APRIL 12TH, 2013 · 30 NOTES 545Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFDpDnzW9x
SASUKARIN KARIN'S CHARACTER FYSK: LAP FYSK: POINTERS MISCONCEPTIONS THE MORE YOU KNOW MANGA
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ON KARIN’S FEELINGS FOR SASUKE, AND HOW IT WAS EASY TO TELL SHE WAS NOT ‘OVER HIM’
tl;dr version: because Kishi never did actually imply that she was. People just read too much into her 485 dialogue and jumped the gun. And, well… we all know how feelings work in this manga, for better or for worse.
First of all, we have her 485 line, which was nowhere near as decisive as the english translations made it sound.
Moreover:
Karin’s first reaction was to worry over Sasuke overexerting himself. Much like, even when she was bleeding out on the floor, she never stopped being concerned for him, asking him to stop from killing Sakura. And even before this, when Sakura is crying, what does Karin think of her as?
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‘You’re the enemy’, she thinks, but Konoha is Karin’s enemy simply because she is associated with Sasuke. Meaning, directly post-stab, Karin had not yet been able to separate herself from Sasuke or to stop from regarding herself as his teammate. Which is understandable, given how fresh everything was and how quickly it all went down.
This changes in 485, when her mind steps in and, as per usual, triumphs over her feelings. But Karin’s 485 line was never about her getting over Sasuke. It was about her deciding that enough was enough, and that she wasn’t about to let what he did slide—especially when she was dealing with a Sasuke who was “the complete opposite of the Sasuke she has known until now”.
She was not going to put up with that Sasuke. For all she knew, the Sasuke she loves, her Sasuke was gone. All that was left was an unknown madman who had no qualms in nearly getting her killed.
And then in 487, it turns out that might not be the case, after all:
Naruto does reach Sasuke. The old Sasuke was in there somewhere, and Karin reacts to this.
Next time we get Karin’s inner thoughts, she is thinking about Naruto—and how he is the opposite of Sasuke. He’s still at the forefront of her mind.
Then, when we see Karin in the interrogator’s room, what do we find?
Rather than putting up an act, she could have saved herself the trouble and simply given them the information they were asking for. She could have simply ratted Sasuke out (he had it coming, he deserved it)—yet, we never saw her do it.
Lastly, nearly 100 chapters later, 574 pretty much confirmed what the core of her conflict is: she is pissed as hell over what Sasuke did to her—but her feelings for him have not gone anywhere. They never did. Everything Kishi showed up to that pointed implied the opposite of that.
So Karin still loving Sasuke is hardly an ‘ass-pull’, or something done for the kicks - and much less just comedic relief.
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