Her pregnancy seems to have been the main reason she was not, in the story. Outside, it is obvious that her enotional attachment to Asuma (for the fans) allowed her some plot protection, although I think this worked against her.
The thing is, the shinobi life is supposed to be hardcore (Zabuza). Now the series did quickly say that his philosophy wasn't the way to go and as such her being allowed to stay home was symbolic of that morality, but the fact remains that everyone was risking their lives for everyone else. So in terms of properly showing what was at stake, not using her was an opportunity missed. Going in with the spirit of helping others would not have broken the morality of the series, I think.
I also think character showcasing opportunities were missed in leaving her out, and i will show that as I go.
Now, the same harshness of the shinobi world aslo carries the aspect of usefulness. As we were shown many times such as during the fight against the SPoP, a useless character can impede a fight instead od helping it, so first let me show how she would not have been useless.
In terms of her powers, her usage of illusions means she is least impeded by pregnancy as she doesn't need too much movements.
With those illusions, she was shown as extremely powerful, enough to even catch a serious Itachi (who is arguably the best in the world) and be called the best in a village with Sharingan Kakashi and Hiruzen in it. And of course, the Leaf has the largest regiment of shinobi in the world, so being the best there, without any alien powers, is a massive thing. That almost certainly confirms her as the best in the legal world. So leaving her out of the war is to drop such a massive asset. The part where Itachi was suspected to be active on the field also missed an opportunity to call her up and do a little character development arc, similar to what was done with Gai and Kisame. Gai being exclusive in physical combat similar to Kurenai for illusions would also have paralleled well. And harshly speaking, her pregnancy simply made her worth two lives, while her intervention (hypothetically) could have saved hundreds. Hundreds vs two?
Indirectly speaking, the fact that Itachi was broken or powered out of the control of Kabuto through a mental technique creates potential for Kurenai to have broken out the likes of Zabuza (and many of the unknown reanimations such as Gari, for character showcasing). That would have given the alliance some immortal allies!
Besides the straightforward use of her powers, Kurenai was said to be able to see into minds (interrogation) with her skill. That is important not only because of its war potential, but because of the level of power it implies. See, the likes of Jiraiya have to use crazy preparations (when he interrogated that Rain shinobi) to be able to get information while villages have entire squads dedicated to interrogation. Someone who can just look into minds using normal illusion powers is a massive thing. It is even bigger when you consider how useful it is in a war against hidden hands. Interrogating Gari or Pakura would have revealed the location of Kabuto, even assuming the homonculi are immune to such things. Oh, and the identity of Obito!
So she had extremely important powers and we missed massive character growth and showcasing opportunities missed, supposedly to uphold the morality of the story. Even then, 'securing' two lives (the Ten Tails almost rendered the sacrifice worthless if not for Minato preparing an FTG barrier in the Leaf) at the risk of thousands carries the implication of said morality being impractical or inviting loss.
So all in all, I think there is good reason for Kurenai to have been drafted.
Or never mind that. An instant where she forced herself forward against the instructions of her commanders would have been massive for her character showcasing (while maintaining the norality of the story, as it shows her with a Will of Fire). Is it not somewhat disturbing for someone with her skillset to sit down as thousands (who are weaker than her) risk themselves for the very world she lives in? Another opportunity missed.
Perhaps Boruto can still rescue the matter by saying that she was there but used an illusion (her invisibility) to avoid worrying the likes of Naruto. It would also be used to explain how the alliance had such a massive advantage after day 1 despite the wooden homonculi being so powerful and essentially being a hive mind - very powerful in war. Now that I consider it, perhaps the title of this thread should have been: "Was Kurenai active in the war?".
What say you?
The thing is, the shinobi life is supposed to be hardcore (Zabuza). Now the series did quickly say that his philosophy wasn't the way to go and as such her being allowed to stay home was symbolic of that morality, but the fact remains that everyone was risking their lives for everyone else. So in terms of properly showing what was at stake, not using her was an opportunity missed. Going in with the spirit of helping others would not have broken the morality of the series, I think.
I also think character showcasing opportunities were missed in leaving her out, and i will show that as I go.
Now, the same harshness of the shinobi world aslo carries the aspect of usefulness. As we were shown many times such as during the fight against the SPoP, a useless character can impede a fight instead od helping it, so first let me show how she would not have been useless.
In terms of her powers, her usage of illusions means she is least impeded by pregnancy as she doesn't need too much movements.
With those illusions, she was shown as extremely powerful, enough to even catch a serious Itachi (who is arguably the best in the world) and be called the best in a village with Sharingan Kakashi and Hiruzen in it. And of course, the Leaf has the largest regiment of shinobi in the world, so being the best there, without any alien powers, is a massive thing. That almost certainly confirms her as the best in the legal world. So leaving her out of the war is to drop such a massive asset. The part where Itachi was suspected to be active on the field also missed an opportunity to call her up and do a little character development arc, similar to what was done with Gai and Kisame. Gai being exclusive in physical combat similar to Kurenai for illusions would also have paralleled well. And harshly speaking, her pregnancy simply made her worth two lives, while her intervention (hypothetically) could have saved hundreds. Hundreds vs two?
Indirectly speaking, the fact that Itachi was broken or powered out of the control of Kabuto through a mental technique creates potential for Kurenai to have broken out the likes of Zabuza (and many of the unknown reanimations such as Gari, for character showcasing). That would have given the alliance some immortal allies!
Besides the straightforward use of her powers, Kurenai was said to be able to see into minds (interrogation) with her skill. That is important not only because of its war potential, but because of the level of power it implies. See, the likes of Jiraiya have to use crazy preparations (when he interrogated that Rain shinobi) to be able to get information while villages have entire squads dedicated to interrogation. Someone who can just look into minds using normal illusion powers is a massive thing. It is even bigger when you consider how useful it is in a war against hidden hands. Interrogating Gari or Pakura would have revealed the location of Kabuto, even assuming the homonculi are immune to such things. Oh, and the identity of Obito!
So she had extremely important powers and we missed massive character growth and showcasing opportunities missed, supposedly to uphold the morality of the story. Even then, 'securing' two lives (the Ten Tails almost rendered the sacrifice worthless if not for Minato preparing an FTG barrier in the Leaf) at the risk of thousands carries the implication of said morality being impractical or inviting loss.
So all in all, I think there is good reason for Kurenai to have been drafted.
Or never mind that. An instant where she forced herself forward against the instructions of her commanders would have been massive for her character showcasing (while maintaining the norality of the story, as it shows her with a Will of Fire). Is it not somewhat disturbing for someone with her skillset to sit down as thousands (who are weaker than her) risk themselves for the very world she lives in? Another opportunity missed.
Perhaps Boruto can still rescue the matter by saying that she was there but used an illusion (her invisibility) to avoid worrying the likes of Naruto. It would also be used to explain how the alliance had such a massive advantage after day 1 despite the wooden homonculi being so powerful and essentially being a hive mind - very powerful in war. Now that I consider it, perhaps the title of this thread should have been: "Was Kurenai active in the war?".
What say you?