The Boruto Franchise Wastes Sasuke

Throughout the Naruto franchise, whether you admire Sasuke Uchiha's anti-heroic ways or how he rebelled against the system and turned into a full-fledged villain in order to unite the five ninja nations, it's hard to deny how cool he truly is.

He's quite a divisive character, of course, coming off selfish, hard-headed and egotistical, but ultimately, he holds the best interests of everyone at heart. As a youth, Sasuke believed peace could only be gained through war and a purge of the old world, only for Naruto to convince him otherwise. Sadly, after embarking on a path of redemption as an adult, the Boruto series is totally wasting the coolest character that creator Masashi Kishimoto created for this franchise.

Sasuke Reborn

When the Naruto franchise ended, Sasuke finally saw the error of his ways and became a roaming ninja, seeking to protect their home, Konoha, as well as the other villages that were now allied with each other. The dream of peace had finally been achieved but Sasuke knew that the alliance needed a rogue ninja out there, acting as a black-ops soldier to go where laws forbid.

In The Last: Naruto the Movie and the Boruto debut film, we finally saw a mature Sasuke protecting his people the right way and it was every fan's dream. On par with Naruto in terms of power, Sasuke had mastered the art of the Rinnegan (his ocular ability) and was rocking a sword despite missing an arm, acting as a Hokage (the village's leader) outside of Konoha.

He was similar to a slick gunslinger -- a John Wayne-esque character -- roaming Konoha's outskirts to suss out threats that plotted against newfound peace, whether it be terrorist organizations, splinter cells from villages that hated the coalition, or to see if remnants from the Great Ninja War such as other Uchiha clan members, offshoots from the Akatsuki and even descendants of the evil queen Kaguya were still around.

However, as Boruto has illustrated, Sasuke is absolutely incompetent at his job. In fact, he effuses nothing more than wasted potential.

But... Where Has Sasuke Gone?

All the adults from the old generation are getting their fair due, especially Naruto. He's taken back the mentorship role Sasuke held for Boruto, and we're seeing more of Naruto training the new sulking ninja and another Sasuke in the making -- Kawaki. However, Sasuke should be training Kawaki, as they're so similar. They both have a tragic family past and are as emo as they come, which is why Kakashi took it upon himself to train Sasuke in the old days.

But for some reason, Boruto thinks of Sasuke as someone who has no use. Apart from not being involved in Kawaki's tutelage, nothing is coming down the pipeline from Sasuke in terms of any intelligence gathered on the new terrorist group Kara. When Jiraiya investigated the Akatsuki in Naruto: Shippuden, he was able to gather a lot of information, which ultimately cost him his life. But instead of Sasuke following in his shoes as a shadow-ops specialist, he's nowhere to be found in the story.

What's most disheartening is that his job is to prevent incursions into the village; and yet, in Boruto #31 this week, Kara's agents are locked in a deadly battle with Naruto for Kawaki's soul. Koji Kashin, one of Kara's main agents, has also loaded up on intel for his villainous society, reiterating how ineffective Sasuke is. Koji's doing the job for the enemy that Sasuke should be doing for the alliance.

Hopefully this changes soon because we've finally gotten the Sasuke we wanted since he rivalled Naruto as kids, and it's about time he gets a much bigger role in the spotlight.

CBR

The Boruto Franchise Is Wasting Its Coolest Character

Sasuke Reborn

But... Where Has Sasuke Gone?