Boruto Episode 213

Jigen’s True Identity

As I suggested in my review of Episode 212, the “true identity” that was revealed in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 213 wasn’t Koji Kashin’s, but Jigen’s. Of course, we as the viewers already knew both of their identities. The reveals are just for the other characters at this point.

But, that’s not to say that everything revealed about Jigen was already known to us. Sure, we knew that Jigen is the current vessel of Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, but we didn’t know who he was before that or how he became Isshiki’s vessel.

Before he was Isshiki’s vessel, Jigen was just some random monk. Unfortunately for him, he just so happened to be nearby when Isshiki was dying after being betrayed by Kaguya. So, that answers the question of how Jigen came to be Isshiki’s vessel.

What this also tells us is that Jigen is Isshiki’s first vessel and that Jigen has been alive for hundreds of years. I don’t remember exactly when Kaguya and Isshiki came to the planet, but it was a few hundred years, if not a few thousand years, ago.

Now, I’ll get into the explanation of how Karma works in the following section. But before we get to that, it was revealed that Isshiki actually didn’t take over Jigen’s body via Karma. Isshiki shrunk himself down and actually attached himself to Jigen’s brain like a parasite.

Only later did he place the Karma on Jigen’s body so that he could use a higher percentage of his former power. Jigen was never made into an official vessel of Isshiki’s because his body simply can’t withstand Isshiki’s immense chakra. That’s where Kawaki comes in.

How Karma Works

I’m not going to lie, I don’t particularly like the explanation of how Isshiki is controlling Jigen via brain parasitism. It’s a pretty dumb development that, for now at least, doesn’t seem to have actually been necessary.

Consider this as an alternate scenario: Jigen is Isshiki’s vessel, but because his body isn’t strong enough, Isshiki can’t use it to fully manifest. That’s all the information we would have needed to know why Isshiki isn’t reincarnated and why he has his eyes set on Kawaki as his next vessel.

Isshiki being revealed to be a little bug boy hiding inside Jigen’s brain just made me infinitely less interested in him as an antagonist. At this point, just bring back Momoshiki already. I almost said to bring back Urashiki, but I’ll admit that even Isshiki is a better villain than he is.

Anyway, we now know that Karma works by slowly turning its host into a “revived” version of the Ōtsutsuki who gave them the Karma. Technically speaking, they aren’t revived. Instead, their DNA and memories are copied over and the host is transformed into them.

But, for all intents and purposes, Karma is used to revive Ōtsutsuki who are able to find a suitable vessel before they die. This, however, then brings up the question of why Ōtsutsuki clan members don’t simply pre-emptively implant someone with Karma.

I guess it comes down to hubris. If you’re already an immortal “god,” you aren’t expecting to ever need to download a backup of yourself. But considering how hard it seems to be to find someone who’s compatible with Karma, it doesn’t seem like something that should be left to the last minute.

Of course, Isshiki has now learned that lesson. But he wouldn’t have had to spend the past few hundred years living inside Jigen if he had learned it earlier.

How to Kill an Ōtsutsuki

At the end of the episode, Amado is about to reveal how to kill an Ōtsutsuki. I’m interested to hear what he has to say because we’ve two of the six Ōtsutsuki who have appeared in the series have already been killed. It’s not as if killing them is unheard of.

Obviously, Kaguya was (re)sealed by Naruto and Sasuke, so she’s technically still alive. And from what I remember, Toneri was sealed by Urashiki on the moon, so he’s alive too. Momoshiki was “killed,” but implanted his Karma on Boruto, and so is technically alive as well.

The two who were killed are Kinshiki and Urashiki. Kinshiki was devoured by Momoshiki to grant the latter more power. Because of that, we can assume that Kinshiki isn’t going to be coming back. He knew he was sacrificing himself for his master.

Urashiki is the one Ōtsutsuki who was actually killed by humans. Naruto and Boruto obliterated him with their tag-team Rasengan, and there was no indication he left a Karma behind. So, already, we have precedent for Ōtsutsuki being killed.

Now, I don’t think Isshiki will be killed in the same way as Urashiki was. You could argue that technically Urashiki was stronger because Isshiki is bound to an imperfect vessel right now. But, I think we’ve seen that Isshiki is actually more powerful and competent.

What Amado might be about to tell Naruto & co. is something we already know. Ōtsutsuki can absorb chakra, but they can’t absorb “physical” matter. Obviously, he has to have more insight than just that. But I think that’s going to be the base of it.

And, if you were paying attention, this is what Koji does in his fight against Isshiki. He summons existing fire (probably from Mount Myōboku or within a special toad) so that Isshiki can’t absorb it.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 213? How do you feel about the explanation of how Isshiki is controlling Jigen? Do you have any theories on how to stop Karma transformations? And, is the humble summoning jutsu going to be the downfall of Isshiki? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 214 is available now.