I am honestly 99,9% convinced that we will get nothing romantic (even tragic and uncomfortable) between Sakura and Naruto.
I am sure that Sakura and Naruto will interact as friends like nothing ever existed between them. I am sure their bond will be portrayed as a very deep friendship which will cover a big portion of development in manga and label it "comradeship" so that we don't riot. Just like that Naruto will seem consistent in his will to protect Sakura and fulfill her wishes.
I think that we will get no NarutoXSakura interactions, because making a rejection scene or any other scene is like showing everyone that Naruto failed, lost or|and gave up. Which is not in their best interest.
I think that we will simply see Naruto not having any kind of attraction towards Sakura and being happy for her and Sasuke.
That way his choice of Hinata would seem honest and natural, like square one choice. I'm sure they will try hard to make it look that way.
I am quite sure that this movie will contain a generic kidnapping plot that for once will result in actual romantic feelings, not just teesing as with all those filler heroines.
At some point Hinata does something or says something that will show her as a truly kind person - something that Naruto thought was Kushina's main distinctive trait. So he will think that he has fouund the girl of his dreams.
We will actually see Naruto's realization that he indeed never knew love and finally can see it in one very special person, who actually was there for him all along. He didn't go towards the first girl who came his way - Sakura (she was the first girl whom he loved), though this won't be shown.
Just like we wished for Sakura to realise that her happiness lies with Naruto, we're gonna see Naruto do that. He will look at Hinata and realize that she is the one who will bring him the happiest future. And he will accept that there is finally one person whom he wants to protect more than anyone else. Those will be his main words, his confession.
Then we will see a bit of their future together that will be bright and happy unlike the bad portrayal in 700 that was just poorly written, not a lie. We will see Bolt and Himawari, because SP need to promote Naruto's mini-series.
Of course that CD has depressed faces. After all this movie has some tragic things happening with the world about to be destroyed. I am sure it will have some other picture on the other side of the cover. The most important thing is that Naruto and HInata will get through it together.
700 might seem a bit odd, but it is not really. Just bad writing. Kishimoto wanted to portray Naruto who has matured and became more cold-blooded like his father. That was the route he chose, because Naruto can't be a kid forever. In Part 2 he was much more mature than in part 1 and the first sketches also implied that Naruto grew up mentally even more. It is very natural that at 30-40 he is the real adult. After all this is what Sakura wanted from him all along, she just expressed author's intentions.
Naruto is not unhappy, but his smiles are just more mature now. He reads a lot of books and does his duties perfectly. Of course he drinks some, but it is not like he has a ton of empty bottles on his desk. It just shows that he is of age now. He also has cups of ramen that are meant to connect his character to whom he was before. Overall there is nothing to suggest that he violates Kushina's orders. He does everything in moderation.
Yes, Konoha seems strange, but it is just bad writing again. In reality the chapter wants to show how far Naruto has advanced. Everyone in this manga struggled for peace and friendship, so how can anyone be surprised that this is what we get in the end. We can't say that this is a bad future, because in reality New York that is behind Konoha is part of Konoha, so the economy blooms and Hokage is actually a very big leader now. He rules abpve those skyscrapers, not just little old Konoha. He is a big man.
Konoha itself is kept as it was because of its historical significance. The most important people live there, it is like a special district for wealthy ones. Of course Hokage's office is there too.
The speed of progress is meant to show how far the world could jump once all old disputes were over. In other words, shinobi wars just held the progress back. Of course it is also done in order to make a new interesting environment for a story about new generation. Because they will act as shinobi, but use high-tech tools.
The scene with Bolt is meant to show the parallel, not that Naruto is a bad father. Iruka also handled Naruto very roughly ( if you read chapter one) and he is a father figure to Naruto, you can't say that he handled Naruto wrong. He handled Naruto roughly, because he wanted Naruto to become truly strong. Konohomaru, as mentioned in 700, also did such things, even though he was loved, just wanted people to notice him. So doing pranks is not necessarily the sign of not being loved enough. Itachi also spent much less time with Sasuke than Sasuke wanted, but their relationship was full of love and respect (until some point) and Itachi was portrayed a hero in the end. Also Kishi said in an interview that he wanted to convey a lot of things to his own son through this manga. So he might have finished with such a scene because he himself works all the time and has little space for his family, he wanted his son to understand what responsibility means. We strated with this in chapter 1, so we ended with this as well. It is very conclusive, since Kishi loves parallels. Both Naruto and Konohomaru (2 pranksters) grew up to be great men, so why not take the same route.
There is nothing wrong with former shinobi having families and leading normal lives. Yes, this is not what we wanted to see in the last chapter. Yes, we would rather see them kick ass, but the author's decision is just another artistic decision. Though it may be bad, it is not ridiculous. He wanted to portray how everyone matured. And he needed to show a lot of interesting kids, because he made a contract and got his money.
The end is sudden because of the main pairings, but if we consider them just author's decisions, it all makes sense. Everything else makes sense. There are no vivid mistakes and illogical steps. It is not like Naruto is married to Ten Ten. All that has happened was possible, was forshadowed by the end of the war and could be shown like this. Yes, a lot of things were not brought up, but nothing nuclear (not like Naruto didn't become Hokage). We can argue it could have been better, there were more logical options, but it is not like we got something that could not have happened.
I am sure we will get to see everyone being badass shinobis in the LAST, which would close the holes in the soft ending.
Whew, I got it off my chest. I'm prepared.
Edited by Alessa, 17 November 2014 - 08:34 PM.
...then I saw the "/sarcasm..." xD
