Naruto told the story of a young ninja who wanted to be Hokage – the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village. Fans watched him grow from a 12-year-old who could barely control his abilities to an adult who helped win the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Nearly two decades after Naruto graduated from the Academy and started his real training, his son now has the spotlight in Boruto.
Boruto’s journey began much like Naruto’s. He’s rambunctious and after attention, but he’s got a good heart and wants to help his friends. Boruto trains at the same Academy where his father began his training.
He also happens to train with the children of the same people Naruto knew during his days at the Academy.
As a child, Naruto didn’t have his family around while he trained. They sacrificed their lives so that he could live. This time around, though, Boruto’s father is the Hokage and the demands of keeping their village safe weigh on the family.
While all of this sounds like heavy material for the adventurous story, Boruto is actually lighter than it appears. There’s plenty of humor in the new generation of the Naruto stories.
Boruto gets into just as much trouble as his father did as a child and he’s got just as many friends watching his back.
Despite the fun, and the continuation of an already beloved franchise, Boruto doesn’t make sense all the time. In fact, there are plenty of continuity errors, questionable decisions, and surprising characterizations to go around.
We’ve rounded up some of the most perplexing with the 25 Things That Make No Sense About Boruto.
Boruto And Himawari Have Whiskers
One of the hallmarks of the Naruto art is the title character’s whisker markings on his face. Meant to symbolize the nine-tailed fox sealed inside him, the whiskers still grace his face as an adult.
Interestingly, both his children also have the markings.
As far as the fans know, neither Boruto nor Himawari house any fox spirits in their bodies.
It definitely makes you wonder just why they have the markings.
Of course, Naruto’s mother didn’t have the markings, and she had the fox sealed in her, so perhaps they’re simply passed down by a parent who holds the fox.
Himawari Is Too Strong
Plenty of Boruto fans complain that the title character is overpowered, but one day, his little sister will give him a run for his money.
After all, she knocked their father out.
Set before the events of the series, a short revealed that Himawari awakened one of her special talents at a very young age.
Not even a student at the Academy yet, she had enough force to launch an attack at her brother when he broke her favorite toy.
When Naruto got in the way, he ended up unconscious. This brief look at her power at such a young age shows that Himawari is going to be the overpowered one.
However, it’s odd to see that a child so small could take on one of the most powerful ninja ever.
Naruto’s Useless Shadow Clones
In his teen years, Naruto’s specialty was shadow clones. At his most powerful, he could make thousands appear to help him in a fight. So, why not use that to his advantage more in Boruto?
Naruto sends a shadow clone here and there to get messages from Sasuke when he’s away. He also sends a shadow clone to spend his daughter’s birthday with the family, which only angers Boruto.
Other than that, he doesn’t put them to much use.
It would make more sense for him to employ shadow clones for his menial tasks – like all his paperwork – so he could spend more time with his family.
Naruto’s Absence
One of the biggest motivators in Boruto’s life is the absence of his father. Naruto became Hokage and, as a result of his leadership position, spent much less time with his family. Boruto resents not getting attention.
Much like Naruto as a child, though, Boruto uses his anger as motivation.
Given the childhood that Naruto had, it’s surprising that he spends so little time with Boruto and his family.
Naruto grew up without his parents and knows how it feels to be abandoned. Even though he confides in Hinata that he doesn’t know how to be a parent, it seems strange that he would spend so little time with his children when he knows the effect that has.
The Boruto Movie
Before the anime series premiered, and before the manga took off, Boruto got its own movie. It was meant to give fans a glimpse at what happened to the Naruto characters when they were all grown up.
The movie was a great continuation for fans, but once the series came along, much of the movie was reimagined to create new chapters of the manga and new episodes of the anime.
Does this mean that the movie is no longer canon? Maybe fans should choose to regard it as an alternate universe story like ’90s kids did with the Power Rangers movies.
Hinata Sends Boruto To Her Father
When Boruto thinks he’s manifested the Byakugan – the special form of sight only the Hyuga clan inherits – Hinata sends him to visit her father for confirmation.
Hinata’s father promptly makes Boruto fight his aunt Hinabi to test his skills.
It’s an odd choice by the writers and animators, unless this sequence was just an excuse to give long time fans a glimpse at Hinata’s extended family.
Hinata, though she relinquished her claim to become head of the clan, has had the Byakugan since she was very small. She knows what it’s like when a child has it. Her daughter also manifested it.
Why not test Boruto herself?
Boruto Asks Hinata About The Byakugan
When Boruto discovers an odd mode of vision with just one eye, he asks his mother about her experience with the Byakugan. That’s not what he really wants answers about, though.
What Boruto really wants to know is why he’s seeing a dark cloud around some of his friends, like a dark chakra influencing their actions.
When he asks Hinata about the Byakugan, he’s seen the darkness several times.
Instead of asking his mother about this special skill, he should have asked her about the darkness.
It would have saved them both a lot of time and trouble.
Shino Continuing To Teach
Shino is a very intelligent shinobi. He also has a unique skill with his command of insects and is very observant. All of that should make him an interesting teacher, but he reveals that he’s not sure the job is right for him and his supervisor agrees.
When Shino goes to Kurenai to have a frank discussion about his class, she tells him that nobody thought the job was a good fit for him.
What was the point of placing him in that position if the shinobi that outranked him didn’t think he should be there?
Shino continued to teach, which could mean it was a way to psych him out and make him a better teacher.
Sasuke And Sakura’s Relationship
Sakura spent much of her childhood pining for Sasuke. When they were assigned to the same team during the events of Naruto, she thought that would be her chance to prove herself. Instead, their friendship was rocky at best.
The two managed to connect despite Sasuke being used by Orochimaru and helping to jump start the events of the Fourth Shinobi World War. They even ended up in a relationship with a daughter during Boruto.
Sarada revealed in the second arc of the anime, though, that she never even knew her father.
In roughly 12 years, Sasuke has never been home. It makes the audience wonder why Sakura and Sasuke attempt to maintain a relationship.
Sasuke Is Still Traveling
Initially, Sasuke went out to see the world and help people, trying to atone for the mistakes he made in the past.
Over a decade later, he’s still out traveling the world.
Now, Sasuke is doing important work when we learn where he is in Boruto. He’s sending intelligence about possible enemies back to Naruto, and he does eventually come home.
The issue here is that he has a family – including a daughter who never knew him – and there are plenty of shinobi without family commitments who could have done the same work.
Is he still trying to settle past mistakes, or is there another reason why he doesn’t want to come home?
Boruto Is Assigned To Investigate Kara
The organization known as Kara has been making waves in the Boruto manga since the beginning, but with the anime serving as a prequel of sorts, Kara hasn’t become a major player there just yet.
In the manga, the organization uses new scientific advancements to study techniques created by cursed seals. They also happen to be interested in Boruto.
Instead of sitting back and letting the grown ups do the work, though, Boruto is interested in finding out more.
Surprisingly, he gets permission to do just that. If it’s known that they’re after Boruto, why would anyone agree to let him pursue them?
Hinata Doesn’t Use Any Of Her Skills
Hinata never seemed particularly interested in living the life of a shinobi in the original series, so it’s fitting that her world revolves around her family as an adult.
What’s not fitting is that her skills are not utilized outside of warfare.
Naruto Shippuden spent a good deal of time showing the audience how far Hinata had come. She was an excellent tracker and she created her own new jutsus.
As an adult, all of her friends have jobs capitalizing on the skills shown in the previous series.
Shikamaru is an advisor, Temari still takes on Shinobi missions, Sakura and Ino work at a clinic, etc. However, Hinata doesn’t put any of her old skills to use.
Anko’s Redesign
A fan-favorite character from the original Naruto series is Anko. As one of the toughest women amongst the teachers, it’s Anko who proctors one of the final legs of the chunin exams in the first series.
Anko looked pretty punk rock for a ninja. She wore a skirt and jacket over her fishnet armor and was excited to see just how many of the young ninjas would fail their exam.
She also held her own against Orochimaru’s forces, despite having been his student and having her own curse mark.
In Boruto, though, she’s no longer in shape, sitting behind a desk, and looks more like an artists’ idea of a fun school librarian. What happened?
Inconsistent Aging
With the series set at least a decade after the events of Naruto Shippuden, there are plenty of familiar faces that have aged.
Characters like Naruto and Hinata have obviously been drawn just a bit older than their previous illustrations, but it’s the characters who were already adults in Naruto that have aged inconsistently.
We see someone like Anko, who looks like she’s aged even more than the years that have passed, and then there’s Kakashi.
Kakashi, originally the sensei of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke in the previous pieces of the franchise, is at least the same age as Anko, if not a little older.
However, the issue is that he doesn’t look like he’s aged a day.
Choji And Karui Getting Married
Many of the couples remained in tact from the original Naruto series, but one surprising addition was that of Choji and Karui.
Choji dreamed about having a relationship with a girl who didn’t make fun of his eating habits.
Fans didn’t see that happen in the original series, though they did see that he ended up marrying Karui and that the two have a daughter in Boruto.
What makes this pairing so odd is that the two characters never interacted in the original series at all, so the coupling came out of the blue. They’re seen walking together in a single scene in The Last: Naruto The Movie, and that’s it.
Naruto Being Prevented From Confronting Nue
One of Boruto’s classmates in the anime’s first arc has a connection to an animal in another dimension that can absorb chakra.
Though Sumire feels guilty about her part in releasing Nue, the shinobi still initially have to find a way to fight him.
Naruto is halted from taking on Nue on his own because the others don’t want Naruto’s chakra to be absorbed, especially since he has the chakra of the nine-tailed fox.
The problem is that Naruto has a skill that would prevent that. He can access Sage Mode.
When an opponent absorbs his chakra during Sage Mode, as seen in the series previously, they simply turn into a frog, and the fight is over.
Technology’s Progression
While it’s not unheard of for technology to make leaps and bounds in only a decade or two (just look at phones today compared to 20 years ago), Boruto makes the tech explosion in-universe seem nuclear.
In the days of Naruto, fans never saw much of phones, cars, or computers.
We know they exist because one of the movies in the franchise featured the title character on guard duty for an actress, so at least some form of technology exists to create movies.
In Boruto, the technology has progressed so much that the teens have handheld video games and even devices that can copy or replace shinobi skills.
However, the technology progressed a step too far.
Why Does Naruto Need A Computer?
Because Boruto fast forwarded technological development, the office of the Hokage isn’t just full of paperwork – now a computer sits on Naruto’s desk.
The use of a computer in an office setting would normally make perfect sense. In the world of Boruto, though, it’s presence is surprising.
Naruto is rarely seen in front of his computer, though his office is always full of stacks of papers that need his attention. Sometimes, they are mission reports, while other times, they are ordinances for the village.
If all of his paperwork is done on literal paper and he communicates with operatives via shadow clones, what’s the point of the computer?
Does Naruto even know how to use one?
Hinata Holds A Ramen Eating Record
The audience gets a humorous anecdote about Boruto’s mother when he and Naruto head out for ramen.
While enjoying their meal, one of Boruto’s friends and her father try to break a ramen record at their favorite restaurant. However, Hinata holds the title.
It’s a fun Hinata backstory, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
The audience sees Hinata prepare meals for her family plenty of times over the course of the series, but we rarely see her actually enjoy food herself.
Relatively content with staying out of the spotlight, Hinata doesn’t seem like the type of woman to eat more than 100 bowls of ramen in one sitting and earn a title.
Orochimaru Lives Free
There were plenty of villains who came and went during the Naruto series and movies. Many of them were influenced by outside forces and later redeemed. It was something of a theme.
However, Orochimaru, the biggest of the big bads, ended up getting nearly a full pardon.
Instead of being sent to any kind of prison, or even being destroyed for his actions, Orochimaru lives as a relatively normal citizen of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Naruto makes comments to indicate that he keeps him under surveillance by some of his shinobi forces in the Boruto series, but the series also indicates that Orochimaru’s experiments might not be completely over.
