“Boruto: Two Blue Vortex” Manga Issue 1 Review: Boruto

After going on hiatus in April, the Boruto manga is finally back with a continuation of the story under the name Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. After a three-year timeskip, things are about to drastically change again for our lead characters.

The first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex opened with a shot of Salad standing outside the Hokage office. The full character designs for the older versions of the OG cast popped up on Twitter a couple of days ago. And while I had certain issues with how the characters looked, I decided to wait and see how they would appear in the manga.

As far as my opinion goes, I like teen Salad rocking some cool-looking short hair. I also like the earrings and the overall color scheme using black and red. What I don’t like, however, is the oversized jacket and the heels. And the fact that Salad seems to be incapable of standing without her knees facing each other really annoyed me. Someone give the girl calcium supplements or something. You are a ninja, Salad. Have more resolve in the way you stand.

Anyway, the first installment was very heavy on providing readers with a recap. I didn’t like said creative choice, but I understood why it had to be done. Turns out, Salad spent the last three years trying to convince Shikamaru (who was appointed Hokage) to clear Boruto’s name and let him share his side of the story. Shikamaru should have stopped Salad from bringing up this topic a long time ago. But hey, you had to give the readers a recap, I guess.

I did like how Salad made it clear to Shikamaru that her role model was Naruto and not him. Naruto went after a rogue Sasuke and managed to bring him back to Konoha during the events of Naruto Shippuden. In a way, Salad was trying to help a “rogue” Boruto, too. And just like Naruto, she was okay with one day becoming Hokage even if she stayed on Genin-level as a ninja.

I don’t know about you, but didn’t Salad get promoted to Chunin during the events of Boruto? Was she demoted after displaying her support for Boruto and refusing to follow orders? Hmmm.

Talking about Shikamaru being Hokage with Konohamaru as his assistant, I think it made sense. I would have preferred Kakashi to come back as Hokage, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s busy doing other things (primarily, living a peaceful life with his “hubby” Might Guy).

Sakura was another potential candidate. But being Hokage and also running the entire Medical unit in Konoha would have been too much for her. Also, I think having the wife of a traitorous ninja (who was helping Boruto) become Hokage wouldn’t have gone over well with the general public.

With Salad failing yet again to make Shikamaru listen to her, we got to see the young Uchiha meet up with Sumire. And that’s where we got another recap regarding the effects of Omnipotence. Turns out, at first certain people did have doubts due to their memories being altered. Shikamaru hounded Kawaki about why his body was modified by the Kara organization if he grew up in the village. The ninjas also wondered about Momoshiki. However, with time, the doubts subsided and now everyone was fully under the control of Omnipotence.

Even Eida didn’t understand how Omnipotence worked. However, I did like how she brought up how weird it was that Salad and Sumire remained unaffected by Omnipotence and Eida’s Charm ability even though the two girls weren’t Otsutsuki. Again, it’s a conversation that should have happened years ago, but Kishimoto wanted to give readers a recap!

I really hope that Salad and Sumire’s “immunity” to Eida’s powerful abilities is explained well. I want it to be more than Salad and Sumire being in love with Boruto or something similar.

The conversation between Daemon, Eida, Salad, and Sumire felt like foreshadowing. From what I could tell, Eida realized that Salad and Sumire were probably lying about being under the control of her Charm ability. But I think Eida didn’t want to make a huge fuss because she, in a way, appreciated Salad and Sumire’s “friendship” that wasn’t due to them falling in love with her.

However, Daemon’s a different story. He cast a suspicious look at Salad and Sumire. That’s why I think we will get a moment where Daemon decides to attack the two girls down the line to protect Eida or for some other reason.

With Omnipotence having altered everyone’s memories, according to Eida, it would be easier to rewrite current memories instead of trying to reverse the effects of Omnipotence. It’s supposed to be a risky move, but I want to learn more about how that can be accomplished.

There appear to be two candidates who might end up taking Boruto’s side. With Boruto and Kawaki switching places in everyone’s mind, it made sense for Himawari to have doubts about Boruto’s rogue status. From what she remembered, it was Boruto who saved her and Naruto during the fight with Delta. So, she wants to become stronger as a ninja to offer Boruto some sort of aid and get him to explain what really happened.

Mitsuki’s another character who was experiencing doubts. For him, Boruto was the sun shining on his moon. However, with his memories being altered, Mitsuki’s incapable of sensing the same kind of warmth from Kawaki. So, seeing Mitsuki going back to Boruto will definitely happen soon.

Yes! Go and help your boyfriend, Mitsuki!

While most of the debut chapter focused on recapping information and introducing the grownup versions of certain characters, we did get some progress in the plot with Kawaki being alerted to the appearance of Code’s Claw Marks near the village.

It’s revealed that Code hasn’t attacked Konoha during the past three years because he’s apparently busy chasing Boruto. The Konoha ninjas also knew that Code had amassed an army consisting of thousands of Grimes he produced from the Ten-Tails.

Due to Kawaki noticing a Claw Mark on the back of a ninja’s neck, he asked Shikamaru to have all of the ninjas, who were tasked with finding Claw Marks, to gather in a single spot so they can be checked. However, it was a bit too late because Code decided to attack Konoha after all.

After growing tired of pursuing Boruto for about two years (I understand!), Code decided to switch his tactics and attack Boruto’s friends. His first target was Salad. The way he told Salad to scream for Boruto was indeed creepy.

Boruto appeared just in time. And while his arrival (by standing on top of Code’s face) was cool, I just can’t get over how busy Boruto’s new outfit looked. The badges he’s wearing made me remember Pokemon Gym Badges. Also, his limbs were disproportionally long. Here’s hoping the design gets polished in the upcoming issue.

With Boruto back in Konoha to face Code and Kawaki, I highly doubt the three will fight each other inside the village. I predict that they will move the fight elsewhere with Salad and Mitsuki following them. The rest of the ninjas will fight Code’s army of Grimes as a chance to showcase how much stronger Boruto’s peers have grown during the timeskip.

As for Code’s left eye already being injured in the present, I would wager that implied that Code did encounter Boruto and Sasuke a couple of years ago and was defeated. So, get ready for a flashback sometime soon.

Some other thoughts and questions:

• Sumire sticking with the schoolgirl vibe even as a teen felt weird to me.
• Seeing Himawari train with Chocho was a nice little moment.
• I wonder if Daemon has had a conversation with Himawari about the immensely powerful intensity he felt from her three years ago.
• I’m very interested in learning about Sakura’s feelings. Did Salad talk to her about Boruto and why Sasuke was helping him? Even if Sakura didn’t completely believe in Boruto’s innocence, there’s no way she wouldn’t try and support Sasuke’s decision.
• Kawaki calling Mitsuki annoying made me remember how a young Sasuke called Sakura annoying. And those two ended up marrying each other. Ha!
• Kawaki being respectful in his interactions with Shikamaru was a surprising development.
• Kawaki had to transform his arm to knock back a Grime monster while Salad kicked one in her base form. Cool.

What did you think of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga chapter 1?

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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