Reviewed by Justin D Williams
The Hidden Leaf Village is located within the Land of Fire, one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Boruto Uzumaki lives here and he's the son of the village leader, Naruto Uzumaki, the Seventh Hokage. One day, Boruto saves a boy named Denki Kaminarimon, who's being picked on. Denki is physically weak, so he is unable to stand up to the bullies. On his way to the entrance ceremony at the Ninja Academy, Boruto sees Deki again. He notices that his chakra is warped and that he is acting strangely.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is off to a great start. Fans of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden series are going to love Boruto. The first episode is a nice reintroduction to The Hidden Leaf Village. In episode one we get a feel of who Boruto is as a person. The term like father, like son is clear here. Boruto gets into trouble as much as his father but deep down has a good heart just like his father Naruto. However there is something that really kept me intrigued. Boruto and Naruto are not in the best of terms. Boruto has resentment towards his father because he is always working and has responsibilities to The Hidden Leaf Village. Hopefully later in the series the seeds planted of this resentment will be further explore. The conflict of a son who father is a hero and the son not really caring about that legacy is something I'm hoping to see. While Boruto has the same beats of previous series I think the tone is refreshing that he is a character that isn't just little Naruto. He is more fun to watch, more charsamatic and as stated the dynamic of his resent to Naruto is going to make an interesting watch.
Fans will also enjoy to see what happens to some of their favorite characters. There is some characters that Boruto interacts with at the Academy that will have fans go hmm who kid is that they look familiar. There is tons of easter eggs, callbacks to the previous series and it is a feel good watch. In episode 1 we get introduced to Boruto and his new friend Denkai. Denkai is being bullied by some kids and Boruto comes in to save the day. The two really hit it off and Denkai feels weak and wants to get stronger after his encounter with Boruto. Denkai relationship with his father is always not ideal. However Denkai is not as rebellious as Boruto. He is a character that is a push over but you can see layers of something darker which I hope gets explore later. Overall episode 1 was a great start to the series. The animation, music is a little lighter in tone but still holds the core of Naruto mythos. Fans of Naruto will easily sit back in. New fans to Naruto this will be a good start for you to get into the world. Great episode with plenty of humor, some seeds of conflict, a hint of the first arc nemesis and tons of easter eggs.
Final Rating 4.5/5
