naruto's expression here and that he didn't ask any questions when sasuke was explaining the mission indicates that he knew beforehand what sasuke was talking about and that hes not happy about it. he knows what sasuke proposing this mission would entail, that he would be away from the village more than he already is and that this time there'd be a more valid, solid, and real reason for him not to come home as much. then, we're only shown narutos face again when he tells sasuke he wants to come with him and sasuke denies him. its a pretty loaded scene.
There are some Naruto/Sasuke blogs that I encounter and I am in agreement with some of their analysis but one of the ideas perpetuated by them is the idea that Sasuke is the feminine counterpart to Naruto' s masculine one or that he has characteristics typical of a "heroine", which I can not agree with.
Let's start with one of the most baffling claims that I have come across -
This conclusion can only arise from a narrow engagement with Japanese media, specifically post-1980s shounen manga or tokusatsu TV shows. To equate the theatrical use of bright colors in Kabuki with modern shounen protagonists’ personalities is a fundamental misunderstanding of both cultural history and artistic tradition.
Kabuki theater, does feature characters adorned in exaggerated makeup and vibrant costumes. However, these visual elements are not tied to personality traits like “loudness” or “rebelliousness.” Instead, they serve as symbolic tools to convey roles, emotions, and social status within the rigid structure of Kabuki performances. The protagonist in Kabuki is often a figure of restraint, dignity, and moral complexity, qualities starkly opposed to the brash, impulsive archetype of modern shounen heroes. Importantly, all Kabuki characters heroes, villains, and supporting roles alike wear bright colors and stylized makeup. This is a theatrical convention, not a character trait.
They are part of a broader theatrical tradition that emphasizes visual storytelling and emotional expression. Meanwhile, the loud, brash shounen hero is a modern invention designed to resonate with younger audiences, not a reflection of Japan’s historical ideals.
"The Ideal Japanese Hero"
The term “ideal Japanese hero” is overly broad and ahistorical. It ignores the evolution of Japanese storytelling across genres and eras. The traits commonly associated with modern shounen protagonists : short tempers, hyperactiveness , or “punkish” behavior are relatively recent developments, emerging in the late 20th century to appeal to adolescent demographics. These characteristics are often criticized within Japan as immature or simplistic, reflecting a deliberate marketing strategy rather than a cultural ideal.
In contrast, seinen and gekiga feature protagonists who embody a far more nuanced conception of masculinity. Characters like Manji from Blade of the Immortal , Musashi from Vagabond, or Thorfinn from Vinland Saga are introspective, morally conflicted, and driven by existential struggles. These figures align more closely with the Byronic hero, a brooding complex antihero than with the loud, hyperactive protagonists of shounen.
Sasuke : Revenge and Restoring Honour
The themes of revenge and the restoration of honor are deeply embedded in classical Japanese literature, so much so that there is an entire genre dedicated to it: Jitsuroku. These stories, often based on historical events, revolve around the pursuit of justice and the restoration of one’s honor through acts of vengeance. The most iconic example of this genre is the tale of the Forty-Seven Ronin, a story that has become a cornerstone of Japanese cultural heritage. It tells the story of a group of samurai who avenge their lord’s death after he is wrongfully framed and forced to commit ritual suicide by a political rival. The themes of loyalty, filial piety, and the moral imperative to restore honor are central to this narrative, and it has inspired countless similar stories throughout Japanese history.
The archetype of the wronged hero seeking vengeance is a recurring motif in Japanese literature. These stories often follow a similar structure: a protagonist is wronged due to political machinations or personal betrayal, resulting in dishonor and often death. The hero then embarks on a quest to avenge the injustice, driven by a sense of duty, loyalty, or filial piety.
One such example is Tales of Jiraiya, a classic Japanese folktale that served as one of the many inspirations for Naruto. In this story, the protagonist, Jiraiya, is a noble warrior who faces betrayal and must navigate a world of political intrigue and personal vendettas.
Sasuke is a textbook example of this archetype. His quest to avenge his family and restore their honor drives much of his character arc, making him a quintessential example of the classical Japanese male protagonist.
Despite being a deuteragonist, Sasuke’s role in Naruto is so compelling that he often challenges Naruto’s position as the protagonist, both within the narrative and in terms of audience reception. During the run of Naruto in Weekly Shounen Jump, Sasuke consistently ranked highly in popularity polls, and even surpassing Naruto to take the #1 position at least once. His character and story arc resonated deeply with Japanese audiences because they embodied the characteristics of a classical Japanese hero: stoic, driven, and principled.
Naruto, while a beloved protagonist, is often critiqued for his naivety and near-childish idealism. His unwavering belief in forgiveness and unity, contrasts with Sasuke’s capacity for ideological introspection. Sasuke makes for a more mature and nuanced counterpart to Naruto, appealing to audiences who appreciate the gravitas of a traditional tragic hero.
Some blogs and fans insist on framing Sasuke as a “heroine,” citing a comment from an anime director ( from early part 1, referencing Naruto wanting to save Sasuke from Orochimaru) who said that Sasuke is the “true heroine” because Naruto “chases” and wants to “rescue” him. This interpretation reduces their relationship to a rather shallow dynamic of pursuer and pursued, ignoring the larger narrative in the relationship( especially considering Sasuke never actually required physical saving despite Naruto’s concerns)
However, you can also easily and equally claim that Naruto fulfills the narrative role traditionally assigned to female love interests in East Asian stories – the emotional crutch that enables the lone ranger’s emotional salvation.
Sasuke embodies that quintessential archetype : Defined by self-imposed isolation, governed by ruthless independence and consumed by a quest for vengeance.
Naruto, meanwhile, assumes the role of the redemptive force, responsible for his emotional healing. His narrative purpose is mirrored across many East Asian romances:
-In Tale of Genji, Murasaki becomes Genji’s emotional compass, she counters his political ruthlessness, while refusing to abandon him.
-In Peony Pavilion, Dun Liniang’s love redeems the scholar Liu Mengmei and her devotion awakens him from his isolation.
-In The White Snake legend, Bai Suzhen’s love humanizes the ascetic Xu Xian, her devotion breaks his monastic detachment.
There are many more examples, but the pattern is clear. In the story itself, Naruto is contrasted to Sakura - the female character who is canonically in love with Sasuke and is expected to take the role of being Sasuke's emotional anchor- laments that she can't influence him through her love, and that role is given to Naruto instead.
In Chinese fan discussions, many have noted how Naruto – as the male protagonist – occupies the role of being Sasuke’s salvation, a narrative position traditionally reserved for female love interests.
Which second male lead tells the male lead, ‘You’re my salvation’ ?!
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Naruto’s unwavering devotion to Sasuke frequently becomes a target of mockery, particularly among male fans who identify with him. As I've previously analyzed, this discomfort stems from seeing their self-insert character deviate from traditional masculine ideals by assuming what they perceive as a ‘feminine’ role – the emotional pursuer in the relationship. This cognitive dissonance manifests in two ways: either through hatred toward Sasuke for ‘making Naruto appear gay,’ or insisting that Sasuke should have been female to preserve conventional gender dynamics and avoid perceived emasculation.
Just to be clear, emotional nurturance isn’t gendered, but storytelling traditions have historically framed it that way. I’m not arguing that Naruto should be viewed as Sasuke’s ‘heroine’ instead of the reverse. The more compelling point is how the Naruto-Sasuke relationship also subverts the expectations of a the masculine archetype, and making Naruto an atypical Shounen protagonist.
I do remember JP fans discussing Naruto’s behaviour towards Sasuke and complaining that the way Kishimoto writes him resembles the writing of Shoujo authors.
> It was funny how all the supposedly ‘typical attributes of female manga artists’ perfectly matched Kishimoto’s depictions when someone listed them.
>>Kishimoto is great in a sense, for proving that depiction habits are not gender specific
It's amusing when people cite Japanese fans calling Sasuke “heroine” as proof he supposedly occupies a feminine role. In Japan, “heroine” typically just means the protagonist’s love interest – usually female, yes, but not inherently about performing femininity in the story.
On a related note, the label of "heroine" is a point of contention among the Western fans of Sakura. In Japan, Hinata is referred to as the heroine, including Kishimoto himself, because Naruto ultimately marries her. However, some fans believe that since Sakura is the main female character she should therefore be considered the heroine instead. They also fail to understand that the term "heroine" simply refers to the love interest of the male protagonist, rather than anything else.
Take this Japanese comment on a Final Fantasy VII clip, calling Sephiroth the “heroine.”
Nobody seriously argues Sephiroth plays a feminine role, even though Cloud obsesses over him (antagonistically), once idolized him, admires his looks, and Sephiroth’s beauty keeps getting emphasized. Clearly, it’s just a tongue-in-cheek remark about their homoerotic tension.
The same applies to Sasuke. A lot of these “heroine” comments are playful nods to his narrative function as Naruto’s emotional focus, not some statement about gender roles in the story.
The claim that Sasuke’s status as a bishounen (beautiful, graceful male) makes him the “feminine counterpart” to Naruto’s “masculine” Yang energy is a misapplication of the Yin-Yang analogy. In Naruto, the Yin-Yang dichotomy is explicitly tied to thematic contrasts of darkness/hatred (Yin) and light/love(Yang), not to gendered traits or appearances. Reducing this philosophical framework to superficial characteristics ignores both the manga’s intent and the cultural context.
Kishimoto employs Yin-Yang symbolism to explore moral dualities:
Sasuke as Yin : Associated with darkness, vengeance, and isolation due to his role as an antagonist, not his appearance. .
Naruto as Yang : Embodies light, hope, and connection as the protagonist who seeks to unify the shinobi world, not his brashness.
This contrast is ideological, not aesthetic.
In Taoist philosophy, Yin and Yang are interdependent forces that create balance. Kishimoto uses this duality to frame their narrative roles and never extends the Yin-Yang analogy to their looks or behavior, this is a fan-imposed interpretation.
People who label Sasuke’s beauty, or reserve as “feminine” misunderstand Japanese cultural ideals. In Japan:
-Bishounen aesthetics (youthful beauty, androgyny) are celebrated as markers of sublime masculinity, not femininity. Historical figures like samurai and nobles prized elegance and refinement.
- Stoicism and introspection are hallmarks of classical heroes
You can also easily reverse their assigned roles: Sasuke’s demeanor and strategic ruthlessness , and qualities that drive him to dismantle the Shinobi system are inherently Yang traits: active, decisive, and transformative. Conversely, Naruto’s compassion and loyalty to the village reflect Yin qualities: nurturing, passive, and preservative.
Sasuke and Naruto’s outwards characterization is not unique anyways . Iconic rivalries like Rukawa and Sakuragi (Slam Dunk, another inspiration for Naruto) follow a similar pattern:
- Rukawa : Aloof, refined, popular (akin to Sasuke).
- Sakuragi : Loud, brash, and comedic (akin to Naruto).
These contrasts are narrative tools. Mapping them to Yin-Yang binaries ignores their purpose as simple character foils.
Sasuke's Desirability and Beauty
One of the most persistent and misguided arguments used to frame Sasuke as a “heroine” hinges on his desirability and physical beauty. They claim that because Sasuke is desired by multiple characters and his appearance is frequently emphasized, he must occupy a traditionally “feminine” role akin to a female love interest. This interpretation reflects a profound ignorance of Japanese literary and cultural traditions that celebrate male beauty as a marker of masculine excellence.
Japanese literature has long exalted male beauty, associating it with nobility, power, and otherworldly perfection. The seminal Tale of Genji, centers on Hikaru Genji, a protagonist whose beauty is described as transcendent:
“His appearance tempted men and women alike, as he had smooth white skin and an excellent fashion sense, which increased his fame and popularity.”
Genji’s allure is central to his character, yet it never undermines his masculinity. Instead, his beauty amplifies his status as an aristocratic ideal - charismatic, politically astute, and socially dominant.
It brings me to the next topic:
Bishounen
The term bishounen (美少年, “beautiful youth”) is frequently misrepresented in Western discourse as synonymous with effeminacy. In contemporary usage, bishounen is a fluid aesthetic category that transcends genre and sexuality:
- In shoujo manga: Bishounen are romantic leads
- In shounen/seinen manga: They appear as rivals antagonists , or sometimes even as the protagonists
- In Boys’ Love (BL): While often the central cast, their appeal lies in narrative dynamics, not inherent femininity.
“Comics for younger boys tend to use arrogant bishōnen in the role of the recurring minor rivals readers love to hate, though their effeminate good looks there, they will often appear older... stronger, and thus in fact more masculine than the commonly shorter and less mature protagonists. ”
-Manga: The Complete Guide, Del Rey
Critically, bishounen aesthetics prioritize androgyny - not gender ambiguity. These characters are unmistakably male, blending refined features with traditionally masculine traits (e.g., ambition, combat prowess).
To equate Sasuke’s beauty or desirability with femininity is to impose Western gender binaries onto a narrative rooted in Japanese aesthetics. In Japan, male beauty has never been antithetical to masculinity - it enhances it.
I came across this post and the claims here are completely eregrious
" saying Sasuke is meant to be a typical Japanese ideal of masculinity....... wearing lipstick crazy "
The argument that Sasuke can’t embody Japanese masculinity because Kishimoto drew him wearing lipstick in one illustration is absurd. The image in question depicts Sasuke in theatrical stage makeup, a stylistic choice for a cover art that portrays him as a Kabuki actor. Also, Sasuke’s single illustrated portrayal as a actor does not negate his role as a classical Japanese hero.
"call Sasuke the Japanese ideal of masculinity... funny... meant to be bishounen"
The assertion that Sasuke’s bishounen design disqualifies him as a masculine ideal is complete ignorance. As I have already written before, In Japan:
- Bishounen aesthetics celebrate androgynous beauty as a form of sublime masculinity.
- Historical samurai and nobles prized youthful, refined appearances as markers of nobility and power.
- Modern male idols, actors, and singers cultivate androgynous looks without compromising their perceived masculinity.
The claim that bishounen implies homosexuality or femininity is also not true. In contemporary usage in Japan, Bishounen is a neutral aesthetic term. Sasuke being the conventionally attractive man embodying classical Japanese traits is quite literally the appeal of Sasuke/Sakura. I am not sure why they would be against it.
Masculinity encompasses a spectrum, from Naruto’s boisterousness to Sasuke’s stoicism. Grace, restraint, and beauty are hallmarks of the classical hero, not markers of femininity. To view Sasuke as the “feminine” counterpart is to erase the diversity of Japanese masculinity.
On an end note, I am active in a lot of Chinese fan spaces and the contrast between Sasuke's perception there ( or East Asia in general) with the Anglosphere/Latin America's view of him is rather striking-
Sasuke is seriously has such masculine charm —if I were a woman, I’d totally wanna marry him!
the top/bottom war they have with naruto and sasuke on tiktok and twitter has to be one of the stupidest things to come out of the sns fandom, its obvious these people probably dont care at all about one or the other or are just forcefully fitting naruto and sasuke into these yaoi boxes and random romance tropes without taking into consideration their actual characters and personalities and the sns dynamic as a whole, going through actual mental gymnastics trying to justify why they think narusasu is more canon or why sasunaru is, give it a break please you people just look ridiculous.
in my opinion, sns fic writers don't utilise the drama kishi cooked up in naruto gaiden enough.
he gave us ten chapters of absolute drama and leaving a lot of things unanswered, up for the readers to deduce what actually happened in the years afer the war with the clues he left us, showed us the broken allusion sakura is living while keeping her daughter in the shadows about her father because she doesnt know him enough for her to tell her anything and at the same time managed to reinforce the sasuke naruto agenda whilst shitting on and doing the most damage he could to the canon pairings. him having naruto not even think about hinata once in a manga that centers around the importance of bonds and that it comes in all forms is also very telling.
because from gaiden and the boruto movie we can deduce that naruto and sasuke rarely talk about their marriages and kids (with how little they know about each other's families) to each other so it would be safe to assume they don't discuss their relationship's and how it came to happen that much, if at all.
The story of Naruto ends, yes, with plot holes, questionable decisions, and not exactly the way Naruto achieves his Hokage, but the main character arcs are closed.
Except Kishimoto wasn’t finished yet.
Naruto: The Last, where Kishimoto had partial involvement. Naruto keeps being called an idiot for not knowing the difference between love for Hinata and love for ramen, somehow falls under a genjutsu that makes him “realize” his feelings for Hinata through events that contradict canon, discovers that his feelings for Sakura were born out of rivalry with Sasuke, and voilà, Naruto and Hinata become canon.
The one-shot “The Day Naruto Became Hokage”, where instead of Naruto, it’s Konohamaru standing in for him at the inauguration ceremony. Pretty harsh to do this to a character who worked towards that moment since episode one.
Naruto Gaiden or "The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring" or a work that fans prefer to forget. Throughout the story, Sarada tries to find out whether Sakura is really her biological mother. Neither Suigetsu nor Naruto find this question odd. Naruto even supports her with, “People are connected not only by blood, but by love” (recalling Iruka and Sasuke). Sarada finally meets her father after years and learns that she is the one connecting their family. For some reason, we also find out that Sasuke apparently never kissed Sakura, no longer pokes her forehead, and that Naruto was planning to go on a mission with Sasuke to protect the village but was stopped. In the end, Sarada gets inspired by Naruto and decides she wants to become Hokage too.
And finally, we have Boruto, now run by Ikemoto, though the movie script was written entirely by Kishimoto. It’s a story about the new generation and our introduction to Boruto, whose arc revolves around lacking attention from his father, now buried under Hokage duties. Naruto sends a clone to his daughter’s birthday, causing Boruto’s rage and Hinata’s tears. His desire to surpass his father leads him to cheat during the Chunin exams. Things get better only after Naruto talks to Sasuke about the importance of future generations and finally praises his son. Boruto becomes happy. In the end, as Naruto’s son and Sasuke’s student, Boruto grows stronger and becomes the new protagonist, fighting aliens and cyborgs.
The direction taken with the beloved characters feels completely off, likely done to create new conflicts and growth points for the next generation. Naruto and Sasuke became the Hokage and his shadow, built a shinobi world without wars, yet they don’t seem particularly happy or strong, especially without Kurama and the Rinnegan. Their marriages don’t look romantic, they don’t get along well with their own children, but they somehow inspire each other’s kids.
Question: Why were the characters and the fans treated like this? Why did the characters stop resembling themselves?
The need to continue the story, introduce Kaguya, kill Neji pointlessly, explore “adult life” themes, and show heroes stepping away from their ideals - all of that is a logical conclusion.
Naruto is a story about love.
Post-Naruto is a story about the consequences of love destroyed.
And to destroy that love, they had to break the canon, send Sasuke away and put Naruto under a genjutsu.
whats up with those die hard "sasuke fans" who hate naruto...thats literally your goats other half. denying naruto is essentially denying sasuke because they complete each other in so many ways. not to mention that naruto is one of the only people in the series who genuinely loves him..
is it worth it arguing with naruto fans on twitter who clearly aren't grasping the concept of what i just said about whatever it is i just said on twitter. should i engage with them or just let them fester in their delusionsss?? are they worth my time and effort trying to make them understand??
you know when you talk about how sakura is shallow and selfish in her love for sasuke and then someone brings up on how come naruto can chase sasuke but sakura cant bla bla bla or why isn't naruto selfish then bla bla bla or how its double standards and misogyny bla bla bla. that tells me all i need to know about their reading comprehension skills on the manga.
like youre soooo closee. its almost as if..its almost as if we were meant to compare narutos relationship with sasuke and sakuras "relationship" with sasuke and see how different both of them are portrayed but you do you i guess.
i feel like you cant truly be a fan of sasuke and claim to understand the nuances of his character whilst at the same time shipping sssk. Because shipping it is not caring and ignoring his words (just like sakura does) and a lot of what he says in the manga about her ,outright rejecting her and being hostile toward her and also ignoring or simply refusing to understand that the things that happen between them have no romantic undertones at all even the ones that seem positive upon first look ie. the forehead tap. claiming the forehead tap is romantic or the symbol of uchiha love is literally a blatant lie because many times in the story we are shown that the ultimate sign of uchiha love is the sharingan. claiming its romantic also ignores the history between itachi and sasuke which is a such a big part of sasuke's character. in a way its actually a huge disrespect towards sasuke's character as a whole.
I love when Naruto the character haters take some panel that happened in chapter x and are like see this is why Naruto is evil and sucks. When if you actually read the manga he grew out of it and developed as a character.
This kind of argument method works with Sakura's character because she was never supposed to go through a true change. She is still the same character in the last arc, she just learned to punch hard and heal. But trying to use this method with Naruto's character is just ignorance and willfull blindness.
This is gonna be an anti Sakura rant. Scroll past if you're not interested or don't want to read my ramblings:
Lately, I've been noticing many Sakura fans talk about how Sakura was ruined by Studio Pierrot in the anime cause she's actually good in the manga. Mentioning how, finally, more fans are opening their eyes to Sakura's mistreatment by the studio, how badly she was done, and how much better and different she's in Kishimoto's canon work (the manga).
Their claims just make me chuckle. From my own experiences, many of the reasons I've seen people hate Sakura over are canon moments from the manga, drawn by Kishimoto himself. The moment where she made fun of orphans? Canon. The moment in the forest of death when Sasuke was fighting Orochimaru and rather than side with Sasuke's plan of escaping, she sided with Naruto's nonsense words about fighting, leading to Sasuke getting the curse mark? Canon. The moment where she interjected Sasuke trying to leave the village and gave a bs speech about how she'd be as lonely as him if he left? Canon. Her fake confession? Canon. Her trying to kill Sasuke? Canon. Telling Sasuke that she doesn't care about his motives and that she just wants to join him when he told her to kill Karin? Canon. Trying to show off in front of him against Madara? Canon. The pity party she threw once again in the war cause he didn't return her feelings to the point that Kakashi sided with her? Canon. Her hesitating to stab Obito's eye, which led to Madara obtaining his Rinnegan? (If I remember correctly). Canon. Only loving Sasuke for his looks? Canon. Her wanting Sai to call Ino ugly? Canon. And so many more Canon moments from the manga that are the real reason many people, mainly Sasuke fans, hate her.
What did the anime do, exactly? Other than giving her the gag of hitting Naruto. She still hits him in the manga, I think. Just not to the same extent as in the anime. I've seen some of her fans claim that the anime also ruined some little moments of her being nice to Naruto to make her look bad. For example, in the manga, we see her show concern for Naruto during the written test? While in the anime, she's seen smiling at his misery. As well as supposedly 'ruin' some SS scenes. Like, there's one scene in the forest of death (I think shortly after Sasuke woke up from his curse mark coma and went crazy on Zaku's arms). That in the manga, Sakura holds him, and their fingers are intertwined, while in the anime, they're not really holding hands. She just places her hand on top of his. All these minor details are so ridiculous. They're so insignificant. They're not enough to completely and utterly change a character from 'decent' to 'atrocious'.' None of these 'anime additions' change or erase from the multiple Canon scenes she has where she's just terrible. Yeah, maybe the studio does favor Hinata (which I doubt cause even if they did, Hinata, is also pretty atrocious in the anime. Even if she has more presence due to fillers). but they did not ruin Sakura's character in the anime by adding some insignificant, irrelevant fillers here and there. She's still terrible in the manga.
The worst thing is, they use it as another excuse as to why Sakura hate is rooted in mysoginy. Claiming that her fan-girls have been trying to defend her for years, trying to show 'how much better,' she's in the canon material. But it took some dude, making a tik-tok about it, apparently? For people to start taking it seriously. Literally, no one takes them seriously. The only people believing that are other Sakura fans who'd cling to anything that's in her favor, even if it's claims based on fillers. People who've read the manga know she's terrible there as well, lol.
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