to take the upperhand and weaken Boro. As the group prepare to take Naruto back to the village, Boro uses his last forces to take them down. Boruto is then possessed by Momoshiki who absorbs Naruto's chakra to kill Boro, treating the young ninja as a vessel he neeeds to take care of. Following Boro's death, Boruto and his friends return to Konohagakure, while Koji arrives in Kara's headquarters to take Jigen down, with Amado being revealed to be on Koji's side. | ||||
12 | - - (-) | 4 September 2020[44] 978-4-08-882412-3 | - |
Chapters not yet in tankōbon format
These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume. They were originally serialised in Japanese in issues of Shueisha's magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump and its English version published by Viz Media and in Manga Plus by Shueisha
Anime
At the Naruto and Boruto stage event at Jump Festa on 17 December 2016, it had been announced that the manga series would be adapted into an anime project,[55] which was later confirmed to be a television series adaptation that would feature an original story.[56][57] Additionally, an original video animation was previously released as a part of CyberConnect2's video game collection, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy (2017), which depicts a new mission where Boruto's team has to stop a thief.[58]
The television anime series, supervised by series creator Ukyō Kodachi, is co-directed by Noriyuki Abe and Hiroyuki Yamashita, with series composition by Makoto Uezu, animation produced by Pierrot, character designs by Tetsuya Nishio and Hirofumi Suzuki, and music co-composed by Yasuharu Takanashi and YAIBA. The series premiered on TV Tokyo on 5 April 2017.[59] Viz Media has licensed the series in North America.[60] The idea of choosing Pierrot and TV Tokyo again came from an editor of the Weekly Shonen Jump who found it fitting since there was a timeslot available for a young audience.[61] In promoting the anime, Crunchyroll started sharing free segments of the series in early 2018.[62][63] The episodes are being collected in DVD boxes in Japan, starting with the first fifteen episodes on 1 November 2017.[64][64] A CD soundtrack titled Boruto Naruto Next Generations Original Soundtrack 1 was released on 28 June 2017.[65] The second soundtrack was released on 7 November 2018[66]
On 21 July 2018, it was announced at Comic-Con International: San Diego that the English dub of the anime would premiere on Adult Swim's Toonami block beginning on 29 September 2018.[67]
In Australia, the anime is began airing on ABC Me on 21 September 2019.
On 21 April 2020, it was announced that episode 155 and onward would be delayed until July 6, 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[68]
Novels
A series of light novels written by Kō Shigenobu (novels 1-3 and 5) and Miwa Kiyomune (novel 4), with illustrations by Mikio Ikemoto, based on the anime have also been produced. The first one, titled The New Konoha Ninja Flying in the Blue Sky! (青天を翔る新たな木の葉たち!, Seiten o Kakeru Aratana Konoha-tachi!), was released on 2 May 2017.[69] A second one was released on 4 July 2017, under the title A Call From the Shadows! (影からの呼び声!, Kage Kara no Yobigoe!).[70] The third novel, Those Who Illuminate the Night of Shinobi! (忍の夜を照らす者!, Shinobi no Yoru O Terasu Mono!), was released on 4 September 2017.[71] The fourth novel, School Trip Bloodwind Records! (修学旅行血風録!, Shūgakuryokō ketsu pū roku!), was released on 2 November 2017.[72] The fifth novel, The Last Day at the Ninja Academy! (忍者学校最後の日!, Ninja akademī saigo no hi!), was released on 4 January 2018.[73]
Video games
The video game Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker was released on 31 August 2018, and contains characters from both the Boruto and Naruto series.[74][75] In August 2018, another Boruto game was announced for PC. Titled Naruto x Boruto Borutical Generations, will be free to play, with options to purchase in-game items. The game will be available through the Yahoo! Game service.[76] Boruto Uzumaki also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting game Jump Force.[77]
Reception
Manga
The manga has been generally well-received in Japan; the compilations appeared as top sellers multiple times. In its release week, the first manga volume sold 183,413 copies.[78][79][80] The series has one million copies in print as of January 2017.[81] Between 2017 and 2018, it became the 8th best-selling manga from Shueisha.[82] The manga's first volume also sold well in North America,[83][84] while the series became the sixth-best-selling serialised manga in 2017 according to ICv2.[85] In 2018's fall, Boruto remained as the fourth best-selling manga from North America.[86]
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network (ANN) said Boruto appealed to her despite never having gotten into the Naruto manga. She praised how the writers dealt with Boruto's angst without it coming across as "teen whining" and the way Sasuke decides to train him.[87] Amy McNulty of ANN regarded the manga as appealing to fans of the original Naruto series, adding that while Mitsuki has a small role in the story, his side-story helps to expand his origins.[87] Nik Freeman of the same website criticised Boruto's lack of development in comparison with his introduction in Naruto's finale; Freeman also said there are differences between the reasons both the young Naruto and Boruto vandalised their village. Nevertheless, Freeman liked Mitsuki's backstory as he did not feel it retold older stories.[87] Reviewing the first chapter online, Chris Beveridge of The Fandom Post was more negative, complaining about the sharp focus on Naruto and Boruto's poor relationship and the retelling of elements from Boruto: Naruto the Movie; Beveridge also criticised the adaptation of Kishimoto's artwork, but he praised the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke as well as the foreshadowing of a fight involving an older Boruto.[88]
Melina Dargis of the same website reviewed the first volume; she looked forward to the development of the characters despite having already watched the Boruto movie; she was also pleased by Mitsuki's role in his own side-story.[89] Leroy Douresseaux of Comic Book Bin recommended the series to Naruto fans, explaining how the new authors managed to use the first volume to establish the protagonists' personalities.[90] Dargis was impressed by the apparent message of the series, which she found was trying to connect to modern audiences with themes such as parental issues and the use of technology, in contrast to Naruto.[91] Douresseaux liked that Boruto's character development had already started by the second volume of the series because it helped readers appreciate him more.[92] The Fandom Post noted the manga made major developments in Boruto's story related to the flashforward such as the revelation of the Karma seal and enemies, making the episodes of the anime series pointless as, by the time the review has been done, the anime has not reached this part of the story, making the manga more important than its adaptation.[93] Kawaki's introduction in the series has been praised for the impact in the storyline and the rival parallels he has with Boruto in the same way the original manga had between Naruto and Sasuke.[94][95]
Anime
The anime was popular with Japanese readers of Charapedia, who voted it the ninth best anime show of Spring 2017.[96] IGN writer Sam Stewart commended the focus on the new generation of ninjas as well as the differences between them and the previous generation. He praised the return of other characters like Toneri Otsutsuki and enjoyed the eye techniques.[97] Stewart applauded the characterisation of both Shikadai and Metal Lee, calling their relationship as well as accidental fight interesting to watch and saying Boruto: Naruto Next Generations improves with each episode.[98] Crunchyroll Brand Manager Victoria Holden joined IGN's Miranda Sanchez to discuss whether Next Generations could live up to the success of the old series while still reviewing previous episodes of the series.[99] According to TV Tokyo, sales and gross profits of Boruto have been highly positive during 2018 taking the top 5 spot.[100] In a Crunchryroll report, Boruto was seen as one of the most streamed anime series from 2018 in multiple countries, most notably the ones from Asia.[101] UK Anime Network listed it as one of the best animes from 2019 for showing appealing original story arcs not present in the original serialization which contrasted the Naruto anime whose original stories failed to attract the audience.[102]
In a more comical article, Geek.com writer Tim Tomas compared Boruto with the series The Legend of Korra, since both were different from their predecessors despite sharing themes with them.[103] Sarah Nelkin considered Boruto as a more lighthearted version of the Naruto series, but Amy McNulty praised its 13th episode for the focus on a subplot that had been developing since the first episode because its revelations made the series darker.[104][105] Stewart agreed with McNulty, commenting that the developers reached the climax of the anime's first story arc. The villain's characterisation also impressed the reviewer.[106] Allega Frank of Polygon mentioned that during the start of both the manga and the anime, multiple fans were worried due to a flashforward in which an older Boruto is facing an enemy named Kawaki who implies Naruto might be dead; his fate left them concerned.[107] The series ranked 80 in Tokyo Anime Award Festival in the Best 100 TV Anime 2017 category.[108]
Critics also commented on Boruto's characterisation in the anime. Beveridge applauded the series' first episode, saying he felt Boruto's portrayal was superior to the one from the manga, while other writers enjoyed his heroic traits that send more positive messages to the viewers.[109][110][111] Reviewers praised that the returning character Sasuke Uchiha had become more caring toward his daughter, Sarada, the female protagonist of the series, and they felt this highly developed the two characters.[112] Critics felt this further helped to expand the connection between the Uchiha family members — Sasuke, Sakura, and Sarada — due to how their bond is portrayed during the anime's second story arc.[113][114][115]
References
- "The Official Website for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations". Viz Media. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-06-09/boruto-manga-transfers-to-v-jump-magazine/.147635
- "Boruto Anime Reveals New Visual for Upcoming Chūnin Exam Arc". Anime News Network. 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
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External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
- Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Official Adult Swim website