WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 221, "The Chūnin Exams Resume," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The Naruto anime left a few characters underdeveloped, such as Sakura, while others such as Asuma felt taken too soon -- just as they were becoming bigger in fans' eyes. It's led to Boruto trying to course-correct and not repeat old mistakes, but as the anime embarks on a filler arc by having the Chūnin exams take place once more, it ends up wasting a fan-favorite legacy character.
This is none other than Mirai, Asuma's daughter with Kurenai. When Hidan killed Asuma in the Akatsuki war, fans were left heartbroken as he left Kurenai pregnant. Shikamaru would then check in on them as the years passed and peace was attained, honoring his former mentor. With the alliance in full swing, the Boruto anime then offered Mirai some time in the spotlight.
However, it's not enough -- for someone who's connected to key characters and who has such a big legacy, Mirai feels like a throwaway character in Boruto. In these exams -- redone after the last one was interrupted by Momoshiki -- Mirai dupes Namida and knocks her out in the Konoha forest, pretending to be a rescue victim to show the young shinobi they must be aware of infiltrators and fakers. She later mimics Mitsuki, escorting Sarada, only for the young Uchiha to beat her down as she realizes the ruse.
This is a brilliant arc of tutelage but it's far too short. The thing is, given her dynamic and relatively young age, Mirai should be doing what Konohamaru is doing. They're both grandkids of the great Hiruzen Sarutobi (Asuma's dad and the Third Hokage), who died when Orochimaru invaded the show's first exam decades ago. Thus, while Konohamaru is working more with an embattled Team 7, we should be seeing Mirai more prominently, actively switching between teams or doing more generic mentoring.
Bits of this have been seen with the One-Tail arc, as well as the Byakuya gang, Mitsuki's disappearance and the Time Slip story where she met her mother. But the fact remains, Mirai feels like support in Boruto whereas the likes of Sai and Ino have bigger roles to play in developing the Hidden Leaf's defences. Mirai should be a larger part of this initiative against the many sinister enemies out there, even working directly and constantly with Shikamaru as his aide. It would be a grand tribute to how he considered Asuma a father -- especially as Mirai's rocking her dad's iconic chakra blades.
Mirai honestly deserves to be more than a cameo. With Sarada and the other girls needing more female teachers, one has to wonder why Mirai's not given equal treatment like Konohamaru. He's not that much older and it would increase the equality, representation and diversity factors a lot more -- especially as Sakura herself isn't a mentor, instead working as a medical chief. Ultimately, Boruto treating Mirai like this -- after Kurenai was basically left out of the show after being pregnant -- feels anti-feminist and keeps diminishing Asuma's family.
