Popular shōnen series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, is Naruto's widely-renowned successor. Boruto started its publication in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2016 and was soon greenlit for an anime adaptation. However, the anime is slightly different from the manga for multiple reasons.
There have been a few noticeable differences between the two Boruto sources. With time, they kept piling up. Therefore, there seem to be two versions of the same story about Boruto. Manga readers aren't big fans of the differences, but it's enough to keep anime fans entertained every week.
Updated on May 8th, 2022 by Olivia Subero: This list has been updated to fix some out-of-date information and address a few other minor errors.
10 Different: Boruto's Beginnings
The Boruto anime was announced nearly a year after its manga debut. Although the prologue was the same as the manga, the story's beginning was quite different. The manga's first arc was a retelling of the events from Masashi Kishimoto's Boruto: Naruto the Movie.
In Boruto's anime adaption, the story began with Boruto's admission into the Ninja Academy. An original arc focusing on Boruto's time in the Academy ran for about a year, much to manga fans' irritation.
9 Same: Boruto's Basic Story
While the Boruto anime and manga beginnings may differ, they're essentially the same story. Fans get to watch Naruto's son, Boruto, go through life as a ninja and a preteen boy in his father's shadow. It's like another retelling of the original Naruto story but valid in its own way.
The manga takes a shorter route as it focuses more on the critical events in the Boruto universe. On the other hand, the anime delves deeper into the story by creating opportunities for more character development. This helps viewers better understand the main and supporting characters through Boruto's various filler arcs.
8 Different: The Additional Characters
Since the Boruto anime begins with Boruto's Academy days, it's only natural to see him interact with his classmates. The Ninja Academy has seen many young aspirants who haven't made their way to the manga yet, such as Yuino Iwabee and Denki Kaminari.
The Boruto manga is far more concise and doesn't spend much time focusing on the supporting characters. So far, fans have barely seen any other team other than Boruto's in the manga — which says a lot about the direction it has taken.
7 Same: Boruto's General Era
Boruto's manga begins with Boruto Uzumaki preparing to fight Kawaki amid the destruction of Konoha. The same event happens in the anime as well, but the story went down a different path following this upcoming battle.
Both versions of this Boruto plot are set in the same era where Naruto Uzumaki leads as the Leaf Village's Seventh Hokage. Boruto, Sarada Uchiha, and Mitsuki's development are the central focus in both mediums. However, the anime chooses to add more to it.
6 Different: The Chunin Exams
The Chunin Exams is Boruto's first big arc. However, the anime and manga contain some differences. The anime shows a more detailed version of the events than Ikemoto's manga illustrates.
Furthermore, the Boruto anime lets the Chunin Exam play out until its end, where Boruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha, and Shinki fight in a three-way battle. In the manga, the exams get interrupted when Momoshiki Otsutsuki interferes and kidnaps Naruto Uzumaki.
5 Same: Boruto's Major Villains
The Boruto manga narrates from its titular protagonist's perspective, but the anime takes longer to tell the same story. This includes the infamous Otsutsuki Clan, Boruto's main villains, who are present in both versions.
Some may argue Urashiki Otsutsuki never showed up in the Boruto manga and is, therefore, non-canon to the story. He barely classifies as a major villain, even after his death. Compared to the other villains Boruto and his friends face, Urashiki went down as one of the most uninteresting in the story. To manga fans, his introduction served no purpose in the overall storyline.
4 Different: The Expanded Fights
Depictions of the Boruto manga's fights often pale compared to its anime. As evident from Boruto's 65th episode — and throughout the rest of the Chunin Exams — the anime does a better job bringing battle scenes to life.
That's not to say Ikemoto is a weak illustrator. He's more than decent and will improve with time. With that being said, Boruto's anime staff usually goes above and beyond when it comes to critical fight scenes, which is why it is so much better.
3 Same: Their Respective Endings
Since the manga and anime narrate Boruto's story, it's unlikely that either will cut his story short. Despite its high filler content, the anime has remained faithful to its source material.
Boruto's story will likely end at the same point in both versions, but the timing is unknown. According to what Ikemoto mentioned earlier this year, it could possibly climax within the next 5-10 years.
2 Different: The Additional Story Arcs
The Boruto anime is excellent when it comes to adding content to the story and, in the process, giving more development to the characters. So far, most of the anime is filled with "additional story arcs," although some simply call it filler.
On the other hand, the Boruto manga focuses on important events in Boruto's storyline. It doesn't explore the minor endeavors the team has in between, such as the Land of Waves arc and meeting Kagura Karatachi. These filler arcs can add more entertaining twists and character development as it catches up to the manga.
1 Same: The Time-skip
Boruto's anime and the manga prologues made it clear that there would be a time-skip further in the series. Although that time is yet to come, it's gotten incredibly close after Naruto's capture.
Bothe the Boruto manga and the anime opened with the events from the time-skip. So it can be inferred that it will take part in both stories, irrespective of what path they end up taking.