What is going wrong?
Now before pelting stones, pebbles and all the good old cussing words, take a chill pill fellas. I ain?t any member of Anti-Boruto Squad(notify me if you find one though) whose only aim in life is to put Boruto down and rob people of enjoyment, even I watch each and every episode of Boruto. In fact, I have absolutely craved and loved all this ninja action from the time of Naruto.
But,
After watching almost 136 episodes of Boruto I am sad to say this, I am disappointed.
I mean, what the hell is going on here? Why is it still so dull and dry? Why does it lack the things we care for? Where it went all wrong?
Let?s try to answer these compelling questions,
1. Masashi Kishimoto is not authoring Boruto :
Masashi Kishimoto
Yes !! you heard(saw) it right. The original author of the great and spectacular Naruto has denied the offer to author Boruto from the start itself and instead has allowed his team-mates Uky? Kodachi and Mikio Ikemoto to guide it. Now there is no doubt that the way Masashi drove naruto was absolutely amazing. After experiencing all the pleasure offered by Naruto, anime fans are expecting a lot from Boruto and honestly speaking Ukyo and Mikio are yet to deliver such magic. I hope they both take some inspiration and tips from Masashi and truly pitch the joy we are waiting for.
For all the curious fans who want to know why Masashi drifted away from Boruto.
2. Boruto is not an underdog like Naruto :
Naruto and Boruto
Ya, Ya, I understand that Boruto is different than Naruto and should have its own originality. Well, I am not saying that both the anime should be same, but let’s be honest Boruto is already good in academics, fights strategic combat, loved and favored among his friends and society, an OP( has many shinobi skills, Dojutsu(Jougan), a f**king vanishing Rasengan, defeated God level characters like Momoshiki and Urashiki, Kara mark), etc. There are no areas where he is weak. There is no reason for him to keep improving, no reason to keep fighting, no reason to live up for. I mean whatever he wishes gets them quite easily. No struggle, no hustle, no pain. Now we all(at least humans) look up to a guy who is normal, who is ordinary, who is no special, who is just like us, but this guy with his persistence, with his determination, with his never-quit attitude, achieves or execute some extraordinary feats. So that people can look up to him and say, ?Hey he did it, see he did it, he was just like us but still he never quit and if he can do it why not us? ? but with Boruto that connection of normality is just not happening.
3. No strong side characters :
All the major characters from Naruto
This is a no brainer and we all need to agree on this. Boruto simply lacks strong side characters. Characters with impact. Characters which shapes the story in a major way. Characters added for a motive and not just for mere fillers. When we peek into Naruto world we see a lot of strong side characters. Characters like Kakashi, Itachi, Jiraya, Madara, Sasuke, Orochimaru, Obito, Pain. With each character we experience their life, we experience their story, we start composing feelings for them. There is Kakashi suffering from his past, Itachi letting world assume his vicious while secretly protecting Konoha, Orochimaru the mad Sanin who showed both faces of humans(cruel and sympathy), Pain looking to establish peace by wiping out the entire world. From supportive characters to villains each character carried weight, a long-lasting impression, an influence which modifies each and everyone?s life in the ninja world. Most of us watched Naruto, not just for the sake of Naruto but also for these side characters, their stories, their emotions, their life. It kept all of us hooked to the tv screens. Apart from just being individual stories, these heavy-weight characters interacted with each other or shared some connection. Kakashi-Obito(friends turned enemies turned friends), Sasuke-Itachi( bloodthirsty Vs loving brother), Jiraya-Pain( where student kills the very own master who gifted him life).We all miss these intriguing stories and connections in Boruto. Boruto is still ages behind in this section, although most of the characters are retained from Naruto world but either they are retired or are not offered ample screen-time.
4. The fights :
Elder Boruto with activated kara mark
Now the animation and visual effects have surely leveled up in Boruto and some fight scenes are surely mesmerizing but they still feel empty, there is still some void, some gap which separates them from being absolute shattering. The fights lack strategy, inspiration, mystery, intelligence, analysis, hard-work all in all they lack emotions. Just think for a moment how many of you remember great fights from Boruto after 136 episodes( honestly speaking Naruto-Sasuke-Momoshiki is the only deserving one) now on the other side how many of your remember Rock-Lee Vs Gaara just watch this thing and tell me, wasn?t this fight amazing. It was full of action, power, determination, emotion, hell at least I got pumped up after watching this fight. What about this fight between Kakashi-Shikamaru Vs Kakuzu-Hidan it?s action-packed, analytical, mysterious, powerful, intelligent and holds a lot of emotions, many other examples can be thrown Kisame-Itachi Vs Kakashi-Asuma-Kurenai, Hiruzen Vs Orochimaru, Tobi Vs Minato, Pain Vs Jiraya, Obito Vs Kakashi but you all get the point. All these fights barely had Naruto in it but still, they are some of the best fights in Naruto history. You can watch them at any time and still feel the emotions. Fights in Boruto are plain although with better animation and effects but they still lack the core, there is no tactical intelligence, mystery, analysis, strategy and most of all no emotions.
5. Bad background themes/soundtracks
Kakashi, Rin, Obito
I don?t know how many of you would agree with me but most of the Boruto background themes (sorry to say this) are complete trash. Left alone listening to them separately I don?t even like to hear them even in the anime itself and usually mute/skip those sections. Background themes are important for any form of entertainment. The choice of good soundtracks/themes is an essential factor for making a scene memorable. Be it an action-packed fighting scene, an entry screen time of a character or an emotional ?Talk no Jutsu ? good background tracks just multiplies the intensity of the moment. Listen to this Despair Theme a true masterpiece from Naruto or this Sad and Sorrow Theme, I just literally cried hearing this and still hear them often. Good background themes just add that perfection to sensitive scenes, it just perfectly blend into emotional fragile moments making them alive, making them connect to viewers. Boruto is still pending to create such heart-touching themes which will truly make the viewers immerse in its pleasure.
A Ray of Hope :
Naruto helps Boruto
Hey, just hold-back fellas it?s not all lost and the sun will shine again. Looking at the Boruto anime despite its 136 episodes I still feel the Anime is in its early phase. There is still a long way to go before the final judgment is done and I believe that Anime will gradually transform to more quality content as the story progresses. I hope that they try to add all the missing elements to Boruto and bring it back to life. As a successor of the Naruto series, the audience/critics( including me) sooner or later will naturally compare it to Naruto and Uky? Kodachi and Mikio Ikemoto have to work their asses off to fulfill these requirements. Maybe they can draw some inspiration from Naruto Anime and deliver the ultimate jubilation each Boruto viewer is hungry for.
