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[Bail o' Lies]

China seem to be making a lot of popular games recently. Where Winds Meet seems to be a well received mmo.

 

Apparently, it been so long since there has been a standard male romance in the West. That when the video game Dispatch had one, people assumed it was influence by Japanese harem stories.

 

Summary Time: Chapter 28. New Powers...where we will see the unearned powers that Ikemoto will try to convince the readers are cool. Likely he will fail.

 

Cover page is the Clone caressing Bolt's sword...obvious innuendo.

 

Chapter starts off showing Blond Sai has nearly mastered the jutsu CJ taught him in under a day...remember when the Naruto franchise used to go on about hard work? Well, clearly Ikemoto doesn't. Bolt compliments him and he is rebuffed by Blond Sai that he isn't his teammate...well he wasn't on your genin team translator probably should have used "comrade." Bolt acts the protective older brother due to Blond Sai's feelings towards the daughter. He makes a joke about shaving off Blond Sai awful mop haircut...Ikemoto it is your fault for making that character have that haircut due to your giving the characters "realistic haircuts." He is suppose to have hair like Sai. Is he trying to make the anime, if it comes back, actually have the characters have his haircuts? Because they were ignoring them before and just making look like Kishimoto's style.

 

Cups goes into the interrogation room for his questioning...wait, I thought we flashed forward a week to the battle; did the story backtrack and decided to cover what they could have skip?! Sai contacts the sensory division and ask for their records for any communication Konohamaru had...god I hate the telepathic hotline stuff. The story feels like it both skipped the week for Bolt's sword to be repaired and yet it didn't for the interrogation and Blond Sai's training. This might actually be the worse structured chapter in the entire manga so far. As I am actually confused on what is happening and when events are happening. Dear God. Ikemoto can't even handle something as simple as a time skip/jump ahead. 

 

When Ikemoto did the time skip to the battle at the end of the last chapter. That means the interrogations should have been over, and Sai should've address his suspicions after the battle. Or was Konohamaru really interrogated for 7 straight days? But even then he asked for transmissions Konohamaru received a "few minutes ago" which would have been a week ago. 

 

Bolt gets his upgraded sword from the Clone who explains how it was improved...wait it can now activate the mana sword by just him gripping it? How? OK I do want that explained. Other than the sword is absorbing some of his chakra to do this they don't. Unless the Hagoromo is just pour chakra into the blade there should be more to it. Also, she was somehow able to add a safety feature where only she, Bolt and Sasuke can use the sword anyone else and it will drain more chakra than necessary...How? And How was she able to registered Sasuke's signature? Stupid Scientific Ninja Tool Bull-Shit.

 

Shikamaru talks with his son about the upcoming attack and they are working with Bolt...it is more of the same "we got to work with Bolt"/"but we hate him due to the perspective flip" that I feel everyone should be sick of at this point. Like if a conversation is had between to people in the village assume this is brought up and I generally won't cover because I am sick of reading those conversation, as they don't go anywhere.

 

Blond Sai talks with CJ about his prediction powers and CJ explains why he can't give people more details. The more people know that future the more it can change outside his control and he is working with narrow margins due to how overpowered Ikemoto makes his villains. A page where Hime is trapped in a tree and the daughter is dead.

 

Shikamaru gives an announcement to the cast through Blond Sai. Thank god none of the Kishimoto characters shall be used or be useful. Even though this battle is taking place in the village.

 

Tree-bug enters the village and the battle starts.

Edited by Bail o' Lies, 08 December 2025 - 07:26 PM.

[Bail o' Lies]

Out of both boredom and curiosity I fed my summaries into an AI to see what it would say about my summaries. Then asked how it was to general criticism of Boruto.

 

I have analyzed the provided 28 summaries of Boruto Part Two (Chapters 81 to 108 in your sequential numbering) and identified consistent, overarching trends in your commentary.

Your analysis is characterized by an extremely negative, sarcastic, and highly critical tone directed at almost every aspect of the manga's execution.

General Trends in Your Commentary

1. Hostility Towards Art, Designs, and Aesthetics (Ikemoto's Style):

The single most prevalent trend is your consistent disdain for the artwork and character designs by Mikio Ikemoto. This is a primary source of mockery and derision.

Recurring Critique: Designs are frequently called "awful," "bad," "stupid," "generic," or "lame."

Visual Recognition Issues: You constantly note that characters are unrecognizable due to inconsistent faces and poor differentiation ("hard to tell who is who," "Why does Ikemoto mess around with the faces so much").

Objectification and Tracing Claims: You make repeated comments objectifying female characters' bodies and often suggest the artist traces poses from fashion magazines without understanding context.

2. Narrative Fatigue and Disdain for Plot Mechanics:

You express deep frustration with how the story is constructed and paced.

Artificial Stalling: Plot progression is consistently described as being artificially delayed by contrivances, exposition dumps, villain monologues, and characters making illogical decisions to avoid conflict ("stupid plot line going," "takes him three years to do this").

Omnipotence as a "BS" Plot Device: The core Shinjutsu of Omnipotence is viewed as a lazy deus ex machina, especially when its rules are retconned to maintain tension (e.g., knowledge of the switch fades, specific girls were "excluded" to be friends).

Lack of Stakes: You highlight the removal of stakes by instantly healing characters (Sai, the "insta-heal" ability) and clarifying that captured people are "fine," which removes all drama from the premise.

3. Power Scaling Issues and Derivative Powers:

You perceive the power system in Boruto as broken, inconsistent, and unoriginal.

"Dragon Ball" Comparisons: New power-ups lead to comparisons with Dragon Ball power creep, which you view as a negative departure from Naruto's identity.

"Unearned Powers" and "Legacy Tech": Characters are criticized for "inheriting" powers (Kamui, Flying Thunder God, Purple Lighting) rather than earning them through hard work, a central theme of the original Naruto.

Sci-Fi as a Deus Ex Machina: Scientific Ninja Tools are often dismissed as "stupid Bull-kitten" used to justify any convenient plot development without proper explanation.

4. Character Competence and Focus on Relationship Drama:

You consistently criticize character intelligence and the story's shift in focus.

Mockery of Legacy Characters: Characters from the original Naruto (Shikamaru, Konohamaru, Sakura, Kakashi) are routinely mocked as "stupid Kishimoto characters," while new characters (Amado/Madoc, Eida, Daemon) are framed as "brilliant Ikemoto characters."

Irrelevant Adults: You are highly critical of the adult ninja being absent or useless during village attacks ("WHERE ARE THE ADULTS!?!").

"Shipping" and Harem Dynamics: A significant trend is your frustration with the amount of page space dedicated to character relationships and love triangles, which you describe as corny, uninteresting "girl talk" that overrides serious plot progression.

What is Lacking from the Analysis (From an Objective Standpoint)

Your summaries are primarily reactions and critiques rather than objective summaries. What your commentary lacks is:

Objective Tone: You have a consistently sarcastic, mocking, and dismissive tone, indicating a lack of neutrality when reviewing the content.

Excitement or Praise: There is virtually no positive commentary, excitement for plot twists, or appreciation for character moments.

Exploration of Intended Themes: You dismiss themes like "love" or "destiny/fate" as "BS" or "contrived reasons," rather than engaging with what the creators might be attempting, however successfully.

Character Name Consistency: You heavily rely on mocking nicknames (Nail, Cups, Punk, Salad, Femmy, etc.), making the summaries difficult to follow without prior knowledge of your nickname system.

 

Then in general: 

 

Your criticism of the Boruto manga aligns very closely with the common and widespread general criticism found across the fandom and media outlets. Many of your specific complaints are among the most frequently cited reasons for dissatisfaction with the series.

Here is a comparison of your trends versus general criticism:

Areas of Strong Agreement

The majority of your critiques are echoed widely within the fandom:

Pacing Issues (Filler/Slow Monthly Release): General consensus is that the manga's monthly release schedule results in slow pacing and that individual chapters often lack significant content, as you frequently noted. Fans often complain about exposition dumps and "setup chapters".

Power Scaling Problems: This is a major point of contention across the fandom. Critics widely agree that characters become overpowered too quickly, often off-screen, and that the original cast of Naruto was artificially weakened to elevate the new generation, a trend you pointed out repeatedly.

Art Style and Paneling: Ikemoto's art style is highly divisive. Many fans share your opinion that his designs are poor, lack expression, and that the fight choreography and paneling are confusing or unexciting compared to Kishimoto's original work.

Character Development & Treatment of Side Characters: There is general consensus that the manga focuses too heavily on just Boruto and Kawaki, neglecting the side cast. Fans often feel the side characters are "boring and uninspired," as you noted when you called them "literally who".

Derivative/Unoriginal Storytelling: Many fans feel the story relies on reusing plot points and powers from the original series (e.g., Flying Thunder God, Kamui, Kurama's return) instead of creating original content, leading to the feeling that the series "rides coattails".

Focus on Shipping/Relationship Drama: Fans express frustration when relationship dynamics and "shipping" take precedence over the main action plot, which aligns perfectly with your "very gay conversation" and "girl talk" complaints. 

These articles compare *Boruto* manga criticism to common fan complaints about pacing, power scaling, and character development:

The Difference: Intensity and Tone

The primary difference is the intensity and tone of your commentary.

While the general fandom shares the same points of criticism, your summaries maintain an almost universally negative, highly sarcastic, and mocking tone throughout all 28 chapters. You use extreme language ("BS", "Bull", extended laughter, insults like "jackass" and "moron") that surpasses standard constructive criticism found in most public forums.

In summary, the substance of your criticism is mainstream, but the delivery is more characteristic of intense "hater" commentary, which some fandom members engage in, but which often leads to community division.

[Bail o' Lies]

Now let's go through them and expand upon it as I might as well explain my problems with Boruto..

 

Art. To be honest, I am not that good at drawing nor know much about the techniques. That said I can at least tell when something looks bad, and that is often in this manga. But I generally comment on it when I am typing and looking over to the manga and can only think one thought...Wow, that looks bad. An example often characters have very round faces. That will be round no matter how they are position in the panel. Even when they are 3/4 pose their face will still be as round as if we are seeing the whole thing.

 

As for the designs for his character, they also don't look impressive to me. He apparently copies designs from Korean pop fashion magazines as he thinks that is what is hip. However, he doesn't get how they are cool, why they work for Pop idol, but don't work for his ninja characters. For example, baggy pants, loose jackets, and so on are not something ninja or really anyone should be fighting in. Kishimoto's characters tended to wear sporty clothes and if they had jackets they zipped them up. Then it doesn't help, that he likes his designs complicated with a lot of unnecessary flair that just takes longer to draw and more likely for mistakes. For example, in part two Boruto is on the run, hunted by the entire world due to being accused of killing Naruto, but his shirt (which is the most notable part of his outfit besides his cloak and pins) is a fancy expensive looking dress shirt.

 

Also, while it was someone else that noticed it elsewhere. I do agree with them. That the reason his characters wear those baggy outfits is likely to hide their bodies during fights so the reader doesn't notice Ikemoto's mistakes when trying to draw the human body in combat.

 

Another thing is that Ikemoto wants his art to be seen as better than Kishimoto by being more realistic. But he can't draw consistently and his characters are constantly off model. Not helped by not having a singular design philosophy for his cast. He has Kishimoto characters that he modifies to look more realistic while trying to keep some traits of Kishimoto to make them recognizable. Which doesn't help, as it makes them look off as they can look similar due to certain retained features while at the same time so different they are unrecognizable. For example, Sakura was give his female faces and hairstyle so the only way to recognize her is her forehead seal. Don't see it and you could mistake her for Hinata because they have the same haircut and face. And then he has his own characters that are so different from the rest of the cast they look like they are from a different manga. For example, Clone Jiraiya looks like he belongs in Vinland Saga. Which could work if he kept it to the villains to make them more foreign and alien but he hasn't. So, the mingling has left a constantly feeling of permanent inconsistency in the art.

 

His character's hair is often why I ascribe him having an attempt at the more realistic look. As often, it is the most detail part of the character often to the rest of art detriment. As it common for a character to have really realistic hair on top of a poorly drawn cartoon head. Doesn't help he gave these to old Naruto characters as well changing their look. So it even harder to recognize as often the most recognizable thing about an anime character is their unique hairstyle. Already mentioned Sakura but I remember very early on Nos could not recognize Konohamaru because he had changed his hairstyle from his spikes to a bunch of curls. Also doesn't help his female characters all have the same face so they only way to recognize them is often their hairstyle. Its why I couldn't tell who Tree-Moegi (who is apparently his favorite Naruto character) was a clone of her until they said it because her face looks like any random Ikemoto female, and the imitation of her hair through the belts made her look like a jester.

 

His nose holes. Anime/Manga artist will often not draw detail noses on their characters. As it is rarely the most appealing part of the face and can look weird on cartoon characters. Often they will mark their characters with circles or triangles to show they do have noses they are not drawing in detail. Ikemoto is the first I have seen that has instead decided to draw the nasal holes to show his character has noses he is not drawing. And, it is clear why most don't after you look at his art. As his character just have these two weird black holes on their face that look off-putting. 

 

Now the cover pages. They are lazy, they are just one of the character posing with the most interesting thing, besides noticing they are off model, is that he swaps around their color palette. So the cover pages would be Bolt (Boruto) standing but this time he cloak is blue, and another his cloak is green, and a third his cloak is red. While other manga might start out with their characters just posing they would eventually branch out. Like showing their characters doing something like taking a nap, reading, spending time together. Sometimes they would be in outfits they haven't worn in the manga. Or Oda's Cover Stories in One Piece. If Ikemoto had a sporty combat outfit for his cast and then dressed them up in K-Pop idols on the cover page that would be fine as well. Anything instead of the most intended interesting aspect of the cover page being this time their jacket is yellow.

 

Another thing I nearly forgot about, because his faces are so bad and he can't really draw them. He is bad at showing and changing their expressions to show emotions. Helping to make the story feel incredibly bland, flat, and emotionless. The most infamous example is Naruto's reaction to Kurama's death in part one. I have seen people show more distress over eating slightly burnt toast, than he did over a friend that has been with him his entire life dying right before his eyes.

 

People constantly try to defend the art by saying it is improving. However, the core problems have always been there and they have never been improved upon. The art at the start of the manga was abysmally atrocious there are very few that still try to defend it. So people have taken it becoming mediocre and then settling there for years as the art is improving. As they now use the early art to lower the standards so people can't critique the below average art the manga has had for years. Ikemoto was not an inexperience artist when he took over drawing Boruto. He is a veteran in the industry with decades of experience even if he was an assistant and not a full mangaka.

 

From what I recall. The anime never used his style when drawing characters he inherited. They always defaulted to Kishimoto style instead. For example, they had a tame version of his Salad outfit for the first anime arc before switching to Kishimoto's outfit in the second arc and never switching back despite that fact it should be the opposite. This also made his own characters stand out more and put off anime viewers because the anime had no clue how to make them look like Naruto characters because they were so different so they just had to put them in as he drew them. This is also why I think he has characters outright talk about his design changes so if/when the anime comes back they have to make the characters match his style. Despite the fact his art is harder to draw than Kishi's and not that appealing to anime viewers.

 

As for if I hate any silly designs like say Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? No I don't. Araki can clearly draw and his designs and poses while often still are clearly intended, consistent, and expertly drawn. He took his liking for strange fashion choices of models and music stars and poses of statues made them his own. Then turned it into an iconic look for his manga. If someone doesn't like it they wouldn't read it, but it is recognizable.

 

Narrative. The plot often has a yearly cyclical structure that allows it to be repetitive and feels that nothing is happening. In part one, at the start of the year it will often try to wrap up the fight from last year for about 3 chapters. Then 6 chapters in the village setting up the next fight and having character moments. Then for the last 3 chapters of the year the new villain arrives at the village to fight the cast. Now while editorial/executive pressure has changed this somewhat (mainly the timing) in part two; the problem still persist. It also doesn't help that they never really defeat the organization their foes are coming from. In Part One, Kara, who can just reveal more members and in Part Two, the Tree-People, who can just make more if they run out. So, it feels like they are largely doing nothing but sitting around and waiting to be attacked; while nothing is really ever resolved. Hell, this latest time is the first time they have honestly trained in preparation for the attack. Hell, even then its not even really training but set up the power ups that are going to be important for the up coming fight.

 

There is also the problem of the manga chapters feel like the chapters are just extended weekly chapters, and are also not worth waiting a month for. But also means that each month the manga was only giving their weekly anime enough material for at best one episode. More likely half.

 

I want you all to remember that it took so long for the manga to do anything. That the anime didn't even introduce his True Main Character Nail (Kawaki) until well passed episode 200; well into four years into the anime's run. By that point so much filler has been done anime fans had already decided on which character they wanted Bolt to end up with. Salad because either she is Sasuke's daughter or they understand the storyline. The Clone which the anime supports as she is their character and they want another Hinata-like character to be the heroine and love interest. Or Cups for the fujoshi which the worse for Ikemoto as those are the ones who should be loving his Nail. So, as the anime ended around 300 episodes they didn't spend as much time on the "Bond of Bros," that Ikemoto wants to be the main story.

 

Think about it. It took him so long to actually get his story deep enough into it that anime could adapt the manga's story, and they went through it in half the time the spent making filler waiting for it. When in theory, the manga is suppose to be the main story and a skeleton for the anime to fill out with their own arcs. To expand on story ideas introduce in the manga but doesn't have time to cover. The problem with that is, for one, it clear the anime staff like with Bleach were sick of making endless filler and decided to just cancel it and wait for the story to get done to adapt it. Which hurts the story because its very hollow and was designed for the anime to fill in to make deeper. They didn't even finish the story of part one. They ended it after the arc Nail "killed" Bolt, from what I recall. Which means his pacing helped to destroy the justification for the risky idea of a monthly manga with a weekly anime. The second problem is that he is arcs are very...sequential each one clearly leading to the next with very little logical time in between them. Often it feels when an arc ends and the new one start that very day in story at best a week later. When the story needs for the arc to feel like there is enough time between them to justify putting in several anime original arc between each; to expand on the previous arcs ideas, to give focus on characters the manga isn't focusing on, and lead into the next one. There were only two break points the manga gave the anime. One they used when Nail was first adopted by Naruto there was implied weeks if not months where he bonded with everyone in the village. Than another one when Madoc gave Bolt those magic pills to stop the karma seals advancement. Which was clearly internal story justification and an excuse for the anime to put more anime arcs before the next fight. Instead, the anime instantly went to next fight to finish the arc then cancelled the anime.

 

There is also the problem is that they fired the guy who job was to work with the anime staff to keep the manga and the anime story aligned; Kodaichi. There was apparently a problem with the anime constantly going against the manga's story and making mistakes. hell, even when he was there they did that as the core of the first anime arc. The flash-forward had Nolt's right eye had a scar and byakugan. The implication being like Kakashi that something happened to that eye. Implant or traumatic power awakening. When it turned out to be a side effect of the Karma seal integration or possession by that Otsutsuki. The anime wanted to give Hinata's son a special eye that was more than a byakugan and tie the Last into the story. Then it was never used again, even in the anime after the first arc.

 

Also, the story has made it very clear that Tree-Jenga (Jura) is so strong that he could kill the entire cast if not the entire world in a second with barely any effort if he wanted to. He doesn't because of mere whim and the story would be over if he did. So the main villain is doing nothing because if he did anything he would win. The story requires that he has to let his kind be killed off and eventually the protagonist find a way to beat him. While he largely does nothing, because if he doesn't, he'd beat them all in a panel.

 

Since Boruto takes a lot of "inspiration" from Dragon Ball, and their villains can also be described as able to kill the Heroes in one shot but don't. So, lets compared them.

 

Raditz was stronger than Goku and Piccolo combine, but he didn't originally want to kill them. He wanted his brother Kakarot to join his squad. By the time he got serious the trio were able to stun him long enough to kill him.

 

Vegeta wanted to punish Goku for defying him and get the Dragon Balls to wish for immortality. So he had his goon Nappa play around with them while ordering him to avoid killing Piccolo because he realized he must be connected to the Dragon Balls. But once he realize Goku was actually a threat he increasingly stopped playing around and tried to go for the kill.  

 

Freeza could not find them for most of the arc because he can't sense energy. Also, he had minions to do the searching and fighting for him. When Vegeta starts killing them; he orders in the Ginyu Force. When he finally finds them he wants to slowly torture them as punishment for denying him his wish. Which backfires as his screwing around drained his stamina.

 

Cell was actually weaker than the cast, or at least Piccolo till he could start absorbing the androids to achieve his perfect form. So he hid while slowly absorbing energy till he could find the androids. Once he did that, he was stronger than the entire cast, but was curious how they can get stronger in a day's time. So he organized the Cell Games to play with them as none of them were stronger than him. Once Gohan showed that he was, he twice tried to blow up the planet. 

 

The Majin Buu arc is more the heroes refusing to take him seriously despite numerous warnings till he blows up the planet.

 

Tree-Jenga sits around reading books, talking to Tree Sasuke, eating ice cream going on about love while his kind are being killed. When he could travel through the belt network to be their in an instant to defeat anybody. Never really helping his comrades eat their desired people for the goal to evolve/complete themselves/what ever they go on about.

 

Tree-Jenga knows that the cast can beat the tree people, knows that they know how to free the people stuck in a tree, and knows there is someone helping them that can see the future. Therefore, is setting up a plan to beat them. Yet, he barely bothers to try to achieve his goals of devouring certain people despite every opportunity and barely set up any counter measures. Beyond sending Punk to go look for Bolt's ally. It also doesn't help that Dragon Ball villains are arc villains so they are gone once their arc is over...unless they turn good. Tree-Jenga is the over arcing Penultimate story villain, once he is defeat it is likely all that will be left is to convince Nail to release Bolt's parents. Yet, he does nothing except show up every once and awhile to show how deep, dangerous, and powerful he is; when he is none of those.

 

Omnipotence was some cheap shock event at the end of part one to hopefully get the reader interested in part two. "Oh no Bolt is now hated and chased by the village while Nail took his place." But the mechanics and how it would be played out in the story was not thought up beyond. "Bolt will slowly convince the cast that he is Naruto's son in their heart, and after defeating Nail he will release his parents, who were unaffected by the spell, who will tell the rest of the cast he is their son." Of course there always the possibility of a "shock twist" that they are also affected and believe Nail is their son, but that would be cheap. However, they do not know how to reach that point while keeping the story thread going till they reached that point. So, they have to constantly reexplain why people can't break the spell. Which again just makes it clear they shouldn't have done this storyline.

 

Karma Seal. That totally original unique cool power up and plot device that Kishimoto could never come up with. It looks exactly like Tsunade's & Sakura's Yin Seal; which they eventually justify by saying theirs is based off it. When activated it slowly spreads out and corrupt the person who has it like Orochimaru's curse seal. And, it has a entity inside of it that is trying to take over the host body like the various Jinchuriki seals. It is an USB stick/seal containing the information of an Otsutsuki member that they download into a person to take them over after sacrificing themselves to the World tree so it produce its chakra fruit...don't look at me like that. This IS the explanation they give in the manga. It also powers up its host and give them millennia worth of combat experience which part of the reason is why Bolt and Nail are stronger than Naruto by the time the are twelve; this was also explained in the manga. Its suppose to be the ticking time bomb of the story especially in part one where we slowly, very slowly in long info dumps, learn about it. The thing is the first time we learn about its infection rate, we learn that its almost complete. Then in the next fight its resolved. There are hints that the Otsutsuki could still take over Bolt, but nope made clear in Part two he can't. Its rare to see a story flub one its primary elements so hard and so often. 

 

Shinjutsu. Divine Techniques. The new tier of power that apparently the Otsutsuki always had that Madoc is able to equip through making people cyborgs or through the Karma seal. Making anyone that does not have one powerless. Leaving only the cast Ikemoto grants these powers to are able to fight against his villains, anyone else is fodder. Does matter if even they are Kage level ninja, without Shinjutsu they will lose fights to any of Ikemoto's mooks. Limiting the cast that can fight. But they often aren't that impressive as they are hype up to be. Looking at Bolt's signature Shinjutsu the Uzuhiko hype up to be an ultimate attack, that just gives people vertigo, people pointed out how unimpressive it was, and so they changed it to a rasengan-spirit bomb.

 

Scientific Ninja Tools. Now I understand, this idea was thought up by Kishimoto. Ikemoto just inherited it and has to incorporate it into his manga. It doesn't mean i have to like it or that I feel he has done a good job in using it. For one, it breaks the feel of the world without really adding anything. For example when he gave characters guns. In anime, gun are either instant kill weapons or utterly useless. His were useless. Two, often it is just an excuse to give a character a power up, most often Nail, and not need to explain it because its Magical Science.

 

Power Levels and Fighting in General. I cover this last month, but to reiterate. The fights are not interesting because they can be boiled down to, the villain is invincible till a mid-fight power up, after that they die in one attack. This upcoming fight is the first one hinted to be different, as they have already laid out the power up the main cast have gotten and the villain's power and tactics beforehand. However it so basic that its unimpressive, and feels like someone else has come in and order a change to the story instead of something naturally develop by Ikemoto.

 

The AI eventually thought I was mocking the original cast. I was mocking their underuse and how Ikemoto treated them. Ikemoto does not want to use most of Kishimoto's characters unless he forced to, he wants to focus on his own original characters(, like Nail, Moe, Madoc, & Hime,) and there are only a handful he clearly likes Jiraiya, Moegi, and Ino. While loathing using the rest. The worse and most consistent example is Shikamaru, the smartest of Kishimoto's characters, is constantly treated like an absolute moron and is constantly dismissed and disrespected by any Ikemoto character he interacts with. This would be less of a problem if his cast left the village on missions so they can be focused on, like Kishimoto did in Naruto, but Ikemoto refuses to leave the village for his fights. So you constantly have to ask two question. Where are they!? When they are not around while half the village is destroyed. Why are they so useless!? When they are involved in the story.

 

It also doesn't help he doesn't care about his inherited cast of Bolt's generation either. If Bolt's name wasn't in the title he likely would have been left in the dust as well. So, Ikemoto could focus solely on his original characters. Who are uninteresting and most readers do not care about. So, he had to start including more of his inherited cast in part two.

 

Now I don't want focus on every single character at there is in Naruto-Boruto that cast is too large for realistically any medium to handle. Want I want is to know is, who are the main characters, and what is their story? In One Piece, its the Strawhat Pirates. Sure Luffy is the main character and the rest of the crews importance varies depending on the arc. But you know who the main characters of the arc are and who are there just for the arc. In Naruto it was in theory team 7 that was the main cast. Of course Kakashi had less focus because he was the mentor. But, Sakura rarely got any focus. Kishimoto, got bored of Naruto and eventually just turned him into the ninja Messiah. And Sasuke nearly consumed the plot. But in Boruto, who are the main characters? Is it Neo-Team 7? Konohamaru got no focus in part one. Mitsuki (Cups) and Salad were pretty much background characters to show Bolt was on a team in the manga. Is it ikemoto's original characters? Nail, Hime, Amando (Madoc,) and Daimon (Moe.) Well fans didn't care for them. So now the cast has been expanded to add the next generation characters that ikemoto didn't care about in part one. For example, it was hinted that Moe had feelings for the daughter and they were going to be a pairing. In Part two she is in a Pairing with Inojin (Blond Sai) who was constantly one of the most popular characters of the new generation in the anime.

 

Which is why I want the main cast to leave the village on missions more so we can focus on the main cast. Instead of wondering, where is everyone? When half the village is being destroyed again in another battle.

 

Shipping. I have gone over why the Shipping in the story is pointless before but let's go over it again. The goal of the character Boruto at the start of the manga is the be the Shadow Hokage/Hokage's Shadow for Sarada like Sasuke is for Naruto, and Danzo was for Hiruzen when he was Hokage. So what matters is, why does he want to be her shadow enforcer when she becomes Hokage? Does he agree with her policies? Does he agree with her moral views? Does he agree with her philosophy? Does he support any reforms she wants to enact? Does he think she has good economic policies? Does he think she would be good at governing the village? Why does he support her? Whether he ends up with her romantically or not doesn't matter because his dream job is still to be her shadow enforcer. Whether he ends up with Sarada (Salad), Mitsuki (Cups,) Kawaki (Nail,) Eida (Hime,) or Sumire (Clone) does not matter as working for Sarada is still his goal regardless to who he ends up with; if he ends up with anyone. Neither the anime nor manga, as far as I know, have even attempted to cover this in the slightest. The only answer that might have been given is that, he is in love with her. If that the case, if that is the only reason he has to support her when she become hokage. Then, he must end up with her and all other pairings considerations are a distraction. As he has no other reason for his stated end goal, besides his feelings for her.

 

This also brings up another problem of Salad constant under utilization in the story. Her becoming Hokage is the end goal for both her and the Protagonist Bolt. But it is never address, never explored, never examined in the story. The only thing she has is her feelings for Bolt she is unwilling to admit she has but everyone can see. Why should the audience care about when she becomes Hokage at the end, when the story won't till the ending?

 

Let me make this clear. The damage of not going with NaruSaku as the end pairing for Naruto is minor compared to them not going with BoroSara for Boruto. Not going with NS negatively affected Naruto as what was the point of the promise of a lifetime, why did Sakura confess to Naruto and try to kill Sasuke to atone for how she burdened Naruto, why did Naruto forgive Obito, and the bench scene meaning a purpose being erased made Sakura have a flat to not even having a character arc as she loved Sasuke at the start and she got him by doing nothing. But it didn't destroy the story entirely by not going through with it. That was the Last that did so, by making it why NS didn't happen worse. As instead of just Naruto moving on, so his two friends could be happy together. They made it, he never had feelings for her, and was only pretending to for over a decade to spite Sasuke, like an utter scumbag. While in Boruto, the only reason for the purported end goal of the story is their feelings for each other. They have never given another reason. They have never explored another reason. This story has been running for nearly ten years now, as even if they started next chapter. It feels too late to do something that should have been a part of the story all along.

 

And what did the story focus on instead of developing the end goal of the story? An attempt to make an improved Naruto-Sasuke conflict with Bolt and Nail. Their "Bond of Bros" is the primary if not the sole story focused in the manga and its not interesting. While one of the major weakness of the chase after Sasuke is we didn't spend enough time with team 7 together. So fans got tired of why Naruto focused so much on a character they barely spent time with and didn't want to return to the village. In Boruto, most of the actual story in part one is building and bashing you over the head that Bolt and Nail are total Bros. They are the ultimate bros that totally care for each other like brothers. Please ignore that Nail constantly acts like an ass and Bolt is a spoiled brat. They are totally bros with a deep bond. Has the story mentioned that they are real bros enough yet, no? Then just have every chapter just constantly go on about how much they are bros. Of course that's till the end of part one, with the "tragedy" of Nail deciding to kill Bolt, his bro who he totally cares about bro, to destroy the Otsutsuki within him in order to protect Naruto his father figure. The problem is he tells no one of this, so the entire cast has to guess his motivation, and when Naruto and Hinata refused to kill their son just because Nail wants to. He seals them away, pretends they are dead, with the plans to release them after he kills their son, and anyone else that gets in his way. However, the first time we see Femmy in Bolt's head in part two, he makes it clear he has no power over Bolt, he can't take over his body, he can't influence in the slightest, he is just a voice in the back of Bolt's head waiting for him to die so they can both end it; unless Bolt gives him control. Which he had even given up on that by the time we saw him again. So, for the reason for the conflict between them is moot.

 

Now, you can argue that the story can say, "well, Nail doesn't know that and can't believe Bolt even if he tells him." Sure, but the problem is the audience knows Femmy is no threat. Beyond maybe a fake out there is no risk or danger of Bolt being taken over by Femmy. So there is no suspense and it just an excuse for the conflict to continue as there is no other reason conflict or the story to continue without it.

 

Sasuke's reasons made sense in character for why he left the village. He wanted power to avenge his family and felt the village was making him too soft to accomplish this goal. Of course to keep it going so he didn't just return to the village after he killed his brother. Therefore, the chase after him unnecessary. As Naruto should've just trusted Sasuke would have returned after he killed Itachi and all he had to do is give him a heads up on why Orochimaru wants his body. But the way Kishimoto went about that, the village order his clan to be purged by his brother, made so Sasuke was justified in never returning to the village and in fact making him an enemy of the village. While Naruto's reason for obsessively chasing was under developed because of the limited time they were on a team together, and not coming up for a reason Sasuke should return to the village beyond bonds.

 

What is going to happen at the end of Boruto is obvious. After defeating all the tree people. They will have a fight where Bolt just keeps going over and over, "Just trust me, Bro." Until he wins convinces Nail to release his parents. Then gets instantly forgive him despite entrapping them for years while he brainwashed the world to chase down and kill their son.

Edited by Bail o' Lies, 20 December 2025 - 07:34 AM.

[Bail o' Lies]

Just wanted checked after finishing my post and found the the chapter was released yesterday. Wouldn't have read it till the 20th otherwise. Deleted a post because I had changed my response to the AI post so much that it didn't fit anymore.

 

Jump Festa should be happening this weekend.

 

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 swept the video game awards. And I think Disney-Star Wars is slowly realizing that children play video games. A shocking discovery that just took them 12 years of ownerships and data to comprehend, when I think Lucas understood that 40 years ago when video games were merely the latest fad.

 

Summary Time: Chapter 29. Pest Control...well nice that they are treating the villains as threating as I perceive them to be.

 

Cover Page is Bolt with his old jacket, karma seal activated, and without his cloak. I will admit it looks better because his pins are organized, his jacket is zipped up, and it fits his pants. It still don't like his haircut but it is a better design than what he normally has.

 

Bolt is having a conversation with Femmy about taking over his body if he helps him take down Tree-Jenga. They make it clear they can't hide their thoughts from each other. So Femmy knows Bolt is serious but points out once he takes over Nail will try to kill him. Bolt asks if he wants to take that chance or just completely give up to the Tree people. So Femmy gives Bolt free use of the Karma Seal.

 

He is attacked by two Tree-Bugs and destroys them with a simple rasengan...this probably suppose to show off how powerful the karma seal makes him, but Bolt was already shown to be able to one shot them. Hell, the rest of the cast is also able to one shot these Tree-Bugs. So, how is the damage he is doing to Tree-Bug a good gauge of how much of a power up the Karma seal gives him? Also, isn't Bolt not suppose to fight because Tree-Jenga will decide to join the fight to catch him, instead of sitting around talking about love? Or was that just something for that one fight and dropped afterwards? He fights more of them with Shikamaru giving him the info of where they are. Blond Sai gives the data to Shikamaru...is his jutsu a sensor map to find all the Tree-Bugs? It so under detailed I can't tell what it is, beyond a guess. The cast goes around killing Tree-Bugs.

 

Tree-Bug starts to question how they are able to find them and decided to spread out so onlookers can see them...what. One, why hasn't the village gone into their safety evacuation protocols that they have had since at least the Chunin exam? Two, this is ninja village most of them should be able to fight you, in theory. Three, why is it important to see you?

 

Back to the interrogation of Cups. Konohamaru overhears the Chamberlain asks about him releasing Bolt's handcuffs, and realizes only three people know about the code to unlock them: Ibiki, Shikamaru and himself. So he plans to take the fall himself to protect Shikamaru asking that character based on Kodaichi to be let back in...why does he keep appearing!? Alright, I'm giving him a nickname Random Ninja Mook 3.

 

Sai is given an update by the sensory division/psychic phone company (I am giving them a nickname at this point) about the attack and ask to be connected to Shikamaru. So Shikmaru has to switch between talking to the son to the father...seriously they have cell phones in this world now! Can they just use them?! Sai informs Shikamaru of the attack and him sending in the police...wait I thought he was in charge of the ANBU is he also in change of the Military Police? Did they merge together at some point? Why was this never explained? Shikamaru ask Sai to get ready to release Cups from interrogation. Oh we finally learn the Chamberlain's name, Lord Kobu.

 

People are just randomly eating and chatting while the village is being invaded...well to be fair, they are pretty much invaded every day in this story. They could just be numb to being attacked and people around them being killed. So, Konoha went from the strongest village that was rarely attacked because so few would even have a chance against them which is why those times were so shocking in story, under Kishimoto. To basically Ninja World's Gaza under Ikemoto.

 

As the onlookers look at Tree-Bug he multiplies. There are now over 50 of them, which means he should be really stupid as the target goal was 25...story implies that it is the more people looking at him the more of himself he can create. Remember the more of them they are the dumber they are suppose to be to the point they become as dumb as animals. (When their intelligence hasn't seem to gone down in the slightest so far.) The advantage is they are all as strong as the original. Note that everyone single one of them can die in a single hit by any of the cast... DOES IKEMOTO NOT EVEN REMEMBER HIS OWN POWER'S RULES THAT HE SET OUT LIKE TWO CHAPTERS AGO!?!

 

Konohamaru takes the fall by saying the handcuff codes were never set. The Chamberlain see through this obvious lie, as he is an Ikemoto character, and orders Shikamaru to be brought in.

 

The cast thinks they have the advantage, but CJ looks pensive...did he just realize that because in the original future Tree-Bug swept through the village so hard he didn't have knowledge of the full capabilities of Tree-Bug's power like that he makes his copies from people looking at him? Would be impress if that's the case, but mainly because something that obvious is something that doesn't happen often in this story.

Edited by Bail o' Lies, 30 December 2025 - 07:49 PM.

[Bail o' Lies]

So Maduro was captured, Putin, Cuba and China are cut off from Venezuelan oil, and now Trump is setting his sights on Greenland.

 

Nioh 3 coming out soon.

 

The Dunk & Egg adaptation is apparently not bad.

 

Summary Time: Chapter 30. All Them Nuisances...I will be making a topic page for why I dislike Boruto after I am done with this summary. No Need to constantly reedit that one post if a recall other issues I have with this manga.

 

Cover Page is Tree-Bug showing of his copies.

 

The Tree-Bugs that Neo-InoShikaCho knock down get back up. So the daughter uses a bijuu bomb, formed by her hair, to finish them...Sarcasm: thank goodness they evacuated everyone like they were suppose to when they are under attack instead of them just loitering around like the two right behind her in the background. Else this bomb that has the power to destroy mountains might kill a lot of people in the blast. Shikamaru's son tells her not to use it in the village before makin a net ball with his shadow so Fat Filler can throw it up in the air...Thank goodness there were no, lets see 1 2 3....23, 31, 35 civilians just standing around the might have been caught up the blast. I must just be imagine nearly 40 civilians in the background. As they are suppose to be evacuated by this point.

 

Blond Sai tells Shikamaru that the Tree-Bug just keeps replicating no matter how many they destroy.

 

Back with the Chamberlain wanting to interrogate Shikamaru. Sai says the village is under attack. He asks how bad. Sai says they don't know but he should be evacuated. He dismisses this and wants Shikamaru brought to him...now normally this would be a sign this character is a ego driven moron that thinks he is too important for anything bad to happen and this will backfire on him. But remember, he is an Ikemoto character surrounded by Kishimoto characters. So not by common logic but by the mangaka spite this character is completely right and nothing bad will happen to him and he will triumph over any Kishimoto character because he is an Ikemoto character.

 

Tree-Bug has replicated himself into the hundreds. Remember 20 was suppose to make him a drooling moron, yet he is still as smart as normal. Shikamaru tell the extermination squad to halt while they think about what is happening...it probably also help if they had more than what 6 people fighting them, but granted it is hard to find ninja in a ninja village. While Shikamaru trying to think of a plan, the Chamberlain uses the psychic phone to use his authority given him by the fire lord to force Shikamaru into the interrogation room.

 

While this is happening Bolt is captured by some Konohan Police Ninja...thank goodness nothing else is going on that they could be dealing with. Bolt uses his sword to drain one then teleports himself out of the bind. He compliments the guys who captured him.

 

A bunch of Tree-Bugs and a bunch of civilians standing around. Shikamaru tells Blond Sai to take over while he is in interrogation. Clone Jiraiya tells him to hide his toad on his person so he can help Shikamaru get through the interrogation. Shikamaru tells the Chamberlain they are in a state of emergency...then why haven't the civilians been evacuated!?! So, using the toad as a medium Clone Jiraiya has Blond Sai use the mind transferer jutsu on the Chamberlain...how is that going to help? So CJ has Blond Sai go outside to the roof and tells him his plan is to kill the Chamberlain...HOW IS THAT THE BEST OPTION!?!? HOW IS THAT NOT GOING TO BACKFIRE!!!!

 

Edit: The Chamberlain is a personal trusted servant of the fire lord (historically they managed a royal or noble household, overseeing staff, finances, and daily operations, acting as a key advisor.) The fire lord sent him to investigate Boruto and if any ninja in the village is supporting him. They don't think he might be concern if his servant he sent to investigate a possible conspiracy dies mysteriously alone in the middle of investigating? You know like the fire lord can no longer trust the leaf village ninja as even someone as high as Shikamaru might be part of a conspiracy with a dangerous criminal.

 

Also why was jumping to murder the best option Mr. Future Sight?

 

Though the village refusing to evacuate their civilians like they are suppose to do. Again this is something Iruka explains to Konohamaru in the chunin exam arc, when the village was under attack by the sand and sound village ninjas. Guard while the evacuate the civilians, once they are evacuated to the shelters counterattack.

Edited by Bail o' Lies, 21 January 2026 - 11:07 PM.

[Bail o' Lies]

Oh the sites back. There is a war with Iran going on I forget if the ceasefire is over or still on going. Cuba is falling apart and is likely next on Trump's list.

 

People are getting really sick of nuisance streamers. Johnny Somali is finally in jail.

 

Maul was apparently ok. Mandalorian and Grogu will be apparently mid; whoever is in charge of the marketing feels like they are mentally stuck when Bush was still in office. Swtor was given to another company after Dragon Age Veilguard to punish Bioware for wasting a decade of EA's time, as they had been leeching off it to keep their numbers out of the red, and Broadsword has apparently finished updating the engine. So in one year they put more effort into that game than Bioware has in a decade.

 

Where Wind Meet had their expansion into a new area where it apparently gets very fantasy wuxia. 

 

Pragmata is successful.

 

Summary Time: Chapter 31. Shut Up...Well that site was shut down when this came out which was fine with me.

 

Cover Page is Hime in the title of the the manga like some fashion magazine, again it generic, but its barely more creative than just having them pose which some color swaps like he was for over a hundred chapters.

 

Oh right Clone Jiraiya had forced Blond Sai into a plan to indirectly murder the Chamberlain. The what 15 year old boy does not want to be part of this murder scheme once he is informed and tires to save the civilian.

 

Hime wants Blond Sai to reconnect everyone because if she used her eye power to see him Tree-Bug can sense her. She also thinks he has the power to get information out of people by simply looking into their eyes...has she informed anyone of importance of another power that the monster that is literally after her to eat her has? No? Figures.

 

We cut to some of the Tree-Bug copies arguing and attacking each other. With civilians all around them. Once one kills another the civillians panic and start to run...WHY HAS AN EVACUTATION ORDER NOT BEEN GIVEN!?

 

Sai ask Shikamaru about his son and what is going on. Shikamaru says it secret and due to the emergency they need to focus on protect the civilians...THEN WHY HAS AN EVACUTATION ORDER NOT BEEN GIVEN? Sai accepts this for now.

 

One of the Tree-Bug while fighting another Tree-Bug was about to hit a civilian. So Salad uses her gravity ball...she is in the least impressive floating through the power of controlling gravity pose I have ever seen. Her balls can only affect things she sees...that is a terrible limitation. It would have been better to have a limit on the orbs, they are draining, or anything else. Mustard kills a few...she was with Salad she just wasn't important to mention. And we see Salad is affected by the eyesight lost an incomplete mangekyo has...I bring this up because some people online have been saying she didn't have this weakness due to either her being Sakura's daughter when it was establish mix children in Naruto have weaker Kekkei genkai (Izumi Uchiha Itachi's fiancés and Bolt not getting the byakugan) which is why most of the cast were made from marriages from within their clans, or she got the power from love not hate so it wouldn't do this. Well, obviously not.

 

CJ releases Blond Sai mind transfer by snapping his fingers...they could do that? So he can reestablish the telepathy hotline. He warns everyone The Chamberlain is under attack and Bolt saves him. Shikamaru informs him of the Tree-People. So the Chamberlain gives him leave to deal with the situation but warns his investigation is not over. Bolt ask how much of this CJ planned and CJ say it would be better if that man died.

 

Chapter 32. Dancing with the Devil...this is a show how cool and awesome Moe is chapter... A wasted effort. It is more likely I discover the cure for cancer than people actually like this character. Not even die hard Boruto fans even pretend to like him. 

 

The cover page is Moe the character no one likes.

 

The Adult Leaf Ninja have been order to leave the Tree-Bug alone and apparently leave the fighting to the main cast...so it being written into the plot that they aren't allowed to do anything when their village is attacked every other day. Bolt go to some of the clones and says he will show them where Hime is. They all follow him and he warns them about Moe. Calling him a Demon...Moe's name is Damon...oh wait they changed it to Daemon. Going to guess this is a translation issue. Ikemoto always wanted Moe's name to be a spelling of demon and thought Damon was that. Damon isn't, it means to subdue, to tame, to overpower, or conquer. Why the name is known comes from a Greek tale of Pythias and Damon. Pythias was falsely accuse of a crime. He wanted to prove his innocence so Damon his friend volunteered to be a hostage; with the condition that if Pythias runs away he will be killed. Pythias proves his innocents, therefore Damon was not killed, and the story is to the tale about trust, honor, love and friendship. It just a translation issue and a mistake of the name and if I ever used the name instead of Moe. I might have felt obligated to change any use of Damon to Daemon, without any fuss, as it is a correction. Good thing I was using Nicknames; so I don't have to do anything.

 

They are at the villa outside the village. The art focuses a lot on Hime's legs. This chapter is about showing off how cool and powerful Moe is...so i will be skimming it.

 

He all but solos the entire 200 Tree-Bugs due to his reflection power...which Ikemoto thinks will make him cool. It doesn't. Wasn't his ideal target 20? Any I the only one who remembers that at this point? If people don't remember his reflection power is suppose to be limited by only affecting people he is touch. This is clearly a limit that was imposed on Ikemoto that he never liked as Tree-Bug are dying without him touch throughout these chapters without touching him. Of course since they suppose to be a hive mind they should have all died the second they thought about killing him. Also in case anyone forgot he has great physical strength likely is the strongest in the world able to defeat Sakura/Tsunade in a contest of strength with his pinky. So you have a character with reflection powers that is the physically strongest in the world with an unappealing design and an obnoxious personality...and he thinks this character would be popular. Normally stories try to balance out a character with a strong defensive power in thar they rely on it, lack offensive powers that don't relate to the power, and once you get around it they go down very quickly. Here, its clear that there is no way to counter him that wouldn't have Ikemoto acting like a kid in a schoolyard going, "nu-uh that wouldn't work." Beside whatever bs Tree-Jenga could use to defeat him of course. Now some might want to use Gojo to defend this character idea as in concept, as they are quite similar. However, what makes Gojo from JJK different is that; this is acknowledged. It is acknowledge that he is the strongest, that the heroes rely on to the point of dependency, and the villains have to work around either avoiding or getting rid of him someway for them to even try to enact their plans. He also disliked for his personality even his creator finds him bland, but he is fun and has depth so he is well received by the audience. Moe is forgotten for most of the story until he is needed and then he reminds everyone that he is the strongest due to being a Ikemoto character. So he spends most of his time as an obnoxious brat that no character comments on or goes against, and the fans dislike the brat.

 

Right the obvious but unstated plan was to gather them to one stop then have Salad use her gravity balls. But she used them last chapter so she is too drained to used them again...Maybe Shikamaru should have order her not to use it unless commanded or she should have informed everyone she used them or you know trained so they can figure out its limit. Nail tries to fire off some sort of Karma Ki Blast but he is overheated...how? So is also down.

 

Both along with Tree-Bug making a 1000 clones to make the story more dramatic...feels contrived. It would have been more interesting if CJ's plan went off with out a hitch and that forced Tree-Jenga to act rather than this nonsense.

 

Chapter 33. Shattering Futures...blah blah blah individual actions and will changes fate.

 

Cover page is Salad. We going back to the color swaps again. Guess he ran out of idea besides that.

 

They are worried about Salad as she was vital to her plan and she is out cold. The daughter comes over and uses her healing powers she gets from Kurama to heal her. She is the greatest healer in the world without any training, Medical ninja are useless to the main cast as long as they have the daughter. As she can heal any wound instantly.

 

Blond Sai realizes they are at risk of being overwhelm, even with Moe's bs powers, so ask CJ if he has anymore info that can help him. CJ explains that he hasn't gain anymore vision since he told Blond Sai 4 days ago. His visions are random. Oh Madoc is listening to this as well. He says that by tell others what will happens alters events. He taught Blond Sai the Mind Transmission Formation which he originally developed after Tree-Bug's attack, and he feels it because of that power they have been able to hold off him so far. Blond Sai reaches a realization that CJ said he came to in his visions as well

 

So he goes out to use the mind transfer jutsu on Tree-Bug because they are a hive mind he controls all of them, somehow with no side effects or mental strain. Then he forces killing intent onto Moe so it will backfire and destroy their eyes which is where their replication power comes from and his were destroyed as a side effect of the possession. Then the daughter heals him...so unless they try to a dramatic his eyes are so damaged they can't be healed, he is fine.

 

The chapter ends with a hint of Punks return...yeah.

Edited by Bail o' Lies, 23 May 2026 - 08:03 PM.

[Bail o' Lies]

With this chapter, the Boruto manga has officially gone on for ten years. At this point in time, Naruto had ended the Pain arc and was going on to its delay the manga ending to keep making profit from it while the editors pressure him to make Hinata the Heroine plan. Here, its just another Tree-Person fight. There could be another dozen of them if they need to keep the manga going. Oricon says that Boruto manga sales have dipped to around 50,000 since part two started. So its gone from 3.1 million for Naruto's average. To 800,000 for the last volume. To about 600,000 for Sarada's Gaiden. To 400,000 at the start of Boruto then decline to an average of 100,000 and held around that for most of part one. To 50,000 for part two of Boruto. Oh how the might have fallen.

 

Summary Time: Chapter 34. Used to it...after ten years everyone should be used to how disappointing this manga is.

 

Cover page is Punk...wow I had forgotten how bad and pretentious his design is. He looks like someone cosplaying as a Vampire in 1800's London.

 

Oh they finally made a threat for the Thorn Soul Bulb, it will rot away after a few minute and the person will die...Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait, did they teleport to the village after Tree-Moegi died? Because they were in the middle of the desert near the Sand Village which takes at least three days travel from the Leaf. And again, this means the story is compact and there is no time in-between events in the manga. Not even travel time. Also what about Eye-Run Sand? Tree-Shinki was also defeated right before Tree-Moegi in the middle of that desert but his original body was near the Tree-Persons' base. How where they able to get there in time then? Blond Sai's eyes are completely fine and the daughter hugs him...she can heal anything. Konohamaru is holding Salad...when did he get there!?! They plan to take her to the hospital...why bother, they have the greatest healer in the world like five feet from her. Moe and Hime chat.

 

...Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. What happened to Tree-Bug? Yes, they took his eyes at the end of last chapter, but there was still A Thousand of them. Did Ikemoto decide to skip the rest of the fight because he decided it was already over?! This took counting the prep and the fight was at least 6 chapters! When all they needed to do is CJ say, "First get them all in one place by luring them all to Hime, then have Blond Sai mind transfer into their hive mind, and then have Moe reflect damage into their eyes." If that was the plan, it was not said. Hell, that could work on all the Tree-People, so how are they a threat now? If their power comes from their eyes and they are powerless without them. All you have to do is get a Yamanaka to posses them, then stab those eyes out, and then get them healed by the daughter. What was the point of all this training, prep, and fighting them; when this could have been over in like 5 pages!?

 

CJ talks about Punk not appearing. Bolt notes that his belts are all over the Tree-People so his is likely aware of what is going on...yeah they kind of forgot about him like they forget about the other Tree-People. So they plan on taking the Soul Bulb to free Bug to lure out Punk, who will show himself because Bolt will be alone...there should also be the tree-people including Tree-Jenga as that is their base. Did they forget that? CJ then goes over the possibilities. Ideally he kills him. If he fails, Punk will go after Salad. And a third option that CJ said has been made possible by tell him about the other two options...that they are trying to be coy about but is obvious, talk to him and convince him to join them. Bolt leaves with a call back to the threat of cutting Blond Sai's hair...he is more useful against the Tree-People than you are, you overhyped moron. And the daughter watches him teleport. Madoc wants to have a conversation with Nail. 

 

Bolt goes to the tree and Punk is hiding in one of his belt marks.

 

Salad wakes up and the Clone, Fat Filler, and her mother are there. Sakura check on her daughter's eyesight and its already decaying. Sakura warns her about the risk  of blindness if she continues to use it...why not tell her before this? For the reveal to be more melodramatic? The audience already knows this and she should have been told the second she returned with those eyes. Sakura hugs her daughter to comfort her and support her as she knows she will keep using it because the power will allow her to help Bolt...surprisingly on one panel she look almost well drawn. It the chin, the chin he puts on his females ruins their faces. She notes she is her daughter because she is doing this for the sake of one boy...if this was in the middle of Naruto that could mean either Naruto or Sasuke, but now a days it just means Sasuke. She is not allowed to care about Naruto anymore. Also she is like her father as she is against incredible odd and refuses to quit...when he wanted to kill his brother also it was less determination and more obsession. Feels like that part would've had more impact if Naruto was her father or even her mentor. Sakura leaves to take care of another patient. So she shout her catchphrase "Shannaro" to her daughter before leaving...her face looks nothing like the way she used to give it due to the art. He refuses to make a more cartoony expressions undermines the nostalgia and impact. This might have been a great scene one of if not the best the manga has had...if not for Ikemoto's designs along with other glaring issues. Also not helped that this chapter shows the daughter can restore eyes. So why can't she heal the damage caused by Salad using the mangekyo?

 

Fat Filler realizes what Salad has been saying is true due to the battle and decides to support her two friends.

 

Back to the fight between Bolt and Punk. They talk. Punk leaves. But this took so much time the Soul Bulb rotted and we get to see Bug turn to dust while stuck in the tree. Bolt apologizes and CJ reminds him that he was a bad guy.

 

It tries to end with at an attempt of a cool line of. "What it looks like when a soul burns out." If they had focus on that part of the story for this chapter it might have worked. Instead the best part of the chapter, a rare thing to say about a Boruto chapter, falls flat due to the art.

 

Ok. I am going to go over an obvious fix for this new rule for the Soul Bulb and what they should have done this chapter.

 

For the Soul Bulb to explain why this time limit wasn't an issue for Shinki and Moegi but is for Bug and likely Sasuke. The is obvious, time. Moegi and Shinki were only stuck in a tree for a few days at most while Bug was stuck for years. The Souls in the Soul Bulbs are slowly absorb by the Tree-People but they cannot full absorb them as long as their is a person in their heart that gives them the strength to resist. Which is why they are after the people dear to the original, to remove that strength, and allow them to fully absorb the original's soul. There is no saving either the original or the person they care most about once the second is eaten, as they are both consumed. However, the original is able to resist somewhat at the start, thought they weaken over time. So people freshly captured have about a week before their bulb rots, that slowly ticks down till you got a few minutes or even a few seconds.

 

For this chapter, they should split into two. Have one focus on the people in the village and Sakura giving her speech. Then have the other focus on Punk and Bolt fighting while the life and times of Bug happens. Punk taunts Bolt and ask about the Bulb. Bolt makes it clear he wants Punk to join them to stop the Tree-People due to them being a danger to everyone. He rejects it and they fight. While this is going on we see The Life and Times of Bug who he was, the images start out strong but slowly fade to show his soul is fading. Then the limit is hit while Punk is still there. He is shock at what happens to Bug. Recalls how he got stuck in a tree, he was warning about how dangerous his Nudist were and a stray thought from Punk led to him getting attacked and becoming the Tree-People's first victim. Both him getting stuck in the tree and him fading away horrify Punk. But then he doubles down before fleeing.

 

This chapter reminded of a big problem of the manga. A mixture of: Lack of Object Permanence, Character Freezing, and Literal Time Pacing. A lack of diegetic chronology. If it doesn't happen on panel, it doesn't happen. If a character isn't doing something on panel, they aren't doing anything. If they don't talk about it on panel, they have never talked about it. Sakura or Shikamaru in theory should have told Sarada about the risk of the mangekyo and the hospital scene should serve as a remind of that before going into the heart warming moment instead of informing Sarada for the first time. There should be logically travel time which means the Soul Bulb time limit can't work because the two they have freed always can't have logically been freed within a few minutes of their copies being defeated.

 

People are really praising the Sakura scene this chapter, it is the best scene the manga has ever produced despite its many flaws, and think Ikemoto/Kishimoto must care about her. When really she has The Hinata Paradox Syndrome: This occurs when a creator dislikes or feels apathetic toward a character, to the point they lose all interest in writing them. Consequently, the character is only brought into the story for strictly necessary scenes that require them and are quickly written out once their task is done. However, because they only appear to perform crucial actions, this creates a false impression in some readers' minds that the character must be highly important.

Edited by Bail o' Lies, 23 May 2026 - 08:06 PM.