After a few months, the Boruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto and Mikio Ikemoto is back. The first part of the series, titled Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, concluded with Chapter 80 released in April 2023, and after four months of hiatus, the epic shonen returns with the first chapter of its sequel series. The second part is called Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, and one of the major updates we have seen in the first chapter is the 4-year timeskip period. Now, fans of the shonen franchise are wondering how the characters have changed after the timeskip.
As expected, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 1 revealed the new character designs, and there are clearly significant changes to many of the shonen's key characters. To show you how much they've changed after the timeskip, we have put together a character design comparison guide, so check out the details below.
Warning: This article contains spoilers from Boruto: Two Blue Vortex so we suggest you to read the manga series (up to the first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex) and watch the latest episodes of the anime adaptation to avoid ruining your experience. So if you haven't caught up with the manga, you can read the first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex on Viz Media, Shonen Jump app, and Manga Plus.
Boruto Uzumaki
Boruto Uzumaki's return in Two Blue Vortex is pretty epic. After a four-year time skip period, he's clearly grown up a lot and is looking cooler than how his father, Naruto, looked during his teenage years. He has a large scar on his right eye, which comes from the injury that Kawaki inflicted four years ago. His hairstyle hasn't changed much but it looks a bit shorter than his younger appearance. After his training with Sasuke Uchiha, he's wearing a more stylish outfit that resembles his mentor now, and even looks more badass with his sword. It appears that he has become more powerful as he was able to stomp Code's face in his first scene of his return.
Sarada Uchiha
Sarada Uchiha, the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura, stole the show in the first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. From the opening page of the manga chapter, fans are loving her new character design. She is wearing a brand-new outfit that incorporates jewelry from the Uchiha clan, including a choker and earrings. Her new hairstyle looks pretty stylish, more womanly, and less nerdy despite still wearing her iconic eyeglasses. Her outfit is a bit more revealing, showing the beauty of her grown-up teenage figure - a rebellious look that suits her character development well.
Kawaki
Kawaki's new character design definitely makes him look more like a villain. He has a dark and colder look as he dons his black trench coat marked with a symbol at the back. Kawaki is also wearing a black T-shirt inside of his coat. He still has his undercut haircut with both sides being trimmed but his hair on top is longer now. Despite the significant change of his design, he clearly doesn't resemble look like Naruto's son, as what most people in the Hidden Leaf Village were led to believe, thanks to Eida's memory-altering power.
Code
Code makes a surprising return in the first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. The villain, who looks as coky as ever, has a big scar in his left eye which wasn't seen before the four-year timeskip. He is now wearing a slightly modified new outfit featuring a look-sleeved black shirt underneath his lavender-lined Kara cloak holder together with a small chain in front. His hair looks more brushed-up and stylish.
Eida
Eida is one of the characters whose character design remains almost the same with the same beautiful costume and a few additions. This makes sense as she's a cyborg who doesn't appear to age. In the first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, she's wearing a free-neck oversized sweater with a moon and wearing a star-shaped necklace which look great with her shorts and heels.
Daemon
Eida's little brother, Daemon, who's also a cyborg, still has the same menacing look but he doesn't look as energetic as before. His hair still has a large red streak but he's wearing a different hoodie in the first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. He's seen close to Eida, listening to Sarada and Sumire talk to them about what Eida has done to almost everyone's memories.
Himiwari Uzumaki
Himiwari Uzumaki, the younger sister of Boruto, is remembered as an innocent-looking girl who resembles her mother, HInata. The first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex shows that Himiwari, who's now a teenager, has grown up a lot. She used to have short hair, and even though she still has bangs that cover her forehead, her hair now looks much longer than before. She is no longer wearing a regular hoodie; her new outfit shows her slender arms. Even though she's not known to be a fighter in her younger years, Himiwari looks determined to help her true brother, Boruto, and that's why she's seen training in the first chapter of Two Blue Vortex.
Mitsuki
Mitsuki, the son of Orochimaru, has one of the most significant changes in his character design. He looks cold and much more terrifying, just like his father. His hair is now longer and he's wearing a dark kimono shirt wrapped with belts. In Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 1, he's seen with Kawaki, and he clearly wants to protect him from Boruto but Kawaki finds him annoying.
Shikimaru Nara
One of the most surprising things about the first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is the fact that Shikimaru Nara is now the Eighth Hokage of Konoha due to Naruto's disappearance. He is now seen wearing the Eighth Hokage cloak and appears to have aged-up a bit, with small wrinkles below his eyes. Despite Shikimaru's new leadership role, Sarada tells him that Lord Seventh (Naruto) is still her role model, not him.
Sumire Kakei
Sumire Kakei, the kunoichi of the Scientific Ninja Weapons Team and a former member of Team 15, appears to have a few changes in her character design in the first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. She's seen with longer hair and is now wearing a school uniform-like outfit. It's still a mystery why she's not affected by Eida's powers.
Naruto & Hinata Uzumaki
Fans already know that Kawaki used his power to imprison Naruto and Hinata in another dimension. The first chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex shows a glimpse of them trapped and remaining unconscious. Their appearances appear to remain unchanged, so does that mean that Kawaki's imprisonment stopped them from aging?
And that concludes our Boruto: Two Blue Vortex character design comparison guide. Boruto, Sarada, Kawaki, Himiwari, and other characters have clearly grown up a lot while some of the older characters and the overpowered cyborgs (Eida and Daemon) haven't changed much. With almost everyone in Konoha believing that Kawaki is Naruto's son and Boruto is the enemy, it's clear that the Hidden Leaf Village and the ninja world have changed in a big way, and we're excited to see how the characters will change even more in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex.
