Dandadan Overtakes Naruto as Fans Fear the Franchise Is Being Milked Dry

Naruto wrapped in 2014. A decade later, the franchise is riding on Boruto, and, well, the numbers are not exactly screaming global phenomenon. Fans who grew up with the original are watching newer series blow past the sequel, and that has people wondering what the future of this world looks like.

The scorecard right now

Here is the snapshot that has longtime Naruto readers side-eyeing the current era:

• Naruto (manga launch: Sep 21, 1999): around 250 million copies in circulation
• Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (manga launch: May 9, 2016): about 10 million copies sold
• Dandadan (manga launch: Apr 6, 2021): roughly 12 million in circulation in about four years

Dandadan passing Boruto this quickly is the part that stings. Boruto has been running for nearly a decade and is still getting outpaced by a much newer title. Even the second part, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, has not meaningfully moved the needle.

Why Boruto is not landing like Naruto

Naruto sits with Bleach and One Piece as the Big Three for a reason. For a lot of fans, it felt like one of those worlds that would just keep going, Dragon Ball-style. But Boruto has struggled to earn that same buy-in.

The manga itself is fine, but the new cast does not hit with the same force, and the treatment of icons like Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha has been, at best, divisive. Then the anime showed up and did the material no favors, clumsy where it needed to be sharp. Two Blue Vortex is a step up from part one, but only a small one.

Because of that, plenty of fans wish the story had simply ended in 2014 with Naruto finally becoming Hokage and the universe left on a high. For those readers, Boruto feels less like a triumphant handoff and more like a smudge on what Masashi Kishimoto built.

What happens next (and why fans are nervous)

Realistically, a brand this big does not just stop. Naruto is still up there with Dragon Ball and One Piece in name recognition, so expect more attempts to keep the machine running. Studio Pierrot can always chase a new storyline or lean into a nostalgia-heavy remake of the original.

On top of that, there is a live-action movie in development with Destin Daniel Cretton set to direct. Updates have been scarce, but the script is said to be finished. Whether anyone actually wanted a live-action is another conversation, but it is happening.

Meanwhile, the fan mood is... cautious, to put it kindly. Reddit threads are full of people who feel the franchise is being stretched past its natural endpoint. The choice, as they see it, is bleak: stick with a middling Boruto and hope it turns a corner, or watch the IP get milked into oblivion. Some even believe the Naruto brand will keep going whether Kishimoto wants it to or not.

Bottom line

Boruto is not carrying Naruto’s legacy right now. Without a miracle run from Two Blue Vortex or a bold creative pivot, the franchise’s momentum will probably come from remakes, spinoffs, and that live-action experiment. Where do you want this world to go next?

If you want to catch up: Naruto and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations are available to read on VIZ Media.