54216 replies to this topic

[griff142]

She was kind of annoying in the first arc, but she really came into her own in part 2. Most people seemed to like her, but then hated her when she did the fake confession to Naruto. Still even after that, Kishimoto continued to build them up, just to kitten the bed in the last few chapters.

True she was annoying at the beginning but everybody could see her character building so it was bearable to me because I was seeing the final product, and man it was pretty nice until Kishi screwed with it.

[winter-serenade]

Well, as people say, first impressions are the most important. She didn’t leave a good first impression on many, so they just stuck with their original opinions. A Youtuber I like once said that Sakura sucked and was hated solely because of her status as the main character. I don’t agree with the former, but the latter is actually quite understandable.

[DrK]

Well, as people say, first impressions are the most important. She didn’t leave a good first impression on many, so they just stuck with their original opinions. A Youtuber I like once said that Sakura sucked and was hated solely because of her status as the main character. I don’t agree with the former, but the latter is actually quite understandable.

She's also hated because of her importance to Naruto. People dislike her based on her introduction and then they hate her because Naruto and others treat her like she's important, when they don't like her and they don't want to see her. So they don't care what Naruto wants, they only care about what they want. Unfortunately Kishi also cared more about what they wanted than what Naruto wanted.

[griff142]

Well, as people say, first impressions are the most important. She didnt leave a good first impression on many, so they just stuck with their original opinions. A Youtuber I like once said that Sakura sucked and was hated solely because of her status as the main character. I dont agree with the former, but the latter is actually quite understandable.

Completely understand what you saying there, but we also go by the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover."I agree she didn't leave the greatest impression at first but some of the best characters in any form of entertainment don't. As the story went on, we find out her character is more complex than people realized.

Like you guys said the fans found out her importance to Naruto, so they decided to never give her a second chance. I can understand if she never changed but that wasn't the case for most of the story.

Edited by griff142, 14 March 2018 - 02:49 AM.

[tricksie]

I think her hatred was also because of the writing.... 

 

In part 1, she was contrasted with Hinata, the pretty/shy/sympathetic girl. She was shown as falling for Sasuke, then crying to Naruto who then made the promise of a lifetime.

 

She got a bump in Part 2, when her character evolved, she supported Naruto and came into her own.

 

But in Part 3, the post-Pain arc, her whole story just goes flat. She gets no more positive story line, and the comparison with sweet Hinata reaches full throttle. Sakura's is never redeemed.

 

I think there are personal reasons people didn't like her — the tsundere trope being one of them — but ultimately, the story didn't support her. (Or Naruto, for that matter.) I just keep going back to that.

 

If they'd written her as powerful, devoted to Naruto, with a story arc like an enemy that she has to battle on-and-off through the last arc, with it finally culminating in a battlefield showdown — then there would be more people who cared about Sakura. Who still rooted for her. But the story made her irrelevant. So the fans who disliked her did too.

[Bryon_Konoha_Ninja]

I think her hatred was also because of the writing.... 

 

In part 1, she was contrasted with Hinata, the pretty/shy/sympathetic girl. She was shown as falling for Sasuke, then crying to Naruto who then made the promise of a lifetime.

 

She got a bump in Part 2, when her character evolved, she supported Naruto and came into her own.

 

But in Part 3, the post-Pain arc, her whole story just goes flat. She gets no more positive story line, and the comparison with sweet Hinata reaches full throttle. Sakura's is never redeemed.

 

I think there are personal reasons people didn't like her — the tsundere trope being one of them — but ultimately, the story didn't support her. (Or Naruto, for that matter.) I just keep going back to that.

 

If they'd written her as powerful, devoted to Naruto, with a story arc like an enemy that she has to battle on-and-off through the last arc, with it finally culminating in a battlefield showdown — then there would be more people who cared about Sakura. Who still rooted for her. But the story made her irrelevant. So the fans who disliked her did too.

 

No kidding, which is the most tragic thing, especially considering Sakura's role as the primary heroine.

[griff142]

I think her hatred was also because of the writing.... 
 
In part 1, she was contrasted with Hinata, the pretty/shy/sympathetic girl. She was shown as falling for Sasuke, then crying to Naruto who then made the promise of a lifetime.
 
She got a bump in Part 2, when her character evolved, she supported Naruto and came into her own.
 
But in Part 3, the post-Pain arc, her whole story just goes flat. She gets no more positive story line, and the comparison with sweet Hinata reaches full throttle. Sakura's is never redeemed.
 
I think there are personal reasons people didn't like her the tsundere trope being one of them but ultimately, the story didn't support her. (Or Naruto, for that matter.) I just keep going back to that.
 
If they'd written her as powerful, devoted to Naruto, with a story arc like an enemy that she has to battle on-and-off through the last arc, with it finally culminating in a battlefield showdown then there would be more people who cared about Sakura. Who still rooted for her. But the story made her irrelevant. So the fans who disliked her did too.

Also that is where all the writing started to suffer after the Pein arc not just Sakura's character. The last arc I consider easily the worst arc all of Naruto, that is canon. Kishi phoned it in the last few years because he just didn't care anymore. I believe Sakura's big pay off would have happened at the end, but unfortunately the lack of effort and politics ruined that for us.

Edited by griff142, 14 March 2018 - 04:16 AM.

[rikakim94]

 

No kidding, which is the most tragic thing, especially considering Sakura's role as the primary heroine.

 

Kishi definition of a herione is to make them a streotypical tsundere, submisse shy girl and a housewife incubator thats more obessed with the idea of love then any other thing.     

Edited by rikakim94, 14 March 2018 - 05:22 AM.

[KClaws_2]

Pretty much just about anybody from DragonBall is a better father than Sasuke. The only way to make a worse dad than Sasuke would be to resort to some sort of physical abuse at this point.

 

It drives me up the wall about the hatred for Sakura's character. Granted, she DOES deserve a lot of criticism at this point, but before there was usually no reason to have that kind of hatred for her. I used to think the problem was they weren't used to Tsunderes, but I see these same people enjoying other series with violent Tsunderes. I mean, why is it so bad for Sakura to hit Naruto when other Tsunderes do the same or worse and yet that's okay? No one bat's an eye when WInry bats Ed with a wrench, which in real life SHOULD HAVE killed him several times over!

Sakura should have been to the Naruto series what Kai Shiden was to the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Kai started out as a coward who would try to weasel his way out of fighting any chance he got. There was a point in the later half of the series where he deserted the White Base crew, but upon seeing them in danger went back of his own free will to fight. When a girl he loved died trying to fight off the Zeon soldiers (it's a bit complicated) he broke down crying and since was a coward no more.

Hell, there's even another example in that same series: Slagger. He was an absolute jackass womanizer. He even backhanded Mirai at one point. Somewhere along the line though, he managed to win the respect of the other mobile suit pilots and even got Mirai to fall in love with him, leaving her his mother's ring so it wouldn't be lost in space. He joined up with Amuro in the battle against the Big Zam...and died. By all means, I should have been glad he was dead, but somehow his death still felt impactful and sad.

 

Sakura had several of these redeeming moments, but Kishi was just too afraid to say no to the haters. I've even saw a youtube video of some guy saying "I've got nothing against Sakura, but I swear if she hooks up with Naruto I will choke that b***h." Really, Kishi? This is who you chose to listen to? Twenty year olds who want to assault a cartoon character?

 

Across fandoms, I have come across hatred for many female leads. It would seem that most Love Hina fans hate Naru. It seems most Evangeion fans hate Asuka. It would seem most Ranma fans hate Akane. And it looks like most Shokugeki no Soma fans hate Erina. Many Highschool of the Dead fans hate Rei, though to be fair they may have their reasons (I'd imagine she would have developed more had the creator not died). All because they are aggressive towards the male lead and the readers project themselves onto the main character. 

But you know what? The writers treated each of these characters with respect, stuck with them, and their series did not suffer because of it. The first three I listed are still considered classics that made their fair share of money, because the writers did what they wanted (mostly) and stuck to their guns. This is the problem with fan input: many of them are not writers and wouldn't know good storytelling it you explained it to them. You just stick with your guns, because the complainers/haters will probably buy your stuff anyways, even if it's only to complain.

 

It's even odder with the To-Love Ru fandom (yes, a man my age probably shouldn't be looking at that series, especially Darkness, but what can I say?"). They hate the secondary heroine, Haruna, because she was based on the mangaka's ex-wife and can't seem to separate a character based on a person and the actual person. They complained when they saw Haruna take the top spot in a poll with the fans, which again just goes to show how different the tastes between the western and japanese fandoms can be.

 

Kishimoto should have just stuck to his guns with Sakura and ignore the western fans altogether. He would have still made a profit, and I imagine the Naruto series would still sell in the west. 300k may sound like a lot of people, but it's not. Most cities have 6 times that number.

 

Truthfully, it wouldn't surprise me if many Hinata fans were closet Sakura fans instead. Weirder things have happened.

[VanitasDS76491]

Vegeta also yields and admits that Goku is better which Sasuke never does. I mean why should he? Kishi gave him a bunch of kitten that meant nothing to him. He has nothing to prove because he didn't really lose to Naruto. He brought Sakura completely to heel. Bulma stands up to Vegeta all the time. Bulma is a strong and independent woman even though she has a power level of 5. Sakura is very strong but acts completely helpless. Bulma is a hero who saved the world by having Trunks. Sakura became irrelevant. Bulma in fact changed Vegeta and he grew to care about others. Sakura had no effect on Sasuke and Naruto stopped caring about her. Nice.
 
How is the reader supposed to believe that Naruto is better? Clearly he wasn't better in the eyes of Sakura, and she was the closest one to either of them.
 
Now do you understand how pairings can kitten up your story, Kishi? Too bad it's already too late.

Weird vegeta says goku is better but goku never actually beat vegeta the both times they fought.

[VanitasDS76491]

Minato would even question the crazy character change from his son and Kushina would have screaming at her son on why he didn't choose Sakura which is more like her. I have seen Hinata fans try to justify that she is more like Kushina. Ha ha right

 
Kushina wasn't a shy girl that stood in the background. She was a badass and sadly lost/ gave her life for her child would hinata ever do that.
 

Oh agree I mean I have seen far better other Heroines than the so called great Hinata.

 
Their are so many better Heroines than hinata and most can kick her ass like rukia, Erza, Mikasa, videl, 18, Bulma probably, pan even as a baby.
 

Exactly. To compare Hinata to Sakura, take each one out of the plot and see how much it changes.
 
With Hinata gone, very very very little changes. Some plot points don't happen the same, but the major arcs stay the same.
 
With Sakura gone, everything changes. Literally everything. Naruto does not set his sights on her, he doesn't work to impress her, he doesn't flip out to save her. And this is just in the first story arc. You couldn't have Naruto, the manga, without Sakura.
 
The only people who think Hinata is important are her fans. But she's not, she barely makes a difference in the hero's life. It's a fact.

Agreed you could cut hinata out of the story and nothing would change.
  

She was kind of annoying in the first arc, but she really came into her own in part 2. Most people seemed to like her, but then hated her when she did the fake confession to Naruto. Still even after that, Kishimoto continued to build them up, just to kitten the bed in the last few chapters.

She started to get better in the chunin exams how she was willing to give up so naruto could still become hokage unlike hinata who was willing to have him cheat and be barred from taking it and losing his dream, and sakura protecting naruto and sasuke in the forest and her fight with ino is where she got better.

[griff142]

Kushina wasn't a shy girl that stood in the background. She was a badass and sadly lost/ gave her life for her child would hinata ever do that.
  
Their are so many better Heroines than hinata and most can kick her ass like rukia, Erza, Mikasa, videl, 18, Bulma probably, pan even as a baby.
 
Agreed you could cut hinata out of the story and nothing would change.
  
She started to get better in the chunin exams how she was willing to give up so naruto could still become hokage unlike hinata who was willing to have him cheat and be barred from taking it and losing his dream, and sakura protecting naruto and sasuke in the forest and her fight with ino is where she got better.

Sakura had the best intentions for Naruto at the beginning, even though it wasn't romantic at first. The more time she spent with Naruto, she was able to understand who he is and the pain he has felt. She started to admire him more and more as time went on. She could always rely on him.

Hinata on the other hand, as seen only the hero but never truly seen the type of person Naruto is and the pain he has experienced. She was never there at the beginning and we all know she wasn't, even if The Last tried to lie to us that she was.

Edited by griff142, 14 March 2018 - 02:06 PM.

[winter-serenade]

She did, in all honesty. The first part of the exam had her prioritize Naruto’s dream of becoming Hokage over Sasuke's goal to get revenge. It's pretty self-explanatory.

[DrK]

Sakura had several of these redeeming moments, but Kishi was just too afraid to say no to the haters. I've even saw a youtube video of some guy saying "I've got nothing against Sakura, but I swear if she hooks up with Naruto I will choke that b***h." Really, Kishi? This is who you chose to listen to? Twenty year olds who want to assault a cartoon character?

The real question you should be asking is how that guy thinks he can defeat Sakura in combat. It's true that the fact that she isn't real is a problem, but Sakura losing to him seems equally unlikely.

Edited by DrK, 14 March 2018 - 12:31 PM.

[tricksie]

She did, in all honesty. The first part of the exam had her prioritize Naruto’s dream of becoming Hokage over Sasuke's goal to get revenge. It's pretty self-explanatory.

Right - there are several moments where Sakura's motivation is tied completely and unconditionally to Naruto. And vice versa.  Sakura sacrifices her own potential of passing the exam (even though she is shown to be the only one who passes it on her own smarts, not through ninja techniques) and over Sasuke's dream. She's thinking only of Naruto. 

 

Same for Naruto, when he fights Gaara, to the death possibly, to save Sakura.

 

The manga could not be any clearer about her deep feelings for Naruto, even while she was crushing on Sasuke. That her connection to him was much deeper.

[DrK]

Right - there are several moments where Sakura's motivation is tied completely and unconditionally to Naruto. And vice versa.  Sakura sacrifices her own potential of passing the exam (even though she is shown to be the only one who passes it on her own smarts, not through ninja techniques) and over Sasuke's dream. She's thinking only of Naruto. 

 

Same for Naruto, when he fights Gaara, to the death possibly, to save Sakura.

 

The manga could not be any clearer about her deep feelings for Naruto, even while she was crushing on Sasuke. That her connection to him was much deeper.

Those moments are head scratchers after the ending for sure. But the Heaven & Earth bridge scene actually is offensive. Because Sakura cried for Naruto. She risked her life for Naruto when his life wasn't even in danger. Just to try to make him FEEL better. She got injured for Naruto, and is, in multiple panels, depicted writhing in agonizing pain, crying out Naruto's name. Then she lied to him about what happened so that he wouldn't have to feel bad about it. She thought only about Naruto.

 

But no, she just marries Sasuke. She wasn't at all conflicted. It's complete bulls***.

[griff142]

Right - there are several moments where Sakura's motivation is tied completely and unconditionally to Naruto. And vice versa.  Sakura sacrifices her own potential of passing the exam (even though she is shown to be the only one who passes it on her own smarts, not through ninja techniques) and over Sasuke's dream. She's thinking only of Naruto. 
 
Same for Naruto, when he fights Gaara, to the death possibly, to save Sakura.
 
The manga could not be any clearer about her deep feelings for Naruto, even while she was crushing on Sasuke. That her connection to him was much deeper.

Yes, that is why we were cheering them both on because they made each other better. Honestly that is how a relationship should work and not about obsession. Yes, Sakura had a really bad obsession over Sasuke but when you think about it, Hinata had it just as bad or if not worse because it turned into stalking, which is a crime might I add. To me she is worse than Sakura in that department.

What makes it worse is that she must have seen the looks and vial things done to him over the years but she didn't lift a finger to help him.

Edited by griff142, 14 March 2018 - 02:31 PM.

[tricksie]

But no, she just marries Sasuke. She wasn't at all conflicted. It's complete bulls***.

The ending was just a lie. A vehicle for the next franchise. It had nothing to do with the story leading up to it. You're right - complete BS.

Yes, that is why we were cheering them both on because they made each other better. Honestly that is how a relationship should work and not about obsession. Yes, Sakura had a really bad obsession over Sasuke but when you think about it, Hinata had it just as bad or if not worse because it turned into stalking, which is a crime might I add. To me she is worse than Sakura in that department.

What makes it worse is that she must have seen the looks and vial things done to him over the years but she didn't lift a finger to help him.

Right! And what's really screwed up about the whole thing is that Sakura is robbed of her character evolution while Hinata is rewarded for her obsession.

 

Sakura is shown to have had an arc towards Naruto. They had repeated interactions which built to a larger change. She matured. She grew to understand Naruto. In contrast, she had very few negative interactions with Sasuke (after he left) and distanced herself from her crush on him. Her character evolved, she matured and changed into someone who loved Naruto.

 

HOWEVER, Hinata had no evolution. She was written into scenes at the end, given speeches but few interactions with Naruto that were based on her skill. Just her love. Hinata did not evolve. 

 

Sakura's character is actually rewound back to her beginning character. All her maturity and development is lost. And what fans hate in in her, they praise in Hinata. Because without becoming the heroine or maturing or having a pivotal piece of the story, Hinata is rewarded for her obsessive behavior by getting the hero.

 

How is that not terrible writing for female characters? Hinata is praised for never giving up on Naruto, yet Sakura is bashed for never giving up on Sasuke? (And I'm not even going into the white elephant in the room — Naruto — who gave up on Sakura completely.)

 

But Sakura and Hinata are not equals. And it always ticks me off when fans claim they are. Sakura was the fully developed, evolved, central-to-the-plot heroine of the story. The fact that she does not reach her potential as the counterpart of the hero is the biggest 'screw you' to the readers.

 

As NS fans, we were expected to accept the double-standards of Sakura and Hinata's motivations, and believe that Hinata was somehow deserving of ending up in a higher standing than she should have in the story and was able to win the hand of the hero. But, like I said, it's just a lie so that they can move right into the next series.

[griff142]

The fans can believe what they want but in reality we are right and we have the evidence to back it up. If this was a civil case on who was more important, Sakura or Hinata, any respectable judge would easily pick Sakura any day of the week. They can be sympathetic towards Hinata but they can't go against the evidence and it is all over the manga. People say we can misinterpret it all but you don't waste people's time for 15 years of hinting NS without believing it would end with them together.

[jak123]

The fans can believe what they want but in reality we are right and we have the evidence to back it up. If this was a civil case on who was more important, Sakura or Hinata, any respectable judge would easily pick Sakura any day of the week. They can be sympathetic towards Hinata but they can't go against the evidence and it is all over the manga. People say we can misinterpret it all but you don't waste people's time for 15 years of hinting NS without believing it would end with them together.

This. I had a non-anime friend a few years back who stopped reading it because I told him the ending. His exact words were "Sakura is clearly in love with Naruto now. If they don't end up together, then what was the point of all this development?"