Having just discovered the blog function, I have decided to put it to the test by preserving my recent post regarding Naruto/Sakura.
My reasons for disliking Naruto/Sakura are as follows:
1. I've always been annoyed by the whole "girl hits guy" cliche. Point 3 makes this particular case especially irritating.
2. I have nothing against some good natured teasing, but there's a point where jabs stop being teasing and become just plain insulting, like in chapter 311. Of course, then there are times where Sakura outright insults Naruto even if he doesn't deserve it, like chapter 350.
3. One of the things I like most about Naruto is how he simply does not take crap from anyone. Even if it's a king toad 500x his size that's making fun of him, he'll tell it off for not showing him proper respect. That's why it's so disgusting to me to see Sakura hitting or insulting Naruto, and the most the suddenly spineless jellyfish can bring himself to do is whine halfheartedly.
4. Naruto is just plain oblivious. Granted, this is a problem with any Naruto pairing, but the problem is exacerbated by point 5.
5. Sakura has a bad habit of lying to Naruto, and he's too oblivious to realize it. Prior to the chuunin exams, she covered up her anxiety about entering the exam. In the FoD, she lied about why she cut her hair, and somehow Naruto couldn't tell from how beat up she was that something was wrong. During the prelims, Sakura lied about Sasuke's curse seal. The most recent example is after the fight with Orochimaru, when Sakura lied about how Naruto fell unconscious and how she got injured. *EDIT*: Though Sakura generally means well, nothing good has come from the deception. As the saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".
Now, I understand that problems are a part of any relationship, and that these problems (and how the couple deals with them) does a lot to make a romance more interesting reading. Because of this, I find points 4 and 5 forgivable (Even though 5 is probably the biggest problem with the relationship), since they're hurdles the couple can overcome. Well... Naruto may never get past 4, but it's not really an issue if 5 is taken care of.
Thus, for me, the problem lies in the first three, since Kishimoto hasn't given any indication that he considers them problems with the relationship, and thus they are extremely unlikely to be fixed. That means that even if and when problems 4 and 5 are fixed, Naruto/Sakura interaction will forever bring out some of the worst in Naruto and Sakura: "Spineless Naruto" and "Bitchy and Insulting Sakura". I could tolerate or maybe even like the pairing if either problems 1 and 2 or problem 3 were taken care of, but I just don't see it ever happening.
My reasons for disliking Naruto/Sakura are as follows:
1. I've always been annoyed by the whole "girl hits guy" cliche. Point 3 makes this particular case especially irritating.
2. I have nothing against some good natured teasing, but there's a point where jabs stop being teasing and become just plain insulting, like in chapter 311. Of course, then there are times where Sakura outright insults Naruto even if he doesn't deserve it, like chapter 350.
3. One of the things I like most about Naruto is how he simply does not take crap from anyone. Even if it's a king toad 500x his size that's making fun of him, he'll tell it off for not showing him proper respect. That's why it's so disgusting to me to see Sakura hitting or insulting Naruto, and the most the suddenly spineless jellyfish can bring himself to do is whine halfheartedly.
4. Naruto is just plain oblivious. Granted, this is a problem with any Naruto pairing, but the problem is exacerbated by point 5.
5. Sakura has a bad habit of lying to Naruto, and he's too oblivious to realize it. Prior to the chuunin exams, she covered up her anxiety about entering the exam. In the FoD, she lied about why she cut her hair, and somehow Naruto couldn't tell from how beat up she was that something was wrong. During the prelims, Sakura lied about Sasuke's curse seal. The most recent example is after the fight with Orochimaru, when Sakura lied about how Naruto fell unconscious and how she got injured. *EDIT*: Though Sakura generally means well, nothing good has come from the deception. As the saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions".
Now, I understand that problems are a part of any relationship, and that these problems (and how the couple deals with them) does a lot to make a romance more interesting reading. Because of this, I find points 4 and 5 forgivable (Even though 5 is probably the biggest problem with the relationship), since they're hurdles the couple can overcome. Well... Naruto may never get past 4, but it's not really an issue if 5 is taken care of.
Thus, for me, the problem lies in the first three, since Kishimoto hasn't given any indication that he considers them problems with the relationship, and thus they are extremely unlikely to be fixed. That means that even if and when problems 4 and 5 are fixed, Naruto/Sakura interaction will forever bring out some of the worst in Naruto and Sakura: "Spineless Naruto" and "Bitchy and Insulting Sakura". I could tolerate or maybe even like the pairing if either problems 1 and 2 or problem 3 were taken care of, but I just don't see it ever happening.
