Boruto Episode 63

Introduction

It’s been two weeks since the last episode of Boruto and therefore two weeks since my last episode review for the series. For the foreseeable future, these weekly episode reviews will be posted on Thursdays, the same day the episodes air.

This episode is titled “Sasuke’s Secret Weapon,” although the secret weapon in question is only hinted at in the episode. Those of us who have seen the Boruto movie should know what this secret weapon is, but I won’t spoil it just yet for anyone else.

Summary

Today’s review may be on the shorter side considering most of the episode was actually just recap, but we’ll see how it goes. Other than the recap which was shown through a variety of flashbacks, the little bit of new content simply sets up the next arc which involves rescuing Naruto.

During the Ōtsutsuki clan attack on the chunin exams, Naruto used his strength to protect the Hidden Leaf village from a majority of the blast caused by Momoshiki. Afterwards, Kinshiki and Momoshiki took Naruto to another dimension, unimpeded by Hinata who attempted to rescue him.

Despite Sasuke being the only person to know that Naruto was still alive, it seems that most of the other Hidden Leaf villagers assumes that Naruto is still alive other than Boruto. However, I liked that we saw this episode through Boruto’s eyes because it gave it a darker feel since he assumed his father had died.

While last episode was the low point for Boruto as a character (for now at least; I hope that wasn’t the low point of the entire series), this episode is the first step to his redemption. He’s now beginning to recognize the differences between himself and his father.

While Boruto tended to do things the quick and easy way, Naruto (while wishing he could do things this way) actually put in time and effort to become the ninja he is today. Naruto also has something he wants to protect, the village, while Boruto just wanted to prove his own strength.

In the latter portion of the episode Sasuke, the four remaining Kage, and Boruto prepare to depart for the dimension in which Naruto and the Ōtsutsuki clan members are. It’s at this point that Sasuke gives Boruto his old headband which has the Hidden Leaf emblem slashed out.

On the surface, it appears that Sasuke is giving this headband to Boruto as a symbol that he recognizes him as his pupil. Sasuke also mentions that the headband served as a promise between himself and Naruto that one day they would have a rematch.

By giving his headband to Boruto, Sasuke is passing the torch onto his new pupil and saying that Boruto will be the one to surpass Naruto one day, not himself. Further, if we read a little deeper into it, the headband also serves as a potential loophole.

Remember, Boruto has been disqualified as a ninja. However, by giving him a rogue ninja headband, Sasuke is essentially giving Boruto permission to go against the word of the Hokage and take part in this rescue mission anyway, which would normally be forbidden.

Finally, the combination of Naruto’s old jacket and Sasuke’s old headband symbolize how Boruto is a combination of the two. On the surface he’s Naruto’s son and Sasuke’s pupil, but if we look a little deeper his character is a combination of both of theirs as well.

One final thing I almost forgot to mention is that this episode we were officially told what the powers of the three Ōtsutsuki clan members were. While Momoshiki and Urashiki’s were pretty self-explanatory, Kinshiki’s chakra weapons I don’t think had been explained before, even in the movie.

I knew that they were chakra weapons, but I don’t think I ever realized that he steals chakra from his opponents in order to make them. I think this is something that could be flushed out more in this arc by having him show off this power more than he did in the movie.

Next Episode

The next episode will cover the first portion of the battle between the Ōtsutsuki clan (at least Kinshiki and Momoshiki) and the five Kage, Sasuke, and Boruto. Since Urashiki Ōtsutsuki wasn’t in the movie version of this arc, I don’t actually know if he’ll play a role in this battle.

I’m still hoping that Urashiki becomes a B-plot antagonist who attacks the Hidden Leaf once again while the Naruto recovery mission is going on. I’d like to see the characters who stayed behind have some action-oriented screen time during this arc of the series.

Based off what Sasuke and Boruto say before going through Sasuke’s portal, it seems that Sarada, Shikadai, Shikamaru, and Kakashi would be the main characters of this B-plot. Unfortunately, I don’t think Mitsuki will be playing a role because of his injuries, and Sakura is also busy tending to the wounded.

How do you think Urashiki will be tied into the rest of this arc? Do you think he’ll be a main plot antagonist with Kinshiki and Momoshiki? Do you think he’ll be a B-plot antagonist? Maybe he’ll even be the next main antagonist after Kinshiki and Momoshiki. Leave a comment below to let me know.

My review of episode 64 is available here.