Boruto

• 1. Introduction

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  Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is a manga sequel that greets its readers with an older Boruto Uzumaki and a glimpse of a dark future. The story that follows is lighter in tone than the Naruto saga it continues. Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, proposed that opening to give the new series more impact and to set it apart from the Boruto film. Artist Mikio Ikemoto drew the grown-up hero, though he suspected the design might change by the time the plot caught up.

  Why would a sequel about the next generation of ninja announce its troubles before they begin? Why did the man who made Naruto decline to draw its successor, and who stepped in? What turns a boy who resents his busy father into a young man hunted by his own allies? And how did readers and critics judge a series that had to live in the shadow of a famous predecessor?

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• 2. An Offer Declined

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  When the Naruto manga reached its end in 2014, the publisher Shueisha asked Masashi Kishimoto to create a sequel. Kishimoto refused to draw it himself. He recommended Mikio Ikemoto, who had worked as his assistant since the early chapters of Naruto.

  A countdown website called Next Generation teased the project. In December 2015, the serialization of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was officially announced. Kishimoto said he wanted the new series to surpass his own work.

  The writer was Ukyō Kodachi, who had published a light novel called Gaara Hiden in 2015. Kodachi had also helped Kishimoto write the script for Boruto: Naruto the Movie. His father was a physician, and Kodachi said this shaped the series' stronger emphasis on science compared with Naruto. To blend technology with ninjutsu, he drew on science-fiction role-playing games.

  Kishimoto revised the manga's scenario, yet he told Ikemoto to build his own art style instead of imitating his. Ikemoto agreed and sounded optimistic about it. He admitted that long-time fans might be disappointed that Kishimoto was not the one drawing. Still, he felt honoured by the job and promised to do his best.

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• 3. Who Holds the Pen

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  Ikemoto said he was grateful that Boruto appeared monthly rather than weekly. A weekly pace would have been stressful, since each chapter was supposed to run to nearly 20 pages. Even so, regular chapters tended to exceed 40 pages. The thumbnail sketches alone took a week, and the pages took 20 days. Colouring and retouching filled the rest of the month.

  Ikemoto also reshaped his hero as the story moved along. Around a character named Tento, he gave Boruto larger eyes. Beside Kawaki, he drew a more rebellious face. In early 2019, Ikemoto said the bond between Boruto and Kawaki would become the story's core. It was heading toward the clash shown in the flashforward.

  In November 2020, it was announced that Kodachi would step down as writer after 51 chapters and 13 volumes. Kishimoto then took over the writing, with Ikemoto continuing as illustrator. Kishimoto had also invented several characters for the staff to use. He never said whether Naruto or another major figure would die. He called such a turn interesting and said the authors could write as they wished.

  In an August 2024 interview, Kishimoto said Ikemoto was completely in charge of the story and the main illustrations. His words were, "It really is Ikemoto's manga." Ikemoto noted that most of Kishimoto's villains were complex and came with backstories explaining their motives. He said he could not write villains that way, so his antagonists might seem more unreasonable by comparison.

  Ikemoto hoped to finish in fewer than 30 volumes. That target would keep the entire Naruto saga within a hundred volumes.

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• 4. Marked by Karma

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  Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki and his wife Hinata have a son, Boruto, and a younger daughter, Himawari. Boruto resents his father's absence, which comes from the duties of his office. Hoping to earn Naruto's approval, he trains with a ninja team led by Konohamaru Sarutobi, Naruto's protégé. His teammates are Sarada Uchiha and Mitsuki. Sarada's father Sasuke warns Naruto of a coming threat tied to the bloodline of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

  Two of Kaguya's successors, Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki, kidnap Naruto. They want Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him, to revive the dying Divine Tree in their own dimension. Boruto, Sasuke, and the four Kages, who lead the other ninja villages, rescue Naruto and defeat the invaders. Before he dies, Momoshiki leaves a mark on Boruto called "Karma".

  A group called "Kara" is hunting people who carry Karma marks. Boruto's team meets Kawaki, a fugitive from Kara who bears the same mark. Naruto adopts him and shields him from his former group. Sasuke later learns that every Karma user will be taken over by the Ōtsutsuki clan. That includes Boruto and Kara's leader, Jigen.

  A mutiny then breaks out inside Kara. Koji Kashin, a clone of Naruto's late master Jiraiya, challenges Jigen. Amado reveals that Jigen has been possessed by Isshiki Ōtsutsuki for millennia, ever since Kaguya betrayed Isshiki when they came to Earth. Karma, Amado adds, lets the clan return to life through the body of its host.

  Naruto meets Isshiki head-on, and Isshiki dies because his lifespan is limited. Momoshiki seizes the moment to possess Boruto. Sasuke and Kawaki fight him until Boruto takes back control. Isshiki had asked Code, the guardian of the Ten-Tails, to carry on the Ōtsutsuki will. Code frees two powerful cyborgs created by Amado, named Eida and Daemon.

  Eida offers to help Code kill Naruto if Kawaki is spared for her to romance. Her powers of seduction keep her from real love, except with an Ōtsutsuki. When Boruto fights Code with Karma, Momoshiki takes over again and forces Kawaki to kill Boruto. Momoshiki then revives him, and Boruto becomes a full Ōtsutsuki.

  Amado explains that the powers of Eida and Daemon are shinjutsu, transplanted from the remains of Shibai Ōtsutsuki, who achieved godhood. Shinjutsu, he says, are divine abilities stronger than ninjutsu. Kawaki fears that a full transformation will turn Boruto evil. He sends Naruto and Hinata into another dimension and promises to free them once Boruto and the remaining Ōtsutsuki are dead. In the fight that follows, Boruto gives up his right eye to save Sarada.

  Eida then activates her Senrigan dojutsu, called Omnipotence, and rewrites everyone's memories. Kawaki and Boruto trade places in the minds of the villagers. Kawaki forces Eida to spread the lie that Boruto killed Naruto and Hinata. Only Sumire Kakei and Sarada escape the effect, and Sarada persuades Sasuke that Boruto is innocent. Boruto vows to win back everything that was taken from him.

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• 5. Three Years Later

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  Three years after the memory rewrite, Naruto and Hinata still lie unconscious in Kawaki's dimension. Sarada has failed to convince the Eighth Hokage, Shikamaru Nara, that Boruto is innocent. Then Code attacks the village of Konoha with an army of monsters, and Boruto arrives to fight them. Kawaki attacks Boruto and helps Code escape before Boruto can learn anything about the Ten-Tails.

  Boruto chases Code into another dimension and meets the four Shinju clones there. After he escapes, Koji Kashin becomes his new mentor. Boruto also keeps watch over the tree in which Code has trapped Sasuke. Back in the village, he reunites with Sarada and Sumire.

  Shikamaru finally learns what really happened three years earlier. Since Boruto is still seen as a criminal, Shikamaru tells him they must work together in secret until they can expose Kawaki's crimes. Boruto then tells Shikamaru the true purpose of the sentient Ten-Tails. Soon two Shinju clones, Jura and Hidari, enter the village looking for Naruto.

  Himawari believes her brother is innocent and wants to help him, so she steps forward to face the clones. Boruto goes on protecting the village from the shadows, even though his own allies target him. As new threats appear, Kawaki decides to fight beside him again.

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• 6. Peace and Family

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  Ukyō Kodachi compared the world of Boruto to the post-Cold War era. In his view, a generation raised in peace could still see one complicating factor drag the world back into chaos. At the end of Naruto, the hero ended the war between the Shinobi Alliance and the Akatsuki forces. Boruto is therefore destined to guard the peace his father won.

  Family sits at the center of the series, whether by blood or by choice. Kawaki is attached to his adoptive father Naruto and treats Boruto as a brother. The Japanese band Asian Kung-Fu Generation wrote the opening theme for the Boruto film. The band suggested the series might end with a fated face-off between the two boys, and it hoped they would overcome their differences.

  Clothing carries feeling in this world. Characters keep a lingering attachment to the important figures they have lost, and that shows most in the outfits of Boruto and Sarada. The teenage Boruto wears clothes borrowed from Sasuke, a sign of respect for his teacher and pride in his upbringing.

  Ikemoto named Neo, played by Keanu Reeves in The Matrix franchise, as an influence on Boruto's role. Like Neo, Boruto could become a savior to his people. The manga therefore concentrates on his training as a ninja. Kawaki, by contrast, wears nothing noteworthy, which the authors chose to show his lack of personal interest.

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• 7. Magazines and Screens

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  The manga began on the 9th of May 2016 in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump. It ran there until the 10th of June 2019, then moved to the monthly V Jump on the 20th of July 2019. In April 2023, the first part concluded and a hiatus was announced. The series returned on the 21st of August 2023 with a second part titled Boruto: Two Blue Vortex.

  Viz Media licensed the manga for North America in 2017. It released the first English volume alongside the English dub of Boruto: Naruto the Movie. A spin-off manga by Kenji Taira ran in Saikyō Jump from the 1st of April 2017 to the 1st of April 2021. Its chapters filled four volumes.

  The anime adaptation ran for 293 episodes on TV Tokyo, from the 5th of April 2017 to the 26th of March 2023. Pierrot produced it, and Kodachi supervised episodes 1-216. Kishimoto supervised episodes 8 and 9. The anime opens as a prequel, before Boruto and his friends become ninja, while the manga starts by retelling the film. A second anime part was announced after the final episode aired.

  Light novels based on the anime were written by Kō Shigenobu, who wrote novels 1-3 and 5, and Miwa Kiyomune, who wrote novel 4. Ikemoto illustrated them. The first appeared on the 2nd of May 2017 and the fifth on the 4th of January 2018.

  The game Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker came out on the 31st of August 2018 with characters from both series. Boruto also became a playable fighter in the crossover game Jump Force. In August 2018, a free-to-play PC game called Naruto x Boruto Borutical Generations was announced for the Yahoo! Game service, with items to buy inside.

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• 8. Reader Verdicts

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  The first volume sold 183,413 copies in its release week. The fourth volume received an initial print run of 450,000 copies. By January 2017, the series had one million copies in print. By October 2025, the total circulation in Japan passed 10 million.

  In North America, ICv2 ranked the series sixth among serialized manga sold in the United States in 2017. From September to December 2018, it was the fourth best-selling manga there.

  Critics were divided at first. Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network liked Boruto despite never having loved the original Naruto manga. She felt his angst avoided coming across as "teen whining". Her colleague Nik Freeman criticized how little Boruto had developed since his appearance at the end of Naruto. Chris Beveridge of The Fandom Post disliked the first chapter for retelling elements of the film. Manga News compared the series to Dragon Ball Super and wanted the young heroes to act more. Yet several writers saw Boruto's growth by the second volume.

  Kawaki drew praise for his arrival and for a rivalry that recalled Naruto and Sasuke. Game designer Hiroshi Matsuyama liked his debut and his fights. Manga News suspected the introduction might feel forced, but critics enjoyed watching his cold manner soften through his time with the Uzumaki family. IGN found his bond with Naruto endearing.

  The arrival of Two Blue Vortex earned praise from Screen Rant, Siliconera, and IGN. They liked an older, calmer, more threatening Boruto. Hindustan Times reported that his new skills against Code made him popular online. IGN also noted that Sarada became popular with cosplayers, particularly through the work of the cosplayer Plern.

  Silverman called Ikemoto's art a fitting successor to Kishimoto's, especially in the fights. Ramen Para Dos and AkibaStation likewise valued the easy-to-follow action and the handling of many character designs. Beveridge disliked the adaptation of Kishimoto's artwork. The Outerhaven, which admired Boruto's new strength, still judged Code a weak villain, because he had not killed any strong character during the time skip.

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