Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×193 Review – “Coexistence”

As stated in the title, the latest episode of the Boruto anime was all about showing a number of characters figuring out how to coexist with Kawaki. ‘Coexistence’ also gave us an emotional scene revealing what happened to Mugino’s pet tortoise.

Let’s begin by talking about Mugino’s pet tortoise. After seeing Mugino sacrifice his life to protect Team 7 while fighting Ao, fans were concerned about his pet tortoise. Even though Boruto was tasked with feeding it, the tortoise just couldn’t be left alone in Mugino’s apartment, right? At first, I thought Boruto might take the tortoise home and give it to Himawari. I also thought he might hand it over to Mitsuki (who already has a pet cat). However, ‘Coexistence’ showed Konohamaru deciding to look after his late friend’s pet. The tortoise has an actual home now and I’m glad. I wonder if it will show up or be mentioned somewhere down the line. I do hope so.

Even though Konohamaru and Mugino were friends and went on dangerous missions together, it’s obvious Mugino kept a lot of his life secret from him. It’s not because he didn’t trust Konohamaru. It’s just that he didn’t want to burden Konohamaru too much, especially about his past.

Episode 180 gave us Mugino’s backstory detailing how he, as a kid, was sent to assassinate Hiruzen, the Third Hokage (Konohamaru’s grandfather). Hiruzen was able to see through kid Mugino’s plan and still showed kindness to him. It was Hiruzen’s compassion that led to Mugino changing his ways and becoming a valuable ninja for the Hidden Leaf Village.

I liked how Boruto was close to telling Konohamaru about Mugino’s past but stopped. Even though Mugino told Boruto about his childhood and why he looked up to Hiruzen and valued Konohamaru’s friendship, it wasn’t Boruto’s place to share said story with Konohamaru. The level of maturity Boruto showed during that particular scene was quite commendable.

As for the rest of the episode, it was about Naruto trying to get Kawaki to open up to him. Naruto, being a Jinchuriki, understood what it meant to be feared by others because of having a dangerous power inside of you. He wanted Kawaki to experience something different. He wanted Kawaki to experience a sense of family.

Of course, as Hokage and the Kara organization being a global threat, I liked how the writers displayed the politics involved. Naruto couldn’t decide to keep Kawaki inside the village without consulting the other Kages. While everyone agreed with him, it was still nice to see Naruto make his case during the Kage Summit.

Though the Kages accepted Naruto’s terms, Boruto was another story. I understood Boruto’s unwillingness to have Kawaki stay in his home. He’s seen Kawaki in action and didn’t want him harming Hinata and Himawari. It’s clear the two will continue to butt heads until they come to have mutual respect for each other.

While Boruto showed maturity during his conversation with Konohamaru, he acted very differently when confronting Kawaki. Naruto had to talk to Boruto about why he wanted his son to treat Kawaki with kindness. The interaction showed that Boruto’s still young and he is at risk of allowing his emotions to get the best of him, especially when dealing with Kawaki (someone who clashes with Boruto’s friendly disposition). Also, Kawaki accidentally breaking Himawari’s vase made matters worse.

With Kawaki now staying with Naruto and his family, someone from the Kara organization is going to appear soon. I’m excited.

What did you think of ‘Coexistence’?

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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