English Dub Review: Boruto “The Path Lit by the Full Moon”

Shinobi in the Shell: Snake Alone Complex

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

An injured Mitsuki awakens in Orochimaru’s operating room with no memory of who he is. Suigetsu explains that he recently failed a mission with Orochimaru and was captured by their target, hence the injuries and memory loss. Said target is known as Log, a shinobi who can steal memories and implant fake ones. Without any knowledge other than what his parent tells him, Mitsuki goes along with what he’s told, though with an increasing unnerving feeling about Orochimaru because…well, he’s Orochimaru.

They soon encounter Log again, who overpowers both of them at first, but is stopped from killing Mitsuki at the last second by Orochimaru’s paralyzing poision. He leaves Mitsuki alone with Log, telling him not to go near the guy, but all he tells Mitsuki is to take off his mask and that Orochimaru has been lying to him, revealing that he is also Mitsuki, or rather an older and earlier version of him who was made before this younger one. Both were made as artificial beings who are only embodiments of Orochimaru’s ego and not meant to exist, but Orochimaru says that they merely his children. The two plead their cases to him, but his rage ignites the Sage Energy within him. He then decides to choose his own path, taking the objective of the mission, a scroll, and leaving the two of them behind.

This…turns out to be exactly what both of them wanted, as this was the sixth try at the same trial, with each trial being undone by amnesia-causing medicine. They both want for him to utilize his Sage power, but he needs someone to help him shine, which apparently is Boruto.

OUR TAKE

This episode was a vast improvement over the last…several dozen, and there’s a reason for that. This story was actually adapted from the Boruto manga’s Chapter 0, written and illustrated by original series author Masashi Kishimoto as the, as of this writing, last thing he contributed to the main franchise. This isn’t a guarantee of quality though, as he also wrote the Sarada story arc from a few months ago, which had some serious plot and character problems throughout, but it’s nice to see that the guy who started it all went out on a good note. And likewise, it’s good that this last gift was adapted with such care.

Mitsuki has been a pretty hard character to decipher in this series, being essentially just…the weird kid with a connection to Orochimaru. Finally, after nine months into this show, we get some insight into how far that connection goes AND how Orochimaru is as a parent. Given the atrocities he’s committed during the early days of the Naruto story, it still confounds me that he (or Sasuke for that matter) has been allowed to do as he pleases since the Fourth Great Ninja War ended, regardless of how he contributed to that war’s end. But still, if we’re going to have his kid as part of the main cast, we might as well see how he handles his odd view of being a parent. Turns out that means constantly wiping your son’s memories until he learns to think for himself, which is…well intended at least? Lord knows how he’s going to do the “Birds and the Bees” talk.

Though despite how well executed I think this story was, my main concern lies in how isolated it is. It’s based on a chapter that comes from the original source of this franchise, but said source is not as in control of the franchise anymore, or at least not this current TV show. So, that makes me wonder how these new, more interesting aspects of Mistsuki will find their way into the ongoing story going forward, assuming they will at all. I’ve seen plenty a time where a good idea left by a previous creative team was either squandered, wasted, or left untouched by the one that came later, and I don’t exactly have reason to be hopeful based on how Boruto has been executed throughout its past 38 episodes. Time will tell whether or not this snake will slither away or eat its own tail.