The anime adaptations of Naruto and its sequel series Boruto: Naruto Next Generation famous for having an excess of fillers. However, Boruto easily surpassed Naruto in this regard. Typically, there are only 80 chapters of 45 pages of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations while the anime adaptation has 293 episodes. And yet, most of Boruto’s sub-episodes are really essential if fans want to really appreciate and even understand the story while Naruto’s sub-episodes don’t contribute much to the overall plot.
Based on the structure of the Boruto manga, the main story revolves around and begins with Otsutsuki. Only one piece – Mujina Bandits – deviates from this formula and feels insignificant by comparison. Meanwhile, the first six seasons of the anime take place before chapter one of the manga, during which time the various episodes focus on seemingly random missions against petty criminals and robbers, barely evocative regarding the upcoming Otsutsuki invasion. Ironically, when the anime finally adapted the manga’s first season, its eight sequel seasons would depart from the manga (and Otsutsuki) for another significant amount of time, a trend that persists throughout the anime. However, it’s clear that the overall Boruto story would be more effective and engaging when these “additional” details were taken into account.
Boruto’s important foreshadowing does not exist in the Manga
Aside from the aforementioned allusions to Otsutsuki, much of the anime effectively foreshadows major events that occurred in the original story. Meanwhile, the manga has a lot of them coming out of nowhere without any build-up or expectation, making them feel lackluster or even random. Interestingly, most of the Boruto foreshadowing involves Mitsuki, whose relationship with famous Naruto villain Orochimaru also doesn’t exist in the manga (along with many other characters).
One example occurred after a powerful jutsu called Omnipotence caused Boruto and Kawaki to swap places in everyone’s perception, turning Boruto into a traitor. Mitsuki ends up reacting much more strongly to Boruto (because of Kawaki’s betrayal) than to her teammates, which feels completely out of place in the manga. However, previous anime confirmed that he and Kawaki (or Boruto, in Mitsuki’s mind) share a past and are equally indebted to Naruto. Given this additional context, it makes sense for Mitsuki to take Kawaki’s betrayal seriously. The anime-specific stories also explain why Boruto: Two Blue Vortex considers Mitsuki important to Boruto’s salvation.
Only the Boruto Anime expands on the major events of Naruto
Only the Boruto anime explores the major events that occur in Naruto. In chapter #72 of the manga, the villain Code randomly creates an army of creatures from smaller pieces from Kara’s Ten-Tails. In addition to how previous anime episodes foreshadowed this, episode #51 connects these creatures to the army of White Zetsu that Obio raised in Naruto. Even better, a whole section further focuses on the First Hokage’s cells, which are used to nurture the White Zetsu.
Even by Naruto standards, a Boruto arc that is considered the epitome of filler is justified in exploring a correlation to Naruto’s origin story through one of the most mysterious entities in the series. entire series – Shinigami that Naruto’s father Minato summoned to seal the Nine-Tails. on his son. During Boruto’s Konohamaru Love Arc, a random entity called Soma is constantly compared to a Shinigami. The mysterious Shinigami’s motivations aren’t fully explained, but the anime at least tries to clarify this part of Naruto lore.
Boruto’s anime further explores the difference from Naruto’s world
Incidentally, the Boruto anime uses an extremely important event from Naruto as one of many devices to emphasize how different its world is from the one that came before it. The event in question is the Fourth Shinobi World War, and it’s one of the more effective ways the anime capitalizes on how periods of peace and war shaped both generations differently. In episode #178, it is revealed that Konoha holds a day of remembrance to commemorate the victims of the Fourth Shinobi World War, with the aim of helping those who have not grown up during the war to learn from those who have grown up, to prevent future tragedies.
Aside from the ceremony, the most obvious comparisons made to contrast Boruto’s peaceful times and Naruto’s war-filled events are both portrayed in the anime through minor villains. Many of the anime’s arcs (and missions) revolve around petty criminals committing one-off crimes, as opposed to major genocides that threaten the entire world, as is the case with Naruto. In another episode, Konoha’s Genin participate in a documentary that aims to highlight how the peace period is negatively impacting what was once a booming wartime business. The academy is facing declining enrollment and will benefit from the positive press the documentary will elicit.
Episode #35 explores how the skills developed at the Academy are now used for students to gain employment in many non-shinobi fields since they do not need to fight. In the same episode, Kakashi, a critical character who is puzzlingly absent from the manga, also comments that even in peacetime, Konoha cannot allow students with a disdainful attitude to become shinobi. The conversation in episode #24 shows the older generation expressing concern about the lack of fighting skills in the newer generation, which coincidentally mirrors what Boruto’s classmates are aware of and thus not aware of. assurance. In episode #168, Boruto confides in Kakashi about how growing up in peacetime directly hurt one of his friends.
Boruto anime introduces exclusive powers that will be key in season 2
Of course, the anime also introduces exclusive powers and abilities, such as Boruto’s Jougan dojutsu, Hiwamari’s extraordinary strength or Sumire’s Nue. Far from being meaningless, all of this will likely play a major role in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, proving that the anime simply has the time and opportunity to add more relevant content that sadly the manga has or wants to be ignored.
All of these elements are very interesting and help paint a clearer picture of the Boruto world, thus further highlighting the transition from Naruto and why the sequel is different ( and unique), all those sad elements are missing from the manga. While much of Boruto’s anime barely follows the manga’s main plot, these extras not only provide ample opportunity for foreshadowing later events, but also position Boruto is both an effective sequel and a standalone story that doesn’t have to rely on tie-ins to one of the most popular series of all time.