Boruto’s villains are “purely evil” for one reason
Studio PierrotBoruto creator Mikio Ikemoto revealed the reason behind the manga’s “purely evil” villains in a recent interview.
On August 25, Ikemoto sat down with Masashi Kishimoto, the co-creator of Boruto and the creator of Naruto, for an interview with French publisher Kana, discussing the process of creating the ongoing manga and sharing little titbits about both series.
When Kishimoto was questioned about Naruto’s well-written and sympathetic villains, he revealed: “It’s true that I want to tell human stories. From the start, I had opportunities to introduce characters as supervillains.
“But since One Piece was already doing that, I wanted to do something different with Naruto. My villain characters also had a story. Manga is also an industry where you have to create what doesn’t exist yet, which pushes you to try different approaches.”
Following Kishimoto’s answer, Ikemoto also shared why Boruto’s villains don’t get the same treatment. The mangaka said, “I try not to duplicate what was done in Naruto. That’s why there are more purely evil villains in Boruto. Real villains.”
Both answers make a lot of sense for the respective stories. Naruto’s antagonists aren’t portrayed as mindlessly evil. Instead, they’re written as deeply flawed characters and the victims of their world and circumstances. This gives us some of the most iconic villains – like Nagato, Obito, and Madara – in the manga and anime world.
Boruto, on the other hand, has a different approach to the bad guys. But as Ikemoto mentioned, this acts as an advantage for the manga to get out of its popular predecessor’s shadow.
Speaking more about this, Ikemoto added: “In Naruto, the antagonists had clear goals and reasons for opposing the heroes, and Mr. Kishimoto fully realized that concept. As for battles, I couldn’t add more to it.
“I wanted to create villains who are different from those in the Naruto era. I prefer irrationality in villains and wanted to show their differences compared to the enemies in Naruto.”
Kishimoto joined his co-creator: “In Naruto, I focused more on the lighter side, while Ikemoto is facing much more complex challenges. Please support him as he navigates this difficult situation…”
Ikemoto’s take on villains is definitely working as Boruto Two Blue Vortex is one of the most popular new-gen shonen manga at the moment. Thanks to his interview, fans will look forward to more evilness from its current antagonists, the Shinju.
Learn more about the ninja world with our explainers on Himawari’s new powers and Kurama’s comeback. You can also find out our take on Boruto vs. Kawaki and check out our ranking of the best main characters in Naruto.