Hinata is the heroine of this movie, but I dont think that makes her the heroine of the manga. It takes more to be the heroine than be with the lead. I remember JKR saying Hermione was still her female lead, despite Harry's relationship with Ginny and it shows. Ginny had her moments but ultimately Hermione is THE girl of the Harry Potter franchise. I dont think Hinata getting shine in the finale stretch of the manga makes her the female lead or the heroine.
I've always thought what JKR did with the Harry Potter series was commendable. She made the female lead be a definite friend role, while the secondary girl was the love interest. And she never betrayed those two roles, confused or muddied them, made a love triangle, or belittled either girl for the sake of the story. (Of course, people could've shipped or hoped for different pairings, but that's a different story.)
Because JKR took care in building her story that way. She never swapped the character's importance once Harry's interest was determined. Ginny didn't slide forward and edge Hermione out of her spot as an equal and irreplaceable member of the three. Hermione didn't fall backward and become less important to the story.
That's not what's happening here. As evidenced by the last two chapters, the movie and the series, Kishimoto is pushing Sakura out of the storyline and replacing her with Hinata.
It's not as simple as just a little attention for Hinata at the end. Sakura's the active character wheras Hinata's the passive one. Even the plot of this movie, with Hinata apparently as the damsel in distress that Naruto has to save which suddenly awakens his latent feelings, is the most stereotypical passive romance storyline ever.
What makes Sakura the main heroine of the story is not that she's designated to be so. It's her capacity to change. She recognized that she didn't like who she was in part one, and decided to change for herself and those around her. And she did, becoming the best kunoichi and the top medic.
Hinata's capacity to change is significantly less, thus she is a secondary character.
A better analogy from Naruto to HP would be Harry pairing with Luna, rather than Ginny. Luna, a sweet girl who has her moments of bravery, but who is ultimately is a passive type character with limited skills that only work in conjunction with those around her. And who's never been on Harry's radar at all.
Anyway, I don't think it's so casual as Hinata just getting her moment in the sun. The authors/editors have apparently changed the direction of the whole series. And in doing so, they had to remove Sakura from the mix. Why? Because Sakura clearly is the heroine and the love interest, and if she's still in the storyline then there's no way someone like Naruto would fall for someone like Hinata.
Ultimately they're not just removing Sakura from the storyline, they're radically changing Naruto too.
Sure Hinata may be the heroine of this movie. But if that's the case, then this is no longer a story I'm interested in. If I want to see damsels-in-distress who finally get the love they deserve, through no action of their own, then I'll go down to the grocery story and buy a bodice-ripper romance.
What made Naruto and Sakura stand out and perfect for each other in the manga was that they were two active, modern characters in an old-fashioned shinobi-era world, both working in tandem to break set rules and change the world around them. By removing Sakura, for all intents and purposes, and replacing her with gentle, passive, old-fashioned clan princess Hinata, it takes the steam out of the storyline. The hook is gone. The story becomes a reward story for Hinata, and all the emphasis on Naruto and changing their world through their own actions is swallowed up by it.
Sorry, I didn't mean for this to be a LAP. You're post just set me thinking. I think the editors/author/marketing department want us to believe it's a simple thing. That Naruto's just the same as ever, Sakura's still the same girl as before, although *coughcough* you're just not going to see much of her anymore *coughcough* and oh look! Now Hinata's the love interest!
But taking away one of Naruto's main goals, one that shaped the course of his life, is like knocking a leg out from underneath a chair. It never sits quite right again.
Replacing Sakura as the heroine in the story with Hinata, even for a moment, confuses the whole thing. And we know that once's they've done that, they're not going back. It's Hinata from here on out. Sakura will fall back to being a secondary character.
If JKR had done this to her characters, paired Harry with Luna, made her the star of the show, and dropped both Hermione and Ginny back to secondary roles, I doubt people would stick that series either.
*shudders*
