Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×152 Review – ‘Developing One’s Medical Ninjutsu’

I’m glad that this week’s episode of the Boruto anime gave me content I wanted to review. ‘Developing One’s Medical Ninjutsu’ addressed my long-time question about whether or not the current Genin teams were being trained in medical ninjutsu.

While I enjoyed the recent 7-episode (kind of filler) arc the anime writers created to flesh out the recent Mujina Bandits storyline, I couldn’t make myself review the episodes featuring Boruto becoming friends with Tento and then saving his life (148-151) because I found them quite boring. Seeing the story unfold in the manga was boring, too.

The only thing I appreciated about the previous four episodes was the anime team deciding to not fully adapt the manga panel that showed Salad training in her room while in her underwear. The anime included that particular scene but Salad was still wearing her usual ninja clothes. Such a decision gave me hope about the anime team sticking with Salad’s current anime ninja-wear instead of making her put on the age-inappropriate (and very impractical) outfit she has in the manga. Let’s see what happens.

If you have been keeping up with my Boruto reviews, you would know that I have been wondering about which of the young ninjas know medical ninjutsu. At least, one person in the handful of three-person Genin teams (of the Hidden Leaf Village) should know medical ninjutsu.

This week’s episode revealed that the young ninjas weren’t given proper training due to certain circumstances that occurred before their graduation. That’s why, in the latest episode, Sakura ended up being in charge of delivering a short medical course to see if any of the current Genin had the potential for practicing medical ninjutsu.

Each team was asked to send one member to attend the course. Personally, I would have liked Mitsuki to attend but seeing him say no because Boruto (his boyfriend, duh!) wouldn’t attend was hilarious. So, of course, Salad had to go because Boruto wasn’t skilled at intricate chakra control.

‘Developing One’s Medical Ninjutsu’ served as a crash course for viewers who might not be too familiar with what medical ninjas are supposed to do. It also helped give Salad the opportunity to grow as a character. Being the daughter of Sakura (the head of the village’s medical department as well as a medical ninja known around the world), seeing Salad experience a lot of pressure to be good was understandable.

A lot of kids face similar pressure when they are part of a family with accomplished parents, siblings, or relatives. Everyone, including the kid’s peers, expect such children to perform well. And we all know, not every kid is going to be as gifted as their family members when it comes to certain academic or professional fields.

Seeing Salad realize she didn’t have to continue dealing with all of the pressure was nice. Sakura was very understanding of her daughter’s struggles in this episode. She told Salad that even though her daughter didn’t have the knack for being a great medical ninja right out of the gate, it didn’t matter. Sakura wanted Salad to make her own path in life. Also, Salad wanting to become Hokage didn’t mean she had to be perfect at everything. It’s okay to ask for help.

Do I think Salad will learn a few medical ninjutsu tricks down the line? Yes. But having said that, I wouldn’t mind Salad not being a medical ninjutsu expert like Sakura. I will be okay with Mitsuki being the team’s medic.

Also, ‘Developing One’s Medical Ninjutsu’ felt like a very timely episode. Due to the conditions we are all living in, the entire world is dependant on people belonging to the medical field. Many fandoms don’t always respect fictional characters that serve as healers (mainly because they offer support and their abilities aren’t flashy enough). But healers play an important role and I appreciated this week’s episode highlight that.  

Did you watch Boruto? What did you think of ‘Developing One’s Medical Ninjutsu’?

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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