Boruto: How Konohamaru Became The Biggest Flop, Explained

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This post contains spoilers for Naruto.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generation continues the story of Naruto, shifting the focus to a new generation of ninja after the Fourth Great Ninja War. Unlike the original series, Masashi Kishimoto wasn’t the primary writer this time; instead, the writing duties were handled by Ikemoto.

Ikemoto clearly has a vision for where he wants to take the Boruto story, but many fans feel certain characters haven’t been given enough to do and have been sidelined. Konohamaru Sarutobi is a prime example of this.

Konohamaru Was A Promising Character

Konohamaru Had A Lot Of Potential

Early in the Naruto series, Konohamaru seemed like a character with a lot of potential, largely because he was the grandson of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. Hiruzen was a legendary figure, known as the ‘God of Shinobi’ and trained by the first two Hokage. Given his impressive family history, fans hoped Konohamaru would live up to his grandfather’s legacy.

Konohamaru had a remarkable moment when he successfully used Rasengan against one of Pain’s six bodies. This was a significant feat, considering each of Pain’s forms possessed dangerous powers. After that, Konohamaru didn’t play a huge role in the story, which makes sense because he wasn’t strong enough to participate in the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Konohamaru Was Butchered In Boruto

  • Konohamaru was an amazing talent
  • Ikemoto did not treat Konohamaru with respect

When the Boruto series was announced, many fans hoped the original characters would still have significant roles in the manga. While it wasn’t necessary for the story to center entirely around them, they deserved better treatment. Unfortunately, Ikemoto portrayed Naruto and Sasuke poorly, and Konohamaru suffered even more. He consistently lost his battles and ended up needing to be saved by his own students, making him appear as an ineffective teacher.

Konohamaru’s struggles against his opponents started to make people doubt whether he deserved his rank as a Jonin. A ninja of his caliber was expected to be a protector, not someone who needed protecting. While many fans initially believed he could improve, the villains have become too powerful for him to keep up. Ultimately, his performance suggests that Konohamaru has been a disappointment in the Boruto series.

Ikemoto Ruined Naruto And Sasuke

The Two Heroes Have Been Utterly Destroyed

Image by Studio Pierrot

Like many characters recently, Naruto and Sasuke have suffered from weak writing. It’s one thing for them to take a backseat in the story, but it’s far worse to diminish their strengths and have them lose fights in a humiliating way. Naruto lost Kurama, a friend he deeply cared for. Sasuke, meanwhile, lost his Rinnegan to Boruto, who was being controlled by Momoshiki. After losing these key abilities, both characters were effectively removed from important roles.

Many fans were understandably upset with the choices Ikemoto made for the story. Some of the author’s decisions were hard to understand, and they’ve clearly had a negative impact on the Boruto manga, leading to falling sales. As fewer people show interest, Ikemoto needs to be very careful going forward. Ignoring what long-time fans want will likely cause the series to end quickly, and it also makes it less likely the anime will return.

The initial episodes of the Boruto anime weren’t very popular, mainly because they included a lot of filler content that didn’t advance the main storyline. Viewers would wait a week for each new episode, only to find it wasn’t relevant to the core plot. If the anime continues, the studio really needs to cut down on the filler, or it risks failing again.

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2026-01-27 21:38