“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” Manga Issue 55 Review: Legacy

Quite a lot happened in Boruto manga chapter 55, ‘Legacy,’ and I’m not surprised by how certain narrative decisions have polarized fans.

The previous manga chapter showed Naruto trying to recover after using his Baryon Mode powerup. Fans have been theorizing about the price of using such a mode. Over the past couple of months, there have been numerous fan theories and speculations about Naruto and Kurama’s fate. One or both of them had to die, right?

‘Legacy’ gave us an answer. While unconscious, Naruto got to interact with Kurama. It was revealed that Kurama deliberately misled Naruto when it came to the details about the Baryon Mode. The price for using such a transformation was Kurama’s life, not Naruto’s. I liked Kurama’s explanation about why he kept information from Naruto. If he knew Kurama’s life would be in danger, Naruto would never have agreed to use such a powerup.

The panels showing Naruto and Kurama’s final conversion were emotional. Kurama has been with Naruto ever since our Hokage was a baby. A major narrative arc in the Naruto series was about Naruto becoming friends with Kurama and teaching the ferocious tailed-beast to care for humanity. Naruto keeps losing his loved ones. Sigh!

Now, do I think Kurama’s permanently dead? I don’t think so. From what I know about the Naruto/Boruto lore, it’s impossible to kill a tailed-beast. It might take years, but I think Kurama will return. Also, doesn’t Kurama’s chakra still exist in the Legendary Tools that Tenten owns?

Having said that, Kurama’s good-bye still packed an emotional punch. I can’t wait to see this moment be adapted in the anime.

As for the fan reaction, I understand how certain fans don’t like the Boruto franchise depowering Naruto and Sasuke. The famous Uchiha lost his Rinnegan because of Momoshiki and now Naruto has lost Kurama. A large amount of their strength and skills have been stripped away.

A number of fans aren’t happy with how Kishimoto decided to nerf Naruto and Sasuke to make the younger generation (Boruto and his peers) surpass the ninjas that came before them. I mean, I wouldn’t like iconic characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, Storm, etc. being depowered to make the next generation appear better.

However, having said that, I can see why Naruto and Sasuke had to be nerfed due to narrative reasons. They’re just too OP. If those two weren’t scaled-down, the Boruto franchise could easily fall into the Dragonball pattern where the heroes continue getting new powerups to defeat OP villains and create a continuous (and repetitive) cycle of OP vs OP.

Also, with Naruto and Sasuke not being as strong as before, it opens doors for more things to explore. Will the other Kages (excluding Gaara, of course), lose respect for Naruto? Will more villains come out of the shadows because they don’t need to fear Sasuke taking them out?

With how things currently are, I wouldn’t mind seeing Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura working together to defeat a powerful threat down the line. While Sakura is incredibly powerful, she pales in comparison to God-like beings like Naruto and Sasuke. But in their current state, Naruto and Sasuke teaming up with Sakura could make for an interesting battle where each member covers the other’s weaknesses.

So, yeah, while I understand certain fans not liking Naruto and Sasuke being weaker, I’m looking forward to seeing what Kishimoto has planned for those two.

As for Boruto and Kawaki, ‘Legacy’ showed the young boys continuing to bond. The scene where Boruto states he feels anything is possible as long as Kawaki’s next to him is likely going to make Boruto/Kawaki shippers go crazy. Have fun!

I liked seeing Boruto being hesitant when it came to using his Karma mark. The threat of Momoshiki taking control of Boruto’s body still exists. At this point, I have no idea how Boruto will be able to extract Momoshiki’s data. There are theories out there, but I think Kishimoto has something else planned.

Talking about plans, Sumire looking suspiciously at Amado was an interesting moment. I don’t trust Amado. He was very worried about Kawaki’s status after Shikamaru was informed about our heroes returning to the village. With Kawaki having Otsutsuki DNA, is Amado going to use Kawaki’s body for nefarious purposes?

The biggest moment in ‘Legacy’ involved Isshiki coming to meet Code. We got to know that Code’s a failed vessel for Isshiki. Shoutout to YouTuber Naruto Explained. It was through one of his videos I got to learn about this particular theory. Apparently, he created said theory after seeing how the Boruto anime has been handling Code’s relationship with Isshiki (in Jigen’s body). I continue to appreciate the additional non-manga scenes in the anime as the writers adapt content from the manga. Such scenes have played a huge role in fleshing out the narrative.

Turns out, Code has a White Karma mark. He still has some of Isshiki’s powers (from what I could understand), but his body’s not suitable for Isshiki’s soul. I liked how Kishimoto decided not to resurrect Isshiki through Code. Frankly, Isshiki’s not a well-written villain. So, I’m all for him not returning.

The mission Isshiki gave Code (before Isshiki’s soul dissipated) made sense. Code’s tasked with feeding Boruto or Kawaki to the Ten-Tails. Then Code’s supposed to eat the Chakra Fruit and upgrade himself into a higher-level being. Isshiki wants Code to continue eating Chakra Fruits from numerous planets until Code becomes an Otsutsuki God.

I don’t know about you, but I was underwhelmed by the design for the Otsutsuki God. It looked like something from the Bleach manga. It didn’t feel original or something that would fit nicely in the Naruto/Boruto franchise.

Now, one thing that stuck out to me was Isshiki saying Code will gain Isshiki’s data once he ate Earth’s Chakra Fruit. Such a fruit held data of all living and dead beings on Earth. So, does that mean that the battle with Isshiki occurred on Earth? Certain fans speculated Boruto used the Space-Time Ninjutsu to take everyone to another dimension. But I guess Boruto simply teleported Isshiki, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kawaki somewhere far from the Hidden Leaf Village? I would like more information.

With Code set on revenge after what our heroes did to Isshiki, I wonder how long will it take for him to attack Boruto and the rest.

What did you think of ‘Legacy’? Were you surprised to learn about Code having the White Karma mark?

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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