The year is 1999 and a young artist by the name of Masashi Kishimoto makes his debut in Shonen Jump with his manga called Naruto. A story that would last a decade and a half and would go on to not only be regarded as one of the best series in Shonen Jump, but would go on to receive global success and define a whole generation of readers and anime watchers that would expand the popularity of manga and anime in the west. In 2014, the series comes to an end and despite the plotholes and hiccups the series was still good and ended on a good note. 2 years later the series gets a sequel called Boruto a series that would focus on the son of Naruto and his ninja adventure. Everyone is excited and looking forward to the story. Cut to present day and the series has become a mixed bag. While well received in Japan, other countries have mixed opinions with some finding the series okay and others saying this sequel is hurting the legacy of Naruto rather than helping it. I bring this up because another popular series that is fondly loved by people in the west, Inuyasha, is getting a sequel that will follow the children of Inuyasha and Kagome and everyone is excited about it while I am worried about it. I’ve said before in the past that I was never really a big fan of Inuyasha. I didn’t really get into the story and I wasn’t a big fan of the romance between Inuyasha and Kagome. However, I did watch the ending of the series and felt it ended on a good note with nothing more for the story to show or tell us. So, this brings me to my questions for today, why do some series get sequels and when should a manga get a sequel?
Let’s start by naming the biggest reason why publishers do sequels, to cash-in on the popularity of a series. Going back to Boruto it makes sense why they would want to do a follow up to Naruto. For years it was one of Shonen Jump’s most popular series. Next to One Piece this series was a juggernaut in the manga industry. Outside of Japan it was probably the biggest manga in the world. There was a time where you couldn’t go to a con and not see someone cosplaying as a character from the series. Because of that worldwide success it made sense to do a sequel to still get profit from those die-hard fans. However, you have to ask yourself, does this sequel help the series or hurt the series? Now don’t get me wrong I really have nothing against Boruto, but was this story really necessary? Did anybody really want to see what happened to Naruto after he achieved his goal? I wasn’t, I was happy with the way Naruto ended and felt that it really didn’t need a sequel. While Boruto does seem to have room for better character growth/development compared to Naruto, the whole series just feels like we’re on repeat and outside of say Boruto and Sarada the other characters aren’t really all that interesting. I’m not really building a connection or caring about the other kids in the series as I did with Naruto. With Naruto I loved the characters and watching them each grow individually. Seeing Hinata develop confidence to confess her love to Naruto, relating to Shikamaru who was lazy but cared about his friends, happy to see Gaara accepted by his village and rise to become their leader, and loving Rock Lee’s determination and skills to keep up with everyone despite his limitations. Boruto also shines a bad spotlight on Naruto as we see he’s not the best dad in the earlier chapters of the manga. He changes and gets better, but those early chapters really did leave a bad taste in the mouths of everyone. So, is Boruto is bad sequel? Not really, but it does feel unnecessary in the long run. It has grown a fanbase, but I think a lot of people will admit that this sequel isn’t needed.
Now let’s talk another Shonen Jump series that a lot of people would like to see a sequel to, Kuroko’s Basketball. While Kuroko’s Basketball never reached that level of fame as say One Piece or Naruto, it did have a very popular run. There was a time when their merchandise was in almost every store you walked into in Japan. Because of its success a lot of people have been asking for a sequel to the series and in my honest opinion there’s really no need for a sequel. What exactly would be the point? The original manga ended by wrapping up everything perfectly. There’s nothing more to explore in this series, so a sequel wouldn’t enhance the experience of the original manga it would just hurt the series.
So then when should a manga get a sequel? Well the answer is when there’s more to explore. A good example is Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail ended on a bad note leaving so many questions unanswered. So, Mishima has created a sequel to the manga that picks up where the series left off and so far I’ve been enjoying it. Another good example is Mahou Sensei Negima. The manga ended abruptly leaving a lot of questions. UQ Holder takes place in the future where we see what happened to Negi and the gang and the problems that the new cast of characters have to face. The story is exciting, fun, and does good job at expanding on Negi’s world and the other characters in it. Another good reason to do a sequel is to show the story from a new perspective. Take for example the Legend of Korra. While Korra wasn’t as groundbreaking as Last Airbender, I will admit I did find Korra’s growth better than Aang’s growth. Aang never really changed all that much in his journey. Not that that’s a bad thing, I did enjoy Aang’s carefree attitude and personality, but when you compare his growth to Korra’s growth in the series I think we can all agree Korra’s growth was better. Unlike Aang, Korra was a natural when it came to mastering the elements. She was brash, cocky, hot-headed, impatient, and careless at times. As the series progresses, she begins to change. She starts to mature more, see both sides of the story, stay patient and not get angry, and try to solve problems in a peaceful manner rather than just go off and fight people. Korra gave us a different look at what an Avatar could be like and how they can change in their journey.
And now we wrap up with Inuyasha. Will this sequel be a hit or a miss? I can’t say nor do I really care. I really do feel like there’s no need for a sequel for a series like this. However, maybe the author will give us something different. Maybe the kids will do and act differently from their parents. Maybe we’ll get to explore a new aspect of the series we missed out on in the original. Or maybe it’ll be like Boruto where the sequel wasn’t needn’t, but it’ll find it’s fanbase. It’s a rare for a sequel to live up to the original and even rarer when the sequel can surpass the original. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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