Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 266

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 266

Himawari (and Osuka) Kidnapped!

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 266 seems to be setting up the next arc. This is something we’ve seen from the Boruto anime before. It tends to use anime-original arcs to set the stage for the major arcs from the manga. And, this is a good thing.

I know there are people who would rather the anime only follow the canon of the manga. But, that’s not really a viable option. And even if it was, the manga intentionally leaves information out. The anime is here to fill in the gaps that the manga doesn’t have time for.

Now, I should make it clear that I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future of the series. I don’t read the Boruto manga. But, from the end of the episode, we know that someone put the gang that kidnapped Himawari and Otsuka up to it.

Osuka and Himawari kidnapped by a gang from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 266
Osuka and Himawari kidnapped by a gang

What’s strange, to me, is that Osuka Kamakura was the target of the kidnapping. Yes, she has famous parents and her family has money. But, she’s a supporting character with supporting character parents. She’s not important in the grand scheme of things.

Two of Osuka’s classmates, however, are more important. Of course, I’m referring to Himawari and Kae. Kawaki’s even more important. But, let’s be honest, nobody’s trying to kidnap Kawaki unless they’re connected to Kara. And as far as I know, Code, the last remaining member of Kara, has no interest in Kawaki.

My guess is that Osuka was the target because the mastermind knew about her. Now that they’ve learned of Kae’s existence, she should be the next target. The whole reason Kawaki is at the Academy is to protect Kae from kidnappers. So, it only makes sense for her to be the next target.

Kawaki to the Rescue

Let’s discuss Kawaki for a bit. Despite technically being a Genin, it’s a bit hard for me to call him a shinobi. You may have noticed that Kawaki doesn’t use any ninjutsu. But, so what? Rock and Metal Lee don’t use ninjutsu either, and they’re still shinobi.

Well, Rock and Metal Lee use taijutsu, which is just martial arts. You could argue that Kawaki does the same. But, you’d have a pretty hard time convincing most people that Kawaki’s punches count. Would you call some random thug on the street a martial artist because they can throw a punch? That’s what Kawaki is.

Let’s also not forget that Kawaki no longer has his Karma. He’s going to get it back at some point — we know that much. But, for now, he doesn’t have that. He’s strong and athletic but has no special abilities.

A Genin-ranked gang boss using a Fire Style jutsu from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 266
A Genin-ranked gang boss using a Fire Style jutsu

Along with his physical prowess, Kawaki also seems to be fairly durable. The low-level Fire Style jutsu of the gang boss had no effect on him. And I wouldn’t take that to mean that Kawaki’s immune to flames or jutsu. It’s more like the pain doesn’t bother him.

Now, there is one more thing I want to mention about Kawaki’s abilities. And this thing isn’t something we’ve seen within the content of the anime yet. But, if you pay attention to the current OP, you may notice that Kawaki has some form of dōjutsu in one of his eyes.

We don’t yet know what this dōjutsu is. But, my guess is that it’s related to Kawaki getting his Karma back. This mystery dōjutsu and Kawaki’s returning Karma could connect back to Code. I’m looking forward to learning more about it in the future.

Hibari Kamakura

We’ve known about Osuka’s father, Gongorō Kamakura for a long time. He’s the actor who plays Kagemasa. But, Episode 266 is the first time we’re meeting Osuka’s mother, Hibari Kamakura. Hibari was also first mentioned in Episode 261, which wasn’t very long ago.

Unfortunately, we don’t know all that much about Hibari. We know she’s a famous actress. We know she cares about her daughter. And we know she’s an old friend of Neon’s mother, who works at the Kaminarimon Company. Speaking of Neon’s mother, she helped Hibari develop a drone that can track Osuka.

Now, my question is: How much did Hibari help to develop the drone? Does she have any technical or engineering skills? It didn’t seem that way. So, I’m going to assume she helped by providing things. She could provide data on Osuka, DNA, or whatever the drone uses to track her. And she could provide funding.

Osuka and Hibari Kamakura from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 266
Osuka and Hibari Kamakura

Something else we don’t know about Hibari is if she was ever a shinobi. We know her husband is a former shinobi. But, there’s no indication the same is true for her. If she was never a shinobi, then that would make her relationship with Gongorō pretty rare.

I know that they could have met while working as actors. But, shinobi tend to get into relationships with other shinobi. The only confirmed shinobi and non-shinobi romantic pair I can think of is Kiba and Tamaki. Let me know in the comments if you can think of another.

Anyway, I’m not expecting Hibari to be an important character. We’ll probably see her again at some point throughout the series. But, I wouldn’t really mind if we never saw her again. That’s how unimportant she is. I’m sorry to all the Hibari Kamakura fans out there.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 266? Who do you think was behind the kidnapping? Do you want Kawaki to learn to use ninjutsu? And what are your thoughts on Hibari Kamakura? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss 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 267 is available now.

Leave a Comment