Naruto: Does Sakura have a mental illness? Bizzare theory explained

Naruto introduced a few main characters for readers and the audience, each with unique characteristics. While the protagonist was seen as a highly energetic naive boy, Sasuke was depicted as a loner and quiet student on a single mission.

However, despite being introduced as the main character, Sakura did not sit right with many fans.

Over the years, Sakura became a controversial character within the community due to her arrogance, behavior, skills, and, most importantly, her role in the story. She garnered so much hate that the community started coming up with wild theories regarding Sakura.

However, some significant hints in both manga and anime support the theory, which claims that Sakura Haruno might have a mental illness.

The following article isn't meant to spread any hate for the character but to break down specific hints left by the author that can prove this theory.

Disclaimer: This article is subjective and relies solely on the writer's opinion. The theories mentioned here are based on events that happened in the show.

Sakura's traits might be leading to several concealed mental illnesses in Naruto

First, readers should be acquainted with specific events that led to the fanbase creating these theories. One of the most infamous cases was Sakura's obsessive nature toward Sasuke and her terrible attitude toward Naruto. She was portrayed later on as someone who became dependent on others.

While most anime-only audiences might not be aware of this, the way adult Sakura has been drawn to specific scenes has led many to believe that she might suffer from depression. Her face looks stressed and hurt compared to any other character in the show.

As mentioned earlier, Sakura used to obsess over Sasuke, referred to as OLD (obsessive love disorder). Moreover, her love for Sasuke came out of nowhere, as Team 7 did not spend much time together to become friends, let alone lovers.

On the other hand, Sasuke did not care about her at all, making her one-sided love worse when she kept obsessing over him. This same obsession seemed to turn into depression after 15 years when Sakura had a family with Sasuke and their only child.

Sasuke putting Sakura under Genjutsu (Image via Pierrot)

In a specific manga panel, when Sarada asked if Sakura was Sasuke's wife, she had a mental breakdown and completely broke down their house. While this was depicted more comically in the anime, her face was shown to be more severe in the manga.

Sakura's reaction after Sarada's question (Image via Naruto)

Hence, it can be deduced that Sakura's mental stability has not been the greatest ever since the beginning of Naruto. Her past obsession with Sasuke seems to have led to the current depressing episodes.

Additionally, her dependent nature during her teenage days hinted at DPD (dependent personality disorder), which she might have recovered from.

Readers should note that these are just theories based on events depicted in the source materials. While each character in Naruto has some unique and powerful traits, there are many positive things about Sakura that can be said.