How do you guys feel about the concept of Naruto not knowing what romantic love is?
Fucking awful honestly
First of all, Naruto literally had a crush on Sakura from the beginning. Sure, it was played off as a goofy gag most of the time, but he clearly liked her. He even fakes being Sasuke to get closer to her in Chapter 3! So, are we really supposed to believe that Naruto didn’t understand what those feelings meant? Like, bro, you’ve been trying to impress her forever. There’s even the moment during the Land of Waves arc when Naruto sees how Sakura cries over Sasuke’s “death,” and he gets it—he knows what it means to care for someone that deeply.
Then there’s Hinata. She literally confesses her love to him during the Pain arc in Chapter 437. She throws herself in front of Pain to protect Naruto, saying she loves him and is willing to die for him. And what does Naruto do afterward? He goes full Nine-Tails mode because her pain hits him so hard. So don’t tell me Naruto doesn’t understand love! He might not have processed it fully in that moment, but he felt something. You don’t risk losing control of yourself like that for someone you don’t deeply care about.
And let’s not forget Jiraiya and his whole deal with Tsunade. Jiraiya was practically a father figure to Naruto, and he clearly had strong feelings for Tsunade, even if they were unrequited. Naruto saw this firsthand, and you’d think Jiraiya’s constant flirting (even if it was over-the-top) would’ve at least given Naruto some clue about romantic love. Plus, Jiraiya’s death was such a huge emotional moment for Naruto—it’s another example of him understanding loss and deep emotional connections, but the series wants us to believe he’s clueless when it comes to romance?
By the time we get to The Last: Naruto the Movie, it’s almost insulting. The entire plot hinges on Naruto realizing that he’s “always loved Hinata” because he somehow didn’t get it before. Really? After everything they’ve been through, it takes him a memory scarf and some flashbacks to figure out his own feelings? It’s such a weird regression for his character. Like, Naruto’s supposed to be this emotionally intuitive guy who wins battles by talking to people and breaking through their emotional barriers. How can he not understand his own feelings when that’s literally his whole thing?
Fucking awful honestly
First of all, Naruto literally had a crush on Sakura from the beginning. Sure, it was played off as a goofy gag most of the time, but he clearly liked her. He even fakes being Sasuke to get closer to her in Chapter 3! So, are we really supposed to believe that Naruto didn’t understand what those feelings meant? Like, bro, you’ve been trying to impress her forever. There’s even the moment during the Land of Waves arc when Naruto sees how Sakura cries over Sasuke’s “death,” and he gets it—he knows what it means to care for someone that deeply.
Then there’s Hinata. She literally confesses her love to him during the Pain arc in Chapter 437. She throws herself in front of Pain to protect Naruto, saying she loves him and is willing to die for him. And what does Naruto do afterward? He goes full Nine-Tails mode because her pain hits him so hard. So don’t tell me Naruto doesn’t understand love! He might not have processed it fully in that moment, but he felt something. You don’t risk losing control of yourself like that for someone you don’t deeply care about.
And let’s not forget Jiraiya and his whole deal with Tsunade. Jiraiya was practically a father figure to Naruto, and he clearly had strong feelings for Tsunade, even if they were unrequited. Naruto saw this firsthand, and you’d think Jiraiya’s constant flirting (even if it was over-the-top) would’ve at least given Naruto some clue about romantic love. Plus, Jiraiya’s death was such a huge emotional moment for Naruto—it’s another example of him understanding loss and deep emotional connections, but the series wants us to believe he’s clueless when it comes to romance?
By the time we get to The Last: Naruto the Movie, it’s almost insulting. The entire plot hinges on Naruto realizing that he’s “always loved Hinata” because he somehow didn’t get it before. Really? After everything they’ve been through, it takes him a memory scarf and some flashbacks to figure out his own feelings? It’s such a weird regression for his character. Like, Naruto’s supposed to be this emotionally intuitive guy who wins battles by talking to people and breaking through their emotional barriers. How can he not understand his own feelings when that’s literally his whole thing?