Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×274 Review – “A Flightless Hawk”

Boruto anime episode 274, titled ‘A Flightless Hawk,’ began a mini-arc that will focus on Boruto accompanying Sasuke on a mission to find a new hawk. Of course, other issues arise.

Surprisingly, ‘A Flightless Hawk’ opened with a scene between Sakura and Salad during a training session. The last time we saw Sakura train Salad was almost 100 episodes ago, back in October 2020 with episode 171. So, it was nice to see that she continued to train her daughter.

Sakura told Salad that Sasuke’s usual hawk was nearing the age of retirement and he had to find a replacement. I felt for Salad when she expressed her disappointment over Sasuke deciding to take Boruto along instead of her. Salad also stated how she didn’t appreciate Sasuke coming and going without telling her. Furthermore, she asked Sakura how she handled having such a husband. Salad got so emotional that she ended up cutting the corner of a wooden target with the shuriken she threw.

Sakura reminded her daughter about the importance of keeping emotions under control. Sakura then proceeded to share that she’s grown used to Sasuke’s habits. If she was shocked or worried every time he left without letting her know, she couldn’t be able to function. Even though Sakura offered advice to her daughter, her actions spoke otherwise. Sakura threw a shuriken so intensely that it shattered the wooden target, letting the audience know that Sakura’s got issues with Sasuke’s MO.

I found Salad’s reaction to her mother’s intensity funny. However, in a sense, I don’t know what to make of said scene. Sakura telling Salad about Sasuke’s current mission made it clear that he told her the details before leaving. Also, from the past content, we know that Sasuke and Sakura talk about what he’s up to. He also does what he can to spend time with Salad.

So, seeing the anime writers kind of ignoring the past for a comedic effect didn’t sit well with me. I wonder if Sakura and Salad will show up again in the current arc to resolve their feelings toward Sasuke.

As for Boruto and Sasuke, they took the train to meet a guy named Maruta. The hawk that Sasuke wanted was called a Senri hawk and Maruta had one. However, their train ride was cut short because the train had to take a detour due to a landslide. Not wanting to waste time, Sasuke and Boruto decided to travel to Maruta on foot and that’s where they happened upon a very flashy building called Rakuen.

I liked how the conflict was introduced for the current arc. Rakuen was owned by a woman named Mozu Shitakiri. She caught extremely rare and endangered animals and sold them off to the highest bidders (Boruto noticed a picture of Tento and his father in the building). Due to wanting a Senri hawk, she had restored to threatening Maruta after he refused to sell her one.

Another layer of conflict was added through Mozu’s son Tsuzura whom Boruto befriended (of course!). Unlike Mozu, Tsuzura’s into taking care of animals. Trying to train his white hawk named Yuki to survive the wild led him to meet Boruto.

With the episode being titled ‘A Flightless Hawk’, one can say that it relates to Tsuzura. He’s trapped under his mother’s grip, unable to fly and do what he wants. She refuses to send him to school and has been pressuring him to take over the family business.

Boruto being able to connect with Tsuzura by telling him about how he felt pressurized to follow Naruto’s footsteps and become Hokage was a conversation that made sense. Boruto wanted Tsuzura to pursue his dreams and pave his own path. Boruto even taught his new friend to read and write a bit. However, with Mozu wanting something completely different for her son, I’m looking forward to seeing how the writers will handle the mother/son dynamic.

The episode also had Sasuke tell Boruto to keep in emotions under control, linking back to Sakura basically saying the same to Salad. Even though Sasuke’s okay with taking Boruto on missions, there’s still a lot the young ninja needed to learn. When it came to emotions, Boruto’s like his father. There’s no way he would have been able to remain calm after seeing how Mozu operated her business. It’s obvious that Boruto’s going to intervene to help Tsuzura as well as the animals being held captive by Mozu.

We also got to learn about the Senri hawks. With Maruta taking Sasuke to the Senri hawk’s habitat, it’s revealed that the Senri hawk choose the ninja. According to Maruta, there have been cases of certain ninjas having so much bloodlust that the Senri hawks refused to acknowledge them. Due to Sasuke getting a new hawk, I wonder if he will use it during this arc.

I have my fingers crossed that Sasuke sends his new Senri hawk with a message back to Konoha about needing some kind of help. I would like Salad and Sakura to appear to provide said help. But let’s see what happens.

Again, I feel for Salad. I really want the anime writers to give her an opportunity to spend more time with Sasuke. There’s a fan theory that such a story will likely be told during an arc focusing on Salad achieving her third-tomoe Sharingan (something that she got off-panel in the manga).

What did you think of ‘A Flightless Hawk’?

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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