Masashi Kishimoto’s underutilization of Sakura’s abilities is also tied to his nerfing of the character when it comes to her genjutsu prowess in Naruto.

SUMMARY

Sakura remains one of the most hated characters in Naruto.
Despite her prowess in Genjutsu, Kishimoto failed to charter Sakura Haruno’s kage-level abilities.
Kishimoto has a history of squandering his characters’ potential including Kurenai and her Genjutsu prowess.

Despite its sheer popularity and acclaim, Naruto has an incorrigible blot. This is especially true with the female characters and their underutilized potential. But what ticks off the fans after decades is the incessant nerfing of female characters.

Be it Kurenai or Tenten, Kishimoto has severely failed his female characters. What’s more disappointing is that most of his characters harbor great potential. This holds especially true with Sakura and her Kage-level abilities.

Sakura Haruno in a still from the Shippuden series | Credit: Studio Pierrot

As a protégé of Fifth Hokage Tsunade Senju, her feats are often overlooked. Before her path to glory, the Team 7 member’s proficiency in Genjutsu is taken for granted.

To make it worse, Kishimoto nerfed one of her potent skills in the series which could’ve made her unparalleled. Her excellence and prowess coupled with her underutilized abilities point to the mangaka’s squandering of his characters’ potential.

Sakura’s kage level- skill was badly nerfed in Naruto

It is a known fact that Sakura is one of the most hated characters in Kishimoto’s series. Despite being a pivotal member of Team 7, her victories and triumphs were looked on for decades including her character development.

As Tsunade’s protege, she displayed immense growth throughout the series. That, however, isn’t all considering her wit and intelligence as a kunoichi which is often underplayed.

Team 7 defeating Kaguya Otsutsuki in the Shippuden series | Credit: Studio Pierrot

In Naruto, she displays resistance to genjutsu during the Chunin Exams Arc. Not only that, she is immune to Infinite Tsukuyomi which is one of her greatest feats. Apart from being a skilled medical-nin, she is truly formidable in Taijutsu.

As one of the strongest female characters in the series, her chakra prowess and understanding are unmatched. This also goes beyond her abilities as a medical ninja. Most fans would vouch for her lethality when it comes to genjutsu.

Several Redditors discussed her potent skills as a Genjutsu user and it is spot-on.

Unbeknownst to fans, she excels in both ninjutsu and taijutsu. And while she holds proficiency in Genjutsu, it isn’t explored fully. Her excellence and intelligence are traits that aren’t charted well throughout the series.

Moreover, this points to the mangaka’s incessant squandering of his characters’ potential. This is especially true for most of his female characters along with side characters.

Masashi Kishimoto and the incessant squandering of potential

Call it a case of bad writing or wasted characters, Masashi Kishimoto isn’t the best at charting his characters’ potential. But again, he has also given us some of the most incredible side characters. No one is as adept as Kishimoto when it comes to layered characters.

But when it comes to female characters, it falls flat completely. This holds especially true with the case of Kurenai. Of all the characters in the series, Kishimoto wasted a genjutsu prodigy through his portrayal of the character.

Shikamaru protects Kurenai in the Shippuden series | Credit: Studio Pierrot

Since the very beginning of the series, Kurenai Yuhi was established as a genjutsu prodigy. Her mastery of the jutsu made her a skilled and proficient user to be reckoned with. Ultimately, it proved to be a farce for the character when she was nerfed to highlight Itachi Uchiha’s mastery.

This also ties well with her character’s treatment in both Shippuden as well as the sequel. Her being reduced to Asuma’s lover is a mere mockery of her character and her caliber.

Moreover, the squandering of female characters along with side characters is what proved to be a losing game for Kishimoto. As a celebrated series, it failed most characters through nerfing and squandering of potential.