Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links   2f4r6b

Boruto Two blue vortex is peak fiction from kishimoto. Many people won't read the series but hate it by getting brainwashed by internet. They think boruto is not a good story by seeing haters posting hate posts on boruto. Believe me and read boruto it's a piece of art and a masterpiece.

The story is completely changed from the last chapters of Boruto: Naruto next generations.It literally tilted the life of boruto upside down. This makes him grow from a spoiled brat to one of the greatest shinobis. The art style improved a lot from NNG to two blue vortex.
I think people will love boruto if ... they actually read Boruto without getting brainwashed by internet and hating on it.I am a hardcore naruto fan and I can say that Boruto is perfect sequel for Naruto

Ah, Boruto, the serial that I've been defending since the pandemic. Eida's omnipotence has caused Boruto to lose all his friends and family, forcing him to battle the Otsutsuki God Trees while Konoha ninjas pursue him.

After 15 chapters full of the rollercoaster journey of Boruto, here are things that I consider good and bad:

(+) New Techniques
I'm intrigued to see the new techniques (jutsu) being adapted into anime, especially Rasengan Uzuhiko, Himawari's Nine-Tailed form, Shinki's recent Magnet jutsu, etc. Their adaptation of RasenGun previously was slightly disappointing, so I'm hoping they're doing these new techniques justice.

(+) Boruto vs. Everybody
Boruto getting under attack from not only Code ... and the God Trees but also the shinobi is a badass idea. Of course this idea will not be happening if Boruto becomes a seasonal anime, but Boruto fighting against his anime/side story manga friends like Iwabee, Houki, etc., would look totally insane.

Please buckle up.

(-) I prefer the anime's assets
No, I'm not talking about the anime originals or filler stories in the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime. If anyone says the anime sucked, so be it. I just wanted to express how much I love the assets the anime has created: Chunin Sarada; Team 5, Team 15, and of course my boi Houki and Team 25; and Nue. Not to mention characters originated from Naruto, such as Udon, Hanabi, and Mirai.

Now let's just focus on Hanabi herself. She's the biological sister of Hinata. Hanabi would have been easily outraged by Boruto's 'killing' of Hinata and Naruto. If Hanabi doesn't appear in the anime (since she doesn't in the manga), it will, in my opinion, leave a gap in the plot.

Therefore, it would be a shame if these anime assets are all scrapped as a result of the 100% adaptation of the Boruto manga.

(-) Mikio Ikemoto's ing skill
I believe many Boruto readers have already voiced their concerns about this issue since Naruto Next Generations, and I only became aware of it two months ago. I gotta it that Ikemoto-sensei's ing is rather weak. Many s repeat themselves to showcase different dialogues or possibly close-ups. Reading a 40-page chapter feels like reading just 25 pages. I'm curious about the current gap between Kishimoto-sensei's storyboard and Ikemoto's drawing. Like see, I'm still defending Ikemoto-sensei if he's accused of being a p-word, but I don't think his ing skills can be defended at all this time. I definitely respect him for being the sole manga artist, but come on.

In conclusion, the sequel to Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is a worthwhile read. Yes, I might give it a score of 9, and I'm sure I won't drop below a 7, given how much I've enjoyed the story thus far. However, I chose "Mixed Feelings" due to my concerns about its potential anime adaptation in the future. I hope Pierrot remains committed to this project and secures skilled storyboard artists and directors.

Boruto Two Blue Vortex has the worst writing I have ever seen.


A long, long time ago or just in 2021.
There was an online campaign (or something like that) where Boruto fans were flooding different DMs and groups, asking everyone to rate Boruto 10 stars on multiple sites. They offered innumerable links to different platforms and even links to individual episodes. In an effort to make those five episodes the highest-rated ones ever, I noticed this desperation, and all those new positive words obviously felt a bit of sympathy.

And decided to read and review Boruto on one of their provided platforms. I found it to be ... extremely overrated and an insult to literature after several points in the reading where I was unable to continue. Then I ended up reviewing it twice here and then completely forgot about it.

Until a few months ago, too many people kept asking to give Boruto another try. They even claimed that most seinen fans, all Big 3 fans, and most other shonen fans had accepted Boruto as better written than every other manga in existence.

That's how, after another chance, I am here to say that, yeah… Boruto Two blue vortex is 100 times worse than before.

Reading this was a pain, and it's definitely one of the worst things I've ever read. As for criticism, where do I even begin? I don’t know where to start because there are just too many factors here. The writing in TBV is abysmal. Even if I tried to be as brief as possible, there’s no way I could fit a million words here.

So, here’s the deal. I’m ranking the top 20 worst aspects of this manga and doing my best to keep everything short and clear. Less confusion, with a professional tone.

Ready?
3...
2...
1....

Yeah, I’m not interested either.


But since I’m already regretting reading it, I might as well make that wasted time worth something, and what better way than to rank the worst things and review it here?

Spoiler warning. And trigger warning. (because botuto fans are always triggered)

And now


Number 20. The Dialogue

Ikemoto got every problem that can make an author unable to write decent dialogue. He has "author voice hijacked, unfocused, and all levels of "epic syndrome."
Why, you may ask? Because real emotion doesn't need fancy packaging; it comes from honesty.

Therefore, if you write a story in which every character, regardless of their age, life, or traits, has the exact same tone, manner of speaking, and philosophical or try-hard line with every dialogue, you will end up with a trash, self-serious story with dialogues like
"I have Source, But ... Sorry. I Cant Reveal His Identity. He Asked Me Not To, For His Own Safety. " or " IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY THEY ARE, THE MORE, THE BETTER FOR ME. BUT NOT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT."

They may seem like typical cringe-worthy anime dialogue, but come on, man, there is a limit to how unrealistic and cringe-worthy dialogue can get.
Almost every line in Boruto franchise is so over-the-top, polished, and unrealistic that it can make you physically cringe at nearly every speech bubble. And who's plan was to use monologues resembling non-native speaker arguments in a story that seeks to be taken seriously?

It becomes tiresome to read when each dialogue contains so much edge, pretentious wordplay, and childish theatrics. This is not because of the grammar; rather, it is because it saps the story's motivation and emotional investment. Every speech bubble in tbv has the power to shatter suspension of disbelief. Every line pulls you out of the fantasy rather than drawing you in.

And dialogues are a great way to make readers attached to characters, but TBV manga completely sacrificed dialogues by trying too hard to sound profound.


Number 19. Lack of Investment (Disengaging)

This isn't about financial investment; it's about the audience's interest and the story's compelling nature.

Kishimoto once said that making a manga compelling is the most important thing. Unfortunately, Ikemoto (including Kishimoto himself) misunderstood this and believed that compelling simply meant creating curiosity.

TBV almost entirely depended on curiosity, which isn’t a good thing. Worse, it started losing curiosity after Chapter 1.

For a longer example: When I read the first chapter of tbv, it was 3/10 definitely wasn’t a good chapter, but it was overflowing with a huge amount of curiosity about every character and subplot.

However, by Chapter 2, most of that curiosity started disappearing at a very extreme pace because all the previous subplots of BNNG along with the main plot, were sidelined. The characters became duller with each page, and the only way I could maintain any curiosity was by forcing myself to care about the new plotlines and asking, "What happens next?" But none of that worked.
By Chapter 4, I kept closing the chapter, disengaging from each , and losing interest entirely. From there, it only became more anti-entertaining. Then the next 18 chapters are able to do the impossible and become more boring and disengaging with each ing column, testing my tolerance limit.

That’s too much for a single aspect.

18. Koji's Ability.

That's the only ability that manages to reach into the top 20, but it is impossible to cover even half the mess it got. But let me break it down anyway.

I doubt that the author and his group even made an effort to understand the extent of the power they were distributing.

When a character is given even a small portion of this ability, I know several authors who either establish strict limitations before the character is taught them or base the entire story on strict guidelines from the start. This, however? This story is comprehensive and free of all narrative.

Ikemoto basically inserted a story editor inside the story, and somehow, just like the one outside, he’s equally lazy and inconsistent.

A. The ability is beyond broken; there is no legitimate reason for any character he helps to ever be in danger or make mistakes. Any conflict that does happen is not organic. It’s the result of authorial negligence.

B. Events no longer feel like cause and effect. They feel like choices deliberately made. Yes, that's the big issue: every conflict is clarifying as a choice just because of the existence of ten directions.

C. Plot holes? They’re not errors anymore; they get rebranded as "mysteries" or "part of the master plan." It’s not clever; it’s just lazy storytelling dressed up as complexity.

D. CEO of Plot Convenience, You’re telling me that out of EVERY FUTURE HE SEES, there’s not one where Sarada gets an awakening without Yodo’s ted talk plus therapy? Or plan B: 5 minutes behind team 7 to arrange backup to delete Mitsuri? Yeah, get lost.


Basically this ability destroys the story more than Izanagi destroys Naruto and its suspension of disbelief, but on a far greater scale.

Take this example: Why was Boruto asking Code to take him to/find the Ten-Tail location when his own omniscient partner could just look ahead and see exactly where it is or where Code will go? Including different timelines.
The logic doesn't just break. It insults human intelligence.

And without even getting into the whole mess of timeline manipulation, possibilities analysis, or all the reality-bending calculations this ability could pull off. The character basically has more than enough power to guarantee an easy win (borderline author-level steering wheel of story) and yet is somehow still lackluster.


And this is just one of a billion structural problems this ability causes. It erases all ability, all narrative logic, and forces the reader to either turn off their brain entirely or Get a headache trying to make sense of a world where actions have no weight and outcomes are pre-scripted but conveniently vague.

Number 17. Martyr Syndrome on Full Boost

Ikemoto genuinely thinks that being brave = dying for literally anything. Like, every character who isn’t some cardboard-cutout Shinju or Code is way too desperate to throw themselves off.

Boruto? He’s constantly talking about how he’s fine with “erasing himself but waiting for the right moment.
Kawaki? Same energy , already negotiating his own death multiple times like it’s a retirement plan.
Side characters? Oh, they’re sacrificing themselves left and right, not because it makes sense for their arc or they have any arc, but because the plot needed a "therapy talk while the character has a hole in their entire torso," a "new shinju," and a visual moment. It’s not emotional; it’s exhausting.

And the dialogue with that martyr syndrome? Absolute cringe. It's like watching theater kids compete over tough-sounding dialogue in their fanfics.

Boruto gets his body back? First instinct: “Guess I better nobly off myself by kawaki.”

A random character enters a scene? It must be their turn to heroically sacrifice themselves to save the plot... cough cough .. someone.

Even off-screen characters are out here turning into trees/cliffhangers of the dead/monologues while dying for the cause like it's a group challenge.

And every time someone almost dies or is gone from the story, someone else just unlocks god-tier powers out of nowhere. Like emotional trauma is a cheat code. Wait.... it's actually true in TBV.


It’s all setting up for some overly edgy ending where the protagonist sacrifices in a blaze of glory to “save everyone,” or maybe some childish writing like that.

But here’s the thing: real sacrifice has weight, and in well-written stories, it comes from a place of deep internal conflict with beliefs. Not just because the script says “Time for some feels" or "This character bravely was willing to end himself."

This isn’t noble. It’s not deep. It’s fake morality dragging characters around like puppets.
It’s not bravery; it’s just martyr syndrome written by someone who believes character rewrite is character development.


Despite reducing the content to the bare minimum and removing several points, these criticisms are still too lengthy.


Number 16. REASONINGS


Not saying much, but it’s obvious the Ikemoto knew exactly the IQ level of their audience. Alzo was aware that they would devour anything that was presented as "reasoning."
Everything was required to a "cool moment," with no care for anything in franchise.
Furthermore, who gives a damn about in-universe logic or world-building?

Example A. How did the plot device cough cough.... Kurama even get there?
“The universe is full of mysteries!”
And with two random handwaved "possibilities," the audience is told not to ask questions because THE KURAMA himself said so.

Example B
When dumb Shikamaru's memories are altered, but somehow they still make critical, plot-convenient decisions — justified by some nonsense like "deep down, he truly ed taking the decision to trust Boruto!"
Meanwhile, the rest of the world, whose memories were also erased, somehow forgot everything, including the decisions they made daily.
This doesn't make the dumb Shika "smart." It just proves everyone else in the world is a brainless NPC.

Example C
How are two characters like Sarada and Sumire somehow still walking around unaffected?
No explanation. No logic. Just a giant “Don’t worry about it” stamped over the plot.

Reasoning is something that authors shouldn't miss, but Boruto: TBV is a rare case.



15. THE PACE

Tbv pacing is really bad.
Just it, scroll to the next point.

But, just in case Boruto fans are still trying to convince anyone that this pacing is the fastest thing ever.

Listen, A. Pacing is not release time, pacing is not character count, pacing is how many pages are in it, pacing is not only an anime thing, and pacing is not any other reasoning you heard from boruto fans.

B. The pacing is how well the story is progressing toward meaningful goals. That's it.

C. The events don't even matter equal filler ( note anime filler are separate episodic fillers these two are different types of fillers)

D. Busywork disguised as progress. (Distracted the audience from the main plot line by fetch quests and others things for dozens of chapters)

E. If the main conflict is being stalled or ignored for dozens of chapters, the pacing of the core narrative is broken.

F. it’s info-dumping and stalling. If your character just keep talking reasonings and explaining plots holes and other bs.

G. Sometimes this pacing get fast when its comes to skipping over conflict, its just bad storytelling.

I. Everything padaring the pace include

J. Total 5 times, manga gave the illusion of character development, only to reveal that they were just stalling tactics pacing stretched across the multiple chapters. while quietly setting up another chain of plot conveniences.



14. ADDICTION OF PLOT SHIFT

This one needs just two lines to explain.

A Maybe the author realized how bad the original plot was, so he just dropped a new one in end of BNNG. (And completed original plot off screen).


B. Now he keeps adding random subplots or changing the main plot every time he likes, maybe for fun, who knows.



13. POWER FANTASY

Before we start, there's some news for boruto fandom. Every time someone calls boruto a Mary Sue, fans reply with the same video explaining why he supposedly isn't one. But here's the thing - maybe try finding someone credible. If the person in that video doesn't understand the difference between plot and character writing, storytelling flaws and character flaws, or worldbuilding and assumptions, then they're not someone you should blindly trust or spam their weaponized lack of knowledge reasoning as universal truth.

Now, I love overpowered characters as much as the next person but what's hard to enjoy is a generic power-fulfillment fantasy where every character is already in a 'Mary Sue' phase right from the start.

(Note: 'Mary Sue' doesn't mean just 'strong.')
The author keeps handing out plot-bending powers like candy, one character after another, without any care for credibility, consistent worldbuilding, or respect for the franchise.

Anyway lets skips to example A. deus ex machina extra Mary sue collection
Sarada, Eida, Himawari, Boruto, deamon, Kawaki and jura. They are granted overpowered abilities with no clear limitations, no consistency, and no real consequences. Some of them powers often show up out of nowhere, clearly added just to impress fans with how 'cool' they look, rather than serve the story or character development. With most hand wave or dull reasoning they're handed it when it's convenient, often in moments of fake tension.

Example B. Average plot device.
Mitsuki, Sasuke, Team 8, Momoshiki, Naruto, Shikamaru, Amado, Elders, Sumire, Sarada , Himawari, Kawaki, Gaara's children, Yodo, koji and all ten tails (including jura).
They're one-dimensional with meaningless lists of powers or stats just to highlight how inferior (when plot want) they are compared to the other Mary Sue characters. These side characters don’t evolve (not talking about ten tails evolution), face real conflict, or matter beyond their purpose of moving the story toward the author’s desired outcomes. They serve no emotional or thematic purpose; they simply exist to prop up either each other or boruto.

But the real reason tbv is worse than most other power fantasies isn’t just because the amount of power fantasy. it's because it actively rejects the good writing that its predecessors built.

To put it simply: many power fantasies like isekai and fanfics can have great writing and high quality by simply if they respect the core rules, themes, or foundations of the genre they come from. Boruto doesn’t do that. Instead, it takes the basic premises of its predecessors, multiplies them without care, and ends up destroying what made them work in the first place.
In short, those so called badly written works are building something new. so yes, there will be good writing in them with standards quality mark average meanwhile tbv is too busy replacing every aspects that are holding "good writing" in the franchise. Of course it stands below average quality.

It’s like throwing an expensive cake in the gutter just to serve a cheaper one on table and calling it an upgrade of course it feels worse,

Yes, Kishimoto's philosophy of the next generation always being stronger, and a bunch of prodigies had even bigger prodigies as children, but all of this could have been done with less bad writing.



12. LACK OF DEVELOPMENT

I have seen several unfortunate people attempt to explain character development to Boruto fans. And wouldn't advise anyone to try explaining.

Anyway, there are three types of character development in this franchise.
First, use a time jump to transition from potential development to static character.

Second, there is no development; the characters are completely flat.
And third, Sasuke of Naruto (basic but actual character development and still better than the other two).

Yes, for some reason, neither the fandom nor the author appear to understand that it is not about the character change; it is about how the character earned that change and how confidently they delivered it. It is the process something that Ikemoto chose to skip.

Seriously, spent 80 chapters in NNG and the protagonist's peak was "flat development," then started TBV and completely changed the character to be a static stoic with edgy dialogues. That is simply an unfixable problem.

While he did not change anything about the remaining characters, he demonstrated that each and every character is one-dimensional.
On a serious note, Boruto's main audience is people who enjoy self-serious and depth-pretending stories. Therefore, it is clear that this lack of development is solely for writing point of view. This boruto audience adores the poor writing and lack of character development.
The real problem begins when you try to give these kinds of characters a 'struggle.' Most of their struggles end up like fake struggles. because static characters don’t change. After every fight, the aftermath isn’t growth or consequence it’s just a reset, as if nothing ever happened.


Example chapter 22. That chapter's main highlight is Inconsistent Logic. Boruto has previously escaped multiple shinjus in Chapter 4, but now "he can not use teleportation because it is tricky" Ikemoto is making up rules on the flying raijin to force a scene to occur, which becomes more apparent when you have villains who are easy to escape and are more interested in irrelevant things. This entire struggle setup is so forced and qualified as a superficial plus. Character growth necessitates agency and If you have a static stoic character who only throws attacks and self-destructs with no reason or payoff, it is empty drama. This is not character development.



11. THE CANON
Boruto NNG and TBV damage the canon on two major levels, internally and across the overall franchise. But for the sake of review length, let’s focus on the broader framework of franchise impact.

Example A. Character ruins. This story could be used as a case study in how to destroy previously decently written characters. Many characters from the original Naruto have lost their consistency, core themes, and emotional arcs, resulting in a confusing narrative.

Their writing quality has dropped so drastically that they’re effectively removed from any serious discussion about well-developed characters.

To be fair, previous late Shippuden and spin-off novels have already damaged almost every character at their core. But Boruto stands out due to its high visibility, and it’s nearly 100 chapters long and is a direct continuation of the main storyline.

Example B. Legacy Damage

This deserves a clear example. A new Sharingan suddenly gains the power to create suns without significant struggle. That instantly undermines the stakes, emotional weight, and hard-earned victories of the original cast. It makes their journeys and themes feel irrelevant and reduces the value of their arcs.

In doing so, Boruto doesn’t just power-scale; it erases the foundation of what made the original world compelling in the first place.

This problem exists because protecting the legacy of previous characters while doing power creep in a sequel requires serious writing skills.


10. KITCHEN SINK WRITING.

No one is talking about kitchen sink; it's a term for a plot bloated with every idea the author ever got.

In shortest line possible "there are multiple plot line that was main plot line at one point and there are even more sub plots that's keep adding in numbers, rarely any of these touch their conclusions. So now its a mountain of ideas that author has inserted in story with no care about world-building credibility or genre understanding. Now the more interesting here isnt in plot its about how many and when these idea bloated here will be complete".
Just it.


9. CREDIBILITY

Note: for the last time, realism in writing is the very combination of internal logic and consistency. Stop those one million definitions by Boruto fans.


Well, every character in TBV is one-dimensional. And act like whatever plot it wants.
World-building where consistency is myth
And plot where everything goes.
This is the ideal formula for a zero-credibility story.

The story is surviving on cheap suspense, not genuine credibility. These characters are impossible to get invested in unless you are that fan who projects their headcanon over canon.
And powers pop in and out like cheap magic fantasy; the story has lost trust even if you're still "curious."


If you’re only reading for the next surprise but care about nothing else, that’s not a strong story.



8. THE WORLD BUILDING

Wish me luck.

Imagine a kid with a Lego set meant to build towering skyscrapers. the kid dumps the pieces onto the blueprints and calls that mess a skyscraper.
That's exactly what happened with boruto world building. Naruto world building was supposed to be a base for Boruto world building to stand on but 1st author didn't care and throw anything he want, resulting a world-building written by plot.
But it turn even worse by ikemoto.


A. Advancement and Internal Logic

A1. Magic System
Naruto had opened the magic system's Pandora's box (lost internal consistency) that blurred any solid system. Turning every single thing into different magic systems or another story of where everything goes in a magic system. Boruto just added more clutter and made it worse with additional magic systems with zero credibility work.

A2. Technologya
Naruto has trash world-building with a cluster mix of selective retro technology plus the Edo era plus magic equals never establishing a consistent technological timeline.
Boruto pushes this further into futuristic sci-fi, plus everything goes ancient god magic.


A3. Tools
In Boruto, the narrative keeps ignoring tech when it’s inconvenient for the plot, creating a "reversible" world-building approach where nothing is truly grounded.


A4. In-Universe Logic
Characters gain powers or survive situations with no setup or consequence. Just by plot convenience.


B. Groundwork

B1. Heritage & Characters
In Naruto, almost every relevant character is a prodigy (no need to scream, Naruto's average character bar starts where any other media would put the prodigy bar).
As for Boruto. Maybe there are any characters that are not prodigies. Who knows, and if they exist, they would be alien to this world-building. Speaking of aliens.

B2. Aliens
Otsutsuki don’t add depth; they function more like plot devices. Their overpowered nature breaks the original premise. Meanwhile in Boruto. They're writing shortcuts. Ikemoto can literally add the most random power-ups and plot conveniences with them, and it would make as much sense as the rest of Boruto.

B3. Timeline and Progression:
The world jumps from Naruto Shippuden to Boruto with an unconvincing timeskip. It feels less like evolution and more like handwaving.


B4. Premise
Every story has rules: what can and can't happen. Meanwhile in Boruto, fans attack other media and stories instead of calling out the author for breaking the premise rules.


B5. Lampshading
Instead of creating compelling present-day narratives, it relies on vague, unexplained ancient shinjutsu and creatures. That’s not deep. Actually, it’s narrative distraction.



C. Sociopolitical Layer

.... Actually, I gave up. Maybe I will write a separate review just about worldbuilding. Maybe.
Let's move on.




7. EXTREME FAN SERVICE (REACTIVE WRITING)

For that 100iq genius, fan service means just to please the audience. Get your dirty mind away.

Reactive writing is not a bad thing at all. But it can make an overall story hollow if done more than a few times.

Anyway, someone in 2020 said, "Boruto's story starts lighthearted and will get dark, and he will lose everything."
And boom, next month Eida was added to the plot.

Lots of fans said that again, then the pace suddenly went from slow to fast, setting up omnipotence in three chapters, and four months later, "omnipotence" happened (still, that's not losing everything; it's temporary separation plus Boruto clearly stated he wanted things to stay that way for a while, making everything a choice rather than a tragedy. So stop overgeneralizing, dear fans).

People point out plot holes about memories of Konoha and the internet. Next month, there will be "a chapter dedicated to patching plot holes."

Same, someone "both fan theories about how Kurama reincarnates in Himawari are trash" next month "universe is full of mystery," plus a stamp of both theories.

And this list can go on for the next 12 more times. But the point is how much fan-dependent story there is and the level of fan service.

Positive point: Ikemoto knows what and which demands can please the fans more and how to reject trash ones. For example, there were multiple fans asking for character development before both Himawari, Boruto, and Sarada spotlight chapters were released, and Ikemoto rejected them (the only demands that couldn't make it to manga). He understood his audience and knew which story choice would please the audience better.



6. THE STORYTELLING

There are lots of issues of storytelling in boruto but for now (length), let's focus on just 2.

A. Suspension of disbelief.
Metaphorically, Naruto built a room filled with credibility and suspension of disbelief (lack at Shippuden). Everything unrealistic in that space still felt real to the audience because the story earned their trust. But then Naruto handed that room over to Boruto, and Boruto quickly turned it into rubble. Now boruto fans are defensive and aggressive, asking why Boruto doesn’t feel right to others, all while trying to defend it by proving that Naruto and all other stories were equally unrealistic. While ignoring that it was never just about what was unrealistic, but how well the story made us believe in it.

In straight words, Naruto's world-building, its lore, and its credibility were supposed to be a base where Boruto's suspension of disbelief could stand on and should create its own rules, but both BNNG and TBV just installed the plot and powers without any worry of suspension of disbelief. That's why most boruto fans have to use real-world logic in order to defend their fictional story because for them every suspension of disbelief is equal, which is zero.



Side note: What’s up with this Boruto fandom? Their favorite manga has zero suspension of disbelief, yet they go around attacking other stories (including Naruto) with a mindset that instantly rejects anything that’s not 100% realistic.
Take Naruto, for example, it literally begins with a giant fox destroying a village and characters using magic eyes. And guess what? From the standpoint of writing, Naruto redefined what "ninjas" could be in a fantasy world, and it was successful because fiction reshapes ideas.


But instead of appreciating that creativity,
These entire fans (including most naruto fans) are desperate to discredit Kishimoto, convincing others to believe Naruto isn’t about ninjas just because it doesn’t match real-life definitions. They throw around real-world comparisons without even understanding what the fantasy genre allows.

What’s worse is that they criticize Naruto’s writing and suspension of disbelief. Fine, that's fair game since boruto is Naruto’s sequel, but then they turn around and use the same flawed logic to attack other series, like what?

It’s like comparing a hand to a stone statue and calling the statue trash because it doesn’t move like yours, completely missing the point of what it is supposed to be.


B. Narrative structure.
Well, if you put all styles of narrative structure into a blender, you will get the Boruto franchise structure. Resulting in there being no structure at all.
This franchise can be as long as Ikemoto wants because there are countless starts, setups, even more rising actions, and more plot convenience.
Here, you can have a plot ended and another plot rise, or worse, a plot ended off-screen and 6 more plots added along with 5 more subplots.
This is a narrative mess where everything can be the next plot or something else.

Seriously, it's a whole level of disorganized plots and subplots mixed together with plot convenience.
As I previously stated, this narrative is rule free- anything, including plot convictions, new plotsq or events, can be done or added here.


5.. THE CHARACTERS

Ikemoto can't write characters. Why? In an interview, he said "First, there's the role of the character. The basic premise is to create a character based on needs."

That’s not character writing, that’s the textbook definition of a plot device.

Then he went on to describe ada and hidari. One is an overpowered woman who chooses love over world domination and has a “silly” side. The other is the evolved from sasuke who shares similar techniques but behaves unpredictably. In short, Ikemoto's idea of depth is just giving each character an “unexpected trait” alongside their basic function.
That’s not complexity. That’s how you create one-note or flat characters that only exist just to serve a purpose and maybe surprise the reader once, but lack literally everything else that makes them characters.

If this is what the fandom calls great character writing, then by that logic, stepping into a kitchen makes you a five-star chef.

Same thing in a longer paragraph: Ikemoto only knows how to write one-note dimensional characters, and that's how he is writing every character he touches.
In results, all new-gen characters and villain intbv are one-note dimensional, and old-gen ones are one dimensional.

That's why the entire cast of its characters is either one-note dimensional or one-dimensional; there is no in-between.

Example of new gen: boruto, he is stoic ... And that's it. That's where boruto's character profile ends. And as a matter of fact, I have seen the Boruto fandom organizing rallies against people who don't prove Boruto is one-dimensional.


Never saw any other fandom this desperate to prove their favorite one-dimensional and believed one-dimensional is good writing. How can they call anyone a hater when the fandom itself is too busy proving it is already the worst-written thing ever while believing what they are doing is praise and defense?


One example of one dimensional old gen -
Well, every character that exists in the Boruto franchise, and I really want to talk about Shikamaru and Naruto.
But for context's sake, let's take Sasuke, for example. Because everyone in the Naruto Boruto fandom keeps calling Sasuke the best-written character in the series, and honestly, I don’t get why. Let’s break down his writing.

In Naruto manga -
He started off as the typical "edgy lord" but there was at least some depth, internal conflict, extra groundwork, a backstory, and believable motivations. He wasn't groundbreaking (for the most part), but he worked within the story. However, even here, his characterization suffered from inconsistencies, which already disprove the claims of strong/good writing.

By the Pain and war arc (aka Shippuden era) -
This is where things took a nosedive in bad writing. Sasuke was reduced to a blatant plot device. Both his agency and evolution can be turned off or turned on in any chapter. The traits that made him so compelling in earlier Naruto were stripped away. While multiple new traits were added, they were also washed away by the next chapter. He existed to say a few ominous lines, push the plot forward, and then wait for plot convenience.

All light novels that feature sasuke-
Due to consistently changing writers, it became painfully obvious. The new authors clearly thought the character's "cool factor" came from his silence and aloofness and mistaking stoicism for depth. What we got was a hollow, robotic shell who contributed nothing except staring blankly and occasionally mumbling cryptic nonsense. Personality? Gone, all of the scraps of remaining good writing? Gone.

In Boruto -
Writer changed after another, but none of them improved things. If anything, the fandom and the writing team both doubled down on this idea that being stoic, emotionless, and vaguely "cool" automatically equals good writing. Sasuke now exists to praise other characters (usually Naruto or boruto), get defeated or defeated off-screen, or stand around doing nothing again. His role has become entirely ive, and he’s more of an object than a character.

The Core Issue
Despite all this regression, fans still act like he’s the best-written character, clinging to the image of his OG naruto version. But canon matters, and canon has shown clear, consistent deterioration. You can’t ignore multiple chains of weak, lazy writing just because he used to have potential. What we’ve ended up with is a flat, one-dimensional plot device whose sole purpose is to prop up anyone necessary. He is not a well-developed or well-written character; as a matter of fact, he is quite the opposite.


4. THE CONFLICT


Let's talk about shinjus.
Enough about shinjus.

Let's talk about Code.
Enough about code.
Let's talk about Amado and his creation, gang.
Enough about...

Wait, that's it. That's all worth talking the boruto villains deserves.

Honestly, these villains aren't even worth discussing, but I've seen the anger of fandom when there is no criticism, so let's shine a little light on this sad collection of time-wasting characters.

Weak villains belong in weak stories, and by weak, I don't mean power levels. I’m talking about writing. What we have here are cardboard cutouts tossed into a cardboard trash can. These villains are written like flimsy straw men, inserted only to pad out the pacing and then brushed aside the moment the script no longer needs them. It's worse than it sounds.

A villain can be the driving force of a story. They can shape the narrative, define the stakes, and give the plot structure. But in this case, these so-called villains barely even qualify for the role.

Code—Every time he’s on screen, any sense of threat he might pose is instantly destroyed. The story spends ages establishing how inept, unhinged, and lacking in intelligence he is. You’re meant to laugh at him, not fear him. He’s a joke, not a threat.

Jura—Every time he appears, characters go on and on about how dangerous he is, while the script does the exact opposite and tells the audience how little of a threat Jura is. His curious personality kills any sense of menace. He’s treated like a plot device, not a character. Even attempts to make him seem powerful, like him tanking hits while rambling about his interests, just come off as hollow. He’s the weakest villain in the franchise, not in of strength, but in of storytelling, writing intelligence, narrative perspective, characterization, etc.

Amado - The Ikemoto’s so-called “mystery box.” Except there is no mystery. This one-note, one-dimensional plot device exists to dump random sci-fi nonsense into the story without any real world-building or narrative effort. Want to make Kawaki suddenly stronger? Well, Amado had nerfed the offensive power of Kawaki.
Want Sumire to learn about memories erased? Amado suddenly realized his tech and told Sumire.
Want to create a character who is extremely intelligent but lacks basic intelligence and situational comprehension, as well as an understanding of plans and outcomes? Amado

Yes, traits play a crucial role in character writing, but in this case, Ikemoto selects the worst traits for each villain, somehow preventing each one from being qualified as a real conflict.

Despite the fact that the plot revolves around fetch quests for them, none of these villains (including those not listed here) are as relevent as other ing characters while they are being the story. That's extremely weird.
Discussing this collection of trash is equivalent to saying nothing at all.


And that’s it. They truly are unworthy of these 483 words.




3. THE PLOT CONVENIENCE.


Let's start with something positive. Both authors, from Vol. 1 to the current one, are smart enough to and see every mystery box that withholds information and opportunities for place plot convenience in every logic or surface level of foreshadowing they can insert. And that's it; that's where positives end.

Well, to put it simply, this isn't just a story with plot convenience; it's a full-blown Plot Convenience Fest, held together by nothing but the thinnest suspension of disbelief. Seriously, what should I even call it? 'Coincidence: The Ten Tales"? 'Deus Ex Machina: The Plot Vineyard "?
Some stories have a few convenient moments, but this one? There's plot convenience on every third page, more per chapter than some franchises have in their entire run.

Let's start with a short comparison with BNNG to get some idea of scale in BTBV.
In vol. 10 of NNG. The author made characters run, overhear, stand still, understand the emergency, gasp at someone in danger, get carried away, make senseless decisions, waste time, waste resources, and do the most obvious deus ex machina and the dumbest logic of conflict and lots of things without any worry about how his world works and why his own character responses shouldn't be those based on the information he has provided about the characters to the audience. And making the entire volume feel like either every character knew the script or most characters are the word that can't be said here.

Now look at BTBV. The entire thing runs on plot convenience; yes, every chapter is filled with it on an atomic level. And it started from Sarada talking to Shikamaru until the latest chapter.

Example A. Plot Convenience plus Contradictory Logic : -
In the 1st chapter, characters recap the NNG plot. Dumb-shika re that he ed that decision to trust Boruto and Himawari's words in most chapters.

Example B. Plot convenience plus contradictory logics plus plot armor.
Having a villain walk away, talk philosophy, and ask questions when there is every moment where he can complete a task is a lampshade attempt to justify it.

Example C. Complex Plot Convenience plus Overengineered Plot Device
Gaara was with his children when the attack happened and got sealed. Obviously, it only exists to create artificial stakes. It’s not a deus ex machina, but it's a clear plot setup that's overly convenient for fetch quests, and the plot was desperate for a new villain for Sarada to defeat, and it couldn't be more obvious.

Example D. Extreme plot convenience. Creatures that can't care about each other evolved and choose side quests of hunting while ignoring their primary target for a hand-wave of reason just to create unnecessary drama or spread the plot around. And even worse, they don't even kill every time they have opportunities and can't do anything other than ask questions of the target while having billions of non-target people on that planet to answer them. Yes, that mindless 10-tail in Shippuden was billions of times better written than these cheap plot feathers.

Example E. Plot convenience plus anticlimactic writing.
We can't have Kawaki and Boruto fight now, so let Mitsuki knock out Kawaki while proving how little the audience needs to worry about Kawaki. The author has him as a joke. Actually, every character is a joke to Ikemoto.

Example F. contrived drama plus plot convenience.
If Koji can see the future, then why allow/create/put the scenario unless there's a deeper motive to send Boruto to fight Jura? That's the most obvious plot force to do something emotional or risky. In other words, it is both forced writing of being a hero at its finest and one of the worst kinds of writing.

These plot convenience examples can cover the entire TBV and almost all of its details. So let's move on.


2. INCONSISTENCY
Yeah, I'm not typing inconsistencies of BNN chapter 1 to TBV 22 here. Matter of fact, not even TBV chapters or character inconsistencies separately. I'm good. Ask someone else.


But the fundamental rule that will give you a proper idea of how many inconsistencies exist in Boruto is "When characters, world-building, or any part of the story bend purely to serve the plot, it creates inconsistencies, breaks immersion, and drains all sense of realism or stakes. It makes everything feel artificial and forced. Worse, it reveals a lack of care or discipline from the author, and if the writer doesn’t respect their own story, why should anyone else?

That's it; inconsistency is part of the Boruto series like heat is part of the sun.
Everything or anything can be sacrificed for the plot, and most of the things have been sacrificed.




- Dishonorable Mentions - Themes, Action, Fight Writing, Characters, Power Creep, Retcons, Premise, Foundations Of Each New Lore, Himawari, Character Assassinations, Dynamics, Sidelined Issues, Lack Of Honesty, Romance Writing, Flying Raijin, The Term Protagonist, Eida, and Misunderstandings Of Ikemoto.



1. The Fandom

I used to believe it was impossible for a fandom to affect the quality of a series. In fact, I always defended the idea that no fandom could make a series worse until I encountered the Boruto fandom. They've somehow found a loophole to influence the series itself.

This fandom has every problem it can have absolute denial, toxicity, hive-mind behavior, hypocrisy, and the list goes on. But the most common one is that they can’t comprehend that someone might be criticizing the series after actually reading it.

But the two biggest issues are
Canon destruction and coordinated behavior.

Canon Destruction
This is something that actually harms the series, because now there are two versions of it:

1. The actual canon. the physical manga, the one I’m reviewing right now.
2. The versions the fandom has decided are canon and project on the canon.

Confusing, right?
The Boruto fans don’t just love the story; they get full control over how everyone else sees it. They push headcanons and ignore canon. Whether you're part of a fandom or just some random reading person expressing your thoughts on manga in any corner of the internet. Your words will be considered "lies," "pure hatred," and misinformation if they aren't aligned with fandom headcanons. And yes, just talking pure canon is also hatred, according to them.

And mostly these types of situations are called widespread fanon, but this is a rare case where fans are 100% sure that they are talking about actual canon with no modifications because for them everything they project would become real, and everyone is a fool who can't see their projection on the actual book. So calling it fancanon isn't right. It's way bigger than that.

Example: Boruto laughs at the chapter 80 final . And with all the rules of storytelling, the manga seriously established that conflict isn't even real conflict for Boruto with that . But fans say, “He’s suffering; that’s a fake smile.” Total projection - but they treat it as fact.

Say the characters are flat or emotionless. They’ll attack you, say you didn’t read the manga, then send you images of facial expressions and explain made-up emotions and character thoughts that aren't in the text.


You might think they’ve just lost track of canon and headcanon—but the reality is worse.

Why? Because the fandom shares a hive mind. Somewhere, someone rewrote the entire story in their head, redefined the symbolism, stretched and twisted the reasonings to fit their desires, rewrote on the internet what the answers to every question (theories) are, and told everyone else what to believe. Now, that version is treated as true canon.


On the bright side, the manga lacks basic groundwork, clear traits, and consistent storytelling. So it’s natural for fans to fill in the gaps with headcanons. But the problem is, this rewritten version is now the dominant narrative. And that’s the worst thing that can happen to a story: the audience no longer engages with the author's vision, just a Frankenstein's monster of a story made by countless different theories, assumptions, and opinions on every part of the internet then protecting is real material.

As a result, 90% of the Boruto fandom lives under the delusion that critics are just hating. But in reality, the problem is that their so-called "objective canon" doesn't even exist in the actual story. It's all fan headcanon that's problematic here.

If it takes random fans on the internet to rewrite, reshape, and redefine the series and tell you what to think just to make it work, then either you lack brain cells or never fully engaged in the story to begin with.
Even worse, these fan interpretations don’t just patch over the flaws of Ikemoto’s writing; they expose them. The series is so weak that the only way to stay invested is through accepting fan hive-mind versions.


At this point, being a boruto fan means you’re not following the real story. You’re following a glorified fan rewrite/fan projection that exists only in people’s heads and is projected over Ikemoto's work. The fandom has rejected the canon and replaced it with projections that fill in the author’s shortcomings. Proving that many fans are better storytellers than the author himself.




Coordinated Behavior

This time it isn't about the zombie-like behavior from fandom it's much worse.

Imagine a kid finding this manga and making it their favorite... and then deciding this is what good storytelling looks like. What happens next?
Their "favorite" never cared about world-building, logic, credibility, characters, writing, or even basic storytelling. What if he wanted to be an author or something like that?
The fandom spends all day gaslighting itself, convincing everyone that all criticism is fake, that anyone who points out flaws "just didn’t understand,"or "didn't read it" and that every negative opinion online is some grand conspiracy or trend.

Now imagine what kind of destruction this creates. A generation of delusional fans, growing up believing made-up "lore" and lies until reality smacks them in the face the hard way.
Or even worse, they buy into the fandom’s fantasy forever and get trapped in the pathetic mindset of "My work is perfect; the world is just too dumb to appreciate it or "They don't know; it's their loss."

Well, no need to imagine, all of that took place. The funniest ones were when Boruto fans were going around lecturing literature professors, professional authors, and critics about writing and how things are with no source, just assumptions and boruto fandom gaslighting. Or when fandom was calling all other media fans mad corny for not finding Naruto aliens believable and their own believable but calling everyone liars and starting to threaten when being told that it's a world-building issue and all those other media in comparison have billions of times better world-building.

This fandom has developed a peculiar hobby of collectively deciding what is true, what is false, and what things actually mean regardless of how far-fetched those conclusions might be.

For example, almost all boruto fans' believe that "screen time" automatically equals "better writing." And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s probably a massive list of their misunderstandings.

But here are a few highlights from their ever-growing pool of misunderstandings.

They seriously believe

Character rewrites = character development
Subjective Symbolism = objectively canonical definition
Writing Emotion = Facial Expression
Writing realistically = must exist in the real world
A character’s outfit = the entire character design
Projection = valid canon and reason
In medias res = foreshadowing
In medias res = plot twist
In medias res = character development
Background art = world-building
Author’s personal flaws = character flaws
Being “mature” = only way to develop
A symbol’s meaning = foreshadowing
Narrative = plot twist
Narrative shift = plot twist
New plot = plot twist
New character = plot twist
Anything new = plot twist
Explaining a scene = plot twist
Any conflict = dynamic storytelling
Power = better writing
Strength = peak character writing
One-dimensional characters = well-written
One-dimensional characters = greatest written
One-dimensional characters = complex villains
Something that sounds deep = philosophy
Plot expansion = foreshadowing
Narrative conclusion = unresolved conflict
Narrative conclusion = weird writing
Narrative conclusion = character struggle
Narrative conclusion = underdog story
Narrative conclusion = hidden depth
And the list goes on endlessly.


But an even bigger issue is that they’re all over the internet, convincing others (or any person they see) that their beliefs are the absolute truth. I lost count of how many times I see boruto fans try to tell others what writing/phrases/tools/writing business words supposedly mean objectively, and if someone points out that their definitions are incorrect and proves how objectively wrong those Boruto fans are, they don’t care either they will just focus on persuading the next person or rally against whoever corrects them.
meaning spreading wrong information and interruptions are completely fine with them, but actual criticism and correcting them, where they draw the line for attacking and rallying like criminal justice.

Disagreeing with them or telling them they are spreading misinformation is treated like blasphemy. They’ll rally others to mass-report individuals. Why? Because in their minds, they are the “living truth.” Whatever terminology they’ve latched onto, no matter how inaccurate, is treated as unquestionable fact. Anyone who dares challenge them or tell them that they are using forced reasoning on writing business words just to project Boruto as better written will see that person just as a “mad hater” spouting nonsense without their permission.

And it doesn’t stop there. If they ask for criticism and you actually give it, whether valid or not. Then there are high chances that you need to say goodbye to your words. They’ll mass-report you and then celebrate as if they’ve just brought down a criminal.

Basically, if you do not parrot everything they said. Well, there is no positive outcome.


Extra

There’s one more point that needs to be made. It feels like boruto fans are stuck in a kind of ‘fiction rejection mode’ their brains reject any sense of world-building, character depth, or internal rules. The only thing they seem able to process is a single flashy moment. And somehow, these same people go around calling others 'brainless' for actually getting immersed in others' stories.

They love pointing fingers at everyone else for the bad writing in their favorite series.

But how is this harming the franchise? Just say something fair like, ‘I miss when Naruto was about ninjas,’ which is a valid criticism since naruto spent over 200 episodes and 100+ chapters building what it even means to be a ninja in that world. Say that, and you’ll get bombarded with responses that don't defend Boruto they just trash Kishimoto and act like he was always a terrible writer.

There’s no fair engagement with their words, only broad attacks on the credibility of the entire franchise. This fandom has literally convinced a large chunk of Naruto fans that the series had zero world-building or consistency just to defend Boruto’s random power scaling.

Seriously, why can’t they defend their favorite without making it a mission to prove Kishimoto was trash all along? And yes, when a significant part of your audience complains they can’t even immerse themselves or understand what the story is about anymore, that’s when an author starts to earn the label of 'objectively trash.'

This isn’t a fair trade by any metric. You’re damaging an entire franchise (along with other franchises and tons of authors) just to justify a few power-ups.

As much as I would like to go over 130 more ways they are destroying this franchise, such as plot patching, overgeneralizing events, and projecting criticism onto other series rather than accepting it, it is best to end the review.

And done.
That's it.
These are the top 20 worst aspects of tbv.

This isn’t a story about destiny or sacrifice; it’s about a writer handing out divine powers like candy while still writing as if every character is flying blindfolded. Supposedly intelligent characters act like glorified fortune cookies, either consumed by a mysterious complex or offering zero tactical value, usually both.

No matter where you look, it's almost impossible to find good writing in it.
Characters who should be fleshed out exist only to pad the pacing, stuck as one-dimensional props instead of actual characters. This manga isn’t selling a story, plot, or meaningful development. It’s selling power fantasy and one frame of visual, sacrificing every element just to create single s that look cool no matter how dull and hollow everything else is.

That's right, there is abysmal writing. And yet, the fandom is cosmic radiation from far away. It glorifies manga to the point of being unbearable for eyes, but as soon as you go near them, each second they give new forms of toxicity and harm everything, including the very thing they are defending. And no matter how objectively correct criticism you provided, for them it's a troll, and they believe they're the ones to decide what's objective.
They can't even comprehend that they might be in love with one of the worst-written stories on this planet, yet they are flying high in their superiority complex, also too busy insulting and cursing every work that has improved literature itself.

And fun fact: they will hunt you down if you personally like Naruto over Boruto or Shippuden.

Ikemoto, however... well, honestly, none of this is entirely his fault.
Every writer produces something cringe or nonsensical at least once or more in his lifetime. It’s part of the process.
That’s why publishers, supervisors, and editors exist. They’re supposed to be the quality control.
Their job is to catch these issues, tell the author where to improve, or stop disasters from getting through publication.
So if something with abysmal quality still gets greenlit? That’s 100% on them.


And after seeing the brainpower of these publishers and editors firsthand...
Yeah, it’s clear what they’re doing is the best they can, but sadly, this is the absolute limit of what they’re capable of.

And Kishimoto is supervisor... that's it, he’s just faithfully continuing the proud tradition of doing whatever nonsense the Naruto supervisor did back in those days.

Overall, boruto tbv is the kind of manga where the very concept of "quality" goes to die.
It’s made for people with zero standards and barely functioning brains. The audience who only care about some edgy, one-second "cool" moment to trick themselves into thinking/making it’s good.
Basically, it’s tailor-made for teenagers stuck in their edgy phase, adults who never grew out of it, and brain-shut-down audiences whose eyes are open but brains never process. Somehow they are weaponizing shallow understanding to protect their favorite while shutting their brain down deeper in fact-based discussion. Thus, this fandom acts more like a cult than actual praising.


Reviews end here.
Additionally, I believe that I wasted Sunday here.
And if you have read everything. It is impressive.