Sakura was finally full of conviction to do what needed to be done to stop Sasuke, went all that way just to hesitate, have to be rescued, then sidelined and crying. I’m so tired.
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There's only one character in Naruto that doesn't get turned shitty, sidelined, and/or killed off that isn't the title character, Grantdalf. It is the sad truth of that story.
Honestly, this is why I love JJK despite all its flaws & Akutami’s hatred of his own characters. The women have agency and are ready to fuck things up.
The very first lesson Team 7 learnt was to care and support your friends. Sakura and Naruto both still consider Sasuke their friend which is why she is conflicted. This is good writing imo.
It’s not so much that Sakura grieves or still cares for Sasuke, it’s that she just does nothing… again. Kakashi and Naruto are both four feet away and fighting, despite their conflicted feelings. I would like for Sakura to do the same is all.
But that's the point, the 'something' you would like her to do is still just fight her friend which goes against that lesson. Naruto at this point is also not really fighting Sasuke, he's trying to protect the others. Kakashi and Sasuke are the only ones going against what they were taught here.
I’m not necessarily arguing with that in this specific moment, but it’s just a recurring pattern of Sakura not getting to do stuff. Nine times out of ten she’s left out. Has Naruto ever stood on the sideline and cried while Sakura fought? That sort of thing.
I would argue that a significant part of Sakura's character growth is that she knows this and does do a lot in Part 2 even beyond just having fights. This exact same conflict in Part 1 Sakura was helplessly waiting at the hospital whilst all the boys went to get Sasuke back. This time she finds him.
She’s certainly grown and been more active, but I still wanna see her throw down a bit more. It’s a world tha revolves around martial arts and deadly magic to solve problems, let her throw a few roundhouse kicks and summon big monsters like everybody else - that’s all I’m saying
Interviews show that, apparently, Sakura was one of his favorite characters, but negative backlash and opinions of her made it so Kishi always hesitated with her
He regrets not fleshing her out like the rest of Team 7, but idk if it would have been any better
I don't remember the details tbh, just that there wasn't as much interest in her as the others (shown by popularity polls at the time), so Kishi decided to drop ideas he had for her. or something along those lines
Which is why he comments specifically on her winning 3rd in the world popularity poll
He straight up hated writing for her. I’m genuinely surprised he didn’t kill her off, but I’m more baffled that he kept trying and failing instead of permanently writing her out.
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These poor kids needed to be in a slice of life series or something.
"Well, anyway..."
Interviews show that, apparently, Sakura was one of his favorite characters, but negative backlash and opinions of her made it so Kishi always hesitated with her
He regrets not fleshing her out like the rest of Team 7, but idk if it would have been any better
Which is why he comments specifically on her winning 3rd in the world popularity poll
It’s so sad.