borutoThe time skip has been teased since the first chapter of the series, but it will serve a different function than similar plot devices seen in other series. For the most part, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is not an open-ended story that looks to the future, but rather a series of backward-looking flashbacks that lead to a conclusion that fans have known from the start. While this may seem like an exceptional way to organize a manga story, it could once again demonstrate the genius of author Masashi Kishimoto.
In the final episode of the first (very long) season of the Boruto anime, fans got to see the first scene of the series where the older Boruto and Kawaki challenged each other on Hokage Rock on a destroyed Konoha village. cancel. It’s a great reminder, for fans who’ve forgotten, that the story will have a game-changing chunk of time. At this point in the anime, not only are Boruto and Kawaki brothers uniting to protect the community against the threats posed by Code, Eida, and the remnants of Kara, but nowhere seems to feel comfortable. roof with their power like in the anime. Hokage Rock confrontation images.
Time Skip makes Boruto’s story unpredictable
Boruto needed some time to reconnect the story with the main timeline that fans witnessed in the early moments of the manga and anime, but was never seen or heard of again. until the last episode of Season 1. Although timelessness is a common metaphor in anime, few are presented at the beginning of the story as Kishimoto does in Boruto. This allows the author to do whatever he wants with the content, from creating traditional Naruto-like ninja plot elements to experimenting with non-traditional plot lines involving the alien Otsutsuki. and divine powers like the Almighty, before the passing of time brings the story back to normal. The main timeline, in this case the battle between Kawaki and Boruto, appears to be the last two survivors of Konoha that have perished. Kishimoto actually brought the story down to more than a few “holes” some of which have left fans out.
However, with the passing of time, Kishimoto was able to literally erase everything that happened before. Fans are certainly familiar with the glimmering theory that Boruto’s story is just a dream, perhaps the one Naruto is experiencing while still trapped in Madara’s endless Tsukuyomi. However, it is more likely that Kishimoto will keep those parts of the story related to the Kawaki-Boruto confrontation and discard everything else. Even if everything that happens before the return to the main timeline is still part of the “norm,” the reality is that it will only serve as the background and setting for the main story.
Fans shouldn’t be surprised by this approach. Kishimoto came up with a light version of it in Naruto, where, after building the series’ finale around the Madara threat, the author suddenly and forcefully turned Kaguya Otsutsuki into the villain. at the end of his story. Hopefully the fan backlash stemming from that choice will make Kishimoto think twice about introducing such a sudden development in the series. boruto finals, and instead use the skipping period to build the foundation for the final conflict.
Boruto: Naruto’s Next Generation Part 2 will premiere in the fall of 2023 on Crunchyroll.