Boruto and Sasuke close out their trip to the past in the time travel arc's relaxed finale. With Urashiki vanquished and Naruto safe, Boruto and Sasuke use Karasuki (who was able to replenish his chakra thanks to the Nine Tails) to return their own time. To ensure that their actions don't have any impact on the future, Sasuke erases most of the key players' memories before heading out, and Jiraiya feeds Sakura a complex fib to explain the note Sasuke dropped. Upon returning home, Sasuke briefs Naruto on what transpired and vows to spend more time in the village now that every known Otsutsuki has been defeated. Shortly thereafter, Boruto visits Jiraiya's grave with Naruto and presents his old man with a gift given to him to by the younger Naruto: Ichiraku Ramen's super-rare special soy sauce flavor. The two then eat the time-displaced ramen on a park bench while debating the merits of richness vs. delicate flavor. As the episode ends, we see that the Uzumakis placed one package of their precious ramen beside Jiraiya's tombstone.
Although none of the Hidden Leaf 12 (outside of Sasuke, of course) have any recollection of what transpired, Boruto's latest adventure is liable to have a number of lasting impacts on the show's bigger picture. For starters, Urashiki, who had served as the series' Big Bad until this point, has been vanquished, and a new villain will need to step in to fill his shoes. Furthermore, Boruto, who couldn't be in the same room with his father for more than a minute without blowing up, now has a brand new respect for Naruto and a firsthand understanding of his childhood struggles.
Similarly, Sasuke, whose presence in the Hidden Leaf had been extremely limited, has a renewed appreciation for his family and desire to spend more time at home. Having seen how distraught Naruto and Sakura were over his defection from the Leaf, he finally has a better perspective on how narrow-minded he was in leaving everything behind. Whether this means the elder Uchiha will be more of a regular presence remains to be seen, but if he's meant to serve as Boruto's Jiraiya, it would certainly be fitting. As evidenced by the latest arc, Sasuke has lightened up significantly and doesn't take himself nearly as seriously as he used to. Not only has he acted as a dutiful guardian to Boruto throughout the course of the story, he's also served as a vehicle for comedy on multiple occasions. (His pained reactions to the ridiculous story Jiraiya spun for Sakura are particularly amusing.)
Episode 136 serves as a fitting epilogue to one of Boruto's strongest story arcs yet. It probably won't be long before our favorite Hidden Leaf heroes face their next big challenge, but with Urashiki gone and the Uzumakis closer than ever before, Boruto and the gang have earned a bit of downtime. While the final battle against Urashiki taking place in the past initially seemed a little out-of-left-field, it ultimately paved the way for emotional development in the main characters, exciting action, and some of the most amusing comedy the show has given us.
Train to the End of the World and Voice Actor Radio are getting a lot of love these last few weeks! Discover which other series stand out in our weekly user rankings!― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season,
based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews
and on the Your Score page with the latest simulcasts. Keep in mind that these rankings...
Crystal Kay previously sang themes for 2004's Fullmetal Alchemist and Nodame Cantabile― Recently, Anime News Network was able to sit down with singer-songwriter Crystal Kay and talk about not only her involvement with anime over the years but also what it was like to grow up in Japan as the child of a Korean-Japanese mother and an African-American father. Anime fans likely know of Crystal Kay throug...
The plot is excellent in the romance camp. Everything that happens is to get Eui-joon and Gunwoo together, and it works pretty well.― You can read The Dangerous Convenience Store in English two ways. The first is to read it on the manhwa site/app Manta, which has all seventy-five chapters and four bonus stories available. The second is to read Seven Seas' print (or ebook) edition, which, as of this ...
Some older mysteries inch closer to resolution as the true nature of the Abyss slowly comes into view, and long-posed questions start to be answered.― Sometimes, being a fan of Akihito Tsukushi's acclaimed Made in Abyss series means acclimating to suffering. Like many Western devotees, I was introduced to this bizarre, squishy, disturbing world via the 2017 first season of Kinema Citrus' fantastic a...
60th, final episode of previous anime streamed on YouTube on Friday― The official Twitter account for the anime of Penguin Box's Odekake Kozame (Little Shark's Outings) manga announced on Friday that the manga will get a new anime series. Update: The staff revealed a visual for the new series in a press release on Saturday. The previous anime series debuted on YouTube last August, and its 60th and f...
Recently ended manga follows middle school student living with mysterious bird-looking creature― Shogakukan announced on Friday that Akira Konno's Kujima Utaeba Ie Hororo manga is inspiring an anime. The "bird(?) home comedy" manga's story starts when first-year middle school student Arata Kōda meets a mysterious bird-looking creature named Kujima in autumn. Hungry and craving Japanese food, Kujima ...
As Slam Dunk reached its final stretch, I can see why this series is considered the sports classic that it is today.― This is the largest batch of Slam Dunk episodes that I've reviewed thus far. Originally, I wanted to review the show in more even seasons, but given its overall pacing and release, it wasn't easy to find a moment where it felt right to stop and start again. However, as we approached ...
James and Lynzee discuss the latest episode of Yatagarsu. Plus, GoHands keeps making anime, and we don't know WHY.― Yatagarasu Gets Violent! James and Lynzee discuss the latest episode of Yatagarsu, in which Wakamiya plays his hand to find out the truth behind his older brother's scheming to obtain the throne. Plus, GoHands keeps making anime, and we don't know WHY; Hunter x Hunter manga is on its ...
Making a sequel to Code Geass is a daunting task. But with its fantastic main character and a story that doesn't undercut what came before, Rozé of the Recapture is on the right track.― Making a sequel to Code Geass—especially one set close to the end of the series—is a daunting task. Any story that involves an ongoing war massively undercuts both the finale of the original anime and the sacrifices ...
The Switch sequel console is finally happening! The details are scarce, but you can find out more in this week's column. Also: an interview with El Shaddai's Sawaki Takeyasu, Microsoft layoffs, and more.― Welcome back, folks! What a wild week this has been for the gaming industry. We'll go further into it, but jeez. This past week also saw the disappearance of Capcom's Dark Void and Dark Void Zero. ...
The Code Geass creator discusses his new project with Web3 company Azuki, Enter the Garden, and his hope that this new path could help the medium evolve.― Los Angeles-based Web3 anime-styled brand Azuki and advertising conglomerate Dentsu debuted the first nine-minute episode of their joint anime endeavor, Enter the Garden, on April 30. The episode, which has already racked up a quarter of a million...