Firstly, I would like to say that I wasn’t really interested in Boruto (manga and anime) at first. The reason is, well, I used to follow Naruto manga ‘till the very last chapter and honestly, I just wanted it to end as soon as possible. I was kinda tired with the ridiculous power-ups of both the heroes and the villains, and at some point, I just believed that Kishimoto didn’t know how to end the series. It took time for the anime to catch up with the manga, so it added up to my impatience. I was really glad, and relieved, when it ended, with Naruto ending up with my favorite kunoichi and having two lovable children. I looked forward to the The Last and Boruto movies just because I wanted to delve into the emotions. I admit that I liked Naruto too much to hate it, even though I got really frustrated over the course of the 3rd Shinobi World War. What I want to say is, I believed that Boruto the Movie would be a perfect conclusion for the 15-year-old series. I thought that the purpose of Team 7, Narusasu, Sasusaku + Sarada, and Naruto+ Boruto battles in Boruto the Movie was just to give a glimpse how these grown-ups fought with their respective children, which is why the scale of the battles was too small in comparison to Sasuke’s and Naruto’s abilities at that time. Also, I was pretty sure that it was Kishimoto’s intention to match up Sarada and Boruto for the very same purpose (relating to team 7, you know). I didn’t think much about the possible new villains, let alone the romance. That Boruto and Sarada will end up together was kinda taken as a given, as people don’t want another love story in the new generation. I had enough with the previous shipping although I was really happy with Naruhina. However, Buruto the movie extended to the series, and so did the romance stuff.
Well… that was my very first opinion. For some reason, I got engaged more than I thought with the release of new chapters and episodes. My opinion changed after a new character, Sumire, made a debut at chapter 18 of the manga and in early episodes of the anime. The series became more… engaging… I think? I mean, it became less predictable. Given the nature of her introduction both in manga and anime, and the development in the relationship between Boruto and Sarada, I couldn’t help but getting interested in the romance involved in the series. To be honest, I found the romance in this series more intense than that of the previous series. Why? Here is why I lean toward Borusumi as the series progresses. WARNING: There will be plenty of spoilers!
- Boruto treated Sumire differently from his other female classmates.
To Cho-cho: Boruto got mad at her, shouted at her, and blatantly accused her of being a liar…
To Namida: It’s not a direct interaction between Boruto and Namida (given the little interaction they actually had), but it showed that he was also concerned about what Namida was facing, like a friend. However, judging from his calmness, Namida’s possibility to discontinue her ninja learning/career didn’t bug him that much.
To Namida and Wasabi: He teased them, but he didn’t get violent, just like a classmate does. Keep in mind that Sumire was present there, but didn’t talk to him. Boruto only teased Namida and Wasabi.
To Sarada: He didn’t listen to Sarada, and he didn’t even see her as a normal girl. But unlike other classmates, he regarded her as an equal, which is why he was annoyed by, yet comfortable around her.
On the other hand, he listened to Sumire the way he listened to his Mom.
Also, when his bait was caught by the eternal carp, it’d be natural if he concentrated on his reel and tried to win against the fish’s force. Given Boruto’s irritability, he would definitely snap if someone interrupted him when he’s about to catch the fish. But when Sumire called him, he turned his face to her without showing any sign of irritation at all, and he was even willing to listen to her.
2. Boruto didn’t call Sumire by her name.
Well, some might think that if you don’t call someone by their name, especially their first name, you are not close enough with or comfortable enough around them. But that is my point. If you are having a crush on someone, that means you won’t act like a normal friend around them. You would be a little awkward interacting with them. You would pretend that you are more confident than you are, even though you probably are very shy inside. You try to show that you are attractive by, for example, being gentle or, in other case, acting stronger. Now, compare the way Boruto called Konohamaru, Kakashi and Hanabi with the way he called Sumire. He wouldn’t even call Konohamaru ‘sensei’ and Kakashi ‘the 6th’ if he wasn’t told to. Addressing someone with their title, especially in Asia, means you respect them. Boruto always called Sumire ‘class rep’ even after she told him she’s no longer a class rep, and even after she joined the research division. This means, he respected Sumire, which supports my first point. Moreover, calling someone by their name means you are a close friend of them. In the case of crushing on someone, being a friend of your crush is already too intimate. Maybe you would think ‘ah, I’m not close enough with her to call her by her name’. Or, maybe your feelings will show up if you call their name? Because, you know, there are some people who are too nervous to call their crush’s name. But, it’s not like he never called Sumire by her name. He did once, and that was when he saved her life, just a proof that Sumire’s name did mean something for Boruto.
3. Boruto panicked when he thought he was caught having a crush on Sumire
When?
Why would Boruto blush? It was clear that it was Magire whom Cho-cho was talking to, but at that time, Cho-cho pointed at both Magire and Boruto since Boruto was clinging to Magire. Even though Boruto knew clearly that it was Magire who was supposed to confess, but imagine being him! Someone pointing at you and talking about confession to your crush. You would probably feel the slightest nervousness hitting you.
Now look at the difference in their expressions when Magire was told to confess to Sumire.
Sarada’s and Shikadai’s faces said, ‘She gotta be kidding’. Mitsuki was indifferent. While Boruto… well, her expression was similar to Magire’s. It was as if he’s gonna say, ‘Magire, don’t! Just don’t go to your death. It’s not gonna work. You’d better keep it secret forever, I’m worried about you if you got rejected’ and ‘But I like her too. What if she accepts you? What about me?’ at the same time. Now, this is related to my next point.
4. Boruto probably thought he was no match for Sumire
You know, if you have a crush, you usually overestimate them. You would think that they are prettier/more handsome, smarter, kinder, etc. As a result, you would think lowly about yourself. The others were basically only surprised about Cho-cho’s challenge to Magire and could not believe that Magire would actually confess. However, Boruto’s reaction was far more exaggerated. Why?
Because more than anyone else, Boruto felt it all too well that Sumire would reject him. And why did he feel that Sumire would reject him? In the perspective of someone who has a crush on a girl/boy, this girl/boy is beyond their reach.
5. Boruto got worried when Sumire was in danger
When they fixed the 7th hokage’s facial relief and it got caving in, the first person Boruto was worried about was Sumire. Well, maybe you would think this was due to the fact that Sumire was the only girl among them and she’s standing on a different level from his.
Now what about this. There were three girls standing on the other side, Sumire, Sarada and Cho-cho. I believe that Boruto thought of the three of them as all strong. But at that time, it was Sumire who was endangered the most. Also, Boruto wouldn’t have been so worried if there were already Cho-cho and Sarada, who were strong enough to save her. However, he still worried because he wanted to make sure Sumire was not harmed.
And if those weren’t enough, now what about this.
When Boruto, Shikadai and Mitsuki were at the post office, they heard a news report:
LIVE. LEAF WATER PURIFICATION PLANT. A man thought to be the suspect has barricaded himself in the facility and has taken a few hostages. According to witnesses, some students from the Academy who were there on a workplace field trip have become involved in the incident.
Before the report was even finished, Boruto had already flied to the scene, without saying anything to Shikadai and Mitsuki. It was not clear whether getting ‘involved’ meant the students were hurt by the suspect, or on the contrary, fought against the suspect and were safe and sound. Boruto jumped to conclusion, ‘Class rep was hurt! I must save her right now! There is no time. I hope I will make it in time.’ Well, maybe you would think he only couldn’t afford to lose another chance to catch the culprit behind the Ghost Incidents. Then, why would Shikadai say, ‘We don’t know if it’s the Class Rep and her team’. Well,everyone was well aware of which post every team chose, including Shikadai. Only Sumire’s team were at the water purification plant, so of course Shikadai knew they were Sumire’s team. He knew that Boruto would do stupid things if it’s related to Sumire. He said that to calm Boruto down and to ease his worries.
It was very similar to his jumping to Nue’s dimension without thinking twice, and without even remembering that Mitsuki was there, wasn’t it? He didn’t even know where he would jump into, let alone how he would get out from there. He didn’t have time to consult adults and Mitsuki. All he wanted to do was SAVE CLASS REP asap! That’s so stupid of him, wasn’t it?
Why would Boruto be so concerned about Sumire’s safety? To him, who had a crush on Sumire, he would try his best to make sure the one he considered precious and valuable was unharmed.
In comparison, what did Boruto do first when he got a message from Denki’s kidnappers? He asked about the kidnappers’ identity first and went on to discuss whether they should tell the grown-ups or not about it instead of jumping to the location mentioned, when it was already crystal clear that the kidnappers had Denki in their hands. Well, yeah, Denki can wait, can’t he?
6. Boruto blamed himself severely when he failed to save Sumire in time
Boruto: Class Rep, you okay?!
Sumire: Boruto-kun.
Boruto: Are you okay?
Sumire: I’m fine!
Metal: I’m not okay
Boruto: I totally…
Sumire: Don’t worry about me. It’s really just a graze.
Boruto: I’m sorry, Class Rep! If I’d been more on the ball — !
Sumire: You’re not responsible for this, Boruto-kun.
Boruto: No, you’re wrong!
Wasabi: Come on. You’re scaring the Class Rep.
Boruto: No, I just…
“If I’d been more on the ball?” Seriously? Didn’t he just jump to the location as fast as he could do? How faster he could even be? Also, it’s not like this was his fault, why would he blame himself that badly to the point that he had to apologize while bowing to Sumire? He’s never been this messy right?
Shikadai: Don’t blame yourself like that. It’s not all your fault.
Boruto: It’s not that. If I hadn’t delivered the mail so carelessly, we could have had all of today to patrol. Then maybe we would’ve noticed something happening at the water purification plant, right?
Shikadai: That’s true but…
Even Shikadai thought Boruto’s blaming himself was a bit too much. Also, if Boruto were to blame himself because he carelessly delivered the letters, then the two others had to be responsible as well because the three of them were all careless. Again, if it was about Sumire, it was only him concerned. It must be him who takes care of Sumire; it is also him to blame if something happens to Sumire.
7. Those around Boruto seemed to know that Sumire is that special girl.
Firstly, of course Boruto’s most trusted friend, Shikadai.
I’ve explained some of it in point 5 and 6 above. It’s clear that Shikadai knew Boruto would act a bit carelessly if Sumire was harmed, so he would try his best to calm Boruto down when they heard bad news about her.
After Nue summoning, Sai took care of everything about Sumire’s well-being. However, Inojin assumed that his dad was taking care of her transfer to another school. Hearing this, Shikadai uttered, ‘You didn’t tell Boruto about this, did you? If he finds out, something troublesome is going to happen.’ Shikadai knew all too well what Boruto would do if he found out something bad happened to Sumire. But Inojin just had to tell him, and guess what Boruto’s reaction was? He’s trying to get Sumire back to the Academy, however he did it, like it’s gonna work out as he wanted.
Secondly, Cho-Cho.
Compare to
She seemed to sense that Sumire got attracted to Boruto, and at the same time Sarada was concerned about Boruto too, but none of the two admitted that. The difference is that with Sumire, Cho-cho was like teasing, while with Sarada, it was as if she only found out at that time. Sarada worrying about Naruto even came to her surprise, and Cho-cho was Sarada’s best friend. Then, when did Cho-cho tease Boruto? Yup, when she told Magire to confess to Sumire but pointed at both Magire and Boruto, which successfully made Boruto blushed.
Thirdly, Mitsuki.
This is very interesting. Mitsuki probably had found out who was behind the Ghost Incidents since Magire’s attack or even earlier since he arrived to the village, but he received an order to only observe Sumire. So when he caught Sumire in the sewer, he set her free. Sumire probably was also aware that she was found out.
Mitsuki was wondering about how Boruto could be his sun and how he felt about Boruto. He didn’t know much about feelings, so he began to ask his classmates. When Inojin said that the class rep was probably the one who was most stressed out due to the troubles Boruto made, he realized that Sumire probably did felt that way. So he, alone, came to visit Sumire at the hospital to ask Sumire about her feelings toward Boruto (well, also to do some preparation to track her if she started to move). He probably did not refer to the stress Sumire felt as a class representative, as Inojin said. Instead, Inojin’s words made him realize that probably Sumire was stressed out because Boruto was involved in nearly all ghost incidents she had initiated. He also asked what she felt about what she was doing (ghost incidents) and Sumire said she wanted it to end quickly. This would confirm that it wouldn’t take her too long until she finished the job, so he thought that would affect Boruto in a way if he found out it was Sumire who initiated the Ghost Incidents.
I came to think that Mitsuki, to some extent, knew Boruto had got to her and affected the way he executed her plan.
In the following day, he even came over to Boruto’s house just to tell him that Sumire was the culprit but he was actually still in doubt as of whether he should tell him or not. Why? He had no permission to reveal it to anyone, since observing Sumire’s movement was a secret mission. I have a feeling that Mitsuki knew Sumire’s involvement would affect Boruto in a big way, and he, among all people, deserved to know.
While pondering whether he should tell Boruto or not, and to find out more about Boruto’s feelings, Mitsuki asked him asked whether he liked or hated his father several times. Boruto said he did not need a hokage like Naruto, but Mitsuki only saw love in him. Mitsuki was finally able to see Boruto’s true feelings.
Then, Boruto said,
The Hokage is someone who sacrifices those closest to him for the sake of the village. I don’t need someone like that! That’s why I’ll never abandon those close to me! I’m gonna do what Dad couldn’t, and make him realize!
This has made Mitsuki come to realization that he should tell Boruto the truth to know how he would react, whether he would sacrifice the one close/important to him (Sumire) for the sake of the village or not. It’s a crucial question, which lead to the ultimate answer Mitsuki was seeking. It’s also a crucial statement, which subtly reveal Boruto’s true feelings about Sumire.
That is the point. Mitsuki knew
- Boruto’s true feelings,
- that Boruto affected the way Sumire executed her plans,
- that Boruto wouldn’t just say out loud that he loved someone and
- that Sumire was precious to Boruto, that he had to figure out Boruto’s feelings first to tell him the truth.
Fourthly, Boruto’s very father, Naruto.
Naruto was aware that the Ghost Incidents occurred around Boruto but didn’t specifically target Boruto. He somehow knew that Boruto would involve himself in the investigation secretly. Among all incidents, Naruto only warned Boruto in a serious manner after Sumire was hurt. Not that it meant anything. Somehow I felt that Naruto was aware of Boruto’s worry about Sumire, as a classmate (Naruto was oblivious about these things, remember!). But Naruto did feel it! When Boruto asked him to use his status as a hokage to bring Sumire back, Naruto had to assure Boruto twice that he would not let Sumire down. Since when did Naruto act like that around Boruto?
And lastly, Boruto’s mother, Hinata.
Not that Hinata knew Sumire in person. It was only that she realized that Sumire was important to her son. How did I know? Boruto had never engaged in a serious talk without being angry with his Dad before. Hinata carefully listened to their conversation. But when she heard the mention of Sumire’s name, she was surprised. She immediately asked Himawari to help her so that her brother’s talk with his father went undisturbed. Hinata smiled. Hinata knew all too well anything about love that buds since childhood, after all. As a mother, she certainly knew her son.
8. Boruto’s trust to Sumire was unbelievable.
Call him naive, call him stupid, for believing in a traitor blindly. I would call him so too since he already saw Sumier and Mitsuki tried to kill each other. Why would he do that? Boruto could see Sumire’s true nature (I come across this while I’m writing this). He could see Sumire’s hesitation. He knew that she didn’t fake her concerns about the class as a class representative. He’s trying to save her from herself and her father’s doctrine. The trust Boruto had in Sumire was pure, as if he could understand her circumstance, as if Boruto could feel that Sumire was gravely in need of help to get away from the obligation to execute the village, as if Boruto knew Sumire’s sadness for having to forsake her friendship, as if Boruto wanted her to be happy. You know why Sumire cried when Boruto approved of her decision coming back to the Academy? It’s not merely about love. It’s more about the trust Boruto had offered her, the trust that gave her the courage to move on.
9. Boruto swallowed his pride to bring Sumire back to the Academy, and her normal life, and her friends, and her happiness.
Yes, it means more than returning her to the Academy. It means bringing back happiness to her. Boruto was actually fighting for her happiness. However, this time, he realized that he couldn’t do it on his own. He would need the help of grown-ups. When it came to grown-ups, it would mean his father, the Hokage who had an influence over all of the citizens. He hated his father, he wouldn’t want to ask him for anything, he wouldn’t want to use his father’s status as a Hokage for his own interests… But he asked his father, the Hokage, to let Sumire live on in the village and in the Academy. It’s extremely hard since she’d committed a treason that endangered the lives of the whole village, even for a Hokage.
10. Boruto became awkward when Sumire came back
He tried to become tsundere, didn’t he? I don’t think this needs explanation lmao….. It’s too sweet to be described in words.
In addition to the above signs, I also noticed that Sumire got to interact with the people close to Boruto: Hanabi, Himawari and Katasuke. Hanabi was especially concerned about Sumire as the leader of her team. She also got in touch with Sai to monitor and discuss Sumire’s condition. Sumire was an orphaned girl and used to live in poverty. It just makes me happy to see her find a new family.
If we’re talking about skill compatibility, lineage and parallelism, we would just ship these kids because of their parents and not actually because of the kids in and of themselves. After getting to understand the personalities of the characters, I became attached to them. It’s not too early to ship them, since the creators had made it clear that Boruto and Sumire genuinely cared about each other.
