For as much as Kishi wanted Choji to be a thing (InoShikaCho in general, really), I still think that comparing Choji and Neji's fights - primarily which parts of their personalities that they're being challenged by and what their opponents represent - and seeing how Neji's struggles feel a lot better than Choji's tells me that for as much shit that Kishi gets in regards to writing female characters, I honestly don't think he really gets why his popular/better male characters are all that liked either, characters like Neji, Lee, Gaara, etc. were probably just flukes that he didn't really understand why they worked

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In retrospect I don't remember a single negative interaction between Shikamaru and Ino