With the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime finally set to begin adapting the manga when 2020 begins, now is the perfect time for Naruto fans to pick up the sequel series. Many were left devastated when the Naruto anime drew to a close in 2017 after 15 years on screens, but that disappointment was tempered by the announcement of a continuation starring Naruto's son, Boruto. While the Boruto TV series has certainly enjoyed its high points, a large percentage of episodes have been filler arcs. The series ably adapted canon material from the Boruto movie and the Seventh Hokage & The Scarlet Spring manga, and filler stories such as the recent time-travel nostalgia trip or the Mitsuki retrieval mission have been worthwhile. However, Cho-Cho's movie star crush, inconsequential battles in the Mist Village, 'Parent & Child Day' and similar stories have proved tough viewing, and dominated Boruto's first 100-odd episodes.
Strangely, a completely different Boruto narrative has been playing out simultaneous to the anime. Although still not written by franchise creator, Masashi Kishimoto, the Boruto manga has told a tighter, more dramatic, more relevant story that introduces major new villains, big new storylines and shocking twists that hark back to the original Naruto years. This is unusual, since an anime adaptation usually follows its manga counterpart fairly closely. It has been speculated that Boruto's heavy filler beginning was designed to allow the manga to gain a solid head-start on the main story and give the anime a trove of chapters to work with.
It now appears that the time has come for the Boruto anime to begin directly following the manga storyline, as the Mujina Bandits arc has been confirmed for 2020, and could come as early as January. The introduction of the Mujina Bandits comes immediately after the Momoshiki Otsutsuki material in the manga, which has already been covered on TV, indicating that the anime is now set to pick up where it left off in terms of canon material.
The Mujina Bandits arc also triggers the main, original Boruto story and there'll be no going back once the anime reaches that stage. Although the bandits themselves are as small-fry as their name suggests, their introduction to Boruto directly leads to the arrival of the series' main villains, who not only tie into the Naruto story, but also provide context to the epic flashforward seen in the very first episode, in which Boruto faces off against a mystery opponent named Kawaki on a devastated Konoha Village. These villains, known as Kara, are essentially the Akatsuki of Boruto and act as long-term antagonists that are still active in the manga today. Their presence has been minimal in the anime thus far, preventing any real story progress being made, but the Mujina Bandits material finally change that.
Despite heavily relying on filler material, the Boruto anime has found plenty of popularity thus far, with one outlet infamously relegating Naruto to merely "Boruto's Dad" and giving birth to a new meme in the process. Now that the anime is about to embark on Boruto's core story, the sequel's following should surge. Certainly, any Naruto fans who decided not to pick up Boruto now have an ideal opportunity to get back into the series, since only the Boruto movie and a select few other episodes are required viewing in order to keep up with the 2020 material.
One challenge the Boruto anime will face when it begins adapting the manga is dealing with the anime-only elements that have become integral parts of the TV series. For example, characters such as Denki and Iwabe are key supporting figures on-screen, but are entirely absent in the manga. Will Boruto's classmates be worked into the anime as part of the adaptation, or will these characters do a sudden disappearing act when Boruto: Naruto Next Generations goes full canon in 2020.
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