Sasuke and Sarada share incredible moments in the Boruto anime that the manga has unfortunately failed to capitalize on despite the obvious appeal of the two Uchiha. Two scenes from the anime, in particular, highlight the full potential of what this father-and-daughter relationship could be capable of through irony and a powerful metaphor.

In episode 18 of the anime, Sakura's intense reactions to Sarada's questions about Sasuke give a literal spin to how the last Uchiha household is figuratively a broken home. After getting asked if she was really Sasuke's wife, Sakura punches the ground with tremendous force, causing their home to break literally, falling down in front of them. Two episodes later, Sarada's Sharingan, which she could only inherit from Sasuke's clan, manifests at the prospect of meeting him for the first time. Although the most appropriate time this could ever occur, earlier events ruined the moment, as Sasuke, who had just battled an unfriendly Sharingan user, believed that she was with him.

Sasuke & Sarada's Relationship is More Complex in Boruto's Anime

Both of these moments couldn't have done a more effective job of both exacerbating Sasuke and Sarada's already strained relationship. In the manga, the divide between father and daughter is explored, but only through implication. Some of the more concrete examples occur whenever Sarada scolds Boruto for how he negatively views his father, who she sometimes wishes was her dad because he's actually present. One of the less direct instances occurs when an outsider named Kawaki, who had just learned about the Sharingan, came up with a strategy on how Sarada could use the technique before she could. This showcased Sasuke's failure since Sarada would have known how to use the Sharingan if he had taught her.

Although effective in conveying the disconnect between Sasuke and Sarada, none of these are as dramatic or as stunning as the aforementioned scenes in the anime, which adapted the original work by creator and supervisor Masashi Kishimoto, artist Mikio Ikemoto and scriptwriter Ukyo Kodachi. Witnessing how common questions could culminate in the literal destruction of the Uchiha home presented the irreparable damage that Sasuke's absence had on the mental state of his family in a way that conversations could never truly capture. Meanwhile, the activation of the Sharingan in Sarada should have brought Sasuke and his daughter together, primarily due to the relative importance of the technique in their clan, but because of their unique situation isolated the already estranged family members even further in the most brutally heart-wrenching way.

Boruto's Manga Doesn't Explore How Sasuke Hurt Sarada

The subtitle of Naruto Next Generations might make it abundantly clear that the focus is and should be on the next generation. But by glossing over the stories that concern the characters fans fell in love with years earlier, the manga is making a huge mistake since their inclusion would help readers become more immersed in this new world, and it is undoubtedly the reason why the fans who watch the anime are so much more connected with Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The more in-depth portrayal of Sasuke and Sarada's relationship is just one of the many examples of how the Boruto anime completely outperforms the manga.