Is Boruto is a better protagonist than Shippuden Naruto?

[Boruto Uzumaki]

I butchered the title. Inspired by a thread from another forum, but I'm not a troll so I brought actual points against both characters.

Shippuden Naruto:

• Hyperventilates when he figures out they'll try to kill Sasuke
• Takes a bunch of punches from Karui in place of Sasuke
• Calls the man who murdered his parents the "coolest guy ever!"
• 90% of his dialogue is friendship.
• Goes on a 3 year trip with Jiraiya and learns not much other than how to defend against genjutsu and use Kurama's chakra better. Genjutsu training ineffective against Itachi.
• Pro: Interesting developments with Pain. (Character standpoint, not Sage Mode.)

Boruto:

• Prodigy who is lazy.
• Hates his father for neglecting him and his family.
• Pro: A variety of ninjutsu including the illustrious Boruto Stream.
• Con: A version of talk no jutsu, except now it's "You don't have to be like your predecessor."
• Con: Doesn't understand why he shouldn't have used the Ninja Technology in the Chunin Exams.

 

[jimbobbity]

Id say hes better than Shippuden Naruto but not kid Naruto. Kid Naruto had a lot of interesting qualities about him due to the reveal of his treatment in the village and the relationships around him.

 

[Jiren]

You know it's too hard to tell Boruto actually is a spoiled kid and never had a tough life like Sasuke and naruto. Boruto fights are more interesting because he's not trying to talk down the enemy all the time. Also Boruto has a more variety of ninjutsu aresenal. Also no more believe it. Watching Kurama rage mode was cool tho

 

[Hyuga Prodigy]

Honestly Naruto was a great character while it lasted and I didnt mind his motivation speech at first but Shippuden was the downfall of his character especially with the prophecy BS.

 

[Guntah]

Given the way he's development's been going, I'd say so.

 

[Ansatsuken]

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*om nom nom nom* "Yeshhh...I'm better than my dad at being a MC"

 

[chaos control]

They both have their merits, but I think that the list presented in the OP is a bad basis to go off of when judging the characters.

Anyway:

As far as power/fighting goes, I certainly prefer the fact that Boruto has more variety in his arsenal than Naruto, and he just overall fights in smarter and more interesting ways.

As for character, I'd have to say that I prefer Naruto slightly more only because Boruto can be kind of a brat at times about certain issues. For one, his former hatred of the hokage was annoying and pretty bratty. I was kind of annoyed that Boruto just couldn't grasp the fact that Naruto couldn't always spend time with him and the family due to having to deal with stuff like potential alien threats, mad clones trying to revive akautski and rekindle war, thieving cannibals, little girls trying to blow up villages, etc...

Also, chapter 17 proved that (until meeting Ao) Boruto still could not wrap his mind around the fact that the scientific ninja tools aren't innately bad, and that all of that commotion about them during the chunin exams was simply because Boruto went against the rules (not because of the tool itself being bad). After the Momoshiki arc, you'd think that Boruto would have grasped this lesson.

Overall, I still like Boruto though. He is generally nice, and even somewhat relatable. He is actually kind of a breath of fresh air from your typical shounen protagonist (with the whole dumb but lovable and kind trope). Yet at the same time, he doesn't have that stupid arrogance where he is actually rude to other people (like what Sasuke used to have).

Boruto's personality is like a nice mixture of Naruto's and Sasuke's.

 

[Nick01]

Not in the slightest.

Who knows what he'll become in the future so I'll wait to give a proper comparison.

But at the moment, it's a def. no.

 

[lndra]

Not in the slightest.

Who knows what he'll become in the future so I'll wait to give a proper comparison.

But at the moment, it's a def. no.

Pretty much this.

Despite Kishimoto's horrible story telling in Part 2, I think that Naruto's character still holds more weight than Boruto's, by a margin. While Boruto has interesting quirks to his character, and isn't as one dimensional when it comes to fighting. He still lacks this depth that Naruto had.

Who essentially pulled himself up from the ground, had demons, and his goal was something you rooted for. Meanwhile Boruto's only real issue in the past was his daddy stuff, among the other aspects to his character like taking short cuts and being lazy.

I think that when or if Boruto's character gets some type of "weight" piled on him, we'll be able to see just how far he'll go as a protagonist.

Because essentially they are two different people. Naruto is someone who inspires us in Part 1/2, and Boruto is someone who we haven't gauged yet completely.

----

If Boruto is supposed to end up as the "Sasuke" of the series in terms of goals. Then he's obviously going to have undergo some type of traumatic event, as you can't build a story with a MC whose only real struggle is first world problems.

Hence why I think the Mark on Boruto's palm, the foretelling of Bolt losing everything close to him, and the scar on his eye ... All point towards Boruto becoming far darker than Naruto was at the start of the Shippuden.

Let's see what happens nevertheless.

 

[Belserion]

Probably not.

 

[Loved]

I like Kid Naruto more than Boruto (so far), but Boruto more than Shippuden Naruto (at least early Shippuden). I feel like I will like enjoy Boruto even more as he grows.

 

[lndra]

Also, chapter 17 proved that (until meeting Ao) Boruto still could not wrap his mind around the fact that the scientific ninja tools aren't innately bad, and that all of that commotion about them during the chunin exams was simply because Boruto went against the rules (not because of the tool itself being bad). After the Momoshiki arc, you'd think that Boruto would have grasped this lesson.

I don't really think that was the intention for him, personally. I don't really see how Boruto could go from liking the Kote device, to hating it, and then back to liking it again based on the Movie.

It was important for the author to actually dive into these problems, because essentially they were never vocal about this issue after Boruto threw the Kote device on the ground. The whole reason for the Movie (at least for a part of his character development) is understanding that the soul of shinobi hasn't changed, and that a ninja cannot progress or improve dependent on that sort of vices.

I mean essentially if you look at it from his perspective, he doesn't necessarily hate technology, as when Sarada pointed out that PC and games (which he likes) are the same. But Boruto states that's not the case because they are excessive tools (the ninja technology). That's when Ao brings up the point that technology saved his life, and they shouldn't be viewed as "good" or "bad" -- To bring a more neutral understanding into the equation, that there' no right or wrong.

This was pretty good writing from Ukyo, because I think it fits with Boruto's character and the theme of the Movie. Whereas Boruto and Naruto's situation, along with the message they are trying to dive with the Kote device, is that nothing is that straightforward or simple.

Because essentially the only reason why Boruto started to disregard the device is because Naruto exposed his cheating, said he was no longer a ninja, and punished him all in front of the Village (while it was being broadcasted on TV).

That sort of shame doesn't just disappear. I wouldn't be surprised if Boruto apologizes or feels ashamed about what he did to those people he beat against in the Examinations tbh.

 

[Reviewing Logic]

Not Part 1 Naruto

Shippuden is up for debate since we don't know if Boruto will also follow the cookie cutter, vanilla plane jane character that Naruto morphed into being the chosen one and literally tnj everyone and everything without actually giving meaning

 

[Mori Jin]

Nah not in the slightest.

 

[Xawis]

No, Naruto's character interactions and developments during the Pain Arc are more engaging and compelling than Boruto's so far. It's just that post-timeskip(but before than Pain Arc) the series didn't focus on Naruto's character development at all, almost to the point where he didn't even feel like the MC.

 

[Michael]

Boy lets not. Naruto is GOAT.

 

[Vulpini]

What the hell?

Naruto solos in every possible way. Boruto is the discount Naruto with more techniques.

 

[123fire]

This thread should be made after boruto series ends till then we can compare both characters logically

 

[-Punk-]

Yes, i hated Naruto as a character and I like Boruto so far, he is on his way to the top

 

[Edogawa]

Naruto is a horribly written. Not as a protagonist but as a character entirely. He's one dimensional character; inspired by saviour complexity. The teenager who leads mankind to the peaceful ideals, saves his enemies from darkness just by talking to them, heals his friend's hatred and all sorts of extreme bullshit that can't be taken seriously by readers. He's basically an anime version of Jesus. Sasuke would make a better protagonist than Naruto, since he's actually interesting. That's my intake on Shippuden Naruto.

Boruto and P1 Naruto are practically the same with exception that Boruto's fighting style is better. Will Kishimoto develop Boruto's character properly or will he recycle Boruto into the same theme as Naruto, which is a high possibility since Kishimoto really loves reprocessing everything; just look at how each villain is manipulated by a thread.