Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×273 Review – “Farewell, Academy!”

Boruto anime episode 273, titled ‘Farewell, Academy!’, concluded the current arc in a predictable yet satisfying manner as it opened new chapters for Kae and Hana A.

With Kawaki and Himawari ready to face Hana B in the previous episode, ‘Farewell, Academy’ featured a nice little action sequence as our protagonists tried to defeat Hana B without killing her. The fact that Kawaki had to greatly hold back against such an opponent gave the writers an excuse to not end the fight in a few seconds. It was interesting to see Kawaki dodging Hana B’s fireballs and needing to rely on Himawari.

As expected, Hana B emotionally manipulated Kawaki to hesitate during an attack by pretending she had turned back into Hana A. Also, having access to Hana A’s memories allowed Hana B to use Himawari as bait to try and land hits on Kawaki.

Hana B’s ‘Fire Style: Chaotic Petals’ ability did make her a formidable enough ninja. I liked how she could control the blue fireballs to follow her target. ‘Wind Style: Obscuring Paper’ was another troublesome attack she had up her sleeve. Here’s hoping Hana A is able to tap into both attacks and Hana B’s battle experience to become a better teacher at the Ninja Academy.

Kawaki believing in Himawari as a respected teammate so she could activate her Byakugan to track Hana B’s movements outside the paper dome the young ninjas were trapped in made me smile. The moment Himawari locked onto Hana B, I knew it was over for the assassin. And while Kawaki protecting Himawari from Hana B’s fireballs made sense, I would have liked to see Kawaki use the ninja tech inside his body to create an actual shield. 

Kae also got to shine during the episode. She’s the one who suggested stalling for time because Hana B likely didn’t have enough chakra to keep the paper dome up for long. Seeing Kawaki and Himawari put their lives on the line to protect her also led to Kae throwing an exploding kunai at one of the fireballs to reveal Hana B’s location.

Even though Kae won’t be becoming a professional ninja, it’s still nice to see her effectively use some of the things she learned while attending the Ninja Academy.

As for the rest of the students, they decided to run toward the harbor in hopes of finding a boat to send a warning to the mainland. Frankly, I would have liked for the kids to have an actual role to play during the fight with Hana B, but oh well. At least, they were able to take Sai to the battlefield and they also banded together to help Hana A escape from under Hana B’s influence.

I have to say that Sai’s team of young ninjas (Hoki Taketori, Renga Kokubo, and Hako Kuroi) being able to keep Jonin-level ninjas under their control on the ship was impressive. Who would have thought Sai would be such a good instructor? Those kids are going places!

Coming to the main emotional beat in ‘Farewell, Academy!’, it was about Hana A breaking free of Hana B’s power through the bonds she had built with her students. While I can see certain fans not liking such a resolution to the conflict, I think it went well with what we have previously seen in the Naruto/Boruto franchise when it comes to the power of friendship.

As for Hana A’s future, the writers made Naruto empathize with what Hana A was going through. Turns out, after defeating Hana B, Hana A was going to keep her troublesome personality sealed away inside of her. Hana A, who was going to continue being a teacher in Konoha, was also going to continue reaching out to Hana B occasionally to help her dark personality understand the importance of creating human connections and living a life that’s not solely focused on completing missions.

Hana A’s predicament making Naruto remember the bond he shared with Kurama was an emotional scene. But I think the writers rushed through it. The way we still haven’t got a multi-episode arc of Naruto dealing with the loss of Kurama is weird to me.

As for Kae, it was time for her to go back to the Land of Bamboo and begin her duties as the next in line to the crown. Apparently, her father wasn’t feeling well and it was up to Kae to fulfill her royal responsibilities while also keeping her younger brother protected.

I liked how the writers gave Kae enough time to say goodbye to her classmates. The entire class was even able to finally perform in the school play. Kawaki also decided to show up to perform in his role as Lady Katsuyu even though his cover as an actual ninja had been revealed and he had stopped attending the academy.

The episode ended with Kae waving goodbye to her friends as the train took her away. She also yelled out to Kawaki about appreciating his friendship and the memories she was able to create. Now, while I liked seeing Kawaki make new friends and understand the importance of teamwork (even with those weaker than you), I’m looking forward to seeing how the anime writers will continue handling Kawaki as a character. I say this because Kawaki’s at a very different place in the manga. So, I’m not sure how the events of this arc will gel with the type of person Kawaki’s going to turn into soon enough.

‘Farewell, Academy!’ also had a small scene sharing Hiamwari’s thoughts in front of her parents and Boruto about wanting to continue attending the Ninja Academy. Even though she hadn’t made up her mind yet about becoming an actual ninja, she liked going to class because it allowed her to try different things. I personally don’t want Himawari to become a professional ninja. But let’s see what happens.

Also, yay to Sakura appearing in the episode during the scene where Hana A was recovering in the hospital.

What did you think of ‘Farewell, Academy!’? Do you think we will get to see Kawaki interact with his ex-classmates as the anime continues?

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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