Naruto/Boruto Griefing Thread

[Party Hat Wurmple]

A new month means new Boruto TBV. Ch 28 is out and let's go.

We open with a cover of Sumire carrying Boruto's new sword. It's..a fine cover I guess. Serviceable enough. We open with Inojin practicing this new jutsu he's doing. He's pretty much done with it and has mastered it in...a...single day. Hey remember when it took an entire arc to learn a new jutsu? Well Inojin learns this in one day. Great. Ugh, whatever. Inojin says he's only here for Himawari's sake and he hasn't forgiven Boruto. Boruto, also says he hasn't accepted Inojin yet. In probably his only funny line of the entire series to date, he says if he ever makes Himawari cry, he'll shave off his ridiculous haircut. Well, say what you want about Inojin's hair, Boruto. At least Ikemoto can keep his consistently on model.

We jump to the interrogation room where Konohamaru is let go. It's Mitsuki's turn now. However, Sai makes a telepathic request to the sensory unit. He asks them to see if Konohamaru has received any telepathic communications. When they say no, he confirms that someone is using outside channels. So far this is more than he's done in the War Arc and we'll see where this goes.

Boruto gets his new sword from Sumire. Which she also...Wait, when did this take place? It says Inojin mastered his new jutsu in a single day. Was this a flashback? Mamushi invades several days later from the last chapter after Sumire is given Boruto's sword. Inojin just mastered his jutsu in a single day, so was that first scene in this chapter a flashback that was just never addressed? Or did we wait several days when there was already a two week time limit for Inojin to begin practicing his new jutsu for some retarded reason? So either the first scene in this chapter is a flashback and the fucking comic book didn't bother telling us this, or they waited SEVERAL DAYS WHEN THEY ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS, to start practicing Inojin's new jutsu. Which is absolutely confounding and retarded!!!! WHY?! What is wrong with you people?! Bug is coming in two fucking weeks and you have a psychic telling you this but you waited days to bother letting Inojin practice this new vital technique which is critical for your success?! What, could he not miss his ninja cat catching mission to work on a village saving power? Or is Ikemoto just incompetent or lazy and didn't bother to flesh out the actual timeline of this? I'll go with the latter and assume they waited because at least it gives Sumire's part in this time to at least make a little sense. Little inconsistencies like this always bug me in comics because time isn't a difficult thing to keep track of. You have to go out of your way to make events not flow right.

ANYWAY, Boruto's new sword...Yeah it can use the Hagoromo Style Jutsu Sasuke uses to keep it sharp and durable and prevent it from chipping on its own at the cost of slightly draining Boruto's chakra. Sumire also decided to make this chakra drain a security feature and make the sword rapidly drain chakra of anyone who tries to hold it that isn't Boruto, Sumire, or Sasuke. It also has some unknown special material in it, but we'll see about that later. If Ikemoto were a good writer, he'd use that chakra drain for dramatic tension like Sarada grabbing the sword to save Boruto despite it putting her at risk and harm. Will he do that? Probably not. It's probably another loaded Chekov's gun that he'll never fire.

Shikamaru is having a discussion with Shikadai that he's assigning him to a special operation that's secret. Shikadai pieces together this is to help Boruto, and while despite wanting nothing to do with it and hating Boruto, Inojin and Cho Cho already want to help Himawari and he won't abandon them. Shikamaru assures him that Boruto's help is absolutely necessary. Shikadai reluctantly agrees to help.

We cut to Inojin and Koji. This is probably the portion I looked most forward to talking about because finally, at long last FINALLY, someone asks Koji the obvious question. Inojin asks Koji why he only gives them bits and pieces of intel. Thank you, Inojin. Koji responds by telling him that small outcomes can have chain reactions. If Inojin knew he would probably die saving Himawari, would he have done it? Or would he hesitate? And assuming he didn't do it, would Himawari's powers with Kurama have awakened? He's of the opinion that even something told in good intentions could lead to bad outcomes. If the future is ideal, it's better that fewer people know about it in his opinion.

If I read between the lines a bit here, Koji doesn't seem to really grasp his own power very well. He seems to almost fear changing too much and he's very careful about what he does and doesn't do. Hence why he's fine with sacrificing people's lives if it means making a better tomorrow, even if a better possibility could present itself by that outcome. He'd rather play with the future he sees before him than deal with uncertainty even if that future isn't entirely ideal which is the real devil in the details here. Maybe there was a future where Yodo didn't die, but Koji would rather the future where she does if it guaranteed the outcome as opposed to saving her and risking one that ends in failure.

If that sounds well thought out and put together, don't worry. We get stupid again real soon.

Koji goes on to explain that the more people that know the future, the harder it is to control. The more singularities, or people who know the future, the more the future branches out. These people cause wild and radical changes in the potential outcomes. Eventually these changes become so radical, it nullifies having the vision of the future completely. He has to be cautious about who he speaks to in order to secure an ideal future. Inojin asks then, if they just go with the flow Koji wants then, they can assume that he's guiding them to the best future possible. Only for Koji to reply with........He never knows if his choice is the right one until he foresees the outcome.........Then why bother having it all?!?!? We're shown a glimpse of the future where Eida is dead and Himawari is also dead. He says a future where Eida and Himawari survive is worth it.

If you don't know whether the future is the right one or not, why bother sacrificing anyone at all? Alright. I get what they're going for here, I think. I think the dynamic at play is that Koji wants the most ideal future he can foresee. Boruto, doesn't have this power so he wants the best future possible period. He doesn't care if it can be foreseen. So if he changes it radically, so be it.

Shikamaru telepathically reaches out to our cast. He tells them this is an unofficial mission that Mamushi will attack the village. Inojin's new jutsu allows him to detect movement and vibrations by turning the person in range into a receiver to detect said vibrations. He'll use this to pinpoint the Mamushi clones. He tells them all that he selected them for this mission as they are not hostile to Boruto and will need to defend him from the village's forces as he wipes out the Mamushi clones. Honestly, it's nice to see them operate as a military again. Anyway, Shikamaru is about to disclose Mamushi's powers to the group before getting cut off. Mamushi has arrived in the village. He warns everyone their target is Eida and to be on guard. Boruto heads out to engage some of the clones, slicing through them easily. However, when Mamushi shoots out fire and begins burning buildings, Boruto absorbs it revealing his Karma.

I think I've said enough about this chapter already. We get some fun moments, but there's a lot of dumb things too. It's nice to finally get an explanation to what Koji's deal is. It makes Presience virtually worthless though, but it does raise some tension. The Ten Directions isn't perfect or all it's cracked up to be, so the idea that they're operating on a knife's edge feels a bit more fleshed out now. The story is still dumb, and it's not one of the better chapters though.

 

[Incecticyder]

We open with a cover of Sumire carrying Boruto's new sword. It's..a fine cover I guess. Serviceable enough. We open with Inojin practicing this new jutsu he's doing. He's pretty much done with it and has mastered it in...a...single day. Hey remember when it took an entire arc to learn a new jutsu? Well Inojin learns this in one day. Great. Ugh, whatever. Inojin says he's only here for Himawari's sake and he hasn't forgiven Boruto. Boruto, also says he hasn't accepted Inojin yet. In probably his only funny line of the entire series to date, he says if he ever makes Himawari cry, he'll shave off his ridiculous haircut. Well, say what you want about Inojin's hair, Boruto. At least Ikemoto can keep his consistently on model.

Everyone is a ninjutsu genius nowadays.

We jump to the interrogation room where Konohamaru is let go. It's Mitsuki's turn now. However, Sai makes a telepathic request to the sensory unit. He asks them to see if Konohamaru has received any telepathic communications. When they say no, he confirms that someone is using outside channels. So far this is more than he's done in the War Arc and we'll see where this goes.

Sai has been underutilized. It sucks to say but he deserves a better series.

Boruto gets his new sword from Sumire. Which she also...Wait, when did this take place? It says Inojin mastered his new jutsu in a single day. Was this a flashback? Mamushi invades several days later from the last chapter after Sumire is given Boruto's sword. Inojin just mastered his jutsu in a single day, so was that first scene in this chapter a flashback that was just never addressed? Or did we wait several days when there was already a two week time limit for Inojin to begin practicing his new jutsu for some retarded reason? So either the first scene in this chapter is a flashback and the fucking comic book didn't bother telling us this, or they waited SEVERAL DAYS WHEN THEY ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS, to start practicing Inojin's new jutsu. Which is absolutely confounding and retarded!!!! WHY?! What is wrong with you people?! Bug is coming in two fucking weeks and you have a psychic telling you this but you waited days to bother letting Inojin practice this new vital technique which is critical for your success?! What, could he not miss his ninja cat catching mission to work on a village saving power? Or is Ikemoto just incompetent or lazy and didn't bother to flesh out the actual timeline of this? I'll go with the latter and assume they waited because at least it gives Sumire's part in this time to at least make a little sense. Little inconsistencies like this always bug me in comics because time isn't a difficult thing to keep track of. You have to go out of your way to make events not flow right.

Wurmble, you know we get along but this is easy to figure out: It took him many days to figure out how to CREATE AND DEVELOP the jutsu and then one day afterwards that was done to master it. Think of the jutsu as a sword: He designed and created it and then he mastered USING it in a day after he made it. He was not sitting around. Making a jutsu and learning how to use it well are different beasts all together the same way making a sword and learning how to use it are different.

ANYWAY, Boruto's new sword...Yeah it can use the Hagoromo Style Jutsu Sasuke uses to keep it sharp and durable and prevent it from chipping on its own at the cost of slightly draining Boruto's chakra. Sumire also decided to make this chakra drain a security feature and make the sword rapidly drain chakra of anyone who tries to hold it that isn't Boruto, Sumire, or Sasuke. It also has some unknown special material in it, but we'll see about that later. If Ikemoto were a good writer, he'd use that chakra drain for dramatic tension like Sarada grabbing the sword to save Boruto despite it putting her at risk and harm. Will he do that? Probably not. It's probably another loaded Chekov's gun that he'll never fire.

I can see it working. It will be used once on the Trees to kill one of them and then Jura will think that Boruto has to have enormous chakra reserves in order to use it. And of course Sakura will use it too once.

Shikamaru is having a discussion with Shikadai that he's assigning him to a special operation that's secret. Shikadai pieces together this is to help Boruto, and while despite wanting nothing to do with it and hating Boruto, Inojin and Cho Cho already want to help Himawari and he won't abandon them. Shikamaru assures him that Boruto's help is absolutely necessary. Shikadai reluctantly agrees to help.

I can see both sides in this but couldn't Shikamaru say it in a way that Shikadai would understand something deeper is going on?

We cut to Inojin and Koji. This is probably the portion I looked most forward to talking about because finally, at long last FINALLY, someone asks Koji the obvious question. Inojin asks Koji why he only gives them bits and pieces of intel. Thank you, Inojin. Koji responds by telling him that small outcomes can have chain reactions. If Inojin knew he would probably die saving Himawari, would he have done it? Or would he hesitate? And assuming he didn't do it, would Himawari's powers with Kurama have awakened? He's of the opinion that even something told in good intentions could lead to bad outcomes. If the future is ideal, it's better that fewer people know about it in his opinion.

Butterfly effect. Yeah, it is easy to grasp why he didn't say as much but he could be less of an ass about it.

If I read between the lines a bit here, Koji doesn't seem to really grasp his own power very well. He seems to almost fear changing too much and he's very careful about what he does and doesn't do. Hence why he's fine with sacrificing people's lives if it means making a better tomorrow, even if a better possibility could present itself by that outcome. He'd rather play with the future he sees before him than deal with uncertainty even if that future isn't entirely ideal which is the real devil in the details here. Maybe there was a future where Yodo didn't die, but Koji would rather the future where she does if it guaranteed the outcome as opposed to saving her and risking one that ends in failure.

If that sounds well thought out and put together, don't worry. We get stupid again real soon.

Yeah, can't save everybody and telling someone they had to die sucks. I am with Koji on this. There is no way you can tell someone that they are "acceptable losses" (hi Danzo) and expect a good reaction.

Koji goes on to explain that the more people that know the future, the harder it is to control. The more singularities, or people who know the future, the more the future branches out. These people cause wild and radical changes in the potential outcomes. Eventually these changes become so radical, it nullifies having the vision of the future completely. He has to be cautious about who he speaks to in order to secure an ideal future. Inojin asks then, if they just go with the flow Koji wants then, they can assume that he's guiding them to the best future possible. Only for Koji to reply with........He never knows if his choice is the right one until he foresees the outcome.........Then why bother having it all?!?!? We're shown a glimpse of the future where Eida is dead and Himawari is also dead. He says a future where Eida and Himawari survive is worth it.

He is not wrong though. If they know the future, they will not act in the way they are supposed to unless the future cannot be altered. Also, they will try to alter it in a way it saves their skin or that of their loved ones which might be contrary to the best outcome.

If you don't know whether the future is the right one or not, why bother sacrificing anyone at all? Alright. I get what they're going for here, I think. I think the dynamic at play is that Koji wants the most ideal future he can foresee. Boruto, doesn't have this power so he wants the best future possible period. He doesn't care if it can be foreseen. So if he changes it radically, so be it.

I believe that Koji does not want to just sit still and look pretty because doing so means that only the bad futures are at all likely and by moving he alters them enough and maybe somewhat control the outcome. Sometimes the future must be changed! - Trunks.

Shikamaru telepathically reaches out to our cast. He tells them this is an unofficial mission that Mamushi will attack the village. Inojin's new jutsu allows him to detect movement and vibrations by turning the person in range into a receiver to detect said vibrations. He'll use this to pinpoint the Mamushi clones. He tells them all that he selected them for this mission as they are not hostile to Boruto and will need to defend him from the village's forces as he wipes out the Mamushi clones. Honestly, it's nice to see them operate as a military again. Anyway, Shikamaru is about to disclose Mamushi's powers to the group before getting cut off. Mamushi has arrived in the village. He warns everyone their target is Eida and to be on guard. Boruto heads out to engage some of the clones, slicing through them easily. However, when Mamushi shoots out fire and begins burning buildings, Boruto absorbs it revealing his Karma.

Good to see Mamushi is an absolute idiot even when he is supposed to be smart. Real classy.

I think I've said enough about this chapter already. We get some fun moments, but there's a lot of dumb things too. It's nice to finally get an explanation to what Koji's deal is. It makes Presience virtually worthless though, but it does raise some tension. The Ten Directions isn't perfect or all it's cracked up to be, so the idea that they're operating on a knife's edge feels a bit more fleshed out now. The story is still dumb, and it's not one of the better chapters though.

Ten Directions makes sense and it is actually rather useful. It is how the story is being told that makes it sound stupid though. TD lets one know what abilities the enemy has, which jutsu are worth learning etc etc. e.g. If Boruto in Bad Future A used jutsu Ab to counter ability Ac and it worked but jutsu Ad was not good match against ability Ae and that killed him then you know that Boruto only needs to learn jutsu Ab and use the time he would have spend for jutsu Ad on another ore useful jutsu perhaps from another future. All these would serve to make Boruto have spend time on learning only the good jutsu and make him the best possible version of himself to counter everything the Trees have without wasting time on subpar jutsu that will be countered.

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

Wurmble, you know we get along but this is easy to figure out: It took him many days to figure out how to CREATE AND DEVELOP the jutsu and then one day afterwards that was done to master it.

I get that, but here's the thing. The manga doesn't say this. I could accept it if they're going to tell us that, but just text box it. They don't, and that means the reader can think anything. If I'm going to criticize it, then I have to assume the worst because the reader might.

The last chapter we ended with Mamushi getting into the village. Here, we're starting a little bit before that. However, the chapter doesn't tell us that. I wouldn't have any confusion if the comic states these things. The problem is that it doesn't. So it makes me do a double take and have to go back when reading and see if I missed something. That's not good comic book writing. It's not passable in American comic books and it's not passable here either.

Maybe I'm going to get a little spergy here, but order of events is a cornerstone of comics. One panel flows into the next and order of events and movement is extremely important. It's what makes comic books work. When you screw that up, or have to backtrack, it's going against the entire point of the medium. I shouldn't have to ask this question at all. It should be very clear what's going on. So either show some time elapsing panels or Inojin working on this, or text box it if you're lazy, or work it into dialogue. Boruto could just say "It took some time to prepare, but once you got the Jutsu down you mastered it in a day, and I'm impressed!". Bam, problem solved.

I can see both sides in this but couldn't Shikamaru say it in a way that Shikadai would understand something deeper is going on?

He does. This conversation is actually longer in the chapter, but because it's all kind of the same regurgitated "I don't like Boruto!" "But we need to trust him!" schtick that I'm just tired of talking about by now. TLDR him and his team are now on board.

Good to see Mamushi is an absolute idiot even when he is supposed to be smart. Real classy.

To be fair, when making clones, he's supposed to be dumb.

Ten Directions makes sense and it is actually rather useful. It is how the story is being told that makes it sound stupid though.

It's very strange honestly. There's good drama to be had here, but Ikemoto invests time in none of it. This is really the first time we've gotten a glimpse into Koji's head and thought process and we're hundreds of pages in from his introduction. That's just not really acceptable. No other mangaka does this. The emotions in this manga are borderline autistic and deadpan. It's not like the art is conveying emotion. Most characters have only one or two faces. Boruto and Koji are virtually robots. Delta is a robot. Kawaki is half robot. The only one allowed to emote is Sarada.

 

[Incecticyder]

I get that, but here's the thing. The manga doesn't say this. I could accept it if they're going to tell us that, but just text box it. They don't, and that means the reader can think anything. If I'm going to criticize it, then I have to assume the worst because the reader might.

The last chapter we ended with Mamushi getting into the village. Here, we're starting a little bit before that. However, the chapter doesn't tell us that. I wouldn't have any confusion if the comic states these things. The problem is that it doesn't. So it makes me do a double take and have to go back when reading and see if I missed something. That's not good comic book writing. It's not passable in American comic books and it's not passable here either.

Maybe I'm going to get a little spergy here, but order of events is a cornerstone of comics. One panel flows into the next and order of events and movement is extremely important. It's what makes comic books work. When you screw that up, or have to backtrack, it's going against the entire point of the medium. I shouldn't have to ask this question at all. It should be very clear what's going on. So either show some time elapsing panels or Inojin working on this, or text box it if you're lazy, or work it into dialogue. Boruto could just say "It took some time to prepare, but once you got the Jutsu down you mastered it in a day, and I'm impressed!". Bam, problem solved.

You still made it sound somewhat more confusing than it actually was. You sounded like you did not know the difference between learning inventing a jutsu and mastering it.

He does. This conversation is actually longer in the chapter, but because it's all kind of the same regurgitated "I don't like Boruto!" "But we need to trust him!" schtick that I'm just tired of talking about by now. TLDR him and his team are now on board.

I know. I read the chapter. I am saying that he should have told him that there is a deeper conspiracy afoot and that things might not be what they seem to him.

To be fair, when making clones, he's supposed to be dumb.

Yes but he is supposed to get really stupid only after 20+ clones. He got stupid immediately and forgot Jura's order about Konoha until after the fire. I get that making clones is supposed to make him stupid no matter what but he is not supposed to be THIS stupid until after he has 20+ clones around at the same time. That is what made him a big threat.

It's very strange honestly. There's good drama to be had here, but Ikemoto invests time in none of it. This is really the first time we've gotten a glimpse into Koji's head and thought process and we're hundreds of pages in from his introduction. That's just not really acceptable. No other mangaka does this. The emotions in this manga are borderline autistic and deadpan. It's not like the art is conveying emotion. Most characters have only one or two faces. Boruto and Koji are virtually robots. Delta is a robot. Kawaki is half robot. The only one allowed to emote is Sarada.

Yeah, I get that but still, TD is a useful ability once you learn to deal with Choice Paralysis stemming from the constant barrage of possible futures that sprang with every move. A double-edged sword but one that must be wielded anyway. If you have a hard time understanding how it works (which might be due to the writing), I can explain it in detail.

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

Ch. 29 of Boruto is here.

This month the cover is Boruto sporting a new outfit, which is honestly a lot better in my opinion. I don't like any of Ikemoto's character designs really, but this one for Boruto is a lot better. It's a black sweatshirt with a button up shirt underneath that's half open because Ikemoto is a fashionfag. That being said, it resembles Boruto's original design a lot more, similar to Naruto's design between OG and Shippuden. It is an overall improvement. Shame that it will be covered in a black cloak and Boruto will still be a black blob half the time, but I imagine this is a model that might be easier for Ikemoto to draw.

To kick off the chapter, we get follow up to Boruto and Momoshiki's conversation. It's pretty standard stuff. If Momoshiki helps destroy the trees, Boruto will give him his body. They can also apparently read each other's thoughts. He agrees to these terms, and now Boruto is able to use his Karma.

We jump to Boruto taking on some bug clones and the rest of the chapter will mostly be action scenes. To Ikemoto's credit, these are some his best action scenes he's done yet for TBV. It's pretty easy to follow, and we really get the full scale of what Boruto is capable of. He pulls out all the stops and even uses a Byakugan. Kawaki gets in on some of the fun too, with him taking out a few of Bug's clones himself while Inojin and Shikamaru direct everyone. Bug decides to create more clones and have them spread out wider and further and gather the attention of more citizens of Konoha to make the situation more chaotic.

We cut to the interrogation room next. The Fire Lord's aide finally gets a name, Kobu. He's interviewing Mitsuki about the handcuffs restraining Boruto would not have been able to come undone without a specific code. He's onto Shikamaru being the one who helped Boruto escape. Konohamaru knows he has to do something and comes up with a plan. Before he can enact it, Sai gets word about Bug attacking the village and reaches out to Shikamaru. He asks Sai to get all hands on deck, including Mitsuki, regardless of the interrogation. Back in the village, Bug's numbers have increased to around 50 and they're getting the attention of villagers now. Shikadai and his gang go to intercept them. Konohamaru interrupts the interrogation to tell Kobu that he accidentally never set the code on the handcuffs. He explains to Mitsuki telepathically that they need Shikamaru to remain as Hokage even if that means taking the fall. Kobu sees right through this though and calls for Shikamaru to be interrogated immediately.

Meanwhile, Himawari takes on some of Bug's clones with Shikadai. He uses a new jutsu, Shadow Paralysis Casting Net, where he basically throws out Shadow Possession jutsus as a projectile. Meaning he no longer needs to be in a certain range to nab enemies with it. Kind of defeats the purpose of the jutsu to be honest, but I guess in the grand scheme of things we're way past any of that being relevant. We end the chapter with Inojin celebrating their upper hand, but Koji is apprehensive.

Overall, this chapter was pretty good. One of the better ones. The action was easy to follow, the story is heating up a bit with a decent amount of tension. Ikemoto does a good job here of utilizing all the elements he has at his disposal. It's pretty clear to see a little bit of where he's going with this. Bug's going to use the village itself to his advantage and try to cause as much chaos as possible to find Eida and make it more difficult for them to counter him. It's pretty clear that although Boruto and his friends have the upper hand, it won't stay that way. Bug can make these clones endlessly and the bigger question is how long can Boruto's team hold them off before they're just overrun by them. Ikemoto does a decent job at displaying this too. Despite his falling numbers, Bug isn't worried and he's able to adapt to the situation. It's a complete war of attrition and I think next chapter we'll start to see that taking it's toll.

 

[Incecticyder]

This month the cover is Boruto sporting a new outfit, which is honestly a lot better in my opinion. I don't like any of Ikemoto's character designs really, but this one for Boruto is a lot better. It's a black sweatshirt with a button up shirt underneath that's half open because Ikemoto is a fashionfag. That being said, it resembles Boruto's original design a lot more, similar to Naruto's design between OG and Shippuden. It is an overall improvement. Shame that it will be covered in a black cloak and Boruto will still be a black blob half the time, but I imagine this is a model that might be easier for Ikemoto to draw.

Goes to show that they did not try hard enough with the design.

To kick off the chapter, we get follow up to Boruto and Momoshiki's conversation. It's pretty standard stuff. If Momoshiki helps destroy the trees, Boruto will give him his body. They can also apparently read each other's thoughts. He agrees to these terms, and now Boruto is able to use his Karma.

Momoshiki is boring. This is just the worse version of Kurama.

We jump to Boruto taking on some bug clones and the rest of the chapter will mostly be action scenes. To Ikemoto's credit, these are some his best action scenes he's done yet for TBV. It's pretty easy to follow, and we really get the full scale of what Boruto is capable of. He pulls out all the stops and even uses a Byakugan. Kawaki gets in on some of the fun too, with him taking out a few of Bug's clones himself while Inojin and Shikamaru direct everyone. Bug decides to create more clones and have them spread out wider and further and gather the attention of more citizens of Konoha to make the situation more chaotic.

First time we saw the Byakugan on Boruto being used (the flash forward does not count). Am I to assume there will not be a Jogan? Also, why is Bug so quick to create clones? Does he not know he gets dumber?

We cut to the interrogation room next. The Fire Lord's aide finally gets a name, Kobu. He's interviewing Mitsuki about the handcuffs restraining Boruto would not have been able to come undone without a specific code. He's onto Shikamaru being the one who helped Boruto escape. Konohamaru knows he has to do something and comes up with a plan. Before he can enact it, Sai gets word about Bug attacking the village and reaches out to Shikamaru. He asks Sai to get all hands on deck, including Mitsuki, regardless of the interrogation. Back in the village, Bug's numbers have increased to around 50 and they're getting the attention of villagers now. Shikadai and his gang go to intercept them. Konohamaru interrupts the interrogation to tell Kobu that he accidentally never set the code on the handcuffs. He explains to Mitsuki telepathically that they need Shikamaru to remain as Hokage even if that means taking the fall. Kobu sees right through this though and calls for Shikamaru to be interrogated immediately.

Way too many clones. 20 to 30 was supposed to be enough to make him an idiot. What is going on? What percentage of intellect is he losing? Also, they really had no plan in case this obvious conspiracy was found out. Just say that there was a bug that Boruto had placed to learn of ways to escape using Kashin Koji's ability. Place the blame on someone who is already outside the reach of the Lord. See, I just came up with that! Over 200 IQ my ass!

Meanwhile, Himawari takes on some of Bug's clones with Shikadai. He uses a new jutsu, Shadow Paralysis Casting Net, where he basically throws out Shadow Possession jutsus as a projectile. Meaning he no longer needs to be in a certain range to nab enemies with it. Kind of defeats the purpose of the jutsu to be honest, but I guess in the grand scheme of things we're way past any of that being relevant. We end the chapter with Inojin celebrating their upper hand, but Koji is apprehensive.

I appreciate that. Shows the supposed Clan of geniuses actually finding ways of going around limits.

Overall, this chapter was pretty good. One of the better ones. The action was easy to follow, the story is heating up a bit with a decent amount of tension. Ikemoto does a good job here of utilizing all the elements he has at his disposal. It's pretty clear to see a little bit of where he's going with this. Bug's going to use the village itself to his advantage and try to cause as much chaos as possible to find Eida and make it more difficult for them to counter him. It's pretty clear that although Boruto and his friends have the upper hand, it won't stay that way. Bug can make these clones endlessly and the bigger question is how long can Boruto's team hold them off before they're just overrun by them. Ikemoto does a decent job at displaying this too. Despite his falling numbers, Bug isn't worried and he's able to adapt to the situation. It's a complete war of attrition and I think next chapter we'll start to see that taking it's toll.

No. While he IS utilizing all the elements, he does so badly. Bug creates a ton of clones even though doing so makes him an idiot. Creating chaos is harder than it looks. The opponent is supposed to adapt too. If they start SEALING his clones, the braincells he loses are going to waste.

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

First time we saw the Byakugan on Boruto being used (the flash forward does not count). Am I to assume there will not be a Jogan? Also, why is Bug so quick to create clones? Does he not know he gets dumber?

The Jogan is so far non canon to the manga and hasn't been...well ever. Bug doesn't seem to care to be honest. He also makes them very quickly, they kind of just shoot out of him.

Way too many clones. 20 to 30 was supposed to be enough to make him an idiot. What is going on? What percentage of intellect is he losing?

There really isn't a lot of dialogue that's meaningful in this chapter. It's mostly all action scenes for like..maybe 25/40 pages. If there is some drawback, we haven't seen it yet. I think the idea is, the more there are, the more they turn into fodder.

Place the blame on someone who is already outside the reach of the Lord. See, I just came up with that! Over 200 IQ my ass!

Shikamaru hasn't done anything smart since....I don't know, the War arc? He really is pretty dumb in Boruto.

No. While he IS utilizing all the elements, he does so badly.

I'd be lying if I didn't say this manga has left me looking for puddles of dirty water in a desert

If they start SEALING his clones, the braincells he loses are going to waste.

You know, I completely forgot about sealing techniques. Yeah, that kind of just snaps Bug's abilities in two right there and solves conflict in two seconds. Good thing Jutsu don't exist in Boruto

 

[Incecticyder]

The Jogan is so far non canon to the manga and hasn't been...well ever. Bug doesn't seem to care to be honest. He also makes them very quickly, they kind of just shoot out of him.

I know but it would have made this bore of a protagonist easier to deal with. As far as the clones go, this is not how that ability is to be used. Key attack points should have been identified by Jura and Bug should have made better plans than chaos. Easy but effective attacks should have been the key. Bug shouldn't have to find Eda, Jura should have told him where she was. Also, the transformation jutsu has not been used in a while. Why? It would have been the perfect tool for this.

Also, why does Bug not hesitate to create clones? He knows he gets dumb and increases the chances of a fuck-up. Have him contemplate the pros and cons of the ability.

There really isn't a lot of dialogue that's meaningful in this chapter. It's mostly all action scenes for like..maybe 25/40 pages. If there is some drawback, we haven't seen it yet. I think the idea is, the more there are, the more they turn into fodder.

The drawback is not shown correctly. As you said, he adapts BETTER when he has more clones. He is not shown dumber but SMARTER! Can't even write a proper weakness.

Shikamaru hasn't done anything smart since....I don't know, the War arc? He really is pretty dumb in Boruto.

Which is why he should not have been the Hokage. Have Kakashi return. Kishi could not write easily such a character and Ike can't even bother.

I'd be lying if I didn't say this manga has left me looking for puddles of dirty water in a desert

I know what you mean. I re-read the latest chapter of Eleceed for a pallet cleanser.

You know, I completely forgot about sealing techniques. Yeah, that kind of just snaps Bug's abilities in two right there and solves conflict in two seconds. Good thing Jutsu don't exist in Boruto

They did explain that a new sealing technique was developed. You know how in manga they have this one strong and big fighter fight against a smaller, more skilled protagonist and the big guy goes down because he moves like a snail on super glue? I read Rice Shoulder and that showed how such a fight ACTUALLY goes down. The big fighter slowly adapts to the speed and starts getting through as the faster opponent gets tired and accumulates damage. One punch later, the soul leaves the body as the smaller fighter gets launched! This is how fights happen. The fighters adapt to one another. Here, Bug had to be nerfed in intellect in order to be easier to deal with. Why did he not attack at night? The Trees have barely any brain!

 

[Incecticyder]

Here is a video I found:

The question "How to introduce the Otsutsuki without breaking the world of Naruto?" was asked and, as many have pointed out, making them demons/gods/spirits like Jashin/Shinigami instead of aliens works better. What do you think?

 

[Incecticyder]

Spoilers for chapter 30.







So, the praise and condemnation will be at a 1 to 4 ratio. There are about 4 times as many bad points as good ones. We have moved past any weaknesses on Mamushi's clone ability. He spams it without care about his brain or causing damage to the buildings. Infinite clones and not a peep about property damage. Show, don't tell is a thing that works. If telling works better, then fine but we do not even get that. Every weakness we are told about is not shown or even acknowledged.

And then there is the interrogator. He is an easy straw man to kill that is meant to pass for a strict, smart hardass. He is being fed to the wolves. Konoha is under attack and he loses every braincell the moment the plot needs it. They are attacked and he chooses to keep the strongest fighter and "smartest" strategist from coordinating the response. Like he couldn't trap him later when there aren't monsters attacking. What would he do if Mamushi attacked the interrogation room with his clones? Sass him to death? In fact, why even tell him that you want to interrogate Shikamaru? Wait for after the attack and catch him off guard. This is an idiot plot.

Still, I like the jutsu showcased here. They were used smartly.

 

[oh no its pipkun]

What else can you expect when the most readers want from this drivel is "ninja wizards cool fights bro"? It ain't that deep bro, so why do you care? - Narutard.

boruto would better if the narrative's danger were ninja village rebellions that threaten the newfound world peace instead of the otosukis and kawaki. the anime found some story success with the stone village rebellion and then fumbled it with the 2nd mist rebellion. political intrigue with ninjer uprisings is way more fun than alien trees. The boruto manga sucks and the only good parts of tbe anime is the first half before kawaki shows up and the filler arcs that expand on the rest of the cast.

In Naruto, Kiba, Shino and Ten-Ten could have joined Neji in the afterlife and no one would notice.

the anime fleshes out ten-ten during the 2nd chunin exam arc; her ninja speciality is storing shit in scrolls. but that filler arc happens during the great ninja war which is already long with fillers.

The only other pair we get any on screen interactions between are Shikamaru and Temari, and we probably get the most chemistry we can get between a 12 year old and a 16 year old.

the wedding gift arc was pretty good one to close out the show and set up all these relationships.

Who knows, maybe NaruSaku was the original plan but early his editor told him to change it.

allegedly, it's the one his wife wanted and the guy had to tell her she was the inspiration for hinata in order to calm her down (again allegedly). single mom sakura is a funnier person anyway.

the saddest part about boruto is that naruto doesn't need shadow clones to throw a rasengan anymore

The Otsutsuki add little, imo. Like, fine, deal with them but the main draw should be Boruto fighting people his own weight.

the boruto movie did it right. the veterans of the great ninja war are able to team up and stop the otsutsuki. no need to for a gay curse mark to keep them around. "what do you do with ninjas in times of peace?" is a question characters in the story ask. they turn into rogues, bandits, grifters, and rebel leaders. that's why i like the 'Kakashi and Guy paling around the world with asuma's kid' arc. she works out her father issues and proves ninja still have a place in peaceful world.

it's funny how the lazy ass animators cribbed scenes from the movie for the chunin exam arc. adding a still image of shikamaru in the hokage office.

 

[Incecticyder]

boruto would better if the narrative's danger were ninja village rebellions that threaten the newfound world peace instead of the otosukis and kawaki. the anime found some story success with the stone village rebellion and then fumbled it with the 2nd mist rebellion. political intrigue with ninjer uprisings is way more fun than alien trees. The boruto manga sucks and the only good parts of tbe anime is the first half before kawaki shows up and the filler arcs that expand on the rest of the cast.

That would have been better. Unfortunately, EVERYONE wanted to ape DBZ and brought aliens. Also, good that everyone agrees that Kawaki sucks the air out of the room.

the anime fleshes out ten-ten during the 2nd chunin exam arc; her ninja speciality is storing shit in scrolls. but that filler arc happens during the great ninja war which is already long with fillers.

There are few of that generation that were fleshed out. Couldn't give them kids? Everyone is saying that Metal is Ten-Ten's son but I am of the firm belief that Rock reproduces asexually.

the wedding gift arc was pretty good one to close out the show and set up all these relationships.

That was nice. Still, there should have been more development between Naruto and Hinata. Remember, Naruto introduced SAKURA as his GF to Minato! Minato had ONE chance to meet his actual daughter-in-law and Kishi ruined it for a played out joke.

allegedly, it's the one his wife wanted and the guy had to tell her she was the inspiration for hinata in order to calm her down (again allegedly). single mom sakura is a funnier person anyway.

the saddest part about boruto is that naruto doesn't need shadow clones to throw a rasengan anymore

I never liked Sakura. She acted like she was better when she sucked worse. That joke belonged in the 20th Century. Sasuke putting her in her place was on point.

Also, what is wrong with Naruto getting better at chakra control? Was he supposed to be as capable as a Genin even when he was to be a Hokage? If anything, he was supposed to get better during the first time-skip. He was a massive disappointment when I saw him. A bigger Rasengan and a bit more TB control was all he had to show after 2 YEARS OF TRAINING?! FUCK THAT! Kishi wanted a time skip but did not write people being stronger.

 

[oh no its pipkun]

One of the key things wrong about Kishimoto's writing is this.

**The Holocaust happened.**

Naruto: "I think this Hitler guy is really cool. He worked hard to be where he is. I know he did some bad stuff, but I totally believe in him! BELIEVE IT!" (Pushes fist forward with that retarded smile on his autistic face)

naruto would convince hitler to learn perspective and return to painting. goebbels would concur and pull out a diagram explaining 2 point perspective and naruto wouls say "thats right old man glasses! theres always 2 ways to seeing things!" hitler would concede "you're right naruto, it was never the jews i just didn't put the work in but thanks to you i realize i have friends to see me through. thank you."

the final two panels is himmler naruto and hitler laughing with sakura talking to mengele and sai/sasuke with himmler with kakashi musing how happy he is that team 7 has grown so much.

Also, good that everyone agrees that Kawaki sucks the air out of the room.

kawaki sucks because his introduction is he's given an artificial body and able to control his op curse mark.

Everyone is saying that Metal is Ten-Ten's son but I am of the firm belief that Rock reproduces asexually.

I'm certain that tenten says shes alone and lonely at some point in the first boruto story.

That was nice. Still, there should have been more development between Naruto and Hinata. Remember, Naruto introduced SAKURA as his GF to Minato! Minato had ONE chance to meet his actual daughter-in-law and Kishi ruined it for a played out joke

i didn't finish the hinata movie so i dont know if there's more to their love story. bit i did see the sakura and naruto alternative dimension one and that definitely plays up the sakura naruto love interest thing. poor writing toward the end of naruto despite the author saying he decided long ago it was always going to be hinata. i did finish the entire naruto comic last month so i think the hinata stuff is better written there.

I never liked Sakura. She acted like she was better when she sucked worse. That joke belonged in the 20th Century. Sasuke putting her in her place was on point

the anime realizes sakura's flaws and her overcoming them in the filler arc. it's mostly the 2nd chunin exam where she's the dead weight again with ino and choji and then pulls out a super punch. I enjoyed the 2nd exam arc because there are cuts where you can tell the animators really wanted to put in the effort but ran out of time, mostly with the hand signs of the puppet team and the fat guy, bancho/yanki team. she also fills tsunade's role of the team 7 - sanin metaphor.

Also, what is wrong with Naruto getting better at chakra control? Was he supposed to be as capable as a Genin even when he was to be a Hokage? If anything, he was supposed to get better during the first time-skip. He was a massive disappointment when I saw him. A bigger Rasengan and a bit more TB control was all he had to show after 2 YEARS OF TRAINING?! FUCK THAT! Kishi wanted a time skip but did not write people being stronger

naruto is a fun character because he has flaws and janky solutions to them. becoming perfect is a different form of power creep imo. a superpowered hokage who needs clones to do resengan and sage power is a good character flaw. Think about the fight with delta, having this flaw adds a little tension to the fight. it would let him bond with his kid better since they both use clones to shore up their fighting styles.

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

boruto would better if the narrative's danger were ninja village rebellions that threaten the newfound world peace instead of the otosukis and kawaki.

What's currently brewing in the background, whether this will manifest or not is something I don't know, is that the Daimyo's are pretty fed up. An entire generation of peace is upon the land and that's caused them to question whether the villages are needed anymore. Sure, there's Ootsutsuki but the Daimyo's really don't give a fuck about that. I really don't know where this all goes, or if it goes anywhere meaningful. I mean, there is no point to the villages anymore. Naruto put himself out of a job.

i didn't finish the hinata movie so i dont know if there's more to their love story.

There isn't. I've softened on Sakura and have come to like her more as a character because Hinata is so terrible. Hinata acts like a gigantic monster cunt the entire movie because she's convinced another girl gave Naruto the scarf that he's wearing. In reality, it's Kushina's old scarf that someone recently found. So she spends the entire movie treating him like shit because of it. Boruto is no better. I think she shares maybe ONE conversation with Naruto in the entire OG manga run. The anime confirms they don't even sleep in the same room. She's a background character in her own home. She somehow has even less speaking lines than in Shippuden. I also think her manga design is terrible. She looks like a frumpy alien every panel she's in. Ikemoto did the most disservice to Hinata out of any OG character, imo.

Meanwhile, what does Sakura get post Naruto? She gets an entire mission we got to see in a side manga with Sasuke where she's actually useful. She puts her ninja skills to great use. She gets a nice romantic scene with Sasuke. Sasuke even gives her a friggin engagement ring. Sakura gets another arc where she's kidnapped by Shin. When Sarada and Sasuke go to rescue her, she's long since rescued herself. In Boruto, she doesn't appear often but when she does she's at least pleasant or useful. We do get confirmation that least there's some romance in Sasuke and Sakura's life through Sarada.

 

[oh no its pipkun]

What's currently brewing in the background, whether this will manifest or not is something I don't know, is that the Daimyo's are pretty fed up. An entire generation of peace is upon the land and that's caused them to question whether the villages are needed anymore. Sure, there's Ootsutsuki but the Daimyo's really don't give a fuck about that. I really don't know where this all goes, or if it goes anywhere meaningful. I mean, there is no point to the villages anymore. Naruto put himself out of a job.

you'd think so but the daimyo's kid getting kidnapped starts the shitty kara arc. and ninjas are dispatched to stop various bank robbers (mujina gang) and bandits from robbing merchants. the first blood mist rebellion could've been written better to lay out a solid story framework for other lands' internal conflicts with the leafs being sucked in to help resolve it. then there's the multitudes of lesser lands to build stories out of like the backwards land of iron since there's convenient samurai kid on hanabi's team who would an entry point. her character growth story in the anime is only pits her against a yojimbo but again, a little more time in the writing room could have various teams involved in a more impactful story than whatever boruto's turning out to be.

i read a wiki entry about a shikamari light novel where he and naruto stop another global war between daiymos with his big tactical brain so the ideas are definitely there.

But the downside is that a anthology style of story writing would mean boruto wouldnt be a shonen genre comic. but it would be like naruto's earlier storylines where kunai are dangerous.

She gets an entire mission we got to see in a side manga with Sasuke where she's actually useful. She puts her ninja skills to great use. She gets a nice romantic scene with Sasuke. Sasuke even gives her a friggin engagement ring

is this in an anime or comic?

e: i forget where it is but when the daiymo's kid got kidnapped, shikamaru wanted to delay mirai from saving the kid to make the daiymo indebted to the village. I can't help but repear ro myself that everything is there if the writers would branch out of the shonen genre just a smidge.

 

[Incecticyder]

kawaki sucks because his introduction is he's given an artificial body and able to control his op curse mark.

Kawaki sucks because he lacks charisma and nuance. He is a vacuum.

i didn't finish the hinata movie so i dont know if there's more to their love story. bit i did see the sakura and naruto alternative dimension one and that definitely plays up the sakura naruto love interest thing. poor writing toward the end of naruto despite the author saying he decided long ago it was always going to be hinata. i did finish the entire naruto comic last month so i think the hinata stuff is better written there.

He just realized that he really liked Hinata instead. That's it.

naruto is a fun character because he has flaws and janky solutions to them. becoming perfect is a different form of power creep imo. a superpowered hokage who needs clones to do resengan and sage power is a good character flaw. Think about the fight with delta, having this flaw adds a little tension to the fight. it would let him bond with his kid better since they both use clones to shore up their fighting styles.

He finds shortcuts to catch up to his friends due to not having proper mentors in his life who took the time to teach him. Iruka had an entire class to teach. He could not do what a genin's parents are supposed to do and help their kid with jutsu. Also, Naruto is not disabled. Yes, he lacked proper guidance but he picked up fast afterwards. Not to mention the fact that he is supposed to be hardworking. There was supposed to be improvement. No one wants a main character that does not improve as the story goes. Yes, he starts at the bottom but he is meant to reach the top. Slowly perhaps but he has to get there. Also, according to Kakashi, jonin have to know at least two or three elements. Naruto only knows one jutsu of ONE! He barely knows any genjutsu either. He is still rather behind when it comes to his position.

What's currently brewing in the background, whether this will manifest or not is something I don't know, is that the Daimyo's are pretty fed up. An entire generation of peace is upon the land and that's caused them to question whether the villages are needed anymore. Sure, there's Ootsutsuki but the Daimyo's really don't give a fuck about that. I really don't know where this all goes, or if it goes anywhere meaningful. I mean, there is no point to the villages anymore. Naruto put himself out of a job.

That will not stick. Able-bodied young soldiers without jobs will bring war.

There isn't. I've softened on Sakura and have come to like her more as a character because Hinata is so terrible. Hinata acts like a gigantic monster cunt the entire movie because she's convinced another girl gave Naruto the scarf that he's wearing. In reality, it's Kushina's old scarf that someone recently found. So she spends the entire movie treating him like shit because of it. Boruto is no better. I think she shares maybe ONE conversation with Naruto in the entire OG manga run. The anime confirms they don't even sleep in the same room. She's a background character in her own home. She somehow has even less speaking lines than in Shippuden. I also think her manga design is terrible. She looks like a frumpy alien every panel she's in. Ikemoto did the most disservice to Hinata out of any OG character, imo.

Meanwhile, what does Sakura get post Naruto? She gets an entire mission we got to see in a side manga with Sasuke where she's actually useful. She puts her ninja skills to great use. She gets a nice romantic scene with Sasuke. Sasuke even gives her a friggin engagement ring. Sakura gets another arc where she's kidnapped by Shin. When Sarada and Sasuke go to rescue her, she's long since rescued herself. In Boruto, she doesn't appear often but when she does she's at least pleasant or useful. We do get confirmation that least there's some romance in Sasuke and Sakura's life through Sarada.

I WILL NOT ALLOW SLANDER OF MY BELOVED HINATA!!!

Jokes aside, when it comes to these two, it is a race to the bottom. Hinata has the better backstory and a more understandable/relatable personality but Sakura has more action and story. Apart from that, they are equal. Hinata is more tolerable but Sakura is more important (if only barely as Kishimoto cannot write women not named Tsunade). If there is something that puts Hinata above Sakura definitively, it is the fact that she is the better love interest. Hinata is a wallflower in love with an brave idiot. Sakura is an obnoxious asshole in love with an insane asshole. Yes, Sasuke improved but it was mainly because of Naruto which further proves who is more understandable in their crush. But, again, they both suck. The only difference is that, in my opinion, I understand Hinata better. Neither is done well, however.

 

[oh no its pipkun]

Also, Naruto is not disabled.

idk the comics and animes made it clear he's an idiot who manages to squeak by victories because his idiocy and never give up attitude makes him unpredictable in battle. he's a good looking charismatic russell greer.

i think my disappointment with boruto stems from being a Girls und panzer fan. ribbon warrior is a good sequel to the main gup storyline. its apple and oranges situation because the length of the comics are vastly different, but having different writers work on the stories fleshed out a better world leading to ribbon warrior.

 

[Incecticyder]

idk the comics and animes made it clear he's an idiot who manages to squeak by victories because his idiocy and never give up attitude makes him unpredictable in battle. he's a good looking charismatic russell greer.

He is still supposed to start getting good. He would not deserve the position of Hokage. This is not a charity. You cannot say "I am not good at most things required to be a Kage so I will not bother." as that is lazy. He has to at least be competent in the other aspects of combat. No one wants a story where the position is just handed to him.

 

[Strangolapreti]

I don't get borutards.
12 years ago naruto ended, if you were a middle-schooler with severe autism, it was the greatest most profound shit imaginable, otherwise you just saw an insufferable edgelord with conjunctivitis, who should have died multiple arcs before, friendzoning a blonde faggot with brain damage who, somehow, managed to gaslight multiple villain into siding with him, including what's basically an innocent creature that has been manipulated, imprisoned and used as battery for multiple decades by everyone, including the aformentioned faggot, simply because its big and stronk.
With an ending like that and even worse arc before, why would you still be sticking around?

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

He just realized that he really liked Hinata instead. That's it.

Not even. He was in a pool of memory goo that basically everyone gaslit him into thinking he liked Hinata. It's not like he fell in love with Hinata naturally over time. In The Last, Hinata is insufferable. She never gets any other attention to repair that reputation.

But the downside is that a anthology style of story writing

Ikemoto was more interested in tracing fashion magazines than writing stories. He does not care about the outer Naruto world. He doesn't care about the lore either. We've only seen other villages get involved maybe once in the entire Boruto series outside of the movie.

I don't get borutards.

Thanks to this thread, I got recommended all kinds of shit on social media. I can affirmatively say Boruto is only popular with sub-IQ 3rd world niggers. That really isn't a joke either. If you scroll through the comments it's nothing but Pajeets and melanins who say Boruto is still good. Black people are retarded and they eat up Two Blue Vortex because they're obsessed with whatever the fuck "Aura Farming" and "Power scaling" is.

They think just because Ikemoto writes "This person can destroy a planet" that somehow makes them cool, likeable, and interesting even if they do nothing throughout the story to back up that claim and die one chapter later. In reality, out of the Big 3, Naruto aged like dogshit. It's an incredibly flawed story with dumb characters and gets glazed by people without reading comprehension. The moment you put it in under a microscope, the entire series snaps in two. The only thing propping up Naruto at this point is member berries.

Niggers are insufferable.