During a recent event in France, Masashi Kishimotocreator of the iconic manga Naruto, revealed a regret he has had for years: not having fully explored the character Sakura Haruno. Kishimoto, along with Boruto co-creator Mikio Ikemoto, was interviewed at the French anime event “Naruto & Boruto: Night at Konoha”, which took place from August 23 to 24, 2024 and was sponsored by CGR Events.

During the interview, the first Boruto anime film was shown, as well as several clips highlighting the best moments of the Naruto series. Both Kishimoto and Ikemoto answered questions about their current work on “Boruto: Two Blue Vortex” and the original Naruto series. Among the behind-the-scenes revelations, Kishimoto was asked if there were any characters from the original series that he would have liked to have developed further. His answer surprised many fans.

«I would have liked to delve deeper into Sakura Haruno's character.»Kishimoto confessed. «She's the only one whose family background wasn't really shown. I should have talked about his parents at the beginning of the story, but I missed the opportunity. And then it became very complicated to do it in the middle and at the end of the story. In the movie version, I showed a little bit of his parents. But in the main story I would have liked to develop a scene focused on Sakura's family.».

Kishimoto refers to the film “Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie” (2012), based on the series “Naruto: Shippuden”. In this film, Naruto and Sakura find themselves in an alternate universe called Genjutsu World, where everything is familiar, but at the same time strange. In one of the first scenes, Sakura's parents, Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno, have a brief argument with their daughter, leading her to run away with Naruto. However, in the Genjutsu World, her parents are no longer alive.

Despite being one of the franchise's main heroines, Sakura remains a polarizing character. Many fans criticize her for being seen as "useless" in battles, contributing less to the plot compared to her male companions, a common criticism of female characters in series aimed at male audiences, such as Shonen Jump. Additionally, the way Sakura harshly rejects Naruto's feelings when they are children, and how she often treats him harshly and unfairly, has been a source of discontent among some fans. Her persistent crush on Sasuke Uchiha, which was initially completely one-sided, was also criticized.

The discontent with Sakura was not only directed at Kishimoto, but also at those who play the character. Last December, Japanese actress Yui Ito, who plays Sakura in the show “Live Spectacle Naruto: Song of the Akatsuki,” was harassed at Jump Festa 2024. Additionally, several of the voice actresses who played Sakura in Japan, Korea, and Germany have shared disappointing experiences where Naruto fans have said insulting things about Sakura, both in person and on social media.

However, Sakura also has a considerable group of followers. In a survey conducted in July 2024 by the Japanese website Nijimen, Sakura ranked second on the list of favorite female characters from Shonen Jump voted by men, and first on the list voted by women. Despite the divisions her character generates, Sakura remains an important figure in the Naruto universe and, for many, a complex and beloved protagonist.

Source: @UzuRepo on Twitter