Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×222 Review – “The Night Before The Final Round”

Boruto anime episode 222, titled ‘The Night Before The Final Round’, allowed the participants to prepare and address their emotions before their one-on-one battles.

I liked how ‘The Night Before The Final Round’ gave a bit of spotlight to the supporting cast. The remaining Chunin Exam candidates are determined to do their best in the upcoming match. I think the writers did a good job of showcasing said determination while not ignoring that the young ninjas are also nervous about what’s to come. They all want to be promoted to Chunin. However, only half of the remaining candidates will be able to achieve such a ranking.

According to the rules, only the winners will be allowed to raise in rank and become Chunin. Frankly, such a rule doesn’t make sense to me. From what we have seen in the past Chunin Exams, becoming a Chunin’s more than just winning a fight. Sometimes, even the person who lost can be promoted to Chunin because they had the necessary skills Chunin are supposed to have. It’s not all about being more powerful than the person you’re fighting. That’s why listening to the adults state that the winners will be promoted to the next ninja rank didn’t make sense to me. Maybe the adults are deliberately lying? We will find out soon enough.

I liked the conversation between the members of Team 7. Boruto’s ready to prove how much he’s grown since the previous exam. He’s been through a lot and wants to show everyone, especially Naruto, that he’s a capable ninja on his own. Salad looked at the current exam as another obstacle she’s got to overcome to achieve her goal of one day becoming Hokage. Mitsuki’s determined to become a Chunin because he understood how important it was for his two teammates. Boruto, Salad, and Mitsuki promised to not hold back if they ended up facing each other in battle.

Even though Team 7 did make such a promise, there are certain fans already joking about how Mitsuki will likely surrender if he had to fight Boruto because Mitsuki’s got a crush on him. Also, I highly doubt Boruto and Mitsuki can really go all out against an opponent because Mitsuki’s keeping his Sage Mode a secret and Boruto using the Karma Mark during the Chunin Exam would likely count as cheating.

With Mitsuki and Boruto training together, Salad decided to go to Sasuke for some advice. From what I could understand, Sasuke basically told his young daughter to be prepared for the unexpected and not allow any situation to push her down. Sasuke lost his Rinnegan (a huge source of his power) after the fight with Isshiki. But he’s got no regrets over how certain events played out. As a formidable ninja, he knows how to adapt to the cards he’s been dealt. I would have liked to see Salad talk to Sakura or at least a scene where Sakura showed her excitement over Salad making it to the final round, but oh well.

Inojin, Shikadai, and Chocho also had a nice little moment as a team while eating BBQ together. Chocho correctly stated that Inojin was trying to hide his nerves by sharing his opinions about how she was eating too much before the final round. I liked how Inojin used his Mind Transfer Jutsu to see if he was powerful enough to stop Chocho from eating. Of course, he failed. I’m looking forward to seeing Inojin use his clan’s special technique during his upcoming battle.

Talking about mind techniques, I would also like to see Salad use Genjutsu against her opponent. If Salad and Chocho do end up fighting each other, I think the scene where Chocho overcame Inojin’s Mind Transfer Jutsu hinted at her having some level of Genjutsu resistance. So, maybe she will have a slight chance to break free from Salad’s Genjutsu? Let’s see what happens.

In my opinion, Salad and Chocho having to battle each other would kind of mimic the Sakura vs Ino fight during Naruto due to these characters being good friends with each other. At least Chocho and Salad, unlike Sakura and Ino, haven’t had any arguments due to crushing over the same guy.

Chocho’s determination to level up and not rely on Shikadai during missions also made me remember Sakura’s resolve to become better so she could stand next to Sasuke and Naruto instead of being a liability. Salad’s going through a similar thing, too. She knows about the immense power boost the Karma Mark’s capable of giving Boruto (while putting his life in danger) and she wants to become strong enough to help Boruto in his time of need.

Coming back to Inojin, Chocho, and Shikadai sharing a meal, I liked how Inojin and Chocho were aware of Shikadai not wearing his Chunin vest ever since he got it because he was waiting for Chocho and Inojin to move forward in rank so the entire team could start wearing their vests together. While the rest of the teams are close, things were a bit different when it came to the Ino-Shika-Cho formation. Said formation had been operating for decades in the Hidden Leaf Village, with the people involved growing up together. Inojin, Chocho, and Shikadai were basically siblings and that’s why it made sense for Shikadai to hold off on wearing his Chunin vest until the other two members were promoted as well.

With the new Chunin Exam rules allowing the use of Scientific Ninja Tools, ‘The Night Before The Final Round’ showed Denki going to the research department to work on his project. With Denki not being as strong as his peers, I’m looking forward to seeing what type of tool he’s able to create. The episode did show Denki impressively damaging the wall in the testing room by using his secret device. I also liked Metal playing in part to help his teammate Denki even though he failed to make it to the final round.

A major development occurred when Tsubaki received a letter from the Land of Iron. Turns out, the Land of Iron wanted her to come back for a leadership position. Wasabi and Namida feeling disheartened over Tsubaki leaving soon while also being happy about their teammate getting what she wanted was handled well. Wasabi and Namida just can’t seem to keep a third teammate. First, Sumire left the team to pursue her interest in scientific ninja tool research. And now Tsubaki’s leaving the team to achieve her goals. Do you think Wasabi and Namida will decide to tag along with Tsubaki and visit the Land of Iron?

Also, shoutout to Tsubaki for noticing that Denki’s been up to something. I think they will battle each other. Fingers crossed we get an exciting Samurai vs Scientific Ninja Tool showdown.

Another major development occurred during the closing moments of the episode when a group of mysterious men walked into the Hidden Leaf Village to cause trouble. Something always goes wrong whenever the Hidden Leaf Village decides to have the Chunin Exams. With one of the mysterious men carrying a sword, I wouldn’t be surprised if the suspicious group’s connected to the Land of Iron. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Boruto gets involved in whatever’s about to happen and loses his chance to participate in the final round.

What did you think of Boruto anime episode 222 ‘The Night Before The Final Round’?

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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