Boruto Episode 183

Ryutan’s Advanced Technology Lab

While I enjoyed Boruto: Naruto Next Generations well enough, I have to admit that not much happened during it. We got to see some new scientific ninja tools, sure. But I don’t think most of those will be making further appearances (maybe). So the only “important” part of the episode comes in the latter half when we catch up with Kara.

However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have much to discuss this week. This week’s episode marks the reintroduction of Sumire in her official role. Now, I could be wrong about this, but Sumire isn’t an anime-original character. In the manga, I believe she was introduced as a member of the Scientific Ninja Tools R&D Team.

So just because you see Sumire in this episode doesn’t mean that it’s “filler.” Her two teammates from her time as a genin, however, are original. Those are Namida and Wasabi. And, the samurai who replaced Sumire in Team 15, Tsubaki, is also an anime-original character.

Sumire aside, this first part of the episode does actually serve a purpose. I’ve discussed the role of technology in the Boruto series many times, but let’s go over it quickly once again.

The Boruto series is all about how technology isn’t inherently good or evil. This is originally set up when Boruto uses a scientific ninja tool during the chunin exams and gets disqualified. After that, he views them as purely negative. However, we’re now in the portion of the story where Boruto learns about how they can be used for good.

And later, Boruto will have to face enemies who are using technology for evil: Kara. I’m interested to see what kinds of technology Boruto uses to face them — if any.

Boruto Becomes a Jedi Master

The one scientific ninja tool from this episode that I could see making a comeback at a later point is the chakra sword. It seemed a bit odd to introduce it at the end like that only for it to be revealed to not be practical (yet). I could see Boruto using the finished product towards the end of the story.

Well, unless Kishimoto changes that now that he’s in charge of the manga.

There are two main reasons why I could see Boruto using a chakra sword like this though. The first has to do with what little we saw of the fight between him and Kawaki back in episode 1. Back then, we saw Boruto using a katana — probably given to him by Sasuke.

So if Boruto is shown to use a katana in battle in the future, then we know he has some kenjutsu (swordsmanship) training by that point. From there, it’s not much of a stretch to assume that he would be able to use a finished chakra sword further down the line.

Now, as for the existence of chakra swords in the series, it’s actually not as outlandish as you might have first thought. Chakra blades have been around in the series for a very long time. When he was younger, Naruto actually learned how to use them from Asuma Sarutobi — Konohamaru’s uncle.

Considering all the advanced technology the Boruto series has, the progression from those old chakra blades to this new chakra sword is actually rather believable by comparison.

But, as I mentioned, Kishimoto, the author of Naruto, is now doing the manga for Boruto. Previously, he was only overseeing the Boruto manga in an advisory capacity. So now that he’s back in charge of it, it’s unclear if the story is going to head in the same direction. There may be a decent amount of retconning.

Boro, the Strongest Human(?)

With Boro’s name revealed, we now know the names of what I assume to be all nine of Kara’s Inners. In numbered order, they are Delta, Koji, Boro, Jigen, Victor, Code, Deepa, Amado, and Kawaki. Interestingly the only one we have a full name for is Koji Kashin. This name will probably have more meaning once we learn how he’s connected to the Leaf Village.

I guess I should also point out that Delta and Code are likely aliases, not their real names. And just because we got the last name of Koji doesn’t mean we’ll get them for the rest of the Inners. We might for Jigen, but I don’t really see the need for the rest.

Anyway, Boro’s introduction was intriguing because it gave us another glimpse at the structure of Kara. I’ve mentioned it before, but Kara seems to be more of a group of individuals with a common goal when compared to the Akatsuki, which had a much more formal structure. This is why Orochimaru didn’t last in the Akatsuki for long.

As Delta tells us, Boro has a vast network of spies who gather information for him — not for Kara. If I had to guess, the puppets that attacked Konohamaru and Mugino are Boro’s. And this would mean that although Boro is acting as if he’s following Jigen’s orders, he has his spies (which are likely all puppets) working to achieve his own goal.

Additionally, Boro seems to view himself as the strongest person around. He brushes off Delta’s comment about him being killed off by saying effectively saying that none of the other Kara members would be able to defeat him. So, is Boro really the strongest human?

Well, he might be strong, but I don’t think Boro is human. It’s been heavily implied that all the Inners are modified humans in some way. Victor and Delta are for sure, and the way Amado speaks about performing maintenance on everyone implies they are as well.

And if we take this a step further by assuming that Boro really is the puppet master, I see no reason why his body wouldn’t be modified to the extent that Sasori’s was. Perhaps the reason that Boro is so large is because of all the weapons hidden within his body. And the fact that he doesn’t have a “real” body may be why he thinks of himself as invincible.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations episode 183? Do you think any of the scientific ninja tools featured in this episode will make a reappearance later on? If so, will Boruto use the chakra sword? And, who do you think the traitor within Kara is? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.