Gonna love this comment here
Exactly. What defines the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura? Sakura is the key to nothing. Her love is ineffectual in his redemption. She does not influence or change him. She doesn't help him grow. She doesn't challenge him mentally, physically, or emotionally. She is not someone he identifies with or connects to, the only thing keeping her even the slightest but relevant being she was on Team 7. And what does Sasusaku define or mean to Sakura? Sasuke's love yields to...what? How does it make her grow? How does it make her better? Its funny they say her love is selfless, but that's the only way she ever approaches him. In his big moments, all she can do is confess how much she loves him and wants him to stay with her. In the last chapters of the series, she angsts over if he is noticing her. I mean, what significance does Sasuke's love have for her? Why will it make her happy to the degree that it she will so readily abandon everything, even het dignity, for even his slightest attention? She sees nothing him. She understands nothing about him. She has no message to give him. Despite the greatest of Sasak fanon, Sakura is not trying to "show him its okay to love and be vulnerable" or "to give him a family to love". Not even touching on the fact that Sakura never reflects on anything substantial about her love, or even thought about the Uchiha Massacre, the event that shaped the boy she loves, at any point within the story nor mentioned it. Even in her confessions and pleas, the chances to say what she thinks and what's on her heart, as has been said before me, she says the most irrelevant, ignorant things that actually focus more on herself than him.
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Point blank. End of discussion. Him poking her forehead has no "Sasuke accepted Sakura's flaw and thought she was beautiful flaws and all" meaning if Sasuke doesn't even know that she was insecure about it. That isn't even an implication.
Also, damn, ain't that some shit? We talk a lot about how Sakura doesn't know or understand Sasuke, but what does Sasuke know or understand about Sakura? He doesn't know that she;s insecure about her forehead. He doesn't know that she was bullies as a child. He doesn't know the past with her and Ino. He doesn't know why she even likes him. He doesn't know her or anything about her. Nor does he understand anything about her, or even really think there is anything to understand. Sasuke has spent the whole series, in stark contrast to SS's constant criticisms of Naruto and Kakashi "putting her in the kitchen lel ", belittling and dismissing Sakura. She's concerned, he tells her to shut up and stop fussing over him. She's literally standing in front of him as he's about to defect from the village, she is a ninja and a teammate, he walks right by her with a casual dismissal. Had Sakura not started confessing, that would have been his last interaction with her. He doesn't even see her as a threat, like he would if Naruto or Kakashi was standing in his way, because he knows that Sakura is trite like this. He sees Sakura in their first reunion and recognizes her, but jumps down and taunts in Naruto's ear before deciding that he must kill him in particular, Sakura forgotten, as she usually is when more important people come on the scene. Just like in Iron Country, he taunts and baits her, clearly premedidating his plans to kill her, then when Kakashi comes she's completely forgotten. His entire slew of belittling comments until quite literally the very final end. Even in her final confession, which is supposed to show how true and mature her love is, they completely fail to reach him. He even mocksher feelings and behavior. It even extends to 699, that sigh and look on his face as Sakura asks if she can come along, like a scolding father explaining something of common sense to a child.
Kishimoto has written a Sasuke that, while generally caring for Sakura (in Part 1) thinks she is silly, trite, and easily dismissable. She is not someone to be taken seriously as an opponent, or even someone who he can talk to or even understand him. A Sasuke who not only knows virtually nothing about Sakura, but is completely uninterested in knowing her or even having the desire to spend time with her. Hell, the only reason he came to care for her was because they were put on the same team, and not because he connected with her. Which isn't anything bad in and of itself, but when that's literally the only thing that carries Sakura's relevance and bond to him and we have a Sakura who is more pathetic about him than Naruto and this is what she's so hung up on, it ain't a good look.
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That argument is so hilarious . No tsundere in history has ever taken "pretending not to care" this far, to the point where they makeshift kill someone, to the point where they slap apples out their crushes hand, to the point where they outright mock their crushes feelings and behavior, to the point where the let them die and try to convince others to let them die, to the point where they leave them out of their final monolouges about who made him feel like he wasn't alone and made him happy, fueled his decisions and changed him.
No other couple is written like this. Where any possibility to make Sasusaku viable was utterly shat on throughout the entire manga. Just think, since the production of The last began in 2012 or early 2013 at the earlies, he has known that Naruhina and allegedly Sasusaku would be canon. In 2012, the manga was in the 500's, in 2013 he still had 100 chapters left. In that 100 chapters he gave Naruhina a handhold, a thank you for being by my side, a speech, shared a tramautizing experience, and a volume cover. In 100 chapters Kishi blew Sakura and Sasusaku into oblivion with all the negativity and non growth and then shat on it some more by reinforcing the lacl of influence and overall relevancy to Sasuke's character and story arc beyond her being put on Team 7.
You can't even say that Kishi doesn't know how to write romance, because his other pairing got decent moments to the point where at least over half of their interactions aren't negative unlike Sasusaku. He even gave ****ing Karin a reflection and reason.
Sasuke isn't tsundere for Sakura. It's just that loving Sakura simply isn't part of his character. Even in canonization neither he nor SP can imagine a Sasuke in love with Sakura. Look at their angsty for no real reason family portrait and when asked about including Sasusaku in the new movie (because he nor SP thought to include so much as an interaction, being Sakura's date at Naruto's weddin, or Sasuke even thinking of being concerned with her safety or thinking of her at all in the pairings movie that they crammed every cheesy shoujo cliche they could into). He didn't even plan to include any Sasusaku in it either but then said he would have to "come up with something". Meaning that the Sasuke side of Sasusaku doesn't actually exist. Couple that with his lack of ever saying anything about Sasuke in regards for Sakura or Sasusak, just "Sakura was always only about Sasuke anyways" He's not even writing Sakura's novel which will include Sasusaku.
I mean, they can be happy Sasusaku is canon. But to try and convince others that Sasusaku is rooted in anything remotely deep or thoughtful. It's not. There isn't any substance within this pairing and Kishi either dislikes the concept of this ship because neither he nor SP give even an ounce of a **** about this pairing, or he is just beyond caring about it. Sasusaku became canon out of convenience rather than based in anything substantial or developed, and he is constantly proving it.
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^^Exactly, Sasusaku was the tagalong to Naruhina because it was popular and wraps up everything as quickly and neatly as possibl, as well as gets him out of writing Sakura by relegating her to dusting housewife and pairing fodder (its been extremely obvious for years now how much of a burdensome obligation writing Sakura is to him).
I still firmly believe Kishimoto dislikes the concept of this pairing. He treats this pairing awfully in the manga and even after it. I mean, just think about the fact that he knew since 2012 or early 2013 at the earliest, that Naruhina and allegedly Sasusaku would be canon, that's at two years at least and and even at the latest, the manga would have only just gotten into the 600's. He had 100 chapters, and in that 100 chapters while he gave Naruhina a handhol, a speech, a cover, and a "thank you for being by my side", what did he do for Sasusaku? He emphasized Sakura's non growth in her feelings or behavior, he made her look like a fangirl, he had Sasuke not only being indifferent to and unconcerned with her, but when she gave a depthless love confession he responded by not only mocking her but belittling her and expressing disinterest. Furthermore, he went on to have Sasuke do and say things that emphasize her lack of relevence or influence outside of being on Team 7 while putting all his emotional weight and influence into other people that are not Sakura, even to the point of constructing a plan where he has to kill the people who he loves and has an emotional power over him, and Sakura isn't even on his radar. He blew the ship into oblivion with all the negativity and non growt, and even after the series he gives Sasusaku a child that looks like another female character who feels neglected by her father, a Sasuke who is wandering around doing nothing and has been doing so for over 15 years, and a Sakura that is a housewife for a husband who comes home twice a year and a stay at home mom for a child who is old enough to take care of herself. In a series about ninja in which she was the heroine.
Like CometHalo said, it's over the top and extreme, especially given that none of the other pairngs within the manga are nearly as bad, and he has no problems showing how much he cares about Naruto despite his best efforts to hide it. Hell the only moment that is even worth mentioning in Part 2 is when he caught her, and even then the only reason he gave her even that respect was because she proved useful to him. The forehead poke is basically Kishi grasping at straws.
