R.I.P Sakura?

[cynchick]

Nothing like a healthy dose of character assassination to brighten my day.

The NaruSaku? Saw it coming, resigned myself to it, don't really care, it's 92827374 times better than a SasuSaku outcome. I'll still write my fics and draw my arts and ship my ships. That's what fandom is all about. But to completely alter a character's personality in such a regressive, damaging way that continuing to write her as a strong, independent, mature and thoughtful person has instantly become OOC....

Can she be any more of a pretentious, superficial bitch? 

Probably not.

It's like a NaruSaku badfic come true. If I were a NaruSaku shipper I'd be furious that it went down this way.

First of all, I have a feeling she's lying. Based on the flashbacks of "just let me do all the talking" and the very uncomfortable expressions on everyone's faces. Which is seriously fucked up, to play with her best friend's heart like that to manipulate him, even if she thinks it's for his own good.

If she's not lying, it's still fucked up because (aside from the extremely bad timing) it's the most selfish and shallow confession I've ever heard. "You're a hero and everyone admires you now" is NOT a reason to suddenly love someone. "Sasuke is a jerk who left me but you're still here" is ALSO NOT a reason to love someone. That's called settling, Sakura, and it's what desperate girls who have no respect for themselves do. "I don't care about Sasuke anymore so you can stop trying to save him" ...Because Naruto totally doesn't have his own reasons for doing it. It's clearly only ever been about her. "I just said I love you why aren't you jumping for joy?" ...Seriously? Since when did Sakura become a complete narcissist?

Sakura's respectability skyrocketed at the beginning of pt 2 and made most of us who hated her, love her. But that respectability has been slowly beaten into the ground ever since, and now the poor old horse is finally dead.

I just don't know anymore. I'm gonna keep reading to the end because I've invested too much time and energy into this series to not see it through. I guess I will just pretend it never happened, as far as fandom is concerned. I think a lot of people feel the same right about now.

Comments

[sashayaki.livejournal.com]

D: Oh no...

What happened to Hinata though?? I remember reading that she just confessed her love to him and then almost died a while back or something.

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

Well, Naruto is actually angry at Sakura for the nature of her confession, and he can see right through her and doesn't believe her anyway. He hasn't actually seen or spoken to Hinata since her confession (like 30 chapters ago), which is also a big problem for me because it completely devalues what she did. Whether he returns her feelings or not, the issue needs to be resolved.

Kishimoto just completely fails at any sort of interpersonal interaction, and most especially at anything that even hints of romance.

[thatreevesgirl.livejournal.com]

I'm a NaruSaku shipper and this isn't my dream come true, trust me.

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

Yeah...its like KakaSaku becoming canon only because Kakashi is a true pervert who uses Sakura's emotional instability to manipulate her into sex...

It completely takes the legitimacy of their affection and replaces it with something cliche and awful that will damage them both.

Do you also think she's lying to keep him from fighting Sasuke?

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

Whether her feelings for him are real or not, she is definitely trying to manipulate him through his feelings, which makes her an awful person either way. I don't think there are any NaruSaku shippers who are happy about this, and if Kishimoto cant even please the fans who wanted NaruSaku to happen, then he has truly, majorly failed in his storytelling.

[solarial.livejournal.com]

I think that Kishimoto had fun to ruin Sakura's character. And I'm not the only one to thing in this way. Really thanks Kishi .__.
I'm a NaruSaku shipper but I assure you that I didn't like the way in which Sakura "claim" Naruto's Heart. And, believe me, I'm not the only one. The most part of Italian NaruSaku supporter (and not only them) are definitely disappointed with the way in which Kishimoto drew that chapter. But, In the same way, I think that there is something strange, something else... so I don't think that all Sakura's words are all wrong.
Until the moment in which Sakura says that she loves Naruto, I should believe that she might say the truth. She blush and don't look Naruto in the eyes like she is embarassed. The situation could change when she says "I choose you instead of Sasuke" and is in this moment that I think that she is not sincere with herself. It's something like she want to persuade Naruto that this is the moment in which He can leave the promise made in the past because she loves him and she didn't need of Sasuke.
I don't Know what Kishimoto will do with this whole situation, If he wants to put an end at the NaruSaku to give hope so in the and of the manga there will be the SasuSaku and NaruHina Pairing, or if this is His way to assure people that "voilà, It's the moment of NaruSaku", the only thing that I know is that I don't like all of this, expecially if Sakura is lying the poor Naruto. Sakura isn't so bitch, expecially to Naruto and not in the shippuden.
Naruto doesn't believe in Sakura's words, but i think that this is normal expecially if he continues to believe that Sakura still love Sasuke.

In the end. Sorry for mistakes. English isn't my language ç_ç so I hope you understand what I write :)
Kiss Lucy^^

[downjune.livejournal.com]

I haven't kept up with the latest chapters, but as a committed Sakura lover, is it possible that she is trying to protect Naruto, trying to get him to finally abandon Sasuke because it's become too dangerous, and she's just doing a poor job of it? I mean, we know she's a spaz when it comes to romance. I'd hesitate to take any hint of romance in the manga as genuine. Poor Kurenai lost Asuma, like, the second they were officially together. Naruto's parents were killed off... Kishi just doesn't do romance. Is anyone in the manga officially together? I guess the rookie 9's parents, who we never see.

I donno, it sounds like a desperate attempt on her part to keep Naruto safe. But, that is entirely a stab in the dark.

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

Oh I think its totally an act. She's trying to keep him from running to his death by fighting Sasuke...AND shes forcing herself to be with Naruto because she feels hella guilty for using & overlooking him all these years. She's settling, and its wrong in so many ways and will hurt them both in the end. Its the way she's going about it (the butchering of her character) that pisses me off, and I'm glad Naruto called BS on her. Honestly I don't think she loves either one of them.

[inniyah.livejournal.com]

First, I want to tell you, that I agree with you. I think that your insight in Naruto has always been pretty good, and I have always (since before "Percetion", I remember that when you write that you were thinking of create an Itasaku, I was really happy, and I write my first Lj comment to encourage you) admire you character analisys.


I know Sakura doesn't have an excuse, but I also know that we, the fandom, have made assumptions on her character (things that maker her more interesting), that in a lot of ocassions have no fundaments in the manga (or the basis are really small). Fanfiction is usually created on the basis that Sakura is older, wiser, prettier and smarter.
For example, when I read the new chapter, I was waiting for Sakura to poison Naruto when she hugged him and tell the others "Ok guys, time to return him to Konoha, mission accomplished".

When I read about Sakura's crying in the other chapters, i thought "Hey!, WTF!, Sakura doesn't cry... she is better than that, she is not THAT emotional and weak... she is a soldier, almost and ANBU!!" then I had to remember that that was my interpretation of the character... not the character.

I have always thought that in the bottom of our hearts, we are not completly different that when we were cildren (Yeah, we are less innocent, we learn to lie, we harden our hearts and put walls and barriers and masks to hide the softest parts or the nastiest parts), but by the time we are 7 years old (even before), our personality is already formed and when we are aldults, can modify just certain attitudes (and even just if we agree with that).

I am a Narusaku, Sasusaku, kakasaku, itasaku (and so on), fan...

What Sakura did is wrong (so wrong that I am pissed off about it, and she is not even real), but well, a perfect character that doesn't make mistakes, that is admirable and always in the right, is not a Mary Sue? and are not Mary Sue's the worst in fandom?

Sakura IS selfish (when she is consoling Naruto and is thinking that the one that needs to be comforted is her, is not that selfishness?), Sakura is shallow and sometimes has missplaced pride, Sakura is a sixteen years old girl... She is not yet the formidable and admirable woman you write about (Maybe she is never going to be quite like her, but well, I think she is going to be great, and this is the road that follows her growth)


The things that we really know about her are that she is brave, she is loyal, she loved Sasuke (because even if we don't like it, the author has said that she really loved him, that it was not a crush nor just an obsession) "so much", that she wanted to betray Konoha for him, and that even know, she likes him enough (mybe as a friend, maybe eve more that that) to punch teammates that bad mouth him.

But in this chapter, we see a Sakura that is willing to betray him, to badmouth him, to avoid a war, for Konoha. A Sakura that is willing to do things that her younger self wouldn't dream on.

And we see Sakura exposing the most common "arguments" of narusaku shippers, and Naruto turn them to shit. Naruto doesn't want to be the "chosen one", because he has always been near her, supporting her. We also saw Naruto's maturity.

In part one, if Sakura would have said this to him, he would have probably accepted. But now he loves himself more than that. if he is going to be the one she picks to be with her, then she is going to do it with good reasons.

Maybe is a way the writer has told the fandom off. (Have you read some of the arguments for Narusaku? a good portione of tem, are exactly what Sakura said).

Now, we don't really know what Sakura is thinking (maybe is a different ploy that what we are thinking, maybe she wants for him to hate her, you know manga, it's an usual plot). I think is fishy we don't know what she is thinking since several chapters ago.

I am optimist about the chapter. Every time that Sakura is punched in gut, she matures a bit more, if she was as stupid as we are thinking, then something good is going to happen to her charecter.

[inniyah.livejournal.com]

Oh! I forgot something!, Sakura is shit at romance. She is inexperienced (That's why i have always been a bit wary of fics that portry her as a sohisticated woman with lots of experience). She was absurd and stupid, when she was following Sasuke around... so this is not a surprise.

She is smart, in a "Rght side brain" smart.. IQ smart. She is not really emphatic.

Naruto is "brain left side" intelligent.

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

I agree that we often see Sakura as having so much promise to be awesome, we see the great place she is headed, and then we become so frustrated when that image of her future self is derailed by Kishimoto's constant genderfail. Canon!Sakura is not quite where we want her to be, and I believe its because she is written by a very sexist man. But most of us (who are in their 20's or older) would look back and say the person they were when they were 15-16 is definitely not a person they would want to be again. Often we are embarrassed by our younger selves and think "man I was naive/dumb/lame!"

Even so, its true that some people never change all that much...IF nothing traumatic and life-altering has happened to them along the way. Sakura has had a lot of things happen that could and would change her drastically: being abandoned by her team (closest friends) being recognized for her own strength and encouraged by a very strong, capable, admirable female rolemodel. There's just no way she is the same girl. I agree she IS selfish, and a bitch, and still somewhat judgmental/superficial. I still see a slight insecurity in her as well. She is very flawed, and that's what makes her identifiable to all of us. She's probably still too young to realize that what she felt for Sasuke, while genuine, was tied to those weaknesses in herself and was therefor unhealthy and not true love. As someone who, at age 16, once loved the wrong guy for the wrong reasons, I know this. But I didn't know it back then. However, Sakura DOES know what she's pulling with Naruto IS wrong, and that's why she's SO uncomfortable with it.

I really hope we're right and Sakura is lying about all of this, just putting on an act. Yes it makes her a bitch, but its better than being a fickle trophy-girlfriend.

[saturdaymorning.livejournal.com]

I sort of look at it like this.

I see that she's been told that the only reason Naruto is still looking is because she asked him to.
http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/458/16/


http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/459/14/

[saturdaymorning.livejournal.com]

Crap, sorry, it posted by accident.

Okay, so I was saying, After what Sai says, Sakura basically feels it's all her fault that Naruto is killing himself to go and find Sasuke for her. He loves her, but he's still willing to go and get the man she loves for her. Sai was pretty clear that Naruto feels anger when he thinks of Sasuke, but he'll go to the ends of the earth to retrieve him because she asked him to.

I think that she doesn't mean her confession, but is totally willing to follow through on it with Naruto if he accepts her. I think she's decided she's going to shoulder the responsibility of her actions, and stop Naruto in any way she can. Granted, her wording is a little stupid (Kishi) and it does sound like she's saying "every thinks you're great so I'll like you now" but I think it's meant to be like that for 1) so that Naruto will feel he met his ultimate life goal of being recognized and 2) so that he can see through her obvious transparent half-heartedness.

I don't hate her for it. I imagine that it's hard for her to give up as well to save Naruto over the man she loves and has been waiting for for years, but she'll do it. I think it makes her strong in will - just maybe goes against her intelligence.

I think Kishi is bad at romance, like some others said. And I also think that he's never made Sakura into a decent character - that's been left to fandom to do, I suppose.

Don't get me wrong, I adore her, but I can't count how many times she's been knocked out, cried or had to have help to do anything. Kishi gave her so much potential, but only talked about how good she was. I would have loved it if he showed it more.

[firebomb.livejournal.com]

It depresses me that it ended up like this... at first I thought it was just a joke but it's even worse now that it's real. I pity Naruto. I pity Sakura's character. *shakes head*

lee

[tsukihara.livejournal.com]

And I feel like a 10-year-old boy who's both annoyed and embarrassed by this whole thing and who'd rather see it over and done with as soon as possible (so that we could get back to those awesome fights again).

As much as I enjoy romance in doujinshis, fan art and fan fiction, I'd rather not see it in the original series. I've always loved Naruto as it is: a shounen manga. I love the action and the adventure, I love the characters and the companionship they share. But the more emotional the characters get, the more uncomfortable I feel, and I don't even know why. It's just so... awkward. OOC. And it doesn't even matter which pairing it is, or what motives they have.

Anyway, this series has become so important to me over the years that there's no way an episode like this could have a permanent effect on me. Okay, Kishimoto may have abused his artistic liberties to some extent (as usual), but other than throwing me a bit off-kilter, no real harm done.

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

I don't think there should be any real romance in any manga written by a Japanese man. Sorry, but they just don't know. They don't understand women, and they don't do "romance" the way most other cultures see it.

There are shounen mangas that strike a perfect balance of showing male and female characters who truly, deeply care about each other, without mucking it up with their misconceptions of love. Like One Piece, Fairy Tail...series that have a very strong core of Nakamaship. Then there are the few shounen series written by women, and THEY do it the best. Better than the shoujo mangas even. FMA. D.Gray-man. Soul Eater. They save the genre, for me.

[strange_quark]

I do ship NaruSaku, and I'm not happy, but the spoilers... were much worse than the chapter.

She is obviously putting on an act. She is obviously not telling the truth. And it's a little shitty of her and I think of anyone, Sakura would realize that Naruto's motivations don't revolve around her. It also sucks because Sakura's the smartest member of Team 7 (Sasuke couldn't answer the questions on his own during the written Chuunin exams. SAKURA COULD) and she's apparently resorting to emotional manipulation. Which, if this was anyone other than Naruto, would probably make the receiving party really fucking pissed at her.

But it didn't work. Naruto saw through it. So what does she do now? I think that's really going to determine how I view all this. I can excuse most of this if in the next chapter she lays down the facts and how she feels and puts forth a reasonable argument.

I don't mind Sakura being morally gray, as this chapter might make her, or her being a bit manipulative to save her friend. I mean, shit, look what Itachi did to Sasuke. That's like, a million times worse, and people still love him. And honestly? I had a thought that she might do something like this. (In my head she kissed him and used the time he was distracted to inject him with something and knock him out to prevent him doing something stupid and self-destructive, ala Cameron and House. Still a little shitty.) What I do mind is her being reduced to an emotional idiot.

So really, I have to see.

[saturdaymorning.livejournal.com]

What I do mind is her being reduced to an emotional idiot

I second this. She just seems to be wide eyed or crying anymore. I'd like to see her take charge, not manipulate or lie, but be honest. Talk about everything that worries her and she's feeling, but make a plan with him, be proactive.

[devimelete.livejournal.com]

Now I heard of Sakura's character assassination, I am actually TERRIFIED of reading the actual chapter. I think I much rather be spoiled at this point.

Maybe I should just drop Naruto and just play in fandom-land. Because, Lord knows I'll be reading lots and lots of Kakashi/Sakura smut after this turn of events.

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

Its not the end of hope for her character, because she's lying. If she really felt/believed what she was saying, that would be it.

I'm not going to stop reading because after all this time I need to know how it ends.

[helicopini.livejournal.com]

I'm really hoping that this isn't what Kishimoto feels real women/girls are like. I've had some bad experiences with bullshit justifications like 'but BUT girls are manipulative, status-obsessed, irrational and flighty and THIS IS THE TRUTH ABOUT WOMEN! So it's totally true to life and brave (and ohso literary) to write this way!' :FFFail.

Christ. I'm a NaruSaku shipper, too. Maybe Naruto and Sasuke will have sex at the end, then I'll feel I've recovered some of my invested fan!energy.

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

Well if we quote Sakura in this chapter "girls are fickle, right? Teehee." ......

I think this is the most ooc Sakura has ever been, and its all because of how her creator thinks women feel/behave in matters of the heart.

[anat-astarte.livejournal.com]

Amazing post and comments!! Mind if I spread the word about this discussion and link here from my journal?

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

Hehe sure, its an unlocked post.

[me-ninjakitty.livejournal.com]

In the recent month I've seen many of my favourite characters sliced and diced and chopped in half but what occurred with Sakura was by far the hardest to read/watch.

I'm glad Naruto has called her bluff, what she said and how she's doing it is so OOC. Sakura has always been my favourite character Naruto, she had the same flaws I did growing up. I can only hope that next week's release delves further into Sakura's OOC confession.

[hieronymousb.livejournal.com]

Kishimoto: Unparalleled in his ability to destroy every last one of his characters' personalities.

Yeah, see, this was me about . . . last May or so? I feel so sorry for Sakura's (considerable) fanbase right now. :/

[cynchick.livejournal.com]

I knowww... I actually thought of you and your Pein ordeal during this. The only thing that can remotely redeem her now is fully, honestly explaining her motives for this craptastic act to Naruto. Though its still really shitty that she tried to manipulate him like that, regardless of her reasons. >:\

[thefuzzyhat.livejournal.com]

WAT


WAT


WAT



EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO FINISH MAI DOUJINS BRB

[evilteddybear10.livejournal.com]

Sorry, you don't know me, I followed here from your ff.net while avoiding work.

There is one thing I have to say in sort-of defense of Kishimoto. And that is: it happens. Kishimoto has been very good, I think, at portraying pretty real characters. It seems to me that Sakura is similar to Sasuke in this one thing: she's going to have to learn the hard way. When it comes to romance she seems to be making all the wrong decisions first, I'm hoping, eventually, he'll let her learn from her mistakes.

But, seriously, it's not my ship but I think the best chance for real love Naruto has is Hinata. Because, regardless of whether or not he saved Konoha Naruto has always been Hinata's hero. (besides the Hyuuga clan needs Naruto to come shake them up and turn them upside down. Or rather it would be fun to watch him do so.)

[evilteddybear10.livejournal.com]

P.S. And the moral of the story to Sakura is this: don't ever listen to Sai when it comes to relationships. :p I kid, I kid.

Sakura

[(Anonymous)]

Number one: I think that Sakura Loves Naruto, and Sasuke. And she always want to be useful for them. When I read that part of the manga about her confession to Naruto, i remembered when she was triying to stop Sasuke and was leaved in the bench.

In the end, both of them rejected her, because both of them are fixed in their ideals (Sasuke revenge and Naruto salvation). And she felt useless, left behind. Maybe,I wish to think that she want to go for Sasuke to face herself the consequences of the promise that she received from Naruto, and release him from it.

In fact, she just can be the person that Kishimoto wants her to be, but we can make the justice to her in fanfiction.