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SAKURA’S CONFESSION
Honest to god, I hate that the Sakura confession scene has been so hated. I never thought it would be so controversial.
But one take I haven’t seen and maybe I’m alone on this was that, when I first watched the scene, I honest to god that it was a test run from the authour’s side to see how fans would ACTUALLY react if Sakura did develop feelings towards Naruto.
I truly do believe even though the writer had his planned final pairings, that he still did test around with toying with the idea of different pairings like Naruto x Sakura.
Remember when Yamato during the bridge arc made a comment towards Sakura about her care towards Naruto? I think the bridge arc was when someone said in one of the databooks, Sakura was noted to be confused about her thoughts on Naruto. It was implied that she was maybe developing feelings towards him post timeskip.
As a NaruSaku shipper, I see the confession scene was the ultimate acknowledgement of the slow romantic tension that had built around the two. I know this is super subjective but still.
Anyway, during her confession, I remember she was blushing and shit, honestly I took that initially as her admitting to herself that “yeah I guess I’m saying something I kinda been feeling lately out loud and it kinda feels good”. I don’t know why so many people took her confessions as super evil and manipulative. Again, I know I’m being bias but my girl isn’t a good liar come on. When she lies, she does that closed smile thing with a voice crack.
Also, remember when Naruto rejected her confession and they started arguing about the validity of her confession and she was like “why are you telling me I’m wrong” moment. To me, that means it was more genuine and if anything she was shocked that Naruto thought she was lying.
Now, I’m not saying she didn’t have ulterior motives or anything. She of course did but I think that she honest to god was okay with “settling” with Naruto. Like at some point in early Shippuden, she started to like both of her comrades.
I know people like to sanitize the romances between the characters because it’s cleaner that way. It is messy if characters marry their partners but the story also acknowledges that they crushed on other people before then. I’ve seen people purposely not acknowledge his long term crush on Sakura because well, he’s married to Hinata but like cmon guys - let’s not do that because that is a narrative change and something you can really downplay because there are 200+ episodes of the guy liking another girl who isn’t his future wife.
Honestly when I found out that Sakura x Sasuke became canon by the last chapter and read up on the lore, the entire time I thought may this love never find me 🫡
I wonder how much hate I’d get if I said that despite, all of the sns content I post or repost, I don’t actually ship them.
I noticed the change in Naruto’s behaviour towards Sasuke during Shippuden and rather than more earnestly be upset about it, I coped and made jokes on here about how Naruto’s feelings towards Sasuke derailed the character the potential Shippuden had.
MY BIGGEST ROMAN EMPIRE/QI DYNASTY THOUGH has to be Naruto x Sakura or NaruSaku. ALSO JUST SAKURA’s marriage.
I’ve never made a single post about it but I genuinely really warmed up to the ship early Shippuden because I thought Sakura developed a crush on Naruto and they had a better dynamic there.
I also really grown to adore Sakura so I love her as a character. I CANNOT stand how much Sasuke disrespects her in Shippuden thou. Holy shit I was so mad when he fake-killed her at the end of the war arc OMG. She’s already disrespected by the authour and fans, I just want her to have good things happen to her fully, not some half assed manner like her ending. I understand that the authour genuinely believes that his writing of female characters is acceptable, which is why he continues to write them that way and call it a happy ending but still.
She’s done so dirty everywhere, I just want her to have one genuine win with no strings attached.
I know she married the love of her life but she didn’t get what she wanted. She’s still seen by most people and in-universe characters as a lonely wife and “single” mother raising her child all by herself while her husband doesn’t contact her. She’s in a marriage where I don’t think she expected Sasuke to have some dumb ass plot barrier stopping him from coming back to the leaf when they initially got together. Of course, she loves him enough to deal with his absence but canon wise, she’s not happy about it but has to keep a brave face when questioned about it by Sasuke. Cuz that’s her character, she’s not going to complain about it, it’s out of his control (ugh). There are times where she’s clearly settled with her circumstances but LIKE AS A GENUINE FAN OF HER CHARACTER, I dont want that for her. It’s not a happy ending if she’s still lonely and never gets to see her man. For Christ sake, it was clear in the anime that she’s not even used to his touch because she hadn’t felt his touch in a decade by then. It’s so sad and I wanted better but the authour refuses because he believes it’s in character and makes sense for their relationship to still have barriers.
Like she will always accommodate for him but he just “can’t put in the same effort” and she might as well just deal with it with a smile on her face.
Like she’s so successful but she chose to marry a bum. Sure it might be true love but double standards much?
I understand that Sasuke is written a little bit like Jiraiya where he’s never at one place for too long and Sakura likes more serious personalities in her men (and I guess men who go against the grain?) but she prefers that kind of guy but also someone who is there for her. They’re just not compatible and it’s like upsetting to watch. Sakura can only enjoy half of her marriage because she only got half of what she wanted.
How does this connect back to Naruto x Sakura thou? Again I thought the feelings were mutual during Shippuden and was sad when they weren’t but for Naruto, he seems to at least like his wife.
Please be mindful that if her marriage isn’t written the way it is, I would not be complaining like this.
lol going through my notes I took while watching Shippuden
Im prob the only person who thought this
(Scene right after Sasuke puts Sakura in a genjutsu by punching a hole in her)
Fuck Sasuke
I hope Naruto kills him
Rips his head off for what he did to Sakura how could he
I really fucking hate him
I think Boruto era Naruto x Sasuke shippers need to understand that Sasuke won’t be a better partner if he’s with Naruto. It doesnt matter if he secretly elopes with Naruto, he won’t be staying. He has commitment issues and literally can’t stay in one place for too long. I know he loves his brother still but his brother is the sole reason why he’s an incredibly damaged individual who literally will never recover from his trauma. I get that it’s super complicated but it’s one of those things that are indescribable. His brother fucked him over when he didn’t need to (the 518400 times thing) that he fundamentally changed his brain chemistry.
Additionally, I feel like he can’t handle the responsibility of his personal life. He’s the kinda guy who will leave people on read or delivered for months you know? It’s the emotional baggage and genuinely wanting solitude even though he knows it’s not the best path for him. It’s almost like a bad habit, constantly wanting to be alone even though what gets you through the day is knowing you have loved ones waiting for you at home.
Romance does not factor into his character, he’s barely involved with his family because his trauma and baggage goes beyond that.
In canon, it’s because of his job and his past actions that make him feel unwelcome in the village sure. But why should he care about people he doesn’t know? The people he knows want him back more often. He just doesn’t want to for his atonement. He does prioritize Naruto over his family but he still sees the guy like every few years for half an hour before he teleports away again. He doesn’t even hang out with him when he’s back.
What I’m trying to say is that he would 100% treat Naruto the same way he treats Sakura as a romantic partner. Which is find excuses to not hang out and immediately leave after work is done.
People write fanfics about them owning an apartment or whatever, divorcing their partners to be with eachother, etc. yes it’s fanfic lol people can do whatever they want but I would love to read a fic that explores what I’m talking about here.
Something from my notes while I was watching Shippuden
It’s weird that Naruto married a woman who is quiet, introverted and has special eye powers. During my time watching this god forsaken show, I noted down that Naruto seems to attract introverted shy downer boys like Gaara and Sasuke. I guess there is something about that type of personality he likes in dudes. I am still very doubtful that he would like that personality in a woman because he criticized his future wife who had the same personality but in the end, he seemingly married her. It’s like he married a female-ish Sasuke. Like someone who superficially sounds like him on paper.
For Sasuke, he doesn’t seem to like a lot of people outside of his family. He tolerated Naruto’s extroverted, loud and confident behaviour. He was annoyed by his obsession with chasing after him though. I don’t blame him he gets it from both sides and it’s not like he has a mentor to ask for advice on how to deal with it. Anyway, I’ve seen him ignore Sakura who has a similar personality to Naruto at times. She’s tomboyish and has the former traits. He low-key criticized her for being obsessed with him. He also doesn’t seem to visually like pushy women, but it might be because every woman so far has been pushy in their advances and flirty towards him. There is no shame for whoever has a crush on him. But he doesn’t seem to mind it as much when Naruto does it. I mean he does mind it but he didn’t say it’s disgusting or anything. It’s again weird that he married Sakura because I always felt like he didn’t like that kind of woman but he’s okay with it when it’s a guy to a more tolerable extent.
Those two really did marry the female version of their “type”. But again, the impression I got so far was that they didn’t like that personality if it was the opposite sex for whatever reason.
I know I just finished the show but I feel like LITERALLY everyone married the wrong person. Everyone should swapped partners. More people should be single, some people shouldn’t be dead while others I’m shocked they survived (looking at you KIBA AND MIGHT GUY) and others who aren’t married yet for some reason.
Sakura and Naruto, I love you both dearly but you both married the wrong people in my eyes. But this also applies to everyone else so don’t come for me (this wasn’t in my notes but I have to put this in here - I’m just copying pasting my immediate thoughts I wrote in my notes lol)
It’s just weird. I followed a strict anime filler guide and it makes me feel like I missed something.
Food for thought
Oh also Sasuke totally gives off I have commitment issues, bachelor vibes and just lone wolf identity. Kinda like Jiraya but not a pervert or a writer. More like he just wants to be alone even if it meant being away from society. To me, he will always prioritize himself above everyone else because he has way too much baggage. He just comes across as someone who wants to be in solitude. It’s unfortunate because he had such a bright future when he was a kid but in canon, he seems to be married while living his bachelor lifestyle from the ending.
The issue I have with Sakura stans as another Sakura fan is that some have a tendency to think black or white. I’m unsure if it’s because of how much hate a character who really didn’t deserve it got during the Naruto heyday.
Regardless, if you have an opinion that isn’t 💯 positive all around, a subsection of fans will attack you. Like you can literally say nothing negative about the character and people will act like you do.
Maybe it’s a ESL thing. I find that if I’m having a discussion with someone and it’s clear to me that we are talking about two different things, the miscommunication is from a language barrier, people can’t read well or it’s anger issues that makes people skip words.
For example, I had a discussion about Sakura and Naruto’s dynamic with Sasuke. I said that Sakura is the more reasonable one as Naruto’s constant defending for Sasuke even though he’s technically wrong is absurd. But that’s just Naruto. He sees the good in everyone, even people who genuinely don’t deserve it at times.
Somehow someone took that and responded with I’m calling Sakura a whore, bitch and dumb and that I’m sexist. If Sakura did it she’s that but when Naruto does it it’s endearing LMAO.
Me dunking on Naruto and saying Sakura is more reasonable is apparently swapped in that person’s mind.
Honestly there is a reason why people don’t like Sakura fans because some of them took the hate that her character got and took it in the wrong direction.
NARUTO STANS I NEED YOUR HELP
I finished watching Naruto + Shippuden a few weeks ago and I’m so sad I put the show off for DECADES. I never watched it growing up despite watching a lot of anime and all my friends talking about it.
The only thing I knew about Naruto was that it was about ninjas and there was some bad guy with long hair.
Now that I’m into the fandom, I really wish I was in the loop while the show aired. Naruto seems to be forgotten by the general public and the fandom spaces seem really small. I vaguely heard all of the online discussion back in the day was on facebook or Naruto forums which are hard to access now.
I NEED THE KNOW THE TEA, EVERYONES THOUGHTS OF ANYTHING WHILE THE SHOW AIRED. Like what were the biggest theories, discussions, discourse, what did people think about the story, plot, characters, dub vs sub, anything. What were the community memes back in the day? What were peoples reactions to the arcs or major or minor plot lines.
Like what did people think about Sasuke ever changing outfits, or the five Kage summit arc, or the MEMES BACK IN THE DAY?!?!
I truly missed out and now no one really discusses this show outside of nostalgia because of Boruto. Oh also what did people feel about Boruto? And also the Naruto movies because there are like a dozen of them and the show aired for 15 years. What did people feel about the filler and flashbacks? How was the fandom like during anime cons or during the school yard/water cooler breaks with your workers if you were working when it aired?
Literally opening this discussion for word vomit and any and all thoughts.
IM JUST SO SAD AND HAPPY I WATCHED NARUTO AFTER IGNORING IT FOR SO LONG 😭
Naruto hasn’t given up on Sasuke but I certainly have.