Hello!
I recently came across a post that triggered me a bit, and I wanted to talk about it.
In essence, the points raised were that:
Women are more inclined to ship Sasuke and Naruto because they have chemistry and share a lot in common.
Shipping Sasuke with Sakura makes no sense because they are too different, and she doesn't understand him.
If BoruSara were to happen, it would imply that their fathers are a thing because of the parallels.
Sakura is a poorly written character, and people can't relate to her because she's too unrealistic.
Sakura is poorly written because, essentially, she's different from Sasuke and Naruto.
First of all... SNS exists not because of the supposed chemistry between them but because they are two attractive white guys sharing a lot of screen time together and so, the perfect combo for fujoshi shipping. Justifying this expedition is like justifying the fact that the frequent depiction of partially naked women on car racing posters has no relation to the intended audience.
If Sakura shouldn't be with Sasuke because she doesn't understand him, does Naruto understand him? Seriously?
Naruto understands Sasuke's loneliness, that's it.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I'm not bashing their connection, but let's be honest, nobody really understood Sasuke there -yet it didn't stop them from wanting to help him-
Furthermore, what does this imply? That you can only be in a relationship with someone who has a similar background?
Saying Sakura doesn't understand Sasuke at all is superficial on so many levels that I won't even bother dwelling on it.
Next, the idea that people think the parallels they cling to justify their ship is just... bizarre.
If BoruSara were to happen, it wouldn't prove anything about SNS because the biggest difference between these two ships would be the author's intention.
SNS would have happened if Kishimoto wanted their relationship that way, but that wasn't the case. It has been repeatedly emphasized in the manga that their relationship is not romantic.
If some interpret it that way, that's fine, but they shouldn't tell the author how he wrote HIS own manga. And no, it's not heteronormativity. I don't even understand why some fanon ships seek canon validation for their shipping.
Not to mention that every time they talk about these parallels, many seem to deliberately forget that these two children are not mirror images of their fathers but their own individuals.
Yes, they have the foundation of their personalities, but that's just it, the foundation. Apart from that, they differ on so many levels that it's not even funny.
Sarada also shares a lot of her mother's personality, and it's as clear as day. So, if I follow this logic, does BoruSara also imply that NaruSaku could have been a thing despite Sakura's total absence of romantic feelings?
Boruto can indeed be like his father, but he also tries to be like his mentor, so sometimes, he resembles him too. And he can be as calm and focused as his mother, not to mention he has personality traits unique to him. All this makes him someone too different from the "Naruto carbon copy" label stuck on him. Saying that is really downplaying his character.
Moreover, the relationship these two have is also different from that of their fathers: it's normal and not built on a heap of negative feelings and deadly fights that led to a vitriolic friendship.
As for the last two points, Sakura is less unrealistic than Sasuke and Naruto, yet not many bat an eye at that. Maybe because it's a shounen manga about ninjas, and unreality is actually expected...?
In fact, Sakura is the most realistic character in this series.
Regarding the identification question, just because you can't identify with her doesn't mean everyone can't. I do, and many others do too because, for once, in the whole history of shounen, we have a female character with authentic and not-so-likable flaws, approaching more the human being without the need for a traumatic event or a horrible childhood to justify her behavior.
Her character development is incredible, not just because "she was weak at the beginning and became strong," it's more than that.
Sakura has shown me that no matter how you start, you can reach the destination you want if you work for it. Her transformation is phenomenal: throughout the manga, she radicalizes in ALL aspects. She removes her blinders, starts seeing people for who they really are, becomes more understanding and attentive, learns —and sometimes in the most brutal ways— that everything is not black and white and that you sometimes have to make horrible choices to protect others.
She changes in so many ways, and the best part is that Kishimoto didn't make her some perfect Mary Sue. He made her evolve despite her flaws, for which I will always be grateful.
Sakura is not a poorly written character. Yes, she could have been more explored, and sometimes her author did her wrong, but that doesn't make her a bad character. She could have been better —all the characters in this series could have been— but that doesn't mean she's "worse."
She is fundamentally the reason why I'm in my last year of college today and intend to persevere in my studies (and it's not even a joke).
I never had a family model I could identify with, and all the characters (fictional or not) I love or admire have always seemed out of reach, just an ideal to idolize but unable to imitate.
With Sakura, however, it has always been different; every time I look at her, I think, "if she could do it, then why not me?"
Her importance in my life in terms of motivation and emotional development has been crucial, so it's really frustrating to see people deduce that just because they can't identify with her, no one can, and she's a bad character.
She's not poorly written; she's just different.
Kishimoto once said that his goal with Sakura was to create a realistic female character that little girls could identify with and despite all the controversy surrounding her character, he actually succeeded in this challenge.
Many of us, little girls that we were, saw ourselves in OG Sakura (whether we admit it or not) because the way she was written is how a lot of pre-adolescent girls behave (minus the rapid character development).
It was nice to grow up with her because it showed me that I didn't need to be perfect or have incredible motivations or be "cool" from the start to become someone exceptional. She taught me that my future is not set in stone. And most importantly, she taught me to be myself, to be authentic, to accept and love myself as the imperfect human that I am.
The weirdest thing about this is that these statements came from someone who claims not to care about SNS and doesn't hate Sakura. How can a person claiming to be neutral come to such a conclusion? Honestly, it baffles me; this kind of pseudo-analysis is on the same level of nonsense as what antis spew.
If some can't be bothered to understand a character, then they should simply say nothing about her.
I'm sorry for bothering you with this, but after reading this thing, I just couldn't let it pass.
I don't know how you guys manage to tolerate this fandom, let alone respond to all the strange and stupid takes you receive day after day. In any case, you have my utmost respect.
Thank you for listening, and I wish you a beautiful and happy new year.
First of all... SNS exists not because of the supposed chemistry between them but because they are two attractive white guys sharing a lot of screen time together and so, the perfect combo for fujoshi shipping. Justifying this expedition is like justifying the fact that the frequent depiction of partially naked women on car racing posters has no relation to the intended audience.
I agree apart from two things.
Naruto and Sasuke do have chemistry, but there's just nothing romantic about it.
I wouldn't bring the colour of their skin into it, that opens up a whole other can of worms.
If Sakura shouldn't be with Sasuke because she doesn't understand him, does Naruto understand him? Seriously?
Naruto understands Sasuke's loneliness, that's it.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Naruto understood Sasuke in some ways (loneliness, being high level shinobi who could read each other's thoughts through fighting etc), and Sakura understood him in other ways (his likes/dislikes, how his mind works and his decision making processes etc).
Furthermore, what does this imply? That you can only be in a relationship with someone who has a similar background?
Yep, that's one of the things that's always irked me the most from their points. It's like they think that just because Sakura couldn't empathise with Sasuke's tough upbringing, that makes her an unsuitable partner for him, which is just all kinds of stupid. It's also one of the reasons the SK fans prefer that ship, since Karin also had a relatively tough upbringing, she'd be able to "understand" Sasuke better than Sakura. As if being able to empathise with a tough childhood is all there is to understand about a person.
If BoruSara were to happen, it wouldn't prove anything about SNS because the biggest difference between these two ships would be the author's intention.
SNS would have happened if Kishimoto wanted their relationship that way, but that wasn't the case. It has been repeatedly emphasized in the manga that their relationship is not romantic.
Agreed. This silly idea that BS's canonisation would somehow serve as proof that SNS should have happened, is one of the 4 main reasons why I do not want BS to happen. Although it is the least important to me out of the 4 of them.
If some interpret it that way, that's fine, but they shouldn't tell the author how he wrote HIS own manga. And no, it's not heteronormativity. I don't even understand why some fanon ships seek canon validation for their shipping.
Not all interpretations and opinions are valid. I'm sorry but I'm sick of people hiding behind this false idea that just because they say it's their opinion or interpretation, it's just as valid as everyone else's. No, opinions and interpretations can be wrong. Authorial intent dictates how the narrative is supposed to be perceived and understood. Therefore, if Kishi says that something is a certain way, then that's the way it is, end of story, no room for further interpretation. If Kishi says that Naruto and Sasuke are platonic, and that they were never meant to be anything more than that, then that's the way it is. Other interpretations are wrong, because Kishi's word is gospel.
Not to mention that every time they talk about these parallels, many seem to deliberately forget that these two children are not mirror images of their fathers but their own individuals.
That too.
Sarada also shares a lot of her mother's personality, and it's as clear as day. So, if I follow this logic, does BoruSara also imply that NaruSaku could have been a thing despite Sakura's total absence of romantic feelings?
Agreed, I'd say that in terms of personality, Sarada is a closer parallel to Sakura than Sasuke, and NS obviously didn't happen.
Boruto can indeed be like his father, but he also tries to be like his mentor, so sometimes, he resembles him too. And he can be as calm and focused as his mother, not to mention he has personality traits unique to him. All this makes him someone too different from the "Naruto carbon copy" label stuck on him. Saying that is really downplaying his character.
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As for the last two points, Sakura is less unrealistic than Sasuke and Naruto, yet not many bat an eye at that. Maybe because it's a shounen manga about ninjas, and unreality is actually expected...?
In fact, Sakura is the most realistic character in this series.
To be honest, I have no idea what they could be referring to when those people label Sakura as apparently being unrealistic.
Regarding the identification question, just because you can't identify with her doesn't mean everyone can't. I do, and many others do too because, for once, in the whole history of shounen, we have a female character with authentic and not-so-likable flaws, approaching more the human being without the need for a traumatic event or a horrible childhood to justify her behavior.
Her character development is incredible, not just because "she was weak at the beginning and became strong," it's more than that.
Sakura has shown me that no matter how you start, you can reach the destination you want if you work for it. Her transformation is phenomenal: throughout the manga, she radicalizes in ALL aspects. She removes her blinders, starts seeing people for who they really are, becomes more understanding and attentive, learns —and sometimes in the most brutal ways— that everything is not black and white and that you sometimes have to make horrible choices to protect others.
Unfortunately, many people just don't see any of that. They see an annoying, selfish person who treated Naruto poorly (despite that only being applicable to before the Forest of Death), "obsessed" over Sasuke (when she really didn't, and that criticism is far more applicable to Naruto anyway), broke off her friendship with Ino over a boy (showing how they missed the entire point of that fight), and was essentially useless (despite among other things, saving many important people's lives, multiple times).
Sakura is not a poorly written character. Yes, she could have been more explored, and sometimes her author did her wrong, but that doesn't make her a bad character. She could have been better —all the characters in this series could have been— but that doesn't mean she's "worse."
"She could have been better —all the characters in this series could have been" - Yes, I'm glad you highlighted this. This is by no means a Sakura exclusive criticism. It's just more of a problem for her since she was a main character.
She is fundamentally the reason why I'm in my last year of college today and intend to persevere in my studies (and it's not even a joke).
I never had a family model I could identify with, and all the characters (fictional or not) I love or admire have always seemed out of reach, just an ideal to idolize but unable to imitate.
With Sakura, however, it has always been different; every time I look at her, I think, "if she could do it, then why not me?"
Yeah I get that, I said something very similar about her during this post towards the end, where I described the primary two ways in which I found Sakura to be an inspiring character.
Kishimoto once said that his goal with Sakura was to create a realistic female character that little girls could identify with and despite all the controversy surrounding her character, he actually succeeded in this challenge.
Many of us, little girls that we were, saw ourselves in OG Sakura (whether we admit it or not) because the way she was written is how a lot of pre-adolescent girls behave (minus the rapid character development).
I'll take your word for it. Personally, towards the beginning I did indeed find Sakura very irritating, for several different reasons, but I grew to appreciate her for what she brings, rather than continuously judging her for how she was at the very beginning. But apparently, "character development" is either a foreign concept to these people, or can only be applied if the character in question moves on from her initial feelings. Because if not, then her entire character automatically "regresses", regardless of the reasons why she retained her feelings.
The weirdest thing about this is that these statements came from someone who claims not to care about SNS and doesn't hate Sakura. How can a person claiming to be neutral come to such a conclusion? Honestly, it baffles me; this kind of pseudo-analysis is on the same level of nonsense as what antis spew.
That reminds me of a video that Swagkage made on YouTube, which I talked about in great depth during this post, regarding how he tried to lie and say that he didn't hate Sakura and that he was impartial to her, yet the vast majority of the video was him hating on Sakura.
I don't know how you guys manage to tolerate this fandom, let alone respond to all the strange and stupid takes you receive day after day. In any case, you have my utmost respect.
Thank you for listening, and I wish you a beautiful and happy new year
My general tolerance for people's bullshit is honestly inhuman, lol. But many thanks, and happy (belated) new year to you as well ^_^
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Just wanted to say congratulations on Kaika Sasei. Just read chapter 2 and I'm hooked.
I have to admit it to you, I'm a loyal and devoted sasusaku. But that's not an impediment to read your story, you guys are really talented and you deserve recognition.
What I'm most interested about is your view of Sakura, I noticed the little hint about her promotion and I loved it, I missed moments like those from Kishimoto really.
So my question is, can you indulge me a little? Will you respect some canon events? One of my favorite things is inosakutema, I'm pretty sure you don't follow Boruto but they're an awesome trio! I was hoping you kept that? Haha sorry.
Another thing, one of my favorite things about narusaku (as my brotp of Naruto, otp for you) is their jobs. Hokage is the most important person of Konoha and the Head Medic is the boss of the most important Konoha department. Will you keep it that way? They're the most valuable and important duo, as friends in Boruto (or barely friends?😭) but a couple in Kaika Sasei.
Hope you cover Sakura's clinic too, her job in Cypher Corps too with Shikamaru (another brotp of mine) and Tsunade with Sakura in the clinic's creation. I need Sakura Hiden to get animated.
I'm so hooked about the kunoichis too. What will you do to Ino? Please don't do like Boruto and put her in Sensory she's awfully useless. Maybe follow her father's steps? I always thought she was a nepo but I can't help it because she's Sakura's best friend. Temari the Ambassador is great too. I don't care about Hinata though, Hanabi head of her clan?
I'm so excited to read more of Kaika Sasei💗
Hi there, fellow Sakura fan! :D
Also, like I always said, you guys ship whatever the hell you want to. Just because I don't like the writing because I have certain views and preferences, doesn't mean YOU should do the same.
Plus, as I said, I USED to be a multishipper, and it includes shipping SS too.
But anyway, let's get to the point.
First of all, thank you for your kind words for Kaika Saisei. Glad to see you enjoyed the little nuggets, hahah. I'm trying my best to stay as close as possible to Kishi's writing style. :D
Also lol, don't apologize for asking those questions. Now, I don't think I'll do a 1:1 on the canon events, but there might be some similarities?
I'm not familiar with Ino/Saku/Tema dynamics too in depth, but Ino is Sakura's best friend after all and I've already started writing more on the dynamics of those two in the written version of Kaika.
As for Temari, I also have a Sakura-Temari thing in mind given that there is something specific I want to do with Sakura in Suna, or better said in the whole wide shinobi world, and given that I will go the ShikaTema route, too, you'll probably end-up with a similarity in that sense.
However, I also have an adjacent development that includes logistics so to speaks, with Karin, as well as a certain aspect with Hinata as part of the Hyugas subplot.
I'm trying my best to keep this as original as possible because I've had with people accusing us of copying Boruto, when certain important elements in Boruto have been concepts that were first created by NaruSaku fans, but alas.
As for Naruto & Sakura, OF COURSE I'm going to keep that going on for them. I cannot see them as anything else besides Hokage/Head of the medical department. I like to keep consistency.
As for the clinic thing, well, we as fans of NaruSaku been talking about this idea of clinics for children years before the ending, so I'm going to have that one as well, just under a different route, maybe? I already started this in the written version of Kaika Saisei.
I have 11 chapters of Kaika Saisei written already, the manga is barely catching-up to the written version haha.
As for the kunoichis, I do have certain paths mapped out for them, especially for Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Karin and I have something in mind for Tenten too!
For Temari I admit I didn't give it so much thought because she had her fair share of spotlight that gives her proper treatment, so I focused more on the areas that I thought are lacking.
As for reading more of Kaika, well, there's always the written version if you want to read. Because the translation from written version into manga is quite different from what I've learned.
So it'll take a little while until I get to all the things in manga format that I have already written.
Besides, not even the written version is yet ready lol. I barely have just begun.
Anyway, hope I clarified these things for you.
Thank you for such a thoughtful question and for your interest in Kaika!
All the best,
Chatte
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