“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” Manga Issue 43 Review: Manifestation

This month’s issue of the Boruto manga finally brought Team 7’s battle with Boro to a close. Issue 43, titled ‘Manifestation,’ also gave us a look at the degree of control Momoshiki has on Boruto because of the Karma mark.

I don’t know about you all, but I was getting tired of the manga series dragging out the fight between Team 7 and Boro. While I appreciate some well-choreographed battle sequences, I also want the plot to progress, especially when only a single issue is released every month. That’s why I enjoyed reading ‘Manifestation.’ It gave me what I wanted.

Ever since the previous chapter ended, the fandom’s been speculating whether or not Salad’s Chidori was able to take out Boro’s core. There were theories about Boro moving the core away from the attack or having two cores. Well, I’m happy to report that yes, Salad was able to destroy Boro’s core. Yay!

However, he didn’t die. Boo!

Due to the core getting shattered by Salad, all of the scientific ninja tools inside Boro became unstable and led him to rampage around the battlefield. Which, yeah, okay. I wasn’t a fan of him getting a power upgrade after Team 7 struggled a lot to destroy the core.

Basically, it was all a plot point to showcase Momoshiki taking over Boruto’s body. We already knew Momoshiki was going to use Boruto as his vessel. However, seeing a possessed Boruto in action was a lot of fun. He easily disintegrated Boro with a giant Rasengan.

His possessed design did remind me of Ichigo’s one-horn character design from Bleach, though. But, then again, Shonen content does have a lot in common. So, I’m willing to brush the similarities aside.

As the narrative now stands, it seems like Boruto will be battling Momoshiki’s control as he grows older while Kawaki will have to do something similar because (apparently) he is the vessel for Isshiki.

Anyway, I’m glad the new Team 7 was able to win the fight and save Naruto. I was hoping for someone like Sakura, Rock Lee, or even Shikamaru to come help them, but oh well, at least, the battle is done. Fingers crossed, we get to see Naruto’s generation have their moment to shine in the Boruto manga as the older generation did in the Naruto manga.

‘Manifestation’ ended with Kashin Koji making his way to Jigen. We still don’t know who Kashin Koji is. Also, does the fact he wants to beat Jigen make him an ally to the good guys? I’m not really sure.

Another thing I would like to point out is I liked the fully colored title page of the latest chapter. I have been saying for a long time that Salad’s outfit isn’t appropriate for someone who is a little girl aged 12 or 13. Having her go pantless (when her previous outfit was very age-appropriate and cool looking) makes no sense to me. It’s the type of sexualization I’m not a fan of.

However, the cover for ‘Manifestation’ gave her a new look. And while it isn’t my favorite outfit of hers, at least, she’s wearing something proper. She also reminded of Jubilee from the X-Men because of all the yellow.

What do you think will happen next in Boruto?

Will Kashin Koji defeat Jigen?

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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