Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×159 Review – ‘The Hashirama Cell’

The latest episode of the Boruto anime, ‘The Hashirama Cell’, gave us quite a lot of information about the mysterious situation in which our heroes are involved. I’m not sure how many episodes the current arc will have, but for now, I’m enjoying the story.

‘The Hashirama Cell’ opened with Team 7 and Mugino fighting an infected Anato. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the previous episode show the characters in a different location? There was a cave behind Boruto and the rest, right? That’s why seeing the current fight take place in a different location felt weird. Maybe the animators wanted an open space to make the action sequence work better? I don’t know.

I liked how straight-forward Mugino was. We know he’s a ninja who goes on dangerous missions. Hesitating to take down an opponent isn’t an option for Mugino. However, Boruto’s different. Similar to his father, Boruto’s always about going for the non-combative option (when possible). I understood why he didn’t want to hurt Anato. Even Konohamaru decided to side with Boruto. 

While I appreciated their intention, of course, Boruto and Konohamaru’s plan to put Anato under a Sealing Jutsu didn’t work. It even got Boruto hurt in the process. Our young ninja needs to learn that sometimes being on the offensive is the only way to handle a situation.

The current episode also gave us some enjoyable moments featuring Mitsuki and Boruto. Many people in the fandom ship those two. And I don’t blame them. Mitsuki’s character narrative involves him thinking of Boruto as the sun. Mitsuki even has a picture of Boruto next to his bed. He also never hesitate to put his life in danger to protect Boruto.

We know that canon queer characters exist in the Naruto and Boruto franchise. That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if Boruto and Mitsuki do end up being canon. There are still a handful of years left for the manga to conclude. And we all know how queer representation can change in media after a couple of years. Maybe it will be okay to have the Boruto and Mitsuki pairing be canon by 2025? Let’s see what happens.

Until then, I’m glad to see the anime giving us adorable moments between the two. In this episode, Boruto carried Mitsuki on his back all the way to the clinic. My heart!

The fight with Anato led to Mitsuki getting infected. Mugino took the team to a doctor named Yubina. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure if I trust Yubina yet. Her personality’s quite weird. She’s a skilled medical ninja, but her healing process involved inflicting pain on others. Do you think she’s connected to Kara? The mark on the sample container did look similar. Perhaps she’s Deepa in disguise? I’m looking forward to finding out.

Yubina’s clearly interested in learning more about Mitsuki’s unique body. I didn’t want her running tests on Mitsuki’s exceptional immune system. But, due to being a sweetheart, Mitsuki agreed to all of the tests to help rescue a girl infected by Hashirama cells.

Hashirama cells just can’t catch a break in the Naruto and Boruto franchise even though Hashirama’s been dead for decades. Everyone wants them for their numerous properties including healing and power boosts (especially the Wood Style Jutsu).

While we’re talking about Wood Style Jutsu, I’m still waiting for a proper explanation about why Konohamaru’s old team member Moegi is able to use such a Jutsu. What’s her connection to Hashirama? 

The next stage of the mission will lead our heroes to the Land of Silence (featured in the Shikamaru Hiden novel). With Mitsuki staying behind with Yubina, here’s to hoping nothing bad happens to him.

Feel free to share your thoughts with us.     

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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