Boruto Episode 87

The Sensation of Living

While this episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations doesn’t showcase the best animation the series has to offer, it does include improved animation. I’m not going to get into the debate about why certain episodes of series have better animation than others, but some factors include time, animators, and money (for resources and people).

However, it’s likely that no more of the budget was spent on this one episode when compared to others for paying more animators to work longer. So, we can cross out money as a reason why this episode looks a bit better than usual. I also don’t believe any different animators worked on this episode, so let’s cross that out too.

So what about time? We can also cross out this reason because there was no more time to create this episode than any of those before. Just like most episodes, there’s only one week between each episode, which means time is limited, and since the series airs year-round, this schedule must be stuck to.

So, why did this episode look better than usual? Perhaps it’s due to it being the final episode of 2018, but in all honesty there probably isn’t a specific reason.

If you’re wondering what an episode of Boruto looks like when the animators have two weeks to work on it instead of just one, I suggest checking out episode 65. It’s also important to note that episode 65 was the conclusion of a major arc, and so more detail may have been given to it because of that.

I should also mention that as the final episode of 2018, this means that there will not be a Boruto episode next week. However, although I just said that when there’s a two-weak gap in between episodes the quality may be improved, don’t expect that to be the case for the next episode. Yes, there’s a two-week gap, but it’s also a holiday break.

Vs. Kakou

The main portion of the episode, and the portion in which the apparent improved animation can be seen, is the fight between Kakou and the trio of Hidden Leaf genin, Boruto, Sarada, and Chocho. I’d have to rewatch the episode to give you some specific parts that looked extra nice, but here’s some overview:

While the fight choreography and animation thereof wasn’t really all that special, it was the animations of the jutsu that were used and the blows between opponents that seemed to me to be improved over past episodes. And, just for the record, no, art is not the same as animation.

I’m not saying that the episode was necessarily any “prettier,” but parts of it definitely looked to be animated much more smoothly, and that’s what really matters.

As for the battle itself, Kakou appears to “rescue” Ohnoki from Boruto and the two begin to fight while Ohnoki returns to the village. Although Ohnoki orders Kakou not to harm Boruto and instead just capture him, these orders are soon forgotten.

Their fight escalates, and eventually Kakou reveals that, like both Ku and Ohnoki, he too is able to use the Particle Style. If you’re interested in learning more about this rare chakra nature, let me direct you to my post in which I break down the various chakra types and decide which is the strongest.

Soon after this weapon in Kakou’s arsenal is revealed, Sarada and Chocho appear to rescue Boruto and help him fight off his aggressor. However, due to the nature of the Particle Style, they determine that close quarters combat is off-limits, and so much engage with their opponent at range.

Luckily, for the genin, they have Sarada Uchiha on their side. By using her Sharingan (although Sharingan aren’t needed to do this) Sarada is able to determine that after firing off his Particle Style, Kakou is unable to use any other ninjutsu for approximately 20 seconds.

By using this information, Sarada plans a counterattack and goes on the offensive directly after Kakou uses this jutsu and unable to properly fight back. By doing so, she’s able to back him into a corner and almost defeat him.

But, of course it’s not that easy; just one of these homunculi is strong enough to defeat multiple Hidden Leaf jonin. In fact, it turns out that Kakou is able to fire off more ninjutsu, and specifically Particle Style ninjutsu, in under 20 seconds after his previous attack.

So, if this is the case, why wasn’t he doing this to begin with? Was he playing the long game and luring his opponents into a false sense of security? Unfortunately, no. The only shinobi who would use mind games like that are Shikamaru and Shikadai.

It seems that the reason Kakou wasn’t continuously firing off ninjutsu is because doing so takes a massive toll on his body. When he does finally begin to go all out, we see that cracks begin forming on his skin, much like what happened to Sekiei in a previous episode.

And, just before Kakou deals the finishing blow to Boruto, his body fails and he collapses. For now it’s unclear whether or not Kakou is actually dead or severely injured and unconscious. It looked like the former, but since this is Boruto I have a feeling it’s the latter.

Kirara Appears

Before Kakou dies, Ohnoki returns to the scene of the battle and is horrified at what he sees. Despite explicitly giving the order to not harm Boruto, Kakou is going all out against the genin. After Kakou’s death Boruto points out that this is because Kakou did in fact have a will of his own.

The genin are then about to head out and bring Ohnoki with them when Inojin appears and takes Boruto hostage. Inojin has been placed under Kirara’s genjutsu which seems to be linked to her eyes, so let’s briefly discuss that.

Visual jutsu are also known as dōjutsu and there are generally two main “types.” The first type are those known as the “Three Great Dōjutsu,” and the second includes everything else. Kirara likely has a dōjutsu of some kind, but it’s not one we’ve seen before.

If you’re interested in reading more about dōjutsu, the previous link goes to a post covering the Byakugan, Sharingan, and Rinnegan, while this link goes to a post covering the other known dōjutsu.

While genjutsu, like we see Kirara use, isn’t unique to her dōjutsu, it does appear that she specializes in genjutsu which controls the thoughts and actions of her victims, as we’ve seen a number of times throughout this arc. Unfortunately, her dōjutsu’s name and full extent of its abilities will likely never be revealed.

Back to the episode at hand, I found it interesting when Kirara expressed her disgust at Kakou upon seeing his body. Was this because he was dead? Because his body was no longer in perfect condition? Or maybe even because he indulged in his own will to the point of detriment?

I’m hoping we learn more about Kirara’s character going forward because this was honestly the most interesting part of the entire episode for me. Although all she said on the matter was, “absolutely not beautiful at all,” there were so many possible meanings behind those words.

Conclusion

So, what were your thoughts on this year’s final episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations? Did you think this episode looked any better than previous ones? Do you think Kakou is dead? And, what are your thoughts on Kirara’s dōjutsu and character in general?

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My review of the next episode is available here.