Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Episode 152

After two successive story arcs, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations begins its latest filler period on a strong note. When the Ninja Academy requires one member of each team to attend a course in medical ninjutsu, Boruto and Mitsuki nominate Sarada—whose mother is the Leaf's most prominent medical ninja and the person overseeing this class—to represent Team 7. Despite being proficient in many other areas, Sarada doesn't possess Sakura's aptitude for medicine, but thanks to a series of comedic misunderstandings, she's able to present herself as the most gifted student in the class. However, when her idol, Naruto, whom she believes to perfect, shows up to observe the final exam, Sarada chokes and admits that her previous successes were well-timed coincidences. Although she expects her mother and Naruto to admonish her, she's surprised to discover that both adults are completely fine with medical ninjutsu not being her thing. As Naruto points out, no ninja is perfect, and even Hokages need ample support from fellow shinobi to truly succeed.

The first Sarada-centric installment in quite a while, episode 152 makes a worthy addition to Boruto's collection of one-off side-stories. Since Sarada is typically the most studious member of Team 7, a story in which she confronts her limitations is an intriguing prospect. Not only does Sarada aspire to become Hokage, she was also raised by two of the previous generation's greatest heroes, so her belief that she has to excel at every form of ninjutsu is understandable. The progenies of the Hidden Leaf 12 feeling pressured to live up to their parents' legacies has been a recurring theme throughout the series, and as this story shows, not even one of the show's most confident and capable characters is immune to such insecurities.

In addition to providing plenty of good joke opportunities, Sarada's failure to realize that she's taking credit for other people's work feels true-to-character and helps add to the absurdity of the situation, with the misunderstandings becoming zanier with each test. Sarada may be too proud to admit she has a weakness, but she's the not type to knowingly take credit for work that isn't hers. The fact that she's ultimately able to humble herself and admit she doesn't possess a natural talent for healing shows tremendous maturity in the face of mounting frustration. It helps that she realizes her hero, Naruto, isn't perfect, either, and after learning that her medical “genius” mother actually had to endure intensive training to get where she is today, she realizes that she may yet develop a greater aptitude for medicine.

The policy Naruto and Sakura put in place, where each team has a ninja with medical training, corrects an obvious flaw in the shinobi system from the parent series. However, it still seems insufficient, as the medically-trained ninja could be incapacitated and/or could be the one in need of medical treatment, so it really seems like all ninja should have a basic understanding of the discipline. At the very least, every genin should be required to take part in the one-day course Sakura taught this week.

Although none of the table-setting from the previous installment is even addressed, episode 152 is a satisfyingly humorous one-off that focuses on Team 7's smartest member, who was long overdue for another turn in the spotlight. With Sarada's classmates encompassing a variety of shinobi from her graduating class, even secondary characters like Iwabe get some time to shine. If the remainder of the latest filler batch proves equally entertaining, the wait for the next big arc shouldn't feel too long.

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Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is an author who has loved anime for over two decades.