Naruto’s Next Anime Will Officially Redeem The Franchise’s Most Controversial Character

Naruto is one of the best, most beloved shōnen franchises in anime, but somehow, that amazing momentum did not travel to the sequel. Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden are nothing short of top tier, but somehow, Boruto isn’t even close to good.

Naruto: Shippuden’s unwanted sequel is easily one of the most disliked anime series around for a number of reasons. It’s a tough watch from basically the very beginning, and nearly 300 episodes later, it doesn’t get much better.

It’s terrible from its premise to its usage of characters like Naruto and Sasuke, but it might not be all bad. Boruto, the series’ lead character and one of the most unlikable characters in anime, might have a chance to redeem himself when Boruto’s sequel series comes out in the relatively near future.

Naruto Is a Historic Franchise

There isn’t a fan of anime who hasn’t heard of Naruto. It’s one of the “Big Three” of shōnen, standing next to fellow titans Bleach and One Piece. It’s a series that has changed the genre, showcasing some of the best fights of all time, amazing transformations, and character arcs that just can’t be beat.

The original Naruto series was an amazing ninja-based anime/manga that felt powerful. Every fight was significant, villains like Itachi and Orochimaru were terrifying, and Naruto felt like someone every viewer wanted to root for.

Naruto: Shippuden took the franchise up a notch. After a significant time skip, the world of Naruto changed. The scope of the series grew, characters gained incredible new powers, and by the end of the series, gods and aliens were introduced.

After 500 episodes, Naruto: Shippuden ended, leaving off with a fairly decent finale. It wouldn’t be the end of the franchise, however, as Shueisha, the publisher behind the franchise, wanted to capitalize on the series and try to find a way to squeeze even more money out of Naruto.

Boruto Is a Terrible Sequel

Boruto is such an unlikable series that it’s hard to understand how it ever got created. Naruto’s quality is undeniable, so it’s pretty hard to understand why there’s such a deep drop-off when it comes to Boruto.

One of the biggest reasons why there’s such a stark contrast between Boruto and Naruto is that Naruto’s creator, Masashi Kishimoto, is not the writer behind Boruto. The series feels different because it isn’t coming from the genius who made Naruto.

While Kishimoto does work as an advisor on the series, that’s not enough to fully translate his vision. Boruto feels like a massive regression in the Naruto universe instead of anything akin to progress.

Characters like Naruto and Sasuke take a pretty significant backseat, and the characters who do take center stage are frustrating, childish, and annoying. Out of every character, however, there may not be another quite as infuriating as the title character.

Boruto, the Character, Might Be the Most Hateable in Anime

Boruto is so hateable that it almost feels like he was made to be annoying on purpose. Boruto the series copies a lot of the same elements from Naruto poorly, and one of those aspects is Boruto himself.

In the original Naruto series, Naruto was an orphan and a social outcast. He pranked his fellow villagers to get attention, and while it made his character seem a little annoying, the fact that he lived alone and was treated as a demon made it understandable. Boruto has no such struggle.

As the Hokage, Naruto isn’t able to be around as much as he probably should, but Boruto still has a wonderful mother in Hinata and a sister that cares for him in Himawari. The village doesn’t look at him as a demon either, so he really has no excuse behind his terrible behavior. While Boruto: Naruto Next Generations paints Boruto in a terrible light, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex redeems him.

Two Blue Vortex Might Change That

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is the Naruto: Shippuden of Boruto’s story. It also takes place after a significant time skip and takes the series to a much more serious place. Boruto is now much older, much stronger, and has a lot more on his plate.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is confirmed to be getting an anime, and it may be the perfect opportunity for Boruto to redeem himself. His character is massively improved in the new series, and the series itself makes a few key adjustments that improve it massively over its predecessor.

Naruto fans might finally like Boruto after all. He had the cards stacked against him thanks to the terrible series that is Boruto, but the new version of Naruto’s son might finally make fans come around.

Who Is the Most Hateable Character in Anime?

Boruto might currently be the most hateable character in anime, but if his character is redeemed in the new anime, who will take his spot? If he gets redeemed, it wouldn’t be the first time that Naruto redeemed one of its worst characters.

For the longest time, Sakura was considered to be one of the most annoying characters in anime. In the original Naruto, she was relatively powerless, especially next to Naruto and Sasuke. In Naruto: Shippuden, however, she became one of the strongest characters around and easily one of the best medical ninja in the franchise.

There are plenty of other contenders for the most hateable character in anime: Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shou Tucker from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Ging Freecss from Hunter x Hunter, and Rachel from Tower of God are all incredibly hateable, but none are the protagonists of their respective series.

Boruto’s redemption is much needed. The Naruto franchise doesn’t need to be marred by such a bad addition, and when Boruto: Two Blue Vortex finally comes out, Boruto will finally be likable.