515 replies to this topic

[MangaReader]

I guess wishful thinking here would be that Kishi somehow explains this "love" crisis in next weeks issue or sometime in the near future asap or even possibly an interview

[RedDelicious]

Hey everyone,
I'm back again with more copy-paste. This time, a not so serious theory, far fetched but yeah...

Far fetched; you've been warned --Click here to view--

Just thought of something while replying to another thread. I know it might be a bit farfetched.
And I apologise in advance if somebody has already posted this theory, but I really did not have time to check previous posts.


Warning: Far fetched:

Sakura could have said "but there is someone..." just to politely refuse a random suitor from a different village.

Then the guy says "The person would be awesome if you're in love with him." The emphasis is on "you". This is clearly putting Sakura on a pedestral, and she clearly disagrees with it and thinks back to Sasuke thinking she is not really that great, that all her choices are always good.

This interpretation would imply that "current" love for Sasuke is not a necessity, she is just thinking that her choice is not necessarily good and thinks of Sasuke as just an example.

That would keep the things as they were for NS, without affecting Sakura's confession.


Hope that doesn't sound too stupid. Even I am not taking this theory seriousy

I mentioned something similar earlier (post 50), with agreement by catsi and quinny, so maybe not so far fetched.

[Strangelove]

I mentioned something similar earlier (post 50), with agreement by catsi and quinny, so maybe not so far fetched.

Yeah too far fetched.

Sakura heart is split, and here we thought that she was now only for Naruto. Im just going to ask this...but what if we are the ones who are lying to ourselves.

What if Kishi has no intentions of making Sakura more of a heroic stance, and our version of the interview was edited just so it would serve our own interests?

Edited by Strangelove, 27 May 2011 - 10:24 PM.

[K9ofChaos]

I just wish Kishi does something to make all of us happy and destroys the "party" some have on next week's chapter, like Tsunade telling him something (like "how would Sakura feel knowing you're in possible danger") about Sakura and him remembering her.

That would be great if something along those lines happened.

[kirabook]

Random, but you now, I am kind of okay with this speed bump. And in no way am I saying NaruSaku isn't going to happen. If it doesn't, Kishi is either a horrible writer or a sell out.

I was pretty shocked when I saw Sasuke, but I didn't think it was a big deal. It's not anything special we kinda didn't know already. She was lying about not caring about Sasuke any more, so I expect her to be confused about who she really likes. No biggie. But anyway, I say I'm 'happy' about this speed bump because it makes me realize *as if I didn't already* Sakura isn't really the girl she used to be. NaruSaku has had development, but there has been hardly ANYTHING until now for Sakura to actually confront her old feelings for her fangirl crush on Sasuke. It's all up in the air.

If she had been so quick to go to Naruto and 'pour her heart out' with no thoughts of Sasuke at all in this point in time, it would fulfill the stereotypical 'rebound' love that I have seen NaruHina fans argue about. "Sakura couldn't have Sasuke, so now she's robounding to Naruto."

With this, we'll know that she's definitely trying to get over him, maybe not forget about him, but actually think and contemplate you know? There should be no choosing. When she finally comes around to Naruto, he should be the only choice in her mind and heart, no lies anywhere. This speed bump has slowed her down, and us down. Some people are way to extreme to actually give up on NaruSaku, it's like mass hysteria.

It may have been some silly school girl crush, but even I can remember my first crush *even though I don't remember his name*. And it was only 3-4 years ago for her. And in that 3-4 years, she's only seen him once or twice. And there has been no indication of what she was thinking in regards to her 'love'. *starting to ramble she thinks*

Basically, all this drama in Sakura's mind now and possibly in the future will further strengthen their relationship in the long run. If Kishi isn't a bad writer/sell out.

Edited by kirabook, 27 May 2011 - 11:26 PM.

[Living Lavish]

Yeah too far fetched.

Sakura heart is split, and here we thought that she was now only for Naruto. Im just going to ask this...but what if we are the ones who are lying to ourselves.

What if Kishi has no intentions of making Sakura more of a heroic stance, and our version of the interview was edited just so it would serve our own interests?

i don't thing so.
the interview is real. translated by unbiased guy who didn't care about pairings. its on Narutofan.

[primary colours123]

Hey,

I mentioned something similar earlier (post 50), with agreement by catsi and quinny, so maybe not so far fetched.

Whoa, I'm so sorry, but I did apologise in advance. I really did not have time or energy to check and I generally post at NF only....
So, Sorry *bows*.
But I should have known that whenever you have a brilliant Idea, someone else already has it. (Or even not so brilliant ones... )
As they say.... great minds think alike,and fools seldom differ
Take care.

Edited by primary colours123, 28 May 2011 - 02:06 AM.

[merryGOflava]

hmm...I read a few comments about the bench scene and now that im thinkning about it, isnt it very important that sakura knows the truth? kushina fell in love with minato cause of course she saved her and said her hair was pretty. no one but minato said that to her. well the same can be for sakura, when she heard it from sasuke(naruto) then she must have fallen in love with him. naruto kinda screwed himself up but im sure if naruto just says " your forhead is charming" or somewhere along those lines it would wipe out any doubt in her. then and so on XDD

it doesnt have to happen exactly like that but, thats how i see it at least

[Destiny]

Well. Honestly, the more I think about kishi's writing the more I think he's very blunt. And I think he more or less told us NaruHina and SasuSaku in this chapter. To have both of them in the same chapter is more than a coincidence. I haven't lost complete faith, just a little deterred by it.

Don't jump down my throat. I love NaruSaku. Does Kishi love NaruSaku? Who knows. I hope Narusaku happens, but for right now I think I'm going to ride the manga and try and not think about pairings.

On a happy note. Love Sakura punching Zetsu into the ground. (It's unfortunate that there's no more story line there)

Edited by Destiny, 28 May 2011 - 05:19 AM.

[The Tax-Man]

Well. This chapter pretty much told me the ending couples. Honestly, the more I think about kishi's writing the more I think he's very blunt. And I think he more or less told us NaruHina and SasuSaku. To have both of them in the same chapter is more than a coincidence.

Don't jump down my throat. I love NaruSaku. Does Kishi love NaruSaku? Who knows. I hope Narusaku happens, but for right now I think I'm going to ride the manga and try and not think about pairings.

On a happy note. Love Sakura punching Zetsu into the ground. (It's unfortunate that there's no more story line there)

Read previous 5 pages. 'nuff said.

[ms_archer17]

Mine too, perfect example of a western reader that doesn't understand how to read manga. It's what makes visiting forums so exasperating to me sometimes. Sakura is just thinking how colossally wrong her crush on Sasuke was. Memories of feelings are powerful things in manga, and in Kishimoto's even moreso than usual. That guy doesn't know he brought to the surface bad stuff Sakura is working through. Sakura thought she had banished even the memory of her feelings for Sasuke. Anyone old enough to have had even a past friendship with someone who betrayed them, turning out to be a very different person than you thought they were, (Or for us adults another situation- a coworker that at first seemed decent enough, but turned out to be a very hurtful person...) should be able to immediately relate to what Sakura is sorting through. You say to yourself that you are over and done with them, but it's not that simple, you've suffered harsh psychological damage, recovering from that isn't simple, and it's that much harder if you have some happy memories of them...

NHer needs to reread chapter 469-70. Naruto says Sakura was "lying to herself" not outright lying. No one says Sakura is lying about being in love with Naruto, not even Naruto, in fact Naruto is accepting of her being in love with him by chapter 470, he just thinks she is still fangirling over Sasuke as well. Sai makes it clear that's it's memories of her feelings about Sasuke that Naruto is sensing, that who brings joy to her heart is Naruto. Kishimoto said point blank Sakura was being 100% truthful about being in love with Naruto and believing that she had banished even the memories of feelings for Sasuke from her heart. Like I said above, the later isn't so easy to do. One only has to look at the Sanin. Tsunade never had any kind of attraction to Orochimaru at all- and came to dislike and distrust him long before Hiruzen and Jiraiya did. Tsunade says she "never liked or trusted" Orochimaru, but she was in the same denial Sakura was about her memories of her feelings. Tsunade never really had to face her denial like Sakura did, but when Orochimaru was killed it was obvious the team mate bond was still there concerning him for both Tsunade and Jiraiya, and in her last conversation with Jiraiya it was Tsunade who brings up a fond memory of Orochimaru and themselves as Genin. This is after years and years and with much less emotionally entangled feelings connected to it.

Sakura is feeling deeply ashamed, thinking her powerful memories of feelings means something is seriously wrong with her, memories of old feelings of love are especially painful and hard to work through, she may even think with self-loathing that she still harbors feelings for someone who never liked her, someone who has turned into someone basically completely consumed by the darkest evil, Kakashi's comments to her certainly didn't help alleviate her anxiety, he really should have been clearer, but Kakashi has his own intense bonds to his old favorite student- his threat was empty and Sasuke knew it even before Kakashi uselessly tried to reason with a person willingly embracing a very violent psychosis. That's why Sasuke was completely contemptuous to Kakashi. Note, he wasn't that way to either Naruto or Sakura. Sakura he knew was a threat, if not now, she was very close to being able to kill him to protect Naruto, save the world, and save Sasuke from himself- like a rabid dog . Naruto though, was the only one Sasuke actually listened to, the only one who did get through to him.

Sakura has chosen Naruto and loves him with all her heart entirely separate from what she's sorting through about Sasuke

+ 1,000,000

thank you!! this definitely sorts everything out for me.
can't wait for the next chapter.

[James S Cassidy]

Well. Honestly, the more I think about kishi's writing the more I think he's very blunt. And I think he more or less told us NaruHina and SasuSaku in this chapter. To have both of them in the same chapter is more than a coincidence. I haven't lost complete faith, just a little deterred by it

It's never that simple.

I don't really recall Kishimoto being "blunt" about anything. When it came to the relationships, he has been everything, but blunt.

Hell, we all knew the 4th Hokage was Naruto's father, but it took what....over 500 chapters for Kishimoto to finally confirm this. So "blunt" is not his style when it comes to character development.

[Codus N]

I've said it before, but I think a lot of people are really jumping to conclusions with this one panel. As you said, the fact of the matter is she's thinking of Sasuke. And of course, SS fans are coming to the conclusion that she is thinking of him because she loves him and always will.
But here's the interesting part. After the Iron Country fight, SSers were taking Sakura's line about Squad 7 having a happy ending as a sign that she believes Sasuke will come back, and she had come terms with loving him. This panel clearly shows otherwise. Take it at face value, and she's distressed about having feelings for him. She's not thinking, "Sasuke-kun, I believe you are great deep down." or "I believe you can bring him back, Naruto." She's frowning, and thinking of an evil man, full of malice and hate.
So if we take it at face value, here's what we get: Sakura claims to love Sasuke, but she herself is bothered by it. So both NS are SS have been taken back a few steps. Sakura hasn't come terms with loving Naruto like we want, but she hasn't completely come to terms with loving Sasuke like SS wants. So basically, all this proves is that Sakura's previously established love for Sasuke is still there, but is causing her grief.
And like people have been saying earlier, some things should be taken at face value. Whether or not this one interrupted scene is one of those, I think it's too early to say. But let's go back a couple arcs to Yamato's unfinished sentence at the Tenchi Bridge. If we take that at face value, what is he implying? Either we should take everything at face value, or we should analyze everything. As a previous poster said, don't read the manga through a straw. This manga should be read while considering the broad context of these characters' relationships, which is what I think most of us here are doing, regardless of bias.
I do agree with your assessment, and there's nothing wrong with playing devil's advocate after scenes like this. It's just I personally believe one panel shouldn't really shake NS's foundation as much as people are acting like it has.

And of course, SS will always have a possiblity of happening. It's one of the reasons why shipping debates are so frustrating. Noone can prove anything as 100% fact on any side. For all we know, Naruto will marry Ino, Sakura will marry Lee, and Sasuke and Sai will get together.

Thank you. Finally, someone who understands what I'm trying to say. But I will have to repeat one thing. The Sasuke image could be interpreted as Sakura wanting to save Sasuke. She's sad about not being able to save him from the darkness. But next time, she won't fail. That's how I see it from another POV. Which, sadly may very well be true.

your still not listening to anybodys opinion.

we know shes loves sasuke BUT she regrets it and doesn't like it
a great guy? was he ever to her? lol. thats the point. rolleyes.gif

SS is really not possiblilty you need to look at past development. Sasuke has NEVER shown to be interested in sakura for him to love her would be out of character. i agree with you on that.

Read the fine print on my posts. I agreed, along with Nate, that everyone else's opinions' here are plausible and I'd like to believe that. But like Nate said Kishi's not giving me the feelings he wanted to convey (if he had). That's how I feel about the panel. That's why I'm having a hard time believing everyone else's opinions.

I just wish Kishi does something to make all of us happy and destroys the "party" some have on next week's chapter, like Tsunade telling him something (like "how would Sakura feel knowing you're in possible danger") about Sakura and him remembering her.

Now, THAT would be excellent.

i don't thing so.
the interview is real. translated by unbiased guy who didn't care about pairings. its on Narutofan.

Hey, it's the internet, you never know.

[Living Lavish]

Thank you. Finally, someone who understands what I'm trying to say. But I will have to repeat one thing. The Sasuke image could be interpreted as Sakura wanting to save Sasuke. She's sad about not being able to save him from the darkness. But next time, she won't fail. That's how I see it from another POV. Which, sadly may very well be true.




Read the fine print on my posts. I agreed, along with Nate, that everyone else's opinions' here are plausible and I'd like to believe that. But like Nate said Kishi's not giving me the feelings he wanted to convey (if he had). That's how I feel about the panel. That's why I'm having a hard time believing everyone else's opinions.



Now, THAT would be excellent.




Hey, it's the internet, you never know.

she does want to save him hes part of team 7 and big part of her life regardless of anything else anyway.

At this point it's anybody's guess as to which direction Kishi will take when it comes to Sakura and her conflicted feelings. She is a very bright girl (book smart) but when it comes to love she has a VERY slow learning curve. It wasn't until the Kage Summit Arc, when Sai revealed Naruto's feelings to her, did she finally start to seriously question and reevaluate her feelings for Sasuke for probably the first time. Now in this current arc a total stranger has indirectly forced her to once again seriously question her feelings for Sasuke and think about whether this feels RIGHT.

makes sense in context. she loves him but she realized those weren't something she could be proud of, nor does it feel right. She doesn't want to love him anymore and that and Nate post agrees on that.

[Manara]

Kishimoto said point blank Sakura was being 100% truthful about being in love with Naruto and believing that she had banished even the memories of feelings for Sasuke from her heart. Like I said above, the later isn't so easy to do.

wait, where Kishimoto said this? Or is this an interpretation of that interview he said only that "wanted to portray an honest girl?


For me, being short, sakura still confused (or at least, continued to be portrayed as confused by Kishimoto) for a long time.

After all, if Naruto loves Sakura (and this is an indisputable fact) and Sakura love Naruto. No more romantic plot, no more shippers. Sakura and Naruto will do what now? Dating?

I think we were being too excited here. I really believe in NaruSaku and I think in the very end they will stay together (something like Fullmetal Aalchemist). I have barely posted in this forum because I am spending my time preventing the Brazilian fandom crumbling. Many people still NaruSaku because of my blog and intervention in communities.

However, let's be a little less naive. The pressure of SasuSaku and NaruHina fandons is very large. They are much bigger than us. And at least Kishimoto needs to keep them following the plot until the end.

Mine too, perfect example of a western reader that doesn't understand how to read manga. It's what makes visiting forums so exasperating to me sometimes.

Perhaps Ciardha is right. And we're just Westerners who understand nothing of Japanese culture. Especially because here in Brazil, who decides "who gets whom" in our novels is none other than the public. After all, no author wants to lose audience and therefore money.

However I would love very much to believe that things are different in Japan.

[primary colours123]

Hello,

Mine too, perfect example of a western reader that doesn't understand how to read manga. It's what makes visiting forums so exasperating to me sometimes. Sakura is just thinking how colossally wrong her crush on Sasuke was. Memories of feelings are powerful things in manga, and in Kishimoto's even moreso than usual. That guy doesn't know he brought to the surface bad stuff Sakura is working through.

NHer needs to reread chapter 469-70. Naruto says Sakura was "lying to herself" not outright lying. No one says Sakura is lying about being in love with Naruto, not even Naruto, in fact Naruto is accepting of her being in love with him by chapter 470, he just thinks she is still fangirling over Sasuke as well. Sai makes it clear that's it's memories of her feelings about Sasuke that Naruto is sensing, that who brings joy to her heart is Naruto. Kishimoto said point blank Sakura was being 100% truthful about being in love with Naruto and believing that she had banished even the memories of feelings for Sasuke from her heart. Like I said above, the later isn't so easy to do. One only has to look at the Sanin. Tsunade never had any kind of attraction to Orochimaru at all- and came to dislike and distrust him long before Hiruzen and Jiraiya did. Tsunade says she "never liked or trusted" Orochimaru, but she was in the same denial Sakura was about her memories of her feelings. Tsunade never really had to face her denial like Sakura did, but when Orochimaru was killed it was obvious the team mate bond was still there concerning him for both Tsunade and Jiraiya, and in her last conversation with Jiraiya it was Tsunade who brings up a fond memory of Orochimaru and themselves as Genin. This is after years and years and with much less emotionally entangled feelings connected to it.

Sakura has chosen Naruto and loves him with all her heart entirely separate from what she's sorting through about Sasuke

Um... I don't think so being a western or eastern reader had anything to do with the interpretation of this particular chapter. I am from Asia, and still, my first impression was "WTH! Sasuke again?" Only later when the initial hype of the chapter died down, and I was too tired to be angry did the other, more fitting to the entire theme (and the Naru-Sakuness of part two) explanation came to my mind.
Yes, though I agree that interpretations of a few scenes, like the 450 hug scene, or 469 confession in front of everyone scene would differ by the culture of the readers.
As for Mr. Kishimoto's statement, I don't know.
I know the translation is correct, (heard it from an anti-NS, anti-Sakura fan) but still, somehow, I don't believe he would be that open about his end pair when he tries his best to keep things ambiguous in the manga. Being from a conservative culture, maybe even more than Japan, I know that Sakura loves Naruto. But still whenever any such scenes happen, Mr. Kishimoto successfully makes me doubt.
And then I get over it in a few hours.
Take care

[Manara]

Hello,

Um... I don't think so being a western or eastern reader had anything to do with the interpretation of this particular chapter. I am from Asia, and still, my first impression was "WTH! Sasuke again?" Only later when the initial hype of the chapter died down, and I was too tired to be angry did the other, more fitting to the entire theme (and the Naru-Sakuness of part two) explanation came to my mind.
Yes, though I agree that interpretations of a few scenes, like the 450 hug scene, or 469 confession in front of everyone scene would differ by the culture of the readers.
As for Mr. Kishimoto's statement, I don't know.
I know the translation is correct, (heard it from an anti-NS, anti-Sakura fan) but still, somehow, I don't believe he would be that open about his end pair when he tries his best to keep things ambiguous in the manga. Being from a conservative culture, maybe even more than Japan, I know that Sakura loves Naruto. But still whenever any such scenes happen, Mr. Kishimoto successfully makes me doubt.
And then I get over it in a few hours.
Take care

I have a great tendency to take a stance very similar to yours.

moreover, was a post from you that I calmed me down during throughout the DRAMA. (Then I have to thank: Thank you!)

I still believe in a final NaruSaku, but I believe we will suffer enough before this occurs.

[Codus N]

she does want to save him hes part of team 7 and big part of her life regardless of anything else anyway.

At this point it's anybody's guess as to which direction Kishi will take when it comes to Sakura and her conflicted feelings. She is a very bright girl (book smart) but when it comes to love she has a VERY slow learning curve. It wasn't until the Kage Summit Arc, when Sai revealed Naruto's feelings to her, did she finally start to seriously question and reevaluate her feelings for Sasuke for probably the first time. Now in this current arc a total stranger has indirectly forced her to once again seriously question her feelings for Sasuke and think about whether this feels RIGHT.

makes sense in context. she loves him but she realized those weren't something she could be proud of, nor does it feel right. She doesn't want to love him anymore and that and Nate post agrees on that.

Sorry about that, but what I meant was that by saving him he'll fall in love with her. Sorry, I should've been more clear. (Remember, this does not MEAN I'm supporting SS. I'm only trying to explain how SSers would see it)

[Living Lavish]

Sorry about that, but what I meant was that by saving him he'll fall in love with her. Sorry, I should've been more clear. (Remember, this does not MEAN I'm supporting SS. I'm only trying to explain how SSers would see it)

lol @ you believing this your very naive.

its been explained and forshadowed a million times in the manga NARUTO is the only one who understands him and the only one who can get throught to him.
he we actually pull him out the darkness and save him. Sakura knows this better then anybody.

and hes not interested in her at all! he never was before and will never will. to they expect her to forget about what happened with her and Naruto is madness.
Sakura simpely has stronger feelings for Naruto we seen when shes sacrificial. there bond is stronger then anybodys besides narusasu.

bringing back Sasuke, Sakura will choose Naruto hints throughtout the manga is telling us this.

SSers seem to be deluding themselves and not looking at the manga as a whole.

Edited by Living Lavish, 28 May 2011 - 03:10 PM.

[ciardha]

wait, where Kishimoto said this? Or is this an interpretation of that interview he said only that "wanted to portray an honest girl?

No, in reply to the comment that Sakura was lying about being in love with Naruto, he said "On the contrary I was portraying an honest and surprisingly determined girl." (I see the Sakura bashers are at it again with attempting to spin Kishimoto's words to not sound as definite... So yeah- real simple Kishimoto said Sakura was being 100% honest about being romantically in love with Naruto and believing she had eliminated even any remnant of any feelings she had for Sasuke, even the team mate bond


(Noticed his annoyed comments about the Sakura bashing letters that praised Hinata to the skies and how he mocked that has conveniently been forgotten by Sakura bashing fans too...)

Perhaps Ciardha is right. And we're just Westerners who understand nothing of Japanese culture. Especially because here in Brazil, who decides "who gets whom" in our novels is none other than the public. After all, no author wants to lose audience and therefore money.

However I would love very much to believe that things are different in Japan.

It is very different. Writers decide who the couples are in Japan. The stories ultimately belong to the writer, not the publisher. As soon as the series ends, a Japanese writer can request all rights go back to themselves. The publisher only shares the rights while the story is being published. The story is the writer's creation, editors can only advise a writer, and even they know better to waste time on something like romantic pairings- especially in shonen manga. Editors are much more likely to focus on things like suggesting a writer do a storyline with support characters to develop them more if the manga is popular like Naruto (which the editors did do with Team Taka), or suggesting that when certain plot points happen could be shifted around to make the story have even more impact- it makes the manga last longer without taking away from the writers main storyline.

Japanese culture isn't the same as Chinese, Korean, etc... (Even in comics, that comes out. Chinese comics for guys tend to be more action orientated, romances are definitely just subplots, the females tend to be mostly fighters too. In Korean manhwa female characters tend to be much more traditional than in Japanese manga, and they seem to mostly be some kind of fangirl for a male character, girls that aren't seem to get punished in some way in a lot stories for being too strong willed.)

I'm shaking my head about people so determined to see any pro sasusaku in those panels. The guy is fanboying her and saying any person she's ever loved must be a good person- he's not just harboring a simple attraction like the way it sounded last chapter where her reaction was a neutral polite rejection about already being in love with someone. She sees now from his words the guy is putting her on a pedestal and worshiping her without knowing anything about her personality or background at all. He just finds her attractive and he knows she's very talented and believes he's in love with her just based on that- the exact points that Sakura crushed over Sasuke about. It was a painful and depressing reminder of her really dumb mistake in crushing on Sasuke. She looks sick and depressed, not in love.

People that are inclined to have a negative take on Sakura no matter what will read it as proof that their negative opinions are right (same thing happened when 469 came out) Some people who call themselves narusaku fans are of that type. For them I wonder if it's just they are Naruto fans that just say they are narusaku because Naruto is in love with Sakura. In actuality they don't like Sakura, and that type writes or likes what they call narusaku fanfiction that bashes Sakura and punishes her in some way before they award her to Naruto.

This is not how Kishimoto wants you to see Sakura. He wants you to relate to her as a reader- more than any other character (even Naruto), he wants you to like her, to see her struggles to grow and become a strong person and ninja and relate it to your own life. Sakura is meant to be the readers window into this world. (he's following Takahashi's pattern in shonen manga here- Akane plays that role in Ranma 1/2, and so does Kagome in Inuyasha)

Edited by ciardha, 28 May 2011 - 03:11 PM.