Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×158 Review – ‘The Man Who Disappeared’

After the highly-enjoyable previous episode, I was hoping for ‘The Man Who Disappeared’ to follow suit. I’m glad to share that the latest Boruto anime episode didn’t disappoint as it debuted the first chapter of a new arc.

‘The Man Who Disappeared’ opened with Boruto training alone. It’s obvious he isn’t fully focused. And I don’t blame him. If I were him, I too would be anxiously waiting to learn more about the Kara organization and how it’s related to the mysterious Karma mark. I smiled when Sasuke showed up to ensure Boruto that even though he and Sai confirmed that Kara’s real, it’s not time for Boruto to go searching for the organization. Our young ninja still has a lot of training to do.

Sasuke gave Boruto a glove as a parting gift to hide the Karma mark on his palm. We know that Boruto hasn’t been wearing the glove in the manga. So, it will be interesting to see what led to him deciding to stop wearing it in the anime.

The main plot of ‘The Man Who Disappeared’ had to deal with, yes, a man who disappeared. Team 7, along with Konohamaru and Mugino, were sent to the Land of Valleys. A woman named Mia had hired them to find her husband, Anato. I always enjoy stories that feature medical science. The current arc seems ready to give me a whole lot of it.

Turns out, Anato worked for a major medical research facility. He went searching for certain resources but didn’t return. Mia’s been asking the facility, but the employees haven’t offered her assuring answers. So, she had no choice but to hire ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village to help her out.

‘The Man Who Disappeared’ also gave us quite a lot of information about Mr. Victor. Readers of the manga know who he is. That’s why I’m excited for the anime fans to get to know him better soon enough. As for his role in this episode, he shared his story about being caught up in the Fourth Great Ninja War and how wars took a toll on ordinary people. Victor’s goal was to offer medical help to anyone in need. His research involved the ability to regenerate human limbs and organs to delay death.  

We know that certain members of Kara are involved in the current plot. The promotional team shared that one of the members is named Deepa. Apparently, he isn’t the most humane character. Due to Deepa not appearing in the manga (as of yet), it will be interesting to see if Team 7 was able to defeat him or he ran away in the anime. Also, from what was shared about Deepa’s character design, I wouldn’t be surprised if Deepa ended up being a queer-coded villain. There seem to be a whole lot of them running around in the Boruto franchise.

Coming to Mugino, I liked his personality. He’s spent years living in areas with a lot of conflicts. So, of course, he wasn’t willing to open up to others instantly. However, Konohamaru told Team 7 that even though Mugino liked to keep to himself, Mugino’s more than willing to risk his life to protect his team members. I can’t wait to see Mugino in action. Due to him and Konohamaru having worked together before, I hope the anime shows them display some cool combo attacks.

I appreciated Mugino telling our young ninjas that even though the Great Nations have agreed to be peaceful, smaller nations still had problems. There will always be people trying to cause trouble while hiding in the shadows.

Judging by the preview of the next episode, something bad is going to happen to Mitsuki. I just want my queer child to be safe! 

What did you think of ‘The Man Who Disappeared’? 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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