Why is Sakura more liked in Boruto than in Naruto?

Boruto brought a lot of changes to the characters in Naruto’s Shinobi World, key among them being a complete rebranding for Sakura. This once despised pink-haired Kunoichi went from being one of the most hated and criticized characters in the franchise to one of the best mothers and ninjas in Konoha.

On the surface, Sakura’s character only grew older, as she is still the same hot-headed Kunoichi that she used to be. So what exactly did Boruto do to change the public perception of Sakura?

Continue reading to learn more about how Boruto transformed Naruto's most-hated female character to one of the most respected ones.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s opinion and contains spoilers for both Naruto and Boruto. Sportskeeda does not claim ownership of any media used in the article unless otherwise specified.

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How did Boruto fix the issues that Sakura had in Naruto?

Why was Sakura so hated in Naruto?

Sakura as seen in the original series (Image via Studio Pierrot)

One of the most iconic parts about Naruto was the wide array of characters who comprised the show. While not all of them were equally important to the plot, most of them were either useful enough to be remembered or were otherwise assigned side roles in the story.

Sadly, for the first half of the show, Sakura was neither useful nor a side character. She was always around during the most important moments of the series, often hiding or complaining about the situation of Team 7. When she was not being a hindrance during missions, she was fangirling over Sasuke or violently attacking Naruto for no apparent reason.

Her role in Team 7 was never truly defined (Image via Studio Pierrot)

After Sasuke betrayed Konoha, Sakura’s behavior only got worse, with her being constantly depressed by the Uchiha’s departure. Her violent outbursts towards Naruto became more frequent, to the point that even those fans who used to find them funny stopped liking them.

Then came the timeskip, and with it came a more mature Sakura. She managed to fight and defeat a member of Akatsuki, and her teamwork with Naruto was amazing. Her personality also became more calm and collected, unlike the oblivious girl that she used to be.

Unfortunately, her behavior started to revert back when she saw Sasuke again in Shippuden. Her obsession with the Uchiha returned stronger than ever alongside her aggressive personality. All the progress that she had made during the beginning of Shippuden went down the drain. This resulted in fans starting to despise her once more.

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How did Boruto fix her character?

Boruto gave many forgotten and irrelevant characters from Naruto a chance at redemption. One such character was Sakura, who went from being a hot-headed Kunoichi who was sidelined most of the time, to one of Konoha’s most prominent figures and an amazing mother.

While her love for Sasuke never subsided, she now knows that there are more important things in life, like her job or her daughter. She still gets angry from time to time, but understands how to focus her anger to protect those precious to her.

Sakura is a much more likeable character now (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Sakura is also considered the best medic ninja in the whole Shinobi World, a worthy student of Tsunade and the head of Konoha’s hospital. Ever since her first moments in Boruto, Sakura has proven how much her character has evolved.

Since the focus of Boruto is often on the new generation of Shinobi, Sakura does not appear as often as before. It can be speculated that owing to these sparse appearances, fans were given a chance to miss the character and therefore forgive her mistakes in the series quicker.

Sakura as seen in the sequel (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The change in the perception of Sakura was also aided by the many stellar moments that have been accorded to her in Boruto, key among them being her fight against Shin Uchiha.

In that clash, she was not a damsel of distress waiting for Naruto or Sasuke to help her. Instead, she came across as someone who could fight her own battles and win. The fact that she did all this to protect her daughter only made fans appreciate her character more.

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Final thoughts

Sakura is a great example of how to fix a character (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Sometimes, all a bad character needs to stop being despised by audiences is a new beginning. This was the case for Sakura, one of Naruto’s most hated characters who managed to redeem herself across a couple of episodes in Boruto.

Her obsession, her temper and her lack of usefulness in Naruto were completely rewritten by the writers of Boruto. They also gave her a more mature personality and a more collected demeanor.

While she may not be Boruto’s main character and appears far less frequently than she used to, Sakura has improved massively when compared to her former persona.