Shikamaru brings in Team 7 to give them the low-down about the current situation.

Catching Up

Since I haven’t ever wrote about Boruto, at least story wise, I think I should give my whole spiel about what I think about Boruto.

IT’S NOT NARUTO AND NEVER WILL BE!

And that’s okay.

If you are watching Boruto, expecting Naruto, then just re-watch Naruto because any spin-off off of that will never be as iconic.

Again, that’s okay!

Here, we have Boruto; an offspring of an iconic character not only in the minds of Naruto readers, but THE ICONIC figure in the story.

So, how the heck is Boruto going to be anywhere worthy to his predecessor?

The answer to that question is Boruto being in a completely different scenario and having his own trials & tribulations that do not mirror Naruto, at least not as much. Story wise, the characters are still facing the Otsutsuki. Honestly, Kaguya Otsutsuki felt like an underwhelming last boss at the end of Naruto Shippuden. Ultimately, having Boruto end this whole saga with the Otsutsuki seems appropriate.

In Naruto, the significance of amazing ninjutsu techniques felt like it meant so much more. In Boruto, ninjutsu seems like more of an afterthought with the overpowering abilities of the Otsutsuki and the Karma within Boruto and Kawaki.

People may find that the writing away of the significance of all of these abilities that Naruto and Sasuke had to gruelingly obtain become less meaningful, in bad taste—however, that just paves the way for newer unknown powers and abilities to be in the forefront.

It’s like throwing away Super Saiyan because there’s a Super Saiyan 2 now.. or Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue..etc.

I’m just trying to say the significance of powers and abilities can change!

Karma may be a cheat code for Boruto and Kawaki, but it makes the significance of their situation become that much more important to the plot. Also, it bears fruit to more layers of character development within Boruto that meshes well with his character that separates him from Naruto.

The whole reason why I have enjoyment for Boruto is the exact reason why people don’t like Boruto. The fact that IT IS NOT Naruto, makes it appealing. The perfect analogy for this dilemma would be “don’t put expectations from what your parents accomplished onto your kids,” especially if your kids are like a LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Goku. Gohan can be stronger than Goku, but he won’t ever be as iconic as Goku. If you take out that expectation of Boruto being Naruto, then you are going to enjoy Boruto a lot more.

I like that Boruto isn’t an overpowered protagonist.

I like that he is facing a problem (Momoshiki’s Karma) that will most likely kill him.

I like the fact that the main antagonist in this new arc, Eida, isn’t just another “I’m more powerful than you,” character.

I love shonen anime, but it isn’t just the typical tropes, themes and archtypes that make it great. Whether it’s some learning lesson, relatable experiences or just perfect execution of something simple (ala. Demon Slayer), Boruto provides interesting new tales that gives you something that Naruto does not. Carrying the legacy of icons like Boruto is in the position to do is completely a relatable experience. Seeing Boruto carve out his own life purpose is meaningful. Boruto: Naruto Next Generation may never live up to the legacy of Naruto, but it is still adds enough value to be worthy of your consumption.

The Turning Point in Boruto

What’s great about Boruto to this point is that the plot isn’t about being the strongest. If it was, then the story would always end up falling back onto Naruto and Sasuke, which it did early on. Naruto and Sasuke versus Isshiki was probably the peak of Boruto. All of the highlights of Boruto, have been Naruto related: fighting Momoshiki the first time and fighting against Isshiki in Baryon Mode. Now, I believe it is starting to shift to where Boruto will have his shining moments that will define his own story.. He’s already had some really big moments that’s fourth wall dap worthy.

The most interesting part of this entire arc with Eida is the fact that her abilities isn’t dependent on strength, thus causing a new scenario that isn’t your typical “Naruto” storyline that we’ve all been accustomed to. Whether fans like how this plot is turning out is pretty much in the air. The one thing you can’t knock is how completely different the premise of the plot is becoming.

Manga Recap

With Eida and Daemon kicking Code to the curb, she is now focused on what Amado and Shikamaru presents to her. Eida wants to get into Kawaki’s pants, so Amado and Shikamaru make a plan to have Eida “co-habitate” with Boruto and Kawaki to essentially ease the tension and concerns of one world threat as they focus on what to do with Code.

Shikamaru brings in team 7 to explain the situation they are in. With Eida listening in, Shikamaru tells Boruto and Kawaki to live with Eida. Furthermore, he explains that Eida got the hots for him and for him to be careful with what he does and says. Boruto’s job is to focus on “mediating” between Eida and Kawaki. Sarada and Mitsuki’s job is to watch over all three of them from the outside, reporting to Shikamaru and Konoha’s higher ups of any dangerous scenarios. When the danger is imminent, they will have to essentially, figure it out themselves.

If Konoha can be in the good graces with Eida, then she may be able to help them with the actual world threat that is Code and his mission to revive the Otsutsuki.

With Shikamaru’s plan in place, it seems to create an outlook where it can be a win-win scenario for all characters involved, including Amado. Naruto and Sasuke begin speaking on the rooftop about their current situation. Of course, the writer can’t leave us with a scenario that everything is going to be okay, right? Nope. The chapter ends with Sasuke sensing something ominous on the horizon that is reminiscent of “that day.” That “feeling” of “that day” is most likely 10 Tails!

Eida Becoming More Likable

Sometimes the fighting isn’t what is the most interesting. This chapter presents the actual problem at hand against an atypical opponent. Eida’s abilities are clearly hax. She can presently see almost everything, she can see the past and she has the power to “enchant” everyone, meaning she could turn you into a Twitch simp in an instant, dropping your entire paycheck as a donation.

With such an ability, Kawaki speaks to a guy’s logical sense as he conveys that it’s “kind of dumb,” she can have any man she wants, but wants him. That’s where the “relatability” portion of Eida and the plot has its most value. With Kawaki expressing the logic from a guy’s point of view, Sumire kicks in with the “she just wants to have a normal romance” statement. Here, we have a character in Eida that can have any guy herself, but wants something she can’t have. Her ability throws out any organic thrill she would have, if she had a normal relationship. That right there, hits home on multiple levels and angles from anybody’s personal experiences.

People want something that they can’t have. No matter how talented you are in a particular field, you are equally as untalented in another. There lies the conundrum of her character. In this case, Kawaki represents this learning lesson for Eida. However she ends up taking Kawaki’s “non-advances,” and actions, it’s going to be interesting to see how her reaction to living with Kawaki and Boruto turns out.

From a lady’s perspective, it’s like catching all of these DMs from a bunch of nobodies until a guy of a higher status you like *cough* *cough* Adam Levine type enters your DMs. This was just a relevant and fun way to say that all of the attention Eida can get doesn’t matter, if the person you actually like, doesn’t like you back.

Reviving Shikamaru’s Intellect

When Shikamaru and Naruto helped Boruto and Kawaki fight Code, I thought this was the complete downfall of Shikamaru. After fighting Code again, locked in the room and with this current chapter, Shikamaru being an intellectually superior character has breathed new life.

The worst thing a writer can do is completely change a character’s outlook. No person or character stays the same, however how a character is supposed to be perceived should stay consistent. If Shikamaru constantly gets outwitted in the most trivial of ways, then what the heck would be the point of this character?! It’s okay for characters to fail against superior opponents (Amado), but having Shikamaru almost die by entering obvious traps like in Chapter 65 was one of the most face-palming situations that a character like Shikamaru should have seen coming..

And that’s where I liked how the writing for Shikamaru panned out as it was revealed that he was the one that set up Code for that second encounter. Now, he devises an incredible plan that accounts for every danger in Konoha’s path. As the chapter ended and it switched to the scene of Naruto and Sasuke talking about Shikamaru’s plan, it felt like Shikamaru was being Shikamaru again.

The Code Situation

With Boruto, Kawaki and the others being tied to the “Eida situation,” at the exact same time, there’s this imminent threat of this “Code situation.” Like the end of the chapter eluded to, we’re most likely going to see Naruto and Sasuke in action again, but with no Rinnegan and Nine Tails to help them.

One thing that Boruto has lacked has been the MIA of other major characters. An opponent as strong as Code should include other characters involved, especially with the threat being world wide. Seeing Naruto and Sasuke without their “crutch” powers would be fun to see how creative the action could be, however seeing some fresh or old faces would make it seem like other characters actually matter in this story, which might be one of my biggest criticisms of Boruto.

Last Thoughts

Up to this point, Code just seems like a plot device. The real interesting antagonist is Eida and how that situation will play out. If you read enough manga and watch anime, we all know how these things play out. Code will get his way and Boruto’s karma with Momoshiki will turn for the worst. There are some elements of surprise that is waiting in the wings like Jiraiya’s reincarnation, Kashin Koji.

No matter the amount of iconic pressure that’s put on Boruto, this arc has presented a plethora of interesting dynamics from various characters’ perspectives. The “Eida situation” presents some very humorous scenarios that will give an intriguing juxtaposition to the tense fighting against Code and the 10 Tails. The fight against Isshiki may have been peak Boruto, but now with the plot cooking again with Code and Eida deep into plot, it provides a “stimulating” new premise, not just for Kawaki, but for us!