Descendants of the Blood Mist.
The field trip to the Hidden Mist continues in this week’s episode of Boruto. Boruto and his friends continue to try and enjoy their mini retreat, but education and confrontation keep getting in the way. “The Mizukage’s Successor” is another slow episode, but does provide some useful history and enlightening moments, while the impending conflict continues to simmer just under the surface.
Last week’s instructive foray into the Hidden Mist extends into a class visit to the office of the new Mizukage, Chojuro. Boruto quickly becomes bored with Chojuro’s speech about unity between the villages, which the Kage mercifully cuts short. Kagura continues the Kage’s story later, explaining that Chojuro is the reason for the Mist Village’s recent prosperity. Both of these scenes provide some nice history and context for both the characters and the viewer, but I can’t help but feel the delivery is a little dry. Of course it can be hard to deliver this kind of information in an exciting way, but a flashback might have been better than the drawn-out exposition that was delivered.
Continuing this trend of awkward execution, the scene at the Hidden Mist Academy that follows the Kage’s speech can only be described as bizarre. After spectating some impressive Hidden Mist students practicing their swordplay, Chojuro suggests Boruto and Kagura spar to improve their friendship. Before a single move is made Boruto is sweating, commenting on how strong Kagura is, and the other students make similar comments as they watch the duo stare each other down. I get that the point is to build up Kagura by demonstrating how intimidating he is, but the whole time I was thinking how much easier they could convey that information with an actual battle. Instead they use up their time with a drawn-out standoff, followed by an anti-climactic exchange of blows.
In its final third the episode returns us to the conflict we saw brewing at the end of the last episode. Kagura takes some time to reflect on the “Blood Mist’s” dark past, which triggers a rather pertinent outburst from Iwabe. Iwabe tells a story about his grandfather being killed by the Fourth Mizukage, making a point that the Mist shouldn’t be so quick to write off their violent history when the war is still fresh in the minds of their victims. Some of Naruto’s strongest arcs were the ones that focused on the horrors of war. Characters like Zabuza, Kimimaro, and Nagato remind us of the dark reality behind the flashy ninja battles the series is known for. I’m happy to see Boruto continue to treat the Ninja Wars with the same level of seriousness as the original series, and I was incredibly surprised to see such a deep thought come from cliche angry guy Iwabe.
The Verdict
Last week’s Boruto was a slow starter with some bright moments, and “The Mizukage’s Successor” follows suit with another unevenly paced episode. The episode does its best to provide context for the Mist’s recent advancements, but do so with some mostly dull dialogue. The showdown between Kagura and Boruto offers a chance at some exciting action, but ends up being nothing more than a tease. Iwabe’s confession ramps up the tension, but it’s too late in the episode for any action to ensue, leaving us with another cliffhanger as we look forward to next week.
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