Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 265

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 265

Practical Training Session

In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 265, Hana-sensei announces a practical training session. The students will split up into teams of 3 and compete against each other in training their skills. But, the teams aren’t what you might expect; they’re randomized.

Team A: Kae, Himawari, and Sōsha
Team B: Harika, Soul, and Kawaki
Team C: Suzu, Eiki, and Neon
Team D: Kura, Osuka, and Ehō
Team E: Kande, Mimi, and Konashi
Team F: Doseki, Ran, and Yuina

These teams are interesting. They made me think more about what the final team compositions coming out of this class could look like.

For example, I always assumed that Himawari, Ehō, and Yuina would be a team. But, if Kae sticks around, Team A as we see it in this episode makes sense. Also, I assumed Osuka and Neon would always be together, as would Suzu and Ran. But, that’s not necessarily the case.

Team A: Kae, Himawari, and Sōsha from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 265
Team A: Kae, Himawari, and Sōsha

I’d also like to go over the final 4 Academy students whose names we now have. First up is Harika Aburame. While it’s obvious that Harika is a member of the Aburame clan, I actually didn’t realize she was a girl.

The next 3 characters come from previously unknown families. There’s Konashi Nerikiri, Kande Inabikari, and Doseki Ganryū. Konashi’s name might have been mentioned during the tea party in Episode 262. That was the episode in which we learned that his family runs a sweets shop.

Konashi’s surname, Nerikiri (練切), is a reference to paste-filled sweets. Kande’s first name is similar to the word candela, the unit for measuring luminosity. His surname, Inabikari (稲光), means “flash of lightning.” And Doseki’s first name means earth and stones. His surname, Ganryū (岩流), means “rockslide.”

Kande’s and Doseki’s names reveal the nature of their jutsu.

Academy Student Skills

It’s been a very long time since I last watched the original Naruto series. But, from what I remember, the Academy students back then weren’t as skilled as they are today. Apparently, all the current Academy students can already walk up trees.

For context, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke graduated from the Academy in Naruto Episode 3. They didn’t learn how to control their chakra to walk up trees until Episode 10 when Kakashi taught them. So, the current Academy students can already do things that were taught to Genin in the past.

I’m not surprised that some of the students can already do this. For example, Eiki and Himawari are two I’d expect to be able to do it. But, then we get to people like Kae. Sure, she wasn’t as good at it as her classmates. However, the fact that she can do it at all is surprising.

Kande using lightning release to start a fire from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 265
Kande using lightning release to start a fire

Of course, there are some Academy students that can already use jutsu. Typically, these are going to be the students who come from clans with specialized jutsu. For example, it’s no surprise that Harika can control the Aburame clan’s insects.

We can also assume Mimi knows some sort of jutsu from the Inazuka clan. And it’s implied that Kura can use a storage jutsu of some kind. I don’t know if she uses scrolls to store things, though. It appears that she uses her cloak for this instead.

In Episode 265, we get to see Kande use a lightning-style jutsu to start a fire. This might be the first time we’ve seen a current Academy student use a change in chakra nature. Also, I like how his hair and eyes lit up when he used his jutsu. Very on-brand considering his name.

The Flame Bear Attack

By far, the biggest twist of the episode was the revelation that flame bears exist. I’m a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see the flame bear use hand signs, though. That would have made this the single greatest Boruto episode.

Anyway, it was pretty cool to see Kawaki defeat the flame bear. The best part was seeing him standing in front of Konashi and Hana-sensei to protect them. He was a hero. And it’s moments like this that make him forsaking the shinobi path later on such a shock.

But, Kawaki’s heroics aside, I do agree with him about Hana-sensei. She should have been able to handle a flame bear on her own. It doesn’t matter that she can’t use flashy, or even powerful, jutsu. Power isn’t everything. A good shinobi should be able to use the tools at their disposal to defeat their opponent.

A flame bear about to eat Hana-sensei from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 265
A flame bear about to eat Hana-sensei

Okay, so Hana-sensei’s wind-release jutsu isn’t strong enough to stop the flame bear. Does she really have nothing else she can do? No tools like kunai? No ability to lead the bear away while dodging its attacks? Even if she can’t defeat it, it shouldn’t have defeated her.

Technically, we still don’t know what Hana-sensei’s rank is. There’s no way she’s a Jonin. But, she doesn’t have to be a Jonin to teach at the Academy. The lowest rank we’ve seen teaching at the Academy is Chunin, so I assume that’s what she is. But, it’s possible she’s still a Genin.

As far as we know, there’s no rank requirement for teaching at the Academy. We can assume you have to be an adult. And we can assume you need to have graduated from the Academy or have field experience. Rank shouldn’t matter here.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 265? Do you prefer Himawari paired up with Kae and Sōsha or Ehō and Yuina? Now that we know all Himawari’s classmates, who’s your favorite? And, should Hana-sensei have been able to defeat the flame bear? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 266 is available now.

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