I’ve never understood where Naruto’s crush on Sakura even came from, considering that during their academy days she never showed any positive actions toward him at all. In their early teens there might have been some logic to the infatuation, but in the academy and even right up until Sasuke left, there were literally no reasons other than his rivalry with Sasuke.
I can understand why Hinata fell for Naruto, or even why Sakura herself fell for Sasuke. But what Naruto could possibly see in such a shrew as academy-era Sakura - I genuinely can’t imagine. I don’t even want to seriously entertain nonsense like “love is blind.” I will never believe that someone like Naruto - an “emotional genius” - could seriously fall in love with a person who never did a single positive thing for him.
That’s exactly why I can easily believe his love for Hinata. The moment Naruto noticed the feelings of someone who had cared about him from the very beginning to the very end, those feelings immediately became mutual. That I can believe. Not the nonsense about “love is blind.
Update: I’ll add to what I said earlier, because many people misinterpreted my words, although quite a few others gave me food for thought, for which I thank you.
I was primarily talking about the academy period - when Naruto first fell in love with Sakura - and what could have possibly made him fall for a girl who only ever insulted him. I wasn’t taking Team 7’s later period into account. But if we’re being honest, their subsequent relationship is very hard to call anything other than sibling-like. Sakura herself was most likely referring to that early period in the movie scene, because afterward, as far as I remember, Naruto no longer showed his feelings so openly.
And let’s base this on what’s actually written in the story, instead of excusing everything with Kishimoto’s poor romance writing skills.
I might be judging by my own standards, but when all interaction boils down to dismissive and contemptuous treatment toward me, it’s quite difficult to feel romantic emotions toward that person, no matter how attractive they are - especially in childhood. That’s why I find it extremely hard to believe in the sincerity of Naruto’s feelings, and Sakura’s words sound much more logical to me.
“The reason this beautiful girl is chasing that handsome guy while I’m all alone” - for me, this is the only real reason Naruto kept running after Sakura. Why exactly Sakura and not any other of Sasuke’s fangirls? Most likely because they sat next to each other, because she was the loudest, the smartest, or (most likely) because she was simply more attractive to Naruto than Ino and the others.
I don’t agree that Sakura’s crush is identical to Naruto’s. Sakura fell in love with a mysterious handsome guy who sat next to her, the best student in class, who treated her neither particularly well nor badly - he simply didn’t care (and he wasn’t trying to kill her at that time, mind you). Naruto fell in love with a girl who treated him openly negatively and didn’t hold back in her insults.
From what I’ve read across the internet about the situation with Aisha and Ars, most fans, even if they didn’t agree with it, ultimately accepted the author’s vision. Because of that, I can assume my opinion is unpopular, so feel free to downvote this post.
I find Rifujin’s decision to make Aisha a pedophile absolutely disgusting.
Mushoku Tensei is a work where a lot of things are overlooked - including by me. But I simply cannot overlook this.
Many people justify this plot point by citing the setting, saying “this world is not like ours, the moral values are completely different, so we have to accept this story because it’s another world,” and “in the Middle Ages it was the same.” To that I reply: Mushoku Tensei, like any other work of fiction, operates according to the laws of our world’s dramaturgy. If an author wants to show a character the readers are supposed to hate, he makes him a rapist, a pedophile, or a puppy killer. These are standard villain tropes in storytelling, because we don’t live in a world where someone who kills puppies is considered a hero. Rifujin himself uses these exact tropes - for example, to instantly shape our opinion of Darius.
By the same dramatic rules, Rifujin introduced us to this world. Slavery? Somewhere in the background and barely affects the main characters. Incest? Distant relatives and mostly people of similar age. Pedophilia? Shown as a negative trait of characters, happens off-screen, and likewise doesn’t affect the main heroes. Rudeus was only attracted to his biological peers or older people; as an adult, he felt nothing toward children. Roxy, Ruijerd, and Elinalise marry people who are adults (by the standards of their world) and conscious individuals, without even thinking about touching children. And only Aisha was singled out for this treatment.
Rifujin suddenly decided that not only a scumbag like Darius should be a pedophile, but also one of the main positive characters - and that all the other positive characters should treat it normally. And as if that wasn’t enough, he also made Aisha rape her own nephew. A person whose entire upbringing she personally witnessed and took part in.
Some will say Aisha isn’t a rapist, but let’s switch perspectives and imagine a 25-year-old man seducing and taking the virginity of a 12-year-old girl. Still not a rapist?
Some will justify this plot development with Chekhov’s gun, saying the entire story was leading up to this, that it’s all logical and every event hinted at it. Well then, show me a single moment that hinted at Aisha having an attraction to children. Show me a moment where raping her own nephew becomes a logical action. Lilia pressured her? Does a 25-year-old woman really have no mind of her own?
And even the writing itself is terrible. What’s with this nonsense about being in love since birth? What kind of idiotic excuses are these from a 25-year-old woman saying she held back for a long time but couldn’t after his confession? And Rifujin wants us to sympathize with such a character and consider her a positive hero?
Some will say I can disagree with the author’s decision but I still have to respect and accept his vision. Well, I refuse to respect or accept such a vision. The author will not force me to feel positively toward a pedophile and rapist of her own nephew, and I’m genuinely sad that Rifujin put Aisha and Darius on the same level of repulsiveness. I’m honestly glad that the anime has censorship - this is probably the only time I’ll ever be happy about censorship.
From the little we know about the Fire Nation's royal family, Izumi has, besides Iroh, an unnamed daughter as well. Given that Izumi’s daughter was supposed to be Mako’s love interest, she is the same age as him - meaning she’s younger than Iroh. So that would make Iroh the heir to the throne. How was the crown prince allowed to join the navy and risk his life, and especially in the navy of a foreign country?
Начитался очередного твиттерского срача на тему отношения к пиратсву за рубежом и конкретно в Японии. Узнал очень многое о Российском пиратстве. Неужели большинство пиратского контента действительно из России, а тот же Хатаб известен во всем мире?
Just without being pedantic like 'Who are you to rewrite the author's story?' Let's imagine we're competent and talented enough to continue the story after Kishimoto. Or at least let's act as Kishimoto's editors, capable of curbing his enthusiasm.
Before the Pain arc, things were going pretty well. A coherent plot, gradual lore expansion, a balanced power distribution. Edo Tensei wasn't anything outstanding; tailed beasts could be defeated by summoned animals; the Akatsuki were strong, but not stronger than the Sannin; Deidara could blow up an entire village, but at the cost of his life; Itachi could summon Susano'o, but also at the cost of his life; Pain was strong, but paid a huge price for that strength, and Jiraiya could very well have defeated him. The strongest was considered to be Minato, while figures like Madara and the Sage of Six Paths were nothing more than legends.
In other words, the story was progressing quite sensibly, without excesses, and in my opinion reached its peak in the Pain arc. And then... then it's as if Kishimoto's brake lever broke. Hashirama's cells, Edo Tensei, Eternal Mangekyō, the two halves of Kurama, omnipotent Madara and Hashirama, and finally Kaguya. The story lost its balance and coherent narrative.
So now I'm asking: how would you continue the story, knowing all the problems that lie ahead?
Personally, in my view, after such a power-up of the main character, they should have stopped and started developing Naruto's friends, like in the anime fillers. Show their missions, reveal new abilities. After the Pain arc, there was a clear opportunity to finally develop the relationship between Hinata and Naruto.
And from a plot perspective, in my opinion, they should have started exploring the other villages — not as a gathering of Kage, but by directly visiting the villages. Suppose Tsunade conceived a Kage summit to unite forces and for that purpose sent ninja teams as envoys. The heroes would get to know the other villages and their inhabitants, and in the process develop themselves. In short, follow the One Piece path.
I'm amused by how the authors deny Kaminari and Jiro's relationship – to the point that they even showed that scene in the trailer. As far as I can remember, no other fan ship has ever received this much attention. What I mean is, the way they deny it only adds fuel to the fire. I'm sure that if their relationship had received no attention at all, there would be far less discussion.