Why there's so much Sakura-love-love

[bjfactory]

I've been feeling restless all day, so I guess since I'm being so morose, I'll talk a bit of about my favorite character, Haruno Sakura, from Naruto - the manga - today. I've been thinking as an author what direction I want her to go in as a character. Not just because I have no life (even if it may seem that way to some of you out there) but I

Comments

[bunnynumber13]

I have always viewed Sakura's story as a journey of self-discovery and growing up. It's not only about catching up to the two boys she cares about, it's about her finding out what she can do and who she is. Sakura's life is and always has been a work in progress. She has questions she wants to answer about herself: Am I strong enough to protect what I love? Is this good enough? Have I made any difference at all? If she is supposed to be an example of human weakness (as Kishimoto once said it himself), is she also an example of how even the weakest person can become the strongest?

Sakura has strengths that her boys do not have. She can deal with her emotions better because she knows when to hold back and when to let go. She is out to prove Rule Number 25 wrong on the grandest scale - and she's doing a spectacular job of it. Sakura is proof you can be a great shinobi without letting go of your humanity, without letting go any of the things that make a person who they are.

She has caught up to Naruto AND Sasuke. Her issues currently lie in her confidence. She's not entirely sure she is there yet and she won't believe it, I think, until she is in a situation where the only person who can make that difference is her. Her and no one else.

Of course, heh, being a SasuSaku fan, I'm sure what she needs is to be told by Sasuke that she's strong. His leaving motivated her to start the path she's been on. Naruto may be her rock but Sasuke is the one she wants to help - though her desire to help goes beyond just one person.

I've never thought of Sakura's story as her having to choose which of the boys she loves romantically. IMO she still loves Sasuke because she has not shown or told whether or not she still does. I'm assuming since Naruto's feelings about Sasuke haven't changed, Sakura's feelings for him haven't changed. If they have, we will be told or shown as soon as Sakura and Sasuke have a minute alone together.

As for Sasuke, hm, I'm a bit more optimistic about him. You're right about his being haunted by his past but that does not mean he can't find happiness in the now. He's human, he's always going to look back over his shoulder at the ghosts of his past and wonder. But if he can find happiness in the now, realize what he currently is holding in his hands and appreciate it, that will be enough. If he can find some contentment in his life, find a real smile, acknowledge his bonds as something worth holding on to rather than something to push away, then I think Sasuke will find something whole in himself, something Itachi couldn't quite destroy. Sasuke just has to want it and embrace it. He is his own savior. Naruto and Sakura will help him see the light but it's his two legs that have to bring him to it.

[bjfactory]

I actually wrote a long reply yesterday. But of course, in posting it, I pushed the wrong button and it went away. Too tired to repeat what I said, I sat on it until I could give you a decent reply resembling the first.

First off, I agree with like 99% of what you are saying here. I think the reason I find her so difficult to pin down is because she's on a journey of self-discovery. Her goal is to be the best person she could be, to change and become better. I guess you put it well enough that I finally understood what confused me about her as a character. Where as Sasuke and Naruto's goals are tangible, Sakura's is not. That's why I like her, I guess, and why she's like so many people out there - constantly aware of the large and small flaws laying beneath her skin and desperate to change herself for the better. I definitely think that Sakura has the most compassion, just like you do. She really want everyone to be happy, and in a business where everyone is scarred - almost beyond repair, at times - she really believes. I think this, in itself, is a great premise for many fics, if people are willing to explore Sakura, not just in the romance section of Naruto, but as a human being.

I have to say you misunderstood me a little... I don't just see Sakura as a romantic lead in a shounen story. Sure she loves Sasuke, and sure she grew to love Naruto now, but because she has the unconventional role of having her goal as improving herself, I'm curious on what road she'll take. The fact that the panel where she's watching after Sasuke and Naruto is not because I think she's still lagging behind them, so much as she still seem to feel that way. What I find unfair is that fans compare her to Naruto and Sasuke when they are nurturing very different skills. Sasuke was straining to gain the skills to kill, Naruto was struggling for the skills to protect, and Sakura has been learning the skills to heal. It makes very little sense to compare them since they are not in mediums that can be compared. Sure Sasuke can probably kill people better than a lot of characters in Naruto, but ask him to heal someone with his deadly chakra and he'll probably bomb it. Ditto for Naruto and ditto for Sakura. They're specializing in different things, and that's what makes them a great team. I also think that skill wise, Sakura in her field is pretty on-par with Naruto and Sasuke, but I was also pointing out that the boys are better than her at certain things because they have advantages in those skills that she does not (unlimited chakra, weirdly cursed bloodline) but that's true for her too.

I can't argue about SasuSaku. I do lean towards NaruSaku but I don't abhor SasuSaku, I also openly admit that they do have a chance in the future should the situation avails itself. Do I prefer NaruSaku, sure, but I'm not going to bash SasuSaku either. It's the whip-cream of the cake, if it's NaruSaku, but it's not that important. They're all people who grew up really relying on each other, fighting for each other, and fighting with each other... I like that dynamic, and I just miss Team 7 period because of that dynamic.

I agree, Sasuke does have a chance to be happy again... but he just seem like a character that will always be emo. I was just trying to poke fun at him a little, but it came out all angsty... so, I can see him laughing with friends and family again, just maybe, never fully healed. Kind of the price of seeking vengeance so absolutely for such a long time...

I don't think Sakura's story is to chose between these two boys, growing into manhood, either. She'll always love both, and love them differently. I don't doubt that there's a place in her heart large enough to help heal both of them from their loneliness either... but, like I said, who she chose is the icing on the cake...

I just prefer the icing to be Naruto ;) But hey, Sasuke's okay too. I'll leave that up to the mangaka, if he ever gets to it... but right now, I just want to see the three of them together again. And, hehe, now that there's Sai... I just can't wait!

[bunnynumber13]

"I agree, Sasuke does have a chance to be happy again... but he just seem like a character that will always be emo. "

I don't see him that way. I guess that's where our opinions differ. I think with time and maturity he can grow out of it. He's so "emo" now because he's at that angtsy point in his life. Until he proves to me he can't move on from that in some way, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I already see a markedly different in the Sasuke of now than the one of before, just like I see that Naruto's calmed down a LOT from how he used to be. XD

"I think this, in itself, is a great premise for many fics, if people are willing to explore Sakura, not just in the romance section of Naruto, but as a human being."

Totally agree. :)

I suppose I did misunderstand you a little. I apologize for that.

I don't support NaruSaku at all anymore. I have paragraphs of reasons why I don't. The main one is Sakura's tendency to punch Naruto's lights out because he's offended her in some way. I don't see that as romantic. Naruto should never be anyone's doormat. Maybe it's because I don't have a sense of humor but I don't like that aspect of their relationship. If they become romantically attached, that would need to stop.

My other reason: Sasuke already had one person lie to him about loving him. Whether or not he loves Sakura back in the end or not, if he sees her go off with Naruto, given how "emo" he is, he may focus on the fact "wait she said she loved me but now she's with Naruto then that means she lied to me like Itachi lied to me about caring about me." If I were Sasuke, Mister Lives In the Past, what reason would I want to have anything to do with her anymore? What other bond did they have between each other? Not friendship, that's for sure.

Of course, this rant holds no water, (though it's fun to debate it in the debate forums!) because we don't know how Sakura still feels about Sasuke. We'll find out soon enough. I'm with you: I just want Team 7 back together, fighting at each other's sides and be a complete whole team/family again. That's how best the three work together and it's something that's more enduring, more beautiful and stronger than who winds up with who in the end. We all have our pairing preferences but we should all want Team 7 together again. It's what matters most about this story.