Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is an anime I enjoy, but it has several flaws that make me prefer Naruto and Naruto Shippuden more. Boruto Episode 246, which came out on April 24, 2022, highlights a few.
Before I begin, let me be clear this is not a hate/bashing article. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations has a lot of good things going for it.
Seeing familiar faces interacting with new ones is one of my favorite things about this series. But when I compare it to Naruto, Boruto has a lot of growing before it can stand on its own.
Boruto Episode 246’s ugly crying is, for me, a minor point, but it is trending. So why is this causing drama with fans, and will the anime be able to recover?
I think Boruto will stick around and improve, especially now that the original creator, Masashi Kishimoto, is back as the writer for the Boruto manga.
Why is Boruto ugly crying trending?
When the Naruto manga ended in 2014, Shueisha asked Kishimoto to begin working on a sequel. But Kishimoto refused and nominated one of his assistants, Mikko Ikemoto, to take care of the art and Ukyo Kodachi as the writer.
This doesn’t mean Kishimoto was against the idea of a Naruto sequel. Initially, he was the project supervisor and stated that he wanted Boruto to surpass Naruto.
But, I believe Kishimoto refused to make a sequel because he wanted to work on a new project called Samurai 8. Sadly, Samuar 8 had a short run between May 2019 and March 2020.
Kishimoto also encouraged Ikemoto to use his art style instead of mimicking Kishimoto’s. In other words, even though it’s set in the same universe and will always be compared to its predecessors, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was always intended to be its own thing.
Boruto’s ugly crying is being blamed on the animation. And because Episode 246 is the latest upload, this is the newest complaint about the series.
But it’s not the only one.
Should you read or watch Boruto: Naruto Next Generations?
Unlike most adaptations between manga and anime, the mediums telling the story of Boruto and his friends are different but still canon. The manga begins as a retelling of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, while the anime is a prequel to the film.
This means we’re getting a single story from two different times in its universe. So you don’t have to watch the movie to understand what’s going on.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie was my first introduction to Boruto, and I enjoyed it. The film gives fans what they want and shows newcomers what the animation will become.
Naruto’s story was about a boy who was determined to become Hokage. However, Boruto’s story is a little different because, despite his strong resemblance to his father and having a similar name to him, Boruto wants to be his person.
Naruto and Shippuden gave us epic fights, character development, and decent pacing for most of the arcs. On the other hand, Boruto has given us epic battles but lacks in the other two.
Boruto: Next Generations walks a tightrope between balancing the old with the new. Some fans want to see more old faces, but Boruto is meant to be about the next generation.
I love Sumire and Mitsuki! Their backstories are a great example of keeping the old relevant while showcasing what’s great about the new.
One of the things I hated about Boruto Episode 246 is that a few seconds of the fight wasn’t shown. We can hear Boruto going after Funamushi, but for some reason, we only get to see the sky and the mountains before the end of the fight.
This is confusing and defeats the purpose of having a fight scene; the only times we shouldn’t be able to see what’s going on is when there’s smoke or when we get to know how a character is reacting to the fight. So I don’t want to see the backgrounds unless the characters look at them.
Does Boruto: Naruto Next Generations deserve the hate it’s getting?
No, but sadly putting pressure on any anime is popular. People love conflict and drama. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations isn’t perfect, but neither was Naruto or Shippuden.
No anime, manga, novel, web novel, game, or any other medium you can think of is perfect. Perfection doesn’t exist because everyone has their own opinion.
And that’s fine. Did I like Boruto Episode 246? Yeah, it was an average episode. I didn’t care about Tenma dying, but I did have my heart messed with when Kagura died.
And don’t get me started on Kurama; I lived for every episode he was in!