Sasuke Uchiha

Creation

Development

Manga artist Masashi Kishimoto did not include Sasuke Uchiha in his original concept for the Naruto series, a story revolving around the character Naruto Uzumaki. Discussing the series' future, his editor, Kosuke Yahagi, advised him to add a rival character for the protagonist Naruto and he created Sasuke. The character's first name came from Sanpei Shirato's manga Sasuke and Sarutobi Sasuke, a fictional ninja character in Japanese children's stories. To introduce Sasuke, Kishimoto wrote a chapter that was set before the formation of his ninja squad, Team 7. The idea was scrapped; Yahagi told Kishimoto to focus the series' first two chapters on introducing Naruto instead and the focus on Sasuke and the rest of the supporting characters were shown in the next chapters for the first time. Once creating Sasuke's character, Kishimoto decided to use him as a protagonist rather than supporting character in order to start his development at the same time as Naruto. When plot developments made Sasuke one of the story's antagonists, Kishimoto called him and Naruto yin and yang because of their differences and complementary natures. During this period, he was asked whether Sasuke was good or evil; he replied that Sasuke was neither and called him a "very pure person." He said although some of Sasuke's actions such as following his clan's ideas were positive, his self-centeredness tended to cause problems with others. Since the beginning of the story's serialization, Kishimoto planned to conclude the series with a fight between Sasuke and Naruto, but he was uncertain whether the characters would end up as friends or enemies.

Kishimoto had read a variety of manga to obtain ideas for the creation of an effective rivalry between two characters, which he incorporated into Naruto and Sasuke's relationship. He was also inspired by his relationship with his twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto; since childhood, Masashi had worried about Seishi when he faced failure and had tried to help him. To contrast Sasuke with Naruto, Kishimoto made him less emotional and depicted him as a "cool genius"; he felt he had created an ideal rivalry in the pair, and when one character progressed he ensured the other did as well. Kishimoto wanted Naruto and Sasuke to seem like brothers and rivals, building on a mutual experience of childhood loneliness. Although Sasuke does not regard Naruto as a worthy opponent at first, he is surprised by Naruto's growth and becomes fiercely competitive. In the Part I finale, their rivalry leads to a fight and they grow further apart. Kishimoto said he did not want Sasuke to recognize Naruto as an equal until later in Part II.

Although both characters had used ninja techniques throughout the series, Kishimoto wanted the two fighters to rely on hand-to-hand combat for the climax of their final battle. He decided to have Naruto forgive Sasuke because he had also forgiven Nagato, another former enemy. The final fight between Sasuke and Naruto was considered one of the biggest challenges ever faced by the staff from Pierrot as it took an entire month to adapt it from the manga. Director Hiroyuki Yamashita elected himself in charge of the battle which left most of the anime members relieved due to his experience. For the scenario, Pierrot received assistance from CyberConnect2, the video game development studio who had already adapted this battle through the fighting game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. There was a need to make every movement in the fight look realistic, giving Sasuke a scary look as well as hair movement in order to express the idea of both fighters willing to do anything to kill each other, which confused some due to Naruto's wish to avoid this fate. The final clash between Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan moves involved references from other scenes of the series to give the viewer a bigger emotional impact. The staff noted that following this fight, Sasuke's face became calmer despite his initial look, giving room to explore his redemption.

Design

Kishimoto regarded Sasuke as his most memorable character design because he was developed as Naruto's opposite. He said the design of Sasuke and his Sharingan (写輪眼; lit. "Copy Wheel Eye", English manga: "Mirror Wheel Eye") ability were influenced by the character Hiei in Yoshihiro Togashi's manga series, YuYu Hakusho. Sasuke originally had necklaces and ties around his arms and legs because Kishimoto had a habit of giving characters as much ornamentation as possible; realizing he could not draw such a complex character on a weekly basis, Kishimoto simplified the design to a basic contrast with Naruto's costume. The Chidori (千鳥; lit. "One Thousand Birds") – one of Sasuke and Kakashi Hatake's best-known fighting techniques – originally had a different name that Kishimoto forgot. He found the name "Chidori" and its variant, the "Lightning Blade", appropriate.

Kishimoto considered Sasuke his most challenging character to design and draw. He lacked a clear idea of how his face should look, saying Sasuke seemed older than Naruto, his contemporary, and felt this inconvenience was a result of his inexperience in drawing characters who were mature beyond their years. Sasuke's hair, originally short to save Kishimoto time, slowly grew longer as the series progressed. Mid-way through Part I, he drew a new costume for Sasuke with belts strapped around his arms and legs, but he returned to the character's original design because it took less time to draw. Sasuke is his favorite character to draw despite the time and energy required, and he compared Sasuke with Sakura in difficulty. Kishimoto's superiors sometimes asked him to redraw parts of the manga that did not illustrate Sasuke well.

Kishimoto's design focus for Part II was Sasuke's older appearance. Originally, Kishimoto had wanted to draw him as a more attractive person, but the idea was discarded. An outfit he initially planned combined the younger Sasuke's outfit with new, more modern clothes. Kishimoto tried several other looks, including the use of Shimenawa to evoke the antagonist Orochimaru, and a turtleneck and military uniform to connote cleanliness. He avoided the second option due to similarities with cold weather clothing and eventually chose Japanese clothing and a chokutō sword.

For The Last: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto gave Sasuke a new, young-adult design with sharper facial features. In contrast with the older Naruto, who cut his hair, Sasuke's hairstyle grew longer to cover part of the character's face. In the original concept, the hair hid Sasuke's mysterious left eye – the Rinnegan (輪廻眼; lit. "Saṃsāra Eye"). According to Kishimoto, he decided to give the character a large hood because Sasuke concealed his identity during the events of the film. Sasuke's design was specifically created to support his actions; the area that showed Sasuke had lost his left arm in the Naruto finale was also covered by his clothes.

Personality and voice actors

Sasuke is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in Japanese media. At the beginning of the anime's first part, Sugiyama had difficulty voicing Sasuke because he knew little about his personality; he began to understand the character at the point in the story where Sasuke encounters his brother, Itachi Uchiha. Sugiyama read the manga and became particularly interested in Sasuke's development when the character left Konohagakure; he wanted to revoice some scenes from the anime, including Sasuke's departure from Konohagakure. In Behind the Scenes of Uchiha, a feature about Sasuke and Itachi's backstory, Sugiyama said he had become emotional during the recording sessions of the sixth season of the anime's second part (Naruto: Shippuden), in which Sasuke learns the truth about his brother's role in the massacre of the Uchiha clan.

Sugiyama thought Sasuke's line, "You are annoying," summed up the character's feelings toward Sakura and indicated a change in their relationship each time it was said; although she initially annoys him, he smiles when he repeats it before leaving Konohagakure. Naruto's Japanese voice actress, Junko Takeuchi, said Sasuke's line addressed to Sakura, "See you next time... Thank you," revealed his feelings for her. Sugiyama stated that by the end of the series, Sasuke realized how much he had hurt Sakura's feelings and apologized to her after his final fight against Naruto because of this. While recording for Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Sugiyama expected to see a bond between Sasuke and his apprentice, Boruto Uzumaki. According to Sugiyama, Sasuke's personality had changed for the Boruto anime series, and the actor wanted fans to see the character's interaction with his family. Japanese rock band Scenarioart in charge of performing the ending theme song of this story arc were given directions by Pierrot to make the song show the distant but caring relationship between Sasuke and Sarada. As a result, although the lyrics often mentions the farewells Sasuke and Sarada had, the intention was meant to make it look optimistic as they are destined to meet once again.

Yuri Lowenthal, who voices Sasuke in the English dubs, said he was honored to receive the role since many actors had auditioned for it, and he added that the job was stressful. Although fans were critical of deviations and mistakes in his recordings, he enjoyed voicing the character. His first impression of Sasuke was of "a serious guy dedicated to his training", but his view changed as he learned about the character's backstory. Lowenthal said that some of Sasuke's lines, such as his use of the word "kill", were changed as Viz Media often censored parts of the series' dialogue for Western viewers. As a result, he found the original Japanese version truer to the character.

Appearances

In Naruto

Sasuke is introduced in the third chapter of Naruto's manga as a young ninja assigned to become a member of Team 7 alongside his childhood rival Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, the latter of whom is infatuated with him. The trio are trained under the guidance of Kakashi Hatake. Although Sasuke is antisocial, cold, and distant, he starts caring about Naruto and Sakura. During a mission, Sasuke awakens his Sharingan – his clan's inherited ability to see through illusions – which allows him to learn imperceptible movements at a superhuman rate. It is revealed later that Sasuke is the sole survivor of the once-powerful Uchiha clan of Konohagakure. He, at the age of seven, survived the massacre of his clan perpetrated by his older brother, Itachi, who spared Sasuke's life because he did not consider him worth killing. Sasuke seeks strong fighting opponents to reassure himself his power is growing.

During a ninja examination meant to improve their ranks, Team 7 encounters Orochimaru, an exile and criminal from Konohagakure who afflicts Sasuke with a Cursed Seal that contains a fragment of Orochimaru's consciousness, which increases Sasuke's physical abilities, but makes him cruel and sadistic. Kakashi teaches Sasuke the lightning-based offensive technique called Chidori in an attempt to appease Sasuke's desire for power. During a siege of Konohagakure, a berserker ninja named Gaara beats Sasuke, who is rescued by Naruto. Shortly afterward, Itachi returns to the village; Sasuke tries to kill him, but he is beaten and tortured instead. Shaken by the experience he decides to leave Team 7 and Konohagakure to become stronger. Thinking Orochimaru's training will make him more powerful, Sasuke becomes an outlaw. Naruto follows him and they fight when Sasuke refuses to return; Sasuke wins, but spares Naruto's life and continues to Orochimaru's hideout.

After two-and-a-half years of training, Sasuke absorbs Orochimaru's power before he can possess his younger body. Following this, Sasuke forms Team Hebi to find Itachi. Itachi and Sasuke fight and Itachi dies at the climax of the battle from an illness after he cured Sasuke from Cursed Seal. Sasuke then meets Tobi, Itachi's superior, who reveals that Itachi killed the Uchiha clan under orders from the Leaf High Council member Danzo Shimura and spared Sasuke out of love rather than contempt. Sasuke rejoins Hebi – which he renames Taka – and declares his intention to destroy his former village in retribution. Due to his brother's death, Sasuke's Sharingan has evolved into a Mangekyo Sharingan (万華鏡写輪眼, Mangekyō Sharingan; lit. "Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye"), giving him powerful new techniques. After he agrees to work temporarily for Tobi's terrorist organization, Akatsuki, Sasuke becomes a rogue ninja and criminal. He kills Danzo, the now acting Hokage with Tobi's aid. Sasuke is confronted by his former Team 7 colleagues, and Naruto challenges him to a death match.

In the Boruto franchise

In the Naruto spin-off manga, Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, and the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime (2017), Sasuke has left Konohagakure sometime after Sarada's birth on a secret mission to investigate a possible threat relating to Kaguya, traveling across the world and Kaguya's dimensions for clues while aiding the other villages in secret. In the Boruto anime, Sasuke briefly returns to his village before the arc begins and asks Naruto to offer Sakura his apologies. He rejoins Naruto to oppose Orochimaru's former test subject Shin, who takes the Uchiha surname for his own while seeking to avenge Itachi and revive the Akatsuki to end the peace. After defeating Shin and his clone children, Sasuke bonds with his daughter for the first time and resumes his mission. A novel by Mirei Miyamoto focuses on Sasuke's work in his village where he replaces Konohamaru Sarutobi as the leader of Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki's team. Another novel which is being adapted into a manga is focused on a new adventure Sasuke and Sakura. The theme of Sasuke's novel is that of "a married couple's view on life and death".

In Boruto: Naruto the Movie, also covered in both the Boruto manga and anime, Sasuke returns to Konohagakure to warn Naruto of the threat posed by Kaguya's kinsmen Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki, who seek the tailed beast chakra for their end. He meets Naruto's son, Boruto Uzumaki, and becomes the boy's mentor once having him learn to use his father's Rasengan (螺旋丸; lit. spiral sphere, English manga: "Spiral Chakra Sphere"). When the Otsutsuki members abduct Naruto during the Chunin Exam, Sasuke is accompanied by Boruto as he and the Kage – the leaders of the ninja villages – travel to Momoshiki's planet to save Naruto. Sasuke then aids Naruto and Boruto in defeating Momoshiki, who absorbs Kinshiki to increase his power. After Momoshiki's defeat, Sasuke notices the enemy has placed a seal called Karma on Boruto. The anime has Sasuke searching Urashiki Otsutsuki alongside Gaara. Sasuke later discovers the connection between Kara and the Otsutsuki clan, finding that Kara possesses a Ten Tails in an alternate dimension, and then faces the leader of Kara, Jigen, together with Naruto, but the pair are badly beaten, with Sasuke being forced to escape as Naruto is sealed. Not long after Naruto is freed by Boruto and his team, the village is invaded by Isshiki Otsutsuki, Jigen's true identity, who is searching for Kawaki. Immediately after Isshiki's lifespan runs out during the battle, Sasuke loses his Rinnegan to surprise assault from Momoshiki, possessing Boruto's body, but Sasuke and Kawaki help restore Boruto's consciousness.

Sasuke investigates the whereabouts of Code, the final member of Kara, and after returning to the village, Kawaki seals Naruto and Hinata in another dimension, and tries to kill Boruto. Sasuke arrives to stop him, but Momoshiki possesses Boruto for just a moment, allowing Kawaki to escape. Just after that, former Kara collaborator Eida accidentally alters reality using her power of Omnipotence, swapping the memories of almost the entire planet, about Boruto and Kawaki. Sasuke finds Sarada, who was not affected by the memory swap, begging her father to rescue Boruto, so he decides to trust his daughter over his own fake memories, and saves Boruto from the village. The two, seen as traitors, depart the village and train, and after a year, are attacked by Code and his army of Ten Tails clones. Boruto escapes, but Sasuke is defeated, and his chakra is devoured by a Ten Tails clone, leading to Sasuke being sealed and turned into a tree. Two years later, an evolved Divine Tree creature with Sasuke's chakra spawns, named Hidari, who seeks to devour Sarada.

In other media

Sasuke appears in the first four original video animations (OVAs) produced for the series. In the first episode, he helps Naruto and Konohamaru find a four-leaf clover; in the second, he joins Naruto's team for a mission; he participates in a tournament in the third; and he works with Team 7 in the fourth. One OVA presents an alternate fight between Sasuke and Naruto in Naruto: Shippuden. The character is present in the first two Naruto feature films; he guards a princess in Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2004) and makes a brief appearance in a flashback in Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel (2005). The first Part II film in which he appears is Naruto Shippuden 2: Bonds (2008). The sixth Part II film, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie (2012), contains a flirtatious, alternate-reality version of Sasuke. In The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014), an adult Sasuke returns briefly to Konohagakure to protect it from a meteor. A chibi version of Sasuke appears in comedic spin-off Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals

He is a recurring character in the Naruto light novels and the protagonist of the manga Naruto Jinraiden: The Day the Wolf Howled (2012), which explores Sasuke's reflections after Itachi's death and his decision to destroy Konohagakure. In Sakura Hiden (2015), an adult Sasuke continues his journey of redemption but returns to Konohagakure out of concern for Sakura's safety. In Akatsuki Hiden (2015), Sasuke meets two children who tell him stories about Akatsuki, and they discuss Itachi's legacy. He is the protagonist of Sasuke Shinden (2015); he agrees to aid Konohagakure by investigating a series of disappearances, which he solves with the help of Taka and a Konohagakure ninja named Sai. Sasuke is also the protagonist of manga artist Kenji Taira's Naruto spin-off, Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan Legend (2014), in which he and Taka search for Itachi. According to Taira, Sasuke would be characterized as an "idiot." A new novel focused on Sasuke's life as an adult alongside Sakura, Sasuke Retsuden: The Uchiha Descendants and the Heavenly Stardust (2019), was written by Jun Esaka.

Sasuke is a playable character in Naruto video games, including the Clash of Ninja and Ultimate Ninja series. His Cursed Seal can be unlocked and activated in some games. Due to his absence from early Naruto: Shippuden episodes, Sasuke has not appeared in any games based on Naruto: Shippuden until the launch of Gekitō Ninja Taisen! EX 2 and Ultimate Ninja 5 (2007). Sasuke is also present in crossover games, such as Jump Super Stars (2005), Battle Stadium D.O.N (2006), Jump Ultimate Stars (2006), J-Stars Victory VS (2014), and Jump Force (2019).

Cultural impact

Characterization and themes

Lowenthal said in 2010 that Sasuke was one of the first dark characters he voiced, adding, "He's sort of a hero, but he's not the naïve, young white–hat hero." Scholars have also analyzed the character. In El Anime como elemento de Transculturación, Sasuke's corruption from a friend of the main character to his antagonist is considered one of the major interests in the narrative as it causes Naruto a dilemma about whether or not he will have to kill him during his growth as a ninja, making it one of the best written storylines presented in the narrative. According to a study of readers' abilities to predict character types based on physical cues, Sasuke was classified as an INTJ (Myers-Briggs) character type, making him a foil for Naruto. Rik Spanjers regarded Sasuke's dissimilarity to Naruto as tragic but wrote that the contrast between the protagonists' approaches to the world was fundamental to the plot: "Naruto's strength grows as he gains more loved ones to protect, while Sasuke remains alone and is increasingly absorbed by his quest for revenge". According to academic Amy Plumb, Kishimoto's references to Japanese mythology in Naruto, including the heraldic symbol of Sasuke's clan – a fan known as an uchiwa – added layers to the story and Sasuke's ability to 'blow away' the Nine-Tailed Fox's influence on Naruto resembled the mythological use of the fan to dispel evil. Beatriz Peña viewed Sasuke's antagonism in the series as a result of the war theme often shown throughout the story, with the Uchihas having been slaughtered due to a possible civil war against Konohagakure, which expanded the connection between him and Naruto. My Hero Academia author Kōhei Horikoshi praised the portrayal of Sasuke alongside Naruto in the beginning as in the bodyguard mission it is made clear that Sasuke is willing to fight against several enemies while Naruto instead feels fear, being motivated to avoid acting like this again.

Tejal Suhas Bagwe from Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Masters of Arts in English describes the usage of god themed techniques within the Uchihas as major references to Japanese mythology especially when awakening the stronger Mangekyo Sharingan. Another reference is how Orochimaru becomes the mythical Yamata-no-Orochi during Sasuke's fight against Itachi who seals Orochimaru through his own Susanoo similar to the myth. The series' final antagonist, Kaguya Otsutsuki, is based on Kaguya Hime. Similar to the references of the Sharingans, Kaguya also references Japanese mythology, with both Sasuke and Naruto being the descendants of her children in a similar fashion to Amaterasu, the powerful Goddess of the Sun, and Susanoo, the God of thunder. The contrasting relations between these two characters is a common theme within the manga, as not only this is explored through Naruto and Sasuke but also through the two other connected ninjas, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. Antônio Guilherme Bernardes Galletti from University of São Paulo notes Boruto starts noticing the different skills his father possesses when Sasuke has him try to learn the Rasengan which makes the skilled student find a challenging training in his life for the first time. The film makes Boruto's character become complex when learning of the shinobi code his father and master use which was also compared to the samurais' bushido while developing a sense of individuality when deciding what to do with his life when growing up.

Popularity

A popularity poll on the Japanese website Charapedia ranked Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry as the best in anime. At New York's 2015 Comic-Con, moderator Christopher Butcher and editor Jo Otsuki commented that Sasuke had become the series' most popular character, and Otsuki called him his favorite. Butcher wondered whether readers considered Sasuke a more-relatable character after he had embraced Naruto's positive outlook on life in the series finale. According to Otsuki, fans regarded Sasuke's character and abilities as "cooler" than those of his rival. Jacob Hope of Anime News Network (ANN) listed Sasuke and Naruto as two of the "Fiercest Frenemies" in anime due to their resemblance despite being adversaries and their need to engage in a mortal fight to become friends. In a Tokyo Otaku Mode poll, Sasuke was deemed the sixth best character women would want to have a date with. IGN also listed him as one of the ten best rivals in anime in general, while a poll from Anime! Anime! listed Naruto and him as one of the best rivals turned into allies. In a Viz Media fan poll from 2021, Sasuke was voted as the fifth best character from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

Merchandise

Sasuke merchandise includes key chains and figurines. Boruto film audiences were offered fans bearing images of Sasuke and his daughter, Sarada.

To promote the video game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, two 1/6-scale statues depicting Sasuke and Naruto during their final clash from the series were developed by Luxembourgian company Tsume.

Japanese toy company Bandai released an action figure of Sasuke performing the Chidori move. In May 2017, Bandai launched a figurine of Sasuke performing his Susanoo eye technique, which represents the god of thunder Raijin. Studio Pierrot released artwork that was sold alongside this figure. Bandai also produced a limited-edition adult figurine of Sasuke as he appears in the Naruto finale and the Boruto franchise, which impressed Scott Green, a writer for Ain't It Cool News and Crunchyroll.