Live Action Naruto: Does Sakura need to be re-written?
Spoiler Alert: The answer is Yes and No.
Now, if you follow me or look at my page, you will see that I wrote a post a few months ago about how Netflix's ATLA is misogynist, because of how they rewrote the female characters. So, you might be wondering if that went so poorly before, why would I advocate for it now?
Well, because Dante DiMartino and Konietzko wrote a cultural and feminist master class on how to make compelling, strong female characters and I honestly do not know how they did it. I have No IDEA how these two men did this, because men have failed at this for centuries.
The creators of ATLA did not write one strong female character, they wrote an entire class of strong female characters who are diverse and strong in many different ways. Their show exemplifies the fact that there is no one right way to be strong or a woman.
So... why? Why do I think Sakura Haruno needs to be re-written for the Naruto live action? Simply put, because Masashi Kishimoto did a bad job writing a strong female character, and as a reader of Boruto, I can tell you that he is still doing a very very bad job.
One could argue that he almost did a good job and then jumped off a cliff. I hope Himawari will be better, but I am not convinced, because he is failing Sarada (an Uchiha) miserably.
Now some may argue, who cares if Kishimoto is doing a bad job? Naruto is a boys' show.
Maybe that was Kishimoto's intention, but it certainly isn't the reality anymore. Naruto is one of the most popular animes to ever exist, and A LOT of women watch it (including me), because it has a beautiful and compelling message about the power of hard work and human connection.
Now what would I rewrite about Sakura?
Her greatest character flaw of course, which is not hat she was mean to Naruto as a child. As NCHAMMER23 pointed out, she actually reflects the sentiments of the leaf village. She's also an irritating know it all to begin with, so her disliking Naruto because of his antics (and not understanding her own privilege) is very much in line with her personality and is a sign of her immaturity.
No. Her greatest character flaw is her simp behavior for Sasuke Uchiha and it gets her every single time. Her simp behavior makes her forever a damsel in distress to the most abusive and trash male character in the entire Hidden Leaf.
It undermines everything about her, and makes her one of the most hated characters in the entire show. She is literally useless against Sasuke despite being the strongest Kunoichi in the entire Naruto Universe. The truth is that when Sakura falls short, all the kunoichi fall short.
When Sakura has to be rescued by Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi because of the most minute and inconsequential thing, it is an immense disservice to all of the Kunoichi, even Kunoichi like Temari who seldom need to be saved.
Not to mention that the whole thing is just cringe.
However, it's not just a disservice to the Kunoichi, it's a disservice to the entire show.
Why? Because Sakura embodies the central message of Naruto 1000X better than Naruto Uzumaki does.
Naruto Uzumaki is a demi-God who was born with every advantage in the Universe born to the most famous ninja in the village, who doesn't yet know how to use his powers, because his powers are that OP.
Sakura is a no name, no talent ninja, with very low chakra reserves, who truly makes the best of what she has. She becomes a phenomenal ninja through hard work, perseverance, and intelligence.
When Sakura gets tripped up by stupid stuff and is saved by these three male characters: Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke who were born with every talent and advantage in the world, it throws the entire point of Naruto into the freaking trash bin!
Now I get it. We get it. Men on average are bigger, faster, and stronger, but as evidenced from Boruto that's not what Naruto is about. Combat amongst elite ninja is not a battle of strength, it is a battle of expertise and perseverance, it is a chess match, and if there's anyone who should be good at chess matches, it's Sakura Haruno. She is literally known for her brilliance and resourcefulness and perseverance.
So for this reason, the whole Sasuke fan girl thing and damsel in distress thing has got to go!
Now some of you might say, wait justthoughts1310, Sasuke was a large part of her driving motivation to get stronger. That's true. He was and so was Naruto, which is why Sakura should be modeled off of Attack on Titan's Mikasa Ackerman in this regard.
Mikasa is a total simp for Eren Yeager, but she never lets him get too out of pocket. She'll punch him in the face if need be, and she is ultimately the one who kills him. Mikasa is indisputably stronger than Eren, and if not for Mikasa's love for Eren, Eren would stand no chance against Mikasa in a real fight. Eren knows this. That's why he never dared to challenge her.
Mikasa's immense love for both Eren and Armin is her driving motivation to become as strong as she is. Her desire is to protect them, because they wanted to join the Survey Corp and then the Scouts. Mikasa didn't want to do either of those things, and she even told Eren that he probably wasn't cut out to be a soldier.
However, because of her undying love and desire to protect Eren and Armin, Mikasa is the second strongest character in the entire show next to Levi. Titans don't stand a chance against Levi, and men and soldiers do not stand a chance against Mikasa.
Graphic Warning (In Italics):
I mean Mikasa literally cut off a guy's head, impaled him into another guy, set off a thunder spear, and showered in their blood. When the other yeagerist saw this, they freaked out and RAN. As they should.
Though, I still think Mikasa's unwavering love for Eren undermines her character, because it becomes her entire personality, I think that Sakura has a lot more to offer in that regard.
Sakura's personality could round out and complete these aspects of Mikasa's personality and make Sakura an all around more compelling character.
Unlike Mikasa, Sakura has a whole personality outside of Sasuke. This is likely because Sasuke has been away from the village for so long. In reality, Sakura's love for Sasuke isn't her personality. It is one of her only (and most glaring), personality flaws.
So, in truth, I say that I would both rewrite Sakura and not rewrite her for the live action, because I wouldn't rewrite her. I would alter her personality flaw and make it the source of her strength. Her burning desire is to protect the two most important people to her: Sasuke and Naruto, and she holds both of them to equal account. No more of Sasuke's bullshit. He deserves to be punched in the face too.
Of course sometimes Sakura will need a little help and a little bit of saving, but not more or less than any male character of comparable skill.
Sakura is the story of Naruto hidden in plain sight. Getting rid of her or rewriting her altogether would be an immense disservice. What the live action needs to do is work harder to highlight the characteristics that Sakura already has and bring them to the foreground.
Sakura is already the strongest Kunoichi in the Naruto universe by the time of Boruto, the movie needs to showcase how she became just that.
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