Hi NaruSaku fandom my name is Alex, I wanted to write about how I became an NS shipper. Before I get started I feel I should state the fact that I’ve only caught up to episode 312 of Naruto Shippuden, I watch dubbed, and have seen every movie up to Road to Ninja. I have not read the Manga but have some knowledge thanks to many conversations with all kinds of fans in the past month and some research of my own.
I guess its best to begin back when I convinced myself to add another Anime to my watch list having only ever watched Attack On Titan up to that point. This was back in October 2015. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the show even though my friends said I should reconsider watching the dubbed version and switch to sub, I didn’t. Almost immediately after I started watching I bet that Naruto and Hinata were going to have some sort of romance. I saw a shy girl in the corner crushing hard on Naruto and silently supporting him. I wanted to know what relationships were going to build up and unfortunately spoiled it for myself. I saw the final ending couples but because I had only started I was anxious to see these characters develop.
Throughout the first part of Naruto, 220 episodes, I realized who the main characters were, what some of the main goals are and started to see what the characters where going to strive to achieve by the time Shippuden started. I was a little disappointed, at the time, that Hinata didn’t really have a major part in the beginning and even at that point I started to like how Sakura slowly started warming up to Naruto, but I thought this was natural considering they were a team. When I got to the end I saw each character set a goal for themselves that would improve them and mature them into great Ninja. I Was excited to see how they would change in Shippuden
So I get to Shippuden and quickly see more of Sakuras development in her skill and with Naruto. I liked it of course and though if they developed this much, apart from Naruto still being somewhat immature, I cant wait to see everyone else and Hinata. Immediately I realized she really hasn’t changed. I start getting into the Rescue Kazekage Arc and absolutely loved how much more importance was put into Sakuras development. She was quick to act when saving Kankuro and was brave when fighting Sasori. Sakura became one of my favorite characters at that point.
Finally it happened I became an NS fan during the Tenchi Bridge Arc. Mostly due to fillers and funny moments in the anime, I really started to think about how they were going to separate these two to make NH happen. I was introduced to Sai and off we went to see the Akatsuki spy. At this point Sakura sees the 9 tails cloak for the first time and assesses the situation. She starts to notice that Naruto is in pain. She worries for his safety and hopes he goes back to normal without to much problems. I couldn’t stop watching at this point. When I saw Sakura run to Naruto, I though wow this is the girl who hated Naruto at the start I never thought they would get this far in their relationship. After Yamato gets Naruto out of his 9 tails cloak Sakura rushes to his aid. When I heard her ask Yamato to teach her how to restrain the 9 tails I knew she had definitely developed a bond with Naruto and wanted nothing more then to protect him. The moment Yamato was about to say what everyone was thinking was when I started searching for answers about NaruSaku online. I was in love with this pairing and was kind of disappointed that Hinata hadn’t gotten even a quarter of the percent of development Sakura got. I read countless comments and info pages explaining that the Pain Arc was the beginning of NH shipping. I thought well damn I love NS now too but if this is going to be the beginning of it then I cant wait to start seeing NH.
The rest is pretty much the normal reaction every fan had. Hinata said I love you was ignored and Sakura hugs Naruto. Everything after that was about trashing Sakura making her look bad and NH was ignored until Sakura was hated enough to make NH happen.
Funny how i jumped on a ship that sank over a year ago i think now. If someone as new as me jumps on board all the while knowing full well its sunk how can Kishimoto look at fans like me and say he doesnt get it and is very happy with his ending.
I was kind of scared to join this fandom because of the bad name it had. Everywhere I looked, you tube and twitter etc, I saw crazy fans want to ban Naruto, Crazy fan sends death threats and more. NS had a bad name no thanks to things like that. The worst part is now everyone seems to associate every NS fan to those crazy fanatics who went to far. I don’t think ive had one conversation on you tube were at least one person brings that up.
I understand NS was never going to happen due to how late I am to this series but Kishimoto never gives us an honest answer to this bs that broke a wonderful series. In the end it feels so rushed that I question how any of what was said in Naruto the Last is canon. I sometimes feel the need to say more then I should but I feel like its in vain. I wish he would answer us with a solid answer and no bs. I realize now why some fans went that far but I feel like those actions made some NS shippers stay quiet to avoid being partnered with the NS fans who did all the crazy stuff.
I hope to someday understand why Kishimoto rushed to such a terrible ending. He claimed that he was tired of writing and wanted a short break but that’s no reason to just end a series. I’m sure that even some NH fans would have preferred Kishimoto taking the time to think things through rather then just rush out the final chapters to keep a schedule.
here
