It's so hard to even enjoy Naruto anymore it's not even funny. To me, it's not even the ship war that I care about right now. More so the fact that the executives behind it are bleeding it right now and how the fan base honestly does not care at all. 'Killing' off Naruto is a cheap shot to just about every single fan of the series. We have followed it for over a decade yet the only thing the fanbase is interested in is "OH MY GOD BORUTO HAS A BYAKUGAN." Or Hinata's knockers (Ironic humor i hope.)
When the new manga released there was such a miniscule amount of attention towards Naruto's death apart from the tabloid youtuber kitten that gets posted daily then swept under the rug. Nobody really cared. In the end, not even the journey matters anymore.
Where is the supposed peace that Naruto set out to create? The Shinobi Villages are united. Better toss in space aliens for good measure. kitten on the series some more.
Nuke Konoha for the N'th time. Nobody cares.
Now there's even talk of Boruto surpassing Naruto completely with these contrived plot tattoo powers out of absolutely nowhere. The Mitsuki one shot is a complete downplay of Naruto, Hashirama, and Jiraya's sage mode training which technically took years of training but a random kid can burst into sage flames in the course of one chapter. Guess one of the high points of the series doesn't matter anymore.
All the Boruto Manga is doing, is demonstrating just how futile the original series was. What is the point of Naruto becoming hokage, learning the rasengan, sage mode, defeating Kurama, getting deus ex machina sage powers, and beating Sasuke since Ikemoto killed off Naruto.
Since Boruto has the canon label now there is this lingering shadow over the entire franchise that essentially screams 'pointless!' It doesn't even have the artistic qualities of a story such as Sweeney Todd. There is no tragic ending. Only a kitten beginning and a view of what's to come. There is no good to come of it due to the entire concept of a sequel has to be so contrived and deliberate in order to work in the Naruto Franchise. Instead going with it's strengths (The focus on the side characters in arcs such as the Chunnin Exams and World-lore) it plays on it's weaknesses. (Bad Guys, Power Creep, Ships)
I and many others probably would have preferred it if there were no sequel in the first place. But that's obviously not going to happen. I'd have preferred if the Hiden Novels were a new manga if anything. Show us the world after the war. The rebuilding efforts and so on. Anything but contrived kitten for shock value. It plays on the franchise's strengths rather than blowing away everything that was built up.
It's sickening how Naruto the original series is going to be overshadowed by Boruto simply due to it being a cash cow sequel. I used to enjoy simply reading a random chapter, or watching a random episode. But there is the constant lingering whisper that everything that I'm watching or reading is a complete waste of my time since in actuality, it doesn't matter any more. And the sad thing is, the new manga is just an overhyped fan fiction. It tosses away the core of the series just to get cash. There is no quality behind it. If it was, than it wouldn't be in recap hell right now. It shows that it's been written into a complete corner and whoever the hell actually is writing it has no idea what he or she is doing which begs the question What the hell is the actual point of this?
Is it really so freaking difficult to just end it? Instead of spoon feeding contrived kitten why not give some kind of closure? An open ended ending maybe? Is the story of a 'kid trying to get out of his father's shadow' cliche really good sequel bait when all it is, is a pity fest? Boruto has no redeeming qualities and it shouldn't. It lacks heart and substance which Naruto undeniably had. (Even if it lost it somewhere along the way.) If you take away the shipping lens every character was unique and likeable. Sakura attempting to better herself throughout the series, Hinata attempting to become a strong leader. It's all downplayed due to the ending+ continuation. That heart was there. But it's being so overshadowed by Boruto that even now the original series has lost it's luster because in the end,
Absolutely none of the developments made over the course of the series matter since all of the characters we liked are now considered dead, or glorified side characters.
And that REALLY sucks.
Mind you, without the character assassination. (I never thought Naruto needed a sequel either. It still doesn't. Good grief.)
