Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×204 Review – “He’s Bad News”

The latest anime episode of Boruto, titled ‘He’s Bad News’, gave us one of the most awesome battles in the series yet. Sasuke and Naruto are in big trouble.

With Jigen arriving at Naruto’s house to kidnap Kawaki in the previous episode, it was obvious that Naruto had to take their battle away from the village to avoid casualties and destruction. However, it was Jigen who decided to teleport Naruto away to another dimension. But before he could leave Naruto there and go back to the village for Kawaki, Sasuke appeared and the two friends got ready for a fight to ensure the safety of the world.

‘He’s Bad News’ didn’t pull any punches when it came to Jigen throwing Naruto and Sasuke around. The animation team did a great job of framing the battle. There was a lot of fluid animation, with the camera also taking the time to focus on Naruto and Sasuke’s expressions as they steadily realized the predicament they were in.

I liked seeing Naruto notice how powerful Jigen’s punches and kicks felt even though he was blocking them. This was not an opponent he and Sasuke could easily defeat. Along with being extremely strong and fast, Jigen’s pesky ability made matters worse. Whenever Naruto and Sasuke went in for an attack, chakra rods suddenly pierced their bodies, dealing damage as well as restricting their movements.

One of the things fans didn’t like about this fight when it occurred in the manga was how Naruto only created a couple of clones. Naruto’s known to create thousands of clones to confuse and overwhelm his enemies. So, kudos, to the animation team for allowing Naruto to create numerous Shadow Clones and also giving us a cool little sequence where Jigen went through said clones with a chakra rod that he used as a very effective bo staff.

We all knew Naruto’s clones weren’t going to damage Jigen, but it was important for him to create them because it allowed Sasuke time to analyze Jigen’s movements. It’s revealed that the reason the charka rods seemed to appear out of nowhere had to do with Jigen’s ability to shrink matter. Jigen was basically using mini chakra rods. Naruto and Sasuke were being pierced by mini chakra rods without realizing and the damage was dealt when Jigen increased the size of the rods while still lodged inside their bodies. Not only that, but Jigen’s also able to shrink his own body. Yes, Naruto and Sasuke were more or less battling Ant-Man or someone with Pym Particles.

Though Naruto and Sasuke were able to team up against Jigen by using an impressive strategy, it was all in vain when Jigen accessed more of his Otsutsuki powers. ‘He’s Bad News’ gave Sasuke the chance to tell Naruto about the Kara organization being in possession of a ten-tailed beast and how Jigen’s horn resembled the horn on the mysterious Otsutsuki figure Sasuke saw in the previous episode.

While I enjoyed the fight choreography in this episode, I did smack my forehead due to a certain decision Naruto and Sasuke made. I wasn’t a fan of seeing that in the manga, and I wasn’t a fan of seeing the same thing occur again in the anime.

Personally, when fighting someone who can shrink in size, I would have advised Naruto and Sasuke against bringing out the Kurama Mode and Perfect Susanoo, respectively. Seeing Jigen dodge Susanoo and Kurama’s attacks was funny. It was like two humans trying to swat a fly. And we all know how difficult that can be. Certain flies can dodge every blow, even if you’re using a fly swatter.

And that’s exactly how Jigen performed. He was not amused by Naruto and Sasuke turning into Titans. He was able to push Naruto and Sasuke out of their giant avatars with a single kick each. It was embarrassing yet fun to watch.

Even though Sasuke and Naruto lost their battle against Jigen, I liked Naruto’s cocky attitude when he noticed the amount of damage he and Sasuke had been able to do. The two could have won the battle if they had prolonged it for another minute or two. However, manga readers know that winning such a fight would have spelled even more danger for our iconic duo. So, even if certain fans are disappointed to see Naruto and Sasuke lose, they should know that the alternative would have been much worse.

While I enjoyed the battle, the aftermath is what gave us some interesting information to set the stage for what’s to come. Jigen revealed that Boruto’s part of his plans and of course, Naruto grew concerned for the well-being of his son. Another moment I enjoyed was when Naruto urged Sasuke to save himself. Even though Jigen didn’t have time to kill Naruto, Sasuke was another story. Sasuke had to retreat and leave Naruto so our heroes could live to fight another day. It was a tough decision for Sasuke to make, but he had no other choice in the matter. I think the anime team did a good job showcasing an injured Sasuke’s emotional conflict as Naruto yelled at him to teleport back to the village and leave him behind with Jigen.

As for the rest of the characters, Shikamaru took control of the Hidden Leaf Village as soon as Ino relayed the information about Naruto’s chakra missing from the village. He closed entry to the village and went to check on Kawaki (who was still in Naruto’s house).

Meanwhile, Salad was the first to reach Naruto’s residence while carrying flowers for Himawari’s vase. I liked how she helped Kawaki regain his senses. The poor kid was still in shock over seeing Jigen take Naruto to another dimension. Kawaki’s been through a lot in his life. He was finally beginning to feel safe while staying with Naruto and Boruto, and that safety was taken away from him in an instant. He was still very much under Jigen’s control.

With Team 7 reuniting with Kawaki, I’m excited to see what will happen next because we all know these kids won’t sit around for someone else to go and rescue Naruto.

Other thoughts and questions:

• While the anime decided to cut out the scenes involving Sakura’s Byakuguo Seal (over the past few episodes), I was glad to see the anime not cut the scene where an injured Sasuke teleported outside their house as she opened the door to go somewhere. Fans of the couple are already giddy over the preview of the next episode showing Sakura healing Sasuke at the hospital. The majority headcanon in the fandom is that she carried him there bridal style, and I’m here for it!
• The moment where Kawaki’s prosthetic arm fell to the floor and what it meant for Naruto’s fate was done quite well.
• Naruto’s sealed inside what are basically two Ramen bowls. Haha!

What did you think of ‘He’s Bad News’?

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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