Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×202 Review – “The Cult”

‘The Cult’ offered a lot of information about what the Kara organization is up to. I also liked how the writers have been developing Boro’s secret cult.

With Kawaki revealing Jigen’s name in the previous episode, at least our heroes now know about the leader of the Kara organization. However, what they don’t know yet is how strong Jigen is. But don’t you worry because due to the current pacing of the anime, Naruto and the rest are going to learn about Jigen’s power level in next week’s episode. It’s going to be epic!

I actually appreciate the writers not dragging out this particular arc. Everything seems to be happening quite quickly even if we have been getting some non-manga scenes featuring Boro’s cult.

Now, as far as my opinion goes, I’m here for more screentime being given to Boro’s cult. There’s just something interesting about seeing him reach out to desperate people and preying on their vulnerabilities. Of course, people suffering from incurable diseases, extreme poverty, etc., would be attracted to Boro’s sermons about the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The entire thing reminded me of how certain people in real life tend to rewrite history to push certain agendas. As far as Boro’s cultists are concerned, Naruto and the rest of the ninjas were the bad guys and Kaguya’s was a Goddess that gave humans a wonderful gift through the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

There are two types of people Boro’s going after. The younger generation didn’t get to experience being trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi or IT because they weren’t born yet. For them, Boro’s speech about being provided with a ticket to paradise (a place of dreams created by the IT) is the answer to all their worldly problems.

The other group Boro’s going after are those that were alive during the Fourth Great Ninja War and did get trapped in the IT. Turns out, they wanted to go back into the dream world even if it meant giving up their souls because the alternative meant living a tough life in the real world.

In a sense, I could understand where the older folk were coming from. They were shown a perfect world while in the IT until Naruto and his crew defeated Kaguya and they were yanked back into reality. For many, said reality was something they hated especially after having tasted the world of their dreams. Boro was offering them a way back and they wanted it!

‘The Cult’ also introduced us to Inori’s brother. Inori’s one of Boro’s devout cultists. Seeing her brother beg for her to come back was sad. It was clear she wasn’t going with him and that Boro wasn’t going to let him live. The confrontation between Inori’s brother and Boro did reveal Boro’s superhuman regenerative abilities. Now, I’m not sure how I feel about the anime writers showcasing Boro’s healing capabilities so early. His regeneration was quite shocking to see in the manga because it occurred during a very integral moment. The reveal in the anime, on the other hand, didn’t pack a similar punch.

Anyway, I do hope Boro’s cult manages to stick around and it allows for the supporting characters like Shikadai, Chocho, etc. to get some action-oriented screentime in the anime. It’s kind of weird the writers tend to forget about those kids so easily.

As for the rest of the stuff that occurred in ‘The Cult’, we saw Sasuke checking out a secret location. There’s a lot he got to learn from there. Turns out, each Otsutsuki came with a partner to Earth. Momoshiki came with Kinshiki. And Kaguya came with a mysterious clan member our heroes weren’t even aware of. Not only that, but Sasuke also found the Ten-Tailed Beast kept locked up by the Kara organization. He also saw Jigen extract some of the beast’s chakra and resemble the mysterious clan member that accompanied Kaguya.

I can’t wait for the anime-only fans to see what’s going to happen next! Jigen’s not in the mood to play around. I’m very excited about next week’s episode, especially when it comes to whether or not the anime team decided to make some changes to the manga material.

Speaking of changes, personally, I didn’t like the anime completely omitting the scene where Team 7 contemplated the Karma Mark’s possible connection to the Byakugo Seal. I’m not sure if the anime will talk about the particular thread down the line or if it was a random plot point from the manga the anime decided to not address because it isn’t supposed to mean anything in the long run.

What did you think of ‘The Cult’?

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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