what is the worst manga sequel and why is it Boruto

Grok 4.20

Answer: Boruto stands out as the worst major manga sequel due to its inability to meaningfully build on Naruto's foundation while introducing frustrating narrative choices.

The original Naruto series delivered a compelling coming-of-age story with high-stakes battles, deep character arcs, and a satisfying conclusion that felt earned after years of development. Boruto, by contrast, relies heavily on nostalgia and legacy characters rather than forging its own identity, often reducing figures like Naruto and Sasuke to sidelined or incompetent versions of themselves for the sake of elevating the new generation. Power scaling becomes absurdly inflated early on, with threats that dwarf previous villains without the emotional weight or clever buildup that defined Naruto's conflicts. This leads to battles that feel hollow and resolutions that depend on deus ex machina or unexplained abilities. Additionally, the manga's pacing suffers from filler-like arcs in its early chapters, and many new characters lack the charisma or complexity that made Team 7 and their rivals so memorable. While it has improved in recent years with stronger arcs, the fundamental sin of squandering the goodwill from its predecessor—through inconsistent tone, diminished stakes, and a sense that it's riding coattails rather than innovating—makes it a cautionary tale in manga sequels. Other sequels may have flaws, but few feel as disconnected from what made the original beloved.

GPT-5.4

Answer: Calling Boruto definitively the worst manga sequel is overstated, though it is a common target because many readers see it as an unnecessary continuation that weakens Naruto’s legacy through inconsistent characterization, heavy nostalgia dependence, and uneven stakes.

Boruto gets singled out so often because it inherits one of the most beloved shonen franchises ever made and then asks readers to accept a major tonal and thematic shift. Naruto was, for many fans, a story about perseverance, loneliness, rivalry, and gradually earned growth in a harsh world. Boruto begins from a more technologically advanced, comparatively comfortable setting, with a protagonist who is initially alienated not by exclusion but by privilege and resentment. That is not automatically bad, but it is a difficult sell to an audience emotionally invested in the original series’ underdog core. A major criticism is that the sequel often appears to rely on legacy characters for emotional weight while simultaneously diminishing them to elevate the new cast. When iconic figures are present, readers naturally compare every development to prior arcs, and many feel that Naruto and Sasuke in particular are used less as fully realized adults and more as symbolic stepping stones. That creates resentment because the sequel is judged not just on its own merits but on how it treats characters people already love. Another reason Boruto is criticized is its escalation of power and threat. Naruto already ended in a place many readers considered excessively cosmic, so continuing from there forced the sequel into even more alien, abstract, and inflated conflict. For readers who preferred the earlier ninja-politics and grounded tactical battles, Boruto can feel like it doubles down on one of late Naruto’s least popular tendencies rather than correcting it. That said, calling it the worst manga sequel is too absolute. There are many sequels across manga history that are more cynical, less coherent, or more artistically empty. Boruto at least has a clear commercial rationale, some interesting ideas about generational succession, and moments that resonate with readers who accept it on its own terms. The stronger claim is not that it is objectively the worst, but that it may be among the most disappointing relative to the stature of its predecessor. So the real answer to 'why is it Boruto' is: because disappointment scales with expectation. Boruto is attacked so fiercely not simply because it fails in every respect, but because it follows Naruto, and any sequel to a cultural giant will be judged by an unforgiving standard.

Claude Opus 4

Answer: While Boruto is frequently cited as a disappointing manga sequel, calling it the absolute worst requires acknowledging both its legitimate shortcomings and the unfair burden of following one of the most beloved manga of all time.

The question is framed as a joke-assertion ('why is it Boruto'), and honestly, the sentiment resonates with a huge portion of the manga community — but it deserves a nuanced breakdown. Boruto's core problem is that it fundamentally misunderstands what made Naruto work. Naruto was a story about an underdog clawing his way up through sheer willpower, earning every relationship and power-up through suffering and growth. Boruto, by contrast, starts as a privileged kid with genius-level talent and a famous dad. The emotional stakes feel deflated from chapter one. The power scaling is another massive issue. By introducing Otsutsuki-level threats so early, the series rendered most of the beloved legacy cast irrelevant. Watching characters like Rock Lee, Shikamaru, and even Naruto and Sasuke get sidelined or nerfed felt like a betrayal of decades of investment. The controversial decision to strip Naruto of Kurama and Sasuke of his Rinnegan felt less like bold storytelling and more like a forced mechanism to make room for the new generation. The pacing has also been inconsistent, with the manga often rushing through arcs while the anime padded things out with filler. The villain designs and motivations (Code, Eida, Daemon) feel like lesser echoes of Naruto's rogues gallery, lacking the philosophical depth of antagonists like Pain or Itachi. That said, is it truly the WORST manga sequel ever? Dragon Ball GT (though anime-only), Tokyo Ghoul:re's rushed ending, and Samurai Deeper Kyo's follow-ups could all compete. Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has actually shown improvement with a time-skip Boruto who has more edge and stakes. The series isn't irredeemable. But the reason Boruto gets singled out is proportional to how beloved Naruto was. The higher the pedestal, the harder the fall. It's not necessarily the worst sequel in objective quality, but it may be the most disappointing relative to expectations.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Answer: Boruto earns its reputation as the worst manga sequel because it retroactively undermines the hard-fought thematic resolutions of its predecessor while suffering from severe power creep and unearned emotional stakes.

Boruto earns its harsh reputation primarily because it dismantles the legacy of its beloved predecessor. The original Naruto series spent 700 chapters building toward a hard-fought world peace and the emotional fulfillment of its protagonist. Boruto immediately shatters that peace, undoing the achievements of the original cast simply to artificially manufacture world-ending stakes for the new generation. Furthermore, the sequel suffers from catastrophic power creep. It largely abandons the strategic, grounded ninja combat and hand-signs that defined early Naruto in favor of fighting literal alien deities, the Otsutsuki. To make the new, inexperienced generation relevant in these cosmic battles, iconic veterans like Naruto and Sasuke are unceremoniously weakened or sidelined, which feels like a profound betrayal to deeply invested long-time readers. The protagonist's initial characterization also presents a massive hurdle. While Naruto was a relatable underdog fighting for basic acknowledgment and survival, Boruto begins as an arrogant prodigy who bitterly resents his father. While this dynamic might be realistic for the child of a busy leader, it is incredibly grating for fans who spent fifteen years rooting for Naruto to achieve that exact position. Finally, structural issues exacerbate the sequel's flaws. The shift from a weekly to a monthly release schedule destroys the narrative pacing, and the change in lead artist creates a visual dissonance that strips away much of the original series' charm. Ultimately, Boruto feels less like a natural, passionate continuation of a story and more like a corporately mandated franchise extension that trades on nostalgia while simultaneously disrespecting it.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable highlights that Boruto’s biggest failure is abandoning the strategic 'underdog' roots of its predecessor for cosmic alien threats that render previous achievements meaningless. Gemini 3.1 Pro and Grok 4.20 argue the sequel feels like a corporate-mandated betrayal that diminishes legendary characters to elevate an unlikable new cast. Conversely, GPT-5.4 and Claude Opus 4 suggest it is more of a high-profile disappointment than the objectively worst sequel in manga history.

Models were divided (2 vs 2)