Yami_no_Princess

I can't imagine a time where you hated Sasuke, I swear :rotfl what was it that made you hate Naruto back then, Yami?

With Sasuke, I just gradually grew to dislike him as he did things that hurt Naruto because Naruto was my baby and I was seeing everything from only his POV and not Sasuke's. I hated Sasuke because I never bothered to try and understand him, all I saw was him making one stupid decision after the next and even though he claimed he wasn't being manipulated, that's exactly what it looked like to me. I didn't start liking him again until he reunited with his brother because Itachi brought out that side of him that makes my heart melt and I really do have a soft spot for their bond.

Oh Naruto, he was such a badass in the Pain arc, I gained so much respect for him in that arc, then what happens afterwards? He lets a cloud nin beat him senseless all for Sasuke's sake. I know that's supposed to be feelsy but I can't see it as anything but pathetic. If Sasuke knew about it, he wouldn't even care so why should Naruto? Then Naruto humiliates himself in front of the Raikage again for Sasuke's sake whom I'm super not fond of at this point in the story. All I can think is, "Why is Sasuke causing Naruto to act like a pussy? This isn't the Naruto from the Pain arc." Then when Garaa forces Naruto to recognize that Sasuke is in fact not the Sasuke he once knew, he starts hyperventilating and passes out. Seriously, how naive/in denial do you have to be for finding out something like that to cause you to faint? It just came off as so pathetic. I know it's supposed to be feelsy but I just didn't feel it. It was just lame the way it was done. I lost so much respect for Naruto in this arc. I frickin hated the Kage arc as a whole. It was poorly done and widely unnecessary. It took Team 7 somewhere it had no business going and just made Naruto look more pathetic than Sakura. 

Wow, that escalated quickly. We went from calm and peaceful discussion with an open-minded outsider to an outright debate which included grossly inaccurate generalizations, no less. *sigh*

As someone mentioned, there ARE shippers who went from shipping SK to shipping NS. I'm actually one of them. I went from shipping SasuNaru to shipping SasuKarin to shipping NaruSaku. 

NS had zero influence on me picking up SK. What I liked about SK was the similarities it shared with SN. Karin looked down on Sasuke and berated him much like how Naruto would trash talk Sasuke in part 1. They both would act like they hated Sasuke, but they both secretly liked and admired him. Naruto even idolized him to a degree. I also love the profound effect both Uzumakis seem to have on Sasuke. They both can bring out Sasuke's more human side, if you will. Also, both Naruto and Karin can understand Sasuke through shared life experiences. Naruto understands the loneliness part and Karin understands the pain of loss part. If SK is a redux of anything, it's part 1 SN. 

Shipping SK taught me a lot about how Kishi develops relationships in the manga and it made me come to respect ships like NS. Eventually I started shipping NS in its own right, but that was much later down the line after I'd convinced myself to take another look at a ship which I'd previously completely disregarded. (I knew it was probably endgame due to being genre savvy but beyond that, I just didn't care because I hated Sakura.) Did I mention how falling in love with Karin made me come to respect Sakura whom I used to hate and found annoying?

Don't tell me SK is just an NS pity-ship, I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for SK.

My only problem with SK is that by the end of the series Sasuke is just too much of a wildcard he's easier to influence to the other side than most fictional characters I've seen, and him having children just seems like something that threatens the shinobi world (well I mean if the shinobi world is still going to be around given that Kishi is foreshadowing Naruto creating world Peace and all that business)

That's true, but let's keep in mind that Sasuke is still a young, impulsive teenager. It's difficult to judge how he'll be as a grown adult so it's not really fair to say whether he should or shouldn't have kids. Also, no guarantee his kids will be anything like him given that his kids will inherit traits from Karin as well. Kids aren't necessarily doomed to become their parents. 

His portrayal is about as polarized as the tsundere trope itself. I get the feeling Kishi believes that a well-rounded relationship can be portrayed in both a comedic and a serious light. However, comedy is all about timing, and his timing has been really inappropriate and poor lately. I can get that he wants to lighten the mood a bit given the depressing atmosphere of the war, but his execution completely misses the mark and just makes us question his sensibilities. What's probably supposed to come off as well-rounded/versatile, just comes off as bipolar. 

I don't get this notion that Karin has somehow forgiven Sasuke. I never saw her get over the stab, she's still quite upset about it, actually. I think the panel where her dere and tsun side are literally warring with each other to the point where she can't even speak properly is what throws people off. That's not supposed to be her forgiving him. In fact, right after the apology, she complains to Orochimaru about what Sasuke did to her and it's Orochimaru, not Sasuke, who convinces her to tag along. If she were over it, she wouldn't have angrily/accusingly brought it up at all. Then she continues to bring it up every chance she can get, even using it to insult Sasuke and call him a 'kittenhead'. Even though the scenes are Kishi's weird brand of humor, her feelings are still genuine, she's still genuinely pissed about it and still very much in denial about her feelings for him. 

I think part of the disconnect is what Kanae touched on earlier, that Kishi doesn't view the Kage Summit arc the same way his audience does. As such, he's not going to handle it to his audience's expectations/liking. I'm honestly not expecting anything to get resolved until after the war. That's why Kishi keeps dropping hints about it. That's just typical Shounen priorities: save the world then get scolded by your love interest.  

I get the feeling Karin's not going to forgive Sasuke until he makes it up to her in some way. In a way, I think that's rather refreshing because I feel Naruto is too forgiving/lenient when it comes to Sasuke. I know Naruto isn't the type to hold grudges, but still, it bothers me with how easily he brushes off the things Sasuke does and just views him as a victim of the system. At least there's one Uzumaki that isn't going to let Sasuke get away with the kitten he pulls.