The anime of Boruto differs from the manga in one key area, and it is not action

The manga vs anime discourse is nothing new to Boruto. There have been arguments, opinions, and analysis all around the internet on which medium told the story better. Since the manga is the original and most direct to the author’s vision, many have called the manga better. However, the anime has not disappointed when it comes to a lot of elements.

The problem that the anime and manga of Boruto face is time. The Boruto manga is released every month, and due to that, the anime can easily catch up to it. This puts the creators of the anime in a conundrum, and the only way to solve it is by expanding the world of Boruto.

That expansion is the key difference between the anime and the manga. While the manga takes viewers straight into the world with the expectations that they have come from Naruto; the anime guides the hand of the viewer gently and gives them a world that Naruto didn’t even show. Here are the differences between the anime and manga of Boruto, and how the anime edges it in some bits.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s views and may contain spoilers.

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What is the difference between the anime and manga of Boruto?

Naruto and Sasuke are warmer towards each other in the anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The difference between the two media can be summed up to narrative expansion. The manga has an approach that bears similarities to Jujutsu Kaisen and Solo Leveling. With this approach, all viewers are given is the meat of the story. The plot also feels very fast-paced because there is always some sort of objective that is being chased after.

In between each arc, there is no space to breathe in the manga. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can have negative effects on the story—usually shown in the characters and the worldbuilding. Due to how fast the story progresses, fans never learn to build a connection with the characters in front of them. This also leads to the world they are in being heavily overlooked.

The manga is more fast-paced than the anime (Image via Shueisha)

There is a complaint among Boruto fans that the world feels largely unexplored, and this can be blamed on the fast pacing and how it compresses the story. The anime takes a leisurely pace in fleshing out its narrative, which means tiny, minuscule details can be mentioned.

In the anime, the young Konoha ninjas are not confined to one spot. These ninjas visit the Hidden Cloud, Hidden Mist, and other locations. Viewers also get to see how far technology has progressed from Naruto. There are trains, video games, and even ninja tools. It is in the anime that fans understand the statement that the age of the ninja is truly over, because the work of a ninja can easily be replicated with technology.

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Final thoughts

The hyper-expansion of the anime’s story is also responsible for the difference in tone from the manga. The manga is reminiscent of dark Shonen at times because of how serious and gritty it feels, while the anime is lighthearted. Some of the darkest characters in the manga are even softer in the anime.

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