Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×214 Review – “Predestined Fate”

Boruto anime episode 214, titled ‘Predestined Fate’, gave us two major reveals involving Kashin Koji and Isshiki Otsutsuki. We also got more details about the Karma Mark as the writers balanced action sequences and disclosing information.

As someone who has read the manga, I’ve been waiting for the anime to debut Isshiki Otsutsuki’s true form as well as unmask Kashin Koji. We got both these things in ‘Predestined Fate’, along with how Naruto and Sasuke are running out of time to ensure Kawaki’s safety and protecting the entire world.

Kashin Koji was created by Amado to defeat Jigen/Isshiki. So, it made sense to see him put up a good fight against such a powerful opponent. Kashin Koji knew Jigen’s Karma Mark was capable of absorbing jutsu. So, instead of molding his chakra to produce Fire Jutsu attacks, Kashin Koji summoned naturally occurring flames to fry Jigen’s body. And the summoned flames worked. Jigen’s body, still not fully recovered from the fight with Naruto and Sasuke, finally gave out. But that’s also where things became much worse for everyone.

With Isshiki Otsutsuki reviving in Jigen’s dead body, it was obvious to Kashin Koji that the gap between their power levels was immense. The dangerous Otsutsuki didn’t waste time shrinking Kashin Koji’s face mask and revealing to viewers that he was indeed Jiraiya’s clone. I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of anime-only fans had already figured out Kashin Koji’s true identity because I remember that manga readers were able to do so. And compared to the manga, the anime had been dropping more hints about the inevitable reveal.

According to Isshiki, Amado decided to clone Jiraiya because, apparently, there’s some kind of spark inside Jiraiya’s DNA. Jiraiya played a role in changing the world (having also served as Naruto’s teacher). So, in a sense, Amado had hoped that said spark would still be present in Jiraiya’s clone and that it might give Kashin Koji (and the world) a fighting chance against Isshiki. Not only was there supposed to be a spark in Jiraiya’s DNA, but due to Jiraiya dying during his battle with Pain, Isshiki stated how it was also predestined for Kashin Koji to die in the current fight because destiny was inscribed in a person’s genetics (or something to that effect, as far as the Naruto/Boruto franchise is concerned). There was no way for Kashin Koji to defeat Isshiki. He had fulfilled his role as a pawn in Amado’s grand plan.

I liked seeing Kashin Koji’s determination to not allow his so-called predestined fate to win. He was going to do everything in his power to change his future. And while I appreciated watching Kashin Koji try, I think it was obvious he wasn’t going to succeed in taking down Isshiki. In the end, Isshiki still had the upper hand and I’m looking forward to seeing their fight conclude in the next episode.

Kashin Koji vs Isshiki did reveal some details about Isshiki’s visual power or Dojutsu. Through Sukunahikona, Isshiki can shink himself and other objects. But he can’t shrink other living beings. He also needs to be looking at the item he wants to shrink. And through his Daikokuten ability, he can store away the items he shrunk in another dimension and have them reappear at will to surprise attack his enemies.

I continue to be a fan of how powers are explained in the Naruto/Boruto franchise. Even the most powerful of abilities have a weakness. You just need to figure out an ability’s limitation and then use it to your advantage to possibly defeat an incredibly powerful opponent.    

As for Isshiki’s character design, I think the anime team did his facial features justice. However, I just can’t get over the anime team deciding to take away his style. Isshiki’s pants in the manga were iconic. His outfit in the anime looks very boring.

With Kashin Koji busy fighting Isshiki, the rest of the episode had Amado explain a lot of stuff to Naruto and the rest while sitting in the interrogation room. Sasuke asked some good questions about how the Karma Mark functioned. Sasuke’s still suspicious of Amado. And rightfully so.

According to Amado, even though Kawaki still had the Karma Mark, Isshiki couldn’t use him as a vessel to revive because Kawaki’s body hadn’t gone through the full Otsutsukification process. In contrast, even though Jigen’s body wasn’t the perfect vessel, Isshiki was still able to use it because Jigen’s body had undergone said process. The downside of using Jigen’s body was the fact it couldn’t handle Isshiki’s power and thus Isshiki only had a couple of days to survive in his current state.

With Isshiki being revived, Kawaki’s Karma Mark disappeared. Turns out, no matter how many vessels an Otsutsuki created, when that particular Otsutsuki revived, all of the other vessels lost the Karma Mark. It was a way to prevent duplicates of an Otsutsuki. Being able to survive for only a few more days, Isshiki needed to capture Kawaki and give him a Karma Mark (again) with only Naruto and Sasuke capable of standing in Isshiki’s way. The upcoming battle is going to be so good and emotional!

Some other thoughts and questions:

• The collar-bomb Amado strapped around Shikadai was a bluff. Ha! Poor Shikamaru. He’s not ready for Amado’s cunning nature.
• It made sense for Naruto to feel some kind of connection to Kashin Koji. Let’s see how long it takes for the Boruto series to have Naruto realize the truth about Kashin Koji being the clone of his deceased teacher.
• I laughed at Sasuke calling Naruto a loser during the interrogation process and asked him to pay more attention to what was happening. Sasuke and Sakura can still speak their mind in front of Naruto even though he’s the Hokage. And that makes sense. Childhood friends have a very frank way of interacting with each other even when they become adults.
• As someone in a position of power, would you risk the destruction of the entire world by refusing to kill a single person? Clearly, Naruto’s all about protecting Kawaki. However, I think things would have gone very differently if we added even a bit of realism to this franchise. At least, Sasuke’s not like Naruto. So, I’m interested in seeing what Sasuke will do if our heroes continue to run out of options.

What did you think of ‘Predestined Fate’?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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