Naruto and Boruto


SHOULD WE VIEW:
Naruto is a dead-beat daddy who neglects his family and doesn't seem to care about it, which is horrible considering his own lonely childhood (and his wistful looks at families during those times).
Boruto is a normal child justified in his actions because of his father's neglect of him and his mother and sister. He yearns for the days in the Kakashi era when they were one big happy family and is now frustrated at his father's present neglect and indifference.
OR
Naruto is a good man in a struggle. He always wanted to be Hokage, and he always wanted to feel the love & connections with people (best exemplified by marriage and family). Both desires have been fulfilled, but Naruto is struggling with trying to reconcile the responsibilities of being Hokage and being husband/father to the family he clearly loves dearly (the epilogue in THE LAST). Protecting the welfare of Konoha & maintaining stability with the other villages is a difficult & consuming job, and the person working it should not be so easily criticized (after all, should we call Hiruzen a dead-beat daddy because of his problems with Asuma?). Nevertheless, Naruto understands all too well how his present responsibilities are hurting his family, trying to make up for it (sending clones), and enduring the inner pain that it might not be enough (e.g. his son's tirades of him being a bad father).
Boruto is a spoiled brat who keeps losing his temper because he can't have his father at the snap of his fingers, refusing to understand his father or the importance of his job. His issues come off harder to support when one considers what Boruto has in his life (family and friends who support him), compared to what both his parents had to suffer in their childhoods.
OR
Is the matter more complex and not black-and-white? One gets where Naruto and Boruto are both coming from, and father and son do love each other very much, but they are both making mistakes.

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[deleted]

What bothers me the most is that Naruto ignores his wife and daughter in both this, and Naruto Gaiden, and I'm really upset about that. 



[Formerly CosmosX9]

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He didn't ignore either in the Hokage one-shot. Then again, that was when Naruto was still a family man. Still, a recent viewing of a clip of Hinata comforting a saddened Himawari just makes it hard to forgive Naruto for missing his daughter's birthday. But Naruto is an empathic person, and it would be OOC for him to feel nothing about disappointing anyone, especially his daughter. Viewing a camclip of a post-Battle Naruto looking really sad implies that he understands that he has neglected his family and will make amends. There is a scene at the end with Naruto sharing breakfast with his family.

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Oh yeah, I forgot there was a breakfast scene! I've only seen/read a few "spoilers" off of Tumblr, so that's probably why I was a bit confused. 



[Formerly CosmosX9]

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accept he doesn't miss it. he sends a shadow clone which is a living breathing, replica that bleeds and has the same spiritual and physical energy as well as the same soul. once that clone disappears he experiences the emotions that the clone went through etc etc

there is literally no difference between him and his clones

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You may have a point, but it appears that Boruto and Himawari (and perhaps Hinata) prefers the source, and feels a clone- regardless of its identical similarities- as not the same (I could be wrong,, but I think the Gaiden had Boruto not knowing the Naruto he was sparring with was a clone, with the truth kept confidential). Their issue is further hammered by the clone's sudden disappearance at the birthday party & the destruction of the birthday cake (Geez, imagine Naruto's reaction when he gets a sudden flash of his daughter's birthday- and him holding the cake- with the realization of WHY he's feeling it). In their POV, such a thing wouldn't have happened if the real father was present.

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The recent translation to the BtM novelization features a scene of Naruto suffering over his clone failing at his daughter's birthday, enduring the pain about disappointing his children.

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[deleted]

Since Naruto lacks the present of both parent figures, or any family growing up (the closest one to his childhood father figure is Iruka), I think he struggles being a parent himself. Naruto doesn't know what it means to be a father, or have a real one to look up to. Besides, he's pretty...dense when it comes to emotions and human interactions (he didn't notice Hinata's feelings towards him in The last: Naruto the Movie at all). Plus like you said, Naruto puts all effort in being the best Hokage, the only goal in his life that keeps him going.

Boruto is a lot smarter than Naruto at his age, but he is still a kid. A young kid would say "MOM" or "DAD" 20 times in a row or yelling and crying to catch their parent's attention. It seems natural for Boruto to do something to "prove himself" in front of his father, who seems to care about the village AKA everyone else than his own son. Boruto just wants his dad's attention. Plus, just like Sasuke said, both Naruto and Boruto share the same trait. They hate to lose. Boruto has pressure to prove himself when he is the Hokage' son and also the one of the most powerful Ninja out there.

🐖 The Spectacular Spider-ham 🐖

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First one easily

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The previous poster mentioned Naruto's cluelessness about his own relationships. Ironically, he is so committed to keeping everyone else happy (helping to carry the old Lady across the street) that he neglects those closer to home. He is aware of his faults and acknowledges them,showing rare maturity when opening up about his failures before Sasuke.
Boruto clearly loves his mum
and sister so his bitterness stems from the fact that they also get hurt by Naruto's neglect.
The near death incident showed Boruto that he missed his father and wished that he knew his history...Naruto

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[deleted]