Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is a spin-off of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto series, set years after the Fourth Great Ninja War’s conclusion. Although much has changed over the time jump, the essence of the story, from the ninjas to the ninja villages, has remained the same. The largest change that fans have had to witness is the transition from an older generation of shinobi to a younger one, led by Naruto’s son, Boruto Uzumaki.

Boruto Uzumaki is the story’s protagonist, and he aspires to be a powerful shinobi who can defend the village and help the Hokage like Sasuke Uchiha, all while facing his own fate. Boruto is clearly his narrative and not that of the characters from the previous era, such as Naruto and Sasuke; nonetheless, the two are still vital to the plot’s progression and their importance to the fans remains important. Recently, though, the story appears to have made several dubious decisions that have a significant impact on the plot.

What Has Been Happening With Naruto And Sasuke?

Since the beginning of Boruto, Naruto and Sasuke have been pivotal characters in the story. It’s no surprise that both were extremely important to the ninja world as a whole, having climbed through the ranks in Naruto to become the two strongest shinobi in the entire shinobi history. Fans saw how Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha dealt with the Otsutsuki menace while also protecting their town in the Boruto film. As the Hokage and the Other Hokage, they’ve always had a responsibility to protect what’s obviously vital. Following the events of the film, the two were pivotal in every subsequent event, with Naruto fighting the likes of Delta and even defending the village from Jigen’s danger. The two had already been nerfed a lot by this point, but their relevance to the tale was still well-emphasized.

He even faced Isshiki Otsutsuki, the strongest known Otsutsuki to ever live, alongside Sasuke. Unfortunately, this conflict profoundly altered the characters, as Naruto Uzumaki lost Kurama and Sasuke lost his Rinnegan. While Isshiki was eventually subdued, the plot felt terribly forced and overly convenient in order for the new generation to take center stage at the expense of the previous. Naruto and Sasuke’s role in the tale has waned since then, and the two are scarcely prominent in their previous positions.

The Importance Of Naruto And Sasuke In The Story

It’s clear that the two aren’t as crucial to the plot as they previously were, and they probably won’t be in the future. When Naruto’s village was attacked, he wasn’t even able to protect his village against the threat of Code, let alone do anything useful. Instead, he needed Kawaki’s protection, which, as the Hokage, does not present a positive picture. Later, he was powerless to stop Kawaki from ripping a hole through his son’s chest. Naruto, although being the strongest and having the title of Hokage, did not live up to the hype. Naruto is clearly weaker than he has ever been, but he is the Hokage, and things are expected of him.

Sasuke, on the other hand, appears to have been treated even worse. Sasuke, unlike Naruto with the Baryon Mode, was not even given a proper send-off, and his Rinnegan was stolen from him in a foolish manner. Sasuke has had very little involvement in the plot since losing his eye. In nearly a year, all he’s done is seek down Code’s lair, and for someone who played such an important role in the Naruto series, it’s rather heartbreaking to witness. Without a question, Naruto and Sasuke are the face of the series. It is merely lazy writing for the author to weaken them greatly and use them cheaply in moments for the following generation to save. Worse, none of them seemed to have a definite function in the tale any longer. Naruto’s role as Hokage has shrunk because he can no longer protect his people, and Sasuke isn’t even allowed to participate in the narrative.

While it was necessary to make the new generation stronger in order for the tale to be fascinating, it is mind-boggling that it had to come at the expense of the old characters who are cherished by the fans. For the time being, things aren’t looking bright for either Naruto or Sasuke, and the two may end up being relegated to characters who require constant protection. Despite having Kishimoto on board as a writer, Boruto has taken an unexpected turn, but maybe things will improve for both Naruto and Sasuke.

While most Dragon Ball Super fans are familiar with Goku’s father Bardock, Goku himself has not been that fortunate; his juvenile brain trauma has erased any memories he may have had of his parents. Plus, with the Saiyan race on the verge of extinction, there aren’t many people left to tell him tales of his father—but it seems that Goku will finally get to hear his father, if only for a little period.

In recent chapters of Dragon Ball Super, the Granolah story has revealed a lot about Bardock, beginning with the fact that Bardock was there during the attack on Granolah’s home world of planet Cereal. Bardock, on the other hand, stood up to the Heeters, who orchestrated the invasion, and saved a young Granolah and his Namekian guardian, Monaito, who would wind up being the planet’s sole survivors. He even faced Gas, the Heeter’s muscle, who has proved to be a challenging opponent for current Saiyans. Because it paints a kinder picture of Bardock than many fans had hoped for, this new narrative has sparked debate, as it indicates that Goku’s generosity stems from his father rather than from the early brain impairment that prevented him from conquering Earth.

Monaito shows up in Chapter 82 with a broken Scouter that he’s had for 40 years, saying it’s the one Bardock wore when he battled Gas. Vegeta is able to switch on the Scouter in the hopes of learning more about Gas’ flaws from the recordings in the device’s memory. They can play an audio clip of Bardock’s speech using Granolah’s eyepatch-robot Oatmeel. While the chapter ends before the dispute between Bardock and Gas can be settled, it does provide Goku the opportunity to hear his father’s voice for the first time, bringing back memories of the moments before he was thrown to Earth.

Although Goku has never been concerned about not knowing his parents, the sound of Bardock’s words seemed to have reawakened something deep inside him. With just a few panels, it’s evident that this is a pivotal moment for Goku. After all, Goku has always been shown as possessing a disposition that is diametrically opposed to the majority of Saiyans, even his own brother Raditz, who almost killed him when they first met. Many fans think Goku banged his head when he first arrived on Earth, and it’s plausible that even Goku believes the same thing. However, this notion has the unintended effect of implying that Earth’s greatest hero is just the product of chance, and that everything that makes Goku “good” is essentially a flaw by Saiyan standards. This shift in Bardock’s personality is important, but the potential for Goku to learn about his father’s actions is maybe even more so; Goku is no longer the lone “good” Saiyan, and whether he cares or not, he can be certain that his father would be happy of the life he’s led on Earth.

Shonen characters often have tense relationships with their dads, who are typically absent, inattentive, or downright malicious. Goku’s absence of father concerns has distinguished him, but this incident does not change that. Hopefully, Goku and Dragon Ball Super can figure out a means to save Bardock’s message so that Gohan and Goten may connect with their history as well.

Goku leads Gas off planet in Dragon Ball Super Chapter 82, and, like he has with many of his opponents in the past, while fighting Gas, he is simultaneously attempting to figure out why. He’s perplexed as to why someone so powerful would mindlessly obey someone else’s commands, and when Gas attempts to explain that he’ll do anything for Elec because of all his brother has done for him, Goku isn’t sure he understands. When it comes down to it, Goku is very self-centered, and consequently has no true links to his biological family.

He has no meaningful links to his Saiyan background except than his kids. So Goku bringing up the fact that his own brother Raditz attempted to murder him once was unexpected. He was attempting to persuade Gas that his brother may not be acting in his best interests, so he went deep and, for the first time in his life, thought on his own family. It’s something we’re beginning to see throughout this arc, and Goku’s stronger connection to his Saiyan heritage appears to be the next stage in his development.

What are your thoughts? After all this time, how do you feel about Goku bringing up Raditz? What do you think will happen if Goku spends more time thinking about his family?

Why Raditz is different from his family

Raditz, Goku’s elder brother, is the most ridiculously expendable character in Dragon Ball history. Raditz makes Krillin appear like the Omni King, from his relevance to the story to his strength level. It required a Goku and Piccolo team-up and Goku’s death to beat him, who was introduced as the most powerful enemy yet whose Goku’s-alien-brother background flipped the whole series on its head. Dragon Ball Super has stated that Raditz was also the family’s black sheep, after spending much of Dragon Ball Z as a postmortem joke before being forgotten totally.

By having a four-year-old ring his bell and then failing to escape a nelson grip by a man with damaged ribs without thinking to merely fly away, DBZ soon turned Raditz into a joke. When Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth, they plant Saibamen monsters in the earth, declaring the creatures to be as powerful as Raditz. Raditz was so feeble that his death had no value for his friends since they could just generate more of him. It’s no surprise that Nappa and Vegeta would nickname him “Radish-boy.”

If there’s one thing fans of Dragon Ball Z should remember from the beginning of the series, it’s that Raditz is a jerk. Raditz is a unique DBZ villain that has had no atonement or character growth. He is a nasty jerk who would have no problem murdering his own brother or nephew. Of course, he was typical of Saiyans of the time, merciless and ruthless in his pursuit of number one. Nappa was the same way, and it took Vegeta a long time to mature past his harsh Saiyan temperament.

Surprisingly, a flashback in Dragon Ball Super: Broly and the events of Chapter 77 of the Super manga have shown that Raditz is the only member of his family that is incapable of feeling sympathy. Gine, his mother, is regarded for being a rare, gentle Saiyan who chose to concentrate on assisting people rather than fighting. When he concerned for Planet Vegeta’s safety, his father, Bardock, demonstrated something approximating a conscience by moving a newborn Goku off-world. During the Saiyan invasion of Planet Cereal, he also saved the lives of Granolah and his mother, claiming that it was the proper thing to do.

Raditz was the only member of the family that was a stereotypically aggressive Saiyan, according to Goku’s history of fighting for what’s right. Perhaps Raditz’s attitude and determination to murder Goku in Dragon Ball Z stems from childhood hatred, since Gine and Bardock may have been more concerned about their infant Kakarot. Gine and Bardock, on the other hand, did not seem to dislike Raditz, since when Bardock inquired about him after a mission, Gine proudly stated that Raditz was fighting with Prince Vegeta.