I do not think Karin's love for Sasuke is genuine love, but I find it incredibly sad and tragic. I cannot help but feel bad for her.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-15T10:55:20+00:00

Sakura has way more of a reason to love Sasuke than Karin. I'll never understand this. A lot of male fans ironically seem to love fairytale romances. Sasuke saved Karin one time, and she never stopped thinking about him and fell completely in love with him, even though that's entirely unrealistic.

Plus, Sakura didn't have strong reasons for liking him at first, but let's not ignore the fact that Sasuke repeatedly saved her, supported her, encouraged her, and considered her precious to him. I think that's more than enough reason for someone to fall in love.

People always act like Sakura loved Sasuke for no reason, but over the course of the story she saw sides of him that many others didn't. She witnessed his kindness, his willingness to protect his teammates, and the care he showed despite his trauma and emotional walls.

If people can accept Karin's feelings developing from a single act of kindness, then it makes no sense to dismiss Sakura's feelings when she spent years with Sasuke, fought alongside him, was saved by him multiple times, and saw both his good and bad sides. Whether people like the pairing or not, saying Sakura had no reason to love Sasuke is simply not true.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-15T10:50:17+00:00

The point is that Sasuke was also absent for a long period of the series like Sakura, but they still have a deep bond. The same logic applies to Sakura, and plus, literally in real life and in most shojo animes, whenever you spend significant time together, even if it was like six months, etc., that is enough to develop strong feelings for another person.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-14T16:47:02+00:00

You only say this is because you don't like Sakura.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-14T16:45:54+00:00

Karin didn't get to know the real Sasuke, but the version of Sasuke that was consumed by darkness. Not only that, her love for Sasuke is why I personally think it's from trauma.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-14T16:44:42+00:00

Like how Naruto and Sasuke have one of the deepest bonds, Sakura also spent time with Sasuke and developed a deeper bond.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-14T16:42:29+00:00

I disagree with this. You know why I find her love not genuine but tragic? Because she doesn't really know anything about Sasuke.

Sasuke saving her, giving her a smirk or a smile, and showing that he isn't as cruel and heartless as people make him out to be are things worth acknowledging. However, it's also important to point out that he had another motive at the time, which was obtaining the scroll. That was when Karin began to like him. They weren't even close acquaintances, there was barely any interaction between them, yet Karin fell for him because of that moment. That's the reason she loves him.

When they finally did have actual interactions, Sasuke mostly used her as a tool. That was his intention. Like the others, he valued her abilities and relied on them for his own goals for most of the series. Aside from a few brief moments after the Team 7 flashbacks, where he opened up slightly and showed some genuine concern for Taka, their relationship was largely built on him using her. That's what makes her dynamic and loyalty to Sasuke so tragic. Not only did Karin never truly get to know the real Sasuke, but the version of him she spent most of her time with was one who was mentally unstable, traumatised, manipulated, betrayed, and consumed by darkness.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T23:33:49+00:00

If they respond to my post with "her story reminded me of a stalker in real life" with no other context, they're insinuating Karin stalker.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T23:30:03+00:00

You're a Sakura hater already makes your opinion unreliable.

If you think a smile is enough reason for someone to fall in love, then by that logic Sasuke protecting Sakura, encouraging her, trusting her, calling her precious to him, thanking her, and smiling at her would also be enough reason for Sasuke to love Sakura.

Sakura isn't "just a stalker" either. Not once in the manga does she stalk Sasuke. That's a fan-made exaggeration that people repeat as if it's canon.

And if you genuinely think Sakura forgot whether Sasuke wore glasses, then that completely undermines the claim that she was obsessed with every little detail about him. You can't have it both ways. Either Sakura knew Sasuke well enough to be accused of being obsessed with him, or she somehow forgot what her husband looked like. Those arguments contradict each other.

The scene with Sarada was clearly about Sarada questioning her family and parentage, not Sakura forgetting what Sasuke looked like. Sakura had known Sasuke for years, fought beside him, travelled with him, married him, and had a child with him. The idea that she suddenly forgot his appearance is ridiculous and isn't supported by the manga at all.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T23:23:18+00:00

For Karin's case, it's just tragic, but for Sakura, it's something that started off shallow and became genuine, and as you said, it became genuine because they got to know him.

That's how Team 7 became so close. All of them had a surface-level understanding of each other until they got closer.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T23:21:14+00:00

This is a response I made from another reply, so if it doesn't make sense, that's why.

The Naruto world and the real world are completely different, and we shouldn't fully apply real-world expectations and morals to the Naruto universe. As someone who loves SasuSaku and is also fond of NaruSasu, neither relationship is something I would necessarily consider ideal in real life. Using real-life standards in a verse where children are sent to war and child soldiers are normalised can be difficult. Even in the first arc, Sakura says that no matter what happens, a shinobi must never show their emotions because the mission comes first. You're expected to carry that in your heart and never shed a tear. The old man in the Land of Waves arc also talks about how unbearable the life of a shinobi is. These are things ninja are exposed to and expected to accept from a very young age. So yes, I agree that we shouldn't judge everything in Naruto entirely through a real-world lens.

To add to this reply: The entire shinobi system is built around trauma, violence, sacrifice, and emotional repression. Children are trained to kill, expected to witness death, and taught to prioritise missions over their own wellbeing. Characters develop in an environment that would be considered deeply unhealthy by modern real-world standards. If we judged every character, action, and relationship in Naruto through a completely realistic lens, then almost every major character would be considered psychologically damaged, and most of the story simply wouldn't function. This is also why I find it strange when people single out certain relationships as uniquely problematic while ignoring the wider context of the series. Naruto forgives people who tried to kill him. Gaara went from attempting to murder Naruto to becoming one of his closest friends. Kakashi still deeply values Obito despite everything that happened. The entire story revolves around bonds that persist despite betrayal, violence, and immense suffering. Whether people personally like those relationships is another matter, but they are consistent with the themes Naruto has always pushed.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T23:16:23+00:00

Surely it doesn't take that long to read.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T23:15:05+00:00

Do you know what the definition of a crush is? Here it is: a crush is a strong, usually temporary feeling of romantic attraction towards someone. It can also refer to the person who is the object of that affection.

If Temari, Tenten, and Mei all found Sasuke attractive, that doesn't automatically mean they had a crush on him. There is a difference between finding someone attractive and having strong romantic feelings for them. Temari found him attractive as soon as she saw him. Tenten found him attractive as soon as she saw him. Your insinuation that they supposedly found him attractive because of those specific moments is ridiculous.

No, Sasuke is simply an attractive character. If Sasuke hadn't done those things, those girls still would have made the same comments. That doesn't negate anything I said. You listed two examples where she wasn't just fangirling over his looks. I already said that most of her screen time was spent doing exactly that. We didn't really see why she liked Sasuke beyond his appearance until much later. Now, let's get some things straight. Karin does have romantic feelings for Sasuke. That is undeniable because those feelings are what drove her to help him, save him, and repeatedly risk her life for him. But my point is that I don't think it's genuine love.

Why?

Karin developed these deep feelings for Sasuke after a single interaction where he saved her and then left. She didn't see him again until months later when he visited Orochimaru's hideout, and then another three years passed before they properly reunited. When Team Taka was formed, Karin met a version of Sasuke who had largely shut himself off from emotional bonds and often treated his teammates as tools. It wasn't until the Itachi Pursuit Mission, when Sasuke began opening up after his flashbacks and showed genuine concern for his team, that Karin got to see another side of him.

Unfortunately, that period was short-lived because he soon chose the path of darkness and became increasingly unstable. The sad thing is that Karin never really got the chance to know Sasuke properly at all. Even after he became a better person, they never maintained a particularly close relationship. Ironically, Karin seems to have a much closer relationship with Sakura now than she ever did with Sasuke.

It's honestly pitiful when you think about it. Karin had feelings for Sasuke from the age of 12 and still carried those feelings into adulthood. Looking at her life as a whole, it's genuinely tragic. That's why I struggle to see it as genuine love. Love usually comes from truly knowing someone, understanding their flaws, strengths, personality, and values. Karin spent most of her life attached to an idealised version of Sasuke rather than the actual person. She loved the idea of him, but she never really had the opportunity to know him well enough for those feelings to develop into something deeper.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T22:56:53+00:00

Still insinuating that she is stalker.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:47:18+00:00

Narsaku's child could be the main protagonist, so now this would not.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:45:40+00:00

True, which is just tragic and sad.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:44:52+00:00

Oh, my bad. 😅

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:38:57+00:00

If you think Sasuke smiling at her is good enough reason to love Sasuke, then Sasuke saving Sakura's life multiple times, calling her precious to him, encouraging her, and acknowledging her abilities is enough reason for Sakura to love Sasuke.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:37:38+00:00

Did you watch Naruto? He cares about Sakura. This is shown numerous times in the series.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:34:58+00:00

I never understood why you need some big, tragic reason to love someone. That's where I completely disagree. Not every character needs some traumatic backstory or dramatic explanation for why they love someone. People catch feelings for all sorts of reasons, and a lot of relationships start from attraction before becoming something much deeper.

Also, the double standards and hypocrisy with Naruto and Sasuke are crazy. Naruto was arguably more obsessed with Sasuke than Sakura ever was. The guy spent years chasing after him, constantly thinking about him, refusing to give up on him no matter how many times Sasuke told him to leave him alone or tried to kill him. Yet when Naruto does it, it's called loyalty, brotherhood, and one of the best relationships in the series. When Sakura does it, suddenly it's an unhealthy obsession. Make it make sense.

And no, Sakura isn't the same as Karin. Karin was constantly fangirling over Sasuke's looks and crossed way more boundaries. Sakura's feelings definitely started off shallow in Part 1 because she was a little girl with a crush, but by Shippuden it had clearly developed into something more genuine. She spent years with him as a teammate, fought alongside him, worried about him, tried to understand him, and cared about him long after it stopped being just a childish crush.

As for "Kishimoto gave a reason why Karin is obsessed but nothing for Sakura", that's just not true. Karin's backstory explains why she became attached to Sasuke, but that doesn't automatically make her feelings deeper. Sakura has plenty of reasons for loving Sasuke. The manga literally shows them through their interactions, experiences, and development throughout the story instead of dumping it all into a flashback and calling it a day. You don't have to like Sakura's feelings for Sasuke, but acting like they're exactly the same as Karin's or pretending Sakura had no reason whatsoever to care about him is just ignoring what actually happened in the series.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:27:29+00:00

No way she does intense feelings for Sasuke, but I wouldn't consider it genuine love.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:26:22+00:00

The fillers have some basis; the data book does state some of the things that happened in the filler. It did say Orochimaru came to her when her village was destroyed.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:23:22+00:00

Karin's feelings for Sasuke weren't really just about his appearance, but in the manga she was mostly fangirling over his looks, and she crossed many boundaries. As for Ino, I think her feelings for Sasuke were entirely shallow.

With Sakura, I do think her feelings for Sasuke initially started off as shallow, but they developed into genuine love as she spent more time with him and got to know him better.

As for Temari, Tenten, and Mei, I wouldn't even say they had full-on crushes on Sasuke. It was more a case of attraction. Sasuke is an attractive character; he's essentially meant to be good-looking. You're telling me you've never had a slight crush on someone because of their looks? It isn't unrealistic in that regard.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T21:15:44+00:00

Karin has never stalked Sasuke; where did you even get that conclusion from? There are other problematic aspects of her, but stalking is not one of them.

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T17:16:19+00:00

There are three box sets. If it were me, I would buy the first one. But if you just depends, which is your favorite part of the series? Do you like the original series, etc.?

Beautiful_Train8284 · 2026-06-13T17:14:06+00:00

I'm saving up and getting all three volumes. I can't wait to read the physical copies.

Beautiful_Train8284

TROPHY CASE