Nothing is more rewarding and pleasurable than looking back on a characters’ journey and seeing how much they have grown. While Attack on Titan fans have experienced this moment of pride multiple times with numerous characters, the same can’t be said about Boruto fans. Boruto manga started its run in 2016, and almost a decade later, the story is still quite underwhelming in terms of character growth.
The only one who undergoes some development in the entire story is the protagonist, Boruto Uzumaki. Even the worst-rated episode of Attack on Titan is a better example of how to do character development right, and here’s how.
The worst-rated episode of Attack on Titan vs. the entirety of Boruto
The third episode of Attack on Titan titled A Dim Light Amid Despair: Humanity’s comeback, Part 1, introduced Keith Shadis, the stern instructor of the 104th Training Corps. Many new characters were introduced during that episode, including Jean, Reiner, Bertholdt, Connie, and Sasha. Hajime Isayama established these characters, and by the end, he had already tweaked fans’ perceptions.
For instance, Eren was an impulsive, weak, and somewhat annoying character for the majority of that episode. By the end, we saw a glimpse of his potential when it was revealed that he had been training with a broken belt. Similarly, Jean was introduced as someone superficial, but his small interaction with Mikasa prepared us that there’s more to this character. And that ‘more’ evolved into something endearing.
Achieving that with multiple characters within a single episode is extraordinary. We saw a glimpse of the softer side of Keith Shadis, a more relaxed side of Mikasa, and there was something valuable hidden in every second of the episode. This episode has a rating of 8.1 on IMDb, which is the lowest rating out of all canon episodes.
This particular episode had more rewarding character interactions and development than the entirety of Boruto. Before we delve into that conversation, it’s quite evident that most characters have been sidelined at this point in the manga, except for Boruto and Kawaki. There’s Sarada and many other characters, but they are clearly not the mangaka’s priority.
Here’s how Boruto fails miserably in the character development department
Boruto has undergone substantial character development. He started out as this troublesome kid, who detested his father (Naruto) for neglecting their family. Moreover, seeing the entire village worship Naruto rubbed him the wrong way. During the first part of the manga, he came to terms with all of that and grew more understanding of Naruto, his responsibilities, and his position as the village head.
In Two Blue Vortex, he has lost everything and grown more responsible. So, how does the character development still feel lacking? Boruto is trying to shoulder everything by himself, and we barely see any reflection of his thoughts beyond the fights and some flashbacks. Whether it’s his interaction with Sarada or Sasuke’s tree, everything feels devoid of emotion.
It’s true that Boruto has never been as expressive, but his character development would make much more sense if there was a better exploration of his circumstances. The best expression of his growth is his power-ups, but that’s about it. And, Boruto’s character development is the best we’ve gotten out of the manga so far.
Attack on Titan is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Boruto manga can be read on the Mangaplus app and website.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
