A DANGEROUS AFFECTION [III - COMMON ARGUMENTS AGAINST THEM]
696Please respect copyright.PENANAR6CKQWnrPO
III.696Please respect copyright.PENANAPYQdcs8f7z
COMMON ARGUMENTS AGAINST THEM696Please respect copyright.PENANAznT0Gj0YOw
696Please respect copyright.PENANAB16rmD0r6d
696Please respect copyright.PENANAYk8A5aHNUP
696Please respect copyright.PENANAWQSw6vCoeu
To address each point as efficiently as I possibly can, I will format this section as if I were directly replying to Anti-SK'ers. Also, since there are new "arguments" every day and I've already addressed a good bunch of these throughout the previous sections, here is an index so you can jump right to the topic of your choice.696Please respect copyright.PENANAvhn2QPDuJv
a) Sasuke just wants her for her abilities!696Please respect copyright.PENANANfhyo921uS
b) Whatever, he still stabbed her! Tool or not, that means he didn’t care that much after all!696Please respect copyright.PENANAunUj0zFTY0
c) Pft. Even before going dark, Sasuke was always an ass to her!696Please respect copyright.PENANAlzeLzzZluP
d) Sasuke rejected her from the start!696Please respect copyright.PENANAUuvF9cUZzc
e) Karin just has the hots for Sasuke and wants to ravage him, it’s nothing but lust and a shallow infatuation! She’s a perv!696Please respect copyright.PENANAvJi24fOQ0X
f) Who cares! Karin said she’s over Sasuke, SasuKarin is dead!696Please respect copyright.PENANAwonuC6feyF
g) So what! Karin is just a fangirl who doesn’t even know Sasuke!696Please respect copyright.PENANAR0KTvgfa0K
h) Suigetsu’s comments about SasuKarin are meaningless, he was just doing it to be a jerk!696Please respect copyright.PENANA5l4tPcoY01
i) Whatever! So what?! None of that matters anyway, because Karin and SasuKarin are just comic relief!696Please respect copyright.PENANA2vhNXNzSJJ
j) Karin was all over Sasuke after a measly apology. What do you say to that, huh!?696Please respect copyright.PENANAbyLNWffrqF
k) Whatever! Sasuke's apology was half-assed and insincere anyway!696Please respect copyright.PENANAxkx7e0vmrD
l) So what!? She disgusts him! The face he made on 627 said it all!696Please respect copyright.PENANASrk4yFETtO
m) I hate it anyway! Going back to Sasuke is a detriment to Karin's character!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAfu1C9KrZj4
696Please respect copyright.PENANANy6Y1b0L5b
a) Sasuke just wants Karin for her abilities!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAGBCAzIo14h
This would be a fair point alright—that is, if the story had stopped right at chapter 348. But when we have chapters like 415 where Sasuke shows obvious, tangible, undeniable concern for Karin’s well-being and safety—meaning for her being rather than her abilities—the argument crumbles on its own.696Please respect copyright.PENANA3vLveOeX8l
696Please respect copyright.PENANAggdGJRw7I6
Ah, wait a sec—that isn’t enough to prove she isn’t a tool to him, you say? Sasuke risking his life and his teammate’s lives while he’s at it, freaking out and awakening a new ability out of care for Karin isn’t enough? Sasuke jeopardizing his revenge in the off-chance he may be able to save Karin's life isn't enough?—ah, overused, you say?696Please respect copyright.PENANA1oOkHWtGgM
696Please respect copyright.PENANA3u4lcn3wU9
Does that in any way, shape or form refute the fact that said chapter proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Sasuke cares about her as a being?696Please respect copyright.PENANAJuJl1G8ljK
696Please respect copyright.PENANAUN9e31uiic
No? I didn't think so.696Please respect copyright.PENANAIMMqdT80RI
696Please respect copyright.PENANA2XUhzZk0TU
Anyway, the reason why I point 415 out so much is because it's an instance that directly contradicts, by principle alone, this claim of Sasuke only wanting Karin for her abilities; Sasuke risking his life and as such jeopardizing his revenge (meaning, his lifelong goal) over a supposed 'tool' (meaning, a mere asset to said goal) is ridiculous. But don't be mistaken, there indeed are more displays of caring from Sasuke's side. For example here, here, here, here and here; just to name a few.696Please respect copyright.PENANAL2K0QM7Hro
696Please respect copyright.PENANAhDfn4HP2SZ
And on-top of all that, there’s also Sasuke’s apology. Which—as was mentioned before—had nothing to do with Karin’s abilities, and everything to do with Karin herself. And as such, with the way Sasuke regards her.696Please respect copyright.PENANAjkW5ZN6PtM
696Please respect copyright.PENANA55tDrnYW9M
So no, Sasuke doesn’t want Karin just for her abilities. He cares for her as an individual (enough to awake a new ability for her) and as a valuable member of his team; as one of the people who saved him, risked her own life for him, and once helped him realize/remember he was not alone.696Please respect copyright.PENANAiKJE1q3gQp
696Please respect copyright.PENANA8HOldRhvWq
That seems to me like a considerable amount of caring, actually.696Please respect copyright.PENANAzHDOcOKkyq
696Please respect copyright.PENANAkhfAaV63RN
b) Whatever, he still stabbed her! Tool or not, that means he didn’t care that much after all!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAQyA9ESyNG2
I already addressed this here. But to put it bluntly: stabbing Karin wasn’t Sasuke explicitly desiring to kill her. It was Sasuke consciously choosing to sacrifice her and their bond for his revenge. Thus his descent into 'true' darkness; Kishimoto would not have put such weight on Sasuke sacrificing someone he did not care about, because then it would not have made such a big difference when it came to Sasuke's 'darkness' level (which can take an extra layer of meaning depending on how one reads Chapter 619, but for now let's just focus on the facts).696Please respect copyright.PENANASnMVcvEz2C
696Please respect copyright.PENANAt3y5wVsNu8
480 is the exact opposite of what Sasuke did in 415; both actions are meant to contrast and oppose one another, just as the Sasuke who severed their bond is a Sasuke who has become “completely different” from the Sasuke Karin has always known.696Please respect copyright.PENANAjz87xtGqJ6
696Please respect copyright.PENANAWeSOI5kXYu
In other words, while he is responsible for what he did (and as such, it poses an issue that needs to be addressed for the pairing to be satisfactory—which is a process that has already begun thanks to Sasuke's apology) the actions of such a Sasuke cannot be used to say he never cared about Karin; had he actually put her in danger or aimed to hurt her before his darkness, then sure, because then there would be no contrast between both situations. Alas, we all know that was not the case.696Please respect copyright.PENANA8D0Guca69V
696Please respect copyright.PENANAvyL0q61bEc
As for Sasuke consciously choosing his revenge over his bond with her meaning that he 'didn't care that much', last time I checked, these two concepts weren't mutually exclusive when it came to Sasuke's character. Not like he has chosen revenge and consciously severed a bond with a very important person to him in the past, right?. And through the same method, at that.696Please respect copyright.PENANAUKvCmVG25Y
696Please respect copyright.PENANAMNouYOjlVX
c) ...Pft. Even before going dark, Sasuke was always an ass to her!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAlozT66Phf5
Um, okay. Seems to me like you’re just projecting Sasuke’s typical behavior to his dynamic with Karin. Whatever your reason for doing that may be, you are generalizing just for the sake of it and as such, greatly off the mark.696Please respect copyright.PENANACapF9v3R0f
696Please respect copyright.PENANADc9xqdDj0z
In fact, let me rhetorically ask you to provide me with instances of the usual (pre-Kage Summit, non-dark) Sasuke being ‘an ass’ to Karin. I guarantee (either of) these are the ones you would think of bringing up:696Please respect copyright.PENANApDxSNhl2XD
- Chapter 348. Actually, Sasuke’s “would you back off?” is a mistranslation. What he does say to her is “You… move back a little / back away a little.” Big difference there, right? Not much of an ‘ass’ now, is he?
- Chapter 380. Guess what, we have another faulty translation in our hands here. Or not faulty; rather, it’s liberal. It took the liberty of adding an extra line to Sasuke’s original dialogues. Can you guess which? That’s right, all Sasuke actually tells her is “Karin… you guys wait here. This is my revenge.” No more, no less. Suddenly that doesn’t sound rude at all, does it? (and just in case, Sasuke had his sharingan turned on from the start. it had nothing to do with what he was telling Karin.)
696Please respect copyright.PENANAgmoMsOvYvo
696Please respect copyright.PENANA537wvFrMPW
That leaves us with:696Please respect copyright.PENANA7TllkhxTFq
- Chapter 355. Where Karin glomps him when she should be leaving to find information like the rest of Hebi, and Sasuke bluntly tells her just that. Doesn’t seem much like Sasuke being an ass to me (especially since he doesn’t even comment on the fact that she just glomped him, and the whole scene is rather comedic what with Karin even sweatdropping at his reaction). But since that’s subjective, it’s arguable.
- Chapter 404. Sasuke is in the middle of bluffing with "Madara", Karin chimes in and gets deliberately ignored in the process. Rude? I personally do think so (though it was, at the very least, understandable—and Karin most likely thinks so as well, which is why she silently fumes rather than interrupting again and letting him have a piece of her mind). So if you were to bring up this instance, I would give it to you.
696Please respect copyright.PENANAx5r4Q1iBRl
696Please respect copyright.PENANAhmsR39qxnI
Lastly, while this one already forms part of the Kage Summit arc, I’ll bring it up either way. Chapter 457. The reason why I’m even bringing this one up is because, if you actually consider that asking Karin to “concentrate on tracking the enemy’s chakra for the moment” is Sasuke being an ass to her, then I actually can’t complain. Because it serves to prove something fairly simple: even in the few instances where Sasuke was remotely rude to Karin, he was never as much of an ass to her as to how he usually is to other people.696Please respect copyright.PENANAEoDd0UZ5JR
696Please respect copyright.PENANAJHgH00BqEH
And to illustrate that point, I’ll actually do some comparisons and expand on some of the scenes I’ve mentioned above; because this actually happens to be one of the most common misconceptions and generalizations about SasuKarin.696Please respect copyright.PENANAzX8lIfa4yv
696Please respect copyright.PENANASxOKFJaV1J
Fact of the matter is, people aren't off-base when it comes to Sasuke. When Sasuke wants to be rude (or rather, when Sasuke does not give a damn) Sasuke is rude. There are no in-between; the guy is "stay out of my business", "shut up", etc rude. He can be—and often is—quite literally, a total ass.696Please respect copyright.PENANAVobmK4n2Q2
696Please respect copyright.PENANAcOWY2yhaGq
But pre-Kage Summit Sasuke never reacted in such a way to Karin; and there were a myriad of occasions in which Karin's words and behavior could have granted her that kind of response. But in all those instances of "he could have" - Sasuke didn't.696Please respect copyright.PENANAc17drmaTPe
696Please respect copyright.PENANAY9tDqWkYH5
Let’s take a second look at that panel in Chapter 348; he simply asks her to move back a little, while he could have reacted like this instead. 380? Karin is not only telling him what he should do (beat Kisame and go to Itachi together as a team) but also that his own plan of action simply "won't do". Sasuke, however, does not snap at her at all; he could have reacted like this instead, or this, or even this. 355? Karin actually did warrant Sasuke’s reminder; yet, despite the fact that Karin wanting to remain with him was out of place given the circumstances (Hebi had a mission) and would have slowed him down (not to mention that she outright glomped him), all Sasuke does is state the obvious. What did he do the last time a member of his cell jeopardized his mission? 1 | 2 | 3. In other words, he could have sent Karin off in a different, much ruder way (including a "what do you think you're doing?" which would have been warranted given her glomp). But he didn't. Or he could have given her a memo like this, too.696Please respect copyright.PENANAkFyNlRMQtC
696Please respect copyright.PENANAyiVp056Yo6
And like in the previous instances of he could have—he didn’t.696Please respect copyright.PENANA658qzn9WWF
696Please respect copyright.PENANAMTlgtYXIGZ
I already mentioned that I did find him rude in 404 (though not ‘he is a total ass to her' level, which would have been a ‘shut up, Karin’. Or ‘stay out of this, Karin’—which we all know he has no qualms in saying to others), and that I don’t even find 457 worth arguing over. Truth is though, I find none of these instances are worth fretting over as a SK fan.696Please respect copyright.PENANAQfR9nyZ5ux
696Please respect copyright.PENANAsubkbzXbgo
Why? Not only because (as I already showed) those instances are leagues away from how rude Sasuke tends to be; but because fact is, the number of times when Sasuke just lets Karin do as she pleases and does not respond to her with any rudeness (even though in quite a few of those instances one could say he did arguably have reasons to do so) far outnumber them.696Please respect copyright.PENANAy4eZq4nsP7
696Please respect copyright.PENANAXkMa4kuY1C
As a matter of that, if one were to nitpick about either of them being rude to the other, Karin is rude to Sasuke way more often than Sasuke is rude to her (which, as I just showed, rarely if ever happens). On that light, Karin has also often addressed him with 'anta' and more than once with 'teme', which are both extremely rude. And what does he do when she snaps at him, insults him, and/or insults Suigetsu? Nothing. He indulgently lets her be without issuing a single complaint.696Please respect copyright.PENANASctes6UG5D
696Please respect copyright.PENANAnc9CkRA9is
I happen to believe this—which is constant, matters more than the couple of isolated instances where (normal) Sasuke's responses to Karin can be questioned. After all, it is the consistent and constant natures and overtones present in a dynamic those that shape it, rather than the exceptions.696Please respect copyright.PENANA8IxOFUfvZA
696Please respect copyright.PENANAhS6qqcfWAm
Lastly, after the big contrast between Sasuke’s behavior in 627 and his behavior in 631, I can’t tie this up without bringing it up again, because it’s a perfect summary of the point I’ve been making throughout this section.696Please respect copyright.PENANAEyICeFUfNH
696Please respect copyright.PENANAB3mCTyeQGd
When Sasuke apologized to Karin right away, without a moment’s hesitation, many were quick to jump up and assume that he would be delivering apologies left and right to his Konoha peers. In fact, his apology to Karin was dismissed—as if Sasuke were the type to apologize to people on a daily basis.696Please respect copyright.PENANAvoJ4fmeOfN
696Please respect copyright.PENANA4sky0zXTxk
Yet—nearly 50 chapters later, Sasuke has done anything but. When Konoha rightfully pointed out his wrong-doings, what they received was a blunt: “I don’t care what you think about me”.696Please respect copyright.PENANALZUUaY1h4A
696Please respect copyright.PENANALzhLSVSWGz
Which, again, serves to illustrate that if anything, Sasuke's usual behavior does nothing but highlight how interesting his behavior toward Karin is.696Please respect copyright.PENANAmxeMUBnYf9
696Please respect copyright.PENANAA5B2JidGcF
tl; dr To quote myself:696Please respect copyright.PENANA7iZofU0uPS
It’s precisely Sasuke’s usual behavior towards people that makes Sasuke->Karin stand out so much [to me]. Up to this point there has been lenience for Karin whereas there would’ve been “shut ups” and “stay out of my business” for anyone else. There’s partiality for Karin whereas there are warnings for Suigetsu. There are “you saved my life, Karin”s whereas there are “stand back, I don’t need your help” for Suigetsu and Juugo. There are “I’m sorry... Karin” whereas there are “I honestly don’t care what you guys think of me” for everyone else. There is an “I need you”s that he has not bothered to say to anyone else.
696Please respect copyright.PENANAJDKkUOeR6k
696Please respect copyright.PENANAlOyr2gM6oK
696Please respect copyright.PENANAYSXOFzIoRc
d) Sasuke rejected her from the start!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAY3IcVrUQYu
Well, what exactly did you want him to do? Allow her to kiss him right then and there? Are we talking about the same Sasuke? Sasuke isn’t comfortable with people invading his personal space, and he doesn’t usually respond kindly when people do it; besides, he has no experience whatsoever with women, and he has never shown any interest in anything related to the subject, either, because of his focus on vengeance.696Please respect copyright.PENANAuqGL1FbEz3
696Please respect copyright.PENANAOfUG4g4Khx
So had Sasuke reacted in any other way, the apocalypse would’ve come for sure.696Please respect copyright.PENANAmjGUJvJJLu
696Please respect copyright.PENANApJAi0JtlwH
But to address the statement more directly; yet again, this would hold some weight if the manga had stopped at chapter 348 (though not that much, because Sasuke didn't even look annoyed when he asked her to move back a little). But since it didn’t and we did get chapter 412 and chapter 415 (hello there, caring)—just to name the more blatant, non-arguable ones—this amounts to nothing.696Please respect copyright.PENANApMCOEUcVee
696Please respect copyright.PENANAfUYa5VhpUh
Because let’s face it: Sasuke wasn’t interested in love back then and he may not be interested in love now—but who says he won’t be some time in the future, once he has put his issues to rest? And that is where trivial stuff like this is worth nothing, and everything I’ve mentioned before is worth it all.696Please respect copyright.PENANA11Xoz0IosV
696Please respect copyright.PENANAAXcgV6zP9J
Because of all those things I’ve been talking about make Karin his perfect choice, and the girl he could develop feelings for more naturally.696Please respect copyright.PENANAgnpcCZ5LA5
696Please respect copyright.PENANAJpmcRuJP2s
Oh, by the way—technically, after 482 ‘he rejected her from the start!’ could not be further from the truth. Since as we now know, he actually smiled at her as he has never smiled at anyone before. So I would call that a very good start, actually.696Please respect copyright.PENANAEKJ75COLN5
696Please respect copyright.PENANACAChSCO8ze
e) Karin just has the hots for Sasuke and wants to ravage him, it’s nothing but lust and a shallow infatuation! She’s a perv!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAQ3Ub8XnOGk
Given the way, the "ravage" comment gets thrown around left and right, I'll start by addressing that. That was a mistranslation. Karin never said that she wanted to "ravage" Sasuke. And before you try to say that her original line amounts to the same thing: no, it doesn't. There is a clear difference between the harmless innuendo that is true to Karin's track-record and implying that she would rape him.696Please respect copyright.PENANA6m01GO5Fcw
696Please respect copyright.PENANAf56ghPou9A
That said: since when has being a little perverted been a crime in this manga, anyway? last time I checked, moments like these were meant to be lighthearted rather than belittling to the characters involved. Karin simply happens to be sexually attracted to the guy she loves. Big deal. Not like that's completely normal for a girl of her age, right?696Please respect copyright.PENANAl1rYFnUJgI
696Please respect copyright.PENANAFhGwiKguof
But why, Karin is turned on by Sasuke (and by him sucking on her chakra), and did once show that if she had the chance, she would like to 'attack' or make her move on him—a moment that, by the way, was added for something called comic-relief. Interesting, isn’t it? NaruSaku has Sakura’s tsundere tendencies, SasuNaru used to have their usual bickering, NaruHina has Hinata’s constant fainting and stuttering, LeeSaku had Lee’s boisterous approaches and Sakura’s reactions to them, and SasuKarin has Karin’s eccentricities.696Please respect copyright.PENANA8hy9lvebuY
696Please respect copyright.PENANADlpDFeYfR9
But that’s not all there is to it.696Please respect copyright.PENANAv7RWTVlYeZ
696Please respect copyright.PENANAXvOb6WRQ3A
Originally, I had written a long paragraph listing chapters and panels where Karin’s love for Sasuke could be blatantly noticed. But nowadays, I think this panel in Chapter 482 says it all (as by 'that face' she means Sasuke smiling and looking happy). If somehow that still isn’t enough for you, then I invite you to read this (and/or re-read the section on their development, since you’ve apparently missed a couple of things regarding Karin’s character). So, shallow? Mere infatuation? Karin’s feelings have been shown to be anything but. And as if this weren't clear enough as it is, we now have Karin's feelings for Sasuke being the trigger that awakened her dormant Uzumaki powers. (So I genuinely hope you will give this so-called argument a rest, once and for all—because trying to undermine the nature and strength of Karin's feelings for Sasuke is like beating a dead horse).696Please respect copyright.PENANASBT1r3BMRx
696Please respect copyright.PENANAZblwwmcF3S
So, while we have that in 2010 the manga pretty much confirmed in all but words that Karin doesn’t only like Sasuke, but that she is selflessly in love with him—for those who are fond of Databooks and the likes, we have that those that have featured Karin (Databook III: Sha no Sho, 2008 and Naruto Chronicles Minibook, 2009) describe her feelings for Sasuke as “suki” ("好き" - love/like) here and here, plus her feelings for him are also a vital part of her background.696Please respect copyright.PENANA4GGU3x9drc
- But even as Orochimaru's underling, Karin feels no obligation towards him. Karin still fulfills her duties out of affection for Uchiha Sasuke. Then Orochimaru dies, and Sasuke stands before her. She sees something in Sasuke... just what would that be...?696Please respect copyright.PENANAgEa2QExdLW
- Underneath a facade of aloofness and irritability, she bears a dangerous attraction towards Sasuke...
696Please respect copyright.PENANA2Dd4SeW4dd
696Please respect copyright.PENANASDIbBSWOkv
Bottom-line: no, Karin’s feelings for Sasuke aren’t just infatuation, and even less limited to lust. On that subject, her sexual attraction to him spawns from her genuine feelings for him. It’s a healthy combination if you ask me.696Please respect copyright.PENANAW4OGK9eqrP
696Please respect copyright.PENANAcyaheZLpmq
In fact, that much is proved by the triangular theory of love (psychology? Applied to my manga characters? wait, don't run away yet!), which is a theory of love developed by psychologist Robert Sternberg; in it, we see that:696Please respect copyright.PENANAJnZRv44vqV
Romantic love: Intimacy + Passion.696Please respect copyright.PENANARiiv2LZH4P
696Please respect copyright.PENANA4JcZl148nv
Where Intimacy: Encompasses feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness.696Please respect copyright.PENANAfdB3YpPpdO
696Please respect copyright.PENANA9fgCigcojX
And Passion: Encompasses drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation.696Please respect copyright.PENANAieAy48dKhm
696Please respect copyright.PENANAlqhNBE3cAu
Getting that Romantic Love bonds individuals emotionally through intimacy and physically through passionate arousal.
696Please respect copyright.PENANALm4VFlIcKf
696Please respect copyright.PENANAKNDiq9OU8h
So as you can see, far from being detrimental to the pairing (as some have insisted to claim) it definitely is a good and healthy combination; in fact, it’s perfect.696Please respect copyright.PENANA3uV3KKlux7
696Please respect copyright.PENANAHb7imL1Gxa
Also, while this manifesto focuses on canon aka the manga, I thought it was worth addressing that a common reason why people tend to feel this way about Karin is actually due to the way she has been portrayed in the Anime, so you can find a short post pointing out the filler scenes from the canon ones in the link.696Please respect copyright.PENANAr9bUn78Jsp
696Please respect copyright.PENANAyMRNwvzVKJ
f) Who cares! Karin said she’s over Sasuke, SasuKarin is dead!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAh3IjqwP5vx
Except that she never said she was over Sasuke. But I’ve already addressed this in ‘Sasuke’s Downfall’, so all I can add here is: feelings in Naruto do not disappear in the blink of an eye, not even after seemingly unforgivable things like stabs and betrayals. So if I were you, I would wait until Karin and Sasuke meet again to count the pairing out—especially if you’re taking that for granted only because you think Karin is over him.696Please respect copyright.PENANAHD8Ga1e3Ig
696Please respect copyright.PENANAroXWjTjACd
But on that light, if she were over Sasuke, do you really think she would have chosen to pull a stunt to the guards over having conflicting feelings for him, out of all things?696Please respect copyright.PENANAFC5XIU3uLD
696Please respect copyright.PENANA3Gl2bUuGOv
edit [in light of 627 (and 635 and 662, 663, 664, 667...)]; see? we told you not to jump the gun.696Please respect copyright.PENANAeZ9QJQ62hd
696Please respect copyright.PENANA7VzJ1SMQl3
g) So what! Karin is just a fangirl who doesn’t even know Sasuke!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAVKOxLXRM1L
A fangirl? No. She does not idolize Sasuke, and that alone separates her from the fangirl stereotype. As a matter of fact: Karin is a tsundere, something that by principle alone sets her —and her dynamic with Sasuke— apart from that of him and his fangirls (and of every girl that has liked him in the past, for none of them had been tsuntsun with him). (I recommend reading the above link; it's a much more condensed version of the point I'll be making here).696Please respect copyright.PENANA8QGnh0Hqeq
696Please respect copyright.PENANAuf9C8hUAtR
Especially considering that Kishimoto does have a fangirl stereotype; all of them pretty much behave the same way. And to demonstrate this as good as I can, I’ll illustrate it by making comparisons between Karin and established fangirls; mostly Sakura in her early stages (aka back when she was one god bless her development) for two reasons: a) she has the most panel time with Sasuke so it's unavoidable b) twelve-year-old Sakura is the character to whom Karin is compared the most.696Please respect copyright.PENANA5S1o9SikiQ
696Please respect copyright.PENANAPrdYdxVpFb
Let’s take a look, shall we?
696Please respect copyright.PENANArPAZ61RR02
When Sasuke says something they don’t agree with:696Please respect copyright.PENANAMEBJSfC3z6696Please respect copyright.PENANAtbhsQYMlOL
Fangirls are intimidated and hesitant to express disagreement with Sasuke, not wanting to wrong him; it takes dire situations for them to actually bring themselves to say the bitter truth to him. Karin couldn't care less, and she stands up to him in an every day basis.696Please respect copyright.PENANAkMNkqaYeeA
696Please respect copyright.PENANAxHjUupcBu2
The same happens when they don’t agree with Sasuke’s plan of action:696Please respect copyright.PENANAR7OxPFm1AQ696Please respect copyright.PENANA2hp6xi9mjE
696Please respect copyright.PENANATS0bQLHSBn
When Sasuke does something cool:696Please respect copyright.PENANALeijayjc5D696Please respect copyright.PENANAwizskFiBQx
Fangirls loudly squeal it for the world (and Sasuke) to know. Karin keeps it to herself.696Please respect copyright.PENANA4OVzituvQC
696Please respect copyright.PENANAz7bkPxJFqD
The same happens when Sasuke is about to go and kick some ass:696Please respect copyright.PENANAxen6jr54Kq696Please respect copyright.PENANAfapFZ0jPoH
696Please respect copyright.PENANAra8ylEL5yF
Or when they just found Sasuke cool for whatever reason:696Please respect copyright.PENANAeghTWfb2XY696Please respect copyright.PENANAja3HauxZLB
696Please respect copyright.PENANAroBRukZzT2
When mentioning any feelings for Sasuke:696Please respect copyright.PENANAVybW6csXUk696Please respect copyright.PENANAvpEf1y5E2k
Fangirls are happy to admit them. Karin adamantly denies them.696Please respect copyright.PENANAv3RJJ0VHiT
696Please respect copyright.PENANAhIUAUqFv38
When Sasuke gets beaten up:696Please respect copyright.PENANAI3pOhXsAih696Please respect copyright.PENANAVFiXtakp5i
Fangirls try to downplay his shortcomings and still give him praise. Karin points said shortcomings to his face.696Please respect copyright.PENANAZYcO0xMLaB
696Please respect copyright.PENANAIWcrS8ctfA
When they’re with Sasuke in public:696Please respect copyright.PENANAtkIW1TJpqb696Please respect copyright.PENANAbDALFCUAOI
Fangirls, you notice they're fangirls. Karin does not treat Sasuke any differently than she does everyone else.696Please respect copyright.PENANAOi05H5UN5q
696Please respect copyright.PENANAXXRkAphWQ2
Cheering Sasuke on?:696Please respect copyright.PENANAy6Sd9R1QqP696Please respect copyright.PENANASgEnogEeSm
Fangirls loudly do it. Karin is more focused on the enemy instead (lol)696Please respect copyright.PENANAdEbYwTqpg2
696Please respect copyright.PENANAS1LeyICEbE
When Sasuke, after being hurt, regains consciousness:696Please respect copyright.PENANAG0eQNHxrJp
696Please respect copyright.PENANAzbkBhAg0Zo
696Please respect copyright.PENANAvj6nXplcp8
See the sole similarity (meaning, that Karin also happens to think he’s cool—something that, by the way, she has only done three times so far) and the huge amount of differences? Fangirls have the following traits:696Please respect copyright.PENANAXEvZEMA1H7
- They openly praise Sasuke and every little thing he does.
- They try to make themselves look good and appealing in front of him; whether it’s physically (like going on a diet, growing their hair long) or inwardly (hiding their real thoughts, explicitly wanting to avoid making him angry at them).
- They're in awe of him and see him as someone who’s above themselves, and treat him as such instead of treating him with equality.
- They are focused on him to the point where that may even get in the way of their prowess.
- They’re more or less blind to his faults.
696Please respect copyright.PENANATzHk5PYVHV
696Please respect copyright.PENANACsPLvVzqJ5
Now, see why Karin cannot be considered your "usual" fangirl, and even less just a fangirl? Her personality and her behavior when around, and not around Sasuke differentiate her from Kishimoto's fangirl stereotype.696Please respect copyright.PENANAwkDOFf1UUn
696Please respect copyright.PENANAtaE1wsUXi2
I’ve seen some claim that since Karin doesn’t openly admit her feelings for him (like fangirls do), that makes her a hypocrite. And to those who claim that I have to ask, haven’t you ever seen a tsundere in your anime/manga watching/reading life? Because that’s just what Karin happens to be (even her databook entry describes her as "aloof and irritable" with 'tsun', the same as 'tsundere'. And she was outright described as a "glasses-gotta-go tsundere" in Rock Lee SD [manga by one of Kishi's assistants]). And when it comes to Sasuke, her ‘tsun’ (harshness, roughness) is not a façade; everything she says to him, she means. So there’s no hypocrisy there, her personality is genuine as she’s not afraid to show herself to him as she is, faults and all.696Please respect copyright.PENANAsTots2fqEh
696Please respect copyright.PENANAYDY6kkmUFv
What she feels though is a different matter, but she’s under no obligation to scream she loves him out to the world or to admit her feelings to anyone but him if she doesn’t desire to. She has no reason to wear her emotions on her sleeve; even less so since she knows that Sasuke has got no time for love right now.696Please respect copyright.PENANAawpIOfHEaa
696Please respect copyright.PENANAfQMCYYlVIf
Lastly, that brings me to the second claim. Karin does not know him? Uh, then how come Kishimoto used the Sasuke ‘Karin has known until now’ as the touchstone to contrast with Dark Sasuke? If you honestly believe that she doesn’t know him, you’re pretty much contradicting the mangaka… and guess who knows the characters better? Not to mention, back when Sasuke told Hebi that his objective was Uchiha Itachi? That’s right, Karin showed no surprise. And then when he spelled out to Danzou the truth of the Uchiha Massacre? That’s right, Karin showed no surprise again—meaning, she most likely knows even that [his motivations].696Please respect copyright.PENANAMOjvNSsiVC
696Please respect copyright.PENANA5rsUNruf8T
h) Suigetsu’s comments about SasuKarin are meaningless, he was just doing it to be a jerk!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAa85nE3zlis
… I thankfully haven’t actually come across anyone saying this myself, but I’ve heard that there are some that have. I can’t even pretend to take this claim (argument?) seriously either, so I will be blunt: Suigetsu is a jerk to Karin. He insults her and deliberately teases her about her feelings for Sasuke because he knows that will make her angry.696Please respect copyright.PENANA26JMcf6b26
696Please respect copyright.PENANAOMsaCHSa7p
And, well… Karin wasn’t around to hear him, nor in 567 nor in 574.696Please respect copyright.PENANAwiOc2Eyh7B
696Please respect copyright.PENANA7aE3UK9grz
So no, Suigetsu was not making those comments to be a jerk to anyone (only Juugo was around, and how do any of Suigetsu's comments about SK affect him in any way?); he was being honest and saying things as he sees them. And anyway, sure thing he wants to cockblock them, but how does Suigetsu basically admitting that he thinks Sasuke will fall for Karin’s advances equal he being a jerk? Hell, that's actually something I doubt he would acknowledge in front of Karin—because it is anything but insulting.696Please respect copyright.PENANAQAuFpUXNgy
696Please respect copyright.PENANAHVkQUOy1QH
So this 'argument' makes absolutely no sense.696Please respect copyright.PENANA9lNgjk7xSk
696Please respect copyright.PENANAzstMh4pFxA
i) Whatever! So what?! None of that matters anyway, because Karin and SasuKarin are just comic relief!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAI84SNeqN3G
696Please respect copyright.PENANAz9u6mRmRbU
Once pretty much all the arguments listed above backfired, many resorted to this one. That apparently, everything that has happened between them—Sasuke's behavior towards Karin, Karin's feelings for him, their dynamic, so on so forth—is meaningless and holds no weight because SasuKarin (and Taka) are just... comic relief.696Please respect copyright.PENANAnKydMijiZu
696Please respect copyright.PENANAMBXAFPunAi
I strongly disagree. And Kishimoto does, too, if the recent chapters have been anything to go by. So this is yet another argument that crumbles under its own weight.696Please respect copyright.PENANAgM4zEH1Ed2
696Please respect copyright.PENANA8sb7kagNws
Nonetheless: thinking that the humor that has always been present in Taka's dynamic somehow undermines their importance, or the depth of their bond, is missing the forest for the trees. Especially when it's well known that Kishimoto likes his humor; so the fact that he is able to deliver both, serious and comedic moments through Taka and SasuKarin is a really good thing. They're there to both complement and balance Sasuke; and Sasuke is quite a serious character on his own.696Please respect copyright.PENANAbT9E8XCnvc
696Please respect copyright.PENANAcDjxvyy2pL
Also, another thing that is worth clearing up —for it's often used to back up the "comic relief" claim — is that Kishimoto never said that he was forced to create Hebi / Taka, or that his editors created them. That misunderstanding spawns from a quote that was completely misconstructed; you can read about it in the link.696Please respect copyright.PENANASi01Lxql4p
696Please respect copyright.PENANA7sJCDaXa8J
j) Karin was all over Sasuke after a measly apology. What do you say to that, huh!?
696Please respect copyright.PENANAZNyUxDFxXp
I have a lot of things to say about that, actually. As I explained before, those who took Karin's line in 485 to mean that she was over Sasuke or that she would be moving on from him were either reading too much into it, or not taking into account Kishi's usual writing formula.696Please respect copyright.PENANAAjSOv0VpLr
696Please respect copyright.PENANAWOm85KDAzg
For better or for worse, Sasuke's wrong-doings have usually been pushed under a rug and no character does really demand any apologies out of him. That is why chapter 485 was so important; because it meant that Karin did hold Sasuke responsible for what he did and that he would have to make amends with her.696Please respect copyright.PENANA4Uzsn0u0Hs
696Please respect copyright.PENANAl33iL27dAt
Which is exactly what happened. As a matter of fact, what I was expecting —and hoping— of Karin (and Kishi) based on 485 was the following:
- For her to still be angry at Sasuke (and hopefully even smack him).696Please respect copyright.PENANADqILLUQzXj
- For her to give him a hard time and not accept to go with him until he has at least apologized to her.696Please respect copyright.PENANADuarz5a3WG
- For her to still be tsuntsun over him even after he has apologized to her - because a stab should not be let go of that easily.
696Please respect copyright.PENANAXslutUmt0I
And what did Karin do? The very first thing she did was scream bloody murder at Sasuke for what he did to her. So, she was indeed pretty angry still over what Sasuke did to her.696Please respect copyright.PENANA6doBaQhiLV
696Please respect copyright.PENANA3M35BDQRyQ
Then, she begins to yell that she would "never forgive him". In other words: she was about to give him a hard time and was obviously not going to be tagging along unless he showed some repentance.696Please respect copyright.PENANAReMbiPqhR3
696Please respect copyright.PENANAH85RzQR6qO
And that's when the twist comes: because Sasuke doesn't even let her finish. He apologizes to her right away. That is why there was no hitting, no prolonged yelling; because it was just not necessary. By making Sasuke apologize on his own, Kishimoto sped the 'give-Sasuke-a-hard-time-until-he-apologizes' process to all of 2 panels.696Please respect copyright.PENANABfqQpWu2Bw
696Please respect copyright.PENANAjh3s4SrJXi
But Karin's character itself, though? She still fulfilled all the criteria that her behavior post-stab had set up.696Please respect copyright.PENANAuXcA2snMAe
696Please respect copyright.PENANA03y1547ClG
Now, is an apology enough to make up for what he did to her? Not at all. And Karin is shown to know this herself (protip: she even calls him "shithead" in the original Japanese). As I (again) explained before: we see her struggling with herself in 627 for a reason. But the fact of the matter is that Sasuke's apology wasn't only a start, but the clearest sign of the fact that her Sasuke is either back or very close to being back. And we need to remember that if there’s someone who can have a pretty clear dividing line between the Sasuke she loves and the Sasuke he was in the Kage Summit and Danzou fight, that’s Karin. And this all is only heightened by the fact that she can sense chakra.696Please respect copyright.PENANA5gblMksBdZ
696Please respect copyright.PENANAoRI1Z7kSIl
So no, Karin going back to Sasuke after he actually apologized to her does not negate what I've been mentioning throughout the manifesto. And in fact, she was meant to sound angry still even while she was "all over him".696Please respect copyright.PENANAgQpCSLZyM5
696Please respect copyright.PENANAsj3hdnTSCw
k) Whatever! Sasuke's apology was half-assed and insincere anyway!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAGryXzI4k0o
Does Sasuke look like the type of guy who would apologize to someone just for shits and giggles? Does Sasuke look like the type of guy who would apologize at all, for that matter?696Please respect copyright.PENANAKMcirbUctt
696Please respect copyright.PENANANnDmVQQcuC
This was post-massacre Sasuke's very first apology to anybody during the course of the manga, and you want to undermine it by claiming that it was "insincere"? Never mind the fact that Karin can sense when people lie and wouldn't have been so moved had Sasuke's apology been anything other than sincere. Trying to undermine them is doing a disservice to Sasuke's character, implying that he is a big enough asshole as to not regret almost killing someone he obviously cares about.696Please respect copyright.PENANAJfqILMDxpE
696Please respect copyright.PENANAogvrxBFW7F
Now, Sasuke's wording in japanese not only demonstrates that his apology was indeed sincere. It also goes against the claim of it being "half-assed". As a matter of fact, when a member of NF joked that it was just some "light" apology and not at all "heartfelt", a native (and unbiased) Japanese speaker pointed out that no, that wasn't the case.696Please respect copyright.PENANAwXjEULqnrH
696Please respect copyright.PENANACMcDvAMLfH
And of course, after the indifference with which he addressed his old Konoha peers and the apologies he sure as heck didn't deliver on 631, Kishi's writer intent shines through and only highlights his apology to Karin.696Please respect copyright.PENANAk1L703xF2z
696Please respect copyright.PENANAXgZLcFUNsW
l) So what!? She disgusts him! The face he made on 627 said it all!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAt8FD1QBVFh
That Karin disgusts him? Going by 627 alone, if that were the case, I'd think Sasuke would have actually done something to try and get Karin off him. He did anything but, though.696Please respect copyright.PENANAM3B2SN21iE
696Please respect copyright.PENANAuzVdE4ouk1
So, disgusted? More like nervous.696Please respect copyright.PENANALfibr7mIhw
696Please respect copyright.PENANA6JcNApzAt1
696Please respect copyright.PENANA4OWQywAPEp
She is literally making him sweat. And there's a good reason for that, too. Sasuke starts sweating the moment Karin steps into the scene. He apologizes to her, yes; yet Karin continues to insult him, stomps over to him, and points out what he did to her. What us the readers (and Orochimaru. And Suigetsu. And pretty much anyone who is 100% aware of the fact that she is in love with him) see is that Karin is basically melting despite herself. What Sasuke, however, hears is that: a mere apology won't do and that she will tag along because she "has no choice" - as Orochimaru has asked her to.696Please respect copyright.PENANA5TlwXEBt0z
696Please respect copyright.PENANAgUVil4wZ1T
Add to all that the fact that Karin is mean to still sound pissed even as she is snuggling up to him, and it's fairly easy to get just why Sasuke is sweating and why he looks so nervous.696Please respect copyright.PENANAytwcvzi8TN
696Please respect copyright.PENANARzuXWLKWpN
He simply has no clue whatsoever what to expect from Karin. Because as far as he knows: she has not let him off the hook. And if you remember the kind of relationship dynamic that Kishimoto prefers, it's extremely telling that Karin made Sasuke lose his cool and make the only face of its kind that he has shown throughout Part II, without even trying.696Please respect copyright.PENANAzr5bwyGrlt
696Please respect copyright.PENANAUsnxCErDBD
m) I hate it anyway! Going back to Sasuke is a detriment to Karin's character!
696Please respect copyright.PENANAZA68srsm4o
This one is kind of repetitive because I've already addressed it in parts, but since I see this one a lot, I thought it wouldn't hurt to address it directly.696Please respect copyright.PENANA3f0fx4Yp4F
696Please respect copyright.PENANAY6qyCkpwWP
I've already addressed why "going back" to Sasuke does not undermine Karin's character. I've also already explained (and shown) that there never were any harmful nor damaging (emotionally or otherwise) dynamics between them. Quite the opposite. To quote what I wrote in the Manifesto's Conclusion: "The only negativity actually came during the arc Sasuke went Dark, which says a lot because it took him undergoing a radical change for the worse—forsaking his usual nature and becoming unlike the Sasuke Karin has always known—for there to be any in the pairing."696Please respect copyright.PENANAG5j3l72YGn
696Please respect copyright.PENANAKmfp2HhcHX
In other words (and this is what a lot of people seem to miss): Karin staying true to her love for Sasuke and giving him another chance is not detrimental for her character. Because this isn't "Darksuke" she is "going back to". This is her Sasuke; and as such, she isn't willingly putting herself on the receiving end of a dynamic that hurt her or affected her negatively.696Please respect copyright.PENANAfzdNAZZgvR
696Please respect copyright.PENANAfgctTsVOcC
The fact of the matter is: regardless of what your personal perception and opinion of SasuKarin might be, in canon nor Karin's feelings for the usual Sasuke nor her dynamic with him have ever been portrayed negatively by Kishi. Not once.696Please respect copyright.PENANAVx3ZLqncEs
696Please respect copyright.PENANA0aI2Y1rLUl
The Karin we know is smart, headstrong, hot-headed, assertive, authoritative, observant, and emotionally-strong. She is also feisty, foul-mouthed, sexually aware, and has her own moral compass. And her love for Sasuke does not keep her from being any of those things.696Please respect copyright.PENANAuSEJe6B7jm
696Please respect copyright.PENANAVHPLLUvTVW
Karin never holds any sides of her personality back from him, nor the good nor the bad. Her flaws are hers and hers alone; and as such, they are not aggravated by her feelings for Sasuke.696Please respect copyright.PENANAe5f6X1HcAu
696Please respect copyright.PENANAjO8zoRYqjP
She does admire Sasuke, but she does not idolize nor idealize him; her perception of him is not blinded to his flaws, and if anything Karin tends to call him out of them whenever she can.696Please respect copyright.PENANAmzk8aFQeZf
696Please respect copyright.PENANAuu8qZBzspB
To better illustrate my point: this is how Karin is around other characters (namely, Suigetsu, whom she is the nastiest to):696Please respect copyright.PENANAY8qQRn4Rux
696Please respect copyright.PENANAtrMATJiUJp
696Please respect copyright.PENANAZ16DrTEa9e
696Please respect copyright.PENANADjsb7cmPx9
And this is how Karin is around and towards Sasuke:
696Please respect copyright.PENANAmha5YMvswB
696Please respect copyright.PENANAV68X3nAKfA
696Please respect copyright.PENANANdZtHCFJH6
So loving Sasuke is no regression, because it has never negatively impacted her character progress. Hell, even when her advances don't meet the desired outcome all Karin does is scoff or sweatdrop. No side of her feelings for him have any negative emotional impact on her nor bring her down.696Please respect copyright.PENANAqky5Qs6J1Y
696Please respect copyright.PENANAJRZjYFaCrR
In fact, I'd argue they have done the opposite.696Please respect copyright.PENANAQpNuEOycEx
696Please respect copyright.PENANAoZK8ikpXWF
Karin does not trust others with the soft, lady-like sides of her personality; but she does trust Sasuke with them. This is positive right here. The most selfless acts that we have seen her shown so far have also been directly related to her feelings for Sasuke; putting her life in jeopardy for him and throwing aside any fear in order to courageously run to his aid, asking him to not kill Sakura, etc. Once again: positive.696Please respect copyright.PENANActtxEkAp1I
696Please respect copyright.PENANAvmKkWcUX8V
The strength she currently possesses? Her love for Sasuke was the catalyst for much of it. She fulfilled her duties under Oro for Sasuke; her desire to see him happy has been her drive all throughout; she awakened her dormant Uzumaki powers for Sasuke. Positive.696Please respect copyright.PENANAdVnmNjgzkB
696Please respect copyright.PENANAF8aqZ3fI3t
So no, being with Sasuke is not detrimental to her character. It never was.696Please respect copyright.PENANAkR9WORCBLR
696Please respect copyright.PENANA3INzzLChaU
By the way, another thing I noticed that antis loved to bring up is “Karin is in love with Sasuke’s chakra but not with him!” which is based on an anime-only moment, therefore filler, therefore not canon, therefore it’s absolutely meaningless. And I’ve already disproved any variation of it, anyway.696Please respect copyright.PENANAlNiv64QxGW
696Please respect copyright.PENANABceezHJtiM
The conclusion after going through all those claims? As you can see, most (if not all) of these are based on misconceptions, generalizations / selective reading, biased opinions—and, lately, also jumping the gun (which is at least more understandable, though not necessarily any more correct) but little to no veracity backs up any of those claims.696Please respect copyright.PENANAAm5LNfBJ3K
696Please respect copyright.PENANAo5OXj7Le0j
Next Section:
696Please respect copyright.PENANA8YPAIxgn3D
696Please respect copyright.PENANAdsjOM7eJhh
696Please respect copyright.PENANA5tS3IWrGS9
696Please respect copyright.PENANAwLoNYMAssn
Or, Return to the Index (comments go here as well).
TAGS:
ns216.73.216.176da2