Powerful, divisive, and nuanced, Itachi Uchiha was a character that inspired a great deal of discourse — both positive and negative — within the fan base of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto. Originally presented as a rogue ninja responsible for the brutal Uchiha Clan Massacre, Itachi was later defined by his relationship with his younger brother Sasuke, whose sole objective was to kill him and avenge their clan.

After more was revealed about the circumstances behind his role in the Uchiha Clan Downfall, Itachi was portrayed as a figure who skirted the boundary between anti-hero and anti-villain in Part II. While he has been hailed as one of the best-written characters in Naruto by some, his larger impact on the medium of anime can be seen in how he rewrote the trope of an anti-hero, adding a degree of depth and moral ambiguity that was rare in the battle shonen genre.

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What Defines An Anime Anti-Hero?

The gamut of anti-heroes in anime includes iconic characters such as the likes of Dragon Ball Z's Vegeta, Code Geass' Lelouch vi Britannia, Devilman Crybaby's Akira Fudo, Cowboy Bebop's Spike Spiegel, Vinland Saga's Thorfinn, and Guts from Berserk, among others. On observing this spectrum of characters, it is easy to notice a few common threads tying them together, which serve as the roots of their morally gray worldviews.

For instance, Vegeta, Guts, and Thorfinn were all defined by the redemption arcs they underwent after experiencing great hardships, which molded them into the violent, uncompromising individuals they were at the start of their journeys. While they were all formerly depicted as irredeemable figures, their paths altered course due to the people around them, alongside the bonds they built and shared.

On the other hand, Spike, Akira, and Lelouch were depicted as victims of their circumstances, driven to commit unspeakable acts for survival, or in the name of the greater good. There was no redemption arc in the picture here, and none of these characters really got the happy ending they desired. Single-minded and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, such characters are often portrayed in a sympathetic light, to better distinguish them from the evils they strive to eradicate through less than savory means.

In Itachi's case, he embodied aspects of the latter category, but lacked the aggression, egotism, or self-centeredness seen in characters who belong to a similar mold. Born during a difficult period in shinobi history, Itachi witnessed the cruelty of war at an incredibly young age and this molded him into someone who would stop at nothing to prevent armed conflict. Subsequently, he was inspired to rise above petty differences between clans and villages to approach his role as a shinobi with the ultimate goal of fostering peace among all nations.

How Itachi Fits Into This Picture

Pacifism was an ideal that Itachi always aspired to, and he willingly sacrificed almost everything he cared about, in pursuit of his noble ideals. A redemption arc was out of the question for him given the maginitude of his crimes, but Obito's eventual explanation to Sasuke of the truth behind Itachi's defection provided one of the most heart-wrenching moments in all of Naruto. Interestingly, it is through Itachi's complicated relationship with Sasuke that his character is best understood, since his actions led Sasuke to view his elder brother as the object of his hatred.

By contrast, everything Itachi did was to avoid subjecting Sasuke to the horrors of war when he was still an innocent child. Furthermore, by virtue of being the only known living Uchiha clan member besides him, Sasuke was the sole person by whose hand Itachi was willing to die. With this act, he sought to atone for his irredeemable crime of wiping out his entire clan. From this, it could be gathered that Itachi's guilt drove him to create a situation where the Uchiha clan's honor would be restored through Sasuke.

Unfortunately, the means by which he went about this were also incredibly flawed, as seen in how he repeatedly subjected a young Sasuke to Tsukuyomi, forcing him to relive the trauma he endured on the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Although this did motivate Sasuke to grow stronger in the long run, it also contributed to his mental instability and hatred towards Konoha's leadership, after he learned the truth behind what Itachi had done.

A Tragic Hero Or Sympathetic Villain?

Broadly, Itachi's appeal as a character amongNaruto's fan base can be attributed to his immense intellect, humble persona, benevolent beliefs, and, of course, his monstrous power. It would not be an exaggeration to state that Itachi had abilities that were nearly impossible to counter, even for fellow Sharingan users, including Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and his virtually invincible Susanoo.

He was also a master strategist and exceedingly efficient at luring his opponents into a false sense of security, before swiftly incapacitating them with genjutsu. A testament to his pacifistic nature can be seen in how he primarily relied on genjutsu in combat situations, and avoided directly engaging opponents or taking lives wherever possible.

These traits are more in line with a traditionally heroic figure, highlighting how he might have become such a person if circumstances had been different. However, there is also a precedent for such types of anti-hero characters, with the likes of Vash the Stampede from Trigun coming to mind.

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Such contrasts between Itachi's ideals and his part in the Uchiha Clan Downfall, were startling in how much they diverged from each other. Nevertheless, Itachi's massacre of the Uchiha clan was an act that could not be defended by any stretch of imagination, since he took the lives of countless innocents who had no part to play in the Uchiha clan's planned coup d'état against Konoha's higher ups.

Although he was forced to choose this path as the lesser of two evils when threatened by the prospect of a civil war in Konoha, it did not excuse the act itself. Moral evaluations of this decision also merited inquiry into the context behind Itachi's choice, which eventually illuminated the harsh reality of how the shinobi world in Naruto once functioned.

Itachi's Fate And The Ills Of The Ninja World

Zooming out to look at the larger picture, it was plain to see that Itachi was a child soldier at a time when genin were routinely sent to the battlefield as reinforcements when villages grew desperate during wars. His talents also fueled his meteoric rise through the ranks of Konoha's Anbu at an alarming rate. In fact, at the time of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, Itachi was only 13 years old, which was a disturbingly young age for someone to have to deal with the burden of preventing an internal civil war.

To make matters worse, he had the misfortune of being a subordinate of Danzo Shimura, who deftly manipulated him into carrying out the massacre, after eliminating his mentor Shisui, and snuffing out every other alternative course of action. Left with no one to confide in and no other feasible means to prevent the worst-case scenario, Itachi's need to avoid war at all costs took over, exactly as Danzo intended.

Ultimately, Danzo was largely responsible for what happened to Itachi, coupled with the Third Hokage's failure to act as a leader and defuse the situation before it escalated. Despite being someone who only wanted the best for his village and family, the tragedy which defined Itachi's life highlighted how innately good people could fall victim to unjust systems beyond their control, forcing them to do the unthinkable in order to save what matters most to them.

Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

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Naruto

Animation

Action

Adventure

A popular shonen anime based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga, Naruto follows its eponymous shinobi's journey as he goes from his town's outsider to its hero.

Release Date

October 2, 2002

Studio

Pierrot

Creator

Masashi Kishimoto

Number of Episodes

220

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu , Netflix , YouTube

Watch on Amazon