I started writing this book as merely another Quora post, but Sasuke and Sakura have many moments throughout the series, so once this project reached around 80 pages of pure text (and went on to grow much longer), I realized it would be too much for a single Quora answer. Nonetheless, I wanted to share my thoughts of Sasuke and Sakura's moments and write a detailed analysis of Sasuke and Sakura's relationship without being forced to cut out a lot of observations and opinions out, so I decided to publish this as a book on Wattpad instead.

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Whether you love or loathe the ship depends on personal preference; what you like in a romantic pairing; what values you believe are necessary for a good working romantic relationship; whether you like Sasuke and Sakura's individual characters (people who hate Sakura and Sasuke as individuals aren't going to find much to like in a relationship between them); how you choose to interpret their scenes; which scenes you place special emphasis on; and which scenes you choose to discard as unimportant.

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I personally like SasuSaku's relationship a lot and I feel their relationship is widely misunderstood due to its cryptic, subtle, symbolic, and indirect nature. Many of the SasuSaku scenes are confusing or puzzling at first. Several of their moments (such as the hospital hug after Sasuke wakes up from his coma) I remembered recognizing as significant when I first watched it, but I couldn't understand what the meaning or importance of the scene was. I knew the story was telling me something significant about the dynamic between Sasuke and Sakura, but the first time I wasn't aware of what the significance of moments such as that were. Only after several years of reading various analyses and analyzing things myself did the meaning of moments like that become clear to me.

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I began to realize that with an attentive, dialed-in, analytical observation of the series, Sasuke and Sakura actually have a considerable amount of substantial build-up to their relationship. SasuSaku is a subtle, indirect, and soft romance. Part of the reason SasuSaku is so widely misunderstood is that you really have to know what to look for; a cursory overview or a single watch of the series isn't going to cut it for understanding the pairing. It requires a deep understanding of Sasuke's and Sakura's individual characters and how they relate to the people around them, and then another deep understanding of their moments together. Kishimoto is sparse with his SasuSaku scenes, but the scenes that he uses cover a lot of mileage and say a ton. But you'll miss it all if you aren't paying close attention.

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I will say that while I love Sasuke and Sakura's relationship, it's not a ship for everyone and I respect if people don't find the ship to their tastes. I don't think Sasuke and Sakura's relationship is forced, just outside of the realm of what is "typical" in a couple. That's all part of what gives SasuSaku its flavor and makes it an intriguing and interesting ship. SasuSaku relies on a lot on inference and implication rather than always directly showing the build-up of the dynamic. For me personally, I like how when it comes to SasuSaku, a lot is left up to the imagination about certain aspects of their relationship. It stokes the imagination, like a puzzle you must solve. It adds mystery, intrigue, and drama to the ship and gives you something to chew over. But for some fans, relying on inference might be very irritating and too vague or too indirect. A lot of people tend to prefer direct storytelling instead of writing things in by implication, and that's fine, just a matter of personal preference.

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For this book, I wanted to explain and analyze Sasuke and Sakura's relationship and dispel the common misconceptions of SasuSaku. I'll explain my thoughts on Sasuke and Sakura's scenes, what it says about their relationship, why I like them, the philosophical and psychological or even symbolic meaning behind them, etc.

 

My wish is that this book will help people better understand Sasuke's character, Sakura's character, and the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura. I don't care if people love or hate the characters or SasuSaku, but I dislike people spreading lies about them. I want people to know SasuSaku, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno as they are, and hate them or love them for who they are, not for the false, overly simplistic image too many fans have of them. My hope for this book is that whether you passionately love or hate this relationship, after reading this you will come to understand the couple's relationship a bit better or have at least heard a new perspective on Sasuke and Sakura's relationship.

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-Indra Nakari