The Strangled by the Red String has a valid point that I feel was removed unfairly, and no, I don't hate Sakura, I find the romance between them to be badly written.
Shirou's romance with Sakura in HF often receives this criticism. Unlike the other routes where he and the respective Love Interest gradually grow closer thanks to bonding over something in the war, this is portrayed as a Childhood Friend Romance that already existed. This is in spite of the fact that in the other two routes Shirou will pick Rin or Saber over her, despite only knowing the latter for a little over two weeks, while the former Shirou has known from a distance. Yet his love for her is supposedly strong enough to keep the powers he gains in that route from frying his brain and enough for him to throw away his ideals. Even outside of spoilers, it can be jarring in said route because Sakura's feelings have been painfully obvious since even the first route, and yet suddenly, because the plot needs it now, Shirou suddenly develops romantic feelings for her despite him having little reason now to notice it.
This is how it read before. Below is what I think is a better written example.
Shirou and Sakura's romance in Heavens Feel suffers a bit from this compared to the other routes. The issue lies mainly with Shirou however, as Sakura having a crush on Shirou has been evident since as early as the Fate route. In the Fate and UBW route, Shirou's romance develops from shared experiences in the Grail War, such as he and Saber's Survivor's Guilt, and for Rin, starts because Shirou confirms he respected her from afar and is implied to have developed feelings for her from said respect. In the case of Sakura however, Shirou very suddenly notices how attractive Sakura is not long into the Heavens Feel route and finds himself lusting after her right away. This is in contrast to Shirou's romance with Saber, where he doesn't truly fall for her until a good ways until the route, and seeing her nearly killed by Berserker on day 1 was the start of his relationship with her. This sudden change in his views on Sakura is very jarring, and feels out of place given that Shirou has known Sakura longer than the other heroines, and yet suddenly finds her attractive enough that he is willing to abandon his ideals and beliefs to be with her. It comes across less as Shirou awakening to a Childhood Friend Romance, and instead having a switch go off by the writers to make him fall for Sakura.
The Strangled by the Red String has a valid point that I feel was removed unfairly, and no, I don't hate Sakura, I find the romance between them to be badly written.
This is how it read before. Below is what I think is a better written example.
- Shirou and Sakura's romance in Heavens Feel suffers a bit from this compared to the other routes. The issue lies mainly with Shirou however, as Sakura having a crush on Shirou has been evident since as early as the Fate route. In the Fate and UBW route, Shirou's romance develops from shared experiences in the Grail War, such as he and Saber's Survivor's Guilt, and for Rin, starts because Shirou confirms he respected her from afar and is implied to have developed feelings for her from said respect. In the case of Sakura however, Shirou very suddenly notices how attractive Sakura is not long into the Heavens Feel route and finds himself lusting after her right away. This is in contrast to Shirou's romance with Saber, where he doesn't truly fall for her until a good ways until the route, and seeing her nearly killed by Berserker on day 1 was the start of his relationship with her. This sudden change in his views on Sakura is very jarring, and feels out of place given that Shirou has known Sakura longer than the other heroines, and yet suddenly finds her attractive enough that he is willing to abandon his ideals and beliefs to be with her. It comes across less as Shirou awakening to a Childhood Friend Romance, and instead having a switch go off by the writers to make him fall for Sakura.
Edited by keyblade333 Muramasa got.