Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×248 Review – “Another Fierce Battle”

Boruto anime episode 248, titled ‘Another Fierce Battle’, featured our heroes needing to face Funamushi’s small army again and suffering yet another loss.

With Denki and Iwabe being kidnapped by Funamushi’s men in the previous episode, ‘Another Fierce Battle’ opened with Boruto and his pals growing concerned. However, they couldn’t leave the village unprotected to look for Denki and Iwabe. It’s clear that those two are still alive, but I liked how the writers handled the situation. Poor Metal Lee had to talk himself into believing nothing had happened to his teammates even though he had no proof they were still alive. At this point, all they could do was wait for Funamushi to attack the village again and then go out to look for their kidnapped comrades.

Seeing Boruto and the rest feeling anxious over Funamaushi’s next move added to the overall tension in this episode. The writers made it obvious that Funamushi was waiting for something and I liked how that plot point played out near the climax of the battle.

Also, the little scene where Buntan told Salad not to overthink the upcoming battle made sense. Regardless of how much Salad tried to predict what would happen next, she just couldn’t be sure until the fight actually began.

Hebiichigo also had a similar scene with Metal Lee. He, too, needed to calm down a bit. However, the moment Hebiichigo told him that the reason she was still alive was because she wasn’t into sacrificing her safety for others, I knew something bad was going to happen to her. I could tell Hebiichigo was going to protect Metal Lee somehow during the upcoming fight for character development. But what I wasn’t expecting was how things would play out for her near the end.

Due to the previous episode giving us a flashback to Hebiichigo’s childhood and what led her to become a ninja, I think I should have picked up on what the writers had planned for her in ‘Another Fierce Battle’. I had started to ship Hebiichigo and Metal Lee. But that ship has now sunk as far as canon is concerned. Sigh!

The writers seem to be very serious when it comes to casualties during the current arc. After losing Kagura because of Funamushi, the latest episode had our heroes lose Hebiichigo due to Funamushi, too. Like, when the heck is Funamushi going to die? Buntan did stab him to save Boruto. So, fingers crossed Funamushi succumbs to his injuries in the upcoming episode.

As for the battle itself, the stakes were raised by making Funamushi’s remaining soldiers more bloodlusted. They were okay with putting themselves in the line of fire if it meant that Boruto and his team would be hurt in the process. Such a reckless fighting style understandably made things difficult for our heroes.

Boruto figuring out a counter to Funamushi’s powerful Jutsu made for an interesting moment. After consulting with Mitsuki, Boruto realized a similarity between Funamushi’s Jutsu and Seigetsu. When not having access to a lot of water, Funamushi’s body absorbed water to activate the Jutsu, making his body vulnerable to lightning attacks.

However, Boruto’s strategy wasn’t effective enough because Funamushi had another power up his sleeve. It was revealed that the thing Funamushi had been waiting for, that had our heroes on edge at the beginning of the episode, was natural rainfall so he could use his ‘Water Style: Raging Jellyfish’ attack.

Funamushi’s latest power made for a fun visual, he’s literally on top of a giant raging jellyfish made of water, but I do want him taken off the board. As far as my opinion goes, while I’m enjoying the current storyline, I do think that it’s being dragged out a bit. Even after the latest battle, Funamushi seems to be alive and our heroes are still in the village. So, here’s to hoping things change for everyone because Boruto and his friends continuing to fight Funamushi over and over again is quite close to turning boring.

What did you think of ‘Another Fierce Battle’? Did you want Hebiichigo to live?

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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