“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” Manga Issue 56 Review: Code

The latest Boruto manga chapter gave us a lot of information about Code and why he’s such a big threat to our heroes. Chapter 56 was all about certain characters thinking about what to do next.

Due to Sumire being showcased on the main cover, I liked seeing her continue to play a larger role in the main narrative. Having said that, I wasn’t a fan of how Ikemoto drew her on the cover and how Kishimoto had her act during her conversation with Kawaki. For some reason, Ikemoto’s very interested in having little girls (Sumire and Salad) wear very short clothes. As I have said before, it’s a good thing the Boruto anime decided not to follow suit and gave Sumire and Salad outfits that made sense.

With Sumire working with Amado, I think it’s safe to assume she’s keeping an eye on him. The previous chapter had her give Amado a suspicious look. Unlike manga readers, anime viewers know a lot more about Sumire. She’s sweet and awkward. However, when needed, she can become a ferocious ninja. In my opinion, she’s keeping up her sweet facade to continue staying close to Amado and figure out if he’s planning something bad.

As for Sumire telling Kawaki that she agreed to act as Amado’s assistant because she wanted to talk to Kawaki about Boruto, I think there’s some truth there. It’s clear she likes Boruto and Kawaki does spend a lot of time with our young hero. In my opinion, it made sense for Sumire to learn more about Boruto through Kawaki.

Having said that, I really thought Kishimoto had grown as a writer when it came to creating fictional women. He messed up Sakura’s character during the Naruto series. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata weren’t well-written characters either. And I think Kishimoto’s going the same route when writing Sumire and Chocho. Some fans even argue that Salad’s been handled poorly as well, considering she’s supposed to be the female lead.

While I’m of the opinion that Boruto and Sumire are going to be endgame, seeing Sumire continue to blush and offer comedic relief whenever her crush on Boruto (who is oblivious) came up during the story can be a bit jarring. Her behavior’s giving me major Hinata-crushing-on-Naruto vibes. Again, I’m glad the anime decided to give her character some kind of motivation instead of just wanting to be close to Boruto.

Talking about Chocho, can Kishimoto stop Inojin from mentioning Chocho’s weight every chance he gets? One can argue that it was kind of funny the first time it happened. However, considering Chocho and Inojin are on the same ninja team, it makes no sense for Inojin to continue being like that.

‘Code’ opened with Boruto being interviewed on TV and hailed as a hero. Numerous people saw him teleport Isshiki away from the village and protect a lot of lives. I liked seeing Boruto being uncomfortable due to all of the attention he was getting. He’s understandably conflicted about the situation. Yes, people saw him save the village. However, what they didn’t see was Momoshiki taking over Boruto’s body and harming Sasuke and the rest. In Boruto’s mind, he’s not a hero.

Being the bearer of Momoshiki’s Karma Mark also inconvenienced Boruto’s team. He’s under constant surveillance and that meant Salad and Mitsuki weren’t allowed to go on missions anymore. Team 7 had been benched for the foreseeable future.

The scene where Salad, Mitsuki, Shikadai, Chocho, and Inojin pondered about what’s going to happen next displayed how worried Boruto’s friends were for him. While the young ninjas didn’t know how to help Boruto, at least Kawaki (due to previously having the Karma Mark) shared a plan.

Apparently, Boruto should select a vessel to resurrect himself once Momoshiki took over Boruto’s original body. It was a weird plan because Kawaki wanted Boruto to place his seal on Code. I liked seeing Boruto being hesitant when it came to placing a Karma Mark on someone else and sacrificing them during the resurrection process. Let’s see what Boruto decides to do.

It’s obvious there’s a lot of mystery surrounding the Karma Mark. Even Amado didn’t know everything about it. Does the Karma Mark have some sort of connection to the Byakugo Seal? I would like to know.

A number of panels were devoted to Code making his way to Boro’s secret facility hidden somewhere in a snowy location. It’s revealed that Amado created a number of cyborgs that possessed more strength than Jigen. But due to Jigen not wanting any competition he ordered Amado to destroy said cyborgs. However, Boro decided to keep them safe.

I’m not sure how to feel about a bunch of powerful cyborgs being hidden away. I guess Kishimoto created the cyborgs because he wanted something for our heroes to fight. I wouldn’t mind seeing Rock Lee, Sakura, Konohamaru, etc., battle a cyborg or two. Fingers crossed Code’s plan involves attacking Naruto during the upcoming Kage Summit so we can get some awesome action sequences involving the Kages fighting a group of overpowered cyborgs.

It’s revealed that the cyborg that Code’s most interested in is named Eida. She’s supposed to know about everything in the world. So, I think she’ll tell Code about the Karma Mark? We will know soon enough.

As for Code’s power levels, after surviving the Karma Mark ritual, he needed to have limiters placed on his body to suppress his true strength. The only reason Jigen didn’t decide to have him killed involved Code’s unwavering devotion to the Otsutsuki Clan.

I liked the scene where he easily took down the two guards outside Boro’s facility. Code’s able to elongate his fingers into sharp claws. And even though he doesn’t have Space-Time Ninjutsu, he can teleport by extending the band on his head. Whether it’s his entire body or a part of it, he just had to touch a piece of the band to pop-up through any surface the rest of the long band was touching.

It’s an interesting ability, with a drawback our heroes should be able to exploit. I think Code’s also not immune to extreme cold. So, that might be another weakness that could be taken advantage of.

Also, I don’t know about you, but I thought the latest chapter would spend a bit of time on Naruto’s emotional state after he lost Kurama. Apparently, a week’s passed by since Isshiki’s attack. And Naruto’s doing fine, I guess? Hmmm.

I think the anime will take the time to address Naruto’s feelings after such a monumental loss.

Anyway, what did you think of ‘Code’?

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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