Once Beloved, Now Absent: Exploring Character Gaps in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex

Once Beloved, Now Absent: Exploring Character Gaps in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex

Dora Naletilić

As we already discussed the absence of Kakashi Hatake in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, it prompted us to explore this topic further, due to being a great talking point among the fans of the series. The absence of some very powerful and important characters seems to put Masashi Kishimoto 'out of depth' if fans were asked their opinion of the treatment of his characters. Why is that the case?

Old Characters in New Universe and Changed Goals

Now, when discussing Kakashi's absence, we briefly touched on the introduction of the new universe by the creator himself, Masashi Kishimoto. There was an excitement about the introduction of the new characters, specifically the new generation of shinobi and the expansion of the Ninja lore, in regard to the new forces and skill sets of the characters. And it worked, partially. It seems that Kishimoto quickly realized he could not ignore the old cast since they were so important in the Naruto universe and decided to use some 'OGs.'

Naruto was a no-brainer since he is the Seventh Hokage, Sasuke became a mentor to Boruto, and Shikamaru was the main advisor to the leader of the village. Besides those three, not many characters were used that much in the Boruto series, including both Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. There were some instances of some of them being in the fillers of the anime, and that included characters of Ten Ten and Kiba, who were already underutilized by Kishimoto. Old characters in the new series meant new goals and motivations, and that meant their big inclusion in the new storyline in the Boruto universe.

To discuss more Boruto topics, check out this Reddit community.

Poor Recycling of the Old Characters

However, besides the aforementioned trio, there aren't many characters included in the series. Sakura is a huge example of that. In Naruto, she was established as a major powerful figure who ascended even above the great Lady Tsunade. She was probably one of the most powerful characters in the core universe, but in the new Boruto series, Sakura seems quite weak. She is a doctor who treats her patients, but besides her representation of power at the beginning of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Sakura feels heavily underutilized as a shinobi. She's a wife and a mother, but certainly not weak; however, it seems that Kishimoto thinks otherwise due to her powerless and useless part of the new series.

Another example is Hinata, to a lesser extent, a housewife and a mother, who cares for her family but still feels useless against great danger. Kiba, Shino, Rock Lee, Gaara, and so many others, once important characters, feel lackluster in their roles in the new series, and it's definitely due to Kishimoto simply forgetting or ignoring the characters. The Naruto cast was huge, but just because of the lack of imagination, that doesn't mean the characters should be 'assassinated' or ruined. It simply overshadows the legacy of the whole series, once great in many ways.

Conclusion: Bad Management of a Huge Cast

It feels bad seeing characters like Sakura, Hinata, Gaara, Rock Lee, and frankly, most of the original cast being poorly used by Kishimoto. What should've happened is simply shelving the characters, putting them aside, and focusing fully on the new cast. This is what the Digimon series has done well—they would introduce new characters and new concepts with every new series while acknowledging the old cast and, with that, not ruining their legacy. Naruto was huge with its insanely enormous cast, and it should've been 'cut down' to ones Kishimoto wants to use and feels are important for the story. It's better to 'shelve' some characters, citing them as retiring or simply living a peaceful family life, than to include them in the story and then forget them in the process.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex currently has a specific storyline that includes all of Konoha thinking Boruto killed Naruto and Hinata. Besides Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru, no one from the Konoha 11 is good enough to battle this conspiracy. With the Human God Trees threat looming, no one is there to protect the village. Sakura, as one of the best sensory shinobi and one who could easily spot a genjutsu, is not powerful enough to fight against the enemies. They don't have to win every time, but they also don't have to be overly weak to showcase the significance of the threat. It's simply lazy writing. Hopefully that changes, because Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has potential, and Kishimoto can definitely bring the series 'home.' Of course, without the detriment of once-great characters.

If you want to read all new Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapters, check out Manga Plus.

 

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