Masashi Kishimoto wasn’t afraid of taking risks with Sakura’s character as long as it meant saving her from the inevitable fall that he could foresee. When he first created the character, there was a certain vision in his mind, one that was hopeful and somewhat even inspiring. However, the more he inclined her story towards that vision, the worse it became for the mangaka.
Fans unanimously agree that Sakura Haruno’s character was filled with immense potential. What she could achieve on her own accord was something that was left mostly to imagination. While she was created to be more than a love interest, her growth was limited in many ways. She was to act as one of the three protagonistic characters, but that turned into a botched representation of female characters.
Masashi Kishimoto Tried Saving Sakura’s Character
When Masashi Kishimoto first created Sakura, he wanted her to stand out to the female audience and young girls. He wanted to create someone who could inspire people and kids all around the world. When he saw that this wasn’t working out, he questioned whether it would be right to expand on her character even more.
While everybody else’s families had their own backgrounds and foundations, Sakura was left out. Even if he wanted to expand on her, he couldn’t. No matter how much he tried, the fans’ response to her character was so drastic that any attempt to move forward with her felt like a waste.
Kishimoto almost felt as if there would be no point expanding on her character because her lack of popularity kept her better suited as a side character who could be pushed around. It was as if instead of trying to build on her, he was ready to let go of her. This exact thought could have proven to be counterproductive, letting Sakura’s fame drop by a landslide.
Masashi Kishimoto Couldn’t Take Out Sakura
The more he continued making Naruto, the less he was inclined towards bringing more to Sakura’s character. While speaking in the Kobayashi interview (via Naruto Fandom), Masashi Kishimoto admitted that things were going more awry than he wanted. He focused on making Sakura a more beautiful character physically than anything else. This led him to disregard her growth as an actual constructive person in the series.
Moreover, when asked why he didn’t just abandon the character altogether, Kishimoto added that “he just had to persevere with her, and thought about how to raise her popularity.” For a character like Sakura, he did everything in his power to make her a more popular character but contrary to that, it was Hinata who was climbing the ladder.
The mangaka’s lack of efforts towards her character somehow saw her growing more and more in popularity, giving her a stronger foundation to act as a main character as compared to the one Kishimoto really wanted to see grow. However, this popularity inspired the author to bring Hinata into the limelight as well.
Naruto is available to watch on Netflix.
