“That’s enough feminism for my series”: Masashi Kishimoto Never Let Sakura Unleash Her True Potential Despite Giving Her One of the Best Fight Scenes in Naruto

It is no surprise that writing female characters isn’t Masashi Kishimoto’s best suit. Although Naruto is among the Big 3 of Shonen, it doesn’t negate the series’ treatment of Sakura. Be it Studio Pierrot’s altered scenes or the author’s bad writing, her character faced unjust hate and criticism for decades.

While the Shippuden series underscored her character growth, the author underplayed her immensely. This holds especially true for her iconic fight with Sasori. Some users on X look back at the iconic fight while pointing to the author’s blatant misogyny.

Fans revisit Sakura’s iconic fight with Sasori in Naruto: Shippuden

Sakura Haruno is one of the major characters in the Naruto series. Besides being a member of Team 7, she is a skilled medical ninja. Her medical expertise and prowess make her one of the most powerful female ninjas in the series. Furthermore, her mastery and control over chakra flow are exceptional and remarkable.

Besides that, her training under the legendary Sannin Tsunade helped her master Senjutsu. As a kunoichi, she is immensely underrated and underappreciated as a strong female character. While her character is widely hated by the fanbase, her iconic fight in Shippuden stands undisputed.

An X user @grlswntfunds shared the legendary fight between Sakura and Sasori. The user also pointed to Kishimoto’s bias and misogyny toward her character.

After this fight Kishimoto said “that’s enough feminism for my series” & never let her cook again https://t.co/zxSAvmUFpf

— j. 🍀🪐 (@grlswntfunds) September 7, 2024

Another user commented on how she turned into a background character after this fight.

Genuinely a phenomenal fight and she goes right back to being an annoying background character

— firstnamebunchanumbers (@Brandon74027994) September 8, 2024

Her growth was far better than another female character in the series as this user noted.

This was by far the best and worst fight because they never let her shine again and just about no other female character showed out like this 😓

— shiroto (@shiroto1220) September 7, 2024

Sakura’s character would be a rather strong and well-written one if not for the casual misogyny as this user pointed out.

The casual misogyny in Shonen is a pain.

— Dave Marrrrrr 🔼🇨🇦⚜️ (@DaveMarrrrrr) September 8, 2024

Despite the iconic fight and character development, she remained one of the most hated characters in the series. From her obsession with Sasuke to her limited skills, Kishimoto underplayed her character in his series.

Masashi Kishimoto underplayed Sakura’s potential in Naruto

Her limited skills and obsession with Sasuke made Sakura one of the most annoying characters in the series. From fans deeming her useless to calling her trash, her character received unjust treatment. Her bad writing paved the way for misogyny in the fanbase. Moreover, Masashi Kishimoto played a huge role in downplaying her role in the series.

To add to that, Sakura’s abilities as a kunoichi skilled in genjutsu weren’t explored thoroughly in the series. Her untapped potential as a Taijutsu user was highly underplayed in the series. Despite her mastery of the Byakugo Seal, Sakura remained a background character. While Kishimoto regretted his bad writing, for fans it was too late.

All in all, Sakura is one of the strongest female characters in the series. Her growth and development is remarkable. Be it the Hundred Seal or her expertise in medical ninjutsu, her skills are impeccable. Despite her chakra prowess and abilities, the author underplayed her character by not exploring her possible strengths in the series.

Naruto is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is available for reading on Viz Media.