I included
[#] in the quote so people would know what I am responding to.
My years as a Naruto fan have been shared equally by my years as a NaruSaku supporter. That means that since the beginning, I've loved NaruSaku before I even knew it was an actual pairing.
I've been lucky enough not to fall into the NaruHina/SasuSaku trap.
Why?
Because from the beginning, NaruSaku has had everything a pairing should have, such as:
-Development
-Clues and Foreshadowing
and
-That traditional manga love appeal, just to name a few.
And all the way, I've seen NaruHina/SasuSaku/Any Pairing Other Than NaruSaku as, for lack of better word...
Bogus.
I'm going to start with arguements from NaruHina. Note: These are actual arguements I've heard:
[1] -NaruSaku is cliche
NaruSaku is not cliche. Yes, the Tsundere theme is a staple of Shonen romance. That doesn't mean it's cliche. Cliche is taking the same theme and beating it to death, over, and over, and over again, in just the same way all other mangaka have. But NaruSaku has brought new themes to this concept.
Sakura is Tsundere. But Sakura is also shown, quite frequently, may I add, displaying deep emotions for Naruto. Sai and Yamato, for example, have implied many times how deeply Sakura cares for Naruto.
As well as that, we see the male protagonist, instead of blatantly trying to win the female protagonist, sacrificing his happiness for her. Naruto could've told Sakura long ago how he felt, yes, but he chose not to, for the simple fact that he wasn't capable of keeping a promise.
And don't forget; pre-timeskip Naruto has done the same, making Sakura that promise and sacrificing his happiness. So NaruSaku is not just the run-of-the-mill ''Boy likes girl and tries to win her over and girl hits boy'' manga pairing. It's not that shallow.
Besides, what can I say? Masashi is a traditionalist.
[2] -Don't forget about Hinata's confession
Oh boy. Here we go...
First of all , I see that as more of a development for Hinata, rather than NaruHina. She told him how she felt, and displayed backbone.
IMO, it's already been resolved. In chapter 450, Sakura hugs Naruto, and Hinata smiles earnestly at the scene. Those ''....'' indicate, as far as I can tell, that Hinata is happy and satisfied with the outcome. (If you find that incorrect, her smile says it all anyways)
I hope we all didn't forget our plot charts teacher showed us in school;
Rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
(But since there was no discernable falling action, we can skip to resolution.)
Rising action; when she sees Pein hurting Naruto, and Ko is trying to get her to stay away
Climax: The confession
-Skip falling action-
Resolution- Hinata's smile at the NaruSaku moment.
Ergo; It. Is. Resolved.
I'm hoping that Kishimoto doesn't throw in any out-or-the-blue forks in the plan, but as far as her confession goes, everything is resolved
And let's say, for the sake of example, it is brought up again. Hinata re-tells Naruto what he's already heard, or by some chance he confronts her;
Naruto does not have feelings for Hinata
[3]As mentioned in ch. 458 (right?), Naruto's still got feelings for Sakura. Let me ask you this; why would Sai bring that behind-the-scenes, never before seen new NaruSaku moment if Naruto's going to randomly drop his feelings for Sakura and switch, without rhyme or reason, to Hinata? If that were the case, Kishimoto would've just dropped the moments altogether.
So why did he make a new one? I could understand if he'd used an old one, then he would have just been trying to tie up loose ends. But again, he made a NEW NARUSAKU MOMENT!
[4]It would be wrong to have Naruto, the main character, end up with anyone but the one he wants - Sakura.
[5]Hearing a confession is not going to suddenly change his feelings. He's not going to be like, ''Oh, Hinata loves me? Well, jeez, now that you mention it, I love her too! I just suddenly realized my feelings for her that I've had for this whole time! Sakura who ?''
Yeah, no.
Kishimoto wouldn't (and really shouldn't) use Hinata's confession as an excuse to just drop NaruSaku and take the easy way out. That's like... that's like having Sasuke suddenly fall in love with Sakura and apologize to her! WRONG!
[6]Why do NaruSaku fans love NaruSaku?
-Their development
-Their interraction
-Their themes
-Their foundation
-And just their over all win
Why do NaruHina fans like NaruHina?
-cuz its cute and hinatas cute and sakuras a b*tch and it should be naruhina and sasusaku and cuz narusaku is laaaaaaaaame!
/Sarcasm.
Well, that pretty much kills NaruHina and SasuSaku's... already dead, in my opinion.
Please share your thoughts and offer additinal points and arguements.
1. Nailed the cliche argument. Also, see my post on the debate Thread about cliches.
2. Hinata's confession: Again nailed it. I would add many pairing fans forget character development is not pairing development. That requires development on both side. Both Hinata's and Naruto's actions were aimed at each other, but not to.
Errr..... What do I mean? Hinata's confession did not require a response from Naruto. Naruto's anger over the pain caused Hinata did not require a response from her. In fact neither got it (Naruto did not ever accept nor deny the confession, he got angry at Hinata getting hurt, but ignored the confession).
It was Hinata development (she did look pretty bad ass), not NaruHina development.
I would not argue the story theme. If I was a NaruHina fan, I would simply argue you have it wrong. Naruto going six-tails was the falling action and the resolution has not happened yet. I would also say that Kishimoto is bringing NaruSaku to the forefront to kill it and allow NaruHina to finally resolve.
3. I kinda made an excuse for the NaruHina fan about these new moments, didn't I? *whistles innocently* But I admit that is poor writing. And what you say makes sense (of course that's why I am a NaruSaku fan).
4. Naruto does not have to end up with girl he wants. Sakura is not a prize to be won which Naruto makes clear in the Promise of a Lifetime. Of course, this is just more reason for them to be together. I just dislike the argument that makes it seem like the only reason NaruSaku is going to happen is because Naruto is the main character or that why we like it. I don't think that''s what you meant, but people will jump unto that debate if you give them a chance. If they can argue against your phrasing and arguments you did not intentionally make, they will. Really, making the NaruSaku person lose is the only way the other pairing fans chance of winning an argument. Tricks like that have been done to me. It's brutal. Watch out for them.
5. Yes and no. It could possibly make him consider Hinata as an option. The change would not be immediate, but her letting actions speak louder than words certainly helps.
Except that that did not happen. Naruto did not consider her confession or her almost sacrifice except for immediately afterward. Not even a slight consideration. It seems bad writing or exceptionally cruel to Sakura to have all this development of NaruSaku on her end (unlike Hinata's confession, Sai's talk is leading directly to continuing interaction with Naruto based on romantic feelings), and have Naruto been thinking about Hinata this whole time without any indication.
In short, it could plausibly happen (NaruSaku would need to be resolved like SasuSaku had to be in [mostly anyways] 181), but it didn't. Naruto has had plenty of time to show conflicting feelings but has not.
6. Heavily disagree. I have ran into plenty of NaruSaku fans who had stupid reasons for liking the pairing. I also have ran into NaruHina fans who were intelligent liked deeper themes to NaruHina (though these also tend to be fans who tend to admit that NaruSaku is more likely, they simply prefer their pairing).
Stupid?
psh'aww
That's my reason for liking them, too! NaruSaku supporter since ch. 3. It's not stupid at all - in fact, it's very logical. I fell in
love with Naruto, and saw his crush on Sakura, so naturally, I wanted him to be happy.
And as I said before, I was lucky to be one of the people who didn't fall into the SasuSaku trap at the beginning, and saw past everything. I was like, ''Sakura likes Sasuke? Ugh, I HOPE she's not really that shallow!''
But yeah, thanks for your thoughts!
I agree. It's not stupid. I'm saying that and I fell into the NaruHina trap until 296, page 7, with the words "I will save Sasuke for you!"
Part II started obliterating the NaruHina fan inside me (especially after I learned some of my favorite parts were only filler), but this what killed, buried, and ordered flowers for its funeral.
Don't feel stupid at all for realizing it before others.
This topic is locked
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" point...If you think about it...It hasn't been much more than a day or two if not hours after the confession. Lol...another thing...I love how you try to lump Sakura feelings to nothing in part 1 as just a crush of a 12 year old...It's not like she proclaimed her love or anything right xD? Oh wait...She did...and even wanted to leave the village with him...So why not just lump Naruto's feelings in as a crush eh? "But Mike! He is still shown keeping his feelings for Sakura post time-skip bakka!" Yes...As Sakura has for Sasuke...Take off your blinders...And remove the victory flag my friend, it's far from over. 
