Sakura Haruno (Japanese: 春野 サクラ, Hepburn: Haruno Sakura) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sakura is depicted as a kunoichi affiliated with Konohagakure (木ノ葉隠れの里, English version: “Hidden Leaf Village”) and a part of Team 7, which consists of herself, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and their sensei Kakashi Hatake. Sakura initially has an infatuation for Sasuke, praising him at every juncture, and heaps scorn upon the less-skilled teammate Naruto. Over the course of the series, she begins to shed this singularly driven persona and grows more appreciative and accepting of Naruto. Besides the main series, Sakura has appeared in several pieces of the Naruto media, most notably the spin-off Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (2015) and the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2016) where she is portrayed as a doctor named Sakura Uchiha (Japanese: うちは サクラ, Hepburn: Uchiha Sakura).[1]

Sakura has become the series’ female lead, although she was not immediately intended for the role. Kishimoto has had difficulty drawing her character, resulting in Kishimoto inadvertently emphasizing certain parts of her appearance, including her large forehead. In order to make the character more appealing in the second part of the series, Kishimoto designed her costume in a way that makes her look more like a martial artist as well as more beautiful during later chapters. Chie Nakamura voices the character in the animated adaptations of the series, while Kate Higgins plays her in the English dub.

Numerous anime and manga publications have praised and criticized Sakura’s character. She was initially noted to be a stereotypical shōnen character, representing a love interest for the protagonist, and was said to serve little purpose at the beginning of the series beyond being comic relief. Her emergence from this stereotype as the series progressed has been celebrated by many reviewers. Amongst the Naruto reader base, Sakura has been popular, placing high in some polls. Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Sakura’s likeness, such as action figures and key chains.