Boruto Episode 227

Boruto Episode 227

Team Captain Sarada

Going into Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 227, I expected it to be a single, filler episode. But once it began, I considered the possibility that this would be the start of a short arc instead. Well, my first instinct turned out to be correct.

I would have rather this been a short arc than a single episode, but whatever. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. At least this week’s episode is looking to be better than next week’s which focuses on Team 5 (Denki, Iwabe, and Inojin).

Now, although I referred to this as a filler episode, it may turn out to actually be “filler.” By that, I mean an anime-original episode that does still impact or enhance later parts of the series. Boruto implements these “filler” episodes and arcs a lot more than true filler episodes.

Sarada Uchiha from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Sarada Uchiha

But what makes this episode more than just filler? The fact that Konohamaru is allegedly leaving Team 7. We’ll have to wait and see if that’s actually going to happen. But if it does, then Episode 227 wasn’t pure filler.

I was thinking that the chunin exam arc wasn’t really going to change anything. Like, yes, Sarada is a chunin now and de-facto leader of Team 7. But I figured Konohamaru would still be around, therefore making Sarada’s promotion more ceremonial than anything else.

Anyway, hopefully, we actually get to see a slight change in Team 7’s dynamic now that Sarada is the captain.

Also, as one last comment on Sarada, was this the first time we saw her use Wind release? I doubt it was because I believe we’ve seen her use that same jutsu before with Boruto and Mitsuki. But I was thinking she only knew Fire, Lightning, and Yin release.

Team 7’s Last Mission

Let’s be honest, this wasn’t exactly the most thrilling final mission for Team 7 before Konohamaru’s departure. But, there were some small details included in the episode that made the mission a bit more interesting, to me.

For starters, it’s obvious that Konohamaru could have defeated these rogue shinobi on his own. As a “filler” episode, it wouldn’t make sense to have extremely powerful antagonists. So I like that there was a reason for Konohamaru not fighting on his own given.

In this case, the reason was that the people of the village were all being held hostage by the gang. If Konohamaru tried anything, the gang would take it out on the villagers. That seems like a realistic predicament.

And what makes that explanation nice, even if it is simple, is that we’ve seen it not happen in earlier parts of the series. Sometimes, Konohamaru has seemingly been nerfed just so he doesn’t get in the way of the filler plot, which is lame.

Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki

The other details I liked in this episode came when Team 7 saw Konohamaru looking at the sky and then noting that the wind shifted shortly after. I didn’t think much of Konohamaru looking at the sky as it happened, other than that it was a bit odd.

However, I could tell that the wind changing was important since they bothered to point it out. And shortly before Boruto appeared using his transformation jutsu, Konohamaru mentioned that it was a bit early for him to free himself.

On their own, these details seemed small and insignificant. But once the fog rolls in and we get an explanation, it all makes sense. Those small details really did serve to make the events more believable.

Sayonara, Konohamaru

Going back to Konohamaru allegedly leaving Team 7, the idea of a new fourth member being added to the team was brought up. It was then stated that their team probably wouldn’t be getting a new member because that’s not a common practice anymore.

I have two comments on this. The first is that Team 7 will definitely be getting a fourth member; he currently lives in Boruto’s house and his name is Kawaki. I would be absolutely shocked if Kawaki doesn’t join Team 7 at some point.

The second comment has to do with Boruto saying the practice of replacing the old team captain with a new member was fairly common back in Naruto’s day. I guess you could technically say it did happen with the original Team 7. But that was more of an exception than the rule.

Team 7's commemorative photograph from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Team 7’s commemorative photograph

The four main teams in Naruto’s day were Team 7, Team 8, Team 10, and Team Guy. Starting with Team 8, it was made up of Kurenai, Kiba (and Akamaru), Hinata, and Shino. No new team members were added besides Kakashi temporarily taking over for Kurenai.

Team 10 was Asuma, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino. Again, Kakashi temporarily led the team in Asuma’s place. And Sakura joined Choji and Ino to form a three-man squad for the Chunin Exams in the Hidden Sand Village. But, there was no new member.

And with Team Guy (Guy, Lee, Tenten, and Neji), there was again no new member added.

Now, with Team 7, we have the exception. Both Sai and Yamato were added to Team 7 for specific reasons. On paper, Sai was Sasuke’s replacement. But in reality, he was there to keep an eye on the Jinchūriki (Naruto) for Danzō.

And Yamato replaced Kakashi specifically because he was the only person who could restrain Naruto (via his Wood release) if Kurama’s chakra went out of control.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 227? Do you think Konohamaru is actually going to leave Team 7? I know I said Kawaki would be replacing him. But I think it makes more sense for Team 7 to have five members.

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My review of Episode 228 is available now.

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