Boruto has always received mixed reactions from the anime community. While some fans are pleased to see a sequel and new take on the original Naruto series, others are disappointed by the number of deviations from the original. Regardless, Boruto has already surpassed the amount of Naruto Part I episodes, which is 220.
Since the program has been running for so long, viewers have been wondering when and how it would conclude. Even though the official conclusion has yet to be declared, there are several hints that the anime is coming to an end. The decrease in screen time of fan-favorite side characters and less fascinating stories, like in a lot of long-running anime, hints at Boruto’s impending finale.
10/10 Naruto’s Cast Gets Less Screen Time
While Boruto undoubtedly has a strong fanbase of younger viewers, there are still quite a few Boruto fans who watched the sequel after watching the original series. As a result of this, many Boruto fans’ main reason for watching the show is to see the older characters.
The original Naruto cast is receiving less screen time because they aren’t as necessary for the plot. So many characters, like Naruto, Gaara, and Rock Lee, whom fans have spent years rooting for, are now rarely mentioned. Their shrinking roles in the new series show a change in focus in Boruto, hinting at the potential conclusion.
9/10 Boruto’s supporting characters lack depth and purpose.
Many of the new shinobi have also taken on smaller roles in the more recent episodes. Besides Boruto, Mitsuki, and Sarada, many children of the original cast have gotten their screen time severely reduced.
In addition to them, characters like Sumire, Iwabee, and Shinki are given almost no screen time despite their popularity. The increased focus on Boruto could mean the show may be planning to end soon and is focusing on only one plot, so the creators can focus on making a good conclusion.
8/10 Boruto’s Filler Episodes’ Humor Is Getting Old
Both Boruto and Naruto are known for the amount filler episodes they have. While there are mixed opinions about them, filler episodes can be hilarious additions to the plot if they are interesting or funny enough. The more recent filler episodes in Boruto, however, have become stale.
The uninteresting plots in the recent filler episodes discourage viewers from wanting to continue the series. Boruto filler episodes struggle to present new and unique stories to viewers, which suggests the anime’s creators are running low on ideas.
7/10 The Old Clans From Naruto Were Completely Forgotten In Boruto
There was a big opportunity missed when Boruto stopped mentioning the older Clans. The Sarutobis, Akimichis, Inuzukas, and Aburames barely get any screen time despite having cool jutsu and a connection to popular characters.
These clans weren’t given much development or depth in Naruto, so they could have been expanded upon in Boruto. However, these clans are rarely mentioned, and instead, the newer generation is focused on. While the shift in focus is understandable, the anime missed the chance it had to capitalize on preexisting clans.
6/10 Boruto’s Story Armor is becoming more visible.
While it’s not uncommon for anime to give their main characters plot armor, sometimes, the plot armor is so obvious that it takes away from the storyline. Boruto is an example of an anime that has too many convenient outs for characters who end up in difficult situations.
The main character, Boruto, receives especially obvious plot armor when he’s saved by Sasuke or his mysterious Jougan ability. This series spends so much time and effort depicting how dangerous the members of the Otsusuki Clan are before having Boruto defeat them in ways that look like pure luck.
5/10 Boruto’s Time Slip Plot Arc Failed To Hit The Mark
The Timeslip Plot arc is not very interesting to watch and is largely irrelevant. In this arc, Urashiki is the main villain, and Bortuo and Sasuke go back in time to fight him, causing them to run into young Naruto. The arc isn’t as nostalgic as it could be because of the brighter animation style Boruto is known for.
Furthermore, the conflict Boruto faces is entirely different from any antagonist Naruto would have gone up against in the original. This plot arc isn’t necessary to understand the rest of the series, and it just doesn’t add much to the overall story.
4/10 The Only Running Plot Is The Boruto & Kawaki Conflict
Because other side characters haven’t gotten proper screen time, Kawaki is one of the few recurring new characters in the series. While his abilities and backstory are interesting, they can’t form the basis of the main plot. Even the Otsusuki Clan is not a separate subplot because the Clan is connected to Kawaki through Jigen.
There are no longer enough running plot threads to make the show as interesting as it used to be. Instead, the creators put all their eggs in one basket by focusing only on the conflict driven by Kawaki’s and Boruto’s relationship.
3/10 Female characters aren’t getting as much attention.
One of the anime’s greatest strengths is its depiction of strong kunoichi like Sarada, Chocho, Mirai, and Hanabi. However, recently, the anime has failed to give these strong characters enough screen time to show their abilities. Although Chocho played a larger role at the beginning of the series, as of late, she has rarely made a meaningful appearance.
Despite including strong female shinobi, the anime missed the mark when it failed to give them more screen time. Sumire, especially, who was originally more important in the plot has now been left on the sidelines and almost entirely forgotten about.
2/10 Boruto’s Most Powerful Ability Is Still Unknown
Boruto’s mysterious Jougan has saved him from many situations throughout the anime. Despite being relied upon multiple times, there still is no proper explanation for how and why this ability functions as it does. This allows Boruto’s Jougan to act as the ultimate deus ex machina since its limits haven’t been firmly established yet.
This lack of an explanation could hint at the series being longer. However, the reverse is also possible. The series most often shows Boruto relying on his Jougan, suggesting that the creators of this series might be running out of ideas for new jutsu.
1/10 Without Proper Foreshadowing, New Characters Are Introduced
Despite the Otsusuki Clan canonically being thousands of years old, this clan was barely mentioned in Naruto, if at all. If the Otsusuki Clan existed the entire time during Naruto, it should have been mentioned then.
Even more so in the manga, additional characters and abilities are introduced without foreshadowing as if they had existed for hundreds of years before Naruto and Boruto’s time. Inconsistencies are bound to occur since Boruto was made after the fact. Still, the lack of continuity shows how desperate the series is to keep itself going.
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