Boruto 122 !!top!! Access

– A lean, thoughtful filler episode that respects its lineage without being crushed by it.

The best moment is the climactic counter: Boruto uses a wire string to redirect a puppet’s arm into disabling its own core. It’s a callback to Sasori vs. Sakura/Chiyo, but simplified, slowed down, and made readable for a younger audience. In an era of Demon Slayer levels of flash, Boruto 122’s quiet, mechanical fight is almost nostalgic—not for Naruto , but for the pre- Shippuden era when tactics mattered more than explosions. The episode is not flawless. The premise—a stolen scroll containing a “forbidden puppet technique”—is a MacGuffin so generic it hurts. Tanigakure’s worldbuilding consists of exactly one cliff and one house. And Konohamaru, the team’s jonin leader, does absolutely nothing except look worried, continuing the series’ unfortunate trend of sidelining interesting adult characters. boruto 122

On paper, he is a Sasori-lite. In execution, however, the episode cleverly avoids the trap of imitation. Kankitsu’s puppets aren’t humanoid masterpieces; they are rugged, utilitarian, and animalistic (a scorpion tail, a spider-like trap). The choreography is rough, scrappy, and refreshingly low-tier. Unlike Sasori’s hundred puppets or the later Otsutsuki dimensional warping, this fight feels like a ninja fight again. Boruto can’t spam Rasengan or vanishing tricks; he has to think, dodge, and use wire strings of his own. The episode’s true strength lies in its protagonist. Modern Boruto (the manga/anime) often struggles to balance the character’s privilege with his growth. Here, Boruto faces a foe who is essentially a mirror: a talented young shinobi who lost his mentor and blames the entire system. – A lean, thoughtful filler episode that respects

But beneath its modest budget and low-stakes premise, Episode 122 succeeds for a simple, almost subversive reason: it stops trying to be Naruto and finally remembers how to be Boruto . Let’s address the elephant in the room. Puppet jutsu is sacred ground. In Naruto Shippuden , Sasori of the Red Sand elevated puppetry from a gimmick (Kankuro’s Karasu) into a haunting philosophy of immortality. Episode 122 invites that comparison immediately. Kankitsu, the villain of the week, is a failed Tanigakure shinobi who uses Kugutsu no Jutsu with a tragic backstory (dead master, destroyed village, desire for revenge). Sakura/Chiyo, but simplified, slowed down, and made readable

Furthermore, the emotional weight of Kankitsu’s backstory is rushed. We learn of his master’s death in a single flashback of two shots. Compare that to the layered grief of Zabuza and Haku, and the episode feels thin. Boruto Episode 122 is not a masterpiece. It won’t convert detractors who despise the sequel. But for those still watching, it offers a quiet reassurance: the series understands that its protagonist’s strength should not be raw power, but perspective. Boruto wins not because he is the son of the Hokage or a vessel for a god, but because he sees through the self-deception of revenge.

This is mature writing for a 12-year-old character. Boruto doesn’t try to convert Kankitsu; he simply exposes the hypocrisy of revenge disguised as grief. And in the end, Kankitsu is arrested, not redeemed. The episode resists the saccharine conclusion that every villain deserves a hug. Some people, it argues, just choose the wrong path. Visually, Episode 122 is not going to appear on any sakuga reels. The character models are stiff, and the backgrounds are sparse. But director Yuki Kinoshita makes a virtue of necessity. The puppet battle is shot in wide, static frames that emphasize positioning and strategy over impact frames. When Boruto’s Shadow Clone feints and he slips behind Kankitsu’s puppet, you feel the tactical geometry of it.