Now before you yell at me, I would like to point out something on the fact of the matter please, as much as I love the series Naruto I do truly question sometimes on Kishimoto's treatment of the female characters, with some exceptions here and there which was shown in the form of Mei, Konan, Tsunade and such. Despite what some may claim I actually tried my hardest at times in attempt to like Sakura Haruno as a character, but unfortunately enough, I can't, and the reasons will be written below in a lengthy description of my perspective of her portrayal in the series. Feel free to argue with it or not once I am through. 
I seen so many anti-Karin threads and the most delusional threads in existence in terms of justifying Sakura Haruno's written actions in the manga, so I guess this would be considered my attempt to write why I would argue such a false statement.
Part 1 Sakura:
To be all in fair, she was essentially a plot device for the majority of the first chapter(someone that just needed to "be there in the midst"), and to some degree in fillers where it concerned her being portrayed as the "motivation' in Team 7". This though greatly differs from Naruto and Sasuke, who'm both had defined goals; whereas she did not (it all boils down to the question of "Why did I become a ninja?").
Naruto and Sasuke fought tough battles from the very beginning of the series, against the likes of Zabuza, Orochimaru, Gaara(and the threatening One Tail) in the initial Chunin Exam, the memorable battle at the bridge and many countless more that would motivate and inspire specifically Naruto to become the great ninja that he is today in the series, and Sasuke to find his own questionable path of seeking the truth concerning his brother, both undergoing a massive development for the both of them. Though since it's a shonen manga, character development typically occurs while the character is fighting; since she didn't do so nearly as much as Naruto or Sasuke, her character progression was greatly lessened as a consequence for the duration of Part 1. She definitely changes over Part 2: she went from a over-obsessive Sasuke fangirl to someone much more serious, but at the end, her 'goal' was highlighted in only a slight variation of panels as she trains under Tsunade to assist Naruto and Sasuke, also to put her place as one of the "New Sannin" in an ironic sense, with little to no showlight with her training with Tsunade.
Her lack of self-respect as a character, the worst crime of a female Shonen character:
This is the part that truly get's me the absolute worst, Naruto(the series) at the end of the day is a Shonen Manga series, and for that I will write the definition of what that is.
"To better themselves", something that Sakura has failed to display within herself emotionally time and time and again, and that particular trait that all leads to her borderline obsession with Sasuke.
It has started since the very beginning of the series, and as time gone by it has gone progressively worse, to the point where it was actually treated as an obstacle for Naruto to deal with, since as Sai has described before, his promise to bring Sasuke to Sakura was almost treated as a form of a "Curse Mark".
She sacrificed her friendship with Ino, someone who was actually there and supporting her when they were just children just because of her equal desire to be with Sasuke. Instead of being a supportive and respectful friend in such a decision, she instead treated Ino as an enemy.
Let's be truthful here for just a single moment, Sasuke has treated her like crap for the entire series, he has insulted her(sometimes on a rightful basis, when she insulted Naruto for having no parents despite not realizing Sasuke had none either), he has attempted to kill her, called her annoying so many times throughout the series in both Part 1 and Part 2, and has left her behind with no regards when he decided to seek his own truth in his brother's involvement with Akatsuki.
Yet, what did she do ? She did the exact opposite of what a Shonen character is supposed to do in such a scenario, instead of letting go of Sasuke emotionally and to further better herself as someone willing to become strong and independent, she immediately and unfortunately went back to her being obsessed with Sasuke the moment he decided to reunite with Team 7 during the Shinobi Fourth War.
This was the part of the series that made me favor Ino more than Sakura, since unlike the latter, she vowed to protect her village and letting go of her desires to want to be with a man that was a threat to her family, her village and those who actually care about her to be let loose, leading to a minor character development.
Let's fast forward to the Shinobi War, you are fighting a literal God in the form of Kaguya Otsutsuki, the world around you is entrapped in a powerful genjutsu that is slowly mutating the people into becoming an army for a tyrannical warlord with malicious intent. And yet, instead of being focused on the matter at hand, you are more concerned with Sasuke, the person who actually has had it to say it to your face to get your shit together, and focus on the important matter.
When this chapter initially came out, I literally said mentally to myself "*****, the world is in danger and you're more focused with Sasuke, what is wrong with you ?!"
She has failed to let go of the very first obstacle in progressing her character development in terms of Sasuke since the beginning of the series, and for that I can't seemingly seem to respect her for that, even with their farce of a "marriage", with a girl that is potentially not her's.
Now to another subject, before I potentially start writing in a fit of rage which would cloud my train of thoughts.
In Part II, she was physically and steadily getting better, but immediately became worse again. Along with her maturely at the time, it was displayed that she gained some new changes throughout the introduction of Part 2 in terms of her combat and medical capabilities, stemming from her tutelage from Tsunade(as shown in the omake fillers).
After that, she immediately drops back down from the spotlight to become a plot device again. She was injured by Naruto during his rampage as the Nine Tails which transpired him into learning to control it through his training to become a Sage, leading up to the Pain Invasion. She then performed one of the most damning things that a Shonen character can quite possibly do.
A) Pissed off a lot of the fans for outright lying to Naruto, doing one of the most idiotic things a female character can do in general which is lie about your emotions, especially in terms of love.
B) Pretty much took a step back in her character development since she's literally "trying so hard but still fails." It reached a certain point at the middle of Part 2(after the encounter with Sasori) where her focus was once again to gloat about Sasuke, and to fill that "gap" for background character fill.
C) Refused to assist Naruto during his battle with Pain, whereas Hinata Hyuga took the spotlight.
If Kishi had continued the sort of development we saw in the beginning of Part II, it would have been nice. Instead, he neglects her as a character until the Five Kage meeting, which is once again where her character development seems to drastically drop.
"Combat Prowess":
There is another reason why I can't seem to respect Sakura Haruno as one of the three protagonist, it's not her character in general, it's the direction that the character has went throughout this point.
It's not the fact that she's "useless and cries". No, she doesn't. She, at times when properly shown, is pretty damn useful and is very much needed actually for this story to progress concerning her role. But one of my many reasons for disliking her stems from the fact that Sakura is pretty much an exact clone of Tsunade in terms of her combat capabilities, and her involvement(or lack therefore) in Part 1.
It's not Sakura as more than it is Kishimoto. He just does not seem to develop female characters well as compared to most manga series where they play a primary role. Tremendous characters like Temari, Tenten(who I love dearly) and even Ino, all of them where they just seem to fade away into completely obscurity. Sakura is the best "developed" female character and it is only due to Tsunade herself and being thrown there at random as a disciple.
What does she specifically have that is going for her in terms of her combat capabilities ?
Super strength
Medical Jutsu
Regeneration
Katsuyu
No connections whatsoever to Hamura(Hinata) or Hagoromo(Sasuke and Naruto), no background capabilities that is displayed(her family Kekkei Genkai/Bloodline Limit, which was never shown in the manga, nor showing their abilities in the animated fillers, instead being used for comedic purposes), something that she should had revealed at some point through her parents(which has never unfortunately happened).
Naruto Gaiden: A step back in proper adulthood and parentage:
Recently in Naruto Gaiden, it seems that she failed her part as a parent to indulge in the life of her child(at least I hope she's her child...) which is in Sarada, as compared to the others parents shown in the earlier panels who are going out of their way to train their kids in preparations for the upcoming Chunin Exam, easily passing out for something that honestly should be considered a comedy skit.
This is something is now getting on my nerves, it's something I personally wished would stop with this character. Why did she had to lie to Sarada concerning the circumstances of her father, why did she went through such great lengths to obscure Karin's existence to what may potentially be her child after all ? So much has yet to be revealed in this spin-off and concerning the past disappointments in any redemption in terms on how she has been treated in the past it leaves room for worries.
Though there better be some damn good explanation as to why the things are transpiring as they are in the introduction of Naruto Gaiden manga, because if I get "I was in denial from telling the truth, because I still love him" speech or even SOMETHING remotely close to that, I will legitimately pass the line where I can never respect Sakura again.
I want these three particular questions to be answered, and in a way that I can find them acceptable.
1. Why did she lie to Sarada ?
2. How did she initially reacted to Sasuke having a child with Karin ? (If this is confirmed to be true, with the given situation of the chapters)
Sorry if this went longer than expected and may have potentially turned into a rant, but it was just something that I personally felt and needed to get off my chest, my personal justifications on not liking the character and wanting a legitimate reason to take this character seriously, it's been one damning fault after another with her.
Thanks for the long read, and hope you all enjoy Naruto Gaiden.
I seen so many anti-Karin threads and the most delusional threads in existence in terms of justifying Sakura Haruno's written actions in the manga, so I guess this would be considered my attempt to write why I would argue such a false statement.
Part 1 Sakura:
To be all in fair, she was essentially a plot device for the majority of the first chapter(someone that just needed to "be there in the midst"), and to some degree in fillers where it concerned her being portrayed as the "motivation' in Team 7". This though greatly differs from Naruto and Sasuke, who'm both had defined goals; whereas she did not (it all boils down to the question of "Why did I become a ninja?").
Naruto and Sasuke fought tough battles from the very beginning of the series, against the likes of Zabuza, Orochimaru, Gaara(and the threatening One Tail) in the initial Chunin Exam, the memorable battle at the bridge and many countless more that would motivate and inspire specifically Naruto to become the great ninja that he is today in the series, and Sasuke to find his own questionable path of seeking the truth concerning his brother, both undergoing a massive development for the both of them. Though since it's a shonen manga, character development typically occurs while the character is fighting; since she didn't do so nearly as much as Naruto or Sasuke, her character progression was greatly lessened as a consequence for the duration of Part 1. She definitely changes over Part 2: she went from a over-obsessive Sasuke fangirl to someone much more serious, but at the end, her 'goal' was highlighted in only a slight variation of panels as she trains under Tsunade to assist Naruto and Sasuke, also to put her place as one of the "New Sannin" in an ironic sense, with little to no showlight with her training with Tsunade.
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Her lack of self-respect as a character, the worst crime of a female Shonen character:
This is the part that truly get's me the absolute worst, Naruto(the series) at the end of the day is a Shonen Manga series, and for that I will write the definition of what that is.
"Shōnen (少年) manga (漫画) is a Japanese manga genre typically characterized by high-action, often humorous plots featuring male protagonists. The camaraderie between boys or men on sports teams, fighting squads and the like is often emphasized. Attractive female characters with exaggerated features are also common, such as Bulma from Dragon Ball or Nami from One Piece. Main characters may also feature an ongoing desire to better themselves."
"To better themselves", something that Sakura has failed to display within herself emotionally time and time and again, and that particular trait that all leads to her borderline obsession with Sasuke.
It has started since the very beginning of the series, and as time gone by it has gone progressively worse, to the point where it was actually treated as an obstacle for Naruto to deal with, since as Sai has described before, his promise to bring Sasuke to Sakura was almost treated as a form of a "Curse Mark".
She sacrificed her friendship with Ino, someone who was actually there and supporting her when they were just children just because of her equal desire to be with Sasuke. Instead of being a supportive and respectful friend in such a decision, she instead treated Ino as an enemy.
You must be registered for see images
Let's be truthful here for just a single moment, Sasuke has treated her like crap for the entire series, he has insulted her(sometimes on a rightful basis, when she insulted Naruto for having no parents despite not realizing Sasuke had none either), he has attempted to kill her, called her annoying so many times throughout the series in both Part 1 and Part 2, and has left her behind with no regards when he decided to seek his own truth in his brother's involvement with Akatsuki.
Yet, what did she do ? She did the exact opposite of what a Shonen character is supposed to do in such a scenario, instead of letting go of Sasuke emotionally and to further better herself as someone willing to become strong and independent, she immediately and unfortunately went back to her being obsessed with Sasuke the moment he decided to reunite with Team 7 during the Shinobi Fourth War.
This was the part of the series that made me favor Ino more than Sakura, since unlike the latter, she vowed to protect her village and letting go of her desires to want to be with a man that was a threat to her family, her village and those who actually care about her to be let loose, leading to a minor character development.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Let's fast forward to the Shinobi War, you are fighting a literal God in the form of Kaguya Otsutsuki, the world around you is entrapped in a powerful genjutsu that is slowly mutating the people into becoming an army for a tyrannical warlord with malicious intent. And yet, instead of being focused on the matter at hand, you are more concerned with Sasuke, the person who actually has had it to say it to your face to get your shit together, and focus on the important matter.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
[/IMG]
You must be registered for see images
When this chapter initially came out, I literally said mentally to myself "*****, the world is in danger and you're more focused with Sasuke, what is wrong with you ?!"
She has failed to let go of the very first obstacle in progressing her character development in terms of Sasuke since the beginning of the series, and for that I can't seemingly seem to respect her for that, even with their farce of a "marriage", with a girl that is potentially not her's.
Now to another subject, before I potentially start writing in a fit of rage which would cloud my train of thoughts.
In Part II, she was physically and steadily getting better, but immediately became worse again. Along with her maturely at the time, it was displayed that she gained some new changes throughout the introduction of Part 2 in terms of her combat and medical capabilities, stemming from her tutelage from Tsunade(as shown in the omake fillers).
After that, she immediately drops back down from the spotlight to become a plot device again. She was injured by Naruto during his rampage as the Nine Tails which transpired him into learning to control it through his training to become a Sage, leading up to the Pain Invasion. She then performed one of the most damning things that a Shonen character can quite possibly do.
A) Pissed off a lot of the fans for outright lying to Naruto, doing one of the most idiotic things a female character can do in general which is lie about your emotions, especially in terms of love.
B) Pretty much took a step back in her character development since she's literally "trying so hard but still fails." It reached a certain point at the middle of Part 2(after the encounter with Sasori) where her focus was once again to gloat about Sasuke, and to fill that "gap" for background character fill.
C) Refused to assist Naruto during his battle with Pain, whereas Hinata Hyuga took the spotlight.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
If Kishi had continued the sort of development we saw in the beginning of Part II, it would have been nice. Instead, he neglects her as a character until the Five Kage meeting, which is once again where her character development seems to drastically drop.
"Combat Prowess":
There is another reason why I can't seem to respect Sakura Haruno as one of the three protagonist, it's not her character in general, it's the direction that the character has went throughout this point.
It's not the fact that she's "useless and cries". No, she doesn't. She, at times when properly shown, is pretty damn useful and is very much needed actually for this story to progress concerning her role. But one of my many reasons for disliking her stems from the fact that Sakura is pretty much an exact clone of Tsunade in terms of her combat capabilities, and her involvement(or lack therefore) in Part 1.
It's not Sakura as more than it is Kishimoto. He just does not seem to develop female characters well as compared to most manga series where they play a primary role. Tremendous characters like Temari, Tenten(who I love dearly) and even Ino, all of them where they just seem to fade away into completely obscurity. Sakura is the best "developed" female character and it is only due to Tsunade herself and being thrown there at random as a disciple.
What does she specifically have that is going for her in terms of her combat capabilities ?
Super strength
Medical Jutsu
Regeneration
Katsuyu
No connections whatsoever to Hamura(Hinata) or Hagoromo(Sasuke and Naruto), no background capabilities that is displayed(her family Kekkei Genkai/Bloodline Limit, which was never shown in the manga, nor showing their abilities in the animated fillers, instead being used for comedic purposes), something that she should had revealed at some point through her parents(which has never unfortunately happened).
Naruto Gaiden: A step back in proper adulthood and parentage:
Recently in Naruto Gaiden, it seems that she failed her part as a parent to indulge in the life of her child(at least I hope she's her child...) which is in Sarada, as compared to the others parents shown in the earlier panels who are going out of their way to train their kids in preparations for the upcoming Chunin Exam, easily passing out for something that honestly should be considered a comedy skit.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
This is something is now getting on my nerves, it's something I personally wished would stop with this character. Why did she had to lie to Sarada concerning the circumstances of her father, why did she went through such great lengths to obscure Karin's existence to what may potentially be her child after all ? So much has yet to be revealed in this spin-off and concerning the past disappointments in any redemption in terms on how she has been treated in the past it leaves room for worries.
Though there better be some damn good explanation as to why the things are transpiring as they are in the introduction of Naruto Gaiden manga, because if I get "I was in denial from telling the truth, because I still love him" speech or even SOMETHING remotely close to that, I will legitimately pass the line where I can never respect Sakura again.
I want these three particular questions to be answered, and in a way that I can find them acceptable.
1. Why did she lie to Sarada ?
2. How did she initially reacted to Sasuke having a child with Karin ? (If this is confirmed to be true, with the given situation of the chapters)
You must be registered for see images
Sorry if this went longer than expected and may have potentially turned into a rant, but it was just something that I personally felt and needed to get off my chest, my personal justifications on not liking the character and wanting a legitimate reason to take this character seriously, it's been one damning fault after another with her.
Thanks for the long read, and hope you all enjoy Naruto Gaiden.
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