Boruto Naruto Next Generation Review (Episodes 1-217)

I think the show is good overall, but not the best. I like seeing what happens to Naruto in the future and I also like how strong both Naruto and Sasuke have become, and that Naruto has matured from a cocky kid to an adult to think more carefully about his actions and the consequences of his decisions. I think this just speaks to what good writers are. In the new series, I also liked the character of Sasuke’s daughter, Sarada Uchiha. I like Mitsuki, Orochimaru's son, I found both characters to be intelligent yet not so smart that it seems unbelievable. I also like the new enemy, The Husk, because they're more organized than the Akatsuki was, plus they have connections to all 5 nations--not just a bunch of mercenaries.

The leaf village has to face off against the Husk, who are more insidious because their plans are more long-term and more complicated than the original enemies that Naruto faced off against before he became the leader of his village. I also like how the new group is more spread out and more deeply entrenched in every great nation village.

There were a few things I didn't like so far in the series. I did not like that the anime had a flash-forward in the first episode, I did not think it was necessary to do that because I like animes that don’t show the endpoint and let the characters naturally progress throughout the show. I did not like Boruto at first, but as the series went on, he has grown on me. Though, I still think he needs a little bit more time to mature into the character that he will become. I do not like the fact that all the hyped characters are called genius, and dilutes the meaning of it. I think that the word genius was overused in the Naruto series to begin with, just because somebody has a certain skill set, doesn’t necessarily make them a genius. The thing that makes somebody genius in my opinion is the unique way they use their skills. Plus, I would think that Boruto being as smart as he is would understand the pressure that his father is under as a leader of the village, but he still doesn't understand all the responsibilities that come with being a leader. And then as the viewer, you have to wait a long time in the series to see Boruto understand the pressure that being a leader is. Plus, it doesn’t help that the lead scientist of the leaf village calls Boruto "young Lord," that just feels like somebody who is reinforcing higher than normal expectations for Boruto to aspire to and inflates his ego.

I think the lesson that the series can teach us is don’t put too high an expectation on your children because their goals might not be the same as their parent’s goals for them. I think the one thing I would change about the show is not to have a flash-forward and let the story take as long as it takes to get to its endpoint. Boruto Norton next generation is a continuation of Naruto series, both of which had the same theme of the younger generation surpassing the older generations limitations. I also believe Boruto has the theme of accepting and adapting to change. I think the series is not the greatest series overall, but I think it does a good job of hammering home its points to everyone who is watching the series. What are your thoughts on Boruto Naruto next-generation?