“Boruto: Naruto Next Generations” Manga Issue 42 Review: Regeneration

This month’s Boruto manga issue, titled ‘Regeneration,’ while enjoyable, made me wish the fight between Team 7 and Boro would end already.

The previous manga issue was very action-heavy and so was chapter 42. Fingers crossed next month’s chapter is different. At this point, I wouldn’t even mind if the upcoming chapter shifted the focus on other characters. I just want something different than seeing Team 7 trying to take down Boro.

One thing that ‘Regeneration’ made clear was Boro’s intention to play with Team 7. If he really wanted to, he could have killed all four young ninjas. However, I think his arrogance continued to get the better of him. For some reason, he decided to exhaust Team 7 instead of putting an end to their current battle.

Of course, considering Team 7 has some very intelligent team members, it was only a matter of time before they figured out Boro’s weakness. Frankly, if I were in Boro’s place, I would have stopped playing around the moment the kids broke through the paralyzing virus attack in chapter 41.

Kawaki and Salad worked together for another attack. I keep telling you all, I wouldn’t be surprised if these two become endgame.

Kawaki revealed that every Kara member’s body was modeled by the scientist named Amado. Apparently, every member was hiding a core. You destroy the core, you destroy the person.

I liked how it was explained that the reason Boro’s able to continue regenerating was linked to him having the ability to move his core away from harm. It didn’t matter if you blew his head up or disintegrated his limbs or the entire lower section, as long as his core remained unharmed, he would instantly regenerate.

Where do you think Kawaki’s core is placed? Does he even have a core?

The best moment, in my opinion, came when Salad kept an eye on Boro’s body to track the core. She needed to attack him before he could move the core away.

And do you know what she did? She freaking used a Chidori!

The moment looked amazing in the panel and I can’t wait to see it get animated. With how Mitsuki and Salad were pushed to the background because of Kawaki’s entrance in the manga series, I continue to be glad about the current fight giving Salad and Mitsuki more to do.

I still don’t know why Mitsuki isn’t using his Sage Mode. But at least, we got Salad demonstrating a very powerful attack.

As for Boruto, he didn’t do much. The young ninja was basically a punching bag in this chapter, along with (his boyfriend) Mitsuki. Many fans have already complained about Boruto being a copy of Naruto and seeing him use Rasengans and Shadow Clones in ‘Regeneration’ didn’t do much to dismiss such complaints.

Now, I’m not saying Boruto using Rasengans during this particular battle didn’t make sense. As Salad mentioned, using fire style or lightning style jutsus would be useless against Boro. And, from what I can tell, the Rasengan is the hardest hitting attack Boruto currently has.

However, I would like Boruto to have a different fighting style than Naruto. I think the only difference between the two, fighting style-wise, is the fact Boruto doesn’t have the immense amount of chakra Naruto has.

Coming back to Salad, the manga and the anime have shared she doesn’t have a lot of chakra reserves to continue using the Sharingan for long periods. While I understand using the Sharingan demands a lot of power, I’m kind of disappointed.

I was expecting Salad to learn the Byakugo Seal like her mother Sakura. However, the seal requires perfect chakra control and demands the user to store chakra for years (in the forehead) without any interruptions.

With the Sharingan already draining Salad, I don’t think she will be learning the seal. But I’m hoping I’m wrong. Let’s see. Perhaps she will learn a cool medical jutsu instead? Again, I want someone in Team 7 to learn medical jutsu!

I get that some might say it made sense for Salad to not continue using the Sharingan throughout the battle to conserve chakra. But, to me, seeing her activate and then deactivate her Sharingan (even for a few seconds) looked weird. As far as I can tell, it is clear she doesn’t have a lot of chakra to work with.

With ‘Regeneration’ ending on a cliffhanger, we don’t know if Salad’s Chidori was able to destroy Boro’s core or not. I guess we’ll find out next month.

Some other thoughts and opinions:

• Seeing a naked Boro fight young kids was a big “Nopes” for me. I get Boro’s body is like a Ken doll, but still, it was weird.
• Also, considering his body’s like a Ken doll, does it mean none of the Kara members have genitalia or even other organs to relieve themselves? No wonder they all look like cyborgs.
• I kind of like how Salad and Boruto don’t have the massive amounts of chakra their fathers have. It goes to show that even if you want to go all out in battle because you are incredibly skilled, it won’t be possible because you don’t have the necessary chakra to back you up. So, you have to be more aware of your battle strategy.
• Do you think Sasuke will be able to send someone from the Hidden Leafe Village to help the young ninjas? I wouldn’t mind Sakura showing up to help, or perhaps Rock Lee? Wouldn’t it be interesting if Shino is sent and he uses a particular bug species to eat every cell that makes Boro’s body? Even Tenten might be able to completely disintegrate him. Ha!

The Kara members seem to be relying a lot on scientific ninja tools. The Boruto series has told us that using tools to compensate for actual ninja skills and hard work doesn’t do the person any favors. It was a lesson Boruto had to learn during the Chunin Exams.

That’s why it is kind of fun to see grownups like Boro and Delta relying heavily on scientific ninja tools, going as far as becoming cyborgs, for extreme powerups, and being taken down by ninjas that rely on real skill and talent.

What did you think of Boruto manga issue 42 ‘Regeneration’? 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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