I only find it weird that so many people can interpreted a manga series in so many different ways.
Well, that applies to pretty much everything in life. Some people can look at paint splatters and see a work of art, and others look at it as trash. People's own mindsets, personalities, and life experiences all lead them to see the same thing in different ways.
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It makes you wonder if any of them are even remotely correct, including ours. What does our pairing have that the other fandoms don't? What makes our the most likely to happen, and why don't many people see it like it?
There is definitely room for interpretation in a lot of Kishi's stuff, and we could be totally wrong. But on the other hand, there are definitely some things that simply are canon fact. When people start denying that Naruto's romantic feelings for Sakura were ever serious, for example, then you can say with confidence that that is wrong. Its no longer a matter of interpretation when you have numerous manga panels flat out telling you differently.
A lot of people, when they get emotionally invested in something one way or another, won't be swayed by logical arguments. This has been shown by psychological studies. People get invested into characters and pairings and then can actively distort what the manga presents on its face to match their own view. This is done all the time in life with things that we simply refuse to accept as true. For example, Person A believes women make poor leaders because they are more emotional then men. Person B presents evidence of competent female leaders in the past. Person A will come back with "well those are the exceptions, the rest are poor leaders/they were only good because they had good male advisors helping them/etc. Some people will also focus on the stuff that supports their view, and completely ignore the stuff that works against their view. The human mind works in weird ways, believe you me.
That being said, if a person doesn't like NaruSaku, they are far less likely to look at the pairing objectively and say, "yeah, that pairing does have a lot of hints/ will become canon in the end". And there are plenty of reaons people don't like NaruSaku. They've become invested in Hinata's character and wants, they don't like Sakura, they don't like the tropes of the NaruSaku relationship (tsundere type comedic romance, main guy and main girl, etc.), they only see them as brother and sister, etc.
Just because people in the western fandom don't like NaruSaku (and it really is just the western fandom hating on it to the best of my understanding) doesn't make it any less likely to be canon. What matters is how Kishimoto feels about NaruSaku, and given the grossly disproportional focus and development he's given to that relationship over its contenders throughout the whole manga, I don't think that its illogical to venture that he looks favorably on it.
The best way to make sure that you are not misinterpreting the manga is simply to keep your mind open to things that may disprove your view. Consider it critically, see how well it fits with the big picture of the manga we've seen before, and then go from there. We have a lot of things going for us that the other pairings don't have, the biggest being the huge amount of development and focus the relationship has received in both part one and two of the manga, and the fact that there have been demonstrations of non-platonic feelings from both people in the relationship (because it is a manga fact that Sakura has shown physical attraction to Naruto at the very least - there is just
no other way to take blushing, smiling, asking him if she looks more womanly, and then thinking that he's matured in appearance).
You might be right. I thought it'd be an interesting topic to discuss but it seems to be doing more harm than good. Your answer about it being a matter of interpretation could be about the best we can conclude.
Your comment truly makes make rethink of how I view other fandoms and their reason as to why they prefer other parings, so I very much appreciate your response.
I agree that its an interesting topic, I just think that its also a sensitive one that could get out of hand (especially given some of the response its already gotten you). I'm glad that you appreciated my comment - yours likewise always tend to have good points.
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Although I still think that some people just prefer a paring for their own personal reasons instead of concluding that the story builds up to it. But of course that is probably as very small minority of fans, and it can be any fan (NS, SS, NH, etc.). It not only happens in Naruto, it occurs in any kind of fictional work.
Oh, I totally agree on that. As I stated earlier, the way people interpret things are based on their own preferences, and life experiences.
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