25 Reasons Sasuke And Sakura's Relationship On Naruto Made No Sense

Sakura and Sasuke are the couple that everyone knew would get together right from the very first episodes of the "Naruto" anime, and yet their relationship is utterly confusing, twisted, and lacking in any kind of affection. From their time together in school to Sakura's long journey to bring Sasuke back home, their relationship resembled nothing more than a desperate puppy chasing and yapping at an uncaring set of heels. Some events leading up to the climax of the "Naruto: Shippuden" series left viewers doubting that Sasuke could ever redeem himself and return to Konoha.

Despite this, the two really did end up destined to marry and have a family, but the circumstances around their daughter's birth and upbringing are perhaps even more shocking and unhealthy than Sasuke's fall into darkness. If you're a little bit fed up or confused about this famous anime coupling, you're not alone. Here are the top 25 reasons that Sakura and Sasuke's relationship really makes no sense at all.

Sometimes anime relationships can be truly epic, with characters coming together after incredible journeys of danger and self-sacrifice, and rewarding arcs of development and growth. Other times, the girl just begins a life-long obsession because she walks into her new classroom one day and spots a good looking guy with an aloof attitude. This is how things start with Sakura and Sasuke.

Admittedly, it's perfectly normal for a crush to stem from nothing more than looks and reputation, but it's not so normal for it to continue that way. Sakura's feelings manage to develop into full-blown devotion just from standing in the same room as Sasuke as he ignores her. Whenever they do missions together, he refuses to work as a team and constantly looks down on her, and yet the memories of these days keep her going for the entirety of her teenage years.

Girls fighting over guys has been a theme in storytelling since forever, but anime is actually more known for taking the rivals-but-still-friends route. This is not the case, however, with Sakura and Ino. The two girls have a strong friendship that develops when Ino helps Sakura overcome bullying, but when Sasuke comes into the picture, they abruptly cut ties with each other.

This is already strange behavior considering how young the girls are at the time — do seven-year-old girls really actively pursue boys for romantic purposes? Either way, such a dramatic reaction isn't necessary at all, especially since neither of them are able to get anywhere with Sasuke anyway. Their bitter rivalry lasts for years before they begin to grow close again, but even as adults, they still act as rivals a lot of the time — and we bet Sasuke never even noticed any of this happening.

In terms of what we see on screen, Sakura and Sasuke's relationship goes from nothing to marriage completely out of nowhere. This is a relationship that kept viewers on the brink of insanity for ten years, and when it finally happens, it doesn't even get animated. After the war, Sasuke goes on a journey of redemption without Sakura. The next time he appears in Konoha, she refuses to let him leave alone. They travel together, get married, get pregnant, and give birth to Sarada in one of Orochimaru's lairs, weirdly.

By the time "Boruto" starts, Sarada has grown to be nearly ten years old, and Sasuke hasn't been seen for multiple years. It's a lot for the viewers to take in, and it feels genuinely disappointing that we didn't get to see how this situation came to be. Many viewers may have consoled themselves with thoughts of Sasuke's homecoming and finally getting to see some physical affection between the two, but, unfortunately, that was not to be.

It would be reasonable to assume that Sasuke and Sakura settle down after the birth of Sarada and finally get the time they need to develop their romantic relationship, but reasonable is not a word we can use to describe this couple. In actuality, Sasuke leaves home for years at a time while Sakura raises their child alone. The strangest part of this is that the nature of Sasuke's work doesn't seem to be a joint-decision. As far as we can tell, he made the decision to leave alone and without consulting Sakura, which is completely inappropriate behavior for a grown man with a wife and child.

We know and Sakura knows that Sasuke's work is important and that he aims to uphold the safety of his family and the village, but still. Being a family is about communication, and Sasuke really does not get that at all — though he did lose his family at a young age, so maybe he gets a pass on this one? Opinions on this will no doubt differ, but, in general, he doesn't spend anywhere near enough time with Sakura and their child.

When Sarada becomes doubtful of her parentage, she leaves the village to pursue her father, eventually finding him near Shin Uchiha's lair. At this point, Sasuke hasn't seen his daughter since she was around three or four years old, and due to her sharingan, he assumes she is one of Shin's lackeys. He thrusts a katana into the wall beside her face and reaches out to grab her throat before Sarada finally manages to identify herself.

It's a pretty unpleasant scene. Shock and pain is written all over Sasuke's face, but when she tells him why she's there, he doesn't say anything. Sure, he might be confused as to why his daughter suddenly doubts who her mother is, but the fix is fairly obvious and it definitely wasn't "stand still and say nothing." The experience clearly has an effect on Sasuke though, as at the end of this arc he actually spends some time with his family and even consents to a real family photograph — before promptly leaving again, of course.

One really unhealthy aspect of Sakura's obsession with Sasuke is how it affects her growth and motivation during her formative years. Despite the fact that she becomes a strong medical-nin with important war responsibilities and amazing accomplishments under her belt, her emotional state is completely dependent on her progress with Sasuke. Sure, her day-to-day duties are fuelled by her desire to help others and protect her village, but her larger motivation for moving forward is to one day reunite with Sasuke and convince him to come home.

In-universe, this doesn't take away from her achievements or her reputation amongst her peers, but for the viewers, it just comes across as a little sad. She should be doing these things for herself and for her beliefs, and the only sensible development would have been for her to slowly move on from Sasuke. Her involvement on the frontlines of the war is not usual for a medical-nin, and though her status as a main character influences where she is, it also feels like she's abandoning her medical tent to get as close to Sasuke as possible.

Sasuke gains popularity with the girls as soon as he enters the academy, and Sakura is just one of many that develop a strong crush on him. He's the topic on all the girls' lips, and there are plenty of rumors circulating about what he likes and how to draw his attention. One of these is his apparent preference for long hair, so Sakura promptly decides to begin growing hers out. It's a small gesture in some ways, but considering the amount of time it takes to achieve, it's quite the commitment for such a young person to succeed in keeping.

All of her efforts are in vain, of course, since Sasuke's complete lack of interest in girls and dating guarantee that the rumor was baseless to begin with. He likely never even knew that he had anything to do with her hairstyle at all. While it's normal for girls to dress up for the guys they like in anime, Sakura's long hair is just the first sign of the lengths she is willing to go to for Sasuke, and her acts of devotion only become more extreme as they grow older.

The worst thing about Sasuke is his attitude. Loners are a typical archetype in anime, and it's not unusual for characters to become consumed by revenge and have to break away from their friends. Even needing to face those friends in battle is common, but there's usually some kind of pain, regret, or hesitation going on. For Sasuke, however, he just becomes a crazed and heartless murderer that thinks nothing of his former comrades and puts on a good show of trying to kill them.

Although he works for Orochimaru for a time, Sasuke is really his own boss and goes where he pleases and does what he wants. He doesn't have dangerous eyes watching him, forcing him to be rougher with his old friends than he really has to be. If he wanted, he could just ignore them, run from them, or slow them down, but he consistently goes for the kill. His maniacal laughter after trying to kill Sakura is a real nasty moment and definitely strange to think back on now that the two are married. No wonder he's a distant husband — it would be pretty difficult to apologize for that.

After Sasuke eventually comes back over to the good side and helps end the Fourth Great Shinobi War, he is taken back to Konoha before eventually receiving a pardon from the Hokage. The next step on his journey of redemption is to, well, go on a journey of redemption. Though Sakura asks if she can go with him, he refuses. Then comes the monumental moment, the big confession of love: He taps her on the forehead and tells her maybe another time.

That's it. That's apparently all Sakura needs in order to know that her feelings are reciprocated and her future is secure. The next thing the audience knows, they're a married couple with a child. From a cultural perspective, this is also pretty curious since it's common for Japanese couples to be extremely vocal and precise about the nature of their relationship. A couple isn't going steady until they say they are, and nothing can ever begin until both parties expressly confess their feelings for each other. It's pretty clear that the showrunners felt it was too soon to really solidify their relationship and that's understandable, but is some progress too much to ask for more than a decade later? Sasuke still can't even kiss his wife goodbye.

Another problem that results from Sasuke's nomadic lifestyle is that no one knows what he's doing or why he's doing it. Considering his past and the known ability of the Konoha villagers to hold grudges, it's no surprise that people doubt him from time to time. An arc in "Boruto" captures this perfectly when a new troublemaker emerges who curiously matches Sasuke's exact appearance and chakra signature.

While all of his friends and his wife instantly assume it's somehow an imposter, as the plot thickens, Sakura is unable to say for sure whether Sasuke remains on their side. The simple truth is that she has no contact with him, and while she strongly believes that Sasuke is ultimately a good person, she doesn't know what might be happening here and now. It's quite a crazy situation and not exactly a stable environment for child-rearing, but this is a war-torn world that is only just beginning to work toward true peace.

When Sakura and Ino go on a trip together, they stop at a place very close to Sakura's heart — the spot where she and Sasuke had their first date. Or rather, where they didn't. It seems all Sasuke could manage was sitting on a bench next to Sakura for two and a half minutes. As she sits there again, Sakura thinks about how she has no idea where Sasuke is or how he's doing, and smiles sadly before resolving to keep trying her best.

It's clear that the "Naruto" writers want to retain the aloof and strict personality Sasuke develops over the years, but when it comes to his relationship with Sakura, they seem to go a little too far. After everything they've been through, can Sasuke really not give her a proper date and some conventional affection now and then? He's done some amazing things in his life, so why is he so incapable of maturing into a normal adult?

Sakura was undoubtedly put in a hard situation when she was left to raise her daughter alone, especially considering that her husband is a renowned former criminal. Being completely open with Sarada about her father's past from a young age would have surely caused problems one way or another, so it's understandable that Sakura hesitated. However, as Sarada grows older and becomes a ninja in her own right, it becomes important for her to know both the recent history of her village and the history of her father.

Unfortunately, even with several years to prepare, Sakura never really comes up with a plan on how to deal with this. She avoids questions about Sasuke, gives vague answers on his whereabouts and his reasons for being away, and completely hides everything about the Uchiha history. Considering her unwavering admiration and faith in Sasuke, it seems out of character for Sakura to suddenly shy away from the realities of his situation. Everyone knows that honesty is the best policy, and her choice to keep Sarada in the dark backfires in the most extreme way when Sarada accuses Sakura of not being her real mother.