Naruto ch. 469, Bleach 380
Rantage ahoy, I guess. Naruto 469 just ticked me off, because, really?
Did anyone else at all read Chapter 469 thinking, "It's a trap! It's a TRAP!" the entire last half?
I'm sorry, but Sakura, WTF? This whole 'confession' was very... not real, and Naruto knew it. Poor boy... And come on Sakura, how is this *not* supposed to seem like an opportunistic 'discovery' right now? Here are the things that pissed me off, for various reasons:
A) He's revered as a hero now, and Konoha loves him at least on the surface. Sakura even mentions this directly, which, comes across as incredibly convenient, opportunistic, cliche, and whatever else you might think of. I mean, confessing and saying, "The village loves you now, and I feel the same way"? That's like what you see in a comedy, or a movie where the subtext or missing addendum/qualifier to a sentence is VISIBLY HANGING in the air right next to them: "Oh, she's not dead." YET. "Oh, the village sees you as a hero, and loves you, and I feel the same way." NOW.
Now, yes, Sakura, I believe that you do have feelings for Naruto, and that if not right now, they certainly will be honest and real in the future, I think. I can believe in Naruto/Sakura, but not this way. This was a strategic, blatant timing effort on Sakura's part, I'm sorry. Even in the background, you can tell that the others aren't quite buying it--especially Kiba.
B) You continually mention Sasuke, and Naruto's promise. Now, yes, admittedly Sasuke is a very critical part of their relationship, no matter which way you spin it. There is absolutely no denying that, at all. On the other hand, though, if you're going to confess and keep mentioning Sasuke, something's a little off, especially the way that Sakura's mentioning him.
--Sasuke-kun is just moving further and further away from me... but Naruto, you've always been right here beside me... Now, yes, this might seem like a good start to honestly confiding your feelings to someone. What's throwing me here, though, is that Sakura just has this look on her face, you know? Like this is intimate talk, only, o hai, there's the rest of the gang, like five feet away. Furthermore, though, my "It's a TRAP!" radar keeps going off as I keep reading further down the page: You're the hero who protected the village; the whole village loves you now, you know... I feel the same way, that's all."
That's all... sure. No, because once again, But Sasuke-kun kept committing sin after sin, breaking my heart with every step, becoming a different person, one far removed from me. But Naruto, you, I have right here, close enough to touch."
Sakura, come on. I know you're smarter than this, and that you aren't this heartless. But the very phrasing right there is basically saying, "Well, Sasuke-kun's gone, and you know, I'm starting to really give up on him. He's gone, but you're right here, and I can be with you now." That just completely rankles me there; she's settling for him, and she's even saying it to his face! How is he supposed to respond, Sakura?
Even more than that, however, Sakura mentions the promise, which, in my mind, only demonstrated her lack of understanding of Naruto. "You can forget about that promise we made, okay? Why don't you stop chasing after Sasuke-kun?"
In other words, not only does she want to keep him right there so she can have her wicked way with him whenever she wants and so she can be 'safe', but she thinks that the only reason Naruto is chasing Sasuke at this point is for the promise. Yes, this is a part of it, because Naruto wants to protect Sakura from being hurt and make her happy; that's what friends do. On the other hand, though, it seems like she's trivializing Sasuke's importance to Naruto. She isn't realizing that Naruto is still pursuing Sasuke because Sasuke is Naruto's friend, too. In fact, Sasuke is Naruto's most important person, as has been established several times throughout the manga and we all know that Naruto is Sasuke's most important still living person, too.
Asking Naruto to give up on searching for Sasuke is probably one of the most offensive things Sakura has done at this point, in my mind. Not only is she trying to keep him close (which, if her feelings and confession at the time were honest, I would be okay with), but she's asking him to give up (which he never does anyway), and to give up another friend just for her, to be selfish.
C) Naruto makes her feel safe. ((This one is admittedly more of a "I hate it when girls are played off as weaklings)) Yes, feeling safe is usually a good thing in a relationship, if not a KEY thing, especially considering the world they live in. A shinobi would understandably want a partner that they could trust, could feel safe with, and I can get that. What's bugging me is, "You bring me peace." Again, that just seems like... convenience, I guess. "I've seen how strong you are, and watched you grow, but now I have proof."
Now, I understand her being scared--she just lost her entire home, and the entire shinobi world is about to go to war, and she knows Akatsuki is after her friend. I get that. Feeling safe is probably one of the first things that any 15 year old girl wants, deadly shinobi or no. On the other hand, though, she seems to be relegating herself to the background; she needs to be protected. Feeling vulnerable is, of course, understandable, but to just all of a sudden go running to the strongest guy around? Especially after how strong and ass-kicking we've seen her these days? Wanting to feel safe is one thing, but confessing to a guy that, in order, "I like you because there must have been something wrong with me to like Sasuke, you're a hero and you're here, Sasuke keeps hurting me even though nothing he's doing at this point actively involves me, but you bring me peace,
D) You start this whole thing off with a lie. Naruto asks, Hey, did something happen to bring this all on? Her answer? No. No, she just decided to come all the way up here to confess, for no reason... not because she saw you got the living hell beat out of you for Sasuke's sake, which of course is all her fault because of the promise she made him swear. Nope. This is totally not some attempt to make this up to you or anything.
E) Something must have been wrong with her to have feelings for Sasuke in the first place. Yes, that's a real winner of an honest confession, Sakura. Really. Not only are you trivializing your feelings for your first love (obsession, whatever), but you are once again insulting Naruto's perceptiveness. He's not stupid; he knew you liked Sasuke, and furthermore, he got why you and all the other girls did. He recognized that Sasuke had the looks, the family name, the moves, skills, and intellect--basically, everything that Naruto didn't have, or didn't believe himself to have, at the beginning. He understood that Sasuke was everyone's crush, even if he claimed he didn't get it.
Please, don't belittle your first, current, whatever crush just to confess to Naruto. Be HONEST. Be real.
~*~
Okay, now, yes, I can separate Sakura from Kishimoto, definitely. I know that there's a reason behind this, but god, I'm so grateful that Naruto didn't fall for this. I'm so happy that we see how much more mature he's become, and how he's recognizing this. I just wish that Sakura had thought a little more, that she realizes that in the long run, this is going to make her seem even more insincere to Naruto if they ever hook up. She just seemed so manipulative and junk at this point...
~*~
As for Bleach, I thought that this chapter was pretty good--we got to see more key elements of several characters and how they interact, you know?
--Ichigo: Now, I heard that apparently quite a bit of fandom is starting to turn against Ichigo? Is that true? If so, I'm not part of them. For me, Ichigo seems to be maturing both in terms of power and in terms of emotions. For me, the main part is that with the dissolution of his Hollow mask, we finally seem to be seeing a limit on his power, which may have been long overdue. To see him having trouble once more with his power is reassuring, just because it reminds us that he's still only 15, and only been at this for like what, 6 months? Somewhere in there?
--Ichigo and Byakuya: Now this made me happy. Not only did we get to see some of Byakuya's Noble Attitude, but we got to see some of his grudging respect for Ichigo. He might say that Ichigo cannot compare to the captain's strength, but he knows that Ichigo is a valuable ally and a formidable opponent. In a way, I read this as Byakuya saying, "We'll finish up here, you go on ahead." Only, you know, in Noble-ese :P
--Mayuri and Urahara: Interesting. I wondered how Mayuri viewed Urahara these days, after the TBTP events... and this provided something interesting. Rivals, if only in a one-sided way... but you have to love how defensive it can make Mayuri (from Unohana, no less!) This competitive side... it might prove interesting in the future. I'm hoping we get to see Kisuke again soon, mostly because I'm still not all that fond of Mayuri. I still wonder how he's allowed to have a captain's position in the Gotei 13 despite his questionable and sadistic tendencies. Do they just turn a blind eye, or what?
Feel free to respond, discuss... it's been way too long since I've been so enraged I needed to write something like this out. Well, except for the Orihime "Useless" Inoue stuff, but don't get me started on that ;)
Did anyone else at all read Chapter 469 thinking, "It's a trap! It's a TRAP!" the entire last half?
I'm sorry, but Sakura, WTF? This whole 'confession' was very... not real, and Naruto knew it. Poor boy... And come on Sakura, how is this *not* supposed to seem like an opportunistic 'discovery' right now? Here are the things that pissed me off, for various reasons:
A) He's revered as a hero now, and Konoha loves him at least on the surface. Sakura even mentions this directly, which, comes across as incredibly convenient, opportunistic, cliche, and whatever else you might think of. I mean, confessing and saying, "The village loves you now, and I feel the same way"? That's like what you see in a comedy, or a movie where the subtext or missing addendum/qualifier to a sentence is VISIBLY HANGING in the air right next to them: "Oh, she's not dead." YET. "Oh, the village sees you as a hero, and loves you, and I feel the same way." NOW.
Now, yes, Sakura, I believe that you do have feelings for Naruto, and that if not right now, they certainly will be honest and real in the future, I think. I can believe in Naruto/Sakura, but not this way. This was a strategic, blatant timing effort on Sakura's part, I'm sorry. Even in the background, you can tell that the others aren't quite buying it--especially Kiba.
B) You continually mention Sasuke, and Naruto's promise. Now, yes, admittedly Sasuke is a very critical part of their relationship, no matter which way you spin it. There is absolutely no denying that, at all. On the other hand, though, if you're going to confess and keep mentioning Sasuke, something's a little off, especially the way that Sakura's mentioning him.
--Sasuke-kun is just moving further and further away from me... but Naruto, you've always been right here beside me... Now, yes, this might seem like a good start to honestly confiding your feelings to someone. What's throwing me here, though, is that Sakura just has this look on her face, you know? Like this is intimate talk, only, o hai, there's the rest of the gang, like five feet away. Furthermore, though, my "It's a TRAP!" radar keeps going off as I keep reading further down the page: You're the hero who protected the village; the whole village loves you now, you know... I feel the same way, that's all."
That's all... sure. No, because once again, But Sasuke-kun kept committing sin after sin, breaking my heart with every step, becoming a different person, one far removed from me. But Naruto, you, I have right here, close enough to touch."
Sakura, come on. I know you're smarter than this, and that you aren't this heartless. But the very phrasing right there is basically saying, "Well, Sasuke-kun's gone, and you know, I'm starting to really give up on him. He's gone, but you're right here, and I can be with you now." That just completely rankles me there; she's settling for him, and she's even saying it to his face! How is he supposed to respond, Sakura?
Even more than that, however, Sakura mentions the promise, which, in my mind, only demonstrated her lack of understanding of Naruto. "You can forget about that promise we made, okay? Why don't you stop chasing after Sasuke-kun?"
In other words, not only does she want to keep him right there so she can have her wicked way with him whenever she wants and so she can be 'safe', but she thinks that the only reason Naruto is chasing Sasuke at this point is for the promise. Yes, this is a part of it, because Naruto wants to protect Sakura from being hurt and make her happy; that's what friends do. On the other hand, though, it seems like she's trivializing Sasuke's importance to Naruto. She isn't realizing that Naruto is still pursuing Sasuke because Sasuke is Naruto's friend, too. In fact, Sasuke is Naruto's most important person, as has been established several times throughout the manga and we all know that Naruto is Sasuke's most important still living person, too.
Asking Naruto to give up on searching for Sasuke is probably one of the most offensive things Sakura has done at this point, in my mind. Not only is she trying to keep him close (which, if her feelings and confession at the time were honest, I would be okay with), but she's asking him to give up (which he never does anyway), and to give up another friend just for her, to be selfish.
C) Naruto makes her feel safe. ((This one is admittedly more of a "I hate it when girls are played off as weaklings)) Yes, feeling safe is usually a good thing in a relationship, if not a KEY thing, especially considering the world they live in. A shinobi would understandably want a partner that they could trust, could feel safe with, and I can get that. What's bugging me is, "You bring me peace." Again, that just seems like... convenience, I guess. "I've seen how strong you are, and watched you grow, but now I have proof."
Now, I understand her being scared--she just lost her entire home, and the entire shinobi world is about to go to war, and she knows Akatsuki is after her friend. I get that. Feeling safe is probably one of the first things that any 15 year old girl wants, deadly shinobi or no. On the other hand, though, she seems to be relegating herself to the background; she needs to be protected. Feeling vulnerable is, of course, understandable, but to just all of a sudden go running to the strongest guy around? Especially after how strong and ass-kicking we've seen her these days? Wanting to feel safe is one thing, but confessing to a guy that, in order, "I like you because there must have been something wrong with me to like Sasuke, you're a hero and you're here, Sasuke keeps hurting me even though nothing he's doing at this point actively involves me, but you bring me peace,
D) You start this whole thing off with a lie. Naruto asks, Hey, did something happen to bring this all on? Her answer? No. No, she just decided to come all the way up here to confess, for no reason... not because she saw you got the living hell beat out of you for Sasuke's sake, which of course is all her fault because of the promise she made him swear. Nope. This is totally not some attempt to make this up to you or anything.
E) Something must have been wrong with her to have feelings for Sasuke in the first place. Yes, that's a real winner of an honest confession, Sakura. Really. Not only are you trivializing your feelings for your first love (obsession, whatever), but you are once again insulting Naruto's perceptiveness. He's not stupid; he knew you liked Sasuke, and furthermore, he got why you and all the other girls did. He recognized that Sasuke had the looks, the family name, the moves, skills, and intellect--basically, everything that Naruto didn't have, or didn't believe himself to have, at the beginning. He understood that Sasuke was everyone's crush, even if he claimed he didn't get it.
Please, don't belittle your first, current, whatever crush just to confess to Naruto. Be HONEST. Be real.
~*~
Okay, now, yes, I can separate Sakura from Kishimoto, definitely. I know that there's a reason behind this, but god, I'm so grateful that Naruto didn't fall for this. I'm so happy that we see how much more mature he's become, and how he's recognizing this. I just wish that Sakura had thought a little more, that she realizes that in the long run, this is going to make her seem even more insincere to Naruto if they ever hook up. She just seemed so manipulative and junk at this point...
~*~
As for Bleach, I thought that this chapter was pretty good--we got to see more key elements of several characters and how they interact, you know?
--Ichigo: Now, I heard that apparently quite a bit of fandom is starting to turn against Ichigo? Is that true? If so, I'm not part of them. For me, Ichigo seems to be maturing both in terms of power and in terms of emotions. For me, the main part is that with the dissolution of his Hollow mask, we finally seem to be seeing a limit on his power, which may have been long overdue. To see him having trouble once more with his power is reassuring, just because it reminds us that he's still only 15, and only been at this for like what, 6 months? Somewhere in there?
--Ichigo and Byakuya: Now this made me happy. Not only did we get to see some of Byakuya's Noble Attitude, but we got to see some of his grudging respect for Ichigo. He might say that Ichigo cannot compare to the captain's strength, but he knows that Ichigo is a valuable ally and a formidable opponent. In a way, I read this as Byakuya saying, "We'll finish up here, you go on ahead." Only, you know, in Noble-ese :P
--Mayuri and Urahara: Interesting. I wondered how Mayuri viewed Urahara these days, after the TBTP events... and this provided something interesting. Rivals, if only in a one-sided way... but you have to love how defensive it can make Mayuri (from Unohana, no less!) This competitive side... it might prove interesting in the future. I'm hoping we get to see Kisuke again soon, mostly because I'm still not all that fond of Mayuri. I still wonder how he's allowed to have a captain's position in the Gotei 13 despite his questionable and sadistic tendencies. Do they just turn a blind eye, or what?
Feel free to respond, discuss... it's been way too long since I've been so enraged I needed to write something like this out. Well, except for the Orihime "Useless" Inoue stuff, but don't get me started on that ;)