Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto is one of the most popular Shonen Series that features a number of iconic female characters, such as Kurenai, Mei Tarumi, Ino Yamanaka, Konan, and many more. However, two characters stand out, particularly in the series, it is none other than Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno.
While fans of the series immensely love the former character for her looks and attributes and how she treats our protagonist, they hate the latter for the same. The hate for Tsunade Senju’s apprentice is the most extreme of all anime characters. It looks like Kishimoto-san has chosen his favorite female character out of the two, as he prefers the Byakugan princess over a strange reason that the medical ninja can not change.
Masashi Kishimoto Chooses Hinata Hyuga Over Sakura Haruno Over an Uncanny Explanation
Fans of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto often praise Hinata Hyuga for being waifu material and appeals to almost every fan of the series majorly because of her soft-spoken nature and her unparalleled support for Naruto Uzumaki. On the other hand, fans hate Sakura Haruno because of her flip-flopping nature and how she changes her perspective in the blink of an eye.
As a result, it makes the character extremely annoying at times especially when she is a part of the main characters. It looks like the mangaka has a similar opinion to the fans of the Shonen series, as he chooses his favorite character between the two.
During an interview with Shōnen Jump Podcast: NYCC Interview With Kishimoto via an excerpt shared by Shmaltz and Menudo, the mangaka was asked “Who is your favorite female character, and why?” Kishimoto-san replied that he feels a “little shy” to mention his favorite female character which he has created, but he would probably go with the Byakugan Princess. He said,
“You know, I’m a little shy having to mention a character that I myself created. Euhm… I guess… Maybe I should say Hinata. Yeah, I think I’ll go with Hinata.”
The interviewers asked the reason for his choice and he explained, “Why? Eh… Hmmm… I guess it’s because she’s not violent at all?” and added “Yeah, Sakura… she’s kind of a hard woman. (laughs)”
Well, truth be told Sakura Haruno is indeed a very violent woman, who often belittles Naruto Uzumaki for his lack of skill and knowledge. To deal with her sick attitude Kishimoto-san came up with a unique way by Sasuke Uchiha leaving his family for 12 years, preferring to protect his village than deal with the crazy woman.
Kishimoto-San Talks About His Favorite Naruto Character
In an old interview shared by GameRant, Kishimoto-san shared that his favorite character was Sasuke Uchiha, as he was quite important to the progress of the series. The mangaka also shared how the anti-hero was quite difficult to draw too. He said,
“There was far too much going on visually with Sasuke, and too many lines overall, so I simplified him into a good, basic contrast to Naruto’s visual image. Sasuke is a particular challenge for me to draw even now because he is a young and rather pretty boy, but if I’m not careful he loses his youthful quality and I end up drawing him like a much older boy or a grown man.”
Masashi Kishimoto added that these challenges made him an intriguing character, and keeping up with the character’s visuals often piqued his interest and drew the most energy from him. He said,
“I’ve never had a character like him in one of my comics before, that kind of boy on the cusp of manhood, who’s somehow mature and handsome beyond his years. Keeping the visual consistently right makes him the character who takes the most work and energy from me. Maybe that’s why he’s become my favorite character.”
Indeed, Sasuke Uchiha is not only the favorite character of the mangaka but also many Naruto fans for his striking looks and cold actions, drawing immense female attention to the series.
Naruto can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
