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Sequels are normally not well received by fans, something Boruto had to learn the hard way. Ever since it premiered, fans have been debating whether the new series is a worthy successor to the legendary exploits of Naruto.
While there are many reasons why the show is fantastic, we must not disregard the several occasions when Boruto provided viewers legitimate reasons to dislike it. Following this line of thought will thus briefly examine 8 valid reasons for fans not to love the show in this list.
Disclaimer: This list reflects the author’s point of view and is not ranked in any order. It contains spoilers.
Fans dislike Boruto for these 8 reasons, and they may be right
1) Enormous amount of filler
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Naruto’s universe is no stranger to fillers, since the show was infamous in its day for the number of filler arcs it had. Although Naruto filler arcs were hated, fans could seek solace in the fact that the main narratives they loved would continue after the end of the filler episodes.
Boruto does not have this privilege, as the anime runs parallel to the manga. This means the anime needs to take a slower pace with the main story to give the manga time to progress. This would not be as much of a problem if the filler arcs were good, but most of them are not to the liking of fans.
The fillers tend to drag on with no real development to any of the characters involved. There are some good fillers that fans have no problems with, but this is by no means comparable to the usual content the series produces.
2) Inconsistent Animation
All anime have certain episodes where the animation is not as good as what fans are accustomed to. Boruto has suffered from this problem several times, something fans are quick to point out any time it happens.
The animation of Boruto is great on a regular basis and has given us some of the most beautiful scenes in the Naruto universe. However, the badly animated episodes come out pretty regularly, giving the show a bad reputation.
3) The story is slow
Since the beginning of the series, we have known how Boruto will conclude—in a huge confrontation against Kawaki, which will see Konoha destroyed. It is obvious that something will take place along the way which will compel Kawaki to turn on his family.
The manga has explored this concept deeper thanks to its lack of filler arcs and though we still do not know exactly what will happen, we can make assumptions based on the material we currently have. Unfortunately for the anime adaptation, this is a whole other story.
We have seen Boruto and Kawaki argue several times, but it always ends with both brothers understanding each other. Boruto’s anime is taking too long to explore the main premise of the series, as we do not know almost anything about which route it will take in terms of plot exploration.
4) Inconsistent power levels
Power levels are normally just a plot device used to hype up a certain character for the fans. When you say a character is at the level of a God, you expect them to be almost invincible. This is a consistent problem the sequel series has had for a while.
Unlike Naruto’s villains who were consistently increasing their power levels, Boruto’s are as strong as the plot needs at the moment, without any justification as to why. Momoshiki, for example, was speculated to be stronger than Kaguya, but was defeated by a half-powered Naruto, a tired Sasuke and a Genin Boruto.
There would not be a problem with this if the show gave reasons for these occurrences, but it never explains itself. Fans got tired of this after a while as the show would never give an indication of when or how a villain would be defeated.
5) Boruto sidetracked many fan favorite characters
When the Fourth Shinobi war ended, there were many strong individuals amongst Naruto’s cast that were still waiting to achieve their full potential. Rock Lee, Choji, Shino, and many others proved how strong they were during the conflict.
When the sequel arrived, fans were excited to see their favorite classic characters back in action. This, however, never happened, as most Naruto characters were pushed to the periphery during the sequel.
Rock Lee, for example, has not had a good fight in the series yet, even though he is one of the most powerful warriors in the franchise. The new show’s focus is obviously going to be on the new generation of ninjas and that is fine, but even then there was no reason to under utilize the classic fan favorites in this manner.
6) Technology takes away from the mystical aspect of the franchise
One of Naruto’s strengths as a series was the mystical and intriguing power system ninjas use. While technology existed back in the beginning of the series, it was never too prolific or overutilized.
It was obvious that a world at peace would come with a rapid advancement in technology and an increase in its use. Nevertheless, technology seems to be one of the main focuses of the new series.
While the mysticism of Chakra is still there, sometimes it feels like it was forgotten for the new ninja tools and machinery. The world of Naruto needed to progress, but taking away one of its core tenants was a bad move.
7) The new characters are not enjoyable
Naruto fans know that not every character introduced to the series is going to be an instant hit with the fans. This is a common occurrence when a series airs for as long as Naruto did, since it is obvious that not every idea introduced will be successful.
Still, Boruto has a major problem with most of its main cast. For a lot of fans, the children of their favorite characters feel like a carbon copy of their parents. Similar names, similar fighting styles and personalities, it is like they were just cloned.
They clearly have their own personality traits and differences, but when you have become attached to a character and a similar one is introduced, you cannot help but compare them.
The new characters the show introduces are also not what the show needs. In the latest arc, characters like Araumi have been hated by fans since the beginning, not because they are good villains, but because they are simply annoying.
8) An abundance of Otsutsuki
One of Naruto’s biggest mysteries was the sudden appearance of the intriguing Otsutsuki clan. We were not introduced to this new threat until the end of the series, so it was evident that they would play a prominent role in the sequel.
Initially, this was a fresh and interesting concept that the show knew how to use for its convenience. But as the series has progressed, the constant mention of Otsutsuki clan members has started to lose its appeal.
While there is no issue with utilizing a concept that proved to be successful with fans, there is a problem in overemploying the said concept.
Villains like Code seemed like a great new addition to the series, as he is a Cyborg who was enhanced to become powerful on his own. But even he has a fascination with the Otsutsuki clan, going as far as to wanting to become one of them.
