Boruto: Naruto Next Generations’ very first arc comes to a fantastic close after a rocky beginning as the “Nue Beast” arc ends at episode 15. As Boruto and his many friends begin their training in the Konoha Ninja Academy, they face multiple threats and dangers as mysterious newcomers, treacherous friends, and personality altering chakara threatens the lives of the young Leaf Ninja students.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is a 2017 shounen anime series, and sequel to Naruto & Naruto Shippuden. It is produced by Studio Pierrot and licensed by Viz Media. It is currently available for streaming with English subs.

Editor’s Note: This review contains near complete, to complete spoilers for the first fourteen episodes for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. 

The next Generation of Leaf Village Shinobi!

While some may not like the fact that Boruto’s anime adaptation seemingly retcons the events of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, it should be noted that the anime is actually a prequel taking place sometime around the Naruto Gaiden arc, thus making the Academy arc a prequel (Boruto is already getting ready for the Chunin Exams in the film). The Academy arc introduces new characters such as Sumire and Denki, both of whom appear in the Boruto novels. One of the more interesting takes on Boruto in comparison to Naruto Part 1 is the fact that it lets viewers know that Boruto is in indeed a rookie ninja, the only jutsu he currently has any control over at the moment is the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a technique brought into new light by his father Naruto. The showcasing of a not so overpowered Boruto, as well as Boruto’s overall likability in comparison to his father as a kid are two of the major draws for Boruto.

Meta references to the original series are often used throughout Boruto’s run as on pa callback for fans.

THE GOOD: Let’s face it anime adaptations are following an apparent trend of starting off with filler over canon stories which have previously been realized within the story, Boruto is no different, as the series begins with an original arc focusing on Boruto’s growth as a Leaf Shinobi prior to the events of Naruto Gaiden & Boruto: Naruto the Movie. Thankfully, however, Pierrot is able to make this “pointless on the surface” looking arc feel exciting with a fun story, great character development, and a solid first outing for the ongoing anime series. It helps that Boruto as a young child, is far more likable than Naruto was as a kid in part 1 of the original series. Whereas Naruto was always a goofball and only took things seriously when it was an inconvenience, Boruto is almost always point with what he wants to accomplish and the dangerous situations he and his friends face. Of course it could be argued that part of this personality is due to Boruto not necessarily dealing with the same struggles as his father growing up, he does face struggles of his own with his father being completely swamped in work as the Hokage. This has given Boruto a negative view of both the title, as well as his father himself due to him wanting Naruto to spend more time with himself, Himawari, and Hinata at home.

Side character Mitsuki steals the show.

By far the greatest element of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is the development of Mitsuki, whom is the child of former villain Orochimaru. The character, who was initially emotionless, begins to learn the difference between good & bad, what morality is, and other real life situations as he spends more time with Boruto and his friends. This makes Mitsuki an easily likable character, and provides a much more fleshed out sense of ideals for the other characters whenever Mitsuki is brought into play. Even in the final conflict with Sumire, he’s ordered to kill her due to her threat to the Leaf Village, however as Boruto refuses his efforts, he begins to question his orders, and allows Boruto to try and stop Sumire in his own way.

Sumire (right) clashes with Mitsuki (left), as the surprising antagonist of the Academy arc.

While characters from Naruto Parts 1 & 2 make appearances throughout the series’ run, this is very much about the next generation of ninja. In actuality, the previous main characters take a huge backseat to the current cast, only receiving a few minutes of screen time in comparison to the kids. One of the worries before the series premiere was that Naruto would have some heavy screen time due to being Boruto’s father, but even he has limited screen time. There’s even a small tease of Naruto taking action during the arc’s penultimate episode, but Kakashi advised him against it. Masashi Kishimoto is quick to remind viewers that this is indeed Boruto’s story, not Naruto’s.

Quality animation at its finest.

In regards to the Academy arc itself, while the story was about Boruto’s growth on the surface, the inner core of the plot was filled by “ghost attacks” happening throughout the Leaf Village. In reality, these “ghost” are actually a type of chakara that effect the personalities of everyone in the village they attach themselves too, evoking rage and anger. The culprit of the chakara was using this method to steal chakara from people in the village to release the Nue beast, a pseudo-tailed beast that could be denoted as a bomb, meant to release a massive explosion across Konoha. The person in question ended up being Sumire Kakei, who’s father was a follower of Danzo Shimura. He and his family were shunned after Danzo’s death, so he sought revenge on the Leaf Village. Sumire’s father would infuse the Nue beast within Sumire to enact his vengeance. Sumire was further motivated by the death of her mother soon after being kicked out of the village. After a fight with Mitsuki, Boruto intervenes and persuades her to end her father’s quest for revenge after Nue refuses to denote, opting instead to protect Sumire. New characters introduced in Boruto include the aforementioned Sumire, Denki, Iwabe, and a few others not connected to the Part 1 & 2 Naruto characters.

Sumire’s fake persona as the Konoha class rep.

THE BAD: Talk no Jutsu strikes again! It’s understandable if there’s plans to keep Sumire on board for future development, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing/annoying.

The Next Generation comes in full swing.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations first arc, while filler does a solid job of providing ground work for the characters that will be heavily focuses on upon follow-up arcs, including an adaptation of “The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring”, confirming that the Boruto anime will be canon to the manga. Sumire being the first antagonist, would have been a bit more shocking if it wasn’t becoming a tad more obvious down the line. However, the overall arc is still a fun ride due to the likable characters, and true growth they experience. Otaku Dome gives the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations “Academy Arc” a 78 out of 100.