Summary
Quick Links
Boruto’snew arc focusing onthe Shinju has proven itself to be quite enjoyable, at least on paper. The idea of the team heading out to the Village Hidden in the Sand is certainly exciting, as is the idea of Team 7 finally getting their big battles. Undoubtedly,Boruto: Two Blue Vortexis setting an exciting stage for the characters to shine.
However, it must be said that the author has seemingly struggled with elaborating upon the world once again, as well as giving fans an exciting exchange. Hopefully, the future chapter of the Boruto series will be better, but it is safe to say that Two Blue Vortex Chapter 18 was a rather disappointing continuation of the series, with little to offer other than a hasty progression of the same setup plot points.
Kawaki’s Upgrades Are Coming Soon
It hasn’t been long since Kawaki found out that Amado had been restricting his attack power and it appears that immediately after his conversation with Boruto Uzumaki, he went out seeking the scientist and decided to threaten him. Fans saw that at the end of chapter 17, and now, it has become increasingly clear that Kawaki intends to have his powers restored immediately. Fans saw Kawaki threaten Amado in Two Blue Vortex chapter 18, asking for his settings to be changed, to which Amado responded by putting him to sleep using a shutdown command. This development in itself is quite bizarre. Kawaki powering up using some setting tweaks certainly doesn’t set the stage for an exciting power-up at all. Power-ups should be earned and the authorhad a 3 year timeskip to evolve Kawakiin exciting ways. To have him power up using a tweak in settings and switching to attack mode is simply absurd. Regardless, it appears that Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is going to continue in that direction for the time being.
to destroy those monsters, I don’t care if you make me one. – Kawaki
The exciting takeaway here was Amado asking Kawaki to engrave his karma on his daughter, Akebi, who fans know died a long time ago. Amado intends to bring her back to life using the way of the Gods. He has studied the Karmic resurrection for long just for this purpose and he has done everything he can to bring his daughter to life. That’s precisely why he stands where he is today, asking Kawaki to put his karma on his daughter and bring her back to life. Much to the surprise of the readers, Kawaki agreed to the deal, however, only after he is done with the Shinju, and even then, if she turned into an Otsutsuki, he plans to finish her off for good, which certainly sets the stage for an exciting development. Fans should keep an eye out for this, and it is moments like these that make the Boruto manga worthwhile, even though some decisions are questions and the plot progression is subpar at times.
Konohamaru’s Failure Vs Matsuri
Konohamaru Couldn’t Put Simple Orders Into Effect
As fans had predicted already,Boruto: Two Blue Vortexchapter 18 saw Konohamaru Sarutobi fail at doing what Shikamaru asked of him. The idea was to befriend the Shinju and then betray them, stabbing them in the back when they least expected it.Konohamaru could’ve easily done this, especially given that he didn’t show any reservations when Shikamaru shared this idea with him.
In fact, fans, us included, were wondering if Shikamaru could even bring himself to do this, given that he’s Naruto’s very own protege and carries the will of both Naruto and Hiruzen Sarutobi, both of which would disagree with such a treacherous approach. However, this isn’t where Konohamaru faltered. Upon being asked if Matsuri could refer to him using more intimate language, Konohamaru felt uncomfortable and rejected the approach, causing his plan to fail.
Is this about Kazamatsuri Moegi? What is she to you? – Matsuri
This whole sequence in itself is a catastrophic failure on the part of the author. For one, the plot simply doesn’t go anywhere with these two. Fans saw Konohamaru strike up a very unusual conversation with Matsuri, and the dialogue writing here felt incredibly rigid, making little to no sense.
Why Matsuri was finding enjoyment in talking to Konohamaru wasn’t even the focus, yet fans were supposed to believe that this was the most fun she’d ever had. Even more than that, Konohamaru being uncomfortable at being called “Konohamaru-chan” when he’s supposed to be a shinobi willing to put his life on the line is pathetic. At best, Konohamaru has just put handle and 3 kids under him in a horrible position, and at worst, he’s doomed the whole world, simply because he didn’t want to be called in a certain way by a being strong enough to destroy the world.
Ryu’s Trickery Vs The Konoha Ninjas
Ryu Is Going All Out Vs The Ninjas
Just asKonohamaru struggled Vs Matsuri, so did the younger ninjas Vs Ryu. They attempted to force Ryu to use the Thorn Soul Bulb to seek out Boruto, and as he did it, they realized that they were the ones being baited by him, with Yodo jumping at the opportunity, ignoring every plan and setting herself up for death.
While Ryu’s clever plan deserves praise, this whole sequence was incredibly rushed. The entire idea was to search for hints of Boruto in a corner near a wall, which is absurd in itself. The world ofNarutois huge. The Land of Wind in itself is absolutely massive with tons of potential for worldbuilding, having the fans experience new environments, climate, people, and just about everything related to the country. Yet, the author chose to use none of that in his story.
A big complaint of theBorutoserieshas been that Konoha gets too much focus, while the remaining world is there to explore. Fans were excited at the idea of Sunagakure being involved in the story more. However, absolutely nothing has changed in the author’s approach here. The only difference here feels like a background change at best. Instead of leaves, fans now have sand in the background, and that is about all that the author can give from Sunagakure, which is disappointing, considering the incredible potential that the Land of Wind holds.
At the very least, the series saw Araya rescue Yodo with a technique that works against Iron Sand, which set up exciting combat. Regardless of all the problems this manga has, it does usually do combat well, which means that the expectations for the next chapter are higher,as Konohamaru Sarutobi prepares to face off against Matsuri, while the young ninjas face off against Ryu and the Iron Sand.
Boruto is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and theManga Plusapp. The release date for the next chapter of Boruto, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 19, is set to be June 14, 2025.
