Review of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Mixed feelings doesn't even begin to describe what I feel after finishing the first part of Boruto. One one hand, we have a mediocre, filler spiked and sometimes downright boring adventure in the shinobi world we have ever seen. On the other hand, those decisive, story breaking moments this anime has left me wanting for more. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, guys. Boruto is, most of the time (and primarily the fillers) all kinds of bad. But for hardcore fans of Naruto, such as myself, I still think that it is something worth suffering through. ART and ANIMATON It's a mixed bag. You get the feeling that every lastdamn filler arc had to be animated by a newbie running on a tight schedule and budget. But then we have the manga canon arcs and that's where the animation takes a total U-turn. They are, with a few minor exceptions, superbly animated. Combat scenes feel far more fluent and dynamic than I have ever experienced in Naruto. The colors are also very vibrant and that makes for some seriously spectacular (and surprisingly dark and bloody) battles.

MUSIC

I don't really have much to say in the way of music. It does sound a little generic and repetitive at times, but it gets the job done. Despite that, Boruto has some amazing (not all, mind you) intros and outros. Band selection was very good and songs really hit those heartstrings.

CHARACTERS

After all the fuss in Shippuuden settles down, fast forward a few years,we get to see the stories of most of the main Naruto cast children.

Do they feel like a rip-off? Kinda. Are the new, original characters interesting? Not really.

This is, where I think Boruto fails the most. The series fails to introduce new, interesting characters that we could care about. And where Naruto made a point to include all of the Konoha 11 (and more) in major plot points, Boruto absolutely fails to do that. Basically everyone other than the main team feels like clutter and even their stories feel boring and absolutely insignificant in the long run. Still, the comedy element is present and not too shabby. The chemistry between individual characters actually works pretty well despite all.

STORY

And now the coup de gras. I've found that the story is something people hate the most in Boruto. And half of the time, I agree. The start is sloppy, fails to impress and the "Konoha hype" can only take you so far. I had a really hard time making it through the start, but when things started to get serious, I was glad that I did.

My main focus in this review is to try and get across some justice for the main story plots, wich are really good and some of the most emotional I have ever seen in the Shinobi world.

The fillers and some of the main story really break this show, but those amazing, action packed, beautifully voiced and emotional canon arcs are seriously worth it.

7/10