Borusara isn’t that bad of a ship even though I don’t like it because they don’t appeal to me overall but there is a problem.
In the timeskip they’re supposed to give off that duo energy, the couple that stands with each other equally and Boruto always protects her but for a battle-couple or battle-duo dynamic, the issue isn't necessarily that Boruto protects Sarada. The issue is that ikemoto currently doesn't give Sarada an equally indispensable role in Boruto's survival and success and makes duos like Naruto/Sasuke, Kakashi/Obito, Naruto/Hinata, Sasuke/Sakura, Leon Kennedy/Claire Redfield/Ada Wong, Hiccup/Astrid, or Haruka/Michiru work at their best isn't equal physical strength. It's mutual necessity. Each person contributes something the other cannot easily replace.
But the BIGGEST problem is that boruto is constantly shown as necessary to Sarada's survival, but Sarada is rarely shown as necessary to Boruto's survival and that creates so much imbalance. Like as many times Sarada preaches about wanting to help him which is nothing wrong with that being her goal but how is she supposed to help him when she barely knows anything in order to help him. You guys know intel helps on the battle field. In the anime they were more feeling a bit equal but in the timeskip it feels like she’s a damsel in distress while boruto is swooping in saving her every time in a dangerous situation.
What can help fix it is-
1. Sarada needs to save Boruto in ways only she can. It doesn’t necessarily by physically rescuing him every time.
2. Boruto needs to trust Sarada with important information. A battle couple requires partnership which Boruto currently carries most of the burden in terms of intel alone other than sharing it with KK. Sarada often operates with incomplete information. As a result she can't meaningfully contribute because she doesn't know enough.
3. Sarada's help needs to succeed. This is probably the most important point. A character can be weaker and still feel valuable. The problem is when their attempts to help repeatedly create more problems. Readers start associating that character with "Boruto has to rescue her again." Instead of "Good thing Sarada was there." The story needs successful interventions from Sarada.
4. Make Sarada the battlefield brain sometimes. Since Sarada and Sumire are Fouls and If Sumire's strength is information and analysis, then Sarada needs another irreplaceable role. One possibility… Sumire = intelligence gathering and Sarada = combat strategy and leadership. Sarada is supposed to become Hokage. Future Hokage candidates shouldn't just be strong but they should command battles as well. If Boruto is the strongest fighter then Sarada is the one to be directing the operation.
5. Boruto needs vulnerabilities Sarada can specifically address. This is something Naruto and Sasuke had. Naruto could reach people emotionally. Sasuke could do things Naruto couldn't. They filled gaps in each other just like Kawaki and Boruto or Sumire and Sarada. Boruto currently feels too self-sufficient. So If Boruto can fight alone, gather intel alone, survive alone and strategize alone then Sarada becomes optional. Ikemoto needs weaknesses only Sarada can cover.
Sasuke and Naruto feel more equal than Boruto and Sarada because sometimes Naruto saved Sasuke. Sometimes Sasuke saved Naruto. Sometimes they fought side-by-side. Sometimes they solved completely different parts of the problem. The story continuously reinforced that both were extraordinary and necessary but with Boruto and Sarada, the story currently reinforces Boruto's necessity much more strongly than Sarada's.
Like boruto and Sarada standing back to back while fighting hidari was DIFFERENT. But boruto saving her many times and ship baiting is nothing new, that’s why i said him protecting her is nothing new and not romantic because he been doing that years ago but again the problem is that they’re is imbalance.
For boruto and Sarada to have that battle-couple dynamic specifically, they need to have a simple formula like Boruto protects Sarada physically, Sarada protects Boruto strategically, emotionally, and sometimes physically then occasionally reverse it completely. You need to feel like they actually rely on each other and not just relying and being used to getting saved by one person. If ikemoto can point to multiple major moments where it’s like Boruto saved Sarada, Sarada saved Boruto, and they won together, then they WILL start feeling like a true battlefield duo rather than a protector-and-protected relationship.
The biggest thing missing right now isn't romance as I’m not focusing on that because right now boruto isn’t focused on it and Sarada isn’t either that but other than wanting to help him but the problem is reciprocity. A battle couple works when both characters are portrayed as indispensable to each other's success. Right now Boruto is indispensable to Sarada far more often than Sarada is indispensable to Boruto, which is why many readers feel the partnership is lopsided.
Sarada feels like a damsel in distress and the issue is how ikemoto uses her. there are several notable moments where Boruto protects or rescues Sarada. Some are direct rescues, while others are moments where he steps in to shield her from danger. Boro fight (Chapter 42–43), Training fight against Kawaki (Chapter 58), Kawaki confrontation (Chapter 78), TBV Chapter 1, Shinju/Hidari conflict (Chapter 11), Chapter 12, Chapter 32 and many more.
Mind you a character can be incredibly strong and still feel like a damsel in distress if the narrative repeatedly places them in situations where they need rescuing, their agency is limited, or their role is primarily to motivate another character's actions.
For example, some fans, including me would argue that Sarada's power level isn't the problem. The problem is that the story doesn't consistently allow her to demonstrate competence and effectiveness during the biggest moments.
💬 3 🔁 0 ❤️ 9 · They claim boruto loves Sarada romantically back but there’s nothing that proves Boruto loves Sarada romantically. It’s onl
I even pointed it out on my post I made which is pinned.
Both Boruto and Sarada, as well as Ladybug and Cat Noir, illustrate how a partnership can feel unbalanced even when the characters are intended to be equals. In theory, Boruto and Sarada are meant to be the next generation's version of a powerful shinobi duo, Naruto and Sasuke successors, the next Shadow Hokage and Hokage while Ladybug and Cat Noir are supposed to represent Yin and Yang, the complementary forces of Creation and Destruction. However, in both cases, the narrative often portrays one character as the primary problem-solver and protector while the other is more frequently placed in situations where they need assistance. Boruto is repeatedly shown rescuing Sarada and handling the most critical threats, just as Ladybug is usually the one devising the winning strategy and defeating the villain to make her look smarter and stronger.
Meanwhile, Sarada's attempts to help sometimes lead to complications like boruto losing his eye or messing up the plan during the mamushi battle, and Cat Noir is often written as being captured, distracted, joking around, being dumbed down or majorly sidelined as chat noir and Adrien Agreste(up until season 6, they’re now starting to focus on Adrien and give him as chat noir equal abilities which his “miraculous chat noir” powers is his cataclysm power that erases/destroy memories on who he chooses yet it is balanced out to ladybugs“miraculous ladybug” power to restore things.) This creates a perception that Sarada and Cat Noir are less essential to the story's major victories, even though both are canonically talented and powerful. The issue is not that they lack strength, but that the narrative does not consistently allow them to demonstrate the same level of agency, competence, and indispensability as their partners. As a result, both duos can feel less like two equals working together and more like a lead hero being supported by a secondary partner, despite the story's stated intention that they stand side by side.