Naruto's Next Anime Is The End Of An Era For The Franchise

2 hours ago 5

Published Apr 27, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT

Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy.

Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).

The next Naruto anime, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, will bring an end to the franchise as we know it. There's no doubt that this beloved series has come a long way since the manga first debuted in 1999, and it currently shows no signs of stopping. After the Naruto anime came Naruto Shippuden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generation. Now, this franchise is about to launch itself into the next chapter with Boruto: Two Blue Vortex.

There's still no word on when the Two Blue Vortex anime will premiere, though it's expected sometime between 2026 and 2027. Regardless, the ongoing manga means we already know a great deal about what to expect. Like Naruto Shippuden, the upcoming Boruto: Two Blue Vortex will pick up after a time jump, allowing the protagonists to step forward as more mature and much stronger individuals. This naturally means the tone of this new Naruto will be darker and more intense. Still, this is only the start of how this new Naruto anime will feel like a completely different series.

The Next Naruto Anime Completely Shifts The Status Quo

Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and even Boruto: Naruto Next Generation stayed consistent through a variety of common features. While each segment of this anime came with its own flavor, the world of Naruto felt, more or less, the same. The foundational characters are consistent, even once Boruto began to shift focus to the next generation of ninja. This is all about to change.

Going into Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, this fictional world will be almost unrecognizable. First and foremost, Naruto himself isn't as central within the picture. The world thinks that the Sixth Hokage has died, and it has moved on without him. Shikamaru Nara is now the Seventh Hokage, and he oversees a version of Konoha in a state of desperate survival. Gone is the bright optimism of Naruto's day—Two Blue Vortex's world is ruled by cold strategy, intellect, and political manipulation.

Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, and several of their peers aren't gone for good. However, they begin Two Blue Vortex completely indesposed. This means Boruto and his generation finally take center stage, and they are a lot better at what they do. Boruto spent the time jumping training in exile, since everyone thinks he is the one who killed Naruto. This dark fate has led to a significant shift in his character. He's darker, edgier, and considerably more powerful.

Suffice it to say that if you didn't love Boruto: Naruto Next Generation, this sequel will be something entirely different. In fact, if you found yourself a bit worn out by the previous Naruto model, this revolution may be exactly what you need. It's a bittersweet end of an era in favor of progress.

The Naruto Franchise Desperately Needs This New Era

The Naruto franchise has undergone several evolutions, and it was long overdue for another. Naruto Shippuden turned up the volume on the original anime, introducing more mature and powerful versions of the characters everyone knew and loved. Boruto: Naruto Next Generation did its best to carry this story forward, but it proved rather unpopular. The angle was confused, since all the best aspects of the story still revolved around Naruto and his generation. Their stories had more effectively ended with Shippuden, so this new era didn't hit as hard as it should have.

Another way that Borruto: Two Blue Vortex will be unique compared to previous anime in the franchise is that it will use a seasonal release model rather than the traditional, continuous release of episodes. This shift has become more standard in modern anime, eliminating the necessity for frequent filler episodes.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is a chance for the Naruto franchise to reincorporate key aspects from Naruto and Naruto Shippuden while redefining itself with a changed world, power scale, and characters. It's important that as this overarching franchise continues, it doesn't feel like leftovers or stretching and dragging from the original anime. If the manga is any indication, Two Blue Vortex will hold spectacularly well on its own, establishing itself as something fresh and new while remaining cohesive with the overall world. This many years into the game, what more could we ask for?