#naruto problems

Hello!! I wish I could, besides a few small things in filler episodes, I think the main reason (for me personally) that it doesn’t feel too one-sided, is the particular way naruto acts around gaara that is unique from his other friends or people he wants to/has ‘saved’. I think in fact the moment where naruto is too embarrassed to shake gaara’s hand when they are saying goodbye is the most important between them. I don’t remember naruto ever being shy in this extreme way with anyone else! Every time gaara is mentioned naruto pipes up with how strong and cool he is. I just always felt naruto acted so different about gaara than any other person he cares about! he will go on and on about how cool and strong he is, but then be very shy when gaara actually shows up. naruto doesn’t even make fun of him in the joking way he does to his other friends, he is always respectful and sincere with gaara. 

I don’t know if you would consider things like the video games as ‘canon’ but in a lot of the naruto fighting games (ninja storm), there are little side quests that have cute little cutscenes between characters, and also written letters between 2 characters, and I find the naruto and gaaras ones are very charming! but I think in the end it boils down to, I don’t need more evidence from the canon material for their relationship to be the most important to me. a lot of the naruto manga is, quite frankly, bad! and boring! a lot of characters are left out and ignored, a lot of plot is left hanging open, but for me, gaara (and his siblings) arc was the most interesting and poignant for me, and gaara and narutos relationship the most emotionally driven. 

naruto loves a lot of people, but i think the specific way gaara impacted him was different than the other people he sees as being ‘like him’ just bc he thinks they are ‘lonely’ like him. I would go so far as to say their fight during the chuunin exams was when naruto literally found in himself how deep he actually loved other people, and how they love him, seeing reflected in gaara how gaara does not have that. he’s ‘’’talk-no-jutsu’d’’’ a lot of people, but I just think his words to gaara at that time were a lot more than that. 

uhh I just like him. that part where he got owned my naruto was funny. “i don’t like you, you’re not funny” puppet jutsu is cool.

he was more scared of gaara than anyone and when gaara started to develop away from his childhood trauma and Literal Inner Demon he was like the first (with Temari) to support & love him wholeheartedly. 

lmao i forgot all about this :^)