Sakura Haruno: Blossoming Beyond Expectations

A fictional character from the Naruto manga and Anime series, Sakura Haruno, is a fierce Kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village and a part of Team 7. She is portrayed to be a character with excellent academic performance but lacks combat skills. However, she undergoes noteworthy character development and she is recognized as one of the greatest medical ninjas in the world.

Sakura possesses a number of abilities and powers that evolve as the show goes on.

•  Medical Ninjutsu: Sakura can heal even the most fatal of injuries. She has shown the ability to regenerate a missing section of a person’s body, extract poison and repair the damage caused by it. Sakura was able to prevent Naruto’s death by manually making his heart pump.
• Intelligence: Sakura is portrayed as a very intelligent Kunoichi and was noted to have perfect scores in all the tests in the Academy. It was for this reason that she was lobbed into Team 7 with the field inclined but academically inept Naruto and Sasuke for all of them to learn off of each other. She possesses an excellent memory and analytical skills to boot.
• Strength of a Hundred Seal: After Tsunade’s teaching, Sakura began amassing chakra into her forehead for over three years. This power, also known as the Byakugou was used by Sakura during the Fourth Great Shinobi War and is considered the absolute pinnacle of Chakra control. When this seal is activated, Sakura is able to put her body in a state where she heals itself and doesn’t need to stop to do so during combat and is unfazed by any injury.

Sakura has had a relatively normal childhood, unlike her compatriots of Team 7. However, this is not to say that she had an easy childhood, being self conscious about her large forehead and being bullied for the same. At the start of the series, we see her being utterly infatuated with the cold and stoic Sasuke and completely dismissive of the young bratty Naruto. However after learning of Naruto’s hardships she grows protective of him and even vows to kill Sasuke when their village was at risk.

Sakura grows to be a force to be reckoned with after extensive apprenticeship under the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, training to become a medical ninja.In the war against the Akatsuki, Sakura participates as a medical ninja and summons Katsuyu, the slug, to the battlefield. She requests him to split and attach himself to all the injured to heal them.

Sakura is also very proficient in combat and it is most apparent in her fight with Kaguya along with Naruto and Sasuke where her signature strength led to the removal of one of Kaguya’s horns and her being sealed away.

The Naruto series sees a tremendous transformation in Sakura Haruno’s personality. Sakura is first seen as a shy and insecure girl, but she develops into a strong, driven, and kind person throughout time. Possessing a strong sense of determination and perseverance, Sakura works hard to improve her combat skills to become a skilled ninja.

Act like Sakura

• Be compassionate: Show off Sakura’s kindness by putting other people’s needs, especially those of your friends and teammates, first. Provide assistance and motivation to individuals who need it, and exhibit compassion for their challenges.
• Embrace determination: Channel her passion and her determination especially when you face any difficulties or challenges, and know that this, too, shall pass.
• Express Intelligence: Sakura is an intelligent character. She is known for her analytical problem solving, making sure you embrace the intelligence and make decisions and solve problems logically.

Costume Guide

Sakura’s outfit when she was first introduced portrays her status as a student training to become a ninja. She is seen wearing a short sleeved red qipao-style dress with white trim along the edges, accompanied by black shorts. It is a simple, yet incredibly iconic outfit and the colors make her stand out, as well.

Get the outfit here:
Sakura original outfit (1)
Sakura original outfit (2)

In Shippuden, Sakura’s outfit depicts her growth as a ninja. The slight changes made to the outfit perfectly represents how Sakura is still Sakura, just stronger and more mature now, and is obviously ever ready to kick some ass. Her Shippuden outfit consists of a red top of the same design as the original version, a pink-apron skirt with black shorts underneath. She is also seen wearing black gloves and a knee-high pair of boots.

Sakura shippuden outfit (1)
Sakura shippuden outfit (2)
Sakura shippuden outfit (3)
Sakura shippuden outfit (4)

Sakura is a character not only attractive, but also intelligent and strong. Definitely a character worth cosplaying. So grab your Sakura costumes and dye your hair pink (or wear a wig) for your next cosplay event!

“I also want to become like all of you… everyone… this time, please oversee my back!”
「私もアナタたちみたいになりたい……みんな…今度は私の後ろ姿を―…しっかり見ててください！」
Watashimo anatatachimitaini naritai minna kondowa watashino ushirosugatawo shikkari mitetekudasai

– Sakura Haruno, Naruto Shippuden