Boruto Episode 127

Boruto Episode 127

Make-Out Tactics

After seeing the preview for this episode last week, I knew the episode was going to be about Jiraiya. However, what I wasn’t prepared for was how good this episode actually was. And, I almost wish I could have seen this episode without first having watched Naruto and Shippūden.

Maybe you don’t have to, but imagine watching this without having seen those series and being formally introduced to Jiraiya in this way. Or the questions you might have after the hints that were planted about Sasuke’s past. And if you haven’t watched the series that come before Boruto, go do it right now.

The Naruto franchise isn’t the best in the world, but it’s one of my favorites. There’s so much content to absorb and discuss that it really is one of the most in-depth worlds in anime. Other series like One Piece are similar, but Naruto does a better job at setting up the rules of the world and sticking to them.

So in case you couldn’t tell, this week’s review is going to basically just be me discussing throwbacks to one of my favorite series of all time.

But let’s set up the premise of the episode before I get into all that. Boruto wants to learn more about Jiraiya after learning that not only was he Naruto’s master, but also potentially stronger than Sasuke. I’ll get to that specific claim in a bit, but Boruto then recruits Sarada and they temporarily recruit Chōchō as well.

And in order to learn about Jiraiya, they decide to read one of the Make-Out series books he wrote — specifically Make-Out Tactics. I prefer Make-Out Paradise, but whatever, to each his own.

Jiraiya, Legendary Sannin

Despite how he may have acted most of the time, and when writing most of his novels, Jiraiya was one of the strongest shinobi to have ever lived. However, he was definitely not the strongest. The first three Hokage, Madara, Nagato (technically?), Naruto and Sasuke are just a few who are/were stronger than Jiraiya.

So going back to when Hinata erroneously claimed Jiraiya was stronger than Sasuke, I’d have to say that’s not the case. Look, I love Jiraiya, but Sasuke is stronger, especially now that he’s level headed. But with that said, it would be a close fight. I’d say they’re almost 50/50.

As for Nagato, he’s not actually stronger than Jiraiya, he just took Jiraiya by surprise and Jiraiya didn’t want to kill him. Nagato killed Jiraiya by the way, spoilers.

Jiraiya (and Naruto) posing in a photograph from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Jiraiya (and Naruto) posing in a photograph

Anyway, what I’m getting at is although he’s not the absolute strongest, he’s definitely strong, and he’s hugely influential on both Naruto as a character and as a franchise. After all, he mentored Nagato Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze, and Naruto Uzumaki.

Jiraiya was also one of the legendary Sannin along with Lady Tsunade (the Fifth Hokage), and Orochimaru (Mitsuki’s parent). As one of the Sannin he helped put an end to the Second Great Shinobi War. And he’s one of the few shinobi to be able to use senjutsu, also known as sage mode.

Basically Jiraiya is great and he deserves to be talked about more because of how important he is. Also Boruto needs to really learn the power of Jiraiya so he can show him some respect.

Sasuke, International Terrorist Extraordinaire

So, the other “flashback” part of the episode focused on Sasuke — sort of. But before getting into that, I just want to point out that Sasuke never actually met Jiraiya. I don’t think I ever really thought about that before, but it’s true, as he implied in this episode.

It’s weird to think about that. After all that time Jiraiya and Sasuke never met.

But what I really wanted to talk about here is the fact that Sasuke’s past isn’t something the adults want the younger generation to learn about. When Boruto asks both Hinata and Sasuke why Sasuke wasn’t in the photo of the “Konoha 11,” they avoid the question.

And in case you don’t know, it was because during this time Sasuke had abandoned the Hidden Leaf Village to train under world-class criminal Orochimaru. Sasuke later went on to kill Orochimaru (yes, the same Orochimaru who is alive as Mitsuki’s parent) and decided to join the terrorist organization that killed Jiraiya.

Yeah, that’s not exactly something you go around mentioning. I wonder if Sarada even knows about that part of her father’s past. He’s killed a lot of innocent people in his day. I get the feeling Sarada wouldn’t exactly be okay with that.

Who knows, maybe that’ll end up being a big arc for Sarada. Maybe she’ll learn about Sasuke’s past and have to come to her own conclusion about who he is as a person and why he would have done such terrible things.

The Ancient Fossil

And the final thing I want to discuss today is the ancient relic which was seen on the news a few times throughout the episode. First of all, let me just say that it’s never a good idea to undo a sealing jutsu on an ancient relic. That’s an amateur move that can only backfire.

Second, the relic has a symbol used by the Ōtsutsuki clan on it, so that’s another obvious warning sign. When Boruto mentions that he’s seen the symbol somewhere before, it’s because he has. He saw it in the cave where he and the rest of Team 7 encountered a surviving White Zetsu clone.

I also think that the symbol wasn’t just an Ōtsutsuki clan emblem, but actually specifically used by Kaguya. The main Ōtsutsuki clan emblem is an eight pointed star (sun), while the branch clan uses a crescent moon around a circle. But since this symbol is found on Earth and is linked to the White Zetsu, it definitely has to do with Kaguya.

Also, I just want to mention that I’ll be including some spoilers from now until the conclusion section of this review, so feel free to skip to the end to avoid them.

Chōji, Akamaru, Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Chōji, Akamaru, Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji

The next arc is said to be a time travel type arc in which Boruto gets sent back to the days of the original Naruto series. It’s extremely likely that this relic has to do with that arc and will be the cause of it. Urashiki, being an Ōtsutsuki, is also likely to be involved. Maybe he’ll be sent back in time as well.

And as for why there’s about to be a time travel arc, my best bet is because the 20th anniversary of Naruto just occurred. It’s honestly the perfect time to throw in an arc like that even if it’s filler. Also, let’s not forget that Boruto just learned about the past in these two recent episodes.

Conclusion

So what did you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations episode 127? Did you enjoy it as much as I did? Have you only watched Boruto and didn’t know about the power of Jiraiya or Sasuke’s dark past? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.

4 Replies to “Boruto Episode 127”

  1. This episode was horrible and stupid it continues to show me why this anime is at the most the worst I’ve ever seen when it comes to providing information and understanding of the characters. this episode was seem to be more concerned and focused on sex and foolishness versus boruto wanting to know who was Jiraiya and how great he was to be the master of Naruto is Father the Hokage and the fourth Hokage writers failed the anime watches in the children who watch this show who did not watch Naruto to understand how great this guy was. This man went up against the Rinnegan six different pain as well as their summoning and died for the sake of the village to make sure he understood who he was and explain his abilities and what he could the adults have failed the new generation again

    1. I’d argue that it’s a good thing they didn’t go into too much detail about Jiraiya. After all, if they explained everything about him in this episode then what would be the incentive for new viewers to go back and watch the previous two series? I like that they give just enough information about what came before Boruto to spark some interest for the new viewers. I’m not going to sit here and say Boruto is a good series, but I don’t think that’s one of the things it should be faulted for.

  2. @Doublesama; however, Jiraiya did meet Sasuke, but not formally. Jiraiya showed up when Itachi fought Sasuke after exams.

    1. You’re right. I forgot Sasuke was even there for that since he was taken out in less than a second. I’ll have to rewatch that episode, was Sasuke even conscious when Jiraiya showed up?

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