Couldn't agree more, it's a shame what this shipping war has become. We have reached a point where even the most simplistic and unmistakable aspects of the manga are subject to incessant argumentation in an attempt to prove, or disprove, something that should've been acknowledged simply by interpreting the obvious.
Really, it is embarrassing to have to argue about a subject evidenced so many times throughout the manga, which is Naruto love for Sakura. Everytime someone says "Naruto never said he loves Sakura" (therefore he doesn't love her), someone in the World is killed by lightning. That's why even after this likely, though unnecessary confirmation by the Obi/Rin parallel, hardly anything will change in the fandom. It's pretty much guaranteed that the shipping war will last until the very end of the series.
I'm sure that the shipping war will last to some extent till after the series. Just today in the anti-NH FC at Naruto Forums an NH fan came in and asked if any of us thought that NH had a legit chance, that they were worried because "Kishi is known to go against his fans," and posted later hating upon my girl Sakura (don't worry, I didn't say anything). To some, if (when?) NS is canonized it'll just be evidence of bad writing. The thing is I think there is a lot of bad writing in the manga, especially the war, I don't disagree with that, I stopped reading for two years. But Kishi has always been consistent with Naruto's feelings, he has always been consistent with the dynamics of Team 7.
And frankly, I don't even mind the continuous debates. I'm fine with the attempts to prove to me that the parallels don't matter, explain to me with evidence why one thinks that while NS fit the parallels Hinata is the game changer. That's fine, there is always merit to discussions. But it gets to me when within the same discussion, the same individual claims that the parallels are irrelevant ("parallolz"), while also manufacturing an irrelevant parallel, or while predicting that Hinata will fit a parallel (ObiRin). The NH-KM manufactured parallel is irrelevant, it's based on the presumption that Minato was quiet and perhaps a bit nervous. We've seen recently that he was silly and a bit nerdy --much like Kushina, Naruto, and Sakura (and I think the nerdishness rubbed off a bit onto Kakashi, LOL). Ugh! Yesterday Chatte got a message on tumblr, that was three or four lines long in which the asker ridiculed the "parallolz" while also explaining that Hinata would be paralleled to Rin. It's like, why? Why don't you explain to me why Hinata would fit that parallel? Tell me how the manga indicates that, show me how much Hinata's near death affected Naruto (it did affect him) OR tell me that the parallels are irrelevant. Why do both? I just don't understand.
And obviously none of the above compares to the sort of personal attacks made by individuals on all the sides (yes on the pro-NS side as well). That embarrasses me more than anything, and it hurts to read those things. Whether you disagree with someone or not, those are real human beings on the other side of the Internet, people who might have troubling lives, who might be using this debate as a distraction. When I see these attacks online, to individuals unknown to us personally, I'm reminded of the 13 year old who committed suicide after she was told to do so by the mother of a peer who created a dummy account on facebook. Of course that mother knew who she was talking to, but still how many of us know who we're talking to, what their ages are, what's going on their life. And all this for fictional couples/characters? Sigh.
Oh, sorry that was long and ranty!
I think it's quite interesting to hear there are other people who do feel the same way, and that we aren't the only ones. And yeah, one's reaction it the label is definitely highly subjective, I don't like it, but my sister probably wouldn't care.
