Nay. The correct understanding would be: Stating something that cannot be proven, does not make it fact.
I can't quite remember, but isn't there an idiom about about a black pot talking to a kettle? Maybe I am just "interpreting" things again.
"Oho!" said the pot to the kettle;
"You are dirty and ugly and black!
Sure no one would think you were metal,
Except when you're given a crack."
"Not so! not so!" kettle said to the pot;
"'Tis your own dirty image you see;
For I am so clean – without blemish or blot –
That your blackness is mirrored in me."
Though I do have to thank you for one thing. You actually brought this forum back to life a little and giving something to do for once. So in essence, you did a good thing for a bad reason. Credit where credit is due.
Thus, notably, the Main Characters, and Main Supporting Characters are visible and wrapped up at the end.
They are visible, but are they wrapped up? Not really. Not only are they not wrapped up, but they have massive problems in their lives that they give no care to solve or even address.
Naruto's problem is him being a neglectful father, a workaholic, and just downright being a horrible hokage. He is supposed to be the strongest ninja in the world and yet gets his asskicked constantly by people far under leveled and under experienced. None of these are addressed or get solved.
Sasuke is a neglectful father, a horrible "husband" (sorry, there is no proof Sasuke married Sakura since they only spent 2 and half minutes standing around and not even talking in their wholes lives), and has no care for his family what so ever. It vaguely gets addressed by Sarada, but it never gets solved.
Sakura is worst in the kittenter by being a single mom working and taking care of things alone, has no money, relies on loans, and trying to be a mother, but can't do it by herself for some reason and so thirsty for affection that I would not be surprised if they drew her with a Sasuke pillow just to get herself off. None of this gets addressed by her or even solved.
This is unacceptable and I hate yo break it to you, but the problem I see with a lot of stories and people care more about "power levels" and kitten measuring competitions in manga than realizing that real life also has social problems as well. I know you think what you think, but you're wrong. And if you think you are not well, in your own words "That is just your interpretation."
This a fictional story where they can do whatever they want. They can make these characters perfect and happy and what not and showcase how every is amazing....except they don't do that. They showcase Naruto being miserable....Sakura being miserable....and Sasuke apathetic to everything, but his boyfriend Naruto. Now, why would they show all this? What is the point? You don't just do something in the story just for doing it, there has to be a purpose. Cause and effect. And by the end, you have to solve the problem.
Here, I can solve all the problems in less time it takes for you to try and convince me that "this was the right choice."
Naruto looks at the picture of team 7 on his desk and realizes that he is missing something. Something he had forgotten a long time ago. He wants to relive the days when things were simple, better, and he could be free. Now he feels like he is in a prison. Grabbing his phone, he gives Sakura a call and asks her to meet at place that felt the most comfortable to him: an old bench from his youth. Later that night, when the streets lights turn on, Sakura walks from the darkto see Naruto already sitting on the bench kicking his feet in the dirt.
"Hell, Naruto, been here long?" she asks sitting next to him.
"Not really, but I wanted relive a few things. This place has....character." He replied drifting into the darkness.
"I know, did you know this was the first place that..." Sakura began
"Sasuke commented on your forhead?" Naruto finished. Sakura turned her head in confusion.
"How did you know?" she asked inquisitive.
"Because it wasn't him...it was me." Naruto replied looking down. "Sasuke never really cared about you. It was always me. Even now..." Naruto leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "When we were children I always had the biggest crush on you. Soon that crush turned to love and I couldn't stopped thinking of you. Though I know you had a thing for Sasuke, it always hurt to see you frown because of him. That's why I tried so hard to make you smile. Sounds silly, huh?" Naruto smiled painfully and gave a small laugh. Sakura merely stirred. "Truth be told, I regretted not telling you the truth because I was afraid and now, I feel like I gave up too much just to make someone else happy without anyone ever wondering of my own. I have never been happy sense. For once, I want to be selfish. For once, I just want someone to think of me instead."
"But Hinata..." Sakura began.
"...doesn't understand." Naruto said. "Yeah, 'she is so cute' everyone keeps saying. 'Naruto is so lucky.' Well I don't feel lucky. I feel like I am in a prison and I don't know how to get out. That prison has made me do things that I never thought I would be doing and I hate it. I hate it with every passion of my being. The truth is is that I am still in love with you, Sakura-chan, and even if you never feel the same way for me...I still love you. That's what no one understood. Sadly, not even you, but that is okay." Naruto looked down at the dirt, gave a small chuckle, and shook his head. "Do you think of me bad for saying this? What would you do if you felt like you only did what you did because people told you to; not because you wanted to?"
Sakura looked down in grief and kept silent. Naruto stood up and stretched his arms.
"Thanks for at least listening. I do feel a little better now. Goodnight, Sakura-chan. Be safe." Naruto turned and walked off into the dark. Sakura listened as is footsteps faded into the dark; a single tear falling off her cheek and into the dirt. She felt like the biggest fool in the world and she couldn't have the strength to say or do anything. Sakura gave a small grin through her tears. "All the strength in the world...and I still couldn't do anything."
Keep going with the story and you can end it by this
Naruto and Sakura get divorces and marry each other. Because that is the realistic solution. Sasuke and Hinata agree although Hinata was more reluctant and felt miserable for it, but at the same time wondered if this might be the only good thing she has ever truly done good for Hinata. A true sacrifice not for the sake of self desires or childish dreams, but a sacrifice to make the person she loved happy. Sasuke finally feels he is free and doesn't have to worry about anything anymore. Where he goes, his fate goes with him. The kids are happy again because it feels like their parents are truly themselves and while it all seems weird at first, it feels right.
And that's what can happen. It doesn't diminish anyone or tear down someone else's character. It fixes problems on the developments and might just erase some of the damage by acknowledging that there was a problem with everything.
And it is not uncommon for something like this to occur. Heck, Naruto might be revolutionary IF it went this route.
However, I know exactly what you are going to say or at least partial of what you are going to say. "This doesn't solve any problems; this is just wish fulfillment for your couple to become canon; and such and such characters wouldn't do this and blah blah blah." Basically several paragraphs of how "there is nothing wrong with the ending" and "how I am just being salty or my interpretation the "wrong one."" Yeah, I have heard it all before. I have heard every argument you can practically think of at this point so nothing you are gonna say is new to me. Well, you are half right, there is some wish fulfillment and I won't lie and say their isn't, that is not the real reason why I hate this ending. Why WE hate this ending and so much more.
This is probably the point where you try to convince me that what we have now is a realistic outcome and how everything is good and beautiful, but you know what? Divorce and finding someone else you truly love is NOT unrealistic in the slightest. Even when children are involved. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't, but the REAL sad close-minded wrong viewpoint and looking at SS and NH as they are now and saying "this is a healthy relationship." It's not. It never will be and anyone who says otherwise has either never seen how real world relationships work or have never been in a relationship that has gone horrible wrong.
I have pro-enders saying how NH got together is a realistic form of how relationships come together. Well, divorce is much more realistic and much more likely to occur in today's day and age. In fact, in real life...SS would never happen at all and Sakura would have gotten over Sasuke the first time he physically abused her...and he did physically abuse her and mentally. Any girl in this world would have immediately fallen out of said crush because men like Sasuke don't last in relationships. "Wow, he is so cool." So he is not. He only "looks cool." He is a moody, introverted, violent, sociopath and any girl who would stay with him would have to be just like him.
What is even MORE unbelievable is how supportive some of the other girls are to Sasuke's behavior to Sakura. No way in hell would any girl friend would allow a guy to treat her this badly. Hell, I see nice guys getting just put down by the girl friends just because he said hi to a girl at a bar. You want me to believe that they would allow Sasuke to beat her up, abuse her, AND neglect both her and his child? Yeah, not happening. Do you have a girl friend who was with a guy you didn't approve of because of the stuff they did and did you say or do anything about it or did you lie to her and continue to be supportive of her "choices" by saying "Yeah, he is a great guy underneath. The neglect just means he cares."
Ever heard the term "Stockholm Syndrome?" That is what Sakura has become which is HUGE problem and is deemed not healthy by psychologist.
And you know what the sad part is out of all of this?
Sasuke gets a free pass on neglecting Sakura, but if Naruto even does anything negative towards Hinata....well, then pro-enders call him a scumbag and not a real man.
So tell me, is any of this clicking or am I just talking to air? Tell me, because this is a problem in the fandom. This is a problem with the story of Naruto on a whole and especially for a series that abandoned the typical Shonen story arc or a Shojo Romance stand point. I am so sick of people denying that Naruto didn't become a shojo romance trope when Naruto the Last is a clear definition of it.
A female character, Hinata, making a scarf so the love of her life can notice her. Sounds like a Shojo romance to me and I have watched shojo like Fruits Basket
Let me ask this: How many watch Dragonball anime series for the simple fact that they want to know who Goku and Vegeta end up with? That's what I thought. Case and point. Naruto became more about the romance than it was about anything else and it was the fandom who did it because that is all the fandom cared about. Or at least most of the weeaboo fandom of it anyway and you know how you can tell which ones are them? Because they support the ending and ignore all the problems with it.
Edited by James S Cassidy, 18 August 2017 - 09:15 PM.
