Hi Rayne~ I was hoping you could expand on the Naruto homophobic thing you've mentioned a few times in your ask.
In universe, in my opinion, KISHIMOTO is so bad at writing female characters he literally cannot let the women in his universe be full fledged people maybe outside of Tusande and Temari. On top of that he doesn't seem to realize that Naruto's fixation on Sasuke could even be read as romantic and vice versa-add the bonus that the way he makes Naruto and Sasuke behave towards their 'soulmates' not have the same intensity or (imo perceived) depths as the fixation/emotions they have on each other lol it's always been hard for me to get behind naruhina and sasusku outside of heartbreak.
Just to be clear, I also recognize that this isn't Kishimotos intent at all lol he's just a misogynist and his own homophobic humour deeps out into Naruto the character. Even separating Kishinoto the author fromm all it, and reading Naruto as just the character in his own universe, I was Always sort of ??? About my reading his (to me) obvious romantic fixation on Haku and then Sasuke, mixed with his homophobia? It really set off a !!! Going through your blog again, and seeing you even mention it in an ask. I think tis just because 'fandom' in general gets very personal/defensive about their characters or can't seem to hold the idea that authors own shit seeps in/but it can also remain separate from your reading of the story internally. I've also never read/heard another person even allude ro Naruto being read as homophobic, something I've always thought interesting about the character himself (not necessarily why Kishinoto would write that way as a joke y'know?).
Idk if this made sense! But love you! Love the series as always!!!
Hi there Anon! 💜Thanks for your message and I hope my response finds you in good spirits as we step into 2025.
I was hoping you could expand on the Naruto homophobic thing you've mentioned a few times in your ask.
I shall endeavour, my dear! I might need you to clarify what specifically you're curious for me to expand on regarding this topic.
You mentioned how you felt Kishimoto's portrayal of women left a lot to be desired. Ha, yes, I agree with you. Very poor execution with a lot of them (Ino, Sakura, Hinata, Anko, Kurenai etc). I felt especially sad for Ino and Kurenai's characters. I agree that Tsunade and Temari showed a bit more promise.
Now, I respect that Kishimoto has admitted he struggles with the romantic element of his storytelling, and in his defense, his wheelhouse is shōnen manga, originally geared towards young boys, so I gotta give the guy some grace here. I wonder if he imagined he'd garner a load of fangirls as part of the Naruto following! Pretty awesome when you consider the vast and diverse reach it had. Fleshing out the romance and playing 'fix it fic' is what we fans do, right? 😉
[...] he doesn't seem to realize that Naruto's fixation on Sasuke could even be read as romantic and vice versa-add the bonus that the way he makes Naruto and Sasuke behave towards their 'soulmates' not have the same intensity or (imo perceived) depths as the fixation/emotions they have on each other lol it's always been hard for me to get behind naruhina and sasusku outside of heartbreak.
Totally agree with you regarding how NaruHina and SasuSaku fail, respectively, to hold a candle to the NaruSasu/SasuNaru dynamic. It pales by comparison and IMHO it weakens Hinata and Sakura considerably. Arguably, the true soulmate dynamic is clearly the one that exists between Naruto and Sasuke, which I'm assuming Kishimoto meant to be platonic. Now, I might be wrong, but I think Kishimoto is quite savvy to the notion of NaruSasu/SasuNaru. I don't believe this is lost on him (he'd have to be completely ignorant to a large percentage of his fanbase). I reckon an argument could be made for a fair bit of queer-baiting when it comes to Naruto and Sasuke, which is both clever and possibly cruel to the diehard shippers 😅. I mean...come on...
Kishimoto could be said to be capitalising on it - and fair play to him. Creating fodder for the yaoi fans without isolating his predominant shōnen fanbase at that time. It worked.
Just to be clear, I also recognize that this isn't Kishimotos intent at all lol he's just a misogynist and his own homophobic humour deeps out into Naruto the character.
Gotcha. What you mentioned about homophobic humour is a fair point. Yep, that plays out in the series. And yes, that plays out in Naruto's character too.
Now, whether that's a product of Kishimoto's personal views, the character's views, the author's/character's cultural values/attitudes, also the time in which Naruto was written (late 90s, early 2000s), or maybe a combination of all of those factors, is open for discussion or clarification from the author himself. I'm sure there are other readers who have way more insight into Kishimoto's personal views than me, so I can't offer much there. My present understanding is that in the late '90s and early 2000s (around the time of Naruto's debut), Japan's view on homosexuality was still progressing, with a mix of traditional with limited awareness and still some social stigma. Kind of struck me that there wasn't a super strong aversion (I might be way off base here), but not wholesale acceptance either. I guess this is why homosexuality is often portrayed in a comical/comedic way, such as in Naruto?
Even separating Kishinoto the author fromm all it, and reading Naruto as just the character in his own universe, I was Always sort of ??? About my reading his (to me) obvious romantic fixation on Haku and then Sasuke, mixed with his homophobia? It really set off a !!!
Thanks for clarifying for me here, Anon! Playing devil's advocate for the canon Naruto, my take is that Naruto believed Haku was a girl, so naturally any romantic feelings or impressions tanked when he realised Haku was in fact a male. As for Naruto's fixation with Sasuke, regardless of how I might personally perceive it (and of course I take fangirl liberty here, unapologetically and with my own interpretation to back it up lol), it would seem to be platonic. Deep and intense and platonic. Like you, I may interpret it as having massive potential for romantic fixation, but in the canon world, that's not the case - so technically (again, playing devil's advocate here), Naruto's apparent homophobia can very much co-exist with his profound bond with Sasuke. Again, this is why fanfiction exists. We get to rearrange the furniture in our headcanons lol. All that said, I do find it hilarious how Naruto reacts so ridiculously to any perceived notion of homoeroticism (it begs 'the lady doth protest too much' 🤭). It also makes it feel divinely just that his first (and second) kiss was with Sasuke.
I give Kishimoto props for that!
Going through your blog again, and seeing you even mention it in an ask. I think tis just because 'fandom' in general gets very personal/defensive about their characters or can't seem to hold the idea that authors own shit seeps in/but it can also remain separate from your reading of the story internally.
Yes, I hear you. Fandoms can contain large percentages of fans who get extremely defensive/obsessive of the characters and their portrayals (sometimes to insane degrees). True, an author's own crap can definitely leak into a character portrayal. The reverse is also true. Just because an author writes a homophobic character, doesn't mean the author holds that view/perspective/belief. In all fairness, it's hard to determine unless one knows the author. My knowledge of Kishimoto is limited, so you may have more insight regarding his personal views. Yes, I salute you on the point about being able to read/experience a story/character independent of the writer. Best way to do it.
I've also never read/heard another person even allude ro Naruto being read as homophobic, something I've always thought interesting about the character himself (not necessarily why Kishinoto would write that way as a joke y'know?).
Ah, really? That's interesting, Anon. I don't consider the series explicitly homophobic and certainly wouldn't intentionally read it that way, but I couldn't ignore the occassional evidence to support Naruto's reactiveness to the concept - or other characters! There are other comedic allusions, including between Izumo and Kotetsu:
Regarding Naruto's character, I haven't kept up with the Boruto series and have no idea whether any of this has changed during Naruto's continued arc. Others would have to weigh in here.
In the BtB-verse, specifically in HHU, Naruto's journey with his feelings for Sasuke would be the closest I've come to writing any kind of internal struggle regarding sexuality in the BtB-verse.
Idk if this made sense! But love you! Love the series as always!!
Aw! Feel the love! 🥰Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this, Anon! I love enaging with readers this way, and find it fascinating what interests them or compels them regarding the fandom. I'm sorry if I haven't answered your ASK properly and failed to expand on what you meant. This might've escaped me, so feel free to clarify if I totally missed the mark.
Big love and appreciation coming at you, my dear! Wishing you all good things for 2025. 💜🫶🏼💜