The Chunin exams conclude on a somber note as the story heads into its climax. With only three examinees remaining, Boruto, Sarada, and Shinki face off in an action-packed battle royale. Realizing the threat posed by Shinki, the remaining two-thirds of Team 7 decide to temporarily join forces against their common enemy. However, Gaara's adoptive son proves too strong for their best efforts, and Boruto must once again use Katasuke's device in order to eke out a victory. Unfortunately for the young shinobi, he overplays his hand this time. Watching his son defeat Shinki with Kakashi's signature Purple Lightning confirms Naruto's suspicions about Boruto's performance, prompting him to expose Boruto's trickery in front of the entire audience, disqualify him from the exams, and bar him from being a ninja. Before Boruto and his friends have time to fully process this, Momoshiki and Kinshiki arrive on the scene as Momoshiki declares that he's finally found Naruto.
Although only one fight is covered this week, the proceedings never drag and the characters' emotions are more palpable than ever. A force to be reckoned with, Shinki refuses to give his opponents an inch as he effortlessly counters everything they throw at him. Much like his father at that age, the young Sand ninja is brutal and direct, though he appears to have more restraint and a better understanding of his power. As has become customary, Boruto holds off on using the Shinobi Gauntlet until the eleventh hour, and as usual, he clearly has some reservations about relying on it. (Admittedly, his post-exam endgame is unclear. Did he think he'd keep secretly using it forever or that no one would ask him to reproduce those advanced techniques outside of the test?) His friends' reactions to his cheating are particularly poignant, especially Shikadai's, as he was the one friend whom Boruto used the tool against. If things are ever to return to normal, Boruto will have to make some serious amends for his actions throughout this arc.
Naruto disqualifying his own son from the exams and barring him from ever becoming a ninja is harsh, and Leaf residents and fellow Kage would be hard-pressed to accuse the Seventh of nepotism. Boruto is clearly in the wrong and ought to have known better, but he's still a child demanding his father's attention, and Naruto's lack of presence at home certainly isn't helping matters. Of course, before the father-son duo can continue their very public disagreement, the Otsutsukis show up at the perfect time, finally bringing their role in this story to a head—although the TV-original Urashiki is nowhere to be seen.
The Chunin exam arc continues to be one of the highlights of the series, and this week's Boruto/Sarada/Shinki brawl serves as another welcome expansion of the film's narrative. With the exam over, Boruto's long con revealed, and the Otsutskis finally revealing themselves, the ninja world's first joint Chunin exam is about to get a whole lot stickier.
Visual revealed for new season― The staff for the Spy x Family anime revealed on Sunday that the anime is getting a third season. The staff also revealed a visual for the third season. Anime character designer and chief animation director Kazuaki Shimada drew the below visual. Art director Yuni Yoshida designed the visual. The first anime season's first half premiered in April 2022. Crunchyroll stre...
Amane Shindō, Rie Takahashi, Lynn, Kanon Takao voice new heroines― A special event for the television anime of Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa's The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You (Kimi no koto ga Dai Dai Dai Dai Daisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo) manga unveils more cast members for the new heroines, the January 2025 premiere, and a teaser visual for the second seas...
Momoiro Clover Z, MindaRyn to perform season's new theme songs― Bandai Namco Filmworks revealed more cast, a new key visual, a new promotional video, and a new commercial on Saturday for the third season of the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken) television anime. Bandai Namco Filmworks also announced that Momoiro Clover Z will perform the season's second opening...
Co-founder Hideaki Anno's current studio Khara acquires Gainax's trademark― Anime studio Gainax announced on its website on Friday that it filed for bankruptcy in the Tokyo District Court on May 29. The bankruptcy proceedings are happening just short of the studio's 40th anniversary in December. Gainax's Statement In its statement on Friday, Gainax explained that its financial situation worsened sta...
Lynzee slays the Nosferatu Arucard, but isn't sure if she enjoyed the experience.― Welcome back to The Anime Backlog, the column where I chronicle my journey to overcome a backlog of 100+ anime titles. After slaying my behemoth of shame, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I decided to dive into the quintessential dark and edgy series of the aughts, Hellsing Ultimate. Hellsing Ultimate Why Is It Impo...
Synduality: Noir perhaps ends up better than other video game tie-in series, but in the larger mecha genre, it's still an also-ran.― This second cour started as a big fat question mark. While the first half of Synduality: Noir had occasional drama, most of its runtime was all about chilling with its extended cast as they got into cool robot fights. While that lent the show a lot of charm, it meant t...
Before Summer Game Fest truly kicks off, Jean-Karlo checks out the upcoming Yakuza TV series news and Gen Urobutchi's deceptively cute rabbit puzzler.― Welcome back, folks! In honor of the Astro Bot announcement, I spent some time playing Astro's Playhouse over the weekend. It's a cute tech demo disguised as a platformer, helped by Astro being an adorable little mascot. The historical angle of colle...
Anti-hero or villain? Scar and Magneto present evidence for either interpretation.― X-Men' 97 has now concluded its stunning first season, and those ten episodes highlighted the best and worst of Magneto — a man who's been both the X-Men's nemesis and leader. Introduced at the very beginning of X-Men in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's 1963 debut issue, the "Master of Magnetism" has changed a lot in his s...
Sound Euphonium 3 is now the top anime both in weekly and cumulative rankings! Find out how your favorite shows fared in our weekly user rankings.― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season,
based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews
and on the Your Score page with the latest simulcasts. Keep in mind that these rankings are based on how pe...
Chris and Steve make the highly questionable decision of watching all of Code Geass in 48 hours. Is the series just as good as it was nearly two decades ago?― Chris and Steve make the highly questionable decision of watching all of Code Geass in 48 hours. Is the series just as good as it was nearly two decades ago? Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are...
Unfortunately, Kengan Ashura isn't dumb fun often enough to be enjoyable, and its politics make it a slog to get through.― The back half of season one of Kengan Ashura — confusingly labeled "Part II" on Netflix and with episode numbers that reset to 1 through 12 — is better than the first part of the season. Unfortunately, that isn't saying much, as this martial arts anime opens with an incredibly w...