The Boruto Anime's Second Part Won't Begin With the Big Time Skip, So Where Will it Begin? (2024)

Warning: SPOILERS for episode #293 of Boruto: Naruto Next GenerationThe long first part of the Boruto anime concluded in 2023, and fans expect that when the second part debuts, it will start with the time skip that pushed Boruto's story a few years in the future over in the manga's second part, Two Blue Votex. However, while the manga's time skip is well past starting, when the anime comes back, it will have a lot of ground to cover before getting to that point.

The world of Boruto is going through rapid changes as the manga is now deep into a new era. After years of buildup, the story is finally approaching the moment it foreshadowed since the very first chapter through a flash-forward, in which the two main characters Boruto and Kawaki appear as grown-ups fighting to the death in a not-too-distant future.

Given this, it would only make sense for the anime series to take a break and come back to adapt the Two Blue Vortex era of Boruto. However, fans who have been reading the manga and watching the anime may already sport a problem with this line of thinking.

Boruto's Anime Still Has One Last Arc to Adapt Before the Time Skip

Many fans believe that Part 2 of Boruto's anime will be its version of Naruto Shippuden, starting a few years in the future with the main characters grown up, but this is not going to be the case. The final episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations saw the conclusion of the chaotic battle between Code, Kawaki, and Momoshiki Otsutsuki, who had taken full control of Boruto's body. To stop him, Kawaki did not hesitate to kill Boruto, but Momoshiki used his powers to resurrect him, thus temporarily losing control over his body.

With Code also repelled, peace apparently returned to Konoha, but it's only brief. The last, ominous words that Kawaki says to Boruto in the episode are a reminder that, as long as Momoshiki is in his body, he sees his adopted brother as a threat to Naruto and the village. However, Kawaki's decision to kill Boruto, triggering the events of the time skip, will not happen immediately.

Before getting to that point, the anime will need to adapt a long part of the manga that details Code's attempt to kidnap Amado to restore his full Karma powers, and then Eida's decision to betray Code and move to Konoha to be closer to her beloved Kawaki. It's a weird part of the manga, which many fans have described as an attempt to turn Boruto into a rom-com, and it ends abruptly when Kawaki finally decides to attack Boruto. Still, it will take more than a few episodes of the anime to get to that point.

How Much More of Boruto's Pre-Time Skip Manga is Left to Adapt?

The Boruto anime's last episode, Farewell, adapted up to the manga's 70th chapter, meaning the anime still has 10 chapters of manga to adapt before it can fully begin the Two Blue Vortex era. How many chapters one anime episode can adapt varies, naturally, but Boruto's anime has typically adapted two to three chapters at a time when it follows the manga.

All this implies that Boruto's anime probably has somewhere between 3 and 5 episodes of content to adapt before it can kick off the time skip. This all puts the anime in a strange position in regard to the first part's ending, as it's unclear why the anime would stop when it was so close to a much more natural conclusion.

Could Boruto Reach its Time Skip With a Movie?

Anime Movie Interquels Are Becoming Increasingly Popular So it Would make Sense

Though adapting the next ten chapters of the manga in a handful of episodes could seriously hurt the Boruto anime's pacing, one solution can be found in how other anime series handle shorter arcs. Increasingly, it has become common for popular anime to have entire arcs adapted into movies. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train was a true trendsetter, as series such as Jujutsu Kaisen and even more recently Chainsaw Man have chosen to do movies as opposed to, or in tandem with, new seasons.

While this may seem like a strange choice, Studio Pierrot has already indicated they are looking toward Demon Slayer. Studio Pierrot CEO Muchiki Honma recently hinted that Boruto would be heading to a seasonal schedule inspired by Demon Slayer's success. Given this, it's not difficult to imagine Pierrot looking at Mugen Train's runaway success and wanting to replicate it with one of their biggest franchises in Boruto.

Boruto Could Replicate the Success of Major Hits Like Demon Slayer: Mugen Train

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, and Chainsaw Man: Reze All Provide a Blueprint

Though this would indeed be logical, there are definitely some downsides that make a Boruto movie far from guaranteed. First is that Pierrot has only ever done one Boruto movie, and that was a prequel to the rest of the series and was technically part of the Naruto movie franchise. The much bigger problem for Pierrot though is that Boruto's last arc might not work as a movie nearly as well as Mugen Train, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, or the upcoming Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.

For anime series that adapt a canon arc for their movie as opposed to creating a non-canon one, the arcs being adapted are shorter and are more self-contained. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a prequel that requires little knowledge of the original series while Mugen Train requires only a basic understanding of the series. In contrast, Boruto's last arc is a culmination of many different plot lines, meaning it may be difficult for a casual audience to understand.

Still though, neither of those barriers are insurmountable. While a straight adaptation of the manga's last arc might be difficult to parse, Pierrot could make changes so that the conflict and characters are easier to grasp.

If Pierrot doesn't want to go with a movie, then their best bet may be to split the first season of Boruto's return into different parts. The first part could cover the end of Naruto Next Generations, while the second could adapt the first handful of chapters from Two Blue Vortex. Jujutsu Kaisen did something similar with its second season, where the first part was a five-episode mini-arc before continuing the series' story proper with the second much longer part.

The decision to end the first season of Boruto when it did is surprising may be surprising from a story perspective, but Studio Pierrot was clearly overworked, which was impacting the anime quite negatively. A break was needed so that Pierrot could take the time they needed to make Boruto finally live up to fans' expectations. Sadly, this means that Part 2 of Boruto will be very different from Naruto Shippuden, as it will not begin the Two Blue Vortex time skip.