Why I Love Sakura Haruno Even Though It Feels Like No One Else Does

I’m not actually the only person who likes Sakura Haruno, but sometimes, it really feels like I am.

Most people cite her childhood crush on Sasuke, her cartoonish violence, the time she said that Naruto wasn’t raised right because he had no parents, her blunt rejection of Naruto and Rock Lee’s feelings for her, and that one time she told Naruto she was in love with him in order to persuade him to stop chasing Sasuke. Also, people thought she was weak for some reason.

None of those things ever bothered me. I first saw Naruto when I was in my early 20s, so I wasn’t about to get bent out of shape by pre-teen having a one-sided crush on a boy. Should she have taken a hint and given him space? Sure — but no one faults Naruto or Rock Lee for doing the exact same thing to her, and no one faults Sasuke for bluntly rejecting her the way they fault Sakura for rejecting Naruto and Lee. This is an area where I feel like the fandom is pretty hypocritical — and even borderline sexist. She should be held to the same standards as her male counterparts, and she isn’t.

I didn’t love the slapstick violence, but I could overlook it since it was clear that it wasn’t supposed to represent her actual behavior.