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The Minato manga one-shot, titled The Whorl Within the Spiral, was something that many Naruto fans wanted to see. The short story was the direct result of the protagonist winning the Narutop99, a worldwide voting process made months ago. Here, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha won the first place, which led him to get a one-shot manga written and drawn by the author Masashi Kishimoto.
The general reception of the Minato manga has been positive, with fans happy to see more of a character who enjoyed much popularity in the original series. However, it also led to several discussions online regarding the sequel of Naruto, which led fans to compare it to the recent one-shot manga on Minato and expressed disappointment with how Boruto has panned out.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Minato manga and the Boruto series.
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The success of the Minato manga has led Kishimoto's fans to see the shortcomings of Boruto as a series
It is no secret that the Naruto sequel, Boruto, has been underwhelming to many fans. After the original series' controversial conclusion with the Fourth Great Ninja War arc and the inclusion of Kaguya as the final antagonist left a bad taste in people's mouths, the continuation of the series in Boruto only added salt to the injury.
Many of the criticisms included slow pacing, uninteresting characters, and a lack of dynamics in the art and storytelling that made it look dull. So, when Kishimoto published the Minato manga, a lot of fans took it as a throwback to a much more prolific time of the author's career and how it reminded people of this series' biggest virtues.
As mentioned earlier, the Minato manga reminded fans of Kishimoto about several characters that have become beloved in the franchise, such as Jiraiya, Kurama, Kushina, and the Fourth Hokage himself, Minato. This one-shot also showed Kishimoto at his best as an artist, with a lot of people hoping he could have a more hands-on approach on Boruto, although that doesn't seem likely.
Aside from that, another element that played a huge role in this discussion was how liked some of these characters are. The Minato manga is a direct result of the titular character being popular with the fans and wanting to see more of him. This was was not surprising to see since the one-shot was well-written and had excellent artistry by the mangaka, which is why the positive reception was inevitable.
While comparisons can be harsh at times and readers or viewers can have a different perspectives, there is no denying that the Boruto has failed to get people's attention the same way. The new characters seldom connect with the audience in the same manner that Minato and Kushina have done in this one-shot, which is a major element to take into account.
All in all, this one-shot manga's success has shed even more light on Boruto's shortcomings. However, whether or not that is well-deserved is a discussion for later.
