So many replies haha. Chose a fine week to be dragged down by college. But thanks all.
@ Darkest
Ok? I'm still going to have my opinion and to be honest I uh....kinda don't really want to debate with you...sorry!
Don't hate the pairing nor like it, I see it impossible to happen. Kishi has given it so much "negative" development shoving the message to the reader's face" this pairing is the wrong one and is meant to never happen". Also the way Kishi has shown to me it goes like this. SS is like a corpse that Kishi keeps on stabbing again and again when its been dead for a long. Examples 483 trying to kill Sakura twice withou hesitation (that's Kishi stabbing the corpse twice). Anyway its nice to have someone who likes both NS and SS.
I see what Kishimoto is saying (NaruSaku is portrayed as a growing pairing and SasuSaku is definitely a stalling one.) I wouldn't use corpse to describe it but I get it. Yeah it's weird but those are the only two pairings from the big three I can get behind. I mean I ship Naruto with another people but not Hinata. Never Hinata(or Sasuke lol).
Interesting thoughts. I don't see too many SS/NS shippers on this forum and as you can tell SS is basically the black sheep of the pairing family on this site. But still, I like how you try explain SS to us. I've never agreed with the Anti-SasuSaku fans who criticize SS shippers by saying "Liking SS = you support abusive relationships." That's far too extreme and as much as most of us hate SS, we have to remember this is fiction.
Thank you! NOTHING about this whole shipping thing drives me up the wall more than people accusing SS fans as being supportive of abuse simply because they like SS. It's even worse when NaruSaku fans do it because I've been accused of supporting abuse simply because I like NaruSaku too(you know...the comedy hits)!
And I hate it because it's just an assumption with no thought behind. If SS fans really supported abuse then why do they always portray and see Sasuke as much more caring and affectionate(in the best stories Sasuke is still Sasuke but I digress) and both are more understanding towards each other?
No one actually sits there and thinks 'teehee! wasn't it cute when Sasuke tried to stab Sakura? I bet it'll be even cuter when they're married'? Like NO ONE! They do not ship SasuSaku in an abusive way but a healthy way where Sasuke gets past his problems and just...yeah becomes a man worthy of Sakura's affections.
Now to be fair the SS fandom is pretty huge. So perhaps there are fans out there who find relationships like that to be their uh...'thing'. But honestly I wish people wouldn't sit down and say 'SasuSaku is so abusive! Wtf would you ship it? You all think murder is romantiku don't you?'
No a**hole. I don't.
However, I disagree that Sasuke has respect for Sakura in Part II. Aside from that smirk at his power, he overall doesn't. He doesn't hate Sakura, but he doesn't like her either. You could say he's basically back to seeing her as he did in the very beginning of Part I minus his view of her being "weak".
Oh I would definitely would not say he likes her. He should because he wants to be Hokage, but he doesn't. But I do think he has a respect for her abilities in combat and professionally.
Still, even when Sasuke gains respect for Sakura, SS won't work. Their personalities don't mesh well at all IMO and it's always been this way from the get-go. Sasuke is not a loving, warm guy. He never will be, even when he's good. And that's exactly what Sakura wanted. She was never in love with the real Sasuke. Not only did she fail to understand him, but she kept searching for a "loving" Sasuke underneath the stoicism that never really existed. That doesn't mean he can't love, but his personality lacks the affection Sakura always craved. The bench scene was really open with this. Her childhood fantasy was Sasuke not having darkness and being this great, nice guy that only acted closed-off when that was not who he really was.
I see what you mean and to an extent I agree. She's falling for(or has fallen for Naruto) precisely because he's a warm, loving guy.
But at the same time I think Sakura's feelings for Sasuke by the end of part 1 were genuine. I don't think he HAS to be the man Naruto is for Sakura to love him. I mean it kinda goes into whatever your philosophy on love is (for me, you can fall in love with more than one person, but no two people are alike get me?).
I believe Sasuke can still be Sasuke and yet show affection in a way that's slightly different from Naruto. Sure he won't be shouting his love from the roof tops nor reciting poetry every night while strumming a guitar, but he's had two parents to show him what a romantic relationship looks like (lend a listening ear, lend support, etc.) and I think the man know how to buy a dozen roses lol.
Sakura would just not be happy with Sasuke. Even if he came to love her, he would never show it and Sakura would always feel left out. She did love Sasuke, but there is not any scenario I can see her being happy in a relationship with Sasuke unless he became more open and broke down his own walls. He never did in the Part I and there's even less of a chance of that now.
And that's fine I totally respect your opinion to believe that. I just believe that he CAN show it but it'll be in a way that's slightly different than Naruto.
I hate to bring in SK in this, but that's the major difference between SS & SK. Karin is not like Sakura, who would always get so disappointed and hurt whenever Sasuke said the slightest rude gesture to her. Sakura would crawl into a ball and sulk in silence (maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but accurate). Karin knows Sasuke is not a warm individual but she doesn't suffer from it and expect there to be more "underneath". Save for when he nearly killed her, but I'm talking about Sasuke as normal and not psychotic. Karin, to be blunt, doesn't give a crap. They both have darkness and Karin never expects him to be a sweet, kind person. She loves him for him. I don't ship SK either, but the one with unconditional romantic love for Sasuke is clearly not Sakura.
True! That's why I believe SK has a better chance of happening even though it might have a chance of not happening at all! Sakura's biggest issue with Sasuke was that she couldn't understand who he is while Karin could. TO be fair, Karin went through things in her life that Sakura didn't so yeah.
But with that said, I think if Sakura did come to finally understand who Sasuke is she wouldn't fall out of love with him.
Buuuuuuut that's assuming Naruto isn't around or really did like her as just a friend. Since Naruto is around, she's going to fall out of love with him(if she hasn't already) haha.
I know you argue SS might work now because Sakura's matured and is not as submissive with Sasuke, but I disagree. There's no solid proof Sakura would call out Sasuke on his crap so long as she has romantic feelings for him. In a lot of ways, Sasuke is still her weakness. Even in Part II when Sasuke did something terrible or talked down to others, she very much took on her former role as quietly watching with a sad look. That is why Sasuke is bad for her. The only person and I repeat only person she has stood up for against Sasuke when he was at this worst was Naruto. Sasuke said far more gruesome things to Kakashi in the T7 reunion and Sakura didn't look mad or say a word. And, honestly, the fact that Naruto is the only person she was able to stand up to Sasuke could have to do with her own love for Naruto. Since she's never defended anyone else against Sasuke that angrily, I'm betting that's the case.
You raise good points. I mean in their first reunion she tried to fight him on her own, but yeah she doesn't yell at him except for Naruto. Buuuuut there also no solid proof that this can't change in the future? In my opinion, she's still a teen and still doesn't understand Sasuke(hasn't talked to him in a long while).
And, in part 1, she stayed quiet because she was afraid of making him angry and getting on his bad side. But I think confusion and disappointment is what holds her back in part 2 which again relates back to how little she understands him.
NaruSaku is far better than SS in almost every way IMO. Naruto isn't selfish like Sasuke and would always put Sakura's feelings before his own. He's the type of guy that would actually give Sakura open affection and make her feel like she was actually loved. Not only that, but Sakura understands him and similarly puts his needs before her own. She didn't do that with Sasuke. And they both respect each other but stand up to each other too when SS is extremely one-sided in that way. I respect your preferences, but I never shared SS's appeal.
Well not always haha. If Naruto feels what he's doing in necessary or if he has his own personal reasons for doing something, well he's just going to tell Sakura that no matter how worried or angry she gets.
I don't think Naruto's way affection is the only kinda of affection Sakura needs to feel (romantic) love(it actually raises the question what's the difference between how Naruto would show he loves Sakura and how Lee would show it and who's is better?). But I also see SasuSaku and NaruSaku as equal because well, they both have strengths that appeal to me and all members have their character flaws(ex: I do NOT like the humor of Sakura smacking Naruto just because he surprised her or something. I mean in 631 it was funny but in mundane situations? Not so much). But the point of a good, healthy relationship is for two people to grow together and that's why I ship both.
I think at their best, they can be great together(do note that by 'best' I do NOT mean 0 arguments/fights/unforseen situations that test their love and there is a slight threat of failure, etc). To use Sasuke as an example, I think his best is conquering his demons created by his past and (willingly) getting on the road to become a better person. This does not mean there won't be bumps along the way, that he has to change his personality, or that he'll never have a serious mentally and/or emotionally draining situation again.
And well that's what I think...
I have to go in a bit but I'll think about the other replies!
Edited by Laylo, 16 April 2014 - 06:14 PM.