Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×266 Review – “Himawari Kidnapped!”

Boruto anime episode 266, titled ‘Himawari Kidnapped!’, showed Naruto’s daughter getting abducted and having to experience her first proper battle with a considerable threat.

One of the things I liked about ‘Himawari Kidnapped!’ was how the writers went about having her be kidnapped from outside the Ninja Academy. No one in their right mind would ever dare to kidnap Naruto’s children. However, Himawari got picked up by two goons because she was near Osuka, the real target. Turns out, a rogue Genin-level ninja named Big Bro wanted to use Osuka to collect a lot of money from her super famous actor parents.

I liked how the writers spent time developing Osuka’s backstory as well as providing an explanation about why the two goons agreed to kidnap her in the first place. The two men had been down on their luck for a long time. They couldn’t graduate from the academy. They also couldn’t hold onto a job. It made sense that they would say yes to working with Big Bro due to their desperation to survive. The comedic nature of their reaction when they realized they had also kidnapped Naruto’s daughter made me chuckle.

Himawari trying to persuade the two men to let her and Osuka go and quickly apologizing to Naruto for forgiveness made for a nice moment. Of course, Naruto would forgive those two goons. And I liked how Himawari remained calm during a dangerous situation. She does have it in her to become a capable ninja down the line.

I do feel that Himawari’s Talk-No Jutsu would have worked on her two kidnappers if Big Bro wasn’t adamant about going through with the current kidnapping job. Things turned a bit dark when he shared his plan to sell Himawari to someone who might hold a grudge against Naruto. Even though Naruto’s been working hard, alongside the rest of the Kages, to create a peaceful world, there were still a bunch of groups out there who wanted to cause trouble.

Himawari’s fight with Big Bro was enjoyable. I knew she wasn’t going to win, but it was still fun to see her try. She’s been trained in the Gentle Fist style by Hinata and Hanabi. But Himawari lacked actual combat experience even though she was able to activate her Byakugan. Her inexperience allowed Big Bro to gain an advantage even after she had dealt a powerful blow.

As for Kawaki, we got to see him, Kae, and Batora trying to figure out what had happened to Himawari. Their sleuthing led to the viewers learning more about Osuka’s backstory, specifically her relationship with her famous parents. I was kind of taken aback when Osuka told Himawari that her parents would never pay up to rescue her. Fortunately, we got an explanation for why Osuka thought that way.

The entire thing was revealed to be a misunderstanding. Osuka believed her mother hated her because she threw away a pudding that Osuka liked. After locating Osuka by using a drone that Osuka and Neon’s mothers (close childhood friends) had created together, Osuka’s mother shared that the reason she threw the pudding away was that it was expired. I mean, we have to remember that we are dealing with kids here. Someone like Osuka, who already faced trouble making friends and didn’t get to see her parents as much as she would like, would equate getting rid of her favorite pudding with her mother not liking her anymore.

I do feel that Osuka’s father should have also been present once the Hidden Leaf Police were called to the scene. Also, why didn’t the police notify the Uzumaki family? I would have liked at least Boruto to appear to ensure his young sister was okay. And what about the Jonin keeping an eye on Kae outside the Ninja Academy? Where were they when she, Kawaki, and Batora were running around the village to find the girls? Hmmm.

Anyway, coming back to Osuka, I did like how she refused to leave Himawari alone. Osuka could have run away while Himawari kept Big Bro busy. But Osuka stayed and even put her own life on the line in exchange for Himawari’s safety. Here’s to hoping that the character development Osuka demonstrated in this episode sticks around in the upcoming installments.

The major reveal in ‘Himawari Kidnapped!’ was that Big Bro had, apparently, gone through all of this trouble because of someone else. The closing moments showed a mysterious hooded figure looking at Kae and the rest after Osuka and Himawari had been saved. Since the debut of this arc in episode 261, we knew that there were certain assassins after Kae. So, it was nice to see this episode connect to that primary plot point.

Certain fans feel that the hooded figure was Hana. But I’m not so sure about that. I think the writers are deliberately trying to misdirect the audience. Having said that, I wouldn’t mind Hana being the actual threat because at least that would give her character something to do. She’s a very inadequate teacher. Even Kawaki called her out during episode 265 when she was unable to defeat a Flame Bear. Having Hana act “inadequate” to keep up some kind of disguise while she waited to attack Kae at the right opportunity would do her character good. I guess we will find out soon enough.

What did you think of ‘Himawari Kidnapped!’? Do you think Himawari performed well against Big Bro?

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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