Why Sakura winning the Narutop99 poll was always impossible

Sakura from the Naruto series winning the Narutop99 is always going to be an uphill battle with the fandom. This is a character that has long been unfairly treated by fans over the years. While it is true that there are times where she should have been reasonably criticized, it has also reached a point where logical thinking has been thrown out the window and many people cannot analyze her without getting their personal feelings involved.

Popularity has always been a dubious metric to appreciate someone or something in society, so when the situation of the Narutop99 happened, it was obvious that Sakura wasn’t going to be the winner. However, finishing in third place, right behind Minato Namikaze and Itachi Uchiha was an interesting situation. There are no indifferent opinions about this character, which is why there is a lot to say in that regard.

Disclaimer: There are going to be spoilers from the Naruto series.

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Sakura's loss in the Narutop99 was years in the making

The Narutop99 is a worldwide poll among Naruto fans to determine which of the most popular characters are in the entire series. In that regard, the poll took place from December 17, 2022, to January 31, 2023, cementing Sakura’s third place in the process. While she gained that recognition, the heavy criticism she has received for almost decades resurfaced once again.

A lot of Sakura’s flaws are not in the story but rather poor characterization and execution by author Masashi Kishimoto. Though it is true that he is a modern legend of the medium and did a lot of good with this series, creating a lot of amazing characters, great concepts, lots of memorable moments, and solid fights, fans often unanimously agree that his portrayal of female characters has been underwhelming.

This is not something that only applies to the poor use of this character during the entire series but also to many others. It also includes Hinata, who only stood out because of her crush on the protagonist, despite being the next in succession of the Hyuga Clan. On the other hand, characters with strong personalities like Temari, Konan, or even Tsunade are rarely used in moments of high stakes.

Of course, Sakura has gotten the short end of the stick. Being part of Team 7, the team featuring the two main characters, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, she was bound to feature a lot more in the story. However, Kishimoto rarely featured her, and when he did, it was almost always to have her cry or being helpless. This was particularly frustrating after the time skip when she improved greatly as a character.

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Kishimoto and Pierrot were definitely not helping the Naruto series with Sakura

Studio Pierrot often undermined Sakura as a character (Image via Shueisha and Studio Pierrot).

Kishimoto did himself no favors when it came to writing Sakura, often having her on the sidelines during major story arcs and not using her newly improved physical strength and medical jutsu in more creative ways after the time-skip, something that only added insult to the injury. However, Pierrot Studios were also responsible for the anime side of things.

Many added scenes in the anime makes Sakura’s character more unlikeable, such as constantly berating, undermining, and physically abusing Naruto to the point that it feels wrong and stops being funny. Considering that the anime has a lot more exposure than the manga, that was the image that stuck.

That is a shame because the Narutop99 showed that there was a lot of love for Sakura out there. Moreover, the recent Boruto series, while criticized heavily over the years, has done her character justice. Her relationship with Sasuke has been depicted positively, and she has been a good mother to Sarada, who is one of the leads of the series.

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Final thoughts

Sakura has often been unfairly hated by fans (Image via Studio Pierrot).

As a character, Sakura has flaws that could have been redeemed if she was used properly in the story. However, she is not the worst character in existence like some fans view her. She has grown to become a lot more likable in Boruto, which goes to show that it was often down to the writing side of things.

In the story, Sakura has proven time and again that she is a capable medical ninja, even reaching the point of surpassing her mentor Tsunade, who was the fifth Hokage and the greatest medical ninja herself. Moreover, she has also been through thick and thin for her loved ones. Despite having made some mistakes, she has become a lovable character over the years. As such, Narutop99 only highlighted that there are people that like Sakura, and that is perfectly fine.