Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×167 Review – “Their Decision”

‘Their Decision’ ended up being one of the better non-manga-adapted episodes in the Boruto anime. It showed Salad and Boruto figuring out how to deal with losing their battle with Deepa.

Certain people in the Boruto fandom have complained about how the titular character doesn’t face a lot of hardship. Hopefully, those fans will appreciate what the writing team did with Boruto and Salad in the latest episode. Yes, Boruto and Salad have amazing lineages, but it’s clear they still need a lot of training. Having good genetics won’t unlock superpowers unless you put in the required effort. Seeing them majorly fail against Deepa is a good way for writers to develop Team 7.

‘Their Decision’ opened with Mitsuki (still in Sage Mode) carrying a severely injured Salad and Boruto to Yubina. I was expecting him to take the two to Konohamaru and Mugino. However, going to Yubina was the right choice. She was able to offer the kids some first aid so Konohamaru and Mugino could take Boruto and Salad back to the Hidden Leaf Village.

It was revealed that Mitsuki was dropped off at Orochimaru’s. We got to know that the reason Orochimaru had forbidden Mitsuki from using Sage Mode was that his little body wasn’t strong enough to handle the transformation’s power.  While the mode helped Mitsuki take his teammates to safety, all of his organs were destroyed as a result. 

I liked seeing Orochimaru being concerned about Mistuki’s wellbeing. He’s Orochimaru’s child after all, even though Orochimaru created him in a lab.

‘Their Decision’ showed a lot of emotions from the parents. Naruto was clearly worried about his son. However, he immediately regained his composure in front of his wife, Hinata, and daughter Himawari. He understood he had to appear strong for the sake of his family. He also told Konohamaru to not feel bad about not being able to protect the kids.

Sakura was concerned about Salad and Boruto, too. However, being a doctor, she couldn’t allow her face to display what she was feeling. I liked how stable she made herself appear in front of the injured kids to offer them support.

Now, I don’t know if the writers will explore her conversation with Shizune. As someone who created clinics around the world to help kids with PTSD, Sakura’s aware of the importance of helping children heal on a psychological level.

She told Shizune to allow Boruto and Salad to deal with their defeat on their own. Let’s see if Sakura will feel the need to intervene down the road. It’s clear that, for now, she’s okay with the two finding their own way.

As for what Salad and Boruto decided, seeing them gain the motivation to train harder made sense for their characters. Yes, they lost. However, both aren’t the type to give up easily. Instead of leaving their life as ninjas, they vowed to never lose another battle. 

Both showed maturity when they told Konohamaru about not accompanying him on his latest mission to keep an eye of Victor. Realizing you don’t have the skills or strength to accomplish a specific task can be quite difficult, especially for kids. I smiled when Boruto and Salad didn’t allow their egos to get in the way. They both knew they needed to level-up a lot.

I’m looking forward to seeing Salad training with Sasuke while Boruto trained with Kakashi. Boruto’s Rasengan has to grow stronger and Salad’s got to develop her Sharingan. She’s already learned super-strength from her mother Sakura. And frankly, I don’t think Sakura can teach her anything else right now. Salad doesn’t have her mother’s perfect chakra control (yet) and training to attain the Byakugou Seal takes three years of continuous chakra storage and operating on a severely limited charka supply for daily usage. So, going to Sasuke for help to hone her Sharingan was the best choice for Salad.

With his two friends finding teachers, what do you think Mitsuki will do? Will Orochimaru or Log train Mitsuki or will his leveling up translate to Orochimaru giving him organs that are better equipped at handling Sage Mode? I would like to know.

Some other thoughts and questions:

• Not seeing Inojin, Shikadai, and Chocho come visit Boruto, and Salad in the hospital felt weird. Were those three out on a mission?
• The old lady foretelling Mugino’s fate was quite creepy. I don’t want him to die. I’ll take gravely injured. Just not death.
• With Konohamaru and Mugino going on a dangerous mission involving Victor and Deepa, here’s hoping Konohamaru keeps his cool and doesn’t allow his need for revenge cloud his judgment.
• I smiled at how ‘Their Decision’ showed the difference in Salad and Boruto’s personalities. Before leaving the hospital, Boruto threw his hospital clothes on the bed while Salad placed hers neatly folded.

What did you think of ‘Their Decision’? 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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