Sarada Uchiha

Concept and creation

Masashi Kishimoto first imagined Sarada Uchiha as a character who would not come across as feminine right away. He felt uneasy when creating her for the Naruto spin-off manga, Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, because he was unsure how the series' mostly male audience would react to a female lead. His brother, Seishi Kishimoto, also had the same worry. Kishimoto looked through several books about women's traits to pick the right qualities for Sarada's personality, but he ended up giving those traits to another character in the spin-off, Chocho Akimichi.

He made this choice because Sarada's storyline was serious, and he wanted Chocho to balance it out by keeping the story funny and engaging for readers through the contrast with Sarada's plot. Another goal Kishimoto had was to develop the relationship between Sarada and her mother, Sakura Uchiha. He wanted the spin-off's finale to center on Sarada's family. Kishimoto decided to show Sarada as somewhat serious but strong-willed, rather than cute.

He saw her as a female version of her father, Sasuke Uchiha. He also mixed in parts of Sakura's character into Sarada and had both female characters wear similar clothing. Kishimoto mentioned that he tried to make Sarada look cute even with her glasses on.

Sarada was first planned to have long, swept-back hair, but Kishimoto thought that would not suit her ninja look, so he changed her hairstyle. He also believed the glasses made her more appealing. Her ninja outfit was based on one of Sakura's outfits from the early part of Naruto, but Kishimoto decided to cover Sarada's arms. During the final touches, Kishimoto made Sarada's eyes look like Sasuke's, and her glasses were meant to hide that resemblance.

The Japanese rock band Scenarioart, which performed the ending theme song for this story arc, was told by Pierrot to create a song that showed the distant but caring bond between Sasuke and Sarada. Because of this, even though the lyrics often talk about the goodbyes between Sasuke and Sarada, the goal was to make it feel hopeful, as they are fated to meet again. In Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, Sarada has remembered Boruto all along and has always been certain of his innocence. Ikemoto redesigned Sarada by giving her a more masculine black jacket.

Reception

Sarada Uchiha has received favorable reviews from critics. Amy McNulty of Anime News Network, reviewing the Boruto manga, found her ambition to become Hokage compelling, even preferring her over her mother Sakura. Christian Chiok of Japanator agreed that this goal strengthened her character. McNulty also noted that Sarada and Mitsuki together created a strong dynamic with Boruto.

In the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime, Sam Stewart of IGN was let down by her limited screen time in her debut, as her conflict with Boruto was pushed aside by other academy students. Stewart anticipated that their relationship would grow, given both are children of the original series' heroes. After an episode focused on Sarada and Boruto, Stewart was more satisfied, describing her as a blend of Sasuke and Naruto due to her personality and Hokage dream, and finding her more interesting than her friends.

He considered her storyline one of the anime's highlights, especially her interactions with Sasuke, which felt more genuine than those of Boruto or Sumire Kakehi. Toon Zone appreciated the Sarada-Boruto dynamic because they differ from their parents. Chris Homer of The Fandom Post described Sarada as reserved based on her personality. Cherami Leigh's English voice performance for Sarada was also praised for being a good fit.

Did You Know?

• In Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, Sarada wears Boruto's jacket deliberately as a remembrance of him, fearing she might forget him, and she buys the same brand.
• Karin, a former ally of Sasuke, was Sakura's midwife when Sasuke and Sakura were travelling together.