26 replies to this topic

[rikakim94]

Heres my reasoning i posted this in the debate thread so i posted here again.

 

I have to say this just to get it off my mind I think kishimoto did a horrible job in building up his pairings heres the reason why.. kishi never had a pairing in mind to begin with. Theres an interview that kishi says that he only made the pairing drama up just to sympathize with the characters did he have any idea that he made hinata way to sympathetic along with naruto? Hence the reason why we have huge NH fanbase along with SS we have to deal with everyday. Not only that but, he also gave hinata a role in pein arc and used her example of love towards pein and put her in a spotlight while sakura did nothing but heal fodder nin, however in the end sakura still got the upperhand in the end of that arc by hugging him and naruto never commented on hinatas romantic confession every again. Maybe he will in the future but,he will most likely fried-zone her for good. Heck even hinata faded back into the shadows until chapters leading up to 615 naruto somehow complements hinata for standing up for pein not only that but during 615 naruto told her that shes the one thats always by his side and thanked her meanwhile sakura got a background treatment again. And now in the recovery chapter naruto dosen't even thank sakura for saving his life and just leaves ,but still considers sakura to be somewhat of a girlfriend without any emotional conflict of possibly falling in love with someone else Wow just wow something about this feels like its a cheap way to make ns canon that it bothers me.   I just don't know. Whatever happened to those days when naruto looked at sakura and told her that he was all right or something not only that but ns itself used to get big panel time as well. Well my answer is kishi just doing this just to keep the other pairing relevent and im not to pleased by the way he does it does he have to ruin sakuras reputation by doing so along with putting more negativity towards ns as a pairing and suck the excitement out of ns?

 

This is my another reason why im starting to become indifferent towards pairings these days they do not go anywhere no matter how much the screentime that said pairing gets with big moments. The only thing im expecting is more pairing pandering hinata to naruto moment only to get friendzoned big time, sakura to naruto moment few moments for this pairing that isn't concrete to make it canon, cutaway parallels that kishi thinks is enough for ns as a pairing which is not to me, and karin to sasuke moments as for ss i do not know maybe kishi could revist it just to add more unnecessary drama.

 

I will say this though the only pairing kishi did not screw up is sasunaru this pairing seems far more believable than any other pairing kishi has made when you have obsessing over sasuke the entire manga heck he went kyubbi over him with detailed flashbacks, (sorry hinata you are not that special to him your just a dear friend that got hurt in front of you and he only  complements you because his just a nice guy and nothing more) he literary puts sasuke on top over anyone else in this manga And sasuke is his first priority he can not do anything unless sasuke gets saved first. I would not be surprised if this manga ended with sasuke and naruto having a moment before the manga closes.  

 

Finally going back to the pairing stuff I guess this is the reason why its really getting harder get hinata out of my mind whenever i think about ns im always reminded that kishi gave to much emphasis to hinata back in the pein arc and in the war arc. Especially the pein arc i just can't get over the hollow eyed look when shes lieing on the ground saying naruto kun everytime she get screentime. Maybe that's another reason why i find hinata to be frustrating and annoying these days to she gets big emphasis saying naruto kun all the time and when she fails she gets extra panels of her sad face and tunnelvisoness and yet again this is reminding me of the pein arc all over again plus there's no reason to give character development if the characters can not develop properly. I just can not imagine her being a clan leader if her priority is her love interest its not looking good for someone who has to care for her clan someday.

 

He could have done so much more on sakura and ns but i guess messing/misleading with the popular pairing like nh and ss is more important than putting effort into the pairing, that kishi most likely wants to make canon which is ns. Also putting more effort into sasunaru with interactions and panel time makes it even more bitter for me.       

 

Im sure im not only one that feels this way?  I would like hear your opinions! 

 

Oh and i think phantom critiqued kishi's handling of love triangle to I would love to hear your opinion to!

 

one last thing hopefully with kishi's next project mario he will learn his mistakes from the naruto manga. Like do not create another love interest if you never intended that love interest to get together with a certain character and please no bromance that over shadows the female love interest.Then,make the female lead that kishi actually likes have a good backstory with something to be sympathetic, good characterization and consistent enough to help the main lead character thats all.

[Nostradamus]

Please understand that Hinata is nothing more that a plot device. Kishimoto is using her, constantly. He is not going to give her any proper development ever. Take a look at 615.

And it was very clear from the rushed recovery scene that Naruto had, that Kishi is going to drag out the drama until the very end. I know it's annoying but it is what it is. Even when it's obvious who is going to end up with who.

[rikakim94]

Please understand that Hinata is nothing more that a plot device. Kishimoto is using her, constantly. He is not going to give her any proper development ever. Take a look at 615.

And it was very clear from the rushed recovery scene that Naruto had, that Kishi is going to drag out the drama until the very end. I know it's annoying but it is what it is. Even when it's obvious who is going to end up with who.

 

I already know that hinata is nothing more than a plot device and shes likely going to get friend zoned in the end, but the amount of equal panel time and emphasis she gets along with sakura that she got before the cpr scene just annoyed me. I prefer one pairing standing out not two at the same time. And rushing the cpr scene while near death made ns less believable i don't mean it as a way till the point that that it has no chance of happening, but it kinda ruined the quality of the pairing by pairing it with sasukarin along with the cheap parallel that im really sick and tried of seeing. Most importantly naruto not thanking his love interest while thanking his non love interest isn't fair to sakura at all heck she had to do the thanking herself she saved him from near death to and not even a thank you? I just wanted to rant about this just to get it off my system i already know that we can not change what happened in the past its what it is however, hopefully kishi will learn something from it, because i  really do like him as an author and i can't wait what he has in store for mario manga. He so far did a good job with the love interest in that pilot series. I just do not wanna see that love triangle pairing of a mess again.

[Hanabi]

i don't think kishi takes pairings seriously. shikatema is such a good pairing but he insist he don't want to write that for shika, ino still have feelings for sasuke (mentioned at her father's deathbed), karin too.

[rocci]

@hanabi

the romance in naruto for me like the one in shaman king. only one pairing got a developement.

[Inferno180]

I think its more like this:

 

Kishi put it up as a means of just character dynamics but didnt fully plan to work with it. As he did do it though, while he made NS go well with its back and forth, SS was just well antagonism but he forgot or didnt use NH as much as he could have.

 

Really maybe he intended Hinata at one point to gain reciprocal feelings but things didn't go this way, in essence he just left her here and there and well, theres no reasonable way to connect Hinata's events to make something effective as the story moves forward.

 

Many may have assumed that Hinata's whole role was to be with naruto since it was the obvious trait out of her in part 1. Maybe people or even kishi himself made the aspect that perhaps hinata's role was to be well the romantic part of the story. I mean it was easy to see Sakura's main point of development in part 1, learning her weaknesses and resolving to become better. Hinata, it was simply well just that, her crush.

 

Part 2 comes around though, kishi didnt go forward with what was assumed on hinata, even with pain and 615, its just well, disjointed espcially considering events like Kushinas foreshadow even saying "potential end pairing foreshadow" with 631 coming in as a hint of this, well its hard to consider now especially after 662 I mean, thats the question that left me asking, well just what is kishi intending to do with her now? I mean if she loves naruto and if she was important, why would kishi exclude her from the Naruto losing kurama event? Why? I mean there are many ways to write a story but kishi just missed many opportunities for this.

[Gojira]

Hinata's development was just basically to grow more confidence...which she did...now her character is pretty much done and there's nothing left for her to do unlike any of the other characters.

[rikakim94]

Hinata's development was just basically to grow more confidence...which she did...now her character is pretty much done and there's nothing left for her to do unlike any of the other characters.

 

She did develop enough to talk to naruto without stuttering or fainting, but in the recent chapters she can not do anything without naruto and she gives up on him when his near death. I know she tripped over a rock and might be tried to get up  but instead of rushing towards him she could have worked as a team with her team mates to reach to where naruto is instead of recklessly running towards him without looking below the ground. That's telling me that she is not confident enough if she is truly confident then wouldn't she have calmed down a bit and make a plan to save naruto? praying a dead guy to save naruto isn't helping much ether and that also tells me that she cares much more about her love interest than her clan. I do not know how she will become clan leader one day without using naruto as a clutch all the time.

Edited by rikakim94, 02 May 2014 - 02:35 AM.

[TyranntX]

Hinata to me is just, well... a useless character. here is just nothing going on for her. when she DOSE do something she either gets overshadowed or gets her self hurt. Kishimoto has clearly shown he has no real plans for her in the slightest. I wouldn't be suprized if she gets killed off soon, in fact that just might be what happens next to her. if you take a look at her past actions and line them up to the presant you'll see that she has a HUGE decline in terms of strength. in the Chuunin exams she put up a good fight, but she still lost in the end. the the fight against pain, on hit and she is KOed. and now in the fight against Madara.... never even got near him and already she's passed out. we don't even cut back to her, nor dose naruto do to her what he did with Guy. can we assume that the chapter where she kicks t is near? my answer.... yes and no...... although she is passed out she mat very well come to. Naruto characters are very resilient and don't die that easily. BUT........ she has used up a lot of chakra, stamina, and energy, so with that in mind her life could very well slip away from her without anyone even knowing. another possibility is that she will get a pointless buff (how I am not certain) get over confident, and get beat down by Madara. the force of the strike in combination of her exhaustion and fatigue would be her undoing.

 

I'm not trying ti bash this character (despite the fact I completely LOATH her), I'm just saying that her end may very well be commig

[Gojira]

She did develop enough to talk to naruto without stuttering or fainting, but in the recent chapters she can not do anything without naruto and she gives up on him when his near death. I know she tripped over a rock and might be tried to get up  but instead of rushing towards him she could have worked as a team with her team mates to reach to where naruto is instead of recklessly running towards him without looking below the ground. That's telling me that she is not confident enough if she is truly confident then wouldn't she have calmed down a bit and make a plan to save naruto? praying a dead guy to save naruto isn't helping much ether and that also tells me that she cares much more about her love interest than her clan. I do not know how she will become clan leader one day without using naruto as a clutch all the time.

How exactly was she supposed to reach them when Gaara was flying away at top speed and she could barely move? There's nothing really she could do to help anyway.

[rikakim94]

i don't think kishi takes pairings seriously. shikatema is such a good pairing but he insist he don't want to write that for shika, ino still have feelings for sasuke (mentioned at her father's deathbed), karin too.

 

The only pairing kishi takes seriously is asuma and his wife,minato and kushina, and narusasu that is it.

 

Meanwhile the big four ss,sk,nh,ns kishi just messes around with it.

[rikakim94]

How exactly was she supposed to reach them when Gaara was flying away at top speed and she could barely move? There's nothing really she could do to help anyway.

 

Now that i think about it  kishi did put her in a helpless situtation she didn't have a medic nin technique or any medic nin to help her. Just so sakura can get her shining moment to save naruto i guess he had to downplay hinata trying to save naruto in order to avoid 615 like chapter.

 

Or maybe she could have had kiba or shino carry her to where naruto is if i recall they don't seem exhausted and maybe kishi could have delayed gaara taking off while sakura started the medic procedure.   

Edited by rikakim94, 02 May 2014 - 03:02 AM.

[Inferno180]

 

The only pairing kishi takes seriously is asuma and his wife,minato and kushina, and narusasu that is it.

 

Meanwhile the big four ss,sk,nh,ns kishi just messes around with it.

 

Thats where I have to disagree, everyone always says "kishi is messing with the pairings"

 

he doesn't mess with the pairings, if he did, then the whole love triangle aspect wouldnt have become such a mess, if thats the case then he wouldn't have made it as poor as he did. This isn't a romance series, the only hint of romance, even is well, just occasionally the stuff that naruto has for sakura and stuff sakura has given back at least to naruto, even then its a subplot, all under the action, drama, etc.

 

"messing with the pairings" would be something like well, look at avatar the last airbender, to go out of their way here and there, like korra season 1 to 2 with mako and korra, thats messing. It was obvious that it couldnt just stay happy no questions from the end of season 1 onwards, i mean they broke in season 2. This is messing around because its something put up then put down.

 

I mean you can say its possible this can fit with sakura's land of iron confession to naruto, but even then kishi commented on the interview why sakura was doing well, just concerned for narutos wellbeing. It could have been an effort to mislead people because of the kushina stuff. Obviously when kushina came in, her likeness to sakura was just too much, it was so intentional I don't know how people could go on with this.

 

Fans always say "messing with the pairings" No i don't like this, I hate this saying, they say this because its just either "throwing a bone" or "fanservice" no its not, kishi and his team are in a story right now, SP and the other media can throw fanservice or mess with the pairings, this is exactly what the other media and rock lee spinoff did, they mocked many parts of the fandom and just threw crazy fanservice here and there. Its done occasionally in the main series, but only when appropriate, kishi and his team have some other goal in mind and just doing what fans think is not one of them. This is exactly the deal many other fans said when 631 came out, it was when road to ninja came out, it was when ep 235 with his announcement he loved sakura in that filler came out. Fans always say "kishi threw us a bone or is messing with the pairings" my response is "then how many bones does he plan to throw to us? I mean he cannot keep messing around if he doesnt even do a fracking thing with progressing things like NH or SS? I mean if its just fanservice or mercy to us then how come the other 2 still remain dead in the dirt going nowhere?"

 

This is exactly what I mean, people say he is messing with the pairings, he isnt, its just some insane perception of a fair porition of the fandom that is just too willing to believe or seek an excuse from authorial intent.

[ramenanmitsu]

Well, I vented out the same frustration last year. Last year I thought that Kishi was purposefully fuelling the pairing drama to keep the readers coming which in turn made each of them ass-pullish underdeveloped pairings, that even if either one claims victory, it would look forced. That thought blowed away after the MinaKushi comment, Sakura girlfriend comment, and CPR. I don't know about the fandom in the West, but I believe in Japan, NS is already thought of as canon material whether people like it or not.  

 

Regarding Naruto not thanking Sakura, I already gave my thoughts in other threads. They already act like partners, they don't need to speak to each other just to say a greeting or two. No words need to be spoken. They have mutual understandings without speaking. You can see how Sakura healed Kakashi before Naruto asked her to, how she spoke on behalf of Naruto. She knows everything Naruto wants and most likely she would know he is thanking her without him even voicing it. He didn't thank Obito, but Sakura did that instead while Naruto had to rush to the battelfield. It is unfair, but not the way you think. Hinata just doesn't have such a strong bond with Naruto to the point that she can act on his behalf. 

 

If my understanding is right you are saying that Kishi is taking NaruSasu seriously but not taking NaruSaku as much because

1.) Kishi didn't intend to make pairings

2.) NaruSaku are forced with parallels

The above two reasons actually conflicts with your statements. 

 

In the most begining of the manga, he didn't intend to have BOTH Sasuke and Sakura as characters. Sasuke was created because the editor told him the manga should have a rival character. Sakura was created because the editor told him the manga should have a love interest. Sasuke and Sakura was created at the same time. Therefore, the reasoning that Kishi didn't intend to make pairings so NaruSasu > NaruSaku is flawed. 

 

Regarding your second thought, I agree that Kishi is using parallels to make us acknowledge the endgame pairing, where he should make us acknowledge the pair by giving us developments. However, NaruSasu is obviously given a worse treatment. Naruto and Sakura has mutual development on both sides. Do you see that mutual development between Naruto and Sasuke? At least not from Sasuke. The only reason why I acknowledge that NaruSasu is the most important bond is because Kishi has forced us to swallow that they are 'destined brothers'. This is so much more forced than NaruSaku that I don't know where you got the idea that Kishi is taking NaruSasu more seriously. And regarding SasuKarin, I don't acknowledge them to be parallels with NaruSaku. SasuKarin shares a whole lot more similarities with SasuSaku.

 

If I misunderstood any point of your posts please feel free to correct me. 

Edited by ramenanmitsu, 02 May 2014 - 03:35 AM.

[dejavu]

@rikakim94

 

This is just an opinion of mine and it could deviate from you and others' point of view.

 

But sometimes, rather than its "Kishi messing with the pairing etc..."

to me its more like: "the overbearing fans messes things up"

 

Naruto's romantic subplots sure isn't the best thing out there but that's probably because its not about romance.

Sure thing, it has great potential and Kishi could've done better with the pairings but thats just how it is.

I still think its pretty decent how a lot of people is still actually hooked on these pairings. that i think itself is good already, for a manga that is not meant for romance that is.

 

I dunno with all of you here, but before i get myself involved with forums such as this and that which discusses the manga/anime,

Everything was just right.

 

Hinata doesn't bother or annoys me,

Nardo is stil Nardo that loves Sakura etc...

 

My point is, only then when i started to read online forums and such about Naruto, did i start to have such thoughts that i wouldn't really have if i just read the manga without knowing others comments/thoughts.

 

I am a bit guilty of this before, but sometimes its just because i get affected with the fans of another pairing.

Sometimes some of us gets carried away and focus too much on what the other party (esp. NH) is thinking.

while in reality there's really nothing to be annoyed about.

 

I could've said this more precise and clear but i'm really sleepy but i don't really want to delete what i started typing already so i hope this is okay for now

[Strangelove]

If the relationship between Sasuke and Naruto is good, is because Kishi knows how to do rivalries, but I have a feeling that the rivalry is the reason as to why he is trying to keep Sasuke relevant...to give him a rival in love...as well as combat...and the title of Hokage. But I feel it would have been better to have given Naruto a new rival...like what Akira Toriyama did with Goku, when he remove Piccolo as a rival, and handed in Vegeta.

 

Sasuke just feels...I don't know...to overpowered to be a rival. I know is because of the fact that he is trying to make Naruto climb an almost impossible mountain, and by doing so he will show the positives of hard work and determination. But at the end of the day, Naruto ended up with power being given up to him...not by hard work and determination...but by some prophecy, and reincarnated BS.

[PinkyAndBlonde]

There will be sacrifices every now and then... Hinata's love most likely. I honestly can't see her with Naruto due to the lack of development. You can't just force someone to love someone. Hinata's got her development with Naruto right then and there, Sakura's been left in the shadows while Hinata's in the spotlight, I don't hate her for that. I don't hate Hinata, the only thing I only dislike about her is her lack of development. I honestly feel half, if not, 90% of her development centered around Naruto. Because she idolized Naruto. I completely agree with you on Hinata always going 'N-Naruto Kun' ... but I don't think I have the right to bash on Kishimoto or verbalize my disappointment since he is the creator of this manga, and whatever choice he chooses, I can't do anything about it. But... I always find that Kishi has always had bad development on Hinata (i honestly feel bad for her) and makes most developments completely subtle, like Sakura and Ino. It's so subtle that MOST people look through the characters and their actual development. Tbh... I can't see Sakura fawning over Sasuke now... Sakura's not stupid... she can't just forgive Sasuke. She's starting to doubt Sasuke now... so I'm putting an X mark on SS. Sakura gets treated like POO. The girl deserves better. 

 

I'm not giving up on NaruSaku just yet. But it looked like Naruto was completely disregarding the fact that it was SAKURA that sped up his recovery... and what did she get in return? "Uh... yeah, she's more or less my girlfriend.." or something like that. I would've smacked him too if I were her. But... then again, ain't giving up on this pairing. I don't see Naruto's feelings fading just yet. 

 

Naruto and Sakura have development on both their sides. Sakura's view of Naruto were improving during part I. But right now... even the characters have noticed something different between the two. As we can see right now, Sakura's feelings for him have reached a deeper level. It's a whole 'nother level, it's different from this fluffy crush thing Sakura has for Sasuke. It's different from when she was just a twelve year old. She's a grown up now, and Sakura's development isn't centered much when it comes to power and strength, her development is focused on her heart. Sakura's still growing not only as a ninja, but as a person. And right now, THAT PERSON is re-evaluating her feelings for the other, but she isn't necessarily choosing between the two.

She needs and cares for both of them equally.. if not.. She actually cares for Naruto more. 

 

As for Naruto's side... Personally, I think he's still in love with her. End of story. 

 

And this... I LOVE THE MOST. 

"Naruto… You saved Konoha… And now you're trying to save the entire shinobi world… You always get left with these insurmountable tasks… But no matter what you say this time, we're going to be together… Not just me… We're all going to fight together this time!"

 

The reason why I underlined that is OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE OF REASONS 

Yeah... that's the end of my reply.

 

PS: SASUKARIN SHIPPER 

Edited by PinkyAndBlonde, 04 May 2014 - 04:24 PM.

[PinkyAndBlonde]

 

Well, I vented out the same frustration last year. Last year I thought that Kishi was purposefully fuelling the pairing drama to keep the readers coming which in turn made each of them ass-pullish underdeveloped pairings, that even if either one claims victory, it would look forced. That thought blowed away after the MinaKushi comment, Sakura girlfriend comment, and CPR. I don't know about the fandom in the West, but I believe in Japan, NS is already thought of as canon material whether people like it or not.  

 

Regarding Naruto not thanking Sakura, I already gave my thoughts in other threads. They already act like partners, they don't need to speak to each other just to say a greeting or two. No words need to be spoken. They have mutual understandings without speaking. You can see how Sakura healed Kakashi before Naruto asked her to, how she spoke on behalf of Naruto. She knows everything Naruto wants and most likely she would know he is thanking her without him even voicing it. He didn't thank Obito, but Sakura did that instead while Naruto had to rush to the battelfield. It is unfair, but not the way you think. Hinata just doesn't have such a strong bond with Naruto to the point that she can act on his behalf. 

 

If my understanding is right you are saying that Kishi is taking NaruSasu seriously but not taking NaruSaku as much because

1.) Kishi didn't intend to make pairings

2.) NaruSaku are forced with parallels

The above two reasons actually conflicts with your statements. 

 

In the most begining of the manga, he didn't intend to have BOTH Sasuke and Sakura as characters. Sasuke was created because the editor told him the manga should have a rival character. Sakura was created because the editor told him the manga should have a love interest. Sasuke and Sakura was created at the same time. Therefore, the reasoning that Kishi didn't intend to make pairings so NaruSasu > NaruSaku is flawed. 

 

Regarding your second thought, I agree that Kishi is using parallels to make us acknowledge the endgame pairing, where he should make us acknowledge the pair by giving us developments. However, NaruSasu is obviously given a worse treatment. Naruto and Sakura has mutual development on both sides. Do you see that mutual development between Naruto and Sasuke? At least not from Sasuke. The only reason why I acknowledge that NaruSasu is the most important bond is because Kishi has forced us to swallow that they are 'destined brothers'. This is so much more forced than NaruSaku that I don't know where you got the idea that Kishi is taking NaruSasu more seriously. And regarding SasuKarin, I don't acknowledge them to be parallels with NaruSaku. SasuKarin shares a whole lot more similarities with SasuSaku.

 

If I misunderstood any point of your posts please feel free to correct me. 

 

Sakura was not created to be a love interest for Naruto, nor anyone for that matter. She existed by Kishi's own reasons. Sakura was not created to be a love interest for anyone. The person she'll end up with is Kishimoto's decision.

 

"I started drawing the manga without Sasuke, but the story didn't go anywhere... (the editor) suggested giving Naruto a rival. That person became Sasuke, then I decided I needed a heroine and created Sakura"

 

So... It was because of Naruto that Sasuke was created. Ironic isn't it  .

 

Also... Naruto and Sakura developed even without parallels if you haven't noticed. But parallels are the point of this manga. You can't simply disregard the fact that there's a parallel for them. Not just MinaKushi. JiraTsuna, ObiRin... etc. but i've noticed there's a specific pattern here... in which the other surpasses the other.

Lets base it on their age... oldest to youngest. JiraTsuna < MinaKushi, ObiRin < NaruSaku. 

Just a thought though...

Edited by PinkyAndBlonde, 04 May 2014 - 04:59 PM.

[rikakim94]

I've noticed that some ns fans in this forum haven't been all that pro ns lately some are rock bottom pessimistic and don't believable that sakura has fallen out of love sasuke. I could understand why kishi hasen't been putting much effort into ns lately our moments has been cheap parallels and vaguenesss in which i hate. Not only that but kishi did a poor job at sakuras confession which is still discussed till this day meaning the confession isn't all that well written. 

 

I already ranted about this just to vent my frustration but i wanna know everyone's opinion especially the one who aren't feeling much love towards this pairings these days. 

 

Also to the people who reply on the post i will reply it soon.

[BakeNeko-Chan]

I've noticed that some ns fans in this forum haven't been all that pro ns lately some are rock bottom pessimistic and don't believable that sakura has fallen out of love sasuke. I could understand why kishi hasen't been putting much effort into ns lately our moments has been cheap parallels and vaguenesss in which i hate. Not only that but kishi did a poor job at sakuras confession which is still discussed till this day meaning the confession isn't all that well written. 

 

I already ranted about this just to vent my frustration but i wanna know everyone's opinion especially the one who aren't feeling much love towards this pairings these days. 

 

Also to the people who reply on the post i will reply it soon.

 

For me, my overall feelings regarding NaruSaku have not changed. The recent chapter didn't really confirm anything I didn't already suspect and I don't consider it a big deal compared to what other people -- both NS and SS -- are making out of it, mainly because I don't believe SS is 'dead'. Not because it has a chance; it never did in my opinion, but because Sakura still has yet to address her own feelings about Sasuke -- and Naruto, for that matter.

 

Kakashi is a third party, and I don't see his words implying that Sakura doesn't love Sasuke in the same way she used to as being all that different from Yamato suggesting Sakura has stronger feelings for Naruto than she realizes. Not to mention, I feel Kakashi words do leave some room for individual interpretation so claiming victory over them, be it SS or NS fans, is putting the cart before the horse. But that's just my opinion and I know it doesn't exactly follow the herd.

 

Besides that, I'm still not the least bit pleased with the direction the story has taken ever since the Sage showed up and the quality of the story is of greater importance to me than the pairings.  I just really don't feel excited about what happens with the pairings right now. Basically, I'm waiting and hoping things will improve story wise at some point, and all I truly care about at the moment is seeing Sakura get some attention. Pairings are a distant concern.

 

I will say though that the longer Kishimoto drags out the pairing drama for the sake of suspense and keeps throwing around parallels, the less satisfactory NaruSaku's moment of canonization will feel. At least to me. But then again, it seems a lot of people don't care how it's done, so long as it's canon. I can't agree with that, but to each their own I guess.

Edited by BakeNeko-Chan, 11 May 2014 - 07:55 PM.