Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×166 Review – “Death Match”

The latest episode of the Boruto anime was quite well done, in my opinion. ‘Death Match’ made Boruto, Salad, and Mitsuki realize they needed to grow a lot stronger to properly handle the dangerous ninja world.

‘Death Match’ opened with Hiruga being influenced by Boruto’s ‘Talk-No Jutsu’ and deciding to release Brouto and his friends. They all then went to find Asaka to warn him about a very dangerous individual (Deepa) wanting to steal the Hashirama Cell.

I liked Asaka’s reaction to Hiruga calling out to him. When Asaka left Hiruga in the previous episode, he had said goodbye to his younger brother. In Asaka’s mind, Hiruga should have been dead. So, of course, he thought it was a fake Hiruga who was trying to warn him about an upcoming threat.

Their reunion was cut short because Deepa attacked them both. Due to Deepa being part of the Kara organization and with each member using a variety of scientific ninja tools, I was excited to see Deepa’s weaponry.

‘Death Match’ showed that his body had the ability to absorb carbon. Deepa could then transform the absorbed carbon to create a highly durable shell over his body (think Colossus from the X-Men franchise) as well as create hard stones to throw at opponents. 

Even though I expected Konohamaru, Mugino, and the three young ninjas to fight Deepa, Victor appeared and he transported Konohamaru and Mugino to another location. This led to ‘Death Match’ showcasing two battle sequences. Konohamaru and Mugino tried to defeat Victor while Deepa toyed with Boruto, Salad, and Mitsuki.

Seeing Victor being able to hold his own against two Jonin-level ninjas was quite impressive. Konohamaru and Mugino were unable to land a single hit on the old guy.

As for the fight with Deepa, it was clear that Boruto and his team weren’t going to be able to do anything. His attacks were fast enough to give Salad trouble while her Sharingan was activated. I have to say I expected her to unlock her two tomoe Sharingan during this battle. But that didn’t happen. However, it was cool to see her reach her current limit (with blood coming out from her eyes) as she served as a distraction for Boruto to hit their opponent.

Seeing the shock on Boruto’s face when even his fully powered Rasengan wasn’t able to hurt Deepa made for an enjoyable moment. Deep’s clearly on a whole other level compared to these kids. Even Asaka sacrificing himself to protect the kids didn’t do anything.

The most unexpected moment came near the end of ‘Death Match’ when Mitsuki decided to unleash his Sage Mode. It made sense for him to activate his secret mode to protect his friends. I understood why he ran away after picking up an unconscious Salad and Boruto. This wasn’t the time for Mitsuki to cause more damage to his body by fighting Deepa. His boyfriend Boruto and friend Salad needed serious medical attention.

Experiencing such a defeat won’t sit well with Boruto and Salad. So, I’m looking forward to them finding the motivation to train harder. As far as Deepa and Victor are concerned, I think Naruto should send someone stronger after them. Having him wait for Boruto and Salad to level-up for a remacth with Deepa won’t make sense.

What did you think of ‘Death Match’? 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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary