Boruto Episode 225

Boruto Episode 225

Showdown Between Close Friends

While Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 225 wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping it would be, it was still a good episode. The match between Sarada and Chocho was definitely better than the previous match between Wasabi and Iwabe.

However, despite this episode’s match having more fight choreography, I still think the Inojin vs. Houki round was the best of the current Chunin Exams. I really liked how Houki altered the environment to his advantage and planned ways to counter Inojin’s various jutsu.

Now, I was pretty sure that Sarada was going to win this match. Since Inojin lost against Houki, it made sense for Chocho to lose against Sarada. Having Shikadai as the only chunin of their team makes more sense than having Inojin as the only genin.

Shinki of the Hidden Sand from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Shinki of the Hidden Sand

But, that’s not the only reason I was pretty sure Sarada was going to come out on top. I mean, let’s be honest, it’s Sarada vs. Chocho. Chocho can use both Yang and Lightning release, while Sarada can use Lightning, Fire, Yin, and probably Yang release. Oh, and Sarada has the Sharingan.

The specific chakra natures they can use don’t matter all that much since they’re all just basic natures. But the number of natures they can each use shows that Sarada has a more varied skill set. She’s able to adapt much more than Chocho is.

And, as one last point before I get into their actual match, I didn’t mind the whole storyline about Sarada learning to take the fight seriously. Yes, it’s a trope. But I think it made sense for these characters. It’s way better than the storyline from Wasabi’s fight against Iwabe.

Sarada vs. Chocho

The first portion of the fight, before Sarada learned her lesson, was pretty one-sided in Sarada’s favor. Chocho isn’t weak in any sense, but her abilities are simply outmatched by Sarada’s. This is why I expected the second phase of their fight to go the same way, very much leaning toward Sarada.

Instead, we saw a fight that had both girls fairly evenly matched. And when they began trading blows without using jutsu, I started to worry. I wasn’t worried that Sarada would lose, though. I was worried that we were going to get a tie just like the match between Sakura and Ino way back in the original Naruto series Chunin Exam.

That would have been a disappointing way to end the match for two reasons. First, once again, we would have two female characters unable to claim victory. I wouldn’t have viewed it as a callback to the original series. I would have viewed it as the series having made no progress in the past 18 years of the anime.

Chocho vs. Sarada from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Chocho vs. Sarada

The second reason it would have been disappointing is that it’s obvious Sarada is the stronger of the two. A tie would have felt like such a cop-out on the part of the writers. Basically, it would have officially signaled that this is a filler arc that wasn’t going to have any lasting effect on the story (Sarada becoming a chunin).

Luckily, that’s not what happened. Sarada did defeat Chocho in the end. But, her path to victory was a bit curious. I would have expected Sarada to break out Chidori right away once she decided that she was going to go all-out against her best friend.

Sarada also isn’t known for using genjutsu despite having the Sharingan. But, I would have expected to see some minor genjutsu from her during this fight; perhaps to make Chocho think she landed a direct hit when she didn’t.

Rescuing Amado

While Sarada’s match was happening, Boruto and Mitsuki were off somewhere on the outskirts of the village rescuing Amado. As I predicted, Amado didn’t really seem to need rescuing since he’s capable of taking care of himself. But, he allowed Boruto and Mitsuki to save him anyway.

The people who took Amado are shinobi from an unnamed land who wanted his scientific ninja tools so that they could protect themselves from neighboring countries. However, it didn’t seem like self-defense is all they would use Amado’s technology for.

Amado declines to help them, stating that he’s indebted to the Leaf Village. The shinobi are then easily defeated by Boruto and Mitsuki and that’s the end of that little aside. But, is that really all there is to it?

Mitsuki and Boruto rescuing Amado from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Mitsuki and Boruto rescuing Amado

I don’t see the shinobi from this unnamed land being a big part of the story. However, since they were introduced, it might mean that we’re going to get a filler arc including them in the near future. That could be a good first mission for Team 7 to go on with Sarada as a chunin.

Notice how I only mentioned that Sarada will be a chunin. We know the next match of the exams is Denki vs. Tsubaki, which I predict Denki will win. And so, that means Boruto vs. Mitsuki is going to be the final round. With that in mind, all three members of Team 7 can’t become chunin.

Based on that, I’m predicting that Boruto’s and Mitsuki’s fight ends in a tie. Perhaps the shinobi who attempted to kidnap Amado will show up and stop the fight. Or, what I’d prefer, is that Boruto and Mitsuki both go “all-out” (probably no Karma or Sage mode) and end up in a draw.

Conclusion

What do you think about Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 225? Should that have been an easier win for Sarada? Or am I underestimating the power of Chocho? And what are your predictions for the final two matches of the Chunin Exams? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 226 is available now.

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