I Dont Usually Like Using This Blog As Sort Of A Personal Platform, And For The Most Part I Havent. In

I dont usually like using this blog as sort of a personal platform, and for the most part I havent. In my nostalgia I keep thinking about how Sakura in the manga started changing her opinion on Naruto right away, against her years of conditioning by the rest of the village. And how she was the first to believe in his dream of wanting to be Hokage and started supporting that. How Naruto, despite being upset that Sakura was better at chakra control than him, respected her abilities enough even back then to cheer her on and ask her, the herione and his crush, for help when he was struggling. And throughout the series they had such a slow, gradual change in affection towards each other and they always put the other first before their own feelings. Naruto being hurt over Sakura's concern for Sasuke and giving her the promise or a lifetime to bring him back. Sakura being entirely guilt ridden (an appropriate reaction that shows a sense of remorse) over that promise when brought up by Sai, then lying to Naruto and trying to kill Sasuke herself so that Naruto would suffer less.

(I know a lot of people hated this scene but I really loved it because it brought out yet another sense of realism and depth and circle in their relationship. That the consequences of such a idealistic promise would be openly depicted as being so negative, equated to a curse, is unusual in a shounen manga of it's age. Shounen at the time being a genre that generally glorifies the innocence and pure good will of such promises and, in highlight of their true good nature, sees them through to a positive conclusion.)

There was just such a great interpersonal relationship between the two that felt organic and real, far beyond the trope expectation of hero × herione. I'm honest when I say I dont usually ship the mcs together, because usually I feel the relationship dynamic is too forced and relies mostly on played out tropes like checking off boxes on a list. Naruto and Sakura were like a real narrative, a real story, where the relationship between was shown, not just told.

I'll be tagging this post appropriately for those who wish to blacklist. However any hate or attempts to persuade me to an opposing opinion sent to my inbox will be ignored.