Haha, I definitely agree with you. Sakura did not confess because she was fickle. She used that fickleness as an excuse (which actually made me even more upset because it's the kind of stereotypical accusation pointed at women, and it's terrible that Sakura had to use it on herself). And of course, she loves both Naruto and Sasuke. I could never think otherwise. ;_; I still think she may have feelings for Naruto by this time - so yes, I do feel sympathetic towards her because she probably can't sort out her own emotions at the moment. And she probably doesn't know what to do, i.e she made a huge and really stupid mistake.
!! I agree with you on 'alleviating personal guilt'. That's so true.
I guess what really upset me about this chapter was the amount of unwarranted Sakura!stupidity involved here. She was definitely lying to a certain extent. Everyone present could tell how contrived it was - even if it was to protect him, she went about it in a totally wrong way. It was terribly insulting and hurtful to Naruto. And also manipulative, as she was expecting Naruto to reciprocate in the way she expected him to. 469 made her to look as though she completely didn't understand Naruto. Because ultimately, Naruto would have brought Sasuke back, promise or not. Naruto does love Sasuke more than Sakura.
She should've known better. :(
My point's mostly that I blame Kishimoto for Sakura's behaviour here. Because, considering how much she's matured over the series, it feels really OOC and disappointing, and I'm upset that Sakura has been made to look bad again and again. For no real reason. There is very little evidence in Part 2 to suggest that Sakura would do something so stupid to a companion she should love and understand enough by now. Plus, a lot of the time she's just being made use of as a feminine plot device which really doesn't sit well with me at all. :(
I also agree that every character has his/her flaws. The problem is that, most of them are painted as archetypal vices (e.g drinking, gambling, sloth, lustfulness etc). They are almost glamourized (lol Sasuke) or lovable (c'mon, I love Shikamaru's laziness as well). Sakura's faults are the most human of all because they're revealed through her interpersonal interactions. She;s so real it makes us uncomfortable. And I like it. I like it very much this way. Sakura's my fav because she's the most realistic.
My only problem is that I really don't know what Kishimoto is doing. Sometimes he just seems really sexist.
I just... want my Team 7 back together again, somehow. And for Sakura to kick serious ass because it's really about time.
Heh, I tend to get very nit-picky over representations of female characters and gender issues, hope you don't mind ^^;;
Well, it is true that Kishimoto-sensei is terrible with portraying females. So far, out of all the females he's created in Naruto, Tsunade is a gambler, Ten Ten doesn't appear often enough to have much of a personality, Temari is strong but also shown to have a malicious side, Hinata is emotionally-weak (her recent confession to Naruto was a breakthrough for her, but it was also ignored in the grander scheme of things), and Ino is fierce but quite next to useless too.
Finally, there's Sakura, who seems to be Kishimoto-sensei's favourite female character to torture.
Yes, it was obvious to everyone (maybe except Lee) that Sakura was lying when she said she loved Naruto. XDD It was obvious she was unsure about it herself, but still felt compelled to go on with it.
I wouldn't say it was OOC of her. Throughout the series, Sakura has been shown to be a nurturing force for both Naruto and Sasuke, and she has proven to be a source of strength and motivation for them both as well. Likewise, Naruto is also her pillar of strength. So when she confessed to him, it was somewhat like an act of self-sacrifice so that she'd be able to give him more strength, and also be able to rely on him more. It's actually a two-way thing for her.
Also, she probably didn't want to tell Naruto outright that it was alright, that he didn't have to retrieve Sasuke for her sake. Considering how male pride works, saying that outright would probably have hurt Naruto. So her confession was a roundabout way of telling him that.
Yes, Kishimoto-sensei is not the best at portraying females, but Sakura is his best attempt. I love her. :D
Yeah. :( I actually liked Tsunade's 'vices'; they weren't construed as being a natural stereotypical outcome of her sex. And they showed that someone 'imperfect' like her is still someone worthy of admiration and respect as the figurehead and (presumably) most powerful position in Konoha. But gahhhh. Just thinking of Ino makes me cringe. I LOVED her character. I don't think she's really that useless, it's just Kishimoto and... yeah. She's been reduced to a commentator just like practically every other female in the series.
I guess I only found it OOC because most of the Sakura we've been seeing in Part 2 gives us no reason to think that she'd do something this stupid again. To Naruto, of all people. Gahhh.
Roundabout way, but how terribly cruel of her too ;__;
I love her, too. Despite all this. And even if I had to take this lousy confession in stride I would still support her, and hope for Kishimoto to do her character justice one day.
!! I agree with you on 'alleviating personal guilt'. That's so true.
I guess what really upset me about this chapter was the amount of unwarranted Sakura!stupidity involved here. She was definitely lying to a certain extent. Everyone present could tell how contrived it was - even if it was to protect him, she went about it in a totally wrong way. It was terribly insulting and hurtful to Naruto. And also manipulative, as she was expecting Naruto to reciprocate in the way she expected him to. 469 made her to look as though she completely didn't understand Naruto. Because ultimately, Naruto would have brought Sasuke back, promise or not. Naruto does love Sasuke more than Sakura.
She should've known better. :(
My point's mostly that I blame Kishimoto for Sakura's behaviour here. Because, considering how much she's matured over the series, it feels really OOC and disappointing, and I'm upset that Sakura has been made to look bad again and again. For no real reason. There is very little evidence in Part 2 to suggest that Sakura would do something so stupid to a companion she should love and understand enough by now. Plus, a lot of the time she's just being made use of as a feminine plot device which really doesn't sit well with me at all. :(
I also agree that every character has his/her flaws. The problem is that, most of them are painted as archetypal vices (e.g drinking, gambling, sloth, lustfulness etc). They are almost glamourized (lol Sasuke) or lovable (c'mon, I love Shikamaru's laziness as well). Sakura's faults are the most human of all because they're revealed through her interpersonal interactions. She;s so real it makes us uncomfortable. And I like it. I like it very much this way. Sakura's my fav because she's the most realistic.
My only problem is that I really don't know what Kishimoto is doing. Sometimes he just seems really sexist.
I just... want my Team 7 back together again, somehow. And for Sakura to kick serious ass because it's really about time.
Heh, I tend to get very nit-picky over representations of female characters and gender issues, hope you don't mind ^^;;
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Finally, there's Sakura, who seems to be Kishimoto-sensei's favourite female character to torture.
Yes, it was obvious to everyone (maybe except Lee) that Sakura was lying when she said she loved Naruto. XDD It was obvious she was unsure about it herself, but still felt compelled to go on with it.
I wouldn't say it was OOC of her. Throughout the series, Sakura has been shown to be a nurturing force for both Naruto and Sasuke, and she has proven to be a source of strength and motivation for them both as well. Likewise, Naruto is also her pillar of strength. So when she confessed to him, it was somewhat like an act of self-sacrifice so that she'd be able to give him more strength, and also be able to rely on him more. It's actually a two-way thing for her.
Also, she probably didn't want to tell Naruto outright that it was alright, that he didn't have to retrieve Sasuke for her sake. Considering how male pride works, saying that outright would probably have hurt Naruto. So her confession was a roundabout way of telling him that.
Yes, Kishimoto-sensei is not the best at portraying females, but Sakura is his best attempt. I love her. :D
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I guess I only found it OOC because most of the Sakura we've been seeing in Part 2 gives us no reason to think that she'd do something this stupid again. To Naruto, of all people. Gahhh.
Roundabout way, but how terribly cruel of her too ;__;
I love her, too. Despite all this. And even if I had to take this lousy confession in stride I would still support her, and hope for Kishimoto to do her character justice one day.
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