#Anti InoSaku Fandom

[naruto-shipping-confessions]

[gaydinosaurbananamilkcarton]

narusaku is a gross ship, she treats him like her brother. Sasusaku is a toxic ship, sasuke doesn't deserve sakura. Naruhina is a boring ship, it's like they don't even like each other. Kibahina would've been better. Sakura, naruto, and sasuke probably should've been alone💀 narusasu isn't a bad ship, I just don't like it. If sakura was with anyone, ino would've been better. I only like sasusaku because of Sarada, but we all can admit that sasuke was a piece of shit even after they got together.

[leportraitducadavre]

Ino and Sakura

It's often said that Sakura cut off her ties with Ino for more reasons than just Sasuke. For some fans, she even did it because Ino was pushing her down purposefully in order to be always on top.

In that sense, and while this post has been written in another response, the other one will soon become a monster too huge to control, so I'll leave this here for better access and to better expand their relationship for those who are interested.

A warning you should know: Many images are shown while others are linked (pay attention to the underlined-bold words, they'll guide you to the image analyzed).

Despite the claims introduced before, on the panels we were shown their previous relationship during their childhood at no point did Ino seem to downgrade Sakura -either physically or mentally-, on the contrary, she's constantly shown trying to lift her spirits, like when she complements her looks:

Let the world see that pretty face!! Strike a pose!

At no point did Ino downgrade Sakura or put herself above; telling Sakura to show confidence doesn’t automatically put her in a higher position in their friendship.

To explain myself further: providing help when someone needs it isn’t the same as putting oneself in a morally or physically superior position. Their relationship is of equals regardless of Ino supplying emotional support. The fact that Sakura inwardly elevates Ino's relevance in their dynamic isn’t Ino’s responsibility as everything Sakura thinks of Ino is never expressed (translated, Ino isn't aware of her position inside their friendship, as she's never told her relevance). Furthermore, Ino never states that she considers herself attractive or prettier than Sakura herself, every time they speak on the matter Ino tells Sakura to be more confident as she has a "pretty face".

Him! Hah! He just struts around, acting like he’s so cool.

At no moment does Ino seem upset at Sakura for liking the same boy, in fact, she chooses to lie about how she feels for Sasuke in order not to start a conflict. This is, of course, not specified in canon, but since Ino doesn't display her feelings for Sasuke and, quite the contrary, she criticizes him, it's safe to assume she lied about her feelings.

And even if Ino is upset about Sakura liking the same boy as her, something that is neither expressed nor shown, she doesn’t act around it.

Furthermore, Sakura engages in conversations with Ino about Sasuke (Hey, Ino! Sasuke seems to like girls with long hair, so I’m going to grow mine…) and it doesn’t seem as if Ino dismisses the subject out of jealousy.

Everyone says you’re after Sasuke too, Ino…

I'm aware that some fans, specifically S//S and Saku-Ino fans, claim that Sakura assumed Ino liked Sasuke and Ino, in retaliation, started to like him back to make Sakura jealous (?), however, unlike those fans who think Ino's whole character revolves around Sakura (she is, indeed, a supporting character of her, but she outgrew her role to the point where she's barely seen with Sakura after the Chünin Exams) I do believe that Ino truly liked Sasuke and that she was indeed surprised by Sakura having equal feelings for him.

[I will here say that, personally, those who diminish Ino's feelings for Sasuke to use that "lesser" type of love (there's nothing like a "lesser" type of love, there're different ways to love someone. Caring for someone romantically doesn't reflect equally on each individual), as a justification why Sakura "deserved" Sasuke are carrying a sexist view inside their reading of the manga: Cartoon or not, Ino is still a representation of a woman yet, for them, she isn't as valuable as Sakura because she loved Sasuke in a different manner she did.

They're measuring Ino, Karin, and even Sakura's value by the way they display their respective feelings for a man.

In the same manner, Karin, who shows more sexual desire for Sasuke (I will not deny her romantical feelings, but she is clearly more driven by her sexual interest in him), is not less of a woman or less deserving of being with him because of the nature of her feelings.

There's no such thing as a "suffering-meter" that determines which character suffered the most out of love and, therefore, who deserves a happy ending with the object of their affection. That not only links love's nature primarily to suffering but also measures a person's romantic value in terms of how much pain they can endure (either for their significant other or provoked by their significant other).]

Again, Ino doesn’t act around her feelings for Sasuke (in the next flashback Ino -despite knowing Sasuke likes girls with long hair, keeps her own hair short) nor around her friend's attraction.

It was Sakura the one who decided to break their friendship because someone (unspecified) told her Ino liked Sasuke in the same way she did.

This is how we learn about their breakup:

Chapter 53

If it's true... that makes us rivals!

Keep in mind that, until then, we only knew Ino was Sakura’s rival, it's Shikamaru the one that introduces the idea of Sakura and Ino being best friends once, and we have these panels to understand a little bit more about their prior relationship.

This rumor is, in fact, truthful as they do become rivals -so why would Ino allow this break-up if she truly didn't like Sasuke? It makes absolutely no sense, meaning that this theory of Ino faking her attraction to Sasuke is completely false, as she canonically is infatuated with him. Furthermore, when confronted, she chooses not to lie about her romantic interest in him to Sakura. The expression of Ino when hearing Sakura’s words is “uh-oh!”, which means she was keeping her feelings secret from her friend.

In chapter 54, we have a sneak peek at Sakura’s development as a ninja: After Naruto and Sasuke fight Orochimaru (and pass out), and Lee sacrifices his well-being in order to save her from the Oto team, Sakura cuts her hair as to free herself from Kin’s hold. Up to this point, we know this part is significant because of what Sakura thinks before doing it, but by Ino’s reaction, there’s something far deeper going on (Hey, Ino! Sasuke seems to like girls with long hair, so I’m going to grow mine…).

Her attack against Zaku isn't successful and, after barely hurting him, she has no more energy to continue (so she bites him). And here's when we have Ino’s flashback:

Chapter 54 - The flashback continues but all have been addressed previously.

The rivalry was started solely by Sakura. There’s no denying that Ino took up on that rivalry and started to act consequentially, but she wasn’t the one initiating it.

"I noticed your hair is lot longer, Ino" "What is it to you, Sakura?!!"

Let's acknowledge something, in this specific panel, it was Sakura who started their interaction (in a hostile manner, also) because she wanted to tell Ino about her position in Team 7.

She assumed Ino grew her hair long because of Sasuke -it isn't clear when was their fallout, but it must have been years prior to their graduation, so either they didn't see each other as much (or at all) since they went their separate ways, or Ino grew her hair long shortly after the beginning of the show, so there were at least a few years after their breakup when she still has her hair short.

It's safe to assume Ino did, in fact, keep her hair long for Sasuke's sake, yet it's not confirmed she did so to appeal to him, as she keeps growing it after his departure and it's shown how most people of her clan have their hair in a ponytail style, including her father.

So Ino, you'll never beat me now.

Despite some translations stating that Sakura said “I won’t lose to you anymore” (we were shown at no point in the manga how Sakura exactly lost against Ino), the official translation states otherwise -Sakura never exactly “lost” against Ino, nor Ino against Sakura.

Sakura's statement is based on Sasuke being on the same team as her, therefore, for this fact alone, Ino will never "win". Their whole rivalry is based on Sasuke. Now that Sakura is assigned to the same team as him, she has a better chance of winning his romantic reciprocation, therefore, Sakura's prospects are better than her rival's, which makes her the sole winner.

Yet, regardless of their mutual hostility, Ino still jumps to save her former friend, which means that she still has a deep connection with Sakura. Her face when remembering their childhood was a deeply troubled one, perhaps even mournful. In addition, by this point, Sasuke is unconscious: He isn’t able to see Ino’s heroic act, something Ino is aware of yet acts as if that is the sole reason why she jumped in.

After the fight, we have these panels:

To put some context: Naruto asks Sakura who “these guys are” when seeing Shikamaru, Chöji, Lee, and Ino; and after Sakura “thanks them”, Ino thinks that she’s selling herself short. Ino is shown constantly either telling Sakura or thinking of her as someone pretty and capable yet still self-conscious, even tho Sakura would have likely died had Ino and Team 10 not intervened, as Sasuke awoke after their tactic failed. Ino and Team 10 were saved by Team Gai and Sasuke, not Sakura.

During their fight in the preliminary rounds (CH 71), Sakura is particularly cruel:

First of all, she claims control and power of decision-making over a boy who has rejected her advances twice and who's not even present at the moment (he could, and honestly would, easily deny them both of the romantical reciprocation they sought). She starts their fight by trying to downgrade both Ino’s self-esteem (physically) and status in their “rivalry” (which she claims is now non-existent, as Sakura is the "winner" by being in the same team as Sasuke) -Ino’s words are a response to Sakura’s attitude.

[Kakashi saying that Sakura isn’t mean doesn’t make it automatically true -first, Kakashi doesn’t know Sakura that well as to claim she wouldn’t bully a person just because (she often displayed such an attitude towards Naruto during their first interactions, particularly when she told Sasuke that Naruto was annoying because he was parentless, Kakashi saw and knew none of that). Second, what he knows about Ino and Sakura’s relationship is what he read on a piece of paper -he knows nothing about how they actually interacted, nothing about their “power imbalance”, and, furthermore, he does nothing about Sakura’s insecurities -he hoped that Sakura would come around when the Chünin Exams came, but the whole reason she did so was because of Sasuke’s support.]

Sakura internally acknowledges Ino’s relevance in her life (1 and 2) yet none of that is actually told to Ino -who’s left in the dark. The last impression she possesses of Sakura is about her not being good enough to maintain a friendship outside their respective crushes on the same boy. Sakura, even without them being friends, still seeks Ino’s acknowledgment -the only one who is then made to do something for their relationship is Ino.

Personal opinion: Sakura hasn’t surpassed Ino. Much less at this point in the manga.

It’s Sakura the one who makes their rivalry just about Sasuke (here), while Ino states that she will not allow her to “show her up” (thus, for her, it seems to be more than just their shared crush on a boy, even during Asuma's last speech he tells her not to allow Sakura to win in "ninjutsu and love"), Sakura solely focuses on being on the same team as Sasuke as a signal of superiority; something she did absolutely nothing to gain as it was mere luck:

The teams are to be balanced and that’s why they put the dead last (Naruto) with the Rookie of the Year (Sasuke), there’s no canonical mention of Sakura’s part in the matter. The belief that she was put there because she was the “brightest” is a fanon belief (x). Furthermore, according to the Report Cards in the First Fanbook, Ino was behind Sasuke; making her the second-best overall and the best kunoichi amongst them (x).

Furthermore, Kakashi specifically visits Naruto's house alongside the Hokage who introduces him to the team he'll be leading, and at no moment do they even mention Sakura.

Meanwhile Ino, canonically speaking, would never be put on the same team as Sasuke, as she's the Yamanaka heir -her destiny was always to be with Chöji and Shikamaru.

Here

I’m not your little tag-along anymore Ino

Sakura says this in order to gain an emotional reaction -Ino is shocked by the words because she's never shown to consider Sakura to be what her former friend claims she used to be. Sakura is then painting the memories of their relationship in a negative light, downgrading it. What for Ino was a real friendship, to Sakura was a relationship of power.

[This is not a negative thing per se, Sakura needed a support system that Ino provided as she was too shy to socialize with anyone. What she's saying now is that she doesn't need Ino in order to interact with others. For Sakura is a positive thing, as she probably hated being "Ino's tag along", however, that doesn't change the negative impact that it has on Ino who never saw Sakura as a burden.]

Sakura's views of their dynamic diminish its relevance in her life and put Ino in the wrong (almost making her the abusive side of the relationship). Ino never reached for Sakura in order to make her her “tag-along”, Sakura was the one who put herself in that position.

I'm not blatantly denying Sakura's views on their former friendship, but from what we can see in canon, those views are either a lie she tells Ino to emotionally drag her during their match (stated before by Kakashi, she wants Ino to take her seriously), or a twisted version of the events transpired.

Much like with Sasuke, the fact that Sakura puts the weight of her well-being on another person’s shoulders means that she’s not responsible for the outcome or what her actions might entail: That’s why she makes Ino responsible for their fallout -hadn’t Ino liked the same boy, she wouldn’t have ended their relationship.

Sakura calling Ino a witch.

At the end of their fight, is Ino who -again, reaches out to Sakura and waits for her to wake, and, again: She gives her support.

We have a new interaction between them in CH 93 -where we see both of them visiting Sasuke in the hospital and bringing him a flower, there, we get to see them talking outside a ninja setting and inside Ino's flower shop.

1) It's established Sakura doesn't visit the flower shop until then.

2) They still bicker over Sasuke, the basis of their relationship hasn't changed after the Chünin Exams, but they seem to get along better.

3) Sakura learned the flowers' meaning in order to compete with Ino.

They even sit together in CH 99 to see the one-on-one fights of the last round of the exams, and while both Ino and Sakura are equally concerned about Sasuke, it's Ino the one who tells Sakura to cheer Naruto on during his match. How is Ino this "bad person who diminished Sakura" when she shows nothing but concern for her crush (Sasuke), her former friend (Sakura), and her rival's teammate (Naruto)? Furthermore, in CH 105, Ino realizes Sakura's change in mood when she admits (internally) to being somewhat jealous of Naruto.

After Shikamaru's match, once Sasuke appears, Ino compliments Sakura's team, praising both Sasuke and Naruto; Sakura's reaction isn't shown as the main focus is Lee -who hears Ino speaking-, but it amazes me how many people try to paint Ino's character as "shallow" and a "bully" when she has done nothing but encourage and praise those around her even when they're not close enough to hear her.

Then, after Sasuke's Retrieval Arc, Ino even goes as far as to look for Sakura once Shimamaru's team returns (x), and she even prioritizes Chöji before Sasuke (who they don't know actually left, x). How is Ino such a shallow, careless monster (who doesn't truly care for Sakura) if she goes out of her way to find her and inform her of their friends' return? Wouldn't have she taken the opportunity to visit Sasuke by herself? Wouldn't she have chosen to visit her crush first rather than Chöji if she was that obsessed with him and against Sakura?

In a way, and this is not to diminish some of the writing problems the author has, Ino is a nice representation of how Kishimoto is actually capable of writing a girl with a simple crush on a boy, who still prioritizes friends and comrades above the man she likes. Sakura's behavior, therefore, can't be attributed to Kishimoto not "knowing how to write women", but to him giving Sakura specific characteristics that just happen to be disliked by the fandom. In retaliation, her stans decide to blame such personality traits on his "incapability" to write female characters before giving them the actual relevance they have over Sakura's character.

[pk-sideblog]

Sasuke fans stop making everything about him challenge.

[psy-ay-ay]

Hello fellow humans!

Since my blog is quite a chaotic place (when seen at the timescale spanning months, my hyperfixation changes become clear), I have decided to put a pinned post about my interests and what you can expect here so you do not face disappointment later on [no guarantees about the lack of disappointment still]:

List of fandoms you might come across here:

Naruto, One Piece*, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gintama*, Bleach*, Skip and Loafer, HxH, Harry Potter, Spy x Family*, Avatar the Last Airbender, Fruits Basket and the next thing I hyperfixate on.

*not caught up yet, still watching/reading so no spoilers please

I do ship a lot, and the ships tend to be polarizing ones so you might wanna stay out if you don't wanna see reblogged fanart posts of Dramione, Spuffy, Sasusaku, Zutara and such (Suikarin, Akigure, kakaobi lmao). [Thinking that this is making me sound like people that I don't like so like I also ship queer ships of similar flavours like fuffy, sasunaru, zukka, tyzula, inosaku and also idk neutral ones like kyoru, kakagai, gaalee, sukka, korrasami, linny, twillow, etc etc i ship a lot]

And please DNI if you are anti any of the main characters in these shows (anti-Rileys are welcome although i wouldnt even call Riley a main character); why are you even watching if you hate Sakura or Katara or Hermione or Ron or Aang so much?

Terfs, homophobes, biphobes, racists, misogynists and the likes can fuck off as well.

[sasukesrainbowdildo]

i have a feeling that a lot of the people that claim sakura is a lesbian don’t actually care about whether or not she is but just want to do or say anything that makes her character a little more redeemable.

“sakura only fawned over sasuke for years because she’s in love with ino!”

i can literally go into a whole rant as to why that’s not true but im gonna save myself the rage. even if ino and sakura were bi/lesbian, ino deserves better.

[lavenderchedder]

I've been thinkn'...

Ya know, I really want to entertain the idea of Sakura being lesbian/bi and having a loving relationship with Ino, but then I'd have to consider that Sasuke is the reason for majority of her characterization. Like Ino is a loving friend and cared alot for Sakura as kids, but Sakura wasn't...like that in the same way.

Sakura's main goal was Sasuke, and she didn't let anything stand in her way, even if she had to lie or break friendships to get what she wants. I can't remember ever seeing Sakura showing that same kind of love or admiration towards Ino. Hell, even Naruto had feelings for her and did everything to protect her, but that was overshadowed by Sakura's obsession with Sauske, so she paid no attention him in that kind of way. Not to mention that she likes to use him as her personal punching bag (I don't care that it's 'comedy', Naruto doesn't deserve to be hit on like that just because he's a guy). She's shallow and very self-centered, doesn't speak well of her parents and doesn't show alot of empathy towards her comrades or their feelings. That's not a good combo for InoSaku, in which Ino is none of those things I described. Even Ino shared the same love interests in Sasuke, but she wasn't obsessive, and she tried to actually befriend him at some point. Ino has always defended her and tried to be a good friend, even in their 'rivalry' stage, and she truly believed in Sakura, but in Sakura's case all that was thrown out over Sasuke.

People say that SS is what ruined her character, but keep in mind that Sasuke never once looked at Sakura in a romantic way. At best, it was more a sisterly/friendship kind of way, if you ignore their violent history. People need to stop making Sasuke as the reason for her character being horrible as it was. She's the one that pursued him to ridiculous measures. She's the one that forced her feelings onto to him. Hell, most of her motivation behind getting stronger in Shippuden is for Sasuke to acknowledge her. She doesn't understand who Sasuke is, what he went through or his motivations. Her so-called "love" is self-centered and shallow. All she cared about was her feelings, even if Sasuke never reciprocated her, even EXPLICITLY stating that he has no reason to love her and rejecting her numerous times. I would say that SS ruined SASUKE'S characterization, rather, because pairing him with Sakura was just damn disrespectful. Even in Gaiden, I'm sorry, there is no love there between them. Sakura got what she wanted, but at what cost? Even their child probably knows there is no love, if she had to question their marriage.

She's the one that even lied through her teeth about having feelings for Naruto, and it baffles me how some her stans trying to rationalize and twist this as her caring for Naruto. Lying is lying no matter what the reason is. And don't get me started on her poisoning her teammates, putting them at risk, just so she can (foolishly) attempt to 'kill' Sasuke herself, which once again having to be saved by Naruto. Like, Naruto has put up with so much of her bullshit, I'm surprised he hadn't snapped on her at some point. That is not quality traits for friendship, relationships or what have you.

I really wanted to like Sakura and I did at some point, but I'm not about to delude myself into thinking that her becoming lesbian will make her character any better than it is. Because that'll involve rewriting her entire characterization from the beginning. She's not a bad person, but she's done alot of fucked up shit that warrants her being hated on. Kishimoto consistently wrote her this way, and I truly believe that this is what her character is meant to be. Sure the other female characters weren't written to optimal levals, but none aren't as trashed on as Sakura, and I'm not a Sakura hater. She's just...disappointing. Take it as you will.

[silalcarin]

So, I saw a post by @stilena regarding this article;

https://m.ranker.com/list/why-sakura-doesnt-deserve-the-hate/anna-lindwasser

I’d like to debunk a few things from this article.

This doesn’t make sense in the slightest. First off, you say she’s not cruel to her friends, but then say her behavior towards Naruto could be improved? That’s very contradicting, and it seems like whoever wrote this article is trying to find evidence she’s a good friend when it’s quite the contrary.

“Other fans think she destroyed her friendship with Ino over a boy, but it had little to do with Sasuke...”

This is complete BS. They didn’t even try and find any other reason to give why Sakura broke her friendship off with Ino.

The main reason she destroyed her friendship with Ino, is because she found out Ino had a crush on Sasuke. They literally lied on an article to make her look better than she is, and saying “other fans think,” no, actual fans know what happened, and what fans know is that Sakura broke off her friendship with Ino because of Sasuke. There was no, “differentiation” in place at the time. Maybe when she was like 12-15 she wanted to be different, but it did not happen when she was 5.

They also contradict themself later in the article;

“...when she discovers Ino has had a longtime crush on Sasuke too, it quickly sours their relationship and fuels their rivalry...”

So, at first they say their friendship wasn’t broken off bc of Sasuke, then say it was the reason it soured? This whole article is very contradictory.

The whole rival thing is stupid as hell, too. Ino never wanted to be rivals, she wanted to stay friends. Also, comparing Sasuke and Naruto’s rivalry to Sakura’s and Ino’s is very rude to Naruto and Sasuke, seeing how Naruto and Sasuke actually cared about each other and were friends throughout it mostly.

Even when Ino and Sakura were “ok,” when Sai met Ino, Sakura was rooting for him to call Ino ugly. Who the fuck does that to someone who helped you and was friends with you? Someone who called you pretty, and kind, someone who genuinely valued your friendship?

Either way, Ino’s friendship with Sakura was destroyed because of Sakura having a crush on Sasuke, not because she wanted to differentiate from Ino.

“...learns he’s an enemy of the state and puts aside any personal feelings...”

What?? Puts aside her personal feelings? The only time she’s ever put “aside” her feelings is when she tries to kill him. She’s so bent on him acknowledging her that when she got stabbed by Madara in the war and he didn’t notice her, she whined about it in her head. It was stupid as hell to try and fight Madara 1v1, but if her sole purpose was to “distract” him I can get behind that, but the purpose was so Sasuke can notice her. She’s extremely shallow considering Sasuke.

I mean look at this shit; she’s so damn obsessed with him that not even a fucking war can keep her attention off of Sasuke.

“...to perform her ninja duties and protect her village.”

When Sasuke was leaving, she begged him if she could go with him. Protect the village? If Sasuke accepted her self invite, then she would be a rogue ninja, someone who detached from the village.

And it happened again when she went to kill him. Albeit that she was trying to make it seem like she would actually help him, but if Sasuke actually gave her the chance she would take it. Sasuke saw through her bullshit though because he’s not a fucking idiot like she assumed he was.

“...don’t get to see Sakura spend a lot of one-on-one time with Sasuke after the first few arcs, they do witness the evolution of Sakura’s feelings.”

How can Sakura’s feelings evolve if she never has one-on-one time with Sasuke? When do we witness her feelings evolve from just looks? When does Sasuke open up to her so her feelings can evolve? They can’t, we don’t, and he doesn’t. The only time we as viewers see Sakura’s feelings evolve, is when they start to become obsessive. These are not kind feelings, these are obsessive ones.

“Even fans who aren’t on the Sasusaku ship can appreciate how she handles her emotions.”

The only thing I appreciate is that Sasuke keeps denying her advances because he doesn’t want romance with her, which he’s stated multiple times. She never handles her emotions. Just in general, too. From her constantly crying, to her anger issues, her trait is being unable to handle them. I’ve never once met an anti ss fan who appreciates how she handles her emotions. This is absurd in it of itself.

“Sakura cares deeply for Sasuke, not because of his looks, but because of who he is.”

Sakura cares for her idea of Sasuke, not Sasuke himself. Like the quote above speaking on her “evolved feelings,” shes never shown to care about Sasuke’s well being, seeing how she tried to kill him. Again, Sasuke has never opened up to Sakura, only Itachi and Naruto, and they have the audacity to say Sakura cares about Sasuke because of who he is.

What does Sakura think of Sasuke as a person that isn’t what Sasuke shows to everyone who he doesn’t actually care for? She cares about his cool, calm, and collected personality? Was he so cool, calm, and collected whenever Naruto was brought up, or Itachi? Is it because he is quiet and reserved? Was he quiet and reserved when he was a child, before Itachi slaughtered their clan in front of him, 518,400 times? Does she care about his strength and smarts? Does she know he wanted to be intelligent and strong enough so he could kill Itachi? Does she know on a deeper level than just “I want to kill a certain man; I want revenge”?

No. Because Sasuke never let Sakura know the real him because he doesn’t care about her as much as Naruto, or Itachi. He never once thought about her throughout his years gone from the village in Pt.1 and Shippuden, while he thought of Naruto occasionally.

The truth of the matter is, Sasuke does not care about Sakura, his supposed wife, as much as he cares about Naruto, his best friend, someone he considers a brother.

“...she refuses to compromise her principles solely because she loves him.“

What principles are we talking about here? Didn’t she falsely confess to Naruto, drug him, Yamato, and Kakashi, and try and kill Sasuke on her own? Like I mentioned above, wasn’t she the one who idiotically charged Madara (someone she knew stomped the five kage, and who was basically a god at that point, too), and get stabbed for it, only to be upset that Sasuke didn’t notice her nor care about her wellbeing?

“She’s still her own person.”

Take away her crush with Sasuke she’ll be her own person. I’ll admit, in the beginning of Shippuden, she did well. Why? Because Sasuke wasn’t there and was barely mentioned. Kishimoto said in an interview that Sakura is obsessed with Sasuke (if someone can send me the interview It’d be much appreciated as I can’t find it as of now).

She’s only her own person when you take Sasuke out of the picture. Throughout both series her actions and intentions has been based around Sasuke. She isn’t her own person and it’s absurd to think of her as one when it’s shown time and time again she is not.

This whole article is complete bullshit, seeing how many of these “facts” are lies to make it seem like Sakura is some lovely person. She’s not, and she’s not a good person towards Sasuke either.

It’s ok to admit Sakura isn’t the best character nor person in Naruto, because she’s not. It’s fine to think Sakura as kind, and loving, but only in fanon. Canon Sakura is not what you, and the person who wrote this article is talking about.

You can like Fanon Sakura, but don’t dismiss that Canon Sakura is a jerk who is heavily involved with her own self and benefits, maybe not fully but in regards to “love, and friendship” she most definitely is.

[lovecorenaruto]

I wouldn’t recommend anitwt at all! If you think Sakura hate is bad here, anitwt is on a whole other level. So many dudebros and incels spouting off memes from 2009. Also annoyingly lot of people who say ‘I like Sakura but...’ and then go on a rant about how she was abusive/useless. I have even seen a few so-called inosaku ‘fans’ post anti-Sakura stuff like saying Sakura r*ped Sasuke. They say they are just being anti-SS but calling her a r*pist is so blatantly anti-Sakura than anything else 🥴

oh believe me i know i have friends on anitwt i want nothing to do with that side of the fandom 😭

[yabai-korra]

I’m NOT against InoSaku shippers or fandom at all nor am I anti shipper but I very often see posts like “Sakura should divorce Sasuke be lesbian with Ino” and I’m like... yeah sure Sasuke treats Sakura like shit but Sakura’s been pretty bad to Ino too throughout the manga (and I’m not just talking about ditching her for Sasuke because she was like 6, but in Naruto, Shippuden, and Gaiden I really don’t see Sakura as some great friend to her most of the time) whereas Sai (and pretty much every other character from their gen) treats her way better.

Tbh if they were canon with no relationship improvement I’d make posts about how Ino should divorce her and be with someone who treats her better, but that’s just my opinion.

[naruto-shipping-confessions]

[leportraitducadavre]

Before I reply to you, let me get this straight for good measure: I think it's extremely disrespectful to reblog an anti-post correctly tagged and put the character's tag on it; it serves no purpose other than for "pro" fans to find such writing, bothering them as they encounter a post not meant for them, and me, personally, as I wanted to respect my fandom's boundaries. My subsequent response to you will be quite harsh because of it.

You keep mentioning "sexist situations" inside the Naruto manga as women were underutilized during significant fights, yet you completely disregard the original point of my post where I stated that Sakura's personality, specifically, was a conscious decision on Kishimoto's part as almost all the rest of female characters behave differently regarding the men they're attracted to or approach differently the women they interact with. Sakura is the only one seen badmouthing both Ino and Tsunade, the latter never speaking badly nor "threatening" Sakura's beauty or capacities as Ino did.

There are instances of sexist writing throughout the manga, yes. Kishimoto is a man raised in a patriarchal society, and he wrote a story during the nineties, yet he gave his female creations independence, power, and even designs that other mangakas didn't even bother with giving them; he is not obligated to reflect today's standards and your own personal tastes either, albeit I'm sure he apologies for succumbing to the cultural standards regarding women's position in society that he grew up with.

With the exception of Tsunade, all female characters are either done dirty and/or underutilized. That's not "good writing" of a purposefully unlikeable character (Sakura is not meant to be unlikeable, the story compares her to Kushina and Kishimoto has said Kushina is inspired in his own wife), but rather, it is awful character writing based on the author's misogynistic bias.

Underutilized? Somewhat. I remember instances in the war when Ino alone saved Team 10, where Tsunade and Sakura saved hubdreds with their medical techniques, when Madara himself complemented Mei, when Konan alone almost took out Obito, and so on, meanwhile, Kakashi's only significant move was against Kakuzu, and even then Naruto had to finish him off for him.

You're confusing their personality traits with their overall position inside the manga, narratively they're all unimportant but a few exceptions (like Rin, and for a specific character only); what does them "not having good enough fights" have to do with Sakura being purposefully selfish and mean towards other female characters? You're proving my point by taking the "likeability" aspect of my post (which is a very specific trait that I focused on, never denying other instances of sexism inside the manga) and overlapping it with other characteristics of their participation in the story.

(Sakura is not meant to be unlikeable, the story compares her to Kushina and Kishimoto has said Kushina is inspired in his own wife)

I never said she was meant to be unlikeable, but that her "unlikeable traits" are specific to her and her alone, which means such aspects were purposefully written for her. What does "her being compared to Kushina" (by whom? The fandom made that parallel between both characters, not the narrative) have to do with him not exploring "controversial" aspects of a person? Furthermore, who cares if Kushina is based on his wife? Kushina is not Sakura, that's a point to be made regardless of the "similarities" they might possess, and also what exactly is stopping him from writing what he considers are negative characteristics of those he loves and based his work on? Do you truly think a person reflects just the good parts of those they care for?

Misogyny runs deep in Naruto's writing and shonen overall. For example: something prominent in shonen is the sexualization of teenage female characters. We don't justify it as being good writing just because it's intentional on the author's part, right?

Are you trying to have a "gotcha" moment by mixing up two different points of discussion that have actually, by your own admission, no actual relevance to this specific manga or mangaka? How can you compare complex personality traits of a female character that disputes pre-conceptions of patriarchal norms (such as how all female are "good-spirited" as that's in their nature) with the sexualization of teenage characters?

We don't justify it as being good writing just because it's intentional on the author's part, right?

What? Is this what you understood? Is this what sent you raging against my post?

You read me, pointing out a specific character with specific traits and comparing it to another female character within the same universe, yet with different traits, and you thought "mysoginist motherfucker" whilst the point just flew over your head. Here, I'll simplify the point as it might be quite difficult to understand:

An author has two different female characters: Female A and Female B. A, is specifically shown to be mean-spirited, badmouthing others around her and obsessing over a boy; B, on the other hand, is shown to be nice towards the first girl, and while she likes the same boy as character A, she never puts others down nor pursues the boy as obsessively as A.

We can conclude, over the analysis of these very different characters, that Female A was made like this on purpose, as Female B shares little to no personality traits that A has, so A being the way she is, has less to do with misogynistic ideals of the author and more to do with the creator's want to explore such characteristics.

The most egregious in-universe example of this is Hinata, who by Shippuden has no other single motivation outside of liking Naruto and being noticed by him.

I've explained this before: Hinata is the embodiment of the "desirable" female prototype that existed in the genre during Naruto's publication. She's everything female characters were supposed to be: Nice, quiet, with an ample bosom, and in love with the main character.

She exists as a secondary character in Neji's story as she is stripped of any relevance beyond that. She's the reflection of a specific trope that Kishimoto literally mocks as he gives her nothing, even when he builds her up and "taunts" the audience by giving her a powerful speech where you think she might accomplish something, she fails! He's laughing at characters like her that the shönen genre loves to pair the MC's with (then Shönen Jump decided to actually pair her with Naruto, and he was fucked).

A more subtle example is Kushina: an Uzumaki who was the host of the nine tails and had ambitions of becoming Hokage. What does Kishimoto do with all that? Give all the glory to her husband and relegate her to a housewife.

What is it with you and your attempt to give me a lesson about what misogyny is? Have you read any other posts I've written? I have two regarding feminism. Allow me to repeat myself in case you missed it: Me discussing specific personality traits of a single (can't highlight it more than that) female character and defending such characteristics as "the author's wish to explore su dynamics" instead of "him being sexist" doesn't deny other sexist instances inside the manga.

It’s also shown how the Hokage is pretty much pointed out through contacts; it matters not if Kushina wished to be Hokage as that place is given in regards to who backed them up, which is why Tsunade (a female!) got the position. Kushina was also a foreigner and, above all, a Jinchuuriki, which clearly didn’t do her any favors since she was seen as an emotional “liability” as her son had to fight the preconceptions that came with it to acquire such a position. Kiba also dreamed of becoming Hokage, but he wasn’t given the hat; them expressing their desire to be the village’s leader doesn’t translate to them ever obtaining the title.

Just wonder why the male characters of the story get complex and nuanced relationships with each other, but women's relationships are centered around men or barely given screentime (if any at all).

Only two pairs of male characters have reciprocated eachother's obsession (Naruto/Sasuke -I even argue that Sasuke wasn’t as obsessed with Naruto as Naruto is with Sasuke until perhaps the very end of the manga; and Madara and Hashirama) everyone else's obsession is either one-sided or non-existent. Sakura is obsessed with Ino even before Sasuke influences their friendship and Sakura's subsequent prioritization of him/her feelings for him.

or barely given screentime (if any at all)

Are these relationships relevant to the plot or the story Kishimoto wanted to tell? Do they reflect or have any impact regarding the military bureaucracy and the repressive system that was built surrounding it? If the answer is "no," then I don't see why Kishimoto would or should bother with them.

He focuses on Naruto and Sasuke as they're the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura that "broke the cycle of hatred" and on Madara and Hashirama as they were the "creators" of the shinobi system that Sasuke (and others) are raising against. There's no point in "knowing who is better, Sakura or Ino/Neji or Lee," as that type of rivalry didn't develop further political intricacies as Naruto/Sasuke or Madara/Hashirama did; which is the actual plot of the entire manga.

Edit to add: It is also quite striking how the main plot focuses on the problems brought about by a military system whose foundations are intrinsically patriarchal and how much of the "feminist fandom" focuses on the little to no inclusion of women within that system, rather than its dismantling, which was proposed to and tried to be carried out by other characters such as Konan (to mention a female character as bringing Sasuke to the picture might "compromise" the fandom's idea of "feminism" that upholds itself under the notion that only women can be part of it).

To quote @dushman-e-jaan:

What's even funnier is that the military as an institution is deeply patriarchal: it's patriarchy at its best. So wanting Sakura's inclusion into its apparatus is just a dull, neo-liberal contextualization of locating a "middle-class side-lined girl" into patriarchy and its state strongholds, its militia arms, extensions that are extensively, liberally, and fully utilized to maintain state's oppression. Something which we saw in the case of Ame's mass-starvation, Uchiha Massacre, Hyuuga Clan's slavery, etc. In this regard, to Sakura fandom, inclusion in this oppressive-apparatus is a power-fantasy, a means to cut in on the action not cut it out; so therefore, the question shouldn't be as to why Sakura isn't included; it ought to be that why should there be any expansion on the basis of inclusivity into patriarchal institutions in lieu of smashing these systems? However, Sasuke's just a mean "terrorist" who made "weh-men tears" flow, so the misogyny is just Q-anon deep, and nothing but tumblr feminism can unfurl its insidious tentacles.

In lesser terms, the problem with this idea of "inclusivity" within an intrinsically repressive patriarchal system is that it is sustained on a smoke screen that hides the most rotten veins of the state, because then what is relevant is not the dismantling of an oppressive, enslaving and genocidal political system, but the lack of female participation within that oppressive, enslaving and genocidal political system. To this specific "woke feminist" fandom that is the real problem, that is the real issue within such a mindset.

Women are forbidden or diminished from positions of power in a structure specifically designed to oppress different groups of people to keep others at the top of the pyramid, and instead of seeing such a construction as a direct reflection of the real world's dogmas and the characters that oppose them as real world's feminist, you lot complain about the lack of female representation or "female power" within that maniacal structure! You're more concerned about women not being "housewives" inside a military state that rewards blind nationalism and punishes criticism with literal genocide, than dismantling the entire structure upon which such a patriarchal notion is built.

Funnily enough, even when I point this out, you all will find a way to twist it to your own benefit, because then Kishimoto is the one responsible for not "allowing" female characters to rise against such a patriarchal system (despite Sakura never suffering any of its worst consequences as she was taught by the Hokage herself, or even Hinata getting to be a slave-owner). Inclusivity is everything that this argument boils down to, your twisted wish to see women at every single panel whether it'll be against or in favor of a genocidal state.

That's what "woke feminists" taught you and that's what you'll defend with your breath, the problem gets again individualized and the real issue, the real problem that the plot is trying to reflect, gets buried upon piles of these arguments.

"The problem is about the military state that at its core it's patriarchal" =/= "Then why did he write it as a patriarchal state?"

"The military state it's patriarchal at its core so it's the real world one" =/= "Then why didn't he write female characters rising against it?"

"There're characters that oppose such structure, which is feminism at its finest." =/= "But they aren't female."

And so on… it's impossible to "win" or get our point across as you move the end goal every time a new argument arises. It's about fulfilling your power fantasies of invincibility rather than bringing down the patriarchal structure; just like with Naruto's character, is about gaining acknowledgment within the oppressive system (becoming a renowned/desired individual) rather than dismantling the power sphere to guarantee other minorities' safety.

Their idea of feminism comes down to women having a more important part inside that tyrannical paradigm, bringing the power scale towards them. It's not about stripping oppressive institutions of their power, but rather having influence over such spaces.

This is an example of White Feminism's victory; white feminism doesn't want the oppressive structure to be questioned, they don't want their faint position of power to be argued; they want to expand their influence and reach beyond the usual cultural "female" spaces, so they bring down the discussion to simpler topics, like the idea of female participation in such affairs; if they are involved, then it's good if they're not, then it's not.

Under this premise, and I repeat myself because I must keep my arguments as simple and repetitive as possible, the patriarchal system against which they claim to rebel is sustained and deepened since the women who claim to subscribe to the feminist movement have modified their bases to obtain greater relevance, greater individuality among the exploited community -they stop being oppressed to some degree as a reward for their contribution, they become what they swore to destroy in exchange for "inclusion."

For the love of god, here we go again:

Kishimoto is an excellent writer. He owes nothing to the fandom, he’s the creator and owner of his work, and whatever he decides to do is what you get. No, Sakura didn’t fail because she was “badly written” it was a clear decision on his part to make her that way, it’s not his problem you confuse “good writing” with likability and I’m sorry woke feminism ruined complex, sometimes straight up evil, female characters for you to the point where you believe them taking shitty decisions is an explicit reflection of the author’s misogyny instead of them exploring different types of personalities. If you believe InoSaku is a relationship with “wasted potential” that’s presented in a toxic manner because Kishimoto can’t write female relationships, take a closer look at every other rivalry inside the manga and tell me how many of them develop in a healthy manner, just because they have almost no focus doesn’t mean they don’t follow the exact same rules every other relationship of the same nature does. I’m sorry Sakura is so obsessed with Sasuke she diminishes every other relationship she possess in order to elevate her status inside Sasuke’s life, but Ino, who also considers Sakura her rival and who also likes Sasuke, behaves completely opposite to her, being able to move on and respect his rejection, how come is misogynistic if Sakura is the only one doing so? Have you read Naruto’s obsession with Sasuke? The manga is pretty much dedicated to it, how is Sakura’s fixation worse than his?

[phoenixyfriend]

Narty for the ask meme :3

Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

No joke, I accidentally started answering this for GG on automatic and then had to erase anything when I remembered it was actually for Naruto ANYWAY

M/F OTP: SasuKarin obvs

M/M OTP: I haven’t thought about this in forever... I guess KibaShino?

F/F OTP: InoHina

OT3: Neji/TenTen/Rock Lee

Friendship OTP: InoSaku

Canon OTP: [stares into the distance] I... I guess MinaKushi?

Crackship OTP: Sai/Shikamaru

Anti-OTP: I’m... listen, y’all know I’m not about that SS life but also I’m going to continue being hugely skeeved out by ZabuHaku for basically ever.

[ryodan]

I am primarily a SasuSaku shipper, but part of me really wants to like the SasuNaru pairing too but I can't stand the fandom. I can't read any fics or follow anyone because the majority of SasuNaru shippers/fic writers bash Sakura because she gets in the way of their precious ship, and I can't just let that slide without attacking so it's exhausting. How do you manage to ship both? :/

Sasukeuchihayas’s guide to shipping both SS and SNS (and well, any other antagonistic ships)

- Familiarize with your own opinions : You know what you like and dislike, so when you come across an opinion you don’t fuck with (which you will, eventually) you are capable of telling what you agree and don’t agree with without it being #toodeep

- Follow art blogs, not shippers: Not to say all SNS shippers have crappy, hateful opinions (some of these fuckers are my friends), but a vocal majority of them kinda do. I am anti the sns fandom for various reasons, but the artists are super chill, talented and help you appreciate the aesthetic. I don’t think I have the patience to sift through the blogs I follow but my SNS tag is full of people who make edits and art, without being too pushy with negativity. Some editors, passive aggression towards a certain women hating blog intended, can be negative towards sakura because she ended up with their fictional boyfriends so beware. 

- There is no such thing as a ‘pro tag’ because to this fandom ‘pro’ just really equals anti in disguise. Stay away from ‘pro sns’ tags

- If you really don’t want to see anti SS opinions, download the xkit extension and blacklist that tag. 

- I don’t really read fics but stick to the ones that have a side of inosaku or include sakura being the supportive best friend for minimum bullshit 

- Follow team 7 blogs!! We folk are usually into all team 7 ships, ot3s or at least positivity about the characters. It’s a real safe haven of cute fan art and hcs. My team 7 tag should be full of good blog options. I follow every one who is a team 7 wanker like myself. 

- On that note, come speak to US team 7 ot3 fans. We just like all team 7 ships and it’s a real good time. Again check my tag ;) but here is another person on my radar @sakuraandharleyquinn . It’s genuinely a whole new world on this side of the fandom.

- Follow pro NaruSaku and SNS blogs like @dreaming-of-sakura. Or pro SNS, SS and inosaku blogs like @laetia (although im not really sure about their current stance). Maybe even pro SNS and pro Inosaku pro sakura blogs like @kuramaknows But again, stick to mostly art blogs.

- stick to art and edits tags instead of blogs

- If someone posts things that annoy you, it’s not worth getting worked up over fictional characters

Listen, I know it’s a little tough shipping something that is shrouded in negativity towards something you like but if something draws you, there is always a way to enjoy it without causing yourself (too much) irritation. I am just here like this tbh.

Thank you for your ask and I hope I helped you somehow

[awaylaughing]

awayandlaughing, tagged by @quantumghosts to list 10 Naruto ships - can she rise to the challenge? IDK man. IDK.

1. ShikaNeji - being entirely honest with you I started shipping this because it amused me and then I got invested??? It also happens to have strong correlations to types of relationships I tend to create among my OCs (aka the Angry One and the Sarcastic Nerd)

2. KakaGai - queer adult 30+ men in a healthy relationship built over years sign me the fuck up

3. GenRai - Fallen Leaves Made Me Do It (also, see #2, arguably with even more health)

4. InoSaku - because f/f rivalry as a cover for homoromantic urges is a way better narrative than literally everything written about these two in canon

5. InoKiba - opposites attract, naturally but also Kiba is like the anti-Sauce and that’s frankly hilarious.

6. SakuChou (Chouji, not that dude from Kiri) - literally because I made a joke about it once and then some dick told me I wasn’t allowed to ship it and fuck you buddy

7. AsuKurenai - not the actual canon version but a version where it’s a source of mutual character growth and Kurenai doesn’t get relegated to “baby mama of the dead guy” (in a perf world Asuma doesn’t become “the dead guy” but lbr his was a narratively poignant death)

8. ShikaYoshi - oh man guys. oh man

9. MitoTobirama - but like, the sort with pining and lingering hand touches and a lot of self denial but also in a “enemies to lovers” way where Mito and Tobirama clash all the time over what they think is best for Hashirama (they agree the answer prob isn’t Spots Uchacha)

10. RinShizune - much like #1, because it amuses me (and bc Rin being a lesbian makes everything about Obito and Kakashi’s gross semi-paternalistic idolizing crushes better bc fuck that)

I’m not tagging anyone bc I am a fandom hermit and every Nardo person I know has been tagged already

[narutos-ass]

actor au announcement

So I'm gonna make a blog for the actor au either tomorrow or Monday night. Not sure what the URL will be yet, but I'm gonna have other ships I personally enjoy a part of it other than NS. They include kibaino, shikatema, and sasuhina. Its going to focus on NS obviously, but I wanna take questions about them as well as other actors and their lives outside of the show. And it's gonna follow a timeline so I'd like to keep the NS stuff in order. I'm also diversifying the cast, or trying to, because I can 😂 and I'll be borrowing some of @kirabook's names from her reimagining, but the designs will be pretty different and will be done on an as needed basis. I'll let y'all know when the blog is up and running. I need to make an intro post for it, which will probably be a comic with the original team 7. And then selfies and such from their last day on set, etc, among whatever people would like to see. The pairings are pretty set in stone for me, I wanted to deviate from canon as much as possible, but I am gonna have MinaKushi involved and there's a special relationship between them and Naruto's actor that'll be revealed later. Please spread this, I hope it brings other parts of the fandom honestly. And I will probably do alternate actor scenarios like SNS, InoSaku, etc but just label it as deviating from "canon" content ☺️ So every non canon couple feels included. It will be a space for anti-ending people for the most part. If n.h and s.s wanna join in the fun, that's fine, they just can't be assholes and I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT draw an actor au scenario for them. The only canon couple is shikatema because I personally love them. So stay on the look out guys. That's why I haven't been here really. Been doing lots of artwork.