This essay is for my peeps at NMR, NF, and Fanfiction.net. You ordinary friends are probably not geeky enough to read it. XD
Good for you...seriously! You've saved yourself....
The Problem with Shikamaru and Temari: An Objective Assessment
Introduction
First, I will explain what this essay is not. This essay is not meant to disprove its canon status. The pairing is, as far as I’m concerned, established by the bumbling subtleties of Kishimoto. Shikamaru has not shown any interest any one else and they had the exact same pose as the infamous “Asuma and Kurenai” date when first run into them in part 2. However, their reaction was quite different from Asuma and Kurenai’s. Asuma and Kurenai acted embarrassed, whereas Shikamaru and Temari acted perfectly calm and gave a valid excuse when Naruto asked if they were on a date. Therefore, it is safe to assume they weren’t actually on a date. However, I will still take the hint.
This essay is not to establish any other pairings, as I think that Ino and Shikamaru have absolutely no interest in each other either and no one else will suffice.
I will also add this disclaimer: I have no preference. I don’t care about pairings one way or another. In fact, I despise the whole pairing debate and generally stay as far away as possible from them as I can. But because Shikamaru is my favorite character, I have analyzed nearly every facet of his character. This being one of the biggest aspects of his character has lead me to give this pairing some thought, especially since I delved in to the dubious grounds of Fanfiction.
My questions on the validity of this pairing rose from my desire to keep my stories as realistic as possible, while maintaining as many elements that I believe Kishimoto added for each character. If it seems that a character has been set to fulfill a certain duty, for example Sakura as a medic, then I’m not going to change that. (For example, I will not make Hinata a medical ninja. Why? Because she’s not one, period.) If it seems that two people are destined to be a couple I would include it.
If Kishimoto wants something, then I believe it is up to me to deliver whatever it his he wants while I borrow from his splendid world in my writing. In that sense, I am a purist and it is from this purist mentality that I write most of my fanfiction (although I do add some things here and there culturally just for fun).
As I said, Shikamaru is my favorite character so I wove him into all of my stories, even as a secondary character. In each of those stories, I considered the possibility of ShikaTema because it seems central to him as a character. (Note: none of my stories are romances. They all have romance in them but it is not central.) However, even though I had enough leeway to do whatever I wished, even placing them in high school, I tried to remain as faithful to the realities of their world as I could. After all, what’s the fun in writing about ninjas when I’m going to place them in high school?
That is when I began to run into problems.
The object of this essay is to present the difficulties such a pairing produces and to challenge fanfiction writers as well as those of the fandom to present rational, well-thought out reasons for this pairing’s viability.
This will add to the overall realism and quality of the stories, arguments, and even art present for this pairing.
EDIT:
I no longer "support" this pairing. Not only have I completely convinced myself against it with this essay (the irony), I decided I didn't care what the author wanted or not. I will follow my preference. However, this essay will still be respectful to those who want the pairing to take place. After some deliberation, I decided only to add this disclaimber as I really haven't really proven anything conclusive, only that to make this pairing realistic, Kishi has his work cut out for him.
Life as Shinobi
One thing to consider is the realities of a life as shinobi. Depending on the village, each of these elements vary but they all hold true, even in the more liberal Konoha. They do not have the same mindset, rules, life styles, or even right as we do. They are -from their infancy- owned by their village. Let us look at the details.
1. Duty to the village and mission comes first
2. You are a tool of your village
3. Age of adulthood and responsibility, mortality rate
4. Children as investments
5, Economy
- Emotions as secondary elements. Emotions are considered secondary elements to shinobi, to the extent that many villages try to completely dispense of them all together. If the individual is nothing but a tool, then having emotions is an unnecessary accessory. Even worse, emotions may completely detract an individual from doing his duty. Not all emotions are constructive. After all fear, insecurity, rebellion, and rage are all emotions that can distract a shinobi from his work. Although Konoha is a little more liberal than most, their shinobi are expected to put their emotions aside in times of necessity, as in the middle of missions.
- All shinobi are duty bound to their village. This duty goes far beyond the work itself. The shinobi is not allowed to leave their village or even retire without express permission of their leader. If they leave without this permission, they are labeled traitors and put to death. In more lenient cases, they are dragged back kicking and screaming. It is interesting to note that Yamato said of Sasuke’s case, “Ok, it’s time to get serious. After all, he’s a rogue ninja who left his village. He’s no different from Orochimaru.” When Lady Tsunade heard of Danzou’s plot to use Sai to assassinate Sasuke, she said, “I never liked him…but he thinks of the village first…” She wasn’t angry at him for trying to eliminate (read: kill) Sasuke as a future threat, she was angry at him for sharing valuable information with their mortal enemy. There is a sense that even Sasuke, the darling of team 7, will not get lenient treatment once he returns, if you read between the lines, despite what most of the fandom thinks. In other words, once you’re born in to village, you belong to the village. This is especially true if you graduate and become a shinobi, which is in essence a solider of a military force.
- This point is connected to the previous. The individuals are not seen as human, in the strict sense of the word. They are tools. Each shinobi is a resource that can be used by the village to make money through missions and wage war in times of need.
- The age of responsibility is much lower for them than it is for us. They enter the workforce at age thirteen and are made full-fledged adults about the age of sixteen (speculation). This is probably to counteract their ridiculously high mortality rates. It seems that it is a rare thing for most shinobi to live to past the age of thirty.
- The village spends untold amounts of money educating a child from the age of six to become shinobi. It seems they supply weapons, books and other office supplies, instruction, jounin instructors after genin graduation (you don’t think Kakashi and Gai are being paid?), and uniforms for orphans. Also, in the cases of orphans, they pay for room and board. This isn’t out the goodness of their hearts. This is an investment they will pay back after graduation by going on missions. It is also interesting to note that most children don’t graduate. If Naruto’s graduation class is any indication, less than half of all academy students make it to the genin stage. Since twelve teams were formed by Iruka of Naruto’s graduating class, but only three passed on to become true genin, it seems the graduation rate is about one in four. That is a seventy-five percent failure rate. Presumably, the failures are the many civilians that populate Konoha and other villages and provide basic necessities and services.
- Despite what Kishimoto wrote, that he wanted to create a world that was ‘free of capitalism,’ the shinobi system is capitalistic. Although they are the military force for their country, they finance themselves, unlike most military forces that are financed by taxes. This gives them a sense of autonomy and makes them a quasi-independent state with its own governmental procedures and policies. From what we have seen, the Villages can wage war and form their own treaties without permission from the Feudal Lord. Although how that would change the status with their real country’s leaders, the Feudal Lords, has not been touched. What does that make the shinobi? Well, as we have seen, the village has already spent a great deal of money to educate them, has a ridiculously high fail rate, and see the future genin as an investment. That makes each shinobi a valuable source of income, especially since they will not only be paying back for their own expenses, but also the expenses of the three others in their class who did not graduate, as well the livelihood of the village itself. The loss of even one shinobi prematurely will result in a loss of income due to the money lost educating him as well as the loss of profits the shinobi will produce.
Allies and Treaties
Treaties and alliances are a tricky thing between Villages. Technically, all villages who participate in the general chuunin exam, which is a ritualistic battle, are allies. However these alliances are precarious, based on mutual interests and can be changed at any point. These alliances do not include:
1. Exchanging secrets
2. Visiting allied towns without permission (It is interesting to note that Shikamaru gave a reason for Temari’s presence. “A date? Not a chance. She’s here for the chuunin exams…”)
3. Disclosing internal problems
Close Allies?
However, the alliance between Konoha and Suna is different. The leader of Suna, the Kazekage, is on very friendly terms with the Konoha. A future Hokage hopeful, Naruto, is one of his best friends, etc. Would this change the fundamental nature of the treaties? Despite what Chiyo said, yes but no.
The only thing that has changed is the fundamental nature of the treaty. The treaty is now based on trust and mutual friendship, instead of being an opportunistic and tenuous alliance. For example, Suna would not fear an attack from Konoha if they were to be weakened because Konoha is a true ally and visa versa. This may eliminate option 3, but it would not eliminate all the rules and regulations between villages.
Despite the fact that they are on friendly terms, they are still two distinct villages. Shinobi from Suna can’t just waltz on into Konoha at any moment for any reason. The same goes for Konoha shinobi. In order for them to visit each other’s villages, a reason must be given. This is to regulate the amount of information that comes in and out of the village, and minimize the chance of spying.
We can surmise this is still the case is because of what we’ve seen in the manga.
1. Shikamaru gave a reason for Temari being there.
2. Shikamaru was given the job of escorting her.
3. Temari leaves as soon as her job was complete
4. Team Kakashi arrived to help with Suna permission.
5. In part 1, when Naruto and co. first run into the siblings. Sasuke asked, “What are foreign shinobi doing here?”
a. A reason for being there (chuunin exams) was readily given
b. Papers were presented.
Unless something changes, like in future chapters if Naruto asks, “Where’s Shikamaru?” and Tsunade were to say, “He’s in Suna on vacation” there is no reason to believe this basic reality between villages has changed in any way.
Another basic reality that has not changed between villages is the exchange of secrets. Sakura’s help in making an antidote for Kankuro was no exchange of secret jutsu. If anything, Sakura was merely assisting Chiyo with what they were already doing. Neither was Naruto’s status as Jichuuriki too shocking, since it was given to the person who sealed off Gaara’s biyuu in the first place. As far as the rest of Suna, besides the Sand Siblings, maybe Baki, and a few in power, Naruto is just a goofy ninja who is Gaara’s friend. There is no new puppet corpse of Konoha, no fan-wielding kunoichi wearing the Leaf’s Emblem, or shadow jutsu users in Suna. In short, all jutsu unique to their respective villages stay in their respective village.
Also, this alliance is dependant on the winds of time. Friendship today, in the course of history, could end with war tomorrow. Despite the strong friendship between Gaara and Naruto, there is no guarantee that the friendship between countries would last after their death or retirement. No matter how hopeful and naïve, councils from each country would not be fool enough to share secrets now, under the climate of peace, that may make them vulnerable in the future.
Edit due to new information 11.25.09
Temari as Ambassador
( Read more... )
Clans and Family
Despite the fact that we don’t see much indication of this in Suna, clans are a very important aspect of life in Konoha. Almost all clans have their own secret techniques, a patriarch or matriarch, and even land reserved for that clan. These clans are based on either secret techniques or bloodlines.
Their secrets are jealously guarded and not even disclosed with other members of their village. Someone who is not of the Nara clan cannot learn shadow jutsu, cannot read their medical files without permission, and presumably cannot trample on to their land without permission as well.
Since they are so tight lipped with their own Village, why would they allow someone from another village to marry in to the family?
The forgetfulness of fanfiction
Those who write fanfiction and belong to the fandom in general tend to forget these points. It is not surprising since the age group for this particular fandom is young. It seems that the average age for fanfiction writers is 14 – 21, just young enough for their head to be filled with the sort of romantic fluff that leads to disappointment later on in life.
Not only do they forget the previous points, but they also ignore the logical conclusions such points would lead.
It is no surprise, since most fanfiction writers don’t attempt to question village/feudal lord dynamics, their political structure in general, or the impact their world-view would have on their lives. I will go as far as saying that most fanfiction writers don’t even write about Kishimoto ninjas (as opposed to traditional ninjas), they write soap operas about people who pretend to be ninjas.
Required p.1
As I explored the possible relationship of Shikamaru and Temari, certain questions came to mind that must be resolved in order to make a believable romance. These questions arose as I looked at their relationship through the lens of their world.
Under what conditions would a Village (presumably Suna) give up their shinobi in marriage to another village?
Which village would claim the children of such a union?
Where would they live?
How would you maintain sensitive village secrets of either partner? In other words, how would you stave off the suspicion of espionage?
How would such a couple court?
And the most important of all, which village is more willing to give up a valuable tool and source of income?
In a superficial sense, these questions are easy enough to answer for those who are slavishly devoted to this paring. Question one: if they’re in love. Question two and three: Konoha. Question four: most in fandom wouldn’t even think of this. Question five: visiting (duh?). Question six: um…same as question four.
Personal Problems
The questions relating to their general lives as shinobi should present some problems with the future of such a union, but there is one problem cannot be overlooked. And there is one very serious problem with their relationship: distance.
It has been established that it takes three days to travel from Suna to Konoha. This is three days of almost non-stop travel at their most frantic pace, which entails jumping through the forest and expelling chakra. Taking the more common rout, using the roads and walking, would take a week or more.
From what we have seen about the realities of their job, it is highly unlikely they could simply visit. Let’s see what would impede a simple visit:
- Duty to Konoha/Suna in terms of missions and jobs
- The bureaucracy involving visits (permission and papers needed)
- There is also the number of days required for a simple visit – six days for travel and one day to visit – at least.
The realities of distance
Even if Shikamaru or Temari were given a two-week vacation once a year, this may not be enough to maintain a relationship, much less begin one. Their chuunin exams last about three days. If we are generous and give both Temari and Shikamaru a two week vacation, and we assume they will use this vacation time to visit each other, taking off time for travel (six days each), that would cut down their visiting days to about two weeks total, plus the six days of chuunin exams, it makes it a total of 22 days a year and these days are sparsely spaced throughout the year.
But this is looking at it through American lenses. Let us examine the Japanese culture of work ethic and vacation time and how it would affect our assessment.
Japanese work ethic and culture.
Naruto is based off Japanese culture and so it would follow that their work ethic and traditions would follow the Japanese standard. After doing some research, things looked bleak at first. Not only is there a strong emphasis in Japanese culture to group dynamics and work ethic, there is almost no mention of vacation time. But it would be silly to think the Japanese don’t take vacation. They do. And this article by the Guardian is very informative:
Japanese workers take, on average, only half the 18 days of paid holiday they are entitled to, according to the government. The result is overworked employees - most of them men - who find themselves chained to their desks when they should be at home looking after their family ... or at least starting one.
If 18 days are given to Temari and Shikamaru a year then that doesn’t sound too bad. Given that it takes six days to travel (at least!) that is twelve days each, twenty four days total, and thirty days a year if you include the chuunin exams. A month, which doesn’t sound bad at first, until one consideres that it is a month split into four parts and that six of those days are spent in the hustle and bustle of the chuunin exams.
This is how their schedule looks like with thirty days a year split every three months: a week a-half, followed by three days of sporadic time, followed by another half a-week, followed by another three days of a sporadic, hectic schedule.
This schedule isn’t so bad, after all, if they’re strong enough. They could wait every three months to see each other without too much complaint. That is to say if they actually take their full vacation time. From what we see in the article, Japanese people don’t.
A foundation of sand
But there are several things that I hope an intelligent reader has picked up on. Namely, the amount of time spent together is based on the sandy foundation of assumptions.
The first is that they are allowed vacation time at all. There is no reason to believe that they are. There is no indication of vacation time anywhere in the story. No one has every taken a vacation, mentioned a vacation, or even hinted that they are taken. Sure, they’ll take a break during a mission and stop at a hot springs, but never has anyone left the village for a “time off.”
This means one of two things. The first is that it is a given. Why would you mention something like that? It’s rather mundane. But the problem with that mode of thinking is that Kishimoto shows us the mundane. He shows us bored shinobi watching the gates, eating, sleeping, and even restroom usage. He doesn’t seem to shy away from humanizing his characters. Time off is a way to humanize them. But strangely enough, when time off is taken, it is during a mission. The second Sasuke retrieval arc showed them stopping at a hot springs and the Tsunade search arc showed Naruto at a festival. Both of these cases of rest and recreation are while they’re out on a mission.
The second is they simply don’t take vacations. At first that may seem strange, but if you look at the reality of their job, it really isn’t. The fact is they don’t have a set schedule as most people of the work force. Their job is sporadic. They may work for several days or weeks straight while on a mission, and then have a small amount of downtime between missions, ranging from a day to weeks. This alternating schedule of downtime and work would help them unwind enough, even with their high-stress work, so they don’t actually need a vacation.
But that “downtime” is not a set time. There is no guarantee it would be long enough to have the two weeks necessary for a proper trip to Suna. There is the little fact of getting permission to leave the village, permission to visit Suna, and gathering the papers necessary for such a visit. Presumably, that would take about a week of planning in advance. This is not possible under the shinobi schedule anyway, which involves assignment to missions at any moment’s notice while in the downtime. Even if Shikamaru has the time off, would Temari? Would she be off on a mission while he has time off? It is almost impossible to synchronize their schedules under their work environment.
Their lives are not scheduled enough to plan ahead more than a day. In fact, we never see any planning for the future at all. We rarely see anything above a vague goal for the future, planning daily outings, and planning for exams. They simply do not have the luxury of scheduling for the future the way most people do because of their work’s sporadic nature. Tomorrow they may be in a mission or at home. If they are assigned to a mission, it may take days, weeks, or a month. The mission may involve extensive travel. Who knows? They certainly don’t. But the one thing they do know is they must be ready at any moment to take an assigned mission. That is their duty as shinobi, after all.
Also, there is the assumption that they will be working the same job for years. Who is to say that Shikamaru will always be in charge of the chuuin exams or that Temari will always be the Suna representative? Also, the chuunin exams are held in different villages every time. Who is to say that Shikamaru is always chosen to lead the Konoha ninja? After all, unless he has his own genin team, there is little reason for him to go. When we saw the chuunin exams in Konoha, the only foreign instructors present were the jounin instructors for the genin teams. The fact that Temari is a Suna representative is irregular, and there is no reason to believe Konoha would do the same, or even send the same person to every chuunin exam even if they did. There is also no reason to believe that Temari would always be the Suna representative.
The six chuunin exam days of visitation a year are based on too many assumptions to consider it a regular occurrence. The vacation time is simply speculation not based on any cannon evidence. If anything, cannon evidence points to the opposite, of not having traditional vacation time at all.
So in the end, what we have is a relationship that is tettering on too many assumptions and irregular occurences to work even in the best of circumstances. Coupled with the fact that they’re owned by their village, and we have a very bad foundation for a serious relationship.
Long distance relationships are hard enough and most of them don’t survive the first year. Even with unusually stubborn people, the likelihood of it surviving three years is small.* But their unusual working circumstances make an ordinarily difficult relationship even less likely.
We shall now explore these extraneous circumstances further.
*Why three years? I am assuming that nineteen is the absolute youngest age for marriage based on the ages of the parents we’ve seen. They tend to marry in their mid twenties.
Resolutions p.2
I will now revisit the questions that must be resolved in order for the pairing to work. We will examine each question with the realities of their life and their lack of time together, as extrapolated before.
Under what conditions would a Village (presumably Suna) give up their shinobi in marriage to another village?
This is a difficult question and I have yet to answer it to my own satisfaction. This is even without taking into consideration espionage, loss of income, or even lack of shinobi that will be touched on later and greatly complicate things.
The only suitable answer is retirement. We have seen that shinobi, once they reach a certain age, are allowed to retire and leave the village. We saw this with Tsunade.
However, this age is certainly not their prime: their late teens and early twenties. This is the best time to have children for women, as they are the most fertile. Although babies may be had in their late thirties, it is significantly more difficult. The chances of infertility increase, birth defects increase, and the chances of (premature) babies increases.
Why does this matter? Shikamaru is the probable next head of the Nara clan. His duty is to have children. Otherwise, his name, land, medical knowledge, and most importantly, jutsu, would be lost to history.
So, it is unlikely for a long distance relationship based on a teenage crush to last the sixteen or so years until she is of age to retire (maybe older?). And when she is, she would be two years older than he and in her late thirties, a time that is not prime for childbearing. Why would a practical man, who now takes his responsibilities seriously, like Shikamaru, wait that long?
Which village would claim the child of such a union?
This is another difficult question. With the loss of a kunoichi, you also have the loss of her offspring, the future investment of the shinobi world. Each child is a potential source of income and no village can survive without a good-sized brood of potential candidates. After all, with a failure rate of roughly fifty to seventy-five percent, they need as many candidates as possible to ensure there are enough viable shinobi for the continued existence of the Village.
The most prominent family would claim the children of a mixed Village union. This means that the Nara clan, being a prominent Konoha clan, has more social status and so carries the pull to claim the products of such a union.
To better explain this let us examine an aspect of Japanese culture that may not be a part of common knowledge. Usually, as in other cultures, the wife moves with the husband and takes his family’s name. However, in cases where we have a prominent family without any male heir, the eldest girl’s husband will adopt the family’s name and become the heir. In such exceptions, it is the man who marries into the family.
The reason I believe the Nara clan to have the most pull is simple, they are a clan with their own jutsu, land and library of information. The Sand siblings, although of ruling line, are not part of a clan. Even if they are, there are two boys to carry on the family line, Kankuro being the obvious next head of the clan. Since that is the case, there is no need for Shikamaru to marry into their family.
The most prominent family wins the battle of where the children go, what name they will adopt, and where they will live (which answers the next question as well).
But before we continue, consider this, Suna is weaker than Konoha. Their Kage was kidnapped by a man who was spanked by two genin and Kakashi. How open would they be to the idea of giving away whatever future potential a powerful and talented kunoichi would produce?
Where would they live?
Because of the Nara clan’s pull, they would live in Konoha. This is where the loss of income comes into place. If Suna were to lose Temari in her prime, then the profits she would incur would go with her. If she has not finished paying off tuition costs for herself and others, then it would be considered a lost investment.
There is also the fact that she is a valuable kunoichi, strong leader, and very skilled. Why would they allow her to go? If a time of crises arises or if they are invaded, it would make sense to have as many strong shinobi available as possible. One less shinobi is one less source of income and one less available source of protection in times of need.
However, money is no the only thing leaving with her…
How would you maintain sensitive village secrets of either partner? In other words, how would you stave off the suspicion of espionage?
The only possible answer to this is for her to sign a non-disclosure agreement with her council and the Kazekage (yes, even her brother). As stated before, no council member would be fool enough to exchange information with a rival village, even in times of peace. After all, the peace of today is not guaranteed for tomorrow.
Having a kunoichi marry into a Konoha clan would be prime for espionage. Not only is Suna the weaker of the two, and therefore have more to gain from such an exchange, but this fact would not be lost to everyone. Her available status as a spy from Suna would make her suspect by all those except for her closest friends.
Despite their outward solidarity, we have seen from the manga that there are wide differences in opinion even with each village. To put it bluntly, it would take her years to walk away from the stigma such a position would produce. To many, she would always be the “spy” from Suna. Peer groups are very important to the Japanese. If a member from another, rival group were to enter and live among them, the stigma they would carry would lot dissipate in a minute. She may never be accepted, as we can see mirrored with the status of foreigners in Japan. They may be liked, but they are never really accepted as one of their own.
Konoha has many shinobi, not just the “rookie twelve,” of various ages and philosophies. Acceptance from the cannon characters, or even the Nara, would not equate acceptance from the village. And as we have seen from Naruto’s treatment, the Hokage cannot force his people to behave nicely. If most of the citizens of Konoha behave rudely to Temari because of her status as foreigner, he cannot stop them.
How would such a couple court?
This question has already been partially answered in the previous section, but it requires some further consideration. As it has been written, courtship through visitation would be extremely difficult and sporadic, making their relationship almost exclusively one of distance.
That would make correspondence the most logical reply. But how would such correspondence take place?
Despite the fact that they have comparable technology to ours, they don’t use the exact same technology. There are no planes, trains, or automobiles. There are no telephones, although there are walkie-talkies. There are not personal computers, although there are lab computers. The use of technology is so selective, that it is often easy to forget they employ it at all. It seems that Kishimoto decided to eliminate the things he hated about technology and keep the things he liked.
Until I see a telephone, I will assume they are not used. Until I see a personal computer, I will assume that everyone files their papers as they did twenty years ago. In other words, I am a purist. We have seen into their personal spaces and bedrooms and they have all been noticeably absent of televisions, computers, and telephones. Until that day when Naruto is drawn talking on the phone or sending an email, it is safe to assume they are simply not used.
Thus this makes the lifeline of long-distance relationships, the telephone, non-existent. The current boon of internet relationships would be out of the question as well. No daily emails would be sent and no instant messaging or pictures would be exchanged.
The only possible way for them to maintain as steady flow communication is by letter writing. But we see a problem with this as well. The only type of letter writing we have seen is through carrier birds. There is no post office in Konoha or Suna that would be available for them to quickly exchange mail. This is to be expected, after all, they have much sensitive information and many secrets and the reality of spies and greedy traitors is very real. Konoha would not want to have that information leaking to other parts of the world so it makes sense they would make only one method of communicating with the outside world and it would be heavily regulated. This method is expensive, since it involves the growth and care of living creatures, probably time consuming, and subject to security checks. Using so many resources on love letters seems against the shinobi mindset, regardless of how liberal Konoha may be.
In conclusion, given what information we have, it would be almost impossible for them to communicate between meetings. This includes planning rendez vous, general communication, and expressing their affection.
And the most important of all, which village is more willing to give up a valuable tool and source of income?
The answer to this question would be Konoha since they are the ones with the most money and influence. In essence, they stand to lose the least from an exchange, because they have the most resources. Even though Shikamaru is an important member of his clan, it is a clan that may have more members to replace him. We don’t know if he has cousins or uncles that could take over if he could. After signing a non-disclosure agreement, the more liberal and richer Konoha would send him off to his happiness.
Suna, on the other hand, would be in a clear disadvantage if they were to send off Temari, as we have seen, unless she were serving as spy, as unlikely as that would be. After all, they stand more to lose from such a loss. However, Shikamaru’s responsibility to his home and his family, as well as the more traditional mindset would make him moving to Suna the least likely scenario.
Growth
Despite all of this there would be hope for the couple if Kishimoto had considered a very important aspect of the adolescent mind. It is growth and change. The fact is that people are not at sixteen and eighteen what they are at twenty. Even though the personality is set at that age, there is still a great potential for growth. In essence, the individual is not yet settled.
One of the biggest dangers facing relationships is growing separate. Many relationships end because people, long separated, grow apart from each other. This isn’t just romance, but friendship as well. For any interpersonal relationship to work, there needs to be anchor points that hold each person fast to each other, points of similarity and understanding. The more experiences two individuals share, the more anchor points they will share.
As the distance between them develops, and the anchor points become less numerous, there is the very real danger that the individuals in the relationship grow apart. This is especially true with romance. With friendship, the relationship may cool into a casual friendship and maintain itself that way. But there is no gray area with a love affair.
One of the ways that Kishimoto screwed up was having both Temari and Shikamaru going through life-altering experiences and not having either one present at the time. When her brother was kidnapped and dead, Shikamaru was in Konoha and we didn’t even see him concerned. When Asuma died and Shikamaru went on a rampage of revenge, Temari was nowhere to be found.
Those experiences changed them, even if there is no indication of it in the story. They were simply too traumatic not have any effect. For example, Temari may become more protective of her brothers and less likely to leave Suna in the event of marriage. Shikamaru in turn, may no longer be willing to take a demanding woman (it may be that part of the reason Shikaku is stuck with a ‘troublesome woman’ is his complacency, which Shikamaru no longer has) now that the main reason for her complaints, his laziness, is no longer there.
But it may be that such changes would bring them together. However, we have no way of verifying it. For all we know, part of Shikamaru’s charm was his laziness. Who knows, maybe she liked playing mommy. This isn’t an inconceivable conclusion. Neither is it completely out of the realm of possibility that those changes would place them closer together.
However, because those two events occurred while the other was away, and there is no sign of communication between them during these very important events, we don’t know. They did not share in each other’s burdens. In other words, when they grew, they grew separately and only a blessing of fate (or an author’s pen) that would guarantee their growth would make them closer together instead of apart.
In essence, we don’t know how these changes will influence their future status. Even though Shikamaru is a secondary character, the fact that he got his own arc makes him one of the most important characters of Naruto’s peers, more important than Neji, Lee, and even Hinata (at last for now). If he should get a romance, there should be more development.
Although I do consider it cannon, I find his lack of connection between them in these crucial times to be a severe impediment to a future relationship. This is especially true because they’re in a long distance relationship, rarely see each other, and can’t communicate too much in general.
Possible solutions
But as many complaints about the lack of feasibility of this relationship, it seems that Kishimoto will get what Kishimoto wants. I devised four separate solutions that although inadequate, may resolve the issue. However, each one of these solutions has a serious problem. These problems have made he rethink even these solutions and I have been left at a quandary. It is probable that others have thought of these as well.
The retirement solution – Shikamaru would wait until she is of age to retire (probably mid to late thirties) to marry her. |
Solves:
1. Problem with eartly retirement and loss of income from Temari |
Problem: 1. Unrealistic romance. 16 year long distance relationship.
2. His responsibility as future clan head to produce children |
The diplomatic solution – She would move to Konoha as a permanent diplomat |
| Solves: 1. Issue of moving early enough for children 2. Question of how to move to Konoha without retiring |
| Problems 1. Suna still has a loss of income unless Konoha pays her 2. Conflict of interests and trust issues with Konoha shinobi. 3. Suna will lose future shinobi since they will lose her children 4. She will not be in Suna in case of emergencies |
| The dual citizenship solution - This one requires some explaining. It was the first one I came up with. Basically, they would stay six months in each village and their children would be raised in both. At the age of graduation, their children would settle in their village of choice |
| Solves: 1. Issue of marrying early enough for children. 2. Lost income issues since they would do missions for the Village of residence. 3. Trust issue since both village share them |
| Problems: 1. Children raised with two different modes of thinking and philosophies. 2. Expense. They would need a house in each village. 3. The Nara fields and deer need tending 4. Conflict of interests intensifies |
The bastard child solution – children are born illegitimately |
| Solves: 1. Issue of moving to village 2. Issue of conflict of interest with Temari 3. Issue of trust with villagers 4. Issue of money lost in Suna due to her moving 5. Issue of being of prime age for giving birth |
| Problems: 1. Nara clan would have no proper heirs. 2. Children would grow away from their father. 3. The family would be apart. Same distance problems with family as with the couple.
This plan doesn't solve anything, it just extends the problelm. |
In the end, I don’t like any of these solutions.
My conclusion: too many “ifs.”
The problem is the muddle that Kishimoto has made with his world that would not allow relationships to blossom cannot be solved with a few bends to the rule. There are too many rules to bend for it to work out. If he neatly ties the knot, so to speak, without resolving some of these issues, then the story will be unbelievable.
In order for a fantasy world to work, it must exist within the rules established. These rules give the world a concrete, real feeling despite its fantastic nature. If the author strays too far from these established rules, then what makes the world concrete begins to crumble and the story goes from being a fantasy to a farce. This does not only apply to previously established rules of how charka work and their general mechanics, but social networks and its political structure as well.
Perhaps I’m being too picky, but regardless, I hope that this opens up some dialogue.
Also, I think this proves conclusively that I have too much time on my hands.
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