Boruto has become shonen anime's perfect protagonist, and it's obvious why

Boruto Uzumaki is currently the most important character in the entire Narutoverse. He has transformed from a character that fans initially disliked to one they can’t get enough of, largely due to his significant growth throughout the series.

Another reason for fans' attention towards Boruto is his central role in the story. Both Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and Boruto: Two Blue Vortex are plot-driven stories, yet whenever Boruto is shown on screen, the focus shifts to him. He has outshone the likes of Naruto and Sasuke and is even better written than they are.

These developments have not only resonated with fans, but critics have also praised the titular character as a masterstroke of genius by Ikemoto and Kishimoto. Here is how Boruto became Shonen anime’s perfect protagonist.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s opinion and may contain spoilers.

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How did Boruto become the perfect protagonist?

His character development starts from the minute he is shown to viewers (Image via Studio Pierrot)

To start with, how Boruto became Shonen’s perfect protagonist, Naruto has to be revisited. When Naruto first began, he wasn’t liked by fans. Many criticisms directed at Naruto were similar to those thrown at another anime protagonist, Asta, from Black Clover. Fans disliked Naruto for being loud and not powerful enough to back up his talk, but as the series progressed, that changed.

What changed wasn’t Naruto, but the fans' opinions, which mellowed as the plot unfolded. Naruto uses two tropes commonly found in fantasy. One is the Chosen One trope, and the other is the Dead Parents trope. Naruto is the chosen one due to him being a Jinchūriki, but that special ability comes with an emotional toll. He is treated like a leper by the Hidden Leaf villagers. This is in addition to the Dead Parents trope, which makes Naruto alone.

This makes fans understand Naruto better. What further helps Naruto is the antagonist, Sasuke. Sasuke is written with the same tropes as his protagonist. Unlike Naruto, who is loud because he demands attention from others, Sasuke acts cool and collected because his thoughts are far away from the present. He never lets himself truly feel anything that is going on, even as a child.

When Naruto becomes an adult, he loses that obnoxious part of himself. He becomes composed and calculated, understanding that there is a lot at stake. Both Naruto and Sasuke have a similar character journey to Boruto. However, there are major differences with the protagonist of Two Blue Vortex.

The young Uzumaki as an Otsutsuki (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Naruto and Hinata are alive, and Boruto is well-regarded by his peers. That’s why when he repeats the same actions Naruto did, he is met with instant dislike by fans. He has everything the past protagonist and antagonist lacked, and he is still choosing to be entitled. This changes after the Momoshiki and Kinshiki arc. The young Uzumaki grows rapidly and becomes his own person.

He decides who he wants to be and chooses a path different from what his father and grandfather followed. He wants to protect the village from the shadows. This is a clever bit of foreshadowing from the mangaka, as the young Uzumaki later becomes a rogue ninja and does just that.

What makes him one of the best anime main protagonists is that he understands what it truly means to be a hero. He doesn’t try to clear his name or try to reverse Eida’s omnipotence. Instead, he tries to grow stronger to beat external threats like Code and internal threats, his Kama.

Another thing that is brilliant about the young Uzumaki’s character is how he later embodies the same tropes that were employed with Naruto and Sasuke. He loses his parents and becomes an Otsutsuki, but he doesn’t go on the path of his predecessors or mope about it. Instead, he chooses hope, a common attribute of the best Shonen characters.

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Final thoughts

From the young Uzumaki's actions in the Narutoverse, it won’t be far-fetched to say that Ikemoto and Kishimoto, the creators, were influenced by Batman from the Christopher Nolan trilogy. The young Uzumaki is the hero that Hidden Leaf deserves but not the one it needs right now. He understands this wholeheartedly and chooses to fight for the village.

This is why Boruto is one of Shonen’s loved protagonists. There is no hesitation, no cowardice, just loyalty to a cause larger than himself, an attribute shared by Shonen characters like Deku, Ichigo, and Yuji.

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