YMMV / Boruto

A-D

• Adorkable:
  • Mitsuki is not socially adept and can often seem very emotionless, but due to not understanding human actions, little things like Mitsuki ordering the same food as Boruto and attempting to lick an egg (an action he was copying from Tosaka, a bird expert) can be very endearing.
  • Sasuke's attempts to get along with Sarada (as Sasuke bases his parental skills on his distant father Fugaku, his childless and filth-reading sensei Kakashi and on how his brother Itachi spent time with him, despite the fact that Sasuke was 7 while Sarada is 12), given his utter lack of social skills, can be seen as endearing in their own right by the fandom.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Sumire, is she really in love with Boruto when she confesses to Sarada in secret? Or she is a Shipper on Deck and just trolls Sarada to test the waters, given that she winks at Sarada when she confesses? Or a combination of both?
  • Amado defecting to Konoha and turning against Jigen, is very questionable given that he is at best a Wild Card who showed no qualms about the many horrific acts he performed, despite claiming he just wants to save the world from Kara. Is he just a genuine Well-Intentioned Extremist? Or a manipulative man who tries to save his own ass by siding with people that are less likely to kill him?
  • Sarada is subjected to this by a small faction of the fandom. Is she the Only Sane Man trying to keep in check her friends and a capable Action Girl who enjoys trash talking her opponents? Or a bossy girl who chews out Boruto for nothing, has Small Name, Big Ego, and is just another smart mouthed arrogant Uchiha brat?
• Arc Fatigue:
  • The mere fact that, due to the manga being a monthly release, the first ten chapters are almost nothing but an adaptation of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, and not new content. Then things start to fishtail from the events of the movie a little. And one could assume that the artist was trying to use this time to refine his artwork before he got to the actual meat of his story.
  • The Mitsuki Disappearance Arc. It is the longest arc in the anime thus far (spanning from Episodes 71-91), progressing through multiple phases, settings, and subplots throughout. As a result, while the arc can be polarizing, it is generally agreed that it could have been comfortably condensed at several stages without subtracting content.
• Awesome Animation: Without fail, major battles always boast superb animation quality, and even minor engagements are usually quite good.
  • Ending 15- Answers just looks amazing with its CGI animation, possibly inspired by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Fans were certainly excited for being something completely different from the traditional animation.
• Awesome Music: Kana-Boon's Baton Road, the series' first theme song by the same guys who did 'Silhouette' for Shippuden.
  • Sarada's Fighting Spirit.
• Badass Decay: A two-fold case during the Time Travel Arc.
  • Sasuke goes from being able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Momoshiki and Kinshiki on separate occasions, to struggling against Urashiki who was considered to be the weakest of the three and having to be saved by pre-Time Skip Sakura of all people. The show tries to justify this by having Sasuke comment that he's "out of chakra" which prevents him from using his Story Breaker Powers, but it's still laughable/frustrating to see one of the most powerful shinobi have such a poor showing.
  • Urashiki himself is not exempt from this either. At the start of the series, he was shown to be no slouch in a fight, being able to hold against Kage-level fighters and even defeat Toneri, the Big Bad of The Last: Naruto the Movie. Come the Time Travel Arc, the guy gets reduced to a major joke, struggling, and eventually losing to two-genin level shinobi (with some help from Jiraiya and Sasuke) even with his One-Winged Angel transformation. You'd expect the guy who has the power of the Rinnegan and time manipulation to have a better showing than that.
• Base-Breaking Character
  • Boruto himself has been this since his first appearance in Naruto's Distant Finale, and while people started liking him better after the movie, he's still very divisive. Parts of the fandom believe that the constant comparisons he gets with Sasuke and Naruto can get tiring, and the manga being overly focused on him, causes many to complain, and that's without speaking of his overconfidence and arrogance in the anime, since he can come across as an ungrateful Spoiled Brat. They often criticize the comparisons, saying that Boruto's story is an attempt to re-hash Naruto's story without everything that made Naruto so special. Those who like him argue that the parallels are to be expected, and that the manga due to being monthly needs to just focus on Boruto, and of course most of Boruto's personality issues are solved in the movie. However, after the Momoshiki arc, everyone seems to have come to like him.
  • Chocho Akimichi. Most of the general fanbase agrees that unlike Choji, Chocho is so pretentious that it makes it hard for almost anyone to like her. This was especially evident in the Chocho arc as people grew too impatient to deal with a 3-episode arc dedicated to her, some opting to skip the three weeks they were airing. In a Poll hosted by a user on Reddit, Chocho was voted the least liked character of the new generation. However, on the other side of things, people enjoy Chocho's confidence and find her a good role model for being okay with one's appearance. These two sides are often extremely divided.
  • Konohamaru. Is he someone who was completely glossed over by the writers in terms of being robbed of his full potential to possibly be like Kakashi, for example, despite having learnt a Rasengan by Naruto when he was a teenager? Or is this justified, as Kakashi undertook more dangerous missions when he was young, in contrast to Konohamaru's more meagre tasks like cat rescuing? Furthermore, the anime and manga have given him more times to prove himself as the leader of Team 7, although the execution and events have also divided viewers.
  • Kagura is kind of popular for bringing back the original's darker elements, however, there is an equal share of viewers who find the character's execution less than compelling. Supporters will point to his childhood trauma and his coercion into joining the New Seven Swordsman of the Mist as tragic. Detractors will point out that his "trauma" wasn't all that traumatic, especially given the standards of the franchise, and that he is simply weak-willed and overly emotional, hence the ease with which the villains manipulate him.
  • Initially an Ensemble Dark Horse, Himawari has become a divisive character over time. On one side, fans like her for being an adorable Memetic Badass after she accidentally ended up one-hit-ko'ing her dad, as well as being more understanding towards her dad's work-life than her older brother. On the other hand, she has detractors who felt like she is just a bland Satellite Character who doesn't have much personality beyond being cute.
• Broken Base:
  • Predictably, the very existence of this series is a point of contention: Many fans are excited to see the story continuing, while others are wary of Kishimoto's absence from the writing and drawing, while others dismiss this new manga as a cash grab by Shonen Jump.
  • Initially, another big point of contention is the new art style by Ikemoto, some people are okay with it, while others claim that the characters look horribly Off-Model. This has been lessened thanks to the Art Evolution and characters' redesign the series has got◊ as soon as chapter 7. Currently, the point of debacle is in how Ikemoto drawns the story, not the art style itself.
  • There's also the fact that the first issues of the monthly manga are dedicated to retell the events of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, some people think it's a good idea since many fans have not had a chance to watch the movie yet^note The DVD release for North America would not come until March 2017, while others consider it a waste of space and shameless filler. It should be noted that this is a common practice in the Anime/Manga industry, where the beginning of a new sequel series starts recapping the canon events shown in another medium before tackling new story arcs. See Dragon Ball Super for an example. And besides this, the final part of the arc is rewritten to have Momoshiki bestow Boruto the karma seal and therefore directly connect the arc to the new story arcs, giving more justification for the retelling.
  • Sarada's normal outfit, a waist high skirt and high heels with implied panty shots, in addition to an alarmingly form-fitting and revealing nightwear/loungewear in Chapter 13, has sparked a lot of debate for being exceedingly risqué for a girl who's only 12 or 13 with people accusing the author of sexualizing a preteen, while others think people are overreacting to the outfit. The anime changed the outfit up to be more modest.
  • Sumire not dying during the Nue rampage, and being welcomed back to the Academy by Boruto, Mitsuki and all the other students. One group was disappointed for the overused "Talk-no-Jutsu" being utilised to bring her back to the side of good, and feel that she deserves far more than a slap on the wrist. They also claim that sparing her squandered a possible realisation for Boruto to understand the darker sides of the ninja world if he hadn't stopped Mitsuki from ending her life. The other group was happy, as she had become an Ensemble Dark Horse for them, and they were glad that she could survive for more Character Development to come. They also counter the other side by claiming that the Boruto series wasn't supposed to start with a dark tone, but rather a lighter and softer one, and that it would get progressively darker as it went on, and cite Sumire heading back to the Academy as being one of the most heartwarming moments of the series.
  • The Mitsuki Disappearance Arc has been divisive. Some praise it for its character development, world-building, and the great action scenes of the final battles, while others find it an unnecessary, long-dragged and redundant storyline which only serves to retread ground the series has already covered. Also, despite of its name, Mitsuki (who is a fan favourite) features relatively little in it. Not helped by the fact that it is following on the heels of the much acclaimed Versus Momoshiki arc and when it was announced that the next arc would be the adaptation of Naruto Shinden, it only made fans to want the arc to end sooner.
  • The Lighter and Softer tone of Boruto; some fans dislike it and claim that they miss the life-or-death situations of the early episodes of Naruto, while others enjoy the Slice of Life episodes as they bring more characterization and screen time for both the new and the previous generation. The latter group also points out that unlike the previous generation, the main characters are living in an era of peace, they lack the Dark and Troubled Past of their parents, they also need to undergo some training and Character Development before they can tackle missions, and that the series will eventually get hit with the Cerebus Syndrome, as shown in the prologue.
  • Which is better, The Anime or the Manga? The Anime is praised for the high quality of the animation of several battles, its fleshing out of the next generation characters and their relationships with each other, and the world building of the New Era Ninja World, while it's also criticized for its lack of story development. The Manga on the other hand is praised by its build up of its Myth Arc and introducing interesting villains; while criticized by its slow pacing (this due in great part to its monthly release), different art style, and overt focus on Boruto and Kawaki. It's very common to hear fans saying that either of the Anime and Manga are good while the other not so much. For what it's worth, Word of God have said that both the Anime and Manga are Canon, which drives the wedge even further on the fandom.
  • The outcome of the final battle with Isshiki Ōtsutsuki has split the community heavily, more so than anything else in the series up to that point. Specifically, the fact that Naruto and Sasuke are hit with a De-power by having Kurama die through Baryon Mode, and Sasuke having his Rinnegan stabbed out by a Momoshiki possessed Boruto. Some, mainly fans of Boruto, think this is a good thing because it helps make Naruto and Sasuke less overpowered and prevents them from hogging the spotlight from the next generation by allowing the threats that come to be dealt with through other means or characters. In particular, those who are okay with it also feel both characters are still stupidly powerful that both should still be capable of fighting well, if just weaker then before, and feel that the consequences of the fight work as a form of tension. Others, particularly long time Naruto fans, outright hate the choices, citing that removing the twos most powerful abilities hurts their usage in the story, and feel it was a cheap way of weakening them so that the next generation can take the spotlight. There's also the issue some have with how it was handled more so then it happening; Kurama dying (itself a move several fans consider unnecessarily cruel on the writers' part) and Sasuke's eye being stabbed out happen rather quickly and some feel they don't have enough impact due to the pacing.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: The Byakuya Gang arc feature a young thief named Ryōgi with Undying Loyalty to the gang's leader because he saved him in the past from his parent's murderer. Fans of the original series (especially to those who watch the movies) are quick to guess that the gang leader was the one who killed Ryōgi's parents and the entire "rescue" was simply a ploy to gain his trust and to use him as a tool due to Ryōgi's talent in Ice Release techniques. Frankly it would have been a bigger reveal if Gekko DIDN'T kill Ryogi's parents.
• Common Knowledge:
  • It's commonly stated by fans that Sasuke left the village when Sarada was still an infant. But there's a flashback showing that he was still around when she was learning to walk, so he didn't leave that early. Sarada can't remember Sasuke but that doesn't mean he left when she was a baby.
  • It was very commonly believed by the fans that killing an Otsutsuki member of the main family would automatically give a Karma seal to the person who dealt the killing blow; however, both the Manga and Anime show that giving the Karma seal to Boruto was something Momoshiki did consciously and deliberately in his last moments (this is even remarked by Jigen when told that there was another person with a Karma seal), also Urashiki Otsusuki didn't get a chance to mark either of Naruto or Boruto when they made their combination attack against him.
• Complete Monster: See here.
• Crack Pairing: People from Boruto reddit started to ship Momoshiki with Tenten as a joke because of the latter's lack of screentime. After a while, it expanded on other social media platforms like twitter and tumblr.
• Creepy Awesome: Deepa, despite being just an anime creation, he was well received for how creepy he was, from looks to abilities, sociopathic personality, and twisted sense of humor. Some fans even cheered up for him when he Curb Stomp Battled Sarada, Mitsuki and Boruto.
• Delusion Conclusion: There's a fan theory among Naruto fans that cannot stand the existence of Boruto which suggests that Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto never defeated Kaguya, and the anime is just a result of Project Tsuki no Me, where everybody is just dreaming.
• Die for Our Ship:
  • Sumire gets a lot of flak from Boruto/Sarada and Boruto/Mitsuki shippers for being somewhat like Hinata (even though she's more talkative than Hinata was for most of the original series) and having a crush on Boruto. It goes the other way as well, with Sumire fans bashing Sarada for the Gaiden arc and her characterization while praising Sumire's own. Some Boruto/Mitsuki fans held the opinion Boruto should have let Mitsuki kill Sumire.
  • Although in a much lesser degree than before, Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are still getting this. Every little negative or not-completely-perfect part of their relationships is nitpicked by the still upset shippers as evidence that they should get divorced or that they're terrible husbands/wives. In some fan works this involves literally killing one, so that their widow(er) can date someone else.

E-G

• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Although not to the degree of popularity as Himawari or even Sarada, Sumire Kakei has gained her own following rather quickly. It helps that she's somewhat like Hinata, the previous generation's biggest Ensemble Dark Horse, but there are also those who find her femininity and appearance rather refreshing by itself.
  • Out of the next generation kids that aren't Sarada and the Uzumaki kids, Shikadai and Inojin get the most attention. Though some dislike Shikadai for being too much like Shikamaru and not enough like Temari, fans enjoy both boys Bishōnen looks. Unsurprisingly, they're both a Launcher of a Thousand Ships.
  • For years fans liked Hanabi despite having literally nothing to go on due to her lack of appearances in the parent series. When she was given characterization in The Last: Naruto the Movie, her peppy personality was nothing like fans expected from her. Boruto shows that even as an adult she's still energetic. Fans quite like Hanabi's personality and design.
  • Among the students in Boruto's class, Hako Kuroi, the Elegant Gothic Lolita student, became popular due to her appearance and her creepy stuffed rabbit doll she carries around that she can also control.
  • Metal Lee continues the family tradition of being the beloved underdog. Many fans also appreciate that Metal is a rather different character from his father, having incredible natural Taijutsu talent but freezing up because of his nerves as opposed to Rock Lee having zero aptitude but not really caring for other's opinions.
  • Wasabi Izumo became popular after Episode 37 of the anime when she revealed that not only can she use Medical Ninjutsu, but she also has a jutsu that cloaks her with a cat-like appearance that also increases her speed, which impressed a lot of people who thought of her as a Satellite Character.
  • Konohamaru's old teammates, Udon and Moegi, who had less than 20 panels in Naruto surprised the audience. Even more, Udon surprised people with one of his abilities.
  • Tsubaki Kurogane was well received by the fandom despite replacing Sumire for being the first female samurai on screen, for being genuinely competent despite her big mouth, her love for fries, and for giving the anime a chance to explore more the samurai lore of the Narutoverse.
  • On the villains' side, there is Deepa, an Inner of Kara. Despite being anime only, He is the first genuine threat Team 7 had to face and made the fans' hearts to stop after beating them to a bloody pulp. Deepa made many people to enjoy his sociopathic personality and rants, but also his interesting powers. Another notable aspect is his demise, he got defeated without grabbing the Villain Ball or the Idiot Ball, in a franchise where some of the best villains turned into Anti Climax Bosses through this.
• Epileptic Trees:
  • Ever since the series started, fans have been speculating about Kawaki's true identity, with some theorizing that he's the future Tentou, Iwabee or Denki. All for naught with the knowledge he is an entirely separate character Team 7 meets while fighting Kara.
  • Likewise, there are a lot of fan theories regarding Boruto's eye power. What has been revealed: It's called Jougan, it was bestowed upon Boruto by Toneri thanks to the former's Hyuga bloodline, and it can see chakra and open dimensional portals.
  • Some fans theorize that Jigen, the leader of Kara, is an older Mizuki, due to having a similar hairstyle and color. Chapters 46 and 47 jossed this connection by revealing that Jigen is a completely different character who had his body hijacked by Kaguya Ōtsutuki’s partner, Isshiki, and has been “dead” for centuries.
  • Kashin Koji revealing that he can use Toad summons and the Rasengan, has sparked a lot of theories about his connection to Jiraiya. Chapter 47 reveals that he does in fact has a connection to the late Sannin, as Koji is his clone.
  • With Boruto being paralleled to Sasuke in both manga and anime, fans speculate that the Downer Beginning is just a Red Herring of Kawaki being the villain, when in fact is Boruto the one who will probably go from hero to a tragic Villain Protagonist a la Pain, or at least to an Anti-Hero with a lot of moral ambiguity, and will probably go rogue like Sasuke or be banished from the village during the time skip.
  • Metal Lee's mother has yet to be revealed, but fans theorize that she could be Tenten due to Metal's eyes being slanted like hers. As for why we never see her and Rock as a couple, some fans theorize that they were briefly married before getting divorced, and others theorize that they had a one-night stand to cope with losing Neji.
• Fan Nickname:
  • Sumire received "Hawawa" from her Verbal Tic.
  • Boruto is now called "Borushiki" to memetic levels since he became possessed by Momoshiki.
  • Konohamaru tends to be jokingly called "Foddermaru" due to constantly being hit by The Worf Effect to hype up the current threat.
• Fan-Preferred Couple:
  • Prior to Boruto, Konohamaru was very frequently shipped with Hanabi, despite them having next to no interaction, since it's assumed they're both single and they're roughly the same age. Episode 50 caused even more shipping as the two get drunk for the night and it's revealed that Hanabi calls Konohamaru "senpai".
  • Like his father before him, Shikadai gets paired off with his Chunin Exams opponent Yodo. Even more so, Chocho is very frequently paired off with Shinki due to her finding him handsome and him being amused when she went all out.
  • Among Boruto's yaoi shippers, Boruto/Mitsuki is easily the most popular thanks to their close friendship and Mitsuki's disregard for Boruto's personal space.
• Fanon Discontinuity:
  • Even for the diehard Boruto fans, certain arcs and episodes just don't exist, for example many fans will pretend that Chocho Arc never happened, and many of them will acknowledge abandoning the series for several weeks when the Arc aired.
  • Starting with the "Kara Actuation Arc", a lot of people watched the anime only from there since is directly tied to the events that happened in Boruto Manga.
• Fandom Rivalry:
  • With My Hero Academia. Both are seen as successors to Naruto, and as such fans of both series tend to clash.
  • With Black Clover. They used to be friendly, as both began to air around the same time, are produced by the same studios, both are heavily promoted as flagship series by Crunchyroll, as well as a shared Fandom Rivalry with My Hero Academia. However, as time has gone on, Black Clover fans have grown dissatisfied with the favoritism Boruto is shown by Studio Pierrot, as it is more financially successful for them than Black Clover. This led to a souring of relations, though not to the same degree as MHA.
• Fourth Wall Myopia: Part of the reason Boruto was seen as Unintentionally Unsympathetic for a while by some viewers can be traced back to this. He's supposed to have a valid point about Naruto being a bit of a distant father due to work, and that Naruto needs to spend more time with his family. However, given that pretty much everyone who watches Boruto has either seen the original Naruto, or at least knows the basics of it, its hard to find Boruto likeable at first because of how good his life is compared to Naruto's, and the fact that said viewers are more likely to look past Naruto's mistakes as a father due to understanding the difficulties Naruto experienced due to lacking parents. So while Boruto is completely justified in being upset at Naruto, from a viewers perspective, Boruto looks like a spoiled child who is complaining about something he shouldn't take for granted.
• Growing the Beard: Though it took around 150 episodes for the anime, most fans agree that Boruto truly got in the right track once it hit the Kara Actuation Arc, despite being just pure anime creation. Is the first arc that presents itself as dark as good ol'boy Naruto, the main characters are almost killed for the first time, the danger actually feels real, it introduces a well-developed and dangerous villain, characters like Victor are better explored, and team 7 goes through an important Character Development.

H-L

• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Sarada's lighthearted comment about Boruto's eyes from the movie gets a dark connotation in the manga, in which it gains a significance related to Momoshiki's dark prophecy.
  • In one issue of the Super-Deformed series of Boruto, Himawari uses her Finger Poke of Doom on Sasuke's Rinnegan, knocking him out. In Manga Chapter 53 Sasuke actually gets his Rinnegan stabbed with a kunai by Boruto while he's being possessed by Momoshiki.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight:
  • Sasuke on the time-travel arc expressing regret for his past actions of abandoning Konoha and hurting Naruto and Sakura so much; for many viewers it was a satisfying (although long overdue) way of making Sasuke answer for his past.
  • The time-travel arc in general, since it takes place in one of the saddest time periods of Naruto, but since the main characters know how future events will play out, it makes it heartwarming to know that for all the trials and tribulations that lie ahead, everything will turn out okay.
  • Sasuke's interactions with Sakura and Sarada in general, especially when he is poking their foreheads, like Itachi used to. After spending years being a psychotic asshole to absolute anyone who only wanted his well being, is nice to see Sasuke as a well-grounded adult, being openly affectionate with Sakura and Sarada, especially when he suffered greatly thanks to Fugaku being a distant and cold person in general.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • After The Reveal of Boruto: Naruto the Movie that Mitsuki is Orochimaru's "child", there were several joke fan works of the latter trying to act as a responsible parent including at least one where he attends a parent-teacher meeting at the Academy. Come Episode 35 and we see Orochimaru doing exactly that.
  • Kashin Koji being the genetic clone of Jiraiya, alongside his name is also one of these, as Jiraiya's voice actor, Hōchū Ōtsuka, voices another Kashin Koji, specifically from Nioh 2.
• Ho Yay:
  • Mitsuki is completely devoted to Boruto, tends to get physically very close to him, calls him "His sun" and outright tells him that he is his reason to become a ninja. Mitsuki even has a portrait of Boruto beside his bedside table. Considering that it's the only single piece of what you could call a possession, that says a lot. Later, Boruto seems to have completely gotten used to Mitsuki's admiration, even declaring that Mitsuki would never stop liking him since they were so close and that they were practically in sync at all times. During the Mitsuki Arc, Mitsuki says that Boruto was the light and sun of his life and that he might have grown human enough to cry if Boruto ever dies.
  • Shizuma's relationship to Kagura is textbook grooming. He befriended Kagura when his classmates ostracized him out of fear, leading Kagura to believe that Shizuma is the only person that believes in him. He also is constantly touching Kagura, especially on his face and acts like a jealous lover when he fights Boruto yelling "You can't have him, he belongs to me" and "I won't let you take him from me". While Shizuma's intentions were to use Kagura as a weapon, the subtext is there.
  • Shikadai and Ryogi in the Byakuya gang arc. Their interactions and their meeting up to play Shogi together was remarked upon by several fans as resembling an actual date.
• Hollywood Pudgy: Chocho is often made fun of her weight, and apparently, she is really big, yet when she uses Butterfly Mode jutsu to turn herself slim, she is suddenly treated as the most beautiful girl in the galaxy even by characters who usually reject her. Except, she is rather stout, curvaceous, and well build than downright fat. But than again, Japanese culture is extremely lipophobic.
• I Knew It!:
  • The fact that Sumire was behind the ghost attacks was guessed by several people before Episode 13 confirmed it.
  • Several fans correctly predicted that Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, would die in the Mitsuki Disappearance arc.
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!:
  • Shikadai has a lot of fans but at the same time a lot of viewers think he's too much like his father. While other characters are either a mishmash of their parents or their own characters personality-wise, Shikadai is basically Shikamaru with Temari's eyes. Some fans are disappointed that he isn't snappier like his mother or that he doesn't use wind jutsu.
  • Boruto Chapter 15's introduction to "Kara" spawned many of these complaints regarding the organization showing way too many similarities to the "Akatsuki" of the original series. This however has lessened with subsequent appearances, as significant distinctions between the two have emerged.
  • Episode 38 revealing Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki are the new "Team 7" resulted in several complaints about how their original team 3 designation was more original.
  • Boruto is often called too similar to Naruto, whether it be because of his design (in The Last he had purple eyes but by Chapter 700 this had been changed to blue) or his fighting style (he knows several jutsu that Naruto does, such as Shadow Clone and Rasengan).
  • Episode 112 was massively hit with this, as it was about choosing who would be a Chunin. It seemed Sarada was going to be elected, but then Sasuke interrupts Naruto, discouraging this decision. So, Shikadai was elected instead. This earned the ire of many viewers, who deemed it too much like the original series, where Shikamaru was the only one who became Chunin out of his teammates.
• Just Here for Godzilla:
  • Around the time Episode 65 was released, a lot of people tuned in to watch the show just to see what all the hype was about regarding said episode's incredible animation.
  • Fans and detractors alike tend to watch just to see how the Naruto characters are as adults.
• Like You Would Really Do It: Kankuro's Heroic Sacrifice and apparent death in the Urashiki Returns arc, was received with this reaction by viewers; unsurprisingly, he is shown to have survived despite having received the full blast of the explosion.
  • Most readers don't accept that Naruto died, saying that it's bad business (not to mention soul-crushing) to kill off the former hero of the series. Although Kishimoto admitted in an interview that the opening events were designed as a device to catch the reader's attention, which would further hint this trope. However, in another interview he expressed that he is still open to the idea of killing off one of the previous main characters.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships:
  • Who else if not the lead? Boruto is often shipped with Mitsuki because of their ''VERY'' close bond, with Kawaki for the whole rivals thing, with Sarada for the simple fact she is an Uchiha, with Sumire because she is seen as Hinata 2.0, and with Sasuke for being his master.
  • Sarada is no stranger to this either. She is shipped with Mitsuki, as him being Orochimaru's son would bring interesting interactions between the parents, with Boruto for reasons like being Naruto's son or the lead, with Kawaki for his bad boy persona, with Chocho and Sumire for yuri reasons, and strange, but popular ones include Naruto and Madara which are better to not be commented on.

M-R

• Magnificent Bastard:
  • Sumire Kakei's true name is Sumire Shigaraki. A seemingly shy, sweet young lady, Sumire is the successor of the ROOT ninja Tanuki Shigaraki and seeks revenge for her family's stigmatization by destroying the Leaf village. Playing the innocent, Sumire infects others with negative emotions to harvest their chakra for her creature, the Nue, manipulating all around her and even using an attack to injure herself to deflect suspicion. Sumire manages to outwit and elude even other veteran ninja while summoning the Nue to destroy the village, only being stopped by Boruto Uzumaki helping her to realize how much she loved the mask she created and the friends she gained along the way.
  • Ao was a former Kirigakure Shinobi known as the "Byakugan Killer" for killing a Hyuga and taking his right eye as his own, concealing it beneath an eyepatch with which he used to foil the plots of both Tobi and Danzo. Sustaining critical injuries in the Fourth Shinobi World War, Ao retires as a Shinobi, secretly joining the organization Kara as one of its "Outers," befriending the inventor Katasuke while also manipulating him via genjutsu to give over vital technology for Kara's benefit. Utilizing scientific ninja tools to deadly effect and proving himself to still be a deadly warrior utilizing them, Ao ends up saving Boruto's life at cost of his own when the boy reaches him by using a final ninjutsu to proclaim his identity as a Shinobi at the very end.
• Memetic Badass:
  • Himawari, who awakened her Byakugan and knocked out Naruto with one strike! Fans are now certain that Himawari is more powerful than Naruto, Madara, Kaguya, etc.
  • Hinata, who as a mother is shown to terrify and intimidate both Naruto and especially Boruto when pushed too far. It doesn't matter if you have the Protagonist Title, are the Hokage, or The Chosen One; if she tells you to get out, YOU GET OUT! Then there is also her status as the Queen of Gluttony.
  • Denki is now Lord Denki and he can defeat Kaguya and Madara with his mighty brain.
• Memetic Loser:
  • Despite having good showings at first, Konohamaru has become this as the series went on. The skilled and notable fighter who could hold his own with enemies that were fairly strong now tends to be hit with The Worf Effect to hype up the threat so Team 7 can beat it. Nowadays, expect Konahamaru to often be looked at as a jobber instead of a capable Ninja.
  • Urashiki has become one after the Time Travel arc, where he struggles against and ends up losing to Boruto and a pre-Time Skip Naruto (though to be fair with assistance from both Jiraiya and Sasuke). Unlike his compatriots Momoshiki and Kinshiki, who lived up to the threat they were built up to be, his embarrassing performance makes him being a threat to Kaguya come off as an Informed Ability.
  • Code, in the manga at least, is hyped up to be the next Big Bad after Isshiki's death. Unfortunately, his showing hasn't been impressive so far. His plans get thwarted by the heroes at every turn while his allies Aida and Daemon constantly disrespect him. But the clincher is when Amado unlocks his full potential, only for him to be curb-stomped by Daemon which forces him to run away with his tail between his legs.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Boruto's lack of drawing skills coupled with Shikadai and Mitsuki's flabbergasted reaction to it, turned into the source of several parodies.
  • Boruto gushing over the prospect of having the Byakugan has become the source of several GIFs on Tumblr.
  • TWO AND A HALF MINUTES ^note In the first episode adapting ''Naruto Gaiden'‘, Sakura mentions that her first date with Sasuke only lasted that exact amount of time. Many jokes were had at her expense for this fact, adding more fuel to the already base-breaking family dynamic she and Sasuke share.
  • BORUTO'S DAD^note Crunchyroll on a tweet promoted the availability of the original Naruto series referring to the main character as "BORUTO'S DAD", this was met with laughs and many fans jokingly started making edited title images of "BORUTO'S DAD" Shippuden, The Last: "BORUTO'S DAD" The Movie, "BORUTO'S DAD" Ultimate Ninja Storm... etc. The fact that VIZ Media and several professional reviewers later picked on the joke sealed its status as a meme.
    • "Hey, Boruto's Dad is a kinda cool character! Do you think they'll make a sort of prequel about his story?"
  • FOOD + WATER VIEW = HOW TO WOO AN UCHIHA^note With Episode 23's scene of Boruto sharing a squid with Sarada while looking at the ocean, Boruto/Sarada fans were reminded of a similar scene on the adaptation of Itachi Shinden in which Itachi's childhood sweetheart shares a dango stick with him while looking at a lake.
  • "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!!"^note Manga Chapter 19 ended with Ao pulling out a freaking minigun on Team 7.
  • Boruto the Jedi.^note Manga Chapter 20 had Boruto activate a weapon that can emit lightning in the form of a blade. Some have already pointed out its similarities to a lightsaber.
  • "I'm out of Chakra" ^note In almost any arc where Sasuke is prominently featured, expect him to run out of Chakra very quickly due to his Story-Breaker Power. The fans have caught onto this and began making fun of the show for repeatedly falling back on the excuse to take Sasuke out of the action.
  • SAKURA IS THE WINTER SOLDIER!^note The fight between Sakura and Shin is animated very similar to one of the fights between Steve and Winter Soldier, and Sakura movements are animated after The Winter Soldier.
  • "Sarada wants to leave Konoha like her ancestors. Tobirama: UCHIHAS"
  • "THIS FAMILY IS A NIGHTMARE"◊.
  • Rinnegone ^note Momoshiki takes control of Boruto's body and stabs Sasuke's Rinnegan, causing fans to bemoan that Sasuke dropped several power tiers as a result.
  • Kuramagone^note A few chapters after Rinnegone happened, it's revealed that Baryon Mode sacrifices Kurama's life and not Naruto's.
  • Nerfed Naruto/Sasuke^note The reaction to Naruto & Sasuke losing Kurama and the Rinnegan, often humorously mentioned in contexts where it's not even relevant.
  • Momoshiki Uzumaki. ^note  Since Boruto became possessed by Momoshiki's spirit/mind, the internet, especially Reddit, became full of pictures of Boruto, with his head being replaced with Momoshiki's
  • Sarada asking Sasuke how he got his Mangekyou Sharingan spawned many dark humored memes, ranging from Sasuke suggesting she kill Boruto to unlock it, to others like Sasuke explaining, leading to Sarada having a Stunned Silence reaction.
  • Kawaki: Naruto Next Generations^note The constant focus on Kawaki in the manga has led to people joking he's the main character instead of Boruto.
  • Boruto has joined the donut gang.^SPOILERSChapter 66 ended with Kawaki pulling a Mercy Kill on a Momoshiki-possessed Boruto by impaling him through the chest. The comparisons to other similar deaths in anime, such as Kakyoin, Rengoku and Ace, became inevitable.
  • Boruto crying.^SPOILERSEpisode 246 has Boruto cry over Kagura's death. However because of the bad animation and off-model art of Boruto's face as he cries, it has spawned memes and been used as a reaction image.
  • Naruto: Kawaki next generations.^SPOILERS In chapter 79, at Kawaki's request, Eida rewrites history and everybody's memories, where he is now the biological son of Naruto and not Boruto, and Boruto is now a rogue ninja who killed Naruto. Of course, this led to many memes where Kawaki is now considered the protagonist
  • Kawaki's dad. ^SPOILERS After chapter 79, now that Kawaki's Naruto's son, this became the newest version of the 'Boruto's dad' meme
• Misaimed Fandom: The climatic action scenes along with the other dangers present in the Chunin Exams in Naruto is meant to show how messed up the shinobi world is, where violence against minors is treated like an average day rather than something wrong. But the audience is so wrapped up in the well-choregraphed and scripted fights that the whole thing is treated like a spectacle to watch for amusement which made the message fly over their heads. Indeed, look up any Chunin exam comparison videos between Naruto and Boruto, and the comments section are filled to the brim with people complaining how the old life-endangering exams are better because the current exams actually has safety measures to prevent their participants from serious injury and death while the combatants aren't actually trying to kill one another, which made the fights less engaging to watch.
• Mis-blamed:
  • Some fans blame both Kodachi and Ikemoto for the decision to apparently kill Naruto in the opening, in reality that was Kishimoto's idea.
  • One of the sticking points of the manga has consistently been Ikemoto's artwork, which is considered to be a poor imitation of Kishimoto's. As a matter of fact, Kishimoto had directly encouraged Ikemoto to not use Naruto's art style, leading to Ikemoto attempting to diverge from the styling of the original series.
  • A lot of people gave Naruto flak for his failure to uphold his promise to Nagato to make the Hidden Rain village a better place once he became Hokage. However, the Hiden novels clarify that the village had repeatedly rejected the Hidden Leaf's offers to help them for unknown reasons, meaning that the village's decline was something that Naruto had little control over.
• Moe:
  • Himawari is adorable with her huge blue eyes and love for stuffed animals.
  • Young Sarada was so cute that Sakura just couldn't help to hug her just for being "too precious".
• Narm: Boruto crying in Episode 246 over Kagura's death. Although the moment is meant to be tragic, the Off-Model animation of Boruto's face as he cries became a Memetic Mutation, making the scene the opposite of what it intended to be.
• No Yay:
  • For some people, Hanabi's demeanor with Boruto came across as little flirty, which prompted this reaction towards the fan works that started pairing them.
  • On the time travel arc, 12-year-old Hinata remarking that Boruto looks a lot like Naruto, admitting that she doesn't feel shy at all with him and getting teased by Ino for it, made many viewers to react like this to the Futurama jokes made right on cue. Not helping matters are the Back to the Future Shout Outs of the arc.
• One True Threesome: Boruto/Sarada/Mitsuki are shipped together for reasons like True Companions, Ho Yay and for who their parents are.
• Only the Creator Does It Right:
  • As mentioned under Broken Base above, some fans are not happy about Kishimoto handing over the development of the story and characters to other artists; he, however, still holds a degree of creative control as a supervisor. These are especially noticeable with the anime Episodes 8-9 which were widely well-received after which Kodachi revealed in a tweet that Kishimoto had provided a lot of input on the scenes with the Hyuga.
  • The same goes for the episodes covering the adaptations of Naruto Gaiden and the Mitsuki one-shot The Path Lit by the Full Moon, which were originally written by Kishimoto, as they have been very well received by the fandom. On the other hand, the Naruto Gaiden was well received for its fight scenes (most notably Sakura vs Shin) as well as Sasuke's more caring expressions, contrasting his dark past.
• Older Than They Think:
  • While it might be weird to see Ao with a gun, the video game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 already had a guest character who often shot bullets rather than kunais at their enemies. Before that, Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 had Bando, who used a BFG.
  • Energy swords have appeared in the series before, there was a villain on a Filler arc of Part I Naruto that wielded a lightning blade said to be once used by the Second Hokage.
  • Boruto meeting and interacting with a young Naruto already happened in Jump Force.
  • It's not the first time time-travel has appeared in the franchise: Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower had Naruto traveling back in time and meeting his father, Minato.
  • When Sarada's official design came out, people were outraged to see an Uchiha needing glasses. Except, she is not the first Uchiha to have sight problems. Obito Uchiha himself had incessant need for eye drops.
• Periphery Demographic: Despite being a Shonen targeted to children, even more than the original, a good chunk of the fandom is made up of adults who grew up with Naruto.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
  • Sumire was very divisive early on, with people feeling that she was too much of a Hinata Expy, but without the depth. A lot of people would eventually come around to her by the end of the anime's first arc, where she's given a unique backstory that explained her behavior, showed an interesting (and unique) power set, and went through major Character Development.
  • Sakura is rather... a complex situation because she is treated as if Sakura from Naruto and Sakura from Boruto are two completely different characters by the fandom. In present, adult Sakura is one of the best received characters in Boruto from the old generations, for developing into an Older and Wiser Nice Girl, for how well she had raised Sarada despite doing it completely on her own and being the head doctor in Konoha, and remaining supportive of Sasuke, and developing into a mighty Action Mom, avoiding becoming a housewife like the rest, all at the same time. The irony is that even her passionate haters will often defend her adult self. Shortly, you can hate on Sakura Haruno, but Sakura Uchiha is MILF. Even Crunchyroll acknowledged Sakura as being on the best anime moms ever in 2018; while in 2020, Sakura was even chosen in an official Japanese poll as best character in Boruto, winning the first place.

S-V

• Ship-to-Ship Combat:
  • There's plenty between Boruto/Sarada, Boruto/Sumire, and Boruto/Mitsuki fans.
  • Prior to Boruto there was some between Inojin/Himawari, Inojin/Sarada, Shikadai/Himawari, Shikadai/Sarada, and Boruto/Sarada fans. It decreased slightly due to the lack of interactions between the characters in Boruto, but it still pops up.
  • Considering it was one of the intense ship wars out there, much of the ship-to-ship combat from the original Naruto came over to Boruto. Sasuke/Sakura vs Naruto/Hinata vs Naruto/Sakura vs Naruto/Sasuke vs Sasuke/Hinata vs Sakura/Hinata and Shikamaru/Temari vs Shikamaru/Ino wars still exist, even if they're less brutal than before.
  • In a weird example, fans of Naruto/Sasuke and Naruto/Sakura tend to be displeased by Ship Tease moments between Boruto and Sarada due to seeing the relationship as basically redoing their ship that didn't become canon; Some of the most extreme ones openly claim to ship Boruto/Sumire purely out of spite. Boruto/Sarada shippers^note and for that matter, sincere Boruto/Sumire shippers don't tend to take these comments well.
• Squick:
  • Many readers are displeased about Sarada's wardrobe change in this series. In contrast to her more modest outfit that was normal for a 12-year-old kunoichi to wear ^note And a blend of the outfits that her parents originally wore, she now sports a waist high skirt and high heels with implied panty shots. The anime ended up covering her up more.
  • Chapter 13 caused the fandom to explode in rage at multiple pages dedicated to showing off Sarada in form fitting and rather revealing nightwear. Keep in mind that Sarada is not even a full-grown teenager yet, she's around 12.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
  • Some fans didn't like the fact that Boruto got a Snake Summoning contract, as they expected him to get a Toad summon just like his father and grandfather before him.
  • Ino's design gets this from many of her fans. At the end of the Naruto anime she received a new look that made her look more mature. But by Boruto, she's back to her original hairstyle^note Chapter 700 also used the hairstyle and if anything, she looks younger than she did ten years prior.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: The manga gets a lot of accusations of this, since as mentioned under Base-Breaking Character it's overtly focused on Boruto and mostly relegates the rest of the next generation to the background. The Anime on the other hand gives more characterization and screen time to the next generation though.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Naruto Gaiden setup the idea that Sarada's respect for Naruto would lead to her becoming something of a pupil of his, especially because Naruto showed an active interest in making sure she didn't make the same mistakes Sasuke did when he left the village. Considering that Boruto became Sasuke's student in the movie, it made sense and worked as a way of showing the differences in the two characters development, adding a layer of irony to the fact that Naruto could trained Sarada, and Sasuke Boruto. Instead, this idea is never used again and Sarada primarily trains under her parents, with Sarada's entire view of Naruto basically being just him being enough of a role model to convince her to become Hokage.
  • Many criticized Sumire's choice to forego the Chunin Exams and instead work with Konoha's science department, claiming she would have worked better as a ninja given her powerset with the Nue, and that this was a cheap and lazy attempt to explain her absence in Boruto: Naruto the Movie ^note Sumire's father was initially invested in science, before his hatred against Konoha. It wouldn't make sense that Sumire would even choose to have the same passion as her father, given he had placed the Summoning Contract of the Nue into her, in order to release it to destroy Konoha.. Subverted in the anime, though, which retcons this part and has Sumire take part in the exams.
  • As acclaimed as the time-travel arc was, a few fans wanted also that an adult Sasuke would get a chance to interact with Itachi and were left disappointed for the missed opportunity.
• Tough Act to Follow: As expected, since it's the follow-up of a very popular manga, Boruto has some big shoes to fill:
  • Most fans believe that after the final battles of the main series finale, focusing on smaller scale action could harm the series' appeal, similarly to what happened with Dragon Ball GT.
  • This is acknowledged by the creators, who have gone on record saying that their biggest challenge is to make Boruto as a character both interesting and distinct from his father, Naruto.
• Toy Ship: Sarada and Boruto big times, they had Ship Tease since they were as young as 6-7 years old, thanks to Chapter 700, where is shown Sarada stalking Boruto. Not to number all the moments the anime added for them, beside the manga.
  • Boruto and Sumire have their fair share in the academy, as they are barely eleven.
• Ugly Cute:
  • Aoda is just as cuddly as a giant summoned snake can be, but his nice and polite demeanour plus his devotion to Sarada out of his loyalty to Sasuke has endeared him to a significant part of the fandom.
  • Akkun, the Akuta that befriends Inojin. Which makes its death and its mourning by Inojin a Tearjerker.
  • Mini-Shukaku from the Urashiki Returns arc, even Himawari thinks he's adorable.
• Uncertain Audience: Initially at least, Boruto was caught between appealing to the fans of the original Naruto manga, or to new viewers. For long-time fans of Naruto, the concept of a story that is supposed to be set after the long history of war, is a Happy Ending Override. Non-Naruto fans may simply not have had any desire to watch it, simply because its a continuation of a long-running series with a certain level of infamy among the anime community for Filler, and thus lack any emotional connection to it that might have hooked them in. However, things have greatly improved as the show progressed, and defined a stronger identity.
• Unexpected Character:
  • It's very rare for a character that debuted in the movies to appear in the Canon materials, even if one of the movies is canon for once. So, when Toneri made an appearance in Episode 8, people were very surprised as they never expected to see him again.
  • Same for Sumire appearing in the manga, who was an anime only character.
  • The same goes for the appearance of Ao in manga Chapter 17.
  • Episode 51 brought back an old villain: White Zetsu.
• Values Dissonance: It goes a bit with the way Temari treats her son when she is angry. In Japan, slapping your kid is seen as a reasonable way to discipline them. In Boruto, Temari slapping Shikadai or throwing him and Shikamaru out of the house for not listening to her is Played for Laughs. To the Western world, namely North-Western Europe and North America those may be seen as acts bordering on Domestic Abuse. Instead, most of the Eastern European viewers had the expected amused reactions since they share similar values of discipline with Japanese people.
• Values Resonance:
  • The Chocho centric Anime arc of Episodes 67-69, in which Chocho becomes slimmer and more attractive, how the actor who was interested in Chocho only liked her for her physical appearance, and how the rest of the characters point out that Chocho is "not being herself"; despite having the Stock Aesop of "what matters is what's inside of the person" has been interpreted by some viewers as promoting a body-positivity message.
  • Orochimaru's answer to Mitsuki to his question of whether they are his mother or father, saying that it doesn't matter since there have been times when Orochimaru has been a man, other times a woman, and other times something not of this world, has been widely praised by members of the Transgender and Non-Binary communities in the fandom.

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