The Naruto series was broadcasted from 1999 to 2014. So, for a span of 15 years (from elementary until college), I grew up in an era where the character (Naruto) is widely used in merchandise and cosplays.
As a kid, I saw Naruto’s character imprinted on several school backpacks and lunch boxes. I also frequently saw cosplayers imitating Naruto’s hairstyle and getups in anime and comic book conventions.
Since Naruto’s image is firmly imprinted in my mind, I’m more interested in Naruto’s life: his character arc, development in the series, his future family, along with any sequels and spin-offs where he’s the star of the show.
But viewers introduced in the Naruto franchise through the Boruto series have different perceptions.
They might think that Boruto is cooler than his dad, or that Boruto’s adventures are way more interesting than Naruto’s.
They might not even give Naruto a chance, and just follow Boruto’s adventures all the way. I understand that it’s all about perception, but “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” just started airing last 2017.
So, it’s reasonable to say that it has a smaller fanbase compared to Naruto’s.
Take the subreddit as an example, only 18% of Naruto fans are Boruto fans: 80,800 Boruto fans ÷ 450,000 Naruto fans = 17.95% or approximately 18%.
Despite being a small fanbase, viewers who are first introduced to the Naruto series through the Boruto anime go two ways: they might or might not give the Naruto series a try.
Those who don’t, they might find Boruto’s life and his adventures to be more intriguing than his dad’s. This brings us to the question, “Will there be a Boruto: Shippuden series?”
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime will not get Boruto Shippuden as “Shippuden,” meaning strong wind, relates to Naruto only. Although, following the same pattern Boruto might get Boruto: Raiden, which means thunder.
And now, having been stuck on people’s minds for almost 13 years, hearing the word “Shippûden” only pinpoints long-time viewers and first-time Naruto viewers to the one and only Naruto franchise.
Making a “Boruto: Shippûden” series would take away the individuality that made the Naruto series great.
The second part of the Naruto franchise is popular because of the dark elements, mature content, and sudden plot twists presented phenomenally in “Shippûden”.
If there would be any Boruto sequel, it would be titled, “Boruto: Raiden” (“Raiden” means “Thunder God”).
This would be a feasible anime project to Studio Pierrot because a “Boruto: Raiden” anime series would strongly differentiate itself from the one and only “Naruto: Shippûden” anime.
Differentiation in anime titles are important because the size of the fanbase needs to be distinguished.
Naruto and Boruto characters do exist under the same series umbrella: “Naruto”. However, viewership ratings, DVD merchandise sales, manga sales, and related anime products must be accounted for.
To do this, the sellers must determine how much Boruto merchandise sales were earned compared to the Naruto ones.
In this way, anime producers and distributors can separately estimate the quantity sold between the two series to meet production demand.
Why doesn’t Boruto relate?
Boruto’s adventures may be more relatable for fans who never attempted to watch either the “Naruto” or “Naruto: Shippûden” series.
So, there’s a possibility that they find Boruto and his friends’ lives more interesting than what happened to his dad, Naruto.
To reiterate, a “Boruto: Shippûden” series is unlikely because “Shippûden” is strongly linked to long-time Naruto viewers. And if “Boruto: Shippûden” does happen, it will likely create confusion between Naruto fans and the new Boruto fans.
Boruto may be the protagonist that new fans got introduced to first before even hearing how his dad, Naruto, became the progenitor of the popular Naruto franchise for 15 years.
So, in their perceptions, Boruto is a more relatable character than Naruto.
Boruto fans and Naruto fans’ worldviews are already colliding because viewers can’t help comparing both series.
Therefore, creating a “Boruto: Shippûden” will only add fuel to the fire: it will create a greater divide and only generate more chaos among new and existing Naruto fans.
Another reason why a “Boruto: Shippûden” is unlikely is because it’s not as well-known unlike Naruto.
When a fellow anime viewer asked me what anime generation I grew up from. I told them that I grew up in the “Naruto generation”.
Instantly, he understood my lingo and our conversation about our favorite manga series and anime shows expanded from there.
But if I’d mentioned I grew up in the “Boruto generation”, I’m sure the conversation would have taken a different turn and the discussion might not have even occurred.
Nowadays, it’s easy to befriend fellow anime and manga lovers if you grew up watching the same anime series in the same era.
But there are also times when this doesn’t happen anymore. Popular anime series broadcasted ten to twenty years ago are now dubbed as “classic animes”. Their stories were appropriate to kids at that time.
The ones being broadcasted now are anime shows that target the kids today of the grown-ups who used to watch anime classics. The Boruto series is one such example.
Upon realizing there’s a Boruto series, parents may be reminded of their childhood days when watching Part 1 and Part 2 of the Naruto anime from the early 2000s to 2017.
Now, they get the opportunity to bond with their kids while watching the Boruto anime series.
However, there’s also the possibility that parents may only see Naruto when they look at Boruto. After all, the parents grew up with Naruto and get to watch his adventures, not Boruto’s.
In their views, the Boruto series might only be a copy-paste form of its parent anime. What’s worst is that if “Boruto: Shippûden” does happen, parents might take offense.
They might think that’s it’s another rinse-repeat formula that Studio Pierrot undertakes so their own kids will spend money on the Boruto franchise despite its storyline not being as grand as its predecessor.
Can Boruto: Raiden happen?
I mentioned earlier of a Boruto sequel, but with a name change to “Boruto: Raiden” instead of “Boruto: Shippûden”. It’s only a speculation, but the reason why I mentioned it is because of Boruto’s techniques.
Boruto coats his shuriken in Lighting Release. He’s also proficient in performing lighting, water, and wind nature transformations. So, it would make sense that one of his jutsu combos become the name basis for a Boruto subtitle.
Adding “Raiden” as a subtitle is feasible because 雷電 (raiden) means “thunder and lightning”. Shippûden marks the legacy of the Naruto franchise.
Therefore, Boruto should not imitate “Naruto: Shippûden” by copying its subtitle. Instead, the Boruto series should find its own mark in the anime industry and carve its own path among fans’ hearts.
Another speculation to the one above is a possible time skip to the Boruto sequel (like how there’s a 2 to 3-year time skip between Naruto and Naruto: Shippûden).
It’s also interesting to note how the word “Naruto” sticks itself to the Boruto series as a subtitle: “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations”.
This only informs fans how the Boruto creators hold onto Naruto’s legacy that they’d even use it to market the sequel.
So that fans would avoid comparing the two all the time, it’s crucial that the Boruto series be differentiated from the Naruto series as much as possible.
About Boruto
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is written and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto and supervised by Masashi Kishimoto himself. It came into serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in June 2016.
The series follows the exploits of Naruto’s son, Boruto, during his academy days and further on. It also follows Boruto’s character development and the looming evil that challenges the fate of him and his loved ones.
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