Somehow, I don't think you people are reading and watching the same thing I am. First of all think about the ages of team 7 and the supporting cast. In the first part where she was super annoying an whinny she was a preteen girl. She wasn't confident she struggle with discovering who she was and most of all she clearly doesn't understand her feelings for Naruto or Sasake. I was around a lot of preteen girls who struggled with their image and confidence. Even with girls that tried to understand feelings they felt for some of their closest guy friends at the time. For all of you girls on here you can't tell me that you didn't have at least one friend around the 11 yr range that probably needed some therapy for confidence issues. So for that I'm going to point out Sakura's strengths in part one. Number one she had more chakara control than probably anyone her age because she had the mental focus and determination that most of her classmates lacked. She was probably second in intelligence and strategy in her class only outshined by the likes of Shikamaru whose main strength is his intelligence. She clearly helps Naruto and sasake read enemies in some of their earlier missions. Her main strength in the first part is that she holds their team together. She helps give Naruto and Sasake focus and direction. Remember in their first mission with Kakashi where he forbids them to give Naruto any food and Sakura breaks the rules and talks Sasake into giving him the food anyways. She is able to control her chakara better than them and they practice their control to catch up to her early in the series. Sakura is the voice of moderation between Naruto and Sasake. Sasake is a hardworking no nonsense genius, Naruto is a flakey misunderstood rogue, and Sakura is an intelligent focused kind-hearted person. It took Sakura being in their group for Sasake and Naruto to develope as both characters and ninja. That is where she shines in the first series. Sure she whines and screams Sasake kun all the time, but for the love of god its the same crap as an 11 yr old being in love with Justin Bieber. Sure it's annoying but lots of girls do it, so technically its an accurate portrayal of a preteen girl by kishi.
As for the series two you people are just trolling us. She shows medical ninjutsu and skill that rival Tsunade's. Her chakra control is better than almost any in the ninja world. She is able to find a cure for a poison and remove it in mere hours. She is able to dodge for most of a half hour long fight with Sasori, a ninja on a Kage level. She was able to strategize an end game in that fight. She talks herself into going to kill someone she is in love with for the good of her village. Shows leadership ability and greater intelligence for discovering a zetsu clone. Sure she froze under pressure when she met with Sasake, but she was in love with him. This isn't creative or weak of her. This story has been done for hundreds of years in thousands of stories, why? Well its part of human nature. Ask yourself could you kill someone you loved without hesitation if you knew it would save the lives of others. Is Sakura weak, lol you guys have to be kidding. She isn't Hinata who can only demonstrate how she feels through action, Sakura is emotion driven and that most certainly isn't a weakness. Emotional conviction can be stronger than most realize, ask any mother on the planet. Do I like Sakura, she's not my favorite female character in the series, but yeah I like her. To be honest, she's probably the most realistic character in the whole Narutoverse. Most people just want to see a strong bad ass ninja girl, but what's wrong with an emotional one that can set her feelings and emotions aside every once in awhile and get the job done.
