With likable characters and deep, complicated stories, Naruto has reached worldwide fandom and has had an immense impact on the world of anime and manga. However, one of the largest debates dividing this fandom deals with something revolving around Naruto’s love life: whether Hinata or Sakura would have been the best fit for our beloved main character.
Though Hinata is the legitimate wife of Naruto in this series, some fans still believe that the correlation between Naruto and Sakura might have proved more interesting and satisfying. But then, it turns out that Masashi Kishimoto had already set the love interest for Naruto pretty early in the story, which left fans wondering what might have happened.
Masashi Kishimoto, the author of Naruto, Never Really Decides Characters’ Romances in Advance
In a surprising interview, Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, spoke about the way he came up with characters’ romances throughout the series. Far from the popular belief, Kishimoto didn’t really have in mind a defined role for most of the characters, letting the characters mature and the story to develop on its own.
I wasn’t very conscious of it. I thought I would leave the course of it up to them. I wrote it while wondering if Sasuke and Sakura would get together and how it would be.
This new line of thought led Kishimoto to establish a detailed and captivating world where every character, be they minor or major, was equally significant and strong. He visualizes his thoughts with much simplicity, giving the characters the freedom to move on their own.
The characters would decide based how it would work in the story.
The lack of unnecessary romantic parts for characters brought the overall experience for the viewers to a whole new level, making the bonds between characters like Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke grow naturally. This made the characters very attractive and started debates within the community, about whether Sakura would make a great partner for Naruto. However, Kishimoto seems to have planned out everything beforehand in the case of Naruto!
Sakura Was Never An Option For Naruto: Masashi Kishimoto
Though it is highly debated by the fans, the fact is that Masashi Kishimoto has made it very clear that Sakura was never an option to be Naruto’s girlfriend. He clearly stated he had chosen from early on in the story how Naruto’s relations in particular would go on.
Naruto was special because he was the main character, but all other characters were equal, regardless of who were main or side characters.
As it went on, it became more and more clear that Naruto and Sakura were to go different ways and that Sakura’s love ultimately was absolutely not for Naruto. That is something Kishimoto had purposefully decided upon, which later drastically affected the story and guided the development of characters in a more fitting way.
But along the way, I thought that Naruto and Sakura were different. I somehow decided [their romances] at a pretty early phase.
According to Kishimoto, Sakura was not the best for Naruto because their personalities were too far apart. In terms of growth and development, they were very dissimilar. Throughout the series, both Naruto and Sakura have indeed flourished a lot, each focusing on different strengths and weaknesses.
Naruto and Hinata’s relationship is one of comfort and support, and that of understanding. Separating Naruto and Sakura as a couple helped to make the story more interesting and realistic since both of them got a chance to develop individually by doing so.
Naruto is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
