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Apr. 20th, 2013
( - Their Bond: What's its foundation? )
( - The Unknown: the mysteries surrounding this couple )Next Section:
Or, Return to the Index (comments go here as well).
A Dangerous Affection [II - CANONIZATION]
Apr. 20th, 2013 08:46 pm( b) Kishimoto’s habit of singling out Sasuke and Karin among Taka )
( c) Recurrent Themes (how SasuKarin ties in) )
( d) Their Similar Pasts )
( e) The amount of canonical commentary regarding them )
( f) The importance given to what happened between Karin and Sasuke )
Or, Return to the Index (comments go here as well).
( b) Whatever, he still stabbed her! Tool or not, that means he didn’t care that much after all! )
( c) ...Pft. Even before going dark, Sasuke was always an ass to her! )
( d) Sasuke rejected her from the start! )
( e) Karin just has the hots for Sasuke and wants to ravage him, it’s nothing but lust and a shallow infatuation! She’s a perv! )
( f) Who cares! Karin said she’s over Sasuke, SasuKarin is dead! )
( g) So what! Karin is just a fangirl who doesn’t even know Sasuke! )
( h) Suigetsu’s comments about SasuKarin are meaningless, he was just doing it to be a jerk! )
( i) Whatever! So what?! None of that matters anyway, because Karin and SasuKarin are just comic relief! )
( j) Karin was all over Sasuke after a measly apology. What do you say to that, huh!? )
( k) Whatever! Sasuke's apology was half-assed and insincere anyway! )
( l) So what!? She disgusts him! The face he made on 627 said it all! )
( m) I hate it anyway! Going back to Sasuke is a detriment to Karin's character! )
By the way, another thing I noticed that antis loved to bring up is “Karin is in love with Sasuke’s chakra but not with him!” which is based on an anime-only moment, therefore filler, therefore not canon, therefore it’s absolutely meaningless. And I’ve already disproved any variation of it, anyway.
The conclusion after going through all those claims? As you can see, most (if not all) of these are based on misconceptions, generalizations / selective reading, biased opinions—and, lately, also jumping the gun (which is at least more understandable, though not necessarily any more correct) but little to no veracity backs up any of those claims.
Next Section:
Or, Return to the Index (comments go here as well).
( V. Extra )
If I missed anything that should be added, let me know! You can either comment below or contact me through Naruto Forums or my personal Tumblr, which I linked above.
If you read up to this point: thank you! I hope the manifesto was to your liking. If you would like to comment or return to the manifesto index, just click on the above link ♥ also, if you came across any odd sounding sentence / funky grammar or the likes, my apologies! English is not my native language orz
Those who know me have probably seen me say that I'm over the never-ending pairing wank that goes down in this fandom, but if there's one misconception that still irks me after all these years, it's this one.
For years I've seen people say that: "there's no way I can ship SasuKarin, it's basically the same thing as SasuSaku or even worse. Liking it while disliking SasuSaku is hypocritical."
And all I can think about is: you haven't even bothered to actually look at SasuKarin, have you?SasuSaku and SasuKarin are not the same. Their similarities are purely circumstantial (having feelings for him, being the female on his team, nearly dying by his hand). But when it comes to their roots and their substance; to their dynamics, to the things that makes each of these two couples what they are—they are fundamentally different.
I realize that there's no point in saying that without explaining my reasons for thinking as such, so here I'll try to explain what (to me) are some of the biggest differences between them. However, please note that it is just my personal opinion (I'm sure we all find these two couples different for, well, different reasons). And it'll most likely be a long post because I've been holding myself back from addressing this misconception for nearly 4 years now.
But before I get started on my perspective, there's something that I need to address from the get-go. A truth that I've seen being overlooked or outright denied way too often. That is: Sasuke cares about both of them and I say cares because we all know that despite what might have gone down / may still go down from now on, by the end of the manga, Sasuke will have mended his bonds with those dear to him. Kishi is predictable like that, lol.
And both of these girls qualify in that very, very reduced ‘precious people’ list. When it comes to Sakura, Sasuke basically outright admits that he considers Team 7 as his precious people in Chapter 133. When it comes to Karin there are no words to accompany it, sure, but Sasuke still demonstrates it fairly clearly through his actions. I've been over that a thousand times already, so rather than repeating myself I'll just say that one only needs to look at his expressions when he thought he would lose her to know he considers her as such as well.
So, what is it that makes me feel that it’s perfectly valid and not hypocritical in the slightest to strongly advocate for SasuKarin, while having SasuSaku as my most disliked couple in the series?
I'll break it into four parts:
● 1. SasuSaku and SasuKarin: An Overview.→ SasuSaku
→ SasuKarin
● 2. Each girls' behavior around Sasuke.
→ Sakura
→ Karin
● 3. Their respective dynamic with Sasuke.
→ a) Team 7 and Team Taka
→ b) ‘Darksuke’: aka, the Kage Summit fiasco
→ c) Sasuke’s behavior towards Sakura and Karin
● 4. Kishi’s themes and as such, his writing intent.
( 1. SasuSaku and SasuKarin: An Overview ) ( b) SasuKarin ) ( 2. Each girls' behavior around Sasuke ) ( a) Sakura ) ( b) Karin ) ( 3. Their respective dynamic with Sasuke (individually and in Team 7 / Taka) ) ( a) Team 7 and Team Taka ) ( b) 'Darksuke': aka, the Kage Summit fiasco ) ( c) Sasuke's behavior towards Sakura and Karin ) ( 4. Kishimoto's recurrent themes )
In conclusion: no, I don't feel hypocritical at all when I say I don't like SasuSaku in the slightest but absolutely adore SasuKarin. Neither do I feel like I'm making this distinction is out of bias, because as far as I'm concerned, Kishimoto has written and developed both pairings in fundamentally different ways; and only one of those appeals to me.
If you actually read this far: thank you, and have a great day!
GO BACK TO TUMBLRDisclaimer: While this manifesto aims to highlight SasuKarin's mutual development, it does not seek to claim that their relationship was mutually-romantic in nature throughout the manga. What I am arguing for in this manifesto is that their bond had all the foundations it needed to naturally step in that direction, if Kishimoto had decided to do so. Also that — despite what some may say — the pairing did receive a remarkable amount of substance (meaningful moments from both ends, interaction, subtext, focus, backstory, remarks from other characters, etc) that did make it a plausible, likely outcome.
Hopefully this manifesto can serve as a reminder of that!
• INDEX
I- Why SasuKarin?
- a. Meet SasuKarin (Chapters 348 - 457).
b. Sasuke's Downfall (Chapters 457 - 489).
c. Their Rising (Chapters 567 - present).
♦ Their personalities: Similarities&Differences.
♦ Their bond: What's it's foundation?
♦ The unknown: Factor X and Factor Y.
II- Canonization: aka Kishimoto's writer intent.
b) Kishimoto's habit of singling out Sasuke and Karin among Taka.
c) Recurrent Themes of the manga (and how SK ties in).
d) Their similar pasts.
e) The amount of canonical commentary regarding them.
f) The importance given to what happened between Karin and Sasuke.
III- Common arguments against them: aka misconceptions running rampant.
b) Whatever, he still stabbed her! Tool or not, that means he didn’t care that much after all!
c) Pft. Even before going dark, Sasuke was always an ass to her!
d) Sasuke rejected her from the start!
e) Karin just has the hots for Sasuke and wants to ravage him, it’s nothing but lust and a shallow infatuation! She’s a perv!
f) Who cares! Karin said she’s over Sasuke, SasuKarin is dead!
g) So what! Karin is just a fangirl who doesn’t even know Sasuke!
h) Suigetsu’s comments about SasuKarin are meaningless, he was just doing it to be a jerk!
i) Whatever! So what?! None of that matters anyway, because Karin and SasuKarin are just comic relief!
j) Karin was all over Sasuke after a measly apology. What do you say to that, huh!?
k) Whatever! Sasuke's apology was half-assed and insincere anyway!
l) So what!? She disgusts him! The face he made on 627 said it all!
m) I hate it anyway! Going back to Sasuke is a detriment to Karin's character!
IV- Conclusion; final words: why I support SasuKarin, tying the knots together.
V- Extra: Some helpful links you may want to check out.
I would love to read your thoughts, so please don't hesitate to comment ♥ But please no bashing. Also, comments go on this post please, and not on the other sections; thank you! For your convenience, I'll be linking back to this post at the end of each section :D
