elishalicious

Exactly, that's why it urks me to no end when I come across Anti-Sakura rants from those pro-end supporting anime reviewers on Youtube. (I forgot their names, nor do I care to remember them.) Especially back when the original manga ended. Of course, they wouldn't heavily address the wrongs of the series concerning plot, inconsistencies, regression of everybody, loss of themes, etc. They praise everything else to a certain degree and don't see much of a problem with what happened to Naruto as a whole. Yet, they have such a big problem with Sakura, posting ten minute rants about all of her character inconsistencies and "uselessness" as if SHE was the one who ruined this series. i don't mind criticism of any character and I can agree to some arguments if they are valid, but if SAKURA/NS is the only one you hate on with the same tired arguments, that's when I simply don't trust your point of view and credibility. 

 

They hate Sakura. Yet, they want Hinata to have her qualities (Her determination, her growing of power through hard work, her place in team 7, her slot as main heroine/love interest.) Interesting.

 

Like the time I visited Watchmojo's top 10 anime girls where Sakura was on the list and there were so many Hinata fans whining about her being on the list, instead of Hinata. I'm like, "What??". What did Hinata do as heroine that was so significant that it COMPLETELY outshines Sakura as a heroine, other than her "great love" for Naruto and her "loving" him first? Did Hinata save people (other than Naruto) like Sakura did? Did Hinata change herself for the better for herself, her clan, and OTHER people (other than for Naruto)? I understand Sakura's inconsistencies, Kishimoto's lack of caring, her unhealthy love for Sasuke (In KIshimoto's words) that ruined her character, but the aspect in her early growth was that she cared for people greatly. She was not perfect, but her development involved growing stronger for herself and others and caring for others, Naruto, Sasuke, and her village. She carried the dynamic of Team 7. During the Sakura and Chiyo vs. Sasori arc, Sakura literally took a STABBING for Chiyo! She conducted an antidote that saved Kankuro's life!  In some movie or filler arc, she stopped this caterpillar thing to save a child! She manually pumped the heart of Naruto to save his life! She became a great medical ninja through quiet determination.That is what I call a HEROINE!

 

A heroine, to me, is the mirror of a hero. They struggle, fight, emphasize, change, adapt, and evolve for the betterment of others that they care for. We actively see their developments and growth throughout the story. They earn their strives not through popularity as a character and/or as a last second love interest, but through natural intended story progression.Which is what we saw of Sakura throughout fifteen or so years of the story.

 

Hinata did nothing to amount to that level of selflessness as a character. You don't do heroine like things merely just for a MAN she hardly had interaction with but for the betterment of others! Yet she gets praised as the goddess of this series? That growth Sakura shown in early to mid Shippuden was the REASON why she was on that list back in 2011/2012! That's why I laughed at all the sakura hater comments. Because no matter what, they can't change Sakura's right to be on that list! Her character EARNED that sht, regardless of the ruining of her character towards the end. 

 

If they had to dim Sakura's light so hard just for Hinata to shine, that just means that Sakura was in fact the intended heroine and a main character from the start. Not the side character like Kiba (which is laughable because that is exactly what Hinata is/was.). I'm laughing at Kishimoto right now because this is just ridiculous. 

Not to stir much off topic, but due to all the Sakura hate pandering from Kishimoto's interview and NH feedback, I've always wondered, what do the so called pro SS fans think on the Sakura hate? Are any of them genuinely defending her character? NH fans always favor and defend Hinata as a character, do the SS fans do the same for Sakura? Do you think they truly care about her or do you think they just care for Sakura as a self-insert to get with Sasuke?

Just more bs to cover up to please the pro-ending fans, and to convince everyone that they were "right". Too many contradictions/holes in his statements. Very sad. 

This might be my first reply on here......

 

I have to say I absolutely agree with Nicholas. Personally, I'm not looking forward to anything Naruto/Burrito related. I'm not looking forward to it whatsoever and I refuse to, and I'm especially not wanting NS to actually happen now in a series that turned to utter turmoil for various reasons.

 

Why? Because I believe that the characters that I use to admire and cherish as a little kid are no longer considered characters to me. Towards the end of the manga, these characters no longer serve a function on having their story truly come complete. All of the characters in the end just serve a purpose of delivering some sort of fan service to the wide fan masses. The amount of how much and how much milking the character can receive, ultimately depends on their amount of popularity they obtained and how much money they can generate from said popularity and/or who they are paired with. It doesn't matter if their motivations, developments, journeys, morals, and/or interactions are terribly downgraded, spat on, and turned hypocritical. What matters to the wide masses is truly what matters to the story. And from what I've seen, it isn't mostly quality story telling and true character progression what the majority desires for. Or rather, some fans have their own distorted view of what quality story telling and true character progression looks like. What matters to some consists of who gets to bang who, why said person deserves to bang who, and lazy story/character closings that have too much holes that some fail to see the bigger picture.

 

That's why I think people say that the current Naruto and Sakura are not the true Naruto and Sakura. They are just caricatures of their former selves who in the the later parts of the original manga and finale, were molded into distorted version of characters that they either were never shown as before or were shown to progress against in various parts of the story, but were later regressed to something that is beyond unapproachable. This character derailment combined with lazy story closings or rather little to none closings at all, to weak resolutions, to hypocritical story themes, and etc are all purposed so it can pander to the majority fan's wants. (Or rather, what they BELIEVE what the majority fans in the US wanted.) Now, NH and SS happened because that is what they believed the majority fans wanted to happen. Does it matter how it was executed? Eh, to some, of course. I'm sure there are plenty of fans of those pairings who are sure disappointed at how they came out at the end, as I don't like to generalize. But at the same time and like I said before, there are a lot of fans who don't care how it happened, how it was written, and the negative contributions it did to the story. It happened and that's all they care about. It doesn't matter how Naruto became the opposite of what he use to stand up for or he became a "child of prophecy" or how he demonstrated little real change to the system. He is finally slapped with the title as hokage, made a family with hinata who he regularly is absent for despite yearning for a family all his life, and that's about it. Does it matter how all of this is a contradiction to his original character background? It doesn't. All that matters is what the majority fans wanted. I guess the end pairings are more significant than the writing itself.  I'm not even going to talk about Sakura's regression because that is another paragraph to write in itself. Now, everybody gets to poop out a kid like they had bad taco bell for lunch so they can supply for the next generation. Naruto's end is used to pander to Burrito's background for drama purposes. It is to give Burrito a story line. As readers and fans, are we suppose to content with that? 

 

This story has truly turned from a theme of refusing to accept fate, providing true change and resolution to the world, and fighting back with your beliefs to a theme of acceptance, fighting back on your OWN beliefs, no initiation of true change and resolution, and that fate will always find its way back to you. 

 

NS was indeed special. Not only because the story wrote NS all on its own, but because we saw the two individual characters grow together. There was an appreciation and fondness for both characters and their own bond. And now with this ending, the horrible writing has spat on their bond and who they were/about to become. It proved in the end that their relationship held little to none significance, just depicted as two teammates who wanted Sasuke back and that's it. Everything is retconned and destroyed to make it seem like Naruto and Sakura never had real attachment and that their only true attachment was with Sasuke and Hinata. All of what they felt for each other throughout the manga was spat on and accused as being a false depiction, even stating that Naruto's love for Sakura has always been really just for a cheap "rivalry" with Sasuke. Which is a pathetic reasoning beyond belief. Their relationship and characters (Sakura's character, definitely) were both spat on to fit a mold of what the majority fans wanted in the end (NH/SS). Why would I want NS now when Kishimoto/Studio Perriot/etc did the job on providing the saliva? No matter how much I could want it, what would a divorce of NH and SS/NS and SH confirmation really bring to a story that is already destroyed? What would a divorce of NH and SS/NS and SH confirmation (or rather, any other pairing that didn't happen in the end) really bring to a story that already destroyed its characters? What would it solve? What would it resolute, because there are countless things that are wrong with this ending? A divorce is not even a plausible option in this type of story. What's done is done. And even if they decide to do something that wants to bring the NS/SH/SK/etc fans back to the atmosphere, best believe they will do it in a cheap way through Burrito and Salad. That's all they would do. They don't care about the NS/SH/SK/etc fans. Their only demographic they choose to worry about is their main money grabbing source, and that is their hardcore fans, SNS, and NH/SS. 

 

An NS/SH confirmation after the end pairing divorces is not a true resolution to this train wreck. I'm not saying this in means of me not being a "real NS fan", that I lost hope, or that I'm "weak minded", I'm saying this because if Kishimoto or the overall marketing of Naruto decide to some NS pandering, they will cheapen it in the worst way possible through Burrito/Salad like how NH/SS was executed. And I don't want NS to happen now of all the times they could've made it canon all just to say, "Hey! My pairing happened too!". Kishimoto had his chance and he blew it big time. 

 

This ending and storytelling has no resonance and resolution to me. Not just because NH and SS happened, but how everything of the story was executed and the countless merits of storytelling lost. Overall, this ending is horrible and changing the end pairings as a cheap way to bring back some fans and risking the hardcore ones in exchange, will not satisfy me in any way. I'm not trying to discourage anybody for wanting to read Burrito and/or wanting NS to happen. You do what you want to do. But, I will say this.

 

Kishimoto/Studio Perriot/etc handed me a raisin cookie when I was told I would get chocolate chip. Now, they're trying to hand me a chocolate chip when I was lied to and was given raisin the first time? I don't want it and I'm not eating either.

Wassup my homies. Hello? Uh hi? Hello everyone! ^_^ With the making of this post, I decided to come out of my shell, retire from my years of professionally lurking, and register for a site that has not only provided me much insight, but support and security. This site has been a safe haven for me to go on for awhile now, even before the ending of Naruto to be honest. Growing up with my two older brothers, we had a growing love for Toonami/Cartoon Network and all the classic tv shows/cartoons/animes that it showcased. Naruto has been one of the animes that I held close to heart, because as a young child, I felt so compelled of the underdog story of a boy who fought to rise above his condition. Or at least that's what my perspective was. Also for the majority of the manga, I felt that I was always a neutral fan. I never shipped anything at first, because the characters were too young and I was too young. Though I have to say, I use to dislike Sakura and I always hated SS with a burning passion. But when the end of Part I/Part II came along, I saw the character development of Sakura and the mutual growth of the relationship of Naruto and Sakura. It was inevitable to deny. There were so many components of their relationship. I mean, we saw them work together. We saw them laugh together. We saw them striving together for a similar goal and how they both affected each other both positively and mutually. Which is something that the other pairings didn't have. NS was written in itself among the story. My fondness of both Sakura/NS grew, even if I considered myself a neutral fan.

 

Over the years, I began to lose touch with Part 2 within the middle and fell behind many episodes, especially around 2011-early 2014. When the ending of Naruto came in late 2014, I was so confused and happy at the same time. Confused because I was like, "Woah, I didn't know Naruto ended! I thought it would never end!" and happy because I would finally get the chance to see the ending of the anime that I grew up with. However when the final chapters came, I truly was in awe. The plot holes, the character regression (good gawd the character regression), and so many other things got me in such denial. I didn't rage at first, I was just in pure denial. I honestly felt I was alone in my thoughts because everywhere I went, people were nonstop praising this horrible ending. It didn't matter if it was Youtube/Tumblr/Naruto forums/Reddit/etc. It was around the year of 2015 when I went out of denial and went into pure anger because I felt so alone. I watched pro sakura/anti SS and NH/pro NS/ or rather any neutral fans get literally bashed if they had a different opinion than the majority mass just because the "winning" pairings fans got what they wanted, out of pure character favoritism/popularity and greed. I couldn't go anywhere without getting bashed myself or watching people get bashed. It was just so saddening. I never seen a fandom like this. (But then again, I'm not part of much fandoms lol) But I can now say that everything just made me an NS fan and I'm damn proud to be one!

 

It was a few years ago that I discovered this site and I'm honestly glad that I did! I can go on a forum and read posts that share a similar thought to mine and I felt so secure. This is the only Naruto site that I visit, especially since the ending. Even if I just now became a member, I want to thank this site and everyone on here. Hopefully, I will feel very welcome because I'm slightly shy and I already wrote an essay for an introduction....I think I need to introduce myself now that I got everything out of my system lol..

 

My name is Elishalicious...um..I'm barely legal, I drink (caprisun) and drive, my mom has bad menopause and I still love her, I have a below average GPA, I like long walks on the beach....er yeah. So hello everyone and sorry for writing a long post! ^^