This issue of FAnime Friday is going to be a bit different than most. Today instead of filling you in on a certain series or character I’d like to take a moment to discuss and present my point of view of a character and what I see as a flawed and doomed romantic relationship that quite a few Naruto fans actually hope to see happen. I must warn you, if you are only following the series by watching the English dubs being shown on Cartoon Network then you’re in for a few spoilers as, if I’m not mistaken, Naruto has just barely gotten the necklace from Tsunade at this point and thus the time jump hasn’t even yet happened let alone all of the filler episodes. The manga readers (Japanese or English) should not encounter any spoilers however.

Haruno Sakura is a character in Masashi Kishimoto’s manga and anime series Naruto and Naruto Shippuuden. She is a female shinobi, more often referred to as a kunoichi from the shinobi village of Konohagakure. She is voiced by Japanese voice actor Chie Nakamura and English voice actor Kate Higgins.

Now during the first portion of the story Sakura is the object of Naruto’s affections. He proclaims his love for her vocally and never hesitates to tell her (or anyone else for that matter) how he feels about her. Sakura however has a fangirlish obsession with the last remaining member of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Sasuke, and she never hesitates to make her feelings for him known. In the process she treads all over Naruto’s feelings, she is rude and blatantly ignores him in favor of her other team mate, yes even in a crisis situation she only worries about Sasuke. Sakura even makes disparaging comments about Naruto and his obsession over her, never once noticing that she is doing the same thing as Naruto.

For the most part, I couldn’t help but to see Sakura as someone who was just there since the teams had to have three members plus a jounin sensei. During the Wave arc she did nothing. Even though she mastered the chakra control exercise first she didn’t put that superior control to any use in battle, hell she didn’t even join in the battle. During the Chuunin exams, well she was essentially dead weight. When Sakura hacked off hr hair and vowed to never cry again I thought we would see some progress here. It isn’t until Naruto takes off on his trip with Jiraiya and Sakura asks Tsunade to train her that we see some real character development.

Now after nearly three years of training under Tsunade we finally get to see her put her skills to use and she no longer looks down upon Naruto. Yes, progress at last. But here’s what baffles me, for the most part Sakura continues to take a back seat in the battles and of course the first thing on her mind and out of her mouth is still the same – Sasuke! Despite some growth, she’s still stunted which hinders her progress brings us to the crux of this post, the possible romantic relationship of Sakura and Naruto.

Sakura, despite her growth, is still clearly hung up on Sasuke. Whenever she’s in a bind she remembers her promise to Naruto yes, but it’s her promise to help him this time in bringing Sasuke back. In other words, she won’t make him do all the work himself. She then always immediately thinks of Sasuke and proving herself to him and bringing him back. Conclusion, Naruto is a friend, Sasuke is her love and she refuses to sit back and make her friend do everything for her.

Now if you add to this the fact that Naruto is no longer head over heals in love with her it becomes clear that this pairing cannot and will not work. Oh certainly he’s fond of her and she is special to him and a dear friend, but Sakura is no longer his focus. A key difference in the new Naruto that many tend to forget is that Naruto acknowledges other female shinobi and their strength and skills now where as before it he only saw Sakura. This shows that Naruto has grown up and outgrown his childhood crush.

Sakura’s focus is aimed solely upon Sasuke and to be honest Naruto, if anything, would always be second best to her. Naruto deserves much better than that.

Now here is something for you all to ponder: Kishimoto likes to put sly hints into the story at odd points that only make sense after the fact. If you recall, Asuma told Ino not to lose to Sakura in anything, not as a shinobi and not in love. Until that point Ino had never really acknowledged Naruto’s strength and abilities, but after the battle with the Akatsuki when Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji seek revenge and Ino witnesses Naruto’s new technique it becomes apparent that Ino sees him. To be honest, I think its fully possible that Kishimoto plans to throw a curve ball at fans and that Ino and Naruto will end up together. Watch out! Maybe Naruto will be visiting the Yamanaka flower shop with jewelry and sweets (hey he can’t exactly do the flower thing) for a certain kunoichi.

Last 5 issues of FAnime Friday:

• Issue #8, July 27, 2007: Looking Back on Old Favorites
• Issue #7, July 20, 2007: Envy
• Issue #6, July 13, 2007: Ouran Koukou Host Club
• Issue #5, July 6, 2007: Original Soundtracks
• Issue #4, June 29, 2007: It’s Angelic Layer!!

Read the rest of the FAnime Friday issues on the FAnime Friday page! ^_^