Is Boruto inspired by The Matrix? Explained

Modified Aug 29, 2024 15:19 GMT

Is Boruto inspired by The Matrix? Explained — Boruto and Neo as seen in Boruto manga and The Matrix movie (Image via Shueisha, Warner Bros.)

As Boruto fans would know, manga author Masashi Kishimoto and manga artist Mikio Ikemoto recently made a public appearance at a Kana event in France where they answered some questions as part of an interview. This was a huge event as it was rare for both creators to make an appearance together.

This interview gave fans several new insights about the series, helping them understand the manga creators' plans for the series' future. During this, the creators shared their biggest influences while making the manga. Surprisingly, as per the creators, the storyline for the manga was heavily influenced by the Hollywood blockbuster movie, Keanu Reeves's The Matrix.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Boruto manga.

How is Boruto inspired by The Matrix?

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During the Kana event in France, the Boruto creators expressed that The Matrix heavily influenced the manga's story.

The Matrix's story is set in the future, one where humanity is unknowingly trapped inside the "Matrix." The Matrix is a simulated reality created by machines to distract humans while they use their bodies as an energy source.

Within this simulated reality, the protagonist, "Neo," uncovers the truth and joins a rebellion against the machines to free people from the Matrix.

Boruto as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

This storyline is very similar to that of the manga. This is because the manga's protagonist can directly be compared to "Neo." As for the Matrix, it can be compared to the Omnipotence Shinjutsu that saw the world believe that Boruto was Kawaki and vice versa. The surprising thing is, similar to the Matrix, which was created by machines, the Omnipotence ability was brought to effect by Eida, a cyborg.

Even when the protagonist faces off against the Divine Trees, he could be emulating Neo's fight against artificial intelligence to free humanity from machines. The Otsutsuki himself does not care much about Omnipotence and bringing the truth to light. Nevertheless, he is hellbent on saving humanity from the aftereffects of Divine Trees' assault. Therefore, he technically does share the same mission as Neo.

Kashin Koji as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Many fans also theorize that within the manga, Kashin Koji might have taken up a role similar to Morpheus. While both have different roles in the story, they do guide the protagonist in their fight to rescue humanity.

As for Sarada Uchiha, she has been compared to Trinity from The Matrix. As fans of the movie would know, Trinity was Neo's love interest. Similarly, Sarada is Boruto's love interest in the manga.

Sarada Uchiha as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

With such inspirations, fans have begun theorizing that similar to the movie, where Trinity sacrificed herself to save Neo, Sarada could sacrifice herself to save her love interest.

The good thing is that the manga has only drawn inspiration from the movie. Hence, there is a good chance that while the plot might see Sarada save Boruto, it might not include her death as a plot point.