31576 replies to this topic

[Aevrum]

 
One change he should consider, to fix really, one of the struggles he had, which was the execution of Team 7, is to have Sakura go with Sasuke early on. She'd function as the light in darkness sort of thing, and it would give her a different angle to the Sasuke common ground she shares with Naruto, and she'd be actively trying to keep him from going too far. They could do this in part one or part two, though part two would be neater.

You mean considering justifying the SS ending a bit more?
You could do that, it would kinda work. But it wouldn't be that great really.

The most important thing is: It would take too much from Naruto. The whole NaruSasu thing would fall apart.
And Sasuke would get way too much focus at that point.

Another important point: Sakura at that point knows nothing about Sasuke and doesn't really care about him. She makes it clear with her speech and that she doesn't tell anyone, that she only wants it for herself. And that doesn't really change. She can never understand Sasuke like Naruto, she would never become the 'light'. You would have to change Sakura background and character up to that point to make it work.

Most importantly: Sasuke was never really in the darkness till he killed Itachi. We were shown his human and caring side over and over, till he faced Itachi. He was calm and calculating, but not insane. Sakura going with him wouldn't change a thing.

And you would have to change Sasuke extremely to make him let Sakura come with him. In no circumstance I can imagine him allowing or wanting that.

Edit: Oh, what I forgot:
I think it would actually kill the entire Team 7 dynamic. Plus only one member remaining and it all solely revolving around Sasuke: A really big mistake.

It would be like destroying half of the series only for one unimportant pairing really.

Edited by Aevrum, 08 August 2017 - 01:51 PM.

[Qia]

 

Wow, its been a long time since I've seen you. 

 

Yeah,  I've been busy but I never forgot about this place <3. I think I just needed a little bit of time to accept this terrible ending to a series I've been watching since I was...11 or 12? Yea. Might be younger than that tbh.  

 

 

That reason is why he is not a good father/husband, because we see he can make contact, and he hasn't, he's focused on the mission, which is really the only reason Naruto/Sasuke make contact, not for personal time-seeing, its business. But that doesn't show his emotions on whether he cares or not.

 

Honestly, and this might be me personally, but like I said before actions speak much louder than words. To say that it's because he's emotionally/socially stunted is just an excuse to me. Know why? Look back at the Sasuke we got to know in part 1. He was all about getting stronger to avenge his clan...yet he almost died protecting a friend (Naruto). In other words, despite it being a part of Sasuke's character to be serious and focused on what he must do, he has shown that he can show how much he cares about the ones he loves when it comes time to do so, even if it means not accomplishing whatever goal he has in mind. Following from this, surely he would be able to tell and feel, as you say, that he's abandoning his family in the process of doing his mission and at least, AT LEAST, show that he's thinking about them in some way. The problem is...he hasn't. Because, unlike Naruto, Sakura and Salad are not a priority to him. He.just.doesn't.care.on.the.level.he's.supposed.to. I think that's the more accurate way to put it. I'm not trying to say if either of them were in danger he wouldn't help if he happened to be there or something like that. 

Edited by Qia, 08 August 2017 - 02:34 PM.

[Aevrum]

Not to justify SS, it was established enough it was going to happen, but SS has execution issues which stem from being more informed than shown, which is why some missed the idea. This would also probably change the Team Taka team group. As for changing Sasuke's mind, make Sakura stronger, at least strong enough not to be deceived by a sneak attack to the back.

I was speaking about mostly Sasuke's side of things, reciprocating things.
And making Sakura's love less shallow. Justifying was maybe not the exact right word. The foundation for it to happen was there, but the 'romance' was and is a joke.

Then we actually agree: You would have to change Sakura A LOT.
No matter how strong, in that moment she would always be deceived by it.

Anyway, this was more thought up to fix Sakura's execution herself, so her goal would be different. If you did it in part one, like Sasuke, she'd be less in the plot, giving room for Naruto to be around different characters. This also gives room for more utilization of NH since that was his intention. You could even throw Naruto in with Team 8, since the team in general is underutilized.

Ok, that would just destroy Sakura's complete character and put way too much unnecessary focus on Team 8.
Please keep in mind: We were talking about how he would fit things for this ending, not about making it into a NH/SS Shoujo, you are too obsessed with the NH/SS romance.
There are a lot of more important things to fix.

I don't think this hurts the brotherly dynamic at all. He'd still also want to save them from the darkness, and even then, it got too much focus. It would allow an opportunity to shift focus onto the central storyline, rather than the latter Naruto saving Sasuke.

Naruto's storyline would make no sense.
You would want to make the NaruSasu brotherhood thing more believable, not toning it down for romance.

You are correct, Naruto nor Sakura at the end of part one, even later in part two, fully understand Sasuke yet. By light in the darkness however, I refer to her caregiving manners, the healer, thus the light. This doesn't require understanding, just an earnestness to help, which she has.

What? Oh my God, you are clearly too deep into the romance. Why would anyone want to see that?
Why would she even have to go with him to show that? Her drive to help would be better shown with a whole different route than going with him.

I still can't grasp how it would fit the ending better with this 'fix'.

Final note: Sasuke never killed Itachi, he died from his sickness.

OH come on, you know what I meant^^

[BlackShirtGuy]

There are several problems with the ending, things that doesn't get adressed, abandoned plotlines and character's development assasination.
However, the root of the problem lies in that they wanted to use the ending for advertisement of the movie and all the Boruto related stuff.
I mean they basically told the readers: "Wanna know how Naruto ended with Hinakittens? , watch the movie kittenar!!!" , "Wanna know how Sasuke got together with Sakura? Read the gaiden kittenar!!!" ,"Wanna know how the New Generation is gonna surpass the old one? , watch the Movie kittenaar!!!" 
They literally used the ending as advertisement (because who de FACK needs closure and fulfillment, right?!?) which lead to all the backlash and mess of writing that came after the ending, with the novels, the movies, the gaiden, the stupid one-shots.
It's one big clusterfuc k and nothing else and it shows, IT SHOWS, leaving alone NH and SS , what the hell is the deal with Choji and the rain girl (her name was Karui, I think), I mean they never interacted once, NOT.EVEN.ONCE. that's the best proof you can get that they made the ending and advertisement focusing on the pairings so they could create the stupid new gen, that we never needed nor wanted.
I know Choji wasn't as much important a side character as, say, Shikamaru but he was the guy best friend and teammate, why the hell is he with that person he didn't even knew of her existence and never shown interacted with?
The answer is this, they made the design of his daughter and then picked a character that matched her design so it woulda made sense, there is really no  other way around it.

Edited by BlackShirtGuy, 08 August 2017 - 08:20 PM.

[VanitasDS76491]

There are several problems with the ending, things that doesn't get adressed, abandoned plotlines and character's development assasination.
However, the root of the problem lies in that they wanted to use the ending for advertisement of the movie and all the Boruto related stuff.
I mean they basically told the readers: "Wanna know how Naruto ended with Hinakittens? , watch the movie kittenar!!!" , "Wanna know how Sasuke got together with Sakura? Read the gaiden kittenar!!!" ,"Wanna know how the New Generation is gonna surpass the old one? , watch the Movie kittenaar!!!" 
They literally used the ending as advertisement (because who de FACK needs closure and fulfillment, right?!?) which lead to all the backlash and mess of writing that came after the ending, with the novels, the movies, the gaiden, the stupid one-shots.
It's one big clusterfuc k and nothing else and it shows, IT SHOWS, leaving alone NH and SS , what the hell is the deal with Choji and the rain girl (her name was Karui, I think), I mean they never interacted once, NOT.EVEN.ONCE. that's the best proof you can get that they made the ending and advertisement focusing on the pairings so they could create the stupid new gen, that we never needed nor wanted.
I know Choji wasn't as much important a side character as, say, Shikamaru but he was the guy best friend and teammate, why the hell is he with that person he didn't even knew of her existence and never shown interacted with?
The answer is this, they made the design of his daughter and then picked a character that matched her design so it woulda made sense, there is really no  other way around it.

Correction kauri was from the land of lightning as shown in the aftermath of the pain arc when omoi and Samui and her went to the leaf village after pain was beat. And for some reason I want to see pain meet pinhead from hellraiser to see who the real master of pain is. I say pinhead and he should take sasuke and hinata and obito to hell with them to suffer forever.

[Catra]

the poor female characters... once they pooted out babies their purpose is done and over with and if they wanna fight, get those frying pans.

[HalfDemonInuyasha]

Jeez, I'm gone for a week on vacation, come back, and this is STILL going on? X_X

 

 

Right. No remark really on power, don't like doing those sort of comparisons myself.

 

But no, Naruto is definitely the most important character, the protagonist. Yes, Sasuke bogged down the plot and sometimes was focused too much on, Taka/Uchiha stuff often filled and focused on his subplot, but his subplot didn't always nicely connect with Naruto's plot. He's put on the battlefield with Naruto, but the execution is more or less mediocre. It's not a perfect fit, and the lengthy side-story Hashirama works in is a bit of a bogger, kind of making the war needlessly longer. 

 

So if Sasuke ever seems more important, it could be a play of poor execution on Kishimoto's part. 

The problem is that virtually everything Naruto is doing since the start of Part 2 is based around Sasuke and his actions; either beating him and/or "saving" him. Even becoming Hokage has essentially become second fiddle to that objective until the very end, and even his bonds with others seem to take a distant back seat to his "brotherly bond" with Sasuke. This is why people have, jokingly or otherwise, have said that the story should have its name changed to "Sasuke".
 

 

Honestly, I remember watching that Yahoo reviews page when the Last was shown in theaters. The only reason it didn't hit lower than 2 stars is because of the hired fake reviewers that were spamming it and giving it five stars. (Their posts were generic and were promoting the novel as in "Buy the novel too!" so there was zero doubt they were hired)

The highest ranked comment was an angry/upset fan.
There was also a lot of people complaining about the pre-order scam. That wasn't a controversy, nor an overreaction. It was a very real thing.

And Yahoo Japan removed those top rated comments by people who actually criticized the film. Not even bashing it, but actual criticism and pointing out why things made no sense, like the retcons to Naruto's childhood, Hinata seeming to "forget" that she was a kunoichi (like using wall walking), and so on.

 

The message is deep, glad I came across it: 

Sadly that's the only page that exists, but damn it's beautiful. 

Almost feels like the ending to Angel Beats!, when Yuzuru and Kanade are reincarnated.

 

There is no interpretations though. Several sources including characters themselves keep saying how Sasuke is NEVER around. I don't know how clear you can get. Even Sakura says at most she spent 2 and a half minutes with him.

How can we say that Sasuke cares when the dude spends no time with her, doesn't kiss her, and doesn't do anything with her? If this relationship was real and two people were like this in real life...they would have been divorced in the first 6 months.

Let's ask Salad.

People who are so entrenched in their beliefs will easily disregard anything actually shown or said to the contrary, even if it's from the same source that they claim proves their side as "true", as "conspiracy" or "misreading" and so on whenever it's convenient for them. As brought up numerous times now, there have been numerous moments shown - through words and/or actions - that NH / SS was not "planned since the beginning", "developed" throughout the story, and so on, but ones who claim they were can never show the contrary. You can ask them to show manga panels to prove their side over and over, but they'll never do so, instead just constantly resorting to what amounts to little more than, "Nuh-uh!" and try to distract from the subject.

 

Actually, I've been thinking about how vastly different the ending was from the beginning. And that if Kishi had it to do over again (and still chose the same ending) — like if he was able to retcon the whole series, starting with where he is now — would he even chose Naruto and Sakura to be the leads? Or would it be twin stories about Sasuke's struggle and Hinata's timidity, with Sakura and Naruto just being the secondary characters to fulfill their storylines?

 

If Kishi had it to do all over again, would he even set the story about Naruto and Sakura? Or would it straight up be about Sasuke and Hinata?

If he had to do it all over again like that, I'd see the manga getting cancelled before part one was even over, either because of abysmal sales and/or Kishi himself just giving up a lot sooner.
 

 

 

One change he should consider, to fix really, one of the struggles he had, which was the execution of Team 7, is to have Sakura go with Sasuke early on. She'd function as the light in darkness sort of thing, and it would give her a different angle to the Sasuke common ground she shares with Naruto, and she'd be actively trying to keep him from going too far. They could do this in part one or part two, though part two would be neater.

They already tried that with things like the hug in the Forest of Death and Sakura trying to stop Sasuke from leaving, then even offering to go with him. Sasuke made it clear since early on that, in the end, he doesn't want "bonds" or at least doesn't care about keeping them or not. He wanted power, and ones like Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and such were just obstacles and/or a means to getting it. The only way to make such a thing work would be to change Sasuke and/or Sakura quite a bit.

[Nate River]

no character got assassinated.

I don't know. 693 really left me wondering what the point of Sakura's character journey was. It's one of the lowest points in the series (Obito and Kabuto are still worse and far more offensive). It's common to parallel a character's low point later in the series.Usually, they overcome their prior weakness. She repeats it. Her feebleness in 181 and later in the POAL is what motivates her to change. And she does, but when confronted with the same weakness and feebleness a second time...she's just as ineffective and is shoved to the side. It's probably a bit hyperbolic to call it an assassination, but seriously after all she went through...what was the point if she ended up in the same place? I can't imagine what he was thinking with this. Hell, since he was committed to SS at that point...she could have stood up for herself to Sasuke's amazement and, later, respect. Sasuke has always come across as someone who has little patience or use for those unable to stand on their own. He had also insulted her and Kakashi not long before that; calling the both useless. It was a great chance to take a stand regardless of pairing preference.
 
The other character to suffer near assassination was Naruto. If I were to create a parody of him and his philosophy, it'd look an awful like what was done post-pain. He called a guy a cool who used his own personal tragedy as an excuse to rob everyone else of their free will and started a bloody world war in furtherance of that. Obito raided Konoha, in part, because the Fourth wasn't able to save Rin from a tragedy he didn't know was occurring.   
 
 
 

The problem is that virtually everything Naruto is doing since the start of Part 2 is based around Sasuke and his actions; either beating him and/or "saving" him. Even becoming Hokage has essentially become second fiddle to that objective until the very end, and even his bonds with others seem to take a distant back seat to his "brotherly bond" with Sasuke. This is why people have, jokingly or otherwise, have said that the story should have its name changed to "Sasuke".

 
I agree with Analyzer that this is exaggeration and that it really only became an issue after Pain. One Part 1, already set this up as one the major conflicts so some focus should be expected. Two, once Sasuke broke from Orochimaru, the audience could no longer assume what he was doing. At that point, we needed to be told. The focus became a problem after Pain because Naruto shifted from a character who drove the plot to one who reacted to it. Save for getting Sasuke to return, he had accomplished his goals.  He wasn't Hokage, but the village recognized him (the reason he wanted to become one).The manga did not need several years and arcs worth to do this, but Naruto did not have any independent objectives beyond Sasuke. Akatsuki was gone and he had the recognition he craved.
 
 
 

They already tried that with things like the hug in the Forest of Death and Sakura trying to stop Sasuke from leaving, then even offering to go with him. Sasuke made it clear since early on that, in the end, he doesn't want "bonds" or at least doesn't care about keeping them or not. He wanted power, and ones like Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and such were just obstacles and/or a means to getting it. The only way to make such a thing work would be to change Sasuke and/or Sakura quite a bit.

Yeah, this is what made him forming Taka so irritating. He was forced on a team and formed bonds despite his desire not to. So immediately after leaving Oro he creates a new Team and sets up the same circumstances that created a "problem" for him the first time.  Then they aren't even needed for the reason they were originally created.

[ThroughWithLove]

  One Part 1, already set this up as one the major conflicts so some focus should be expected. Two, once Sasuke broke from Orochimaru, the audience could no longer assume what he was doing. At that point, we needed to be told.

I don't know about that. I think there's a bit of allure to us not actually knowing what he's doing if done in a way that leaves bread crumbs for the readers to follow along with. Would really add a layer of intrigue to the whole "should Naruto still save him" debate if we don't actually have first hand knowledge of his antics and are simply shown the after effects each time. This would obviously require putting the Itachi revenge plot on the backburner much longer and a number of other significant plot changes, assuming Sasuke does not parallel to Orochimaru and lose sight of his original goals in his quest for power.

Edited by ThroughWithLove, 09 August 2017 - 04:57 AM.

[James S Cassidy]

Actually, I've been thinking about how vastly different the ending was from the beginning. And that if Kishi had it to do over again (and still chose the same ending) — like if he was able to retcon the whole series, starting with where he is now — would he even chose Naruto and Sakura to be the leads? Or would it be twin stories about Sasuke's struggle and Hinata's timidity, with Sakura and Naruto just being the secondary characters to fulfill their storylines?

 

If Kishi had it to do all over again, would he even set the story about Naruto and Sakura? Or would it straight up be about Sasuke and Hinata?

Wouldn't it also depend on what editor he has?

I mean, if Kishimoto were to rewrite this series it would be a jumbled mess and he had admitted that he relays heavy on his editors to do most of the lifting. Like most of the great ideas from Part 1 up to pain arc was all from the genius of his first editor. Not something Kishimoto did on his own.

Imagine if he had an editor that was a huge NS fan or was working with a studio that was huge on NS and not NH or Hinata worshipping. How much would change in the rewrite?

[James S Cassidy]

 

I'm not sure where we get this implied idea that his editor was huge on NH or Hinata worshipping, or that all the great ideas were from his editors. They're a team, really, and your editors are very helpful arms, and as a writer, executing the idea is really where it shines.

http://imgur.com/a/4Fouv
 

WSJ: Sasuke and Sakura make their appearance in chapter 3.

KISHIMOTO: Yahagi-san told me to focus on the main character in the first two chapters. And then to use chapter 3 onward to establish the rival and heroine and create a love-triangle relationship between the characters. I’m no good with female characters, so I wasn’t planning on this initially. But once I established the triangle, it became a lot easier to create the chapters after that. I was surprised by how good that advice was. And that’s why I tend to listen to what he tells me. Then again, one time he argued with me for six hours to convince me to take his advice. He’s very persuasive, so sometimes I have no choice.

But I guess that is only Kishimoto's interpretation right?

 

 

Considering that there were people in Studio Perriot that did like NS, and he considered NS for a time, its possibly he just found it didn't work for him.

 

Really? Because in the last interview he did, he said NaruHina was planned from the beginning, he had no doubts, and that he was always planning make Sakura a drug addict. So which is it?


By the way, THIS interview totally contradicts the previous interviews too.

Sorry, but you can't "interpret" your way out of this one.

Actually, here....here is a massive break down of several key interviews and this is only a fraction of most of it
https://shmaltzandme...ishimotos-lips/

 

Edited by James S Cassidy, 09 August 2017 - 06:22 PM.

[Qia]

It kind of sucks that he admitted that NS was a red herring all along, which basically means all of the teasing about Sakura being Naruto's "girl" was just to distract the reader. In time, I came to accept and be okay with that...still the explanation that Naruto never seriously loved Sakura is like a knife in the back, because there are better ways I can think of in which Kishi could have revealed NS to be a red herring. The way he did was wayy too cruel and almost unbelievable, considering it's not just Naruto's mother's words but things that occurred all the way back in part 1. 

[James S Cassidy]

It kind of sucks that he admitted that NS was a red herring all along, which basically means all of the teasing about Sakura being Naruto's "girl" was just to distract the reader. In time, I came to accept and be okay with that...still the explanation that Naruto never seriously loved Sakura is like a knife in the back, because there are better ways I can think of in which Kishi could have revealed NS to be a red herring. The way he did was wayy too cruel and almost unbelievable, considering it's not just Naruto's mother's words but things that occurred all the way back in part 1.

It's not how red herrings work though.

Kishimoto is a horrible horrible writer and uses cheap excuses to cover up the fact that he can't write romance, females,...or heck, even a decent plot without some major help from peanut galleries.

And I am sorry, but "planned from the beginning" is a total and kitten lie. He never planned anything from the beginning except for maybe Sasuke and Naruto's fight. We know this because this is the only thing he has remain consistent in all and every interview.The dude said so himself that he didn't even know how to beat Madara Uchiha since he made him so strong.

The interviews are proof enough of this when he can't even give a consistent and legit answer. So how am I to believe anything this man says?

And I am sorry, but considering that Naruto is being written by so many writers now, that means that any canon you want is now the official canon seeing how everything keeps changing with each chapter.

So Road to Ninja is the real Naruto universe...while everything now is the "Odd alternate universe."

Edited by James S Cassidy, 09 August 2017 - 06:40 PM.

[HalfDemonInuyasha]

It's not how red herrings work though.

Kishimoto is a horrible horrible writer and uses cheap excuses to cover up the fact that he can't write romance, females,...or heck, even a decent plot without some major help from peanut galleries.

And I am sorry, but "planned from the beginning" is a total and kitten lie. He never planned anything from the beginning except for maybe Sasuke and Naruto's fight. We know this because this is the only thing he has remain consistent in all and every interview.The dude said so himself that he didn't even know how to beat Madara Uchiha since he made him so strong.

The interviews are proof enough of this when he can't even give a consistent and legit answer. So how am I to believe anything this man says?

And I am sorry, but considering that Naruto is being written by so many writers now, that means that any canon you want is not the official canon seeing how everything keeps changing with each chapter.

So Road to Ninja is the real Naruto universe...while everything now is the "Odd alternate universe."

And even if the "planned from the beginning" stuff were true, that would only make him look worse as a writer..

[BlackShirtGuy]

It kind of sucks that he admitted that NS was a red herring all along, which basically means all of the teasing about Sakura being Naruto's "girl" was just to distract the reader. In time, I came to accept and be okay with that...still the explanation that Naruto never seriously loved Sakura is like a knife in the back, because there are better ways I can think of in which Kishi could have revealed NS to be a red herring. The way he did was wayy too cruel and almost unbelievable, considering it's not just Naruto's mother's words but things that occurred all the way back in part 1. 

He had to pander to the pro-enders, which means throwing the NS fandom under the bus and SP didn't want the precious Hinata-Sama to be called a silver medal (which she is red herrings or not) so they have to came up with the kitten in the last. Welp, good riddance a -holes, now the profits are worse than ever I give this "series" 2 years more of life tops.

[ThroughWithLove]

http://imgur.com/a/4Fouv
 

WSJ: Sasuke and Sakura make their appearance in chapter 3.

KISHIMOTO: Yahagi-san told me to focus on the main character in the first two chapters. And then to use chapter 3 onward to establish the rival and heroine and create a love-triangle relationship between the characters. I’m no good with female characters, so I wasn’t planning on this initially. But once I established the triangle, it became a lot easier to create the chapters after that. I was surprised by how good that advice was. And that’s why I tend to listen to what he tells me. Then again, one time he argued with me for six hours to convince me to take his advice. He’s very persuasive, so sometimes I have no choice.

But I guess that is only Kishimoto's interpretation right?

 

 

Really? Because in the last interview he did, he said NaruHina was planned from the beginning, he had no doubts, and that he was always planning make Sakura a drug addict. So which is it?


By the way, THIS interview totally contradicts the previous interviews too.

Sorry, but you can't "interpret" your way out of this one.

Actually, here....here is a massive break down of several key interviews and this is only a fraction of most of it
https://shmaltzandme...ishimotos-lips/

 

 

One Interview: 

 

 

 

Did you decide this early on, that Hinata and Narutowould get together in the end, or when…?

 

From the middle, actually.

 

From the middle of the story? Hm! What sealed this decision for you?

I think what made me realize it was partly because, if you really look back and think about it, Hinata always supported and acknowledged Naruto, even before Master Iruka. She had the ability to see beyond his reputation and see the true person inside. I think I started realizing that they were meant to be.

 

 

 

Another Interview:

 

Q: During serialization, were you writing with the characters’ romances also decided in advance?

Kishimoto: I wasn’t very conscious of it. I thought I would leave the course of it up to them. I wrote it while wondering if Sasuke and Sakura would get together and how it would be. I didn’t write Sakura in the position of heroine. Naruto was special because he was the main character, but all other characters were equal, regardless of who were main or side characters. The characters would decide based how it would work in the story. But along the way, I thought that Naruto and Sakura were different. I somehow decided [their romances] at a pretty early phase.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by ThroughWithLove, 09 August 2017 - 06:42 PM.

[James S Cassidy]

He had to pander to the pro-enders, which means throwing the NS fandom under the bus and SP didn't want the precious Hinata-Sama to be called a silver medal (which she is red herrings or not) so they have to came up with the kitten in the last. Welp, good riddance a -holes, now the profits are worse than ever I give this "series" 2 years more of life tops.

 

And we're pushing for less....

Let the series die.

[TouKen4Life3g]

The optimistic feels surreal.

[James S Cassidy]

The optimistic feels surreal.

I still wish I had that "She's too kitten" picture you made of Fair Tale with Erza

 

[T XD]

It kind of sucks that he admitted that NS was a red herring all along, which basically means all of the teasing about Sakura being Naruto's "girl" was just to distract the reader. In time, I came to accept and be okay with that...still the explanation that Naruto never seriously loved Sakura is like a knife in the back, because there are better ways I can think of in which Kishi could have revealed NS to be a red herring. The way he did was wayy too cruel and almost unbelievable, considering it's not just Naruto's mother's words but things that occurred all the way back in part 1. 

I think you already know by now, but Kishimoto was contradictory regarding the establishment of pairings.

 

He said he decided early on for NH then in another interview he said from the middle. Another interview, he said he felt pity for Hinata. Another one where he said he decided NS early on. Another one where he said SS is toxic. Another one where he said he decided on NH cause he thought that it would look bad for Sakura to be with Naruto if she moved on from Sasuke.

These are what I remember for now.

 

As you see, either he's lying, doesn't remember what he said in each interview, or doesn't care.

Edited by T XD, 09 August 2017 - 07:34 PM.