14 replies to this topic

[Deej]

This is a topic to discuss what you think of Sakura's best friend Ino.

I'll start by saying there seems to be two Ino Yamanakas in the manga. One is the Sasuke fangirl. If fans hate Ino, it is usually because of this version that existed mostly in Part 1. This character was underdeveloped, immature, and generally annoying. She served no other purpose than to fangirl Sasuke and be The Rival for Sakura. Which would be somewhat acceptable if Sasuke didn't treat her like she had a disease. While Sasuke tolerated Sakura, he seemed to loathe Ino at best, and at worst, barely acknowledge her existence. This made her interest in Sasuke seem pathetic and silly. Tenten had about as much impact in Sasuke's world as Ino. So her crush did nothing for the character. Even though she seems to have outgrown it, she occasionally lapses like during the Kage Summit.

The other Ino is the Ino of Team 10 and Sakura's friend. We first saw hints of this character when Ino and Sakura fought and we learned how Ino protected Sakura against her bullies. Then when she rooted for Shikamaru during the Chuunin exams. Now this is the Ino I love. This is the girl who grew to be an important part of Team 10 and basically a sister to Shika and Choji. Of all the teams, Team 10 probably has the strongest bond and best teamwork. For all the war's faults, and there are many, Kishi at least got it right with by showcasing Team 10's teamwork and Ino's improvement. She'll never be the star Shikamaru is or as strong as Choji, but now I don't feel she is portrayed as weak. She gives Shikamaru motivation and Choji confidence; Team 10 could not operate without her.

As for her love life, does it really matter? But I guess it does slightly more for Ino since Asuma told her not to lose in love to Sakura. The best guy for her is probably Shikamaru. They do have a great chemistry and look good together. There is a reason ShikaIno is still Ino's biggest pairing in fandom. Heck, ShikaIno seems way more popular in Japan than NaruHina judging by fanart. But I just can't see Kishi not pairing him with Temari. Sai? The Sai thing seemed to be Kishi's way of trying to have him step in Sasuke's shoes as a heartthrob. It didn't work. Having Ino compare him to Sasuke was a way to establish his looks to the audience. And to setup a joke by Sai at Ino's expense. It has never been mentioned again and they haven't interacted since. Choji? This seems her most likely match, but I wonder if it ruins the Ino-Shika-Cho dynamic? It is also interesting there is very little fanfic and fanart with them. Most obscure crack parings have bigger fandoms than InoCho. There just seems to be something flat about this pairing.

Ino might be better off alone and let the fans imagine who she ended up with.

Edited by Deej, 04 September 2012 - 03:34 AM.

[xxRomanceGirlxx]

I used to hate Part 1 Version because she reminded me exactly of Sakura(which who I at the time hated), due to her annoying Sasuke fangirling and weakness as a kunoichi overall.

I have to say Ino got better in Part 2, just like most of the other characters. I like her confidence and loud mouth but she still doesn't seem very strong to me. Sakura could easily beat her in fight. So I'm mostly indifferent to her. But I thought it was incredibly stupid that Ino was crying over Sasuke when she didn't even know him personally. It was just ... a 'Really?' type of moment.

Edited by xxRomanceGirlxx, 04 September 2012 - 03:50 AM.

[Luna]

I didn't really like Ino at first but after a while I started to like her. I remember in the filler part where her father asked her if its shikamaru or choji and she was like all flustered lol. I always picture Ino with shikamaru as a couple. Anyway I like her character now and to be honest she is the sexiest of the K9 girls.

[merryGOflava]

shes cool

she doesnt excite me when she shows up, but i dont hate her... i like her :3

[Branden]

I dont care about her at all.

Honestly I think InaShikaCho and a few panels of Sakura development is the only reason she's in this manga.

[T XD]

i like her, she has matured a lot, well actually all the characters have matured but i like her bond with sakura and it reminds me of naruto and sasuke's bond except that naruto and sasuke don't see each other that much and sasuke claims that he's not friends with naruto, although inwardly he's his friend but doesn't admit it . they fight and all but they are together cause they're true friends to each other XD and if kishi decides that ino should be with someone, it's definitely shikamaru.

Edited by T XD, 04 September 2012 - 08:53 AM.

[Konohakitten]

At first I couldn't stand Sakura or Ino. Their rivalry for Sasuke was so annoying. I didnt really think that her character would really change let alone mature. However just like Sakura I grew to like her. She isn't on of my personal favs or anything, but I do enjoy when she gets panel time. Her jutsus are great and I love what she brings to team 10 I do enjoy writing about Ino, she has a big part in my fanfic. Overall I think shes cool, I never thought I would like her when I first saw her though. As for her love life I have her with Shikamaru in my fanfic. I think they go great together, but I dont think they'll end up together. I see Shikamaru with Temari, and Ino with Chouji. I know they never have any moments or anything but something tells me that its bound to happen XD

[neoshadow]

In part one I didn't flat out hate Ino (mostly because I was introduced to part two first) but she gave me no reason to be interested in her, she was really just Sakura's rival and the other girl competing for Sasuke, now I'm mostly indifferent to Ino, I cant say that shes one of my favorite characters but I don't hate her, most of the time shes just a background character who gives me no reason to like or dislike her.
However whenever all of Team 10 is given the spotlight I find that she shines a lot more, and you can really feel that she is the heart of the team, I find her jutsu interesting due to how situational it is.

I did find her reaction to the Konoha 11's decision to kill Sasuke surprising though because if I recall her crush on Sasuke had not been brought up at all in part 2 and I had just assumed she had moved on.

I don't think Ino's love life will be touched on and I think that if there is an epilogue of some kind that she is one of the characters who will be shown to have children but there will be no mention of who the father is.

[Deej]

Ino got better in Part 2, just like most of the other characters. I like her confidence and loud mouth but she still doesn't seem very strong to me. Sakura could easily beat her in fight.

Ino is a terrible one-on-one fighter now. She even admits that. She shines when she is part of her team. I don't mind that.

So I'm mostly indifferent to her. But I thought it was incredibly stupid that Ino was crying over Sasuke when she didn't even know him personally. It was just ... a 'Really?' type of moment.

This might of been Kishi's worst bit of writing in the manga. I can slightly buy that Ino might cry over the decision to kill Sasuke. Although it still seems stupid given she barely knew him, had NO relationship with him, and seemed totally over him. And Sasuke had nearly gotten Shikamaru and Choji killed chasing after him. You know, the guys she is suppose to treasure above all now? But the idea that Ino would attack the Cloud and kill over Sasuke's death is easily the silliest and most unbelievable thing in the manga. Again, she had no relationship and barely knew him. It would be like Gaara going berserk and attacking Iwa because they killed his beloved Samui. It made Ino look like a total joke.

Kishimoto needed to tie in the Sasuke plot to the K12 beyond Naruto and Sakura. So he sacrificed Ino in the stupidest way possible. This way it effected the K12. Thankfully she got better.

It just shows that Ino is a terrible character if she has anything to do with Sasuke.

[TerrorKing]

The first time I saw her was during chunin exam. At that time I didn't like her at all. She was cruel and generally just seemed like a stereotypical queen bee type. I actually thought that she was supposed to be a villain. I really had no idea what Naruto was about back then lol.

However, during my second run of the series, I gradually started warming up to her. I now found her more silly than evil, because of her Sasuke fangirling and her rivalry with Sakura. When I learned about her past with Sakura and witnessed her interaction with shikamaru and Choji, she instanly became one of my favorite characters. Her relationship with Sakura was something that I found especially interesting. I know that, compared to a lot of other characters, Ino and Sakura's background wasn't particularly tragic or dramatic, but to me, that just made it more relatable. People usually dismiss it as shallow, but I find it kinda tragic. I mean, I'm sure that of lot of friendships have gone down the drain because of something like this. In the end, I'm glad tnat they were able to figure out the real problem and mend their friendship.

In part 2 I mostly like her because of her bonds with Shikamaru and Choji as evident in both the Asuma arc and their recent fight in the war arc. She may never be a genius like Shikmaru or a powerhouse like Choji, but that's okay. Just like Sakura, she's doing her own thing and she's damn good at it. I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a member of the intelligence division, just like her father.

[mone_]

Oh, I love Ino! Although Sakura is my favorite, I enjoy seeing Ino very much. She's cunning and clever, loud and bossy, but a great friend with a great heart - so it's never boring whenever she gets panel time. Except for those infamous times she's shown her 'feelings' to Sasuke.

But I guess it can't be helped. Girls rarely have control over who they happen to have a crush on. I, for instance, had some crushes on such jerks, I knew they were jerks, but I kept liking them and kept doing stupid things for them. I think it's the same with Ino, really. She couldn't help liking Sasuke, and couldn't help crying over him, even though she knew of the bad things he'd done.

This side of Ino just makes her even more like a 'real' girl.

As for her love life, I just... can't see her with anyone else but Shikamaru and I'm glad some of you like them together, too!

... Sadly, ShikaIno hasn't been hinted in manga for like forever especially not after Temari was introduced. Which makes me think that before Kishimoto came up with Temari character, he intended for Shikamaru to like Ino. He seemed annoyed whenever Ino squealed over Sasuke, and even Chouji seemed to notice something: http://www.mangaread...hapter-110.html

Other guys seem to discard Ino as shallow and bossy. They don't see the deeper side of her personality. The only guys who cherish and know Ino are Shikamaru and Chouji. So it would be most plausible for her to end up with either of them. But I doubt it'll happen, because, knowing Kishi and his love for parallels and heritages, he won't let InoShikaCho tradition end

[Fyuria'sLeo]

Ino...is my princess, that is all.

[CloudMountainJuror]

Ino...is my princess, that is all.

Darn you Leeeeoooooooo!

Edited by zacrathedemon5, 07 September 2012 - 10:11 PM.

[Deej]

As for her love life, I just... can't see her with anyone else but Shikamaru and I'm glad some of you like them together, too!

... Sadly, ShikaIno hasn't been hinted in manga for like forever especially not after Temari was introduced. Which makes me think that before Kishimoto came up with Temari character, he intended for Shikamaru to like Ino. He seemed annoyed whenever Ino squealed over Sasuke, and even Chouji seemed to notice something: http://www.mangaread...hapter-110.html

I can buy that. It definitely felt like in early Naruto that Shikamaru might of had a slight crush on Ino. Might explain why he disliked Sasuke so much. And Choji did seem to feel bad For Shikamaru during the chuunin exam fight. Ino finally started to see Shikamaru in a different light like Sasuke. She even fangirled him when she was cheering. Then he blow it.

But something happened during the Temari fight and that started ShikaTema which Kishi then went with. And the whole potential subplot of Ino finally seeing Sasuke for what he was and turning to Shikamaru must of went out the window.

Interestingly, in a recent filler episode, Inoichi thought Ino was getting nervous because she was going to go out on her first date. He assumed she was going to start dating Shikamaru or Choji. The only two guys she has any connection to.

Edited by Deej, 08 September 2012 - 06:08 PM.

[Sora no Kitsune]

I like the idea of Ino and her potential as a character, but i dislike how Kishimoto played her out. Ino could be so much more, but kishi shoved her to the sides as a lesser character (as an annoying ass fan girl in part one and a less annoying be equally as useless ninja in part 2). I feel like her character has a lot of potential depth, especially considering her childhood persona and how strong and confident she was. Ino could have had a very big impact, both as a legitimate rival to Sakura (which doesn't occur until part two and isn't actually delved into after that) and as a motivator and another hyper, happy face in the series.

To be quite frank, Ino is one of my favorites in fanfiction, and while NaruSaku is the obvious choice, i much prefer NaruIno in fanfiction simply with how well their characters can get along. idk, that's just my opinion.