The Hinata worship was created by the anime. It's the only reason Hinata is popular, because they elevated her to a near-goddess status, with extra animation of her manga moments and lengthy fillers of her background/side stories. If the anime hadn't happened, Hinata would not have been so popular. She's not featured in the manga, and she's not a presence in the movies. It's just the anime.
I've said this many times, but Kishimoto was not in a place to 'stand up for his own work,' because he was no longer working alone. He did what was in the best interests of the franchise, and those best interests (furthering the franchise and making money) were to switch the ending to Hinata.
Kishimoto's statements are those of someone who no longer cares for his own work. His words reflect some contempt for the fans of the female characters, because those ships were used to take over the franchise. His whole focus has been on Naruto and Sasuke, with an unfair flattery of Sasuke through his storyline of 'coolness' and through Naruto's unfailing hero worship. I could easily see Kishimoto being resentful that in the end the ones driving the storyline to the bank were the girls. Not the 'bonds' between Sasuke and Naruto like he kept shoving to the front.
It's a glaring omission that he doesn't talk about Naruto and Sasuke's choices...because then it would be apparent that the two didn't have choices in the story. They were just given an ending. (And an ending that both characters said they never wanted.) He can't talk about Naruto and Sasuke without admitting how wrong the whole thing is. So he doesn't bring them up. Ever.
In the end, it wasn't the fans or the story that made Kishimoto write the way he did...but the franchise. Kishimoto did it all for that. If he feels sour grapes about that now, well it's too little too late. No matter what he says, no matter how much crap he spouts about the characters and the pairings, no matter how much noise he makes in interviews, he can't shout down the fact that we have an entire story that tells us how it should have ended.
Naruto loved Sakura. And he never stopped. Kishimoto just tacked on a different ending to extend the life of the franchise. These facts will never change. Screw Kishimoto's interviews.
This is how I feel as well.
You can put blame on Kishimoto if you want, but I am just saying he is not the only one to blame.
I really want people to understand that losing control of your work is not an uncommon thing in the business world. No matter where you are.
Take example, read up on all the Jerry Siegal lawsuits over the rights to Superman and whether or not he should get residual or payment even if they weren't his creation.
Edited by James S Cassidy, 20 July 2015 - 02:51 PM.