At the start of the Naruto series, Konohamaru can be best described as annoying. He was that bratty child who no one ever wanted to deal with, constantly doing things to cry out for attention. He was never a character that the audience wanted to root for and only ever had one feat--when he defeated the Naraka Path of Pain.
As he grew into an adult, Konohamaru's more childish tendencies have been phased out, showing off more of the positive ones he always had. Boruto does a good job of showing how much growth the character underwent and how he still kept some traits from his youth.
10 GROWTH: He Grew Past His Loud & Brash Personality
When he was younger, he was much like Naruto was. He was loud, brash, and headstrong. At times, he even threw his Sarutobi name around as a get-out-of-jail-free card, knowing no one would ever harm the Hokage's grandson. In many ways, he was that arrogant kid who came from money, thinking nothing could harm him. As he's grown up, that personality has diminished completely, letting him live up to his last name rather than crutch on it.
9 STAYED THE SAME: His Idolization Of Naruto As A Big Brother & Rival
As he has with many characters in the series, Naruto helped touch Konohamaru's life, helping shape him into the man he's become in Boruto. That it all started with Naruto standing up to Konohamaru and punching him in such a Naruto way of endearing himself to someone. Ever since that day, Konohamaru has been driven to be everything Naruto is, oftentimes mimicking his actions as he did with his ninja registration photo.
8 GROWTH: He's No Longer Creating Perverted Jutsu
When he was younger, Konohamaru used to be obsessed with coming up with new and even more perverted jutsu. His Sexy Jutsu easily surpassed Naruto's for that reason, perfecting the technique and making it his own.
Part of this is because Naruto did the same when he was younger, and part of it is due to Konohamaru enjoying pranks. Once he became a jonin in Boruto, he stowed away those traits, becoming far more mature.
7 STAYED THE SAME: He Still Wants To Be Hokage One Day
Given that his grandfather was once Hokage and his mentor, Naruto, is the current holder of the position, it makes sense that Konohamaru still wants to achieve the goal. It isn't just his idolization of Naruto that drives him either. Konohamaru has always wanted to live up to his name as a Sarutobi and prove he's worthy of it. Given how much growth he's gotten as a character over the series and in Boruto, it'd be nice for him to get the Kakashi treatment in the role before Sarada took the mantle.
6 GROWTH: He's The Mentor Now Rather Than The Student
The biggest sign of Konohamaru's growth is the most obvious. Now that he's a Jonin, he's able to be the mentor, the one who gets to teach rather than learn. With how he acted at the start of the series, it's surprising he ever got to this point, but it's fitting. Even more so because he gets to be a mentor to Boruto, which is a fact that he struggles to hide his giddiness about as his heart practically skips a beat every time Boruto calls him big brother.
5 STAYED THE SAME: He Continues To Possess The Will Of Fire
For as annoying as he was as a kid, Konohamaru had a lot of positive traits to him that thankfully carried over to his adult life. One of them is the will of fire that he possesses.
He's always willing to stand up to a challenge, no matter the odds. If it means protecting someone else, he's willing to stand in the way of fire, and in Boruto, he's had to do that plenty.
4 GROWTH: He's Been Labeled As A Genius Rather Than A Troublemaker
As a kid, Konohamaru did awful in school, only caring about getting things done in the quickest and easiest way possible and ignoring the importance of hard work. His general laziness made him a handful for anyone who tried to teach him anything. As an adult, he's turned that around completely, becoming known as a genius once he reached jonin status. He's even known as one of the elites among the Sarutobi Clan. He also managed to add his wind element to the Rasengan, something only Naruto had done.
3 STAYED THE SAME: He Remained Capable Of Coping With Tragedy
It's often overlooked as he wasn't the main character of the series, but Konohamaru underwent an immense amount of loss throughout the story. First, he lost his grandfather, the only parental figure in his life, to Orochimaru, and then his uncle Asuma was taken from him as well. He always managed to overcome these losses and keep his positive attitude intact, never lashing out. That carried over to Boruto when he was confronted with the fact Mitsuki was Orochimaru's kid.
2 GROWTH: He's Grown Into A Powerful Taijutsu Specialist
Outside of Sexy Jutsu and Rasengan, Konohamaru rarely got to show off much talent as a ninja. Now that he's in Kakashi's role, he's managed to flesh out more of his abilities. In fact, he's surprisingly talented in taijutsu. During the Chunin Exams, he's able to take on multiple students at once and could even briefly keep up with a powerhouse like Koji Kashin of Kara. He's never going to be confused with Rock Lee, but Konohamaru grew into quite the taijutsu expert.
1 STAYED THE SAME: His Sense Of Style Never Changed
Konohamaru's sense of fashion as a child was god awful, from the long flowing scarf to the goggles perched on his head. He certainly was not one of the best-dressed characters in anime. While the goggles left him as he grew older, the rest of the look ended up staying the same, even once he became a jonin. On the plus side, his scarf has gotten far shorter and doesn't look like it's eternally on the verge of sending him face-first into the dirt.
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