Board Thread:Naruto News/@comment-945885-20150423073012/@comment-12509038-20150424030201

I. Personal Thoughts & Observations: 


 * First of all, like before, the art was on point in this chapter. Everything looked amazing, which all goes into my belief that when it comes to the actual artistic style, Kishimoto is one of the best mangaka in the business. This is best represented in the two-page spread of the Hokage Monument- it looks great!
 * I was very relieved when Shino started off the chapter by saying Boruto's generation will be taking the graduation exams soon, meaning they will be real shinobi. Personally, I was never a fan of the Academy, as it never seemed like it could offer an interesting story point. By having them all become shinobi sooner rather than later, the plot can escalate into something with much more substance. Hopefully that means they will graduate within the next few chapters.
 * Who the hell is the kid with the grayish hair that Boruto was talking to? Of all the parts in the chapter, this one has got me the most curious, as he may even be the one to become the third member in Boruto's squad. So far, here are the few possibilities that have gone through my head- the first is that he is literally no one and is completely irrelevant; the second is that he may be Kakashi's son (which would make him a very old father, and who would the mother be?); the third is that he could be Toneri's son (they look very similar, and Kishi did say he wanted to include Toneri in the manga); and the final possibility is that he is Orochimaru and Kabuto's love child (really hoping it's this one xD).
 * The overall dynamics between characters is really intriguing me so far. First of all, we have all of the children's relationships with their fathers, which works very well and is how I imagined it. Next, we have Sarada and Chocho's blooming friendship, which is something I never really thought about before. Then, we have Naruto and Boruto's relationship, which actually looks like it's going pretty well and it makes me curious at what may happen to make Boruto resent his father in such a serious manner. From the chapter, this was one of my favorite elements, as I always wanted to see Naruto interact with his son in such a manner (even if it is just a clone, but even then it doesn't really matter since the clone retains all of this experience).
 * Going off of the previous point, we then have Sarada's relationship with her parents, and specifically Sasuke. Honestly, I don't really know how I feel about Sasuke not really being there for his family. It's all gonna depend on his excuse for why he has been gone this long (even then, it probably wouldn't do much for me since he's my favorite character- it would have to be a big f*ck up to make me feel different about his character). But back to Sarada, this entire dynamic is really making me gravitate towards her character. Even more so, it appears as if she is not the natural born talented Uchiha like her father was, and so that may add a lot more relatability to her character which will make me root for her more than Boruto (who actually seems like he may actually be more of a prodigy than Sarada).
 * Sakura's confrontation with Sarada was somewhat played up as comedic relief, but I actually consider it one of the more thought-provoking moments of the chapter. The scene presents a thought-provoking discussion about Sakura's relationship with Sasuke, and it really starts asking the tough questions. Sakura's reaction to Sarada's words obviously show an act of desperation, as she's trying to hide her true feelings. Hopefully some of this will be worked out after they reunite. BTW, what was up with Sakura forgetting whether or not Sasuke had glasses? I'm pretty sure she would remember that he didn't...
 * And now we get to the polarizing part of the chapter- Sarada finding the picture of Karin. After seeing that, I actually laughed a bit because it just brought up the ludicrous theories from way back in November. I am 95% sure that this is just a red herring, and in fact it may be a segway to reintroduce Taka and/or Orochimaru, as a way to show what's happening with them. While it's not impossible that Sarada is actually Karin's daughter, I do find it very unlikely. Sarada being Sakura's daughter is much more believable, and I hope that is the case. While this is somewhat interesting, I also pray that this isn't a long story arc, as we don't really need to focus on who Sarada's mother truly is.
 * Finally, we get to my favorite part- Sasuke appearing at the end. If anything, I'm just happy that it reveals he is actually in the miniseries. I do hope that he is on his way back to Konoha, as I'd like to see how he acts in that environment. However, I am also starting to think there was a reason why Sasuke was not back at home, as there may be more to his journey than just wandering aimlessly.

'''II. Predictions & Conclusion:'''

There is a lot to predict for the upcoming chapters. Revolving around that mystery kid, I mostly gave my suggestions above. Same thing with who Sarada's real mother is- it's obviously going to be Sakura. I do wonder how exactly the course of the next few chapters will go- either they will stick with Sarada's dilemma or they will start focusing more on Naruto and Boruto. I personally hope they stick with Sarada, as this new development has got me pretty curious as to how it resolve itself. Now, the fact that we saw Sasuke at the end hopefully means he may get some more panel time in the upcoming chapters. Like I said before, I do think there is a specific reason why Sasuke wasn't in the village, and it's more than his personal journey to discover the world. While it may possibly relate to Kaguya or the Otsutsuki, I think it's more likely that it may have to do with Orochimaru and/or Taka. Best case scenario, he has been investigating Orochimaru, and this may lead to some kind of conflict in future chapters/the movie. Either way, I'm pretty sure Sasuke is returning to Konoha, and I hope it happens next chapter so we can see his reunion with Naruto, Sakura, and most of all, Sarada.

As far as the chapter goes, I thought it was a great way to start off the miniseries. I found it very interesting that it was actually starting with Sarada/the Uchiha, but it worked overall. Hopefully many of the key components established in this chapter will carry onto the next, before starting to focus on something else. Too bad we have to wait two more weeks for the next chapter...