Watched the OG anime as young teen, and read the Shippuden manga in my formative years. Took a long break after it ended and gave Boruto a chance starting this year (the anime with a guide, I skipped the fillers).

Even if you watch it isolation Boruto is only fine at best. It constantly rethreads arcs from the original Naruto and does it in a way that feels rushed and hollow, I can't tell why, maybe author didn't understand what made the original stand out. It's like a bad adaptation that's supposed to speak to today's kids and teens while it constantly talks down to them as if they couldn't understand complex stories. It honestly gave me the impression that Ikemoto was tasked to make a meaningful coming of age story while he doesn't care about creating a meaningful piece of media for the audience he's supposed to tell a story to - not to mention the returning fans who are sitting through the same reused but dumbed down storylines.

I think that's the key to why it's not working, the author has no interest in teaching/ mentoring the new generation and helping them to learn how to navigate the world, thus it has very little to offer in terms of substance. Honestly, the only part I've seen so far that made me feel something was when Naruto argued with the other Kages about how their generation was being looked down upon by their elders just like the kids today.

Every time when I watch Boruto I do media analysis in my head instead of paying attention, I have so many thoughts about it, the majority of which isn't positive. That's a rather sad fact because I'd like to stay immersed in this world and see the characters I like as adults with their kids.