I need more Kawaki x Naruto in my life.
It took me a while to realise it, but itās just such a strong and compelling and pure relationship.
On Kawakiās part, the adoration and admiration to Naruto, his Lord Seventh, his Nanadaime, is simply too heartwarming, too good, too overwhelming, too intense for even himself.
Naruto has saved Kawaki in so many ways, that even Kawaki cannot help but be smitten and devoted to Naruto.
Been going through my 2nd readthrough of the Boruto manga, and catching up to all the Kawaki episodes thus far. My god itās become my lifeblood now.
People. You HAVE to watch the Boruto anime episodes with Kawaki. They made a whole new character with him. The difference between manga Kawaki and anime Kawaki is night and day. They made the adoptive father and son bond so much deeper, so much more nuanced. And of course the voice acting, GOD, the voices conveyed all the intense emotions incredibly, itās insane.
This is a bond that I need more slice of life filler episodes for. Hell, an entire new series for.
You know how the Naruto/Boruto anime tends to pay just a little more attention to certain characters? Like I swear to the sage, the fan favourites - Kakashi, Itachi, Tobirama and Madara - all received significant animation detail in the anime, compared to other characters.
And this guy, this Kawaki, look at all the detailed closeups on his intense grey eyes and the pretty profile shots they gave him, the swish of his jacket is animated properly, his freakin falls and tumbles were actually painful looking, and you get the weight of his hard hitting attacks too. There is not a single weak frame for him. They gave him more defined muscles on his arms. I donāt think Iāve seen that done enough for Naruto characters at all. You can tell that the animators that are in charge of him, are handling him with loving care.
If Boruto gets to go on longer missions with Sasuke away from the village, i bloody need Kawaki and Naruto to do that too.
They donāt even need to go on missions. They need to be the equivalent of what Jiraiya and Naruto were during the timeskip between Naruto and Naruto Shippuden.
Except how about the animators DONāT skip animating them. Animate ALL the travels and adventures Naruto and Kawaki go on together as father and son, master and student, without the burdens of the village or Kara or Ohtsutsuki weighing down on them. Naruto showing Kawaki the world and watching over him at the same time, just like how Jiraiya once did for him. Kawaki discovering new foods and food critiquing all the way.
Thatās another thing I canāt believe. The anime actually made Kawaki cute?! I swear I hated this guy in the manga. I swear!! But the anime just blew it all away.
They made Kawaki have this cute ass habit of loving and appreciating every new food that he tries. The explosive reaction he has with how delicious it is. Thereās even a freakin moment where Boruto asks Kawaki to even give commentary on their zen japanese cuisine dinners, after Himawari does it. And Kawaki even does it so well to the point that Boruto thinks heās trying to one-up Himawari?! Huh?!
The anime portrays multiple times that children just feel drawn to him, like heās a strong and silent big bro figure. I canāt. I CANNOT. The cuteness is too much. There seriously were some moments where I just felt so happy for Kawaki that he found such meaningful connection and safety in Konoha. Itās just so beautiful.
Did you see how angry Naruto was when fighting Delta? That was all for Kawakiās behalf, for all the suffering that Kawaki went through under Kara. Did you see that fucken heartwarming hug that calmed Kawaki the fuck down from his panic attack? It calmed this hurt boy down and put that karma away. Did you see Narutoās teary eyes at Kawaki, who came back to save Naruto from being killed by Isshiki? Instead of running away, Kawaki came back to give himself up so that Isshiki wouldnāt kill Naruto. Did you see that fucken WINK that Naruto gave to Kawaki on the boyās first day at Ninja Academy? That sly fox. DID YOU SEE NARUTO CARRY DEMOTIVATED KAWAKI UP FROM THE HOKAGE MONUMENT AND TAKE HIM HOME TO DINNER AND CALLED HIM āMY STUPID SONā?!
And what the fuck, so fucken wholesome. Is this a form of cuteness agression Iām feeling right now? It rarely happens.
I journaled my reactions to every Kawaki episodes. And theres actually lots of other filler with mountains of parallels to the themes that Kawaki represents. Might post them someday. Involves a lot of screaming.
People. Please watch Kawaki: Naruto Next Generations I mean, Kawaki: Naruto Next Generations. Specifically every episode with Kawaki in it. You will not be disappointed.