One of the biggest criticisms of Naruto is that Masashi Kishimoto fumbled majorly in writing female characters. That he hates women is something we often hear from the fandom. The mangaka indeed flubbed one of the most promising female characters in the series, and that is indisputable.
With Shippuden, it only got worse with Studio Pierrot’s misrepresentation. To the point that the fandom vilified her and continued to do so for decades. Even today, most fans deem her useless and trash. But there’s one thing the fandom needs to know about Kishimoto’s writing of women in his series.
Yes, he fumbled the bag with Sakura, and yes, it was unnecessary. To make matters worse, the power-up felt almost inconclusive to fans. But the mangaka can create well-written, strong female characters and expand on their potential, and here’s how.
Sakura’s misrepresentation and legacy in Naruto fandom
You’d expect Sakura to be a strong-willed and hard-headed shinobi in the Naruto series. Well, that wasn’t the case, especially with how she was introduced in the anime. Her hyper-fixation of Sasuke and disdain for the knucklehead were what made fans hate her more.
On top of that, she proved to be a liability for her teammates in missions, or so fans thought. Some fans even went so far as to call her dumb for not being proactive enough. There’s one thing fans need to know and that is, she is anything but a foolish and weak character, and here’s why.
Unlike most powerful shinobi, she did not belong to a noble clan. Hence, she had to walk the extra mile and prove herself. It was also Studio Pierrot’s blunder that reduced her into a burden. In the manga, however, she is completely different.
The inconsistencies between both anime and manga are what triggered fans’ disdain for her character. Ultimately, the mangaka received backlash for misportraying kunoichis in the series. But that also does not absolve him from painting the character as a lovestruck girl.
Moreover, he regretted what he did to her character on several occasions. But it would be a bit too extreme to blame the entire misrepresentation on him. It is also the toxic fans who chose to ignore her success and development throughout the series.
It isn’t a cakewalk to master the Byakugou seal and chakra-enhanced strength. But it would take millennia for most fans to acknowledge her feats as a strong kunoichi. Does that mean Kishimoto is a bad writer and hates women? No, and these characters are very much proof of that.
Therapist, mother, maid, and alike
When it comes to women in Masashi Kishimoto’s series, they most certainly have potential. He outdid himself in writing Kaguya Otsutsuki’s character as a mother and a maiden. She is ambitious, yet she carries a possible maternal instinct, as we witnessed during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Flowers can only wilt in a world without light. I’m a flower that does not care if it wilts! Here, I will defeat you!
– Konan
Speaking of strong women, there’s Tsunade and Konan, who undergo loss, pain, and suffering. The Fifth Hokage witnessed Dan and Kawaki’s death, which impacted her for years. She ultimately alchemized her pain and worked tirelessly to train ninjas in medical ninjutsu, but that is not all.
Konan was the only female ninja in the Akatsuki who supported Yahiko’s true vision. She battled it out and did not give up on Obito till her last breath. In all seriousness, she deserved more screen time but Kishimoto wrote her brilliantly. He gave strength and power a whole new meaning to her character.
Other than that, he gave us Karin and Tenten, who are geniuses in their ways. Tenten is a Bukijutsu prodigy who sets herself apart from other shinobi. Karin, on the other hand, was nearly trafficked but was saved by Orochimaru. She proved to be useful in more ways than one, but there’s a catch to that as well.
Kishimoto undoubtedly wrote some of the strongest and most impactful female characters that truly deserve the praise. The criticism isn’t entirely false, so to speak. As for Sakura, it is disappointing that fans continue to hound her character for decades, and it needs to stop.
Naruto is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is available for reading on Shueisha’s Manga Plus app.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
