Category: Series/Seasonal Reviews

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Review

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Review

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror anime series cover art
Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror

Love Live! Goes Fantasy

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror (Genjitsu no Yohane: Sunshine in the Mirror / 幻日のヨハネ -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR-) is a Love Live! Sunshine!! spin-off series. And since Sunshine!! is probably my favorite Love Live! entry, I had to watch it. But, that’s not the only thing this series has going for it.

As you can likely guess from the series’ title, Yoshiko “Yohane” Tsushima is the protagonist. Yohane isn’t my favorite of the girls from Sunshine!!, but she’s a good one. And she’s better than Chika, that’s for sure. Oh, and this spin-off is a fantasy series, so there’s that.

Now, a good question to have at this point is, how does the fantasy aspect change things? Is it still Love Live!? Or, does it simply use the same characters? Does it still have what made Love Live!, well, Love Live!?

Ruby Kurosawa hiding between books from the anime series Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror
Ruby Kurosawa hiding between books

If you’re a fan of the core series, you’ll be glad to know that the songs and dances are still here. It makes a little less sense when characters break out into song. But, the series tries to make the songs plot-relevant as much as it can. And, they’re still good songs from Aqours.

Where the fantasy aspect comes in is with the characters and story. For example, in the image above, you can see that Ruby is a fairy now. And, instead of saving their school from shutting down, Yohane and the girls need to save the town of Numazu.

What are they saving Numazu from? The calamity, of course. Are you curious to know more about the calamity? Well, that sucks, because we never really get much more information about it. It’s bad, it causes animals to go mad, and it’s purple. Also, of course, the power of song and friendship can stop it.

Subscribe to YumeTwins by October 15th to receive the Kawaii Halloween Carnival box!

Learn More

Aqours, Reimagined

Okay so, you already saw how Ruby is a fairy in this series. But, what about the rest of the girls? Is Dia a fairy, too? No. Dia is the town’s chief of staff by day and a motorcycle-riding, katana-wielding hero by night. Makes sense, I know.

What about Chika Takami? She and her sisters run an inn, which checks out. But, they also moonlight as superheroes. And when they do, Chika takes on the name Katy. Then, there’s You Watanabe. She’s a mail courier in this world. But, that involves being shot out of a cannon and flying.

Hanamaru Kunikida is one of the few normal girls of the group. She’s a baker. But, she also has a giant, and I mean massive, pig named Shishinoshin as a pet. Riko Sakurauchi is also normal, being a zoologist from out of town.

Yohane Tsushima and Mari Ohara from the anime series Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror
Yohane Tsushima and Mari Ohara

In Sunshine!!, Kanan Matsuura was my favorite of the girls. What’s she up to in Yohane the Parhelion? Well, this time around, Kanan still has a connection to the ocean. But, it comes in the form of collecting ocean drift waste and engineering it into things.

My favorite of the girls in this series, though, is Mari Ohara. I didn’t care too much about Mari in Sunshine!!. But, she’s great in Yohane the Parhelion. This iteration of Mari is Demon Lord Mari. She has demon horns and lives with a bunch of ghosts on an otherwise uninhabited island.

Finally, there’s Yohane Tsushima. Unlike in the main series, I don’t believe she ever goes by Yoshiko here. Everyone calls her Yohane and she never has to correct any of them. What’s special about her is that she has some kind of magic. That, and her best friend is a talking wolf named Lailaps.

Right Stuf Anime is North America’s largest online anime product retailer.

Shop Now

Not As Good As I Hoped

At the start of this review, I was really hyping up Yohane the Parhelion. But, the reality is that it’s not as good as I hoped it would be. I went into the series with high expectations based on everything I previously said about it. It didn’t meet those expectations.

At the end of the day, this is a fine series. If you’re a Love Live! fan, especially a Sunshine!! fan, you’ll enjoy it. But, don’t go in expecting it to be the best entry in the franchise. It’s a spin-off. And if you keep that in mind, you should have a good time.

But, what would have made Yohane the Parhelion a better series? The answer to this question is going to be different for everyone. However, I can point to a few changes that would have improved it, for me.

Lailaps and Yohane Tsushima from the anime series Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror
Lailaps and Yohane Tsushima

The first change I would have liked is for the series to be more adventure-based. For a fantasy series, there wasn’t very much fantastical stuff going on. Ruby was a fairy, Mari was a demon lord, and there was a talking wolf. But, to me, the best fantasy series have some kind of adventure.

It would have been way better if I got to see Yohane and the other girls travel across a fantasy world. Maybe Yohane has to go on a journey to bring the other girls together. I don’t know. But, I wanted something like that when I saw it was a fantasy series.

The other change is the inclusion of Saint Snow. This might be an unpopular opinion, but Saint Snow is the best thing about Sunshine!! And yet, they didn’t appear in this series at all. Why not? Where are Sarah and Leah Kazuno?

Yohane the Parhelion: 6/10

Unfortunately, I have to give Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror a 6/10. It’s a fine anime. But, I don’t feel like I’d recommend it to anyone who isn’t already a Love Live! fan. There’s just not enough going on for me to recommend it as a standalone anime.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Join the DoubleSama Discord server to discuss anime, manga, and more with other members of the community!

Join Now

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Review

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Review

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime series cover art
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

I’m Still Not Playing the Game

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was almost out for an entire year before I finally watched it. This was one of the most popular anime to come out in 2022. But, I wasn’t all that interested in it at first.

Still, I did say I would watch it. And a lot of people I know, including many in the DoubleSama Discord server, said it was good. So, is Cyberpunk: Edgerunners as good as everyone says? Yes, it is. However, I still have no interest in playing the game it’s based on.

Apparently, this series is the prequel to Cyberpunk 2077. Though, I have no idea how much of what happens in the anime carries over to the game. I’d imagine the main connection is the setting. And maybe a few characters from the anime appear or are mentioned in the game.

Rebecca pointing a gun from the anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Rebecca pointing a gun

But, what’s the plot of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners? The series is about a gang doing gang-related things in Night City. And, those gang-related things attract the attention of the military-industrial complex. You see, Night City is run by a few defense contractors/private military corporations.

These organizations don’t particularly like the gangs of Night City’s underworld. They don’t take too kindly to having their equipment and data stolen and sold (or used in crimes). And, when the gangs are packing gear on par with the military organizations, things can get out of hand.

This is the world David Martinez finds himself in. After his mother’s death, David implants military-grade Sandevistan cyberware into his body. However, Maine, a gang leader, had his sights set on that particular piece of gear. And so, David ends up joining Maine’s crew as a way to both pay Maine back and prove his worth.

Right Stuf Anime is North America’s largest online anime product retailer.

Shop Now

Meet the Edgerunners

Before David joins Maine’s Crew, there are six key members. The most important of which is obviously Maine himself. Maine is a large, buff man who looks like an 80s action movie star. He was also the one David unknowingly stole the Sandivistan cyberware from.

Dorio is the second-in-command of Maine’s Crew. Like Maine, she’s large, buff, and fights at the front. Dorio and Maine are also in a relationship of some kind. Though, I wouldn’t call it anything serious.

Kiwi is the first of two netrunners in the group. A netrunner is someone who can link into the internet or data servers with their mind. When Maine’s Crew needs to steal sensitive data, Kiwi is the one who does it while the others protect her.

It’s also Kiwi who brought the second netrunner, Lucy, into the gang.

Kiwi, Dorio, Maine, and Pilar from the anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Kiwi, Dorio, Maine, and Pilar

Lucy is the female lead of the series. She’s the one who brings David into Maine’s Gang. Though, she originally does so because David stole Maine’s Sandivistan.

Despite the initial betrayal, Lucy and David develop a romantic relationship. However, I actually liked Lucy more in the first half of the series when she was less worried about love.

Pilar is almost the least interesting member of Maine’s Crew. I’d say that honor goes to Dorio. But, Pilar’s role is pretty much to be the gang’s creep. I’m pretty sure he also does some kind of hacking. Either way, he’s a weird dude.

Rebecca is Pilar’s sister and the best character in the series. Well, at least in the second half when she gets more screen time she is. Rebecca is a loose cannon who’s unpredictable on the battlefield. She also hates her brother and has a crush on David.

Oh, and Lucy is the obligatory “legal loli.”

HobbyLink Japan is the world’s largest online hobby, toy, and figure shop.

Shop Now

Fly (Lucy) to the Moon

This is the part of the review where I go over what I liked and didn’t like about Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. And, this is also the part of the review where I spoil everything. If you haven’t seen the series yet, I recommend you watch it.

So, first I want to expand on what I meant when I said Lucy was good at the start and Rebecca was good at the end. These two characters kind of swap being in the spotlight around halfway through. And, they’re both good when they’re the main female character.

I felt that this worked well for Rebecca because her character got stronger as the series went on. By the time we got to Rebecca’s death, she was my favorite character. However, the opposite happened with Lucy. She started off cool, then got pushed to the side and didn’t do much.

Lucy kissing David from the anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Lucy kissing David

Probably my favorite thing about this series has to do with Rebecca’s death. Well, it’s the fact that the only surviving member of Maine’s Crew at the end is Lucy. And why does Lucy survive? Because she leaves the edgerunner life behind and wants a normal life with David.

I really like when things don’t work out for our heroes in the end. Too many series have happy endings that are boring. Cyberpunk isn’t one of those. We actually get to see the main characters struggle and fail to overcome challenges. This culminates in them losing to Adam Smasher in the final episode.

We also got to watch David’s descent into madness due to too many cyberware enhancements. Earlier in the series, we saw the same thing happen to Maine. But, because David is the protagonist, I assumed he was “built different.” It was refreshing to see that he wasn’t.

Conclusion

There were people saying that Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was the best anime of 2022. Were they right? I think they might be. I ended up giving this series a 9/10, which makes it tied for my highest-rated anime of the year.

The only other anime I rated that high were Mob Psycho 100 III and the Mushoku Tensei Special. But, those are both part of larger series that help to build them up. Since Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a standalone anime, I might have to say it’s the best.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Join the DoubleSama Discord server to discuss anime, manga, and more with other members of the community!

Join Now

Happy Sugar Life Review

Happy Sugar Life Review

Happy Sugar Life anime series cover art
Happy Sugar Life

Satou & the Sugar Girl

Happy Sugar Life (ハッピーシュガーライフ) is a shoujo ai (girls’ love) and psychological horror series. Those are two genres that you don’t typically see together. But, Happy Sugar Life attempts to combine them. And, I say “attempts” because I don’t think it did a good job.

I’ll get to my complaints about the series toward the end of this review. Before we get to that, though, what’s this anime actually about? What is a happy sugar life? At its core, it’s about the love between two girls. But, there’s a lot more to it than that.

It’s also very much about broken people. Almost every character in the series is broken in some way. And, the different ways in which these characters are broken are what bring them together. Some come together to support each other. And others come together opposing each other.

Satou hugging Shio from the anime series Happy Sugar Life
Satou hugging Shio

Our two main characters are Satou Matsuzaka and Shio Koube. These girls both suffered from family and abandonment issues. And, that’s exactly what brought them together. Satou has been searching for a healthy love, and in Shio, she found that. Shio has been without a stable home her entire life, and with Satou, she found that, too.

But, what’s a bit unique about Happy Sugar Life is that none of the characters are “fixable.” Yes, Satou and Shio have each other now. But, that doesn’t mean their past trauma is gone. All they’re really doing is helping each other cope.

So, I still haven’t answered the second question I posed. What is a happy sugar life? This is what Satou is seeking. It’s what she calls a life without all the unpleasant things she doesn’t want to think about. Her life at home with Shio is the happy sugar life she wants to protect.

Right Stuf Anime is North America’s largest online anime product retailer.

Shop Now

Everyone Except Shouko Sucks

Shouko Hida, Satou’s best friend, is the only character in the series who isn’t broken in some way. I already mentioned why Satou and Shio are broken. But, there’s more to say about how being broken affects their lives.

Shio has a fear of going outside. When she was younger, her mother punished her for doing so. And, her mother also abandoned her outside. But, that works out perfectly for Satou, who doesn’t want Shio to leave their apartment. You see, Shio is a young girl and Satou is kind of her kidnapper.

If anyone found out that Shio was living with Satou, it could be a problem. So, to protect her happy sugar life, Satou goes to increasing extremes. She has no issues blackmailing, physically harming, or even killing. As long as it means keeping Shio all to herself, Satou will do anything.

Shouko whispering to Satou from the anime series Happy Sugar Life
Shouko whispering to Satou

I mentioned that Shio is a young girl — like elementary school age. I also mentioned this is a shoujo ai series. So, yes, Satou is a high schooler in love with a small child. And, this is a recurring theme in the series. Satou isn’t the only pedophile around.

One of Satou’s bosses who assaulted high schooler Taiyou Mitsuboshi fits this description. And, later in the series, Satou’s aunt does the same thing to Taiyou. There’s also Satou’s teacher, Daichi Kimaumekawa who’s obsessed with being dominated by Satou. And, there’s Taiyou Mitsuboshi, the aforementioned victim. He also has an unhealthy obsession with Shio.

Not every broken character has an attraction to children, though. Most do, sure. But, there’s also Sumire Miyazaki, Satou’s kouhai who wants to become her. And, there’s Asahi Koube, Shio’s older brother. He believes that reuniting with Shio will somehow fix their broken family and his life.

HobbyLink Japan is the world’s largest online hobby, toy, and figure shop.

Shop Now

The Third Quarter Was Decent

My biggest complaint isn’t the fact that so many characters in the series are pedophiles. It’s the fact that the series tries to be extremely edgy. Of course, the pedophile characters are part of that. But, there’s more that goes into it.

Happy Sugar Life reminds me a lot of Angels of Death, which actually aired during the same season back in 2018. The entire point of both series is to be edgy. And, because of that, they’re pretty cringe, as well. But, I’d say Happy Sugar Life is the worse of the two.

The first half of this series didn’t have much in terms of redeeming qualities. It was all about setting up how terrible and broken all of the characters are. But then, the third quarter of the series gave me some hope. It brought the mystery aspect of the series back into the spotlight.

Satou's aunt committing arson from the anime series Happy Sugar Life
Satou’s aunt committing arson

From the very start of Happy Sugar Life, we knew that Satou had a dark secret. There were bloody trash bags stowed away in a locked room of her apartment. And, we didn’t know what was in them. The implication was that these were the remains of her aunt.

However, I never thought that was the case. And it’s a good thing I didn’t because it turned out to be wrong. I assumed these were the remains of Shio’s mother. My guess was that Satou killed her and assumed her role as Shio’s caretaker.

But, that was also wrong. I’m not going to say whose remains were in the bags because you can watch the series for yourself. But, this is also the point in the series when things begin unraveling for Satou. That was fun to watch until all the edgy action happened at the end.

Happy Sugar Life: 4/10

I don’t think Happy Sugar Life is a good anime. It had some interesting stuff going on with the mystery surrounding Satou’s apartment. But, aside from that, it was bad. And that’s why I have to give it a 4/10. It would have been so much better if it focused more on the mystery than the “edginess.”

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Join the DoubleSama Discord server to discuss anime, manga, and more with other members of the community!

Join Now

Welcome to the N.H.K. Review

Welcome to the N.H.K. Review

Welcome to the N.H.K. anime series cover art
Welcome to the N.H.K.

Japanese Hikikomori Association

Welcome to the N.H.K. (NHK ni Youkoso! / N・H・Kにようこそ!) is a psychological drama (and comedy) anime series from 2006. It follows Tatsuhiro Satou, a hikikomori, as he attempts to reintegrate into society.

In case you don’t know what hikikomori (引きこもり) means, allow me to explain. It’s a more severe version of being a NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). You may be familiar with that term from KonoSuba, as it’s often used to refer to Kazuya. Anyway, hikikomori goes beyond that to also mean a person is a shut-in.

A NEET still may go outside and interact with society. Going back to KonoSuba as an example, Kazuya died on his way back from a convenience store. But, someone who’s a hikikomori tends not to leave their home or apartment at all. Or, at least, not to go somewhere other people are.

Tatsuhiro Satou sitting in his apartment from the anime series Welcome to the N.H.K.
Tatsuhiro Satou sitting in his apartment

So, now that we know what a hikikomori is, what’s the Japanese Hikikomori Association (N.H.K.)? The N.H.K. (Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai), is Satou’s personal conspiracy. He believes it’s the organization responsible for him becoming a hikikomori. It’s his way of denying his own responsibility. But, in reality, he has no one to blame but himself.

Well, Satou also appears to suffer from some kind of mental illness. He sometimes has hallucinations, though, I’m told that the anime leaves out his drug use. So, I’m going to chalk up the hallucinations to that. The real sign of his mental illness is his extreme social anxiety.

You see, Satou is capable of going out in public and interacting with people. But, sometimes things happen in these public settings that trigger him. And when he gets triggered, he quickly spirals into a manic episode. However, most of his problems are his own fault, not caused by his mental illness.

Right Stuf Anime is North America’s largest online anime product retailer.

Shop Now

Everyone Is the Worst

My biggest issue with Welcome to the N.H.K. is that all the characters are terrible people. Some of them have mental illnesses of varying severity. But, even if we ignore that, none of them are people I would want to hang out with.

As I’ve mentioned, Satou is a hikikomori with some kind of social anxiety disorder. But, he’s also just not a good guy. He doesn’t actually care about other people, including his friends. And he does harmful things to them. For example, he threatened to hit Misaki as she was cowering in fear of him.

Speaking of Misaki Nakahara, she’s not that much better than Satou. She’s about four years younger than him. She grew up with an abusive stepfather. And, her mother committed suicide in front of her. So, yes, Misaki is messed up. But, that doesn’t excuse how she views and treats Satou as someone beneath her.

Hitomi Kashiwa from the anime series Welcome to the N.H.K.
Hitomi Kashiwa

Kaoru Yamazaki is the most normal of all the characters. He’s Satou’s former kouhai and current neighbor. Yamazaki is also an extreme otaku, not that that’s a problem. However, toward the end of the series, we see Yamazaki verbally abuse a girl who likes him. He has some proto-incel energy, at times.

Hitomi Kashiwa is my favorite character, though she’s arguably the worst of the bunch. She’s the one who got Satou into conspiracies. And, she also has depression, suicidal tendencies, and a prescription drug addiction. Hitomi uses Satou for sex and to escape from her life.

Finally, there’s Megumi Kobayashi, Satou’s class representative from his high school days. She’s a completely normal person. But, that doesn’t make her a good person. She got sucked into a multi-level marketing scheme and now recruits others to try to claw her way back out of debt.

HobbyLink Japan is the world’s largest online hobby, toy, and figure shop.

Shop Now

Not Much Changed for Satou

By the end of the series, which is 24 episodes, not much has changed for Satou. He’s not a hikikomori anymore, which is good. Since his parents cut him off financially, he had to get a construction job to continue paying for food and rent.

But, other than that, his life hasn’t changed much. He’s still going to his “counseling” sessions with Misaki. Though, they’re now “counseling” each other. And, he signed a pact with her that states if one of them dies, the other will too. So, yeah.

Basically, we now have two mentally unstable people taking care of each other. And by taking care of each other, of course, I mean that they’re sharing in each others’ delusions. What could go wrong?

This series is overflowing with unhealthy relationships. And the problem is, a lot of people identify with it.

Misaki Nakahara knocking on Satou's door from the anime series Welcome to the N.H.K.
Misaki Nakahara knocking on Satou’s door

I’ve seen people who identify with Satou, which should not be what you want. If you’re identifying with Satou, you need to change something. He’s incapable of taking responsibility for his own self-destructive behaviors. All he does is bring those around him down with him.

And then, there are all the people who I’ve seen call this series a realistic depiction of life. Again, that’s not good. If you say it’s a realistic depiction of depression or mental illness, fine. At least then, you’re acknowledging that what’s shown in the series isn’t healthy.

Now, going back to how not much changed for Satou, let’s look at his relationship with Misaki. Are they in a romantic relationship by the end of the anime? No. Not even that has changed for Satou. If we saw him and Misaki living together at the end, at least we could point to that as a positive change.

Welcome to the N.H.K.: 7/10

Despite all my complaints, Welcome to the N.H.K. is a good anime. I gave it a 7/10. Even though the characters are all terrible people, that doesn’t make the series bad. In fact, that’s a positive thing. It shows that the author was able to write characters I felt strongly about.

From my understanding, though, the novel the anime is based on is even better. As you’d expect, the characters get more depth and development in that medium. So, if the anime was more like that, I may have rated it even higher.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about becoming a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Join the DoubleSama Discord server to discuss anime, manga, and more with other members of the community!

Join Now

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Part 1 Review

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Part 1 Review

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime series cover art
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

293 Episodes of Boruto

It’s finally time to review all 293 episodes of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The last time I did a review of the Boruto series “as a whole” was after Episode 50. And, between Episodes 50 and 293, I reviewed 215 episodes on a weekly basis.

So, while I’ve covered most of the Boruto series, I technically haven’t reviewed it all. That’s what today’s review is for. Though, I won’t be going into as much detail as I did in the episode reviews.

Now, to start off, I need to talk about where Boruto Part 1 ends and the future of the series. The 293 episodes of the anime covered 67-68 chapters of the manga. That makes it a bit of an odd stopping point, considering Part 1 of the manga has 80 chapters.

Boruto putting on his headband from Episode 1 of the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime series
Boruto putting on his headband from Episode 1

Why didn’t Part 1 of the anime stop at the same point as Part 1 of the manga? I don’t know. But, what I do know is that Part 2 of the manga is called Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. I’m interested to see if Part 2 of the anime eventually uses that same name.

The other important thing I want to mention in this part of the review is the flash-forward in Episode 1. Way back in 2017, we saw Boruto and Kawaki facing off with the Leaf Village in ruins. So, did we get to that content in Part 1? No.

After Episode 1, we didn’t see Kawaki again until his introduction in Episode 188. And, even by the end of Part 1, we still didn’t get to the fight between Boruto and Kawaki foreshadowed in Episode 1. I don’t even know if Part 1 of the manga got to it (I only watch the anime).

Want to read the Boruto story without the anime filler? Buy Volume 1 of the manga today.

Shop Amazon

Shop Right Stuf

Akatsuki vs. Kara

At the start of Boruto, we saw an attempted revival of the Akatsuki made by Shin Uchiha. That didn’t last very long. But, eventually, we met the real bad guy organization of the series, Kara. And, in many ways, Kara is similar to the Akatsuki.

Kara has nine members, though, really eight since Kawaki isn’t a willing member. And, like the Akatsuki, Kara’s goal is to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi jutsu. One difference is that the members of Kara appear to understand what using that jutsu means.

Remember, back in Naruto: Shippūden, the Akatsuki were pawns of Kaguya. Well, Nagato was the pawn of Obito, who was the pawn of Madara, who was the pawn of Kaguya. That’s not exactly what’s going on here. They know the Infinite Tsukuyomi is a jutsu of the Ōtsutsuki clan. Some of them think they can survive it, for some reason, though.

Jigen of Kara from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Jigen of Kara

Anyway, the biggest differences between the groups are their leadership and cohesion. In the Akatsuki, Nagato (Pain) was at the top and Konan was his second-in-command. Then, the other members were paired up. And, every member of the group had the common goal of creating a “perfect” world.

Kara is very different in that Isshiki (Jigen) is the absolute ruler. You could say the same thing about Nagato. But, Isshiki is actually a member of the Ōtsutsuki clan. So, Kara is more like a cult that worships Isshiki than the egalitarian Akatsuki.

To me, that difference makes Kara less interesting as an organization. But, the members are also less interesting because they don’t see themselves as equals. Most members of Kara are secretly plotting against the other members. They all think they can spin the group’s goal to suit their needs. That’s less intimidating than the monolithic Akatsuki.

Right Stuf Anime is North America’s largest online anime product retailer.

Shop Now

Did Boruto Ever Get Better?

Alright, it’s time to answer the big question. Did the Boruto anime ever get better? I know a lot of people dropped it early on or didn’t give it a shot at all. So, is it any good? Sort of.

The series definitely improved over time. My rating for it after 293 episodes is higher than my rating after 50 episodes. But, it still has a lot of flaws. There’s what I said about Kara not being as interesting as the Akatsuki were. And then there’s the fact that there are a lot of filler episodes and arcs.

Individual filler episodes are almost always bad. But, the filler arcs weren’t the worst. Some of them were pretty good. However, most of them were average. And when a significant portion (maybe even most?) of a series is average content, that’s not great.

Hinata, Himawari, Boruto, Naruto, and Kawaki from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Hinata, Himawari, Boruto, Naruto, and Kawaki

If you haven’t seen Boruto, everything I’ve said might make sense, so far. Sure, it could have stayed average or below average. But, it shouldn’t be too surprising that it improved a bit over 293 episodes. What might come as a surprise, though, is that Boruto had the best episode of the entire franchise.

Yes, I’m saying that there was a Boruto episode better than anything in either Naruto or Shippūden. And if you want to see for yourself, it’s Episode 189. As I mentioned earlier, Episode 188 is Kawaki’s formal introduction into the series. But in Episode 189, we get his real introduction.

Honestly, Episode 189 has everything. Basically, the whole episode is one awesome, brutal fight scene. It also has some amazing animation. And, even the art style of the episode is way better than anything else in the series. They pulled out all the stops for Episode 189.

Boruto Part 1: 6/10

Back after Episode 50, I gave Boruto: Naruto Next Generations a 5/10. Now that all 293 episodes of Part 1 are done, I think it’s a 6/10. That’s not much of an improvement. But, it’s a start. Hopefully, the series continues to improve in Part 2, whenever that comes.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. And, I’d like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about becoming a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Join the DoubleSama Discord server to discuss anime, manga, and more with other members of the community!

Join Now