Naruto - Uchiha Sasuke / Haruno Sakura

[zauberer-sirin.livejournal.com]

Sorry I´m late. Technical problems.

Title: Blooming
Author: Zau (zauberer_sirin)
Fandom: Naruto
Spoilers: Up to recent manga chapters (259)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sensei does. Kudos to him.


Sasuke/Sakura is without doubt the most despised pairing in the Naruto fandom, great part of said fandom also share a visceral hate for either Sasuke or Sakura or both; this ship manifest is also a defense of them separadtely and as a couple, for I´m really quite tired of all the bashing going around two of my favourite characters. Of course it doesn´t help that the fan base of this ship are 12-year-olds, so I´ll try to give voice to the more mature, saner part of the fandom.

Given the big fandom that Naruto is I didn´t stop to explain the main plot and characters; I´ve supossed that anyone reading a ship manifest has certain degree of knowledge of the series. Re-reading the character introductions I´ve realized that they wouldn´t make much sense for anyone completely ignorant of the story, but well, sorry about that, there wasn´t just space to explain more.

Shakespearean Tragic Hero: Sasuke Uchiha

Our first impression of Sasuke, as everything in the Naruto world, is through the main character´s eyes. He comes off as the best student in the ninja school, the most popular guy among girls and an altogether seemingly perfect figure. This vision of Sasuke has the potential of making the character a know-it-all, pretosterous, smug. But, thought he truly is a bit cold and arrogant at times, Sasuke is none of that. We soon feel that he is not the average Popular Guy whom the hero resents. And he is not the hero´s nemesis that later becomes his best friend. Everything in Naruto is a little more complicated that all that.

Sasuke is a loner, we learn soon. For all of his popularity he seems to have few if not no friends at all, he despises the attention he gets from girls and from fellow students, and he is not interesed in pursuing Naruto´s idea of them being rivals. Sasuke mainly wants to be left alone.

During the turning point conversation with Sakura in which he tells her she is a bother for thinking Naruto lives better without parents Sasuke betrays his façade of coolness a bit and lets us see how he understands and symphatizes with Naruto´s solitude, sharing his yearn for a family. The difference is that whereas Naruto seeks people to put away his loneliness Sasuke avoids human touch; he longs for company yet he refuses it when it´s offered. This is one of the principal traits of Sasuke, which we could label in existencialism terms as "the pain of just being"; the boy is contradictory in his need of love and his unwillingness to accept it.

When he is assigned to Team 7 with Sakura and Naruto in it Sasuke sees them as a bother: one of his stupid fangirls and a loud, good-for-nothing brat that claims to be his rival. He is not thrilled by the whole idea, understably (who wouldn´t wince at being teamed up with Naruto at first, even if the boy proves worthy later on?). Their new teacher, unorthodox and laid-back Hatake Kakashi doesn´t make a good first impression on him, either. It´s strange how Sasuke, despite being the best student in his years, has a deep disrespect for all forms of authority, and the only positive relationship with those comes in the form of Kakashi, whom Sasuke will truly admire and care for as he begins to know him.

From the first glance we suspect there is something wrong with Sasuke, something lurking underneath. We see it in his sad eyes, in his proud face, in the utter uninterest he shows for everything and everyone. When Kakashi asks Team 7 what are their dreams for the future Sasuke comes up with an unexpected answer: his ambition (he doesn´t call it "dream", we are later to know that Sasuke´s dreams will always remain in the past) is to kill a man.

Sasuke´s story unfolds throught the manga in various glimpses and two devastating flashbacks and we learn how, when he was a little boy, six year old, his older brother Itachi killed each and every member of his family, the Uchiha, but him. His family was one of the most powerful and respected of Konoha and Sasuke has a bloodline limit, special ninja ability in the form of the sharingan, a scaringly powerful eye technique. Sasuke has thus become obssessed with the idea of revenge and how Itachi chose him to be his avenger; Sasuke´s only objective in life is killing Itachi.

Itachi Uchiha is one the strongest ninja portrayed in the manga and the only way for Sasuke to catch up is to become stronger and stronger each day, fight and survive, living through hatred only. But something changes inside Sasuke since he is in Team 7. Even Orochimaru remarks how he has softened and he is beginning to forget his goal. Sakura and Naruto were beginning to bring to the surface the best things in him, things Sasuke didn´t know he has or always considered a weakness: his natural goodness (he is the first one who gives Naruto food when Kakashi has said it went against the rules, a little gesture that says a lot about Sasuke as a person, capable of sympathizing with those he doesn´t like), his sacrifice (during the Wave Country arc he was willing to die any second for Naruto, defending him from Haku) and his kindness (remember his subtle and encouraging words to Sakura before the Chuunin exam, when he knew she needed them most, complimenting her for her talent for seeing through illusory techniques).

Of course, Sasuke is no fool and he sees this change in himself, too, and at a certain point he even welcomes it, for during his confrontation with Gaara he openly admits that he cares for Naruto and Sakura and that he won´t let them die in front of him. This is a great step from the isolated, ice-cold boy he has been all these years.

But all this progress goes to hell when Itachi comes back to Konoha and Sasuke sees for himself how the rift of power and strength between Itachi and him; his brother reduces Sasuke without sweating, saying that Sasuke doesn´t hate enough. And Sasuke has always, until recently, equaled power and hate, and he retreats to this belief once more after Itachi´s apparition. The impact of his brother´s visit mixes with the discovery of Naruto´s growth as a ninja, a power that almost equals his. Sasuke feels like he hasn´t made any progress at all, that he is further now to killing Itachi than he was when he graduated from the Academy.

In this troubled state of mind Sasuke makes a difficult and polemic decision; Orochimaru´s promise of power seems like the only way out and Sasuke leaves for the Sound Village to train under the Sannin´s guideance (or so Sasuke thinks, Orochimaru has other plans). Because he doesn´t want nobody to be caught up in his tragedy he leaves in silence, preventing Sakura (in the single most heartbreaking scene of the whole manga) from telling anybody. Unluckily a small group of ninja (Naruto among them) follow him to try to take him back (ignoring Sasuke´s desires, by the way, he didn´t ask anybody to save him), with almost tragic consequences.

Sasuke and Naruto´s final confrontation marks Sasuke´s departure for darkness and ironically, at the same time, a glimpse of hope Kishimoto offers; through a flashback we learn that one way for Sasuke to achieve more power (though developing a new state of the sharingan) would be killing his best friend. Sasuke, cold as we have never seen him, and murderous intent in his eyes turns to Naruto and tells him that he has become someone very important, his best friend. But in the end, though he is able, he decides not to kill Naruto (he declares he won´t be his brother´s puppet anymore), leaving him just wounded and uncouncious. This choice, for me, tells us that no matter what happens Sasuke will not walk a path of damnation (despite similarities between the Sannins and Team 7, he will not become a new Orochimaru) but one of redemption.

The last we see of Sasuke is his walking into the dark woods, leaving his friendships, his childhood behind. The new part of the manga (set two years after Sasuke´s departure) has not yet featured Sasuke but we know that Kishimoto is just delaying his apparition because of the great expectation about it. After all, for many of us, Sasuke´s tragedy makes the most interesting of Naruto´s plotlines (and for some of us it´s even the main reason for reading the manga).

Kishimoto´s thesis has always been that what makes people strong is not hate but love (this is beautifully explicited in the character of Gaara, and his complete change) and this is the lesson Sasuke will someday remember and that will be the beauty of his story.

Lovelorn: Sakura Haruno

What I love most about Sakura (and I never imagined that she´d become one of my favourite characters) is that she has always made a point that loving Sasuke is her choice (even ardent anti-shippers have concede this). It might have all began with a childhood crush (or not so simple as a childhood crush, see Twinbells´ pondering of this) or hero worshipping but she really fell in love with Sasuke later, when she came to know him well. Kishimoto makes a very beautiful and subtle comparsion between her friend Ino (also self-proclaimed in love with Sasuke) and Sakura: Ino doesn´t know Sasuke at all so her first impression of him, her shallow crush remains whereas Sakura sees Sasuke as he really is, she knows his weakness, his darkest places and loves him because of that (see rhoddlet´s comment or kittu9´s fic).

This growth and her progressive appreciation of Naruto as a friend despite his faults makes for a truly remarkable character development. There are many who defend the simplistic view that because she hasn´t learned new jutsus or become a killing machine (until recently, at least, she is now scaringly powerful) there hasn´t been any character development but for me she has embarked on a exciting journey: a journey of self-discovery (her strength in the forest during the second chunnin exam, protecting Sasuke and Naruto), of self-afirmation (her fight with Ino) and how she walks a whole new path under Tsunade´s guidance.

When we meet Sakura she is obssessed with getting the highest marks (in Sakura underlays a need to please everyone always that I connect with her lack of self-confidence, thus her will to be the best) and getting Sasuke.

But I fell in love with Sakura during the Wave Country arc, when I realized that she was much more than meet the eye and that Kishimoto-sensei had a keen eye for teenage emotions. There is a defining moment for the character in which (though she doesn´t voice it in the way Naruto does but they came to the same conclusions) Sakura decides that she´ll, too, find her own way of the ninja. And it´s because of Sasuke. Sakura believed him to have died from Haku´s needle hits and, amidst the battle, she runs to him, to his body, to mourn it. She remembers studying in the Academy how a ninja must never show emotions and then she cries on Sasuke´s chest, erasing all that ninja rules with her simple gesture.

From then on Sakura tries to reconcile her natural feelings with her tasks as a ninja, but never blindly accepting the heartless shinobi code but rather searching for a way of becoming stronger while remaining human.

Sakura goes from the kid that let her hair grow long for a boy she had a crush on to the girl who cut her hair with a kunai to protect those she loved. She, who has a loving family, couldn´t understand at first the terrible kind of loneliness Sasuke and Naruto have been through, but little by little, her contact with the two boys (whom, each in a different fashion, express their longing for a home, for love and acceptance) makes her grow and change into a more considerate person (I particulary like the warmth and kindness she shows towards Lee, though she knows she can´t return his affection) and she realizes that the worst solitude is being without the one she loves, as she tells Sasuke, she´ll be devastated by his absence, no matter how many friends and family support her.

(I have to add here that Kishimoto has always make loneliness, its different kinds, a theme of the series: we can see it specially when Naruto tries to convince Sasuke that he knows exactly his pain because he, too, has been alone all his life, and Sasuke argues that Naruto never had anything to start with whereas he had a family, love, dreams, everything and that he lost it in a moment and nothing can compare to that pain)

When she sees Sasuke leaving and begs him to take her with him we understand her commitment is complete: she is willing to give up the life she has, an easy life full of friends and family and love, to stay with the man she loves, no matter how dark is the path he chooses to walk (she declares that she´d even help to avenge the Uchiha tragedy). This is how serious are the sacrifices she´ll do for Sasuke.

One of the things that had been hinted from the beginning and that fandom is just starting to apreciate now is Sakura´s potential as a ninja; in just a couple of years training with Hokage Tsunade she has made impressive progress and is now a reliable medic ninja, and, as Kakashi commmented once, she has it in her to surpass Tsunade in power.

Many might have thought that in the current saga of the manga, as it´s been years since Sasuke´s dissapeared, Sakura has got over it. But no. Sakura´s obstination in taking Sasuke back and helping him fight his inner demons is ardorous as ever. Sakura herself proves as much when she thinks about Itachi in terms of the man "who has hurt Sasuke-kun" and the resolve in her face speaks volumes about her refusal to give up on Sasuke.

The most vivid picture of Sakura, the one I will always carry, is that of a girl quietly peeling apples by Sasuke´s bedside, not knowing exactly how to make it better for him, and trying the best she can to help him heal, even with something as seemingly unimportant as peeling fruit perfectly. This contrast I love in Sakura: her manners may be childlish still, but her love is passionate and mature as of an adult.

A chance to bloom (Sasuke/Sakura)

Truth to be told I never thought I would become such an extreme Sasuke/Sakura supporter; at first sight the pairing seemed just the kind I´m not usually attracted to, it seemed too clear, too easy, too clichéd. But I was dead wrong about it all.

I´m a firm and passionate SasuSaku shipper; but that doesn´t mean I kid myself. I don´t defend that, as of today, Sasuke is madly in love with Sakura. What I see is rather the bright, beautiful possibility that he might love her someday. Sasuke is too scarred, and his life is too full of Itachi to have room for anything else. He has to heal first, and in that healing process I think Sakura will have a very important part. Sasuke´s long winter will end someday and Sakura would be waiting in the warmth of the next spring.

Even if Sasuke is not exactly in love (but rather with the chance for loving inside him) with Sakura is undenialable that Sasuke cares deeply for her, beyond the bonds of companionship between teammates, he cares for her more than for anyone in the world, expect maybe Naruto. But Sasuke makes concessions to Sakura that he doesn´t allow anybody else. He has what he´d considered a dangerous weakness towards Sakura. He tends to talk too much (well, too much for him, anyway) around her: after all she is the first one he speaks to about Itachi, very early on (volume 2) and with a phrase ("I was crying then") that reveals his vulnerability (Sasuke seems to let only Sakura see him at his weakest).

It´s really meaningful the way Sakura seems to affect Sasuke in unexpected ways. In their confrontation with Orochimaru, just before Sasuke was given the seal by the Sannin, it was Sakura´s objections what woke him up. He was paralized by fear, desperatedly seeking a way out of the fight, trying to keep everybody alive and it was only when Sakura called him a coward that he reacted and came back to his senses.

For me one of the turning points that made me an obssessive Sasuke/Sakura fan ocurred just before the preliminary fights, in the chuunin exam. Sakura wants Sasuke to quit the exam, seeing how he is obviously in pain and weakened from Orochimaru´s curse seal. But he can´t quit. He has to achieve his goal, become stronger. Sakura raises her hand to let her seniors know about Sasuke´s state but he stops her, grabbing her arm. He tells her that he won´t allow anybody to come between him and his ambition, not even her. It´s the not even her that won me over for the shipper cause (though I was sold much earlier I think, with Sakura´s speech in the Wave Country arc), because Sasuke lets on, unknowingly, how important Sakura has become in his life.

I´ve always thought that Sasuke keeps a safe distance from Sakura because he is aware of the great danger he is in of falling in love, if he gets too close, and love is a luxury he cannot afford.

And when Sasuke's cursed seal awakes for the first time in the forest it's Sakura the only one able to stop his brutal and heartless behaviour (he breaks Zaku's arm even while the enemy was pleading compassion) and hugging him Sakura returns Sasuke to his normal self, and the curse seal retreats. Very meaningful, considering that when Sasuke woke up in the forest and saw Sakura wounded he demanded to know "who has done this to you?" and this is what prompts him to attack the Sound gennins mercilessly, fuelled by the new power brought by Orochimaru's seal; a power that tranforms him, and Sakura watches horrified, realizing "this is not Sasuke-kun" and he alone manages to bring the real Sasuke back.

I never expected to ship Sasuke and Sakura but they have reduced me to a puddle of fannish squeeing, jumping at any small chance of having a shippy moment from them. I´ve angsted all throught their scenes together and tasted the joy of their happiest moments; I´ve shivered every time they touched, so I´m glad Sakura has this tendency to touch Sasuke every chance she gets (who can blame her?) and Sasuke has a tendency to let himself be touched by Sakura as he lets nobody else. We see it when Sakura learns he is alive even after the fight with Haku and she desperatedly embraces him: Sasuke protests (she is hurting him) but does not stop her, and when a mirror scene happens much later in the manga, when Tsunade heals a wounded Sasuke (right after Itach uses his unbelievable power on him) and Sakura once more hugs him and cries, this time Sasuke does not even protest, he quietly lets her hold him, if that´s what she needs he is not going to refuse.

This hospital (it´s a rule in any and each fandom: the shippiest moments happen in hospitals) scene is also remarkable because Naruto finally gives up on his childish illusion that he likes Sakura. We see his face and how it quickly and finally sinks in the realization: Sakura´s feelings for Sasuke are not a fleeting infatuation, Naruto cannot fight against it. When Sakura, after the pivotal chapter 181 and Sasuke´s departure, begs Naruto to take Sasuke back, to promise it, Naruto tenderly comments that she "really like Sasuke-kun" there is no bitterness in the remark, he has become a SasuSaku shipper just as us. Welcome, Naruto.

Sasuke´s fight with Gaara goes from a matter of self-assertion and pride (the using of the chidori is a brilliant, joyful moment in Sasuke´s life) to matter of life or death, of protecting the ones he loves. When Sasuke tells Naruto that he would be able to hold Gaara back for a little while and that Naruto in exchange has to "save Sakura no matter what" he is telling a lot about what his priorities are. Compare this with the boy who declared that there were many things he disliked and none he liked specially, whose only feelings were of hate and bitterness. Of course Itachi´s later appearance will crush all this progress and Sasuke will have to seek his answers far from Konoha, far from the people he has come so close to loving.

But before leaving Sasuke gives us one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the history of manga.

Sakura: I know all about your past Sasuke. Even if you get revenge though, it won´t bring anyone happiness, not even you, Sasuke. Nor me.
Sasuke: I already know. I´m different from you all. I can´t be following the same path as you, guys... Up until now we´ve done everything as a group. But there is something else I must do. Deep inside my heart I´ve already decided on revenge. For that reason only do I live. I´ll never be like you or Naruto.
Sakura: Do you really want to go back to being alone? You told me how painful it was to be alone! Right now, I know your pain! I may have friends and family but... if you were to leave...to me...to me I would just be as alone as you.
Sasuke: From now out...we all begin new paths.
Sakura: I love you with all my heart! If you were to stay with me there would be no regrets. Because everyday we´d do something fun and we´d be happy... I swear! I would do anything for you! So please, just stay with me. I´ll even help you with your revenge. I don´t know what I could do but I´ll try my best to do something. So please...stay with me. Or take me with you if you can´t stay here.
Sasuke: You really are annoying.
Sakura: Don´t leave! If you do I´ll scream.
Sasuke: Sakura... thank you.

I couldn´t help myself, I had to include that whole part from chapter 181. It broke my heart when I read it, it broke my heart when I heard in the voice of Sasuke´s very gifted seiyuu (voice actor) Sugiyama Noriaki, and it breaks my heart as I type it down now. I challenge every person that says that Sasuke/Sakura is "uninteresting" or "without justification" to read this exchange and defend that position with the same conviction.

For Sasuke saying "thank you" is about the most meaningful phrase he can utter, like saying "I love you" for many people, the hardest thing to say. Just a few sentences before Sasuke has declared his rejection of the kind of life he was leading with Naruto and Sakura but right now he is thanking her for the time and memories they have shared, he is thanking Sakura for the love she has given him, a love he has never wanted to return but that has helped him through the hard days, and he lets her know how much he appreciates it deep down, Sasuke decides that she has the right to know that.

This scenes have the main reasons why I like the pairing: Sasuke´s darkness, his fight against his own feelings, Sakura´s stubborness, how deeply wounded Sasuke is and how Sakura could be the one to heal him.

Their love might not be a reality but rather a promise; like the first, shy flowers to bloom are a promise of spring, of how the cold will always pass.

Extras:

Fanart:

Oushou Chikubai

Crazy Sunshine

Pilgrim

Honey Canon

Sweetness

Fic:

Unfortunately the average quality of Sasuke/Sakura fics is so low that I want to cut my throat. There has been very few fics I´ve been able to enjoy, very few that handled the characters and relationship maturely and with good writing. of the pairing.

My favourite Sasuke/Sakura fic is, without a doubt, "Thursday" by berrygold, a hauntingly beautiful story, lyrical and very hopeful in its resolution. An optimistic view on the relationship.

Dr.Briefs Cat fics at FF.NET are worth a look, specially "The Flame the burns brightest", quiet and satisfying, very much in character. "Little White Lies" by Visions is a nice read, too. You can find my own Sasuke/Sakura fics here, in a darker exploration of the pairing.

Actually, I like much more Sakura-centric fics that deal with her feelings for Sasuke and in this genre we can find a couple of joys: Luc Court´s impressive "Twelve" as well as kittu9´s two amazing tales, "Passages" and "And through a crack the truth seeps through like acid" (which feature my favourite definition of the pairing: Sasuke is a sick sort of love that she never wants to give up, even if it kills them both) and rhoddlet´s little thingy and one_if_by_land´s drabble that it´s worth a thousand fics.

Fanlistings:

Two mantained by haibara_kun, who never in her wildest dreams could image I would become a shipper:

Sasuke/Sakura: Blooming (from which I took the title for this essay)

Sasuke: Fighting Spirit

Also:

Sakura: Violently Happy

Sugiyama Noriaki (Sasuke's seiyuu): Shy Voice

Nakamura Chie (Sakura's seiyuu): Wisdom Voice

Livejournal Communities

sasusaku: not a brilliant community but a relaxed place for fans. Also the Sakura-centric comm sakura_chyan offers and island of sanity inside the rather exasperating Naruto fandom.

More:

twinbells´ and _sashimi´s SasuSaku Fan Soundtrack, very well chosen, specially for the inclusion of Three Doors Down, Teh SasuSaku Band for me, particularly their latest album, Seventeen days.

Also brought to you by brilliant twinbells there is a SasuSaku forum, Simply Love, another fortress of sanity in the not-so-sane Naruto fandom

Comments

[annwyd.livejournal.com]

This does a really good job of pointing out the evidence for the pairing while illuminating all the characters involved. It's a very beautiful and broken dynamic, and you've made that clear.

It's been my theory of late that Sasuke will try and try to gain power to kill Itachi through hate, but the way he'll be able to do it in the end is when Itachi threatens Sakura.

[zauberer-sirin.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Glad you liked.

It's been my theory of late that Sasuke will try and try to gain power to kill Itachi through hate, but the way he'll be able to do it in the end is when Itachi threatens Sakura.

Actually, that would be very interesting to see, yes.

[destinylight.livejournal.com]

Speaking as a raburabu SasuNaru shipper and a raburabu-anti-SasuSaku, I'm rather impressed with your essay.

While I don't agree with all the points you make or the depth of the scenes (personally I think that while he does care for her, there's nothing romantic about any of things he does, and even if there is, the romantic tension between him and Naruto are far greater than those between Sasuke and Sakura), I have to applaud you on presenting your arguements in a logical and convincing manner. (I've googled "SasuSaku" before in an attempt to find out why people ship it, but the only results were harebrain rambling of 11-year-old girls.) I now sort of understand why people ship SasuSaku.

[annwyd.livejournal.com]

The Naruto fandom as a whole plays host to far too many vapid pre-teens, I think. For all the pairings, especially the big ones like SasuSaku and NaruSasu.

[calophi.livejournal.com]

This illustrates the Sasu/Saku dynamic really nicely! This wasn't always my favorite relationship, but it's grown and grown on me and I feel about the same way you do now, where the character development and the changes in the relationship really got me hooked. The only pair that has just as strong of a relationship would be Naruto and Sasuke, and I don't understand why people can't see that regardless of how much they hate one of the characters.

I have a couple fics I like, but they tend to be really dark. I don't see them having a relationship that isn't dark. One of them had something to do with butterflies or something, and one had a phoenix...those were both awesome.

[zauberer-sirin.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I, too, tend like the darker side of the relationship. For me Sasuke is pretty dark by himself so any relationship he´d have must be quite dark.

[hamsterfactor.livejournal.com]

I feel so proud of you, I'd cry if I hadn't done so already while reading the manifesto *hugs* It makes me happy that it's you who did the SasuSaku SM, there was no other who would've done a better job.

I shall include this once I get around with Blooming's revamp :3

[dbnext.livejournal.com]

Thankyou so much for this essay. It's beautifull to just see everything that makes SasuSaku so great finally written out with every detail and an in depth explanation, it just makes me love this Ship even more ♥ It's a very hard relationship to put into EXACT words but you did an amazing job and I'm just gratefull as a SasuSaku fanatic myself XD

I'll definately have to check out those recommendations myself.

Though I'd also recommend I know those eyes (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2057315/1/) by roomfishing as a well though-out SasuSaku fiction.

I've drawn a few Fanarts of them on my DevArt (http://dragonboy-mt.deviantart.com) Page, but nothing that really matches up to the recommendations you've allready given.

Again I have to say thanks and commend you for a really awesome job!

[white-ookami.livejournal.com]

Just wow. I'm very, very impressed with your essay. You truly went in depth and analyzed each scene very carefully, and you made some very good judgements and points because of this. Even I myself hadn't seen a couple of the points previously, and I thought I had done a pretty good job going through Naruto. I'm glad I read this; more people should definitely be reading this. I'll be reccommending it.

Out of curiosity, have you read I Know These Eyes by Roomfishing on Fanfiction.net? She included an extremely brief analysis of SasuSaku at the very end, but had to take it down - fortunately I had her e-mail it to me and have it sitting in My Documents. Maybe you'd be interested in reading it?

You've certainly made this SasuSaku shipper very proud. ^^ Wonderful work!

[white-ookami.livejournal.com]

...Wow, I'm sorry, correction. ^^; I Know Those Eyes by Roomfishing.

[splintercat.livejournal.com]

Great essay, though I don't know Naruto very well (and from what I know, I'm leaning towards SasuNaru). I just wanted to say - what is with the "girls sitting at their guy's bedsides peeling apples" thing? I thought it might have been a bit of unusual symbolism when it showed up in Full Metal Alchemist but I didn't realize that it had appeared in other series. Huh.

(frozen)

[hamsterfactor.livejournal.com]

Did you even read the essay? :D

And really, there was no need to be rude... tsk, tsk.

[moebot.livejournal.com]

I adore Sasuke, and I've always really liked Sakura. However, and I really don't know why, SasuSaku is the only pairing in Naruto I ever can really say I disliked. (I'll ship everyonexeveryoneelse, but I never got into SasuSaku, for whatever reason.)

This essay, however, might have changed that outlook on the pairing for me. I still don't really see it happening in canon (as much as I find NaruSaku kinda "meh", it is very fluffy-cute, and I think Kishimoto might choose to help Sakura grow further by finally, truly accepting Naruto and leaving her feelings for Sasuke behind), but now I can properly enjoy where the fans are coming from. And I'm always up for good fic.

Hah, it's a pity for me that my OTPs are usually rare to find good anything on, so I share your pain in that way. (Oh, OroJir/SanninOT3, why must you be so difficult?)

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

I wasn't really big on Sasuke/Sakura at the beginning, but after reading some of the Chuunin exams arc, I'm starting to see something between them. (Even if I'm more of a Lee/Sakura fan.) Your essay nicely shows all the aspects of Sakura's and Sasuke's relationship that I like.

The most of the manga I've read is what has been released in English, so I thank you for that translation of chapter 181. It was really sweet, and I enjoyed it.

[kayuuko.livejournal.com]

I really have to say "Thank you" for this wonderful essay ^^ Though I don't agree with every part of this essay I've to say I agree with most of it. It's really greatly done ^_^. <33 Much love from just another SasuSaku fan XD.

I wasn't a SasuSaku shipper at the beginning XD" Not at all... I really disliked the pairing because I didn't like Sakura first. Though now I don't understand why I felt that way in the past but that's another story :-p. Later I started to actually see the potential in this pairing... and slowly started to fall in love with it...
Today, besides ItaSasu (which is my real OTP after all), it's my second-fav pairing in this series ^^. I really see the affection between those two... the possibilities... (and I love to look at SasuSaku doujinshi but that's again another story XD" hehe).

I just wanted to point out a mistake you made in this essay: When Itachi killed the entire clan Sasuke was not six years old but eight ^^". Itachi was 13 when he killed the clan. Between Itachi and Sasuke there's a difference of 5 years so Sasuke has to be 8. Sasuke's entrance at the academy happened when he was 6 years old ^^. Just wanted to point that out ^^".

[grandlarseny.livejournal.com]

Marvelous essay! It pretty much sums up everything I love about this pairing. If only we had space to go into all the little details, huh? ^_^ I'm gonna throw in a few fanfic recs, though some may not be pure sasusaku, they all deal with the feelings between the two.

Wasted Years by Mizerable (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1356810/1/)

Autumn by Visions (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1787090/1/) and Between the Shadow and the Soul (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1819927/1/), also by Visions.

A few Sasusaku drabbles by Sunfreak- 1 (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1956712/1/) 2 (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1468541/1/) 3 (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1387512/1/) 4 (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1378383/1/)

Undertowed by Melopomene Melancholica (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2365349/1/)

Day 14 also by Melopomene Melacholica (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2034231/1/)

The Calling by ShinobiSpirit

Welp, I can't think of anymore, but those should keep you toasty for a while! <3

(http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1459763/1/)

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

I'm not a SakuSasu shipper, but I certainly enjoy the dynamic (I just think Rock Lee is so cool he deserves Sakura for his sacrifice). This was amazingly well done, a good exploration of canon. I personally hold out little hope for Sasuke coming back in one piece (I so think there's going to be some dramatic death)...

Thanks for writing this. It gave me something to think on - and a few fics to look at! I think the low caliber of the fics in the main (it's so much easier to find semi-decent SasuNaru) reason I never fell in love with these two together...

Now, if we're talking about a threesome... ^_~

[zauberer-sirin.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I´m glad you liked, specially since you know (or maybe you don´t, that´s not the point) that I fangirl your fics like woah!

It´s a sad truth that the average SasuSaku fic is crap; but there is also a lot of crappiness around the SasuNaru, if only for its huge popularity. But I´ll concede that I´ve read more good SasuNaru than SasuSaku.

[militarypenguin.livejournal.com]

Great essay! I can't say I'm really into any of the Naruto ships, but Sasuke/Sakura has really tickled my fancy. ^_^ I've always loved both of the characters and I think the pairing certainly has plenty of potential and your essay certainly explained that well. I was also very impressed by how in depth you went into Sakura and Sasuke's characters. :)

I'll have to take a look at those fanfic recs, too. :D

Excellent Essay

[(Anonymous)]

I want just want to say that I thought your essay to be thoughtful and engaging. I can definitely see that Sasuke has some affection for Sakura.

However, I don't think that Sasuke loves Sakura. He is too emotionally messed up at the moment to contemplate about love. There is some potential for love in the future, but a very far future where Itachi is dead and somehow is atoned for leaving Konoha (I mean, isn't he kinda a missing nin now? Will Sakura be willing to leave Konoha and live the life of a missing-nin to be with Sasuke if he isn't forgiven?)

I'm not a sakusasu shipper because I think it might be potentially too painful for Sakura. I know that Sasuke has some goodness in him, but I see him become a very broken man after accomplishing his vengeance. He will feel incredibly lost that the one constant (vengeance) in his life is gone. At that point, what possible reason would he want to be Sakura?

1) He feels empty and, if Sakura is willing, he feels that Sakura can fill the emptiness. This equate to a pretty selfish relationship where there is a lot of taking and not much giving.

2) His life is rule by his duty. First, to eliminate Itachi. Second, to rebuild the Uchiha clan. He might marry Sakura to rebuild the Uchiha because he trusts her and has some affection for, but not necessarily because he loves her. It might be enough for Sakura, but I don't think it is fair for her.

Either way, Sakura will have to put up an emotionally messed up man. It sounds very romantic to "stay by your man, though thick and thin" + "love conquers all", but it's really hard for a person to deal with that with no guarantees that the other will ever heal.

Yeah, yeah. My opinion in the last paragraph sounds like I'm incredibly selfish, but it makes me wince to think about someone knowingly putting themself in that situation. Perhaps my opinion will change when I find the right person.

Anyway, just my 2 cents
Maaya

[missingwatch.livejournal.com]

Well, I think this is a very well thought out essay. However, I guess I feel it was actually rather--selfish? narrow sighted? of sakura to say the bit about being all alone. while your family and friends may not seem as important as the one you're madly in love with, sakura is far, far less alone than sasuke is, esp now that he's decided to cast off his few friends. of course, i am biased against this pair because sakura annoys me. not because i think she is a bad person, but because she's so terribly weak. while i'm informed she gets stronger in the manga, in the anime, she's supposed to be a decent ninja, yet almost all she does is stand around with a knife and point it at people. it pisses me off that this is an anime set up so we can, for once, have strong female characters, and yet we don't. the one exception is the bit in the forest where she's guarding sasuke and naruto.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree with you on this. Her saying she would be alone also. But I understand why she would say something like that.

Think about it like this: the boy/girl you've completely fallen for, head over heels, is leaving and means not to return, to become something evil. I, also, would become rather... panicked. She was trying anything she could to convince him to stay, for whatever reason, and throwing things out there. She thought it might mean something if she told him that without him, life just wasn't the same. It wasn't as nice. She didn't mean to cut her family and friends down, I don't believe. She was just pleading for Sasuke to stay with them.

I also think Sakura is fairly weak, but I don't think she's annoying. She's the typical girl, who worries about how she looks, but not too much, and she likes bright colors and sunsets and cute animals. She does show potential earlier in the series though, in the forest. Later, she becomes MUCH stronger. Nobody can call her weak then.

And there are plenty of other strong female characters. Like Temari and Ino, who can beat others into submission. xD

[patosan.livejournal.com]

This was an excellent essay. I especially enjoyed your depiction and analysis of the characters, for it's pretty much the way I see them.

I used to not like Sakura but I'm growing more and more fond of her as time progresses. She started off a spoiled brat and it was hard to sympathize with her character. The only thing that's making me change my mind is that she's not a bad person inside, and that she's willing to learn a lesson or two in humbleness and make herself a better person. She's growing up a lot and I like that in a character.

Having said that, I don't ship this pairing, but I see the appeal in them a lot more after this. If Sakura kept on the path she's on now, I would probably find myself rooting for her. The problem with the pairing is Sasuke, however. Sasuke is a problem in any pairing because of the way he is and the trauma he's been through. I'm not sure Sakura is the anchor Sasuke needs to stabilize his life, when she can't quite keep herself together at times. But then again at this moment in time no one seems to be able to reach Sasuke in any way, except Naruto maybe, but nowhere near deep enough.

The arguments you made were really good, although they could be applied on a friendship only basis as well. I know you realize this since you said so yourself. I have no doubt that if Sasuke has bonded with anyone in the course of the series, then those are the people in team 7. I think Kishimoto will leave Sasuke pairless, if perhaps a changed man.

Great essay, thoguh, I really enjoyed it ^__^

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

I'm late to the party on this one, but dammit, you've rekindled my interest in SasuSaku.

keeping the faith

[(Anonymous)]

that was a very good essay, you really made a good job,thank you Even if I really REALLY like sasusaku, sometimes I fell that there is not possibilities and its more because I'm not blind and I also thing that there are other possibilities especially narusaku (because sasunaru even if they look hot together :p and there is a lot of.. lets call it attraction just for say something, I really don't think that could happen in this story)ok back in the point I fear that kishimotos plans are that Sakura in her grow will pass of Sasuke (my this is even painful to write)and realize that Naruto is the best for her or something like that like in other histories, anyway I want to thank you twice because this essays doesn't say something like: o sasuke is in madly love with Sakura otherwise like you said points that he also right now cares about her but like a very dear friend and also the possibility that he might love her someday . but just might like a very little chance in there that is shinning, and that cheers my hope.XD jaja and the last thing might sound kind of silly but I will write it anyway this is for in any case someone lose faith "forget reality believe in destiny"( yes i copy that from somewhere) maybe sounds weird because it doesn't have a logical support, just faith. but hey we also believe in god.

[angstyalex.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well, that was a very well-done essay, and a great distraction from Homework.

I'd have to say that I believe SasukeSakura will never happen. She was infatuated with Sasuke at the Academy, because he was cool, quiet, and good looking. Sure, later on she learned of his flaws and went through thick and thin with him... but I don't see them ever being together. Not only because of Sasuke's lack of interest in her, but the fact that I'm getting the vibe for a post-timeskip NaruSaku. She cried at merely the mention of Naruto's bijuu being extraced in Chapter 261. Sure, this isn't really any grounds for me to start spouting stuff about NaruSaku, but pre-timeskip Sakura would not have cried for him. I'm not sure what she'd have done, but she wouldn't have cried.
Oops, I'm ranting now. xD; I'll stop.

[a-white-rain.livejournal.com]

damn, you gave me a new otp.

Although, personally, I'm much happier to put Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke together. They fit so well together.

Some points i dont agree with.

[(Anonymous)]

Overall good essay. But there are some points that i disagree on.

1)Naruto gave up on the childich illusion that he likes sakura.
-No he still likes/loves her, but he gave up on any hope of getting it with sakura.

2) Naruto became a sasusaku shipper.
-No he didnt. He's a selfless person, so if sakura wants sasuke, he'll try to let her go.

3)Sakura: I'll try to find my ninja way to (paraphrased).
-It was sasuke? i thought it was because of naruto? when he said that he'll change the idea of ninjas being tools. Im to lazy to check anyway.

Thats all.
-theyawster@yahoo.com

[bunnynumber13.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful well-thought out essay. I've actually read it several times and have never commented before but I figured I might as well do it now.

After looking back over the many often very lengthy comments against Sakura and Sasuke being in a relationship, I have to shake my head sadly. From an objective point of view, yes, this sounds like a relationship that could never work or happen, mostly because Sasuke is too messed up or will be even more messed after his vengenance to even think about romance. If I had a penny for every seriously screwed up person I've met who is in a relationship when they shouldn't even be in one because of THIS EXACT KIND OF EMOTIONAL DAMAGE, I would be a very rich woman now. I myself don't see Sasuke in a relationship any time in this near century. But I would think with time he could plausibly move on as much as he's able and if he gains those feelings for Sakura, without his 'duty' getting in the way, I think he might act on them.

Yes, I am a SasuSaku fan -- nothing is 'impossible' about their relationship happening as far as I'm concerned. Given that it's not the main focus in the manga and not much of it at all has come up since they parted, who is to say definitively what could develop? Ideally we should all be hoping for Sasuke just being able to come to a place where he can be at peace. Heck, if all the two of them do is take a walk together at the end of the manga, I'll be completely satisfied. Their relationship may be unrequited and have thousands of hurdles to overcome but you cannot deny there IS one there.

[teruame.livejournal.com]

SasuSaku was ruined for me from day 1 of the fandom (one word: fanbrats), so I usually ignore whatever is based on this pairing. It also didn't help that my OTP is SasuHina (even though I completely admit that it's a crack pairing), and that I have a tendency to favor NaruSaku.

Nonetheless...great job on this analysis...thanks to you, I'm thinking about analyzing this pairing, even though I am more of a one-sided SasuSaku fangirl (and I don't see how Sasuke would ever return Sakura's feelings...poor girl) -____-

Lovely Fics

[(Anonymous)]

I really love it. I simply love SasuSaku. I gush, I scream, and I dance. I hope I'm not one of those crazy 11 year olds (I think I am, but I have a respect for proper, read-able grammar damn it).

In case no one has mentioned it, the story, "It Will Be Heaven" By Black Mountain (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1665515/1/) was pretty good. It was dark, maybe a bit too affectionate though. Then there's "Love That I Hate" from Silver Spirit (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3080322/1/) Also, the story, "The Shadow" by Street Wise (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3080943/1/)

That story was lovely. I wouldn't have written this review about it if it wasn't:

Lovely. There's a lot of mystery surrounding it all, but continuing it would destroy it , I know. And you pulled it of well; I'm content with what was or wasn't given, because that's just Sasuke. The fic itself is very inspirational, with the sentences, "Don't do that," He says -whispers." after they kissed, leaving you to ponder, "What were his feelings?", which sets a new story line.

Or the lines like, "It's a kiss. Not his first, perhaps not his last, but it's a kiss that she's giving him, and that's enough. Her fingers move slightly, entwined in his black hair—and she pulls away as if she's been burned, certain she's gone too far." and the other one "“Go home. Your mother is going to be worried.”

She wants to argue, to say she'd rather be with him than her mother, but she knows. She knows he has no family and he will want her to be with hers. She knows."

There's so much more. The way you wrote in present tense just felt wonderfully different, and the title, "The Shadow" was very fitting and well thought out.

We all wonder, we all feel things, and Sakura is a perfect example. Her mind wanders to different thing just by what he does, what he says -it's true devotion. Unison maybe. It's all understood.

Sasuke is a mysterious person, and the fact that you leave Sakura to wonder what he is thinking makes him all the more mysterious.

-But anyway, I'm getting sidetracked here, and I'm sorry.

SasuSaku is wonderful because, I think sometimes, Sasuke needs something. Someone to come home to, someone to protect...

Anyone remember Haku? The guy that everyone calls girly (Very meanly!)?

Doesn't anyone remember that thing where he said that you fight strongest when you have someone to fight for? Someone to protect?

Perhaps that is something that applies here.

I will never resign from my post as the SasuSaku NaruHina lover. The war of this couple will always have to go on, sadly.

Then I have my fic, my first Naruto fic (I've written a lot, and better before this though),which I will shamefully advertise:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3087197/1/

I will close this comment with rudeness (and very based, but...I have to say it):

ALL NARUTO AU HIGHSCHOOL FICS SUCK, SUCK, SUCK!

I LOVE DR. BREIF'S CAT FICS! (Already read them before this)