“Boruto: Two Blue Vortex” Manga Issue 15 Review: A Vibrant Life

Boruto Two Blue Vortex manga issue 15, titled ‘A Vibrant Life’, offered a flashback to Gaara’s battle with Matsuri and laid the groundwork for Boruto and Kawaki working together to defeat the Shinjus.

With Ryu being introduced in the story during the previous chapter and clearly originating from a trapped Shinki, I liked how the creative team didn’t waste time letting us know how that particular battle went down. It’s revealed that a heavily injured Gaara trapped Shinki and the rest of the kids in his sand spheres. He was going to force them to escape while he continued to face Matsuri and the Claw Grimes. Gaara putting his life on the line to protect the future of the village aligned with Naruto/Boruto‘s main theme of children being the most important treasure.

Of course, Shinki wasn’t having none of that and decided to seal Gaara away while he got bit by a Claw Grime and turned into a tree. I liked the explanation about how the seal put Gaara in some kind of stasis, ensuring he wouldn’t die from his wounds while the seal remained active. Another thing to note was that only Shinki was capable of releasing the seal. Also, the seal would remain active until Shinki was alive, even if it meant he was trapped in a tree for now.

Another interesting thing during the battle was the reveal that the confrontation took place in one of Orochimaru’s hideouts. From what I could tell, both Gaara and Matsuri were tracking down Boruto’s accomplice (aka Kashin Koji) and that’s why they came face to face with each other in such a manner.

By using Shinki as the template, I felt that his and Ryu’s personalities were quite similar. Both characters seemed serious and analytical. Ryu quickly detected Code lurking in the hideout and pulled him out from one of his Claw Marks. Ryu was ready to kill Code if Jura hadn’t intervened.

The title ‘A Vibrant Life’ seemed to be about Jura giving Code a reason to feel motivated again. Even though Code was the one responsible for the creation of the humanoid Shinju, their free will and immense power levels had afforded them the ability to do as they pleased. Jura was now pulling the strings and Code had no choice but to bow down to him. With Jura ordering Code to track down Kashin Koji in exchange for the Chakra Fruit, I’m looking forward to seeing how that particular transaction will pan out. You know Jura’s not going to give Code the Chakra Fruit after he stated being curious about what would happen if one of the Shinju ate the Chakra Fruit instead. And Code’s clearly going to try and come up with a plan to try and take Jura down.

A major reveal in ‘A Vibrant Life’ involved Boruto telling Kawaki that he needed to ask Amado about increasing his power levels ASAP. The “right” way would have been for Kawaki to continue training under Naruto to grow stronger. But that was out of the question after what Kawaki had done and our heroes didn’t have enough time. So, partnering up with Amado was it. Also, Boruto shared that Amado’s been hiding secrets about Kawaki’s powers which… duh!

I don’t think anyone in the fandom trusts Amado. That guy was literally spying on Boruto and Kawaki’s conversation through Kawaki’s eyes. And with Boruto having pointed him out in such a manner, Kawaki and Amado’s upcoming conversation should be intriguing.

As for Kawaki and Boruto’s relationship, they seemed to have come to an understanding. Their inevitable fight would need to wait. Getting rid of the Shinjus was a priority. We also got to learn that Boruto hadn’t been bothered by Momoshiki for three years now. However, Boruto was still scared of Momoshiki taking over his body if he used his Karma Mark. Sigh! I feel bad for Boruto. He’s going through a lot.

Coming back to Ryu, he looked into his heart and found his target. It was Gaara! I mean, I kind of hoped that it would have been Mitsuki because of what happened between those two during the Chunin Exams. But yes, Gaara being Ryu’s target made a lot more sense. Also, with Ryu capable of unsealing Gaara, I think he will be making his way to Sunagakure very soon to accomplish his mission.

Shikamaru did warn Kankuro (with Salad and Sumire present during the conversation) about a mysterious being sharing Shinki’s chakra popping up. So, hopefully, the Hidden Sand Village will have prepared to face Ryu. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if Konoha sent reinforcements to protect Gaara.

So, while ‘A Vibrant Life’ was an extremely talk-heavy manga chapter, I do feel readers needed all of the information shared. It helped flesh out the story and position certain characters for what’s to come.

What did you think of Boruto Two Blue Vortex manga issue 15?

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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