Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Boruto #77Despite a history of pushing female characters to the sideline, Boruto saga has finally given the next generation of women a platform to highlight that they do indeed hold up half the sky in the ninja world.
In a franchise loaded with cool, interesting, and powerful female characters, Boruto, and Naruto have notoriously given them short shrift by having them largely play secondary roles to male-focused storylines. One of the clearest demonstrations of this has been the near-continuous portrayal of Sakura as Naruto's weakest, less-skilled member of Team 7 despite the fact that, unlike the other two , she was truly self-made and came to their rescue more times than they saved her. At least Sakura was always near the action though. The same cannot be said of many women in Boruto, where it initially seemed that Sakura's daughter Sarada would be a key character in the story, only to have the main storyline switch over the male-centric tensions between Boruto, Kawaki, and Code. Unfortunately, much like her mother before her, Sarada's abilities have been substantially nerfed since the earlier chapter of the saga.
This is why it comes as a surprise that Boruto Chapter 76 dedicates a majority of its time not only to the next generation of shinobi women but also to their potential opponent who is, unexpectedly, also a woman. The scene is even more surprising when considering how rare a serious, female-focused scene is in Naruto and Boruto. But even the few times when females characters have had such as those between female Naruto characters like Sakura and Ino Yamanaka, the content of the connection tends to center around subjects women, rather than top-level shinobi, are supposedly interested in such as finding a partner, whether they are pretty, or which one is the better mother.
Sumire, Eida, and Sarada Are Friends In Need
Some may argue the conversation between Sumire, Eida, and Sarada in Boruto Chapter 76 is more of the same "fluff" reminiscent of similar scenes in the past. However, while the conversation does follow a similar pattern, there are several caveats that make this scene groundbreaking. First, unlike past female conversations which seemed mainly based on tired tropes, this one actually concerns a realistic situation that a teenage girl who likes a boy would ask her friends, who are equally confused. This seems to be an attempt to connect with Boruto's substantial female fanbase. It also creates a legitimate bonding between the three characters if the story ever decides to go in that direction.
More importantly, the conversation reveals a key plot point, namely that Sumire and Sarada, even though they are not related to Eida or of the Otsutsuki clan, are nevertheless able to resist her powers. If their resistance proves to indeed be real then they will form an alternative to Kawaki and Boruto, as a means of taking out Eida, who currently stands as one of the biggest threats to Konoha. It's entirely possible for a future big battle to see Eida and Daemon face off against Sumire and Sarada, with Daemon's abilities possibly being undone by Boruto's sister Himawari, who Boruto Chapter 77 revealed is impervious to his abilities.
The scene is a vast improvement in the treatment of female characters in the Naruto-Boruto saga. It also established a base from which a deeper development of female characters can be accomplished. Most importantly it suggests that the creators of Naruto and Boruto are finally willing to show the that women shinobi of the story truly do hold up half the sky.
Boruto is now available from Viz Media.
