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“The Path Lit By The Full Moon”
Last week was Kickboxing Day. Yesterday was Boxing Day. Today was Kenjutsu Day. I’ll graciously accept these late gift, that keep on coming like no tomorrow. But let’s talk about how this episode was an origination story for Mitsuki, who is my favourite little snek.
Mitsuki Gaiden
Might I ask the same old question – is Orochimaru the father or the mother? Either way, I’d argue it doesn’t matter. He’s fulfilling the role of parent, possibly to a greater extent than both Naruto or Sasuke. Admittedly an unimpressive achievement anyway, not to mention he drugged Mitsuki five times to make him forget ever single failure. However, we’ve seen there’s a greater purpose behind such ‘child abuse’. Of course, Mitsuki achieving the Sage Transformation was certainly a priority. But contrary to his claims of wanting to sire powerful progeny, Orochimaru seems far more interested in seeing what his children can do with free will and self-determination. Though his methods are rather forceful, he essentially guides Mitsuki into making his own choice, giving him the precious gift of freedom.
[Insert politically incorrect joke about the USA here].
For most of this series, Mitsuki devoutly defers to Boruto on every matter. Sarada even criticises him at the start of the episode, potentially echoing the thoughts of many viewers. However, all along, Mitsuki’s actions have been entirely a result of his own volition. After five failures, where he chose to either side with Log or Orochimaru, he finally awakens the Sage Mode and rebels, forging a third pathway with his own two hands. If we exclude manga readers like myself, who could have known that these complicated circumstances, surrounded Mitsuki’s enrolment into Konohagakure’s Ninja Academy?
Concluding Thoughts
What a fantastic way to end 2017. I maintain that Sage Mode was the final power-up, before things went out of whack in Naruto Shippuden. Tailed Beast Chakra Shrouds, Ten-Tails, Moon Creatures blasting civilisation to bits, etc. As such, Sage Mode is one of my favourite abilities in the franchise, due to the well conceived strengths and limitations behind it. Plus, it always resulted in extended fights that don’t rely on one-shot super attacks, making it awesome from a viewer’s perspective! And dare I say, the practitioners always end up looking like complete badasses?
While we got a sneak peek at his true capabilities, I expect it will be a long time before Mitsuki starts busting through obstacles left, right and centre. Nonetheless, I would be content to see it slip out every so often, as it did against Shino in the academy graduation exam. With everyone’s Gaidens being done and dusted, now I can’t wait to get started on some genin adventures, starring revamped Team 7. And I must extend my sincerest gratitude to the anime staff, for exceeding my expectations, by making Boruto such an enjoyable ride.
Have a happy new year everybody, and hope to see you in 2018!
Preview
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Who would have thought, back during the chunin exams, that Orochimaru would be the better parent compared to Sasuke and Naruto too to a certain extent.
Not sure if it can be said with certainty. Naruto seemed pretty good, up till becoming the Hokage. As for Sasuke, even though he’s returned to live a life in the village, he’d be seen as an outcast for all the crimes he’s committed. It’s possible that Sasuke is maintaining his distance, while doing something productive for Konoha’s security, in order to ensure that his family won’t be negatively impacted by his ill repute.
Considering how rumours of the Nine Tail Fox sealed within Naruto spread really quickly, I’m quite amazed that Sarada hasn’t heard anything about Sasuke’s evil deeds.
But Sasuke could work around that if he really wanted to, such as by meeting his family outside of Konoha.
Would immediately tip off to Sarada that something isn’t quite right, which could be pretty bad, considering she somehow doesn’t know anything yet. I think it could facilitate an interesting change and give her more motivation for becoming Hokage – to compensate Sasuke’s victims and undo the other wrongs things he did.
Sasuke is a guy who hunts down world’s most dangerous criminals as well as very powerful beings. Furthermore, he is a secret agent. Even in our present world, Secret Agents such caliber avoid hanging with their family in fears that their enemies will find that family and use it against them. If in our world you have to be cautious, than in Narutoverse you have to be tenfold as cautious.
This is also why he stopped wearing the Uchiha Crest on his clothes nor Konoha’s Forehead Protector: those would reveal to everyone where to look for his loved ones. To him, the thought of returning home and finding his entire family murdered again should be a horrifying, yet very possible, future. On other hand, he knows that someone must take his role and that not having the most capable person doing it would endanger Konoha and his family.
The claim that Naruto being a bad father was always a joke, and still is.
Sasuke is an awkward guy in the boruto series in the way he deals with things like family and emotions.
From my pov, he became a secret agent for a number of reasons, firstly as an act of repentance, secondly because it is only he who can do this job, thirdly is to keep his family, the village, and world safe.
He may not be the ideal dad or even father, but he does love his family as shown in the Sarada arc.
Also being a father and dad are two separate things. Naruto is a good father even when he became Hokage, he works hard for his family and the village. Although the village is now his responsibility and family. So even if he isn’t always there emotionally for his biological children, he’s only human. The village is his family so it’s difficult to balance things when everything is now your responsiblity.
The question on morality is always an iffy thing. Orochimaru imo throughout the whole Naruto series was a narcissist who wanted to keep exploring and creating forever hence why he wanted immortality, he experimented on everything seemingly without the guilt of a what one would call a moral conscience. However he changed through interactions with characters in particular Sasuke, and became more interested in Sasuke’s actions and plans towards the end of Naruto Shippuden. And in Boruto series he created his child, Mitsuki, whom he does seem to care about, defying nature itself.
The philosophical question thrown into it, is that Mitsuki is now a living being, although artificially created, does he deserve to live like others? Orochimaru clearly believes that if you’re a living being, no matter how you were created, you deserve to live your own life. He guides Mitsuki to find his own path albeit in the typical Orochimaru way via deceit.
The meaning in this is that there is no black and white. There’s also the unknown grey area.
Orochimaru will always have his past and countless bodies that he drags around hence why people are still wary of him and his devious nature.
He has always been a person who is driven by his passionate desires of perfection. But now it seems he has accepted or come to terms that human by nature are not perfect and never will be. But Love conquers all!
All of the above may be convoluted and it may or may not represent on my own philosophical views…
So Mitsuki decides to forge his own path and make his own decisions… to blindly follow Boruto and do whatever he thinks they should do?
To observe the subject of his interest, and enable him to continue behaving naturally, so that he can continue to see what Boruto chooses to do.
If i remember correctly Orochimaru posses some sort of body host. and the last one (when he attack Naurotos village) was female host under his male mask. Some sort of spirit override attack…
That body got destroyed by Sasuke, and the last I remember (though he might have found a new host), Orochimaru transferred his being into one of the incapacitated White Zetsu’s, around the time where he revived the four Kages.
I honestly thought Orochimaru did a normal method, of making a kid, by having a relationship with a girl that was attracted to him. What was I thinking. Of course Orochimaru would use more of a sci-fi method to make kids.
Anyway, I can only hope that Mitsuki doesn’t turn evil or some rouge ninja.
Rather than Mitsuki, have Boruto turn rogue, then summon a Tengai Shinsen down onto Hokage Rock.
It would be an epic plot twist if he was actually the person who destroyed Konoha at the start of the series.
https://randomc.net/image/Boruto%20Naruto%20Next%20Generations/Boruto%20Naruto%20Next%20Generations%20-%2039%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Boruto%20Naruto%20Next%20Generations/Boruto%20Naruto%20Next%20Generations%20-%2039%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
Yeah, let’s all forget that Orochimaru is an evil, remorseless monster and pretend he’s actually a good father.
The Naruto series has really gone to shit.
“The claim that Naruto being a bad father was always a joke, and still is.”
Too bad it’s true.
The idea of a “good” father by Japanese standard is to feed and provide for the child. As long as he is able to do that, the Japanese society will always forgive the dad’s other shortcomings, such as his lack of parenting due to his long and frequent absences from family activities. People outside of Japan will likely hold the dad to a higher level of accountability.