19964 replies to this topic

[KnS]

I'd like to discuss a possible confession from Naruto in the future.

First of all, THANK YOU for getting this thread back on topic.

I think it's very likely that this was the first time Naruto shown feelings for Sakura that were beyond a crush. I really want the truth about this scene to be told before this series ends. Hopefully Naruto will tell the truth about it while explaining why he loves Sakura.

In the official Viz English version, that panel reads, "I'm finally starting to understand what I love about Sakura..." So you're right -- Naruto knew he was well beyond a crush even back then.

Just a thought, after all it seems only right for the truth to be told. How likely is this to happen though? I still have trouble picturing in in the manga since it seems like it wouldn't quite fit. Not sure if that makes sense but Naruto as a series has never been too romantic.

Actually, I would argue that the setup in Chapter 3 is so distinct and precise it could be brought up or alluded to fairly easily without having to be uncharacteristically romantic for the series. There are any number of ways Kishimoto could return to it.



The very fact that Naruto (as Sasuke) says, "that's probably what Naruto would say" is a perfect setup for him to say the exact same thing again. Then the rest could be Sakura flashing back to the childhood moment, and contrasting how she felt then to how much she's learned and the way she feels about Naruto now.

Another thing that's worth noticing there is Sakura saying, "If [Naruto] had his way, I'd never find love or happiness... he ruins everything... he enjoys tormenting me." She has already learned how wrong she was about him, his character, and his feelings for her. She now knows that Naruto loves her and how much he has done for her sake -- at the expense of his own feelings.

All that's left is for her to recognize this past moment for what it was, and who it was, and realize that Naruto has been wanting to offer her "love and happiness" from the beginning. That could be a spontaneous recollection, Naruto could simply kiss her forehead the way he's always wanted, or he could say the line again.

It's also arguably the scene that cemented Sakura's "feelings" for Sasuke, which is huge considering it wasn't ever Sasuke.

Exactly. It makes a lot of sense that a return to this scenario, or something like it, would signal they've come full circle.

Edited by KnS, 04 August 2012 - 10:26 PM.

[Branden]

At the very least that scene establishes that the reason Sakura wanted Sasuke's affection so much was because she wanted his acknowledgement. Since Naruto also struggles to seek acknowledgement that cements his own reason for liking Sakura so much. Naruto finds it appealing that Sakura tries as hard as him to gain acknowledgement.

The way I see it Sasuke will eventually in some way give the acknowledgement that Sakura had wanted from him all along. When that's done then she can finally move away from her feelings for him. Since she got what she wanted from Sasuke she doesn't have to try hard with him anymore, therefore realizing that it was never his affection itself that she wanted.

Or another way it could happen is that even when Sasuke gives her the acknowledgement she wanted she comes to realize that even though she appreciates what he says, now what she wants is to always be recognized by Naruto.

On way or another I think Sakura's resolution with Sasuke will end with him acknowledging her.

Yeah I considered that before, but I never thought it was worth mentioning. It's just there way of gaining acknowledgement. Naruto's way was becoming hokage, while Sakura's was being Sasuke's girlfriend. Their dedication to those dreams was unquestionable. The irony of course is that in the end Naruto gained acknowledgement without ever having to become hokage.

I imagine a similar realization will come to Sakura.

The very fact that Naruto (as Sasuke) says, "that's probably what Naruto would say" is a perfect setup for him to say the exact same thing again. Then the rest could be Sakura flashing back to the childhood moment, and contrasting how she felt then to how much she's learned and the way she feels about Naruto now.

I forgot about that line. Now that you mention it, it does seem like it was foreshadowing a future conversation. If that's the case, then Kishi must have planned this scene out from the beginning so that it would contrast to a scene towards the end. If that's true, then Kishi sure as hell plans ahead.

Edited by Branden, 04 August 2012 - 10:52 PM.

[KnS]

Yeah I considered that before, but I never thought it was worth mentioning. It's just there way of gaining acknowledgement. Naruto's way was becoming I forgot about that line. Now that you mention it, it does seem like it was foreshadowing a future conversation. If that's the case, then Kishi must have planned this scene out from the beginning so that it would contrast to a scene towards the end. If that's true, then Kishi sure as hell plans ahead.

All good writers do. Even in a long series like this -- that takes forever to tell -- a conscientious writer always has their main plot points and objectives in mind, and will refer back to what they've already written in order to provide continuity. Or closure. It makes for much more powerful storytelling.

[TouKen4Life3g]

Yeah I considered that before, but I never thought it was worth mentioning. It's just there way of gaining acknowledgement. Naruto's way was becoming hokage, while Sakura's was being Sasuke's girlfriend. Their dedication to those dreams was unquestionable. The irony of course is that in the end Naruto gained acknowledgement without ever having to become hokage.

I imagine a similar realization will come to Sakura.




I forgot about that line. Now that you mention it, it does seem like it was foreshadowing a future conversation. If that's the case, then Kishi must have planned this scene out from the beginning so that it would contrast to a scene towards the end. If that's true, then Kishi sure as hell plans ahead.

I do believe he always plan on this. It's just that the manga has taken a longer road in order to get that checkpoint. Kishi has all the data he collected from his earlier works, so surely, this is one of them. The movie clearly shows that Kishi is serious with the foundation of NS. I remember previous movies have Naruto and Sakura as the main cast, if not, always appear in the movie. Kishi wrote the newest movie, and now, it's heavily focus on them. I do believe he sees Sakura as one of his most worked up character and clearly sees her as a main character. Granted that she hasn't done much in the combat zone, but she still got a lot of development. Heck, he defended Sakura from being replaced by Hinata by people's pov. I guess some of us are selfish at times.

As for Naruto's character, it's obvious he is fond of this character. Say what you want about Sasuke, but he still fond Naruto the most. So of course, Kishi wants Naruto to conquer the impossible and achieve the impossible. If he didn't, then he betrays himself. I have no worries for Kishi. He won't let us down.

[Dalton.T.R]

I do believe he always plan on this. It's just that the manga has taken a longer road in order to get that checkpoint. Kishi has all the data he collected from his earlier works, so surely, this is one of them. The movie clearly shows that Kishi is serious with the foundation of NS. I remember previous movies have Naruto and Sakura as the main cast, if not, always appear in the movie. Kishi wrote the newest movie, and now, it's heavily focus on them. I do believe he sees Sakura as one of his most worked up character and clearly sees her as a main character. Granted that she hasn't done much in the combat zone, but she still got a lot of development. Heck, he defended Sakura from being replaced by Hinata by people's pov. I guess some of us are selfish at times.

As for Naruto's character, it's obvious he is fond of this character. Say what you want about Sasuke, but he still fond Naruto the most. So of course, Kishi wants Naruto to conquer the impossible and achieve the impossible. If he didn't, then he betrays himself. I have no worries for Kishi. He won't let us down.

I read somewhere that Kishi's favorite character is Naruto because Naruto is based from hiim the most, and is a character he can relate to. So...Kishi in his own story as Naruto, and Sakura being based off his wife...wouldn't it be weird if NS didn't happen? To me it seems like Kishi would want a divorce or something if he put Naruto with Hinata...that's just me though.

[Branden]

I read somewhere that Kishi's favorite character is Naruto because Naruto is based from hiim the most, and is a character he can relate to. So...Kishi in his own story as Naruto, and Sakura being based off his wife...wouldn't it be weird if NS didn't happen? To me it seems like Kishi would want a divorce or something if he put Naruto with Hinata...that's just me though.

Do you know his wife? How can you assume Sakura is based off her?

[TouKen4Life3g]

I read somewhere that Kishi's favorite character is Naruto because Naruto is based from hiim the most, and is a character he can relate to. So...Kishi in his own story as Naruto, and Sakura being based off his wife...wouldn't it be weird if NS didn't happen? To me it seems like Kishi would want a divorce or something if he put Naruto with Hinata...that's just me though.

The only way if Kishi changes the whole story if he undergo divorce, she takes 70% possession and kids, and Kishi loses money. He might go mad and make NH canon as a huge F-U to his wife. But that's a joke and for that, I shall knock on wood. And yeah, he did say Naruto is his favorite.

[KnS]

Do you know his wife? How can you assume Sakura is based off her?

If I recall correctly, Kishimoto has never said that Sakura is based on his wife. What Dalton was referring to, I believe, is the note Eiichiro Oda (mangaka of One Piece) wrote after he attended Kishimoto's wedding:

Kishimoto-san's wedding was fantastic. The priests's broken Japanese during the ceremony was a thing of beauty. I see your wife looks just like Sakura.

[Branden]

If I recall correctly, Kishimoto has never said that Sakura is based on his wife. What Dalton was referring to, I believe, is the note Eiichiro Oda (mangaka of One Piece) wrote after he attended Kishimoto's wedding:

Assuming a character is based off his wife only based on the opinion of a person not directly influencing the Naruto series is very much a weak argument. If Kishimoto said that in a interview it would be much stronger.

[Dalton.T.R]

Assuming a character is based off his wife only based on the opinion of a person not directly influencing the Naruto series is very much a weak argument. If Kishimoto said that in a interview it would be much stronger.

Normally if a character looks JUST like a person in real life, it's pretty safe to say the writer at LEAST got the idea of their character from that person. Maybe not based, but they got the idea of that character from that person.

[KnS]

Assuming a character is based off his wife only based on the opinion of a person not directly influencing the Naruto series is very much a weak argument. If Kishimoto said that in a interview it would be much stronger.

I don't disagree with you.

However, once it became known that Sakura resembled Kishimoto's wife? That fact plus the fact that Kishimoto has admitted that many aspects of Naruto's personality are a self-insert means it's not difficult to extrapolate a NS vibe from Kishi's personal life.

He's never going to say it in an interview; if he was going to do that he might as well just spoil the pairing resolution straight up.

[Traci]

I don't disagree with you.

However, once it became known that Sakura resembled Kishimoto's wife? That fact plus the fact that Kishimoto has admitted that many aspects of Naruto's personality are a self-insert means it's not difficult to extrapolate a NS vibe from Kishi's personal life.

He's never going to say it in an interview; if he was going to do that he might as well just spoil the pairing resolution straight up.

I wonder how Kishimoto's wife looks like Sakura, though, lol, since Sakura has pink hair.

[Branden]

Normally if a character looks JUST like a person in real life, it's pretty safe to say the writer at LEAST got the idea of their character from that person. Maybe not based, but they got the idea of that character from that person.

Or maybe it was a coincidence? Not too insane to picture it. The fact of the matter is that the evidence is weak and shouldn't be used in a debate. If Sakura's looks were based off Sakura then ok I guess. I remember hearing in an interview (help me with the link guys?) that Kishi regretted not making Sakura look cute because he was bad at drawing girls. It would only make sense that in part 2 instead of trying to draw it out entirely by imagination that he would gain influence from a girl, in this case his wife. So yeah, having his wife look like Sakura doesn't really do much other then say that Kishi was smart enough to base his female characters off real world people.

Then again everything I just said was speculation, I only wanted to prove a point : It doesn't chance the series or the manga at all even if he said it in an interview.

[TouKen4Life3g]

I don't disagree with you.

However, once it became known that Sakura resembled Kishimoto's wife? That fact plus the fact that Kishimoto has admitted that many aspects of Naruto's personality are a self-insert means it's not difficult to extrapolate a NS vibe from Kishi's personal life.

He's never going to say it in an interview; if he was going to do that he might as well just spoil the pairing resolution straight up.

Good point. I must admit though, in the movie, he kind of give it away. He trolled SasuSaku big time and make Sakura feel foolish to even believe he would care, so she was sorry to Naruto for everything; NaruHina didn't get any good feedback at all. In the end, it was all about NaruSaku when it comes to pairings. Yes, parental love is the theme, but their bonds is also part of it. Nobody who went to see the movie didn't deny this at all, even neutral fan. I think he's already getting ready to expose his choice of pairing. We are getting close to the end and making NaruSaku relationship expose in a movie no less really ease his fans to understand why he chose it.

[Branden]

Good point. I must admit though, in the movie, he kind of give it away. He trolled SasuSaku big time and make Sakura feel foolish to even believe he would care, so she was sorry to Naruto for everything; NaruHina didn't get any good feedback at all. In the end, it was all about NaruSaku when it comes to pairings. Yes, parental love is the theme, but their bonds is also part of it. Nobody who went to see the movie didn't deny this at all, even neutral fan. I think he's already getting ready to expose his choice of pairing. We are getting close to the end and making NaruSaku relationship expose in a movie no less really ease his fans to understand why he chose it.

Yeah he made it blindingly obvious how much Naruto and Sakura's relationship played a part in the movie, this is solid evidence here. What isn't evidence is saying Kishi's wife who aparently nobody but Oda has seen looks like Sakura.

That said I still think we are in good standings, how about we start predicting the future? That way if one of us are spot on we can claim bragging rights.

[KnS]

I wonder how Kishimoto's wife looks like Sakura, though, lol, since Sakura has pink hair.

Maybe he met her at Harajuku.

I remember hearing in an interview (help me with the link guys?) that Kishi regretted not making Sakura look cute because he was bad at drawing girls. It would only make sense that in part 2 instead of trying to draw it out entirely by imagination that he would gain influence from a girl, in this case his wife. So yeah, having his wife look like Sakura doesn't really do much other then say that Kishi was smart enough to base his female characters off real world people.

Then again everything I just said was speculation, I only wanted to prove a point : It doesn't chance the series or the manga at all even if he said it in an interview.

Kishimoto wrote the comment (that he wasn't good at drawing girls) in an early chapter release -- somewhere between Chapter 3 and Chapter 30. I just saw that note today but already can't remember exactly where it is.

The world is full of women Kishi could have modeled Sakura on, but it appears he chose his wife. Is it speculation that it was intentional and meaningful? Yes, but it's just as plausible as your anti-speculation. And like I said, considering Naruto is an admitted self-insert the idea that Sakura might share intentional similarities with his wife gains traction.

I think he's already getting ready to expose his choice of pairing. We are getting close to the end and making NaruSaku relationship expose in a movie no less really ease his fans to understand why he chose it.

I agree completely.

[Dalton.T.R]

I can see why Kishi "based" his lead female off his wife. I did the same for my lead female, only she's based off my girlfriend. Chances are he wanted to base Sakura off a woman he knew in real life. It makes sense if a writer does that. The more you know your character, and the more you get to know the people like them, the more that character develops, and they become stronger in the story. Makes sense...at least to me anyway.

[4000TMNT]

Yeah he made it blindingly obvious how much Naruto and Sakura's relationship played a part in the movie, this is solid evidence here. What isn't evidence is saying Kishi's wife who aparently nobody but Oda has seen looks like Sakura.

That said I still think we are in good standings, how about we start predicting the future? That way if one of us are spot on we can claim bragging rights.

I predict that Naruto will reject Hinata's offer for a relationship after the Tobi battleand he will tell Hinata how much he loves Sakura, than Hinata decides to help NaruSaku become canon some type of way later in the story. That's all I got now for predictions.

[Paptala]

That said I still think we are in good standings, how about we start predicting the future? That way if one of us are spot on we can claim bragging rights.

Okay -- I say the next pairing moment is going to happen after the current battle with Tobi is concluded (either temporarily by retreat by one side, or because he's defeated and someone else -- aka Sasuke or Madara -- is the final villain. I would guess that it involves Sakura healing Naruto, hopefully with some meaningful conversation happening at or about the same time.

[Branden]

I predict that Naruto will reject Hinata's offer for a relationship after the Tobi battleand he will tell Hinata how much he loves Sakura, than Hinata decides to help NaruSaku become canon some type of way later in the story. That's all I got now for predictions.

I am really just done with Hinata. The last thing I want her to do is get over Naruto and become the leader of her clan, after that no more Hinata ever again.

Okay -- I say the next pairing moment is going to happen after the current battle with Tobi is concluded (either temporarily by retreat by one side, or because he's defeated and someone else -- aka Sasuke or Madara -- is the final villain. I would guess that it involves Sakura healing Naruto, hopefully with some meaningful conversation happening at or about the same time.

I don't care if it's pairing related or not, I just want some good interaction between Naruto and Sakura. It's just been so long since we've had any.