English Dub Review: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations “A Day in the Life of the Uzumaki Family”

Boruto is now officially a sitcom.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

In this week’s iteration of the fun family life of that wacky scamp, Boruto, we enter in on Boruto as he cares for his sick little sister, Himawari. Soon after Boruto tucks her in, we see a flashback to the far off past to the ceremony that made Naruto the current Hokage. Everything starts off well enough, but Boruto and Himawari get into a fight over a stuffed animal, which causes Naruto to be late for the ceremony. To cover, Kakashi has Konohamaru turn into a shadow clone of Naruto and accept the mantle of Hokage in front of the people of the village.

Back in the present, Naruto and Boruto argue with each other over what meal to make for Himawari, with Boruto wanting to make her her favorite meal, a hamburger steak, and Naruto wanting to make her rice porridge to help her illness. Eventually, the two of them piss off Hinata and get kicked out of the house, so the two of them go out to have dinner together. Naruto, naturally, takes him to his favorite ramen shop, where he tries to teach his son the incredible power of ramen.

Once there, the two enjoy their meal together, though there is a clear tension in the air. Soon, they’re joined by Choji and Chochou, who get into a ramen eating contest with each other. Boruto wonders why he and his dad don’t get along as well as Chochou and her dad do.

Eventually, the two of them head back home and Boruto learns that Hinata has the record for the most bowls of ramen eaten in one sitting at the shop. The two return home, closer for the experience, and Naruto reflects on his goals as a father and as Hokage.

Our Take:

Hey guys, remember when “Naruto” was about adventure, character drama and overcoming adversity? When each arc took us deeper into a world of magic and danger that was as fantastic as it was menacing, where menace lurked around every corner that forced a cast of interesting characters to become strong enough to defeat their demons, both inner and external? Man, those were good times, back when watching “Naruto” actually meant seeing something that American television simply couldn’t provide. How far we’ve fallen when a property so prolific, so game-changing, which introduced an entire generation of American kids to the world of anime, is now telling the same kind of story that would be right at home on an episode of “Full House.” This episode is emblematic of all the major problems with Boruto, a show that continues to astound me with its pointlessness. Not content to just be an annoying footnote to the anime world, it continues to piss on the images and idea from the original series that ignited my, and many others’, imaginations years ago.

The problems here are entirely conceptual. The episode implodes on itself because of how insultingly boring this episode set up is. It takes something as grand and important to the original series as Naruto becoming the Hokage and reduces it to a silly story about being late for work. Naruto and his comrades have all been reduced to salaryman contemporaries, who bring Naruto home from work wasted on his ass as if being the Hokage was of similar importance to being an office manager. This is low-level sitcom shtick with ninja flair. A show clearly being made by committee to serve as a safe bet on primetime family-viewing television. Why bother making an interesting story for the fans when the studio can shove out this vanilla-bean schlock.

In a word, it’s boring. In another word, it’s pointless. In several more, its insulting to my time and the time of anyone who likes “Naruto” enough to keep watching this, hoping for a better show. If this show is so dead set on being a washed-up Frankenstein of filler episode concepts hastily thrown together to make a cheap slice-of-life anime, then it should stay away from the things that actually mattered in the original show. Don’t bother with this episode, in fact, don’t even bother with this show.