Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha
Naruto character
Sasuke Uchiha as seen in Part I (right), Part II (left) and the finale as well as the Boruto film and series (middle)
First appearance	Naruto chapter 3: Enter Sasuke! (1999)
Created by	Masashi Kishimoto

Sasuke Uchiha (Japanese: うちは サスケ, Hepburn: Uchiha Sasuke) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime franchise created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sasuke is one of the few surviving members of the Uchiha clan, a notorious and powerful extended ninja family. The clan (allied with the village of Konohagakure) was massacred by Sasuke's older brother, Itachi Uchiha, before the series begins. Sasuke's focus is originally to avenge the destruction of his clan by killing his brother, but he later becomes more empathetic toward his teammates, particularly Naruto Uzumaki, whom he eventually considers a friend. His feelings of powerlessness force him to abandon his village on a quest to gain more strength regardless of the cost. Sasuke also appears in several of the series' animated feature films and other media, including video games, original video animations (OVAs), and Boruto: Naruto the Movie and its manga sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, as a vigilante supporting his village.

Sasuke was conceived by Masashi Kishimoto as a rival of the series' title character, Naruto Uzumaki. Despite Sasuke's dark character development later in the story, the author avoided portraying him as a villain. Sasuke's design challenged Kishimoto as he drew the manga since he found it demanding to create suitable looks for him. On the other hand, the author has grown to enjoy drawing him despite the difficulty of this task. In the manga's animated adaptations, Sasuke was voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in Japanese and Yuri Lowenthal in English.

Sasuke's character has received mixed responses from anime and manga publications. Many reviewers noted his impressive abilities shown across his fights as well as his impact in the series' plot, most notably near the finale, and applauded his rivalry with the title character. However, journalists also regarded him as a stereotypical rival in the mold of similar characters from other shōnen manga and criticized his cold personality. Sasuke has placed highly in Naruto reader popularity polls. Character-based merchandise has been released, including action figures and plush dolls.

Creation

Development

Sasuke Uchiha was not included in Masashi Kishimoto's original concept of the Naruto manga. Discussing the series' future, his editor advised him to add a rival character for protagonist Naruto Uzumaki, and he created Sasuke. Sasuke's first name came from Sanpei Shirato's manga Sasuke and Sarutobi Sasuke, a fictional ninja in Japanese children's stories. To introduce Sasuke, Kishimoto originally wrote a chapter which was set before the formation of Sasuke's ninja squad, Team 7, when Naruto had just become a ninja. The idea was scrapped and Sasuke was introduced with Team 7, although he retained the same traits and the rivalry with Naruto.

Kishimoto read a variety of manga to obtain ideas for creating an effective rivalry between the characters, and he incorporated these elements 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 him with Naruto, Kishimoto did not make Sasuke too emotional and depicted him as a "cool genius". He felt that he had created an ideal rivalry in the pair, and when one character progressed, he made sure 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 see Naruto as an opponent worth considering 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 that he did not want Sasuke to recognize Naruto as an equal until later in Part II.

When plot developments made Sasuke one of the series' antagonists, Kishimoto compared him and Naruto to yin and yang due to their differences and complementary natures. During this period, the author was asked if Sasuke was good or evil. Kishimoto stated that Sasuke was neither of these two and called him a "very pure person". The author elaborated on this by mentioning that although some of Sasuke's actions such as following his clan's ideals are positive, his self-centeredness tends to cause problems with others. Since the beginning of the serialization, Kishimoto planned that the series would end with a fight between the two characters, but he was uncertain if they would end up as friends or enemies. Although they use ninja techniques in the beginning, for the climax, the author wanted both fighters to rely on hand-to-hand combat. Kishimoto decided to have Naruto forgive Sasuke as he had forgiven Nagato, another former enemy.

Kishimoto found Sasuke a difficult character to write, requiring considerable planning. Before the series finale, Sasuke decides to leave on a solo journey. Kishimoto later explained that in addition to atonement, Sasuke wanted to discover the origin of the series' final antagonist; however, Kishimoto did not explain this in the manga. Kishimoto planned Sasuke and Sakura Haruno's romance early in Naruto's production, and he decided that Sasuke would remain a rogue ninja at the end of the series despite having a good relationship with his allies.

Following Naruto's finale, Kishimoto wanted Sasuke's role in the series to be further explored. For the spin-off manga Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, which focuses on Sasuke and Sakura's daughter, Sarada Uchiha, Kishimoto wanted to explain the couple's connection. Despite their separation as a result of Sasuke's mission, which prevented him from remaining in his village, the story managed to explain the bond between the three family members. The author focused on the final scene of the Uchiha family, the spin-off's most important facet for him. Additionally, since Sasuke had few appearances in the Naruto movies, Kishimoto decided to give him a bigger role in Boruto: Naruto the Movie; Sasuke teaches Naruto's firstborn child, Boruto Uzumaki, as a reference to Piccolo and Gohan in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga series. This is also further represented in Boruto's manga.

Design

While early designs of Sasuke as seen in Part I (left) were similar to the final one, for Part II (right) Kishimoto conceived multiple sketches which were scrapped.

Because he was developed as Naruto's opposite, Kishimoto called Sasuke the most memorable character for him to design. He said that the character's design and Sharingan ability were influenced by Hiei in Yoshihiro Togashi's manga series, YuYu Hakusho. The character originally had necklaces and ties around his arms and legs due to Kishimoto's 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, one of Sasuke and Kakashi Hatake's best-known techniques, originally had a different name which Kishimoto forgot. However, he found the name "Chidori" appropriate in addition to its variant, the "Lightning Blade". According to Kishimoto, he had trouble conceiving the name of these moves based on feedback from his editors.

Kishimoto considered Sasuke his most challenging character to design and draw. He lacked a clear idea of how his face should appear, and in his initial drawings, Sasuke looked too old for someone who was the same age as Naruto. The author felt the latter 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. Kishimoto drew a new costume for Sasuke midway through Part I of the series with belts strapped around his arms and legs, but he returned to the character's original design since it took too long to draw. Sasuke is his favorite character to draw despite the time and energy required, and he compared Sasuke to Sakura in difficulty. Kishimoto's superiors sometimes asked him to redraw parts of the manga which did not illustrate Sasuke well.

Kishimoto's design focus for Part II was Sasuke's appearance, which was now that of an older teenager. Originally, Sasuke was going to be drawn as a more attractive person, but the idea was scrapped. An outfit Kishimoto initially planned was a combination of younger Sasuke's clothes and new modern clothes. Kishimoto tried several looks, including wrapping him in Shimenawa to evoke Orochimaru (Sasuke's master) and a turtleneck and military uniform to indicate cleanliness. However, the latter one was also avoided due to similarities with cold weather clothing. Kishimoto ultimately chose Japanese clothing and a chokutō sword.

For The Last: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto gave Sasuke a new, young-adult design with "even sharper" facial features. In contrast to older Naruto who cut his hair, Sasuke's hairstyle instead became longer. Kishimoto noted that this was made to cover part of the character's face. Originally, the author intended the hair to hide Sasuke's left eye, the Rinnegan, but eventually decided to leave the matter open to the viewers' interpretation. Kishimoto elaborated on the character's design by stating that since Sasuke hides his identity during the events of the movie, he had decided to give him a large hood. Sasuke's design was specifically made for his actions. The area which showed that Sasuke had lost his left arm was also covered by his clothes.

Personality and voice actors

Yuri Lowenthal, voice of Sasuke in the anime's English-language version

Sasuke is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in the Japanese animations. At the beginning of Part I of the anime, Sugiyama found it difficult to voice Sasuke because he knew little about his personality; he began to understand the character when Sasuke encountered his brother, Itachi Uchiha. Sugiyama read the manga and became particularly interested in Sasuke's development when the character left Konohagakure; he wanted to redo some scenes, including Sasuke's departure from Konohagakure. In Behind the Scenes of Uchiha, a feature about Sasuke and Itachi's backstory, Sugiyama said that he became emotional during the sixth Naruto: Shippuden season's recording sessions when Sasuke learned the truth about his brother's role in the massacre of the Uchiha clan.

Sugiyama said that 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 voice actor, Junko Takeuchi, said that Sasuke's line to Sakura, "See you next time ... Thank you", revealed his feelings for her. Sugiyama noted 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. In preparation for Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Sugiyama expected to see a bond between Sasuke and his student Boruto Uzumaki. For the Boruto anime series, Sugiyama noted a change in Sasuke's personality and wanted fans to see the character's interaction with his family.

Yuri Lowenthal, who voiced Sasuke in the English dubs, said he was honored to be chosen from the many actors auditioning, but he mentioned that the job was stressful. Although fans were critical of deviations or mistakes in his recordings, he nevertheless enjoyed voicing the character. His first impression of Sasuke was "a serious guy dedicated to his training", but his view changed as he learned about the character's backstory. Lowenthal said in 2010 that Sasuke was one of the first "dark" characters he voiced: "He's sort of a hero, but he’s not the naïve, young white–hat hero". Because Viz Media often censored parts of the series' dialogue for Western viewers, Lowenthal said that some of Sasuke's lines (such as his use of the word "kill") were changed. As a result, he found the original Japanese version truer to the character.

Description

A replica of Sasuke's Kusanagi sword

Sasuke is introduced in Part I as a young, spiky-black-haired teenager in a blue shirt with a fan representing his clan on his back, short white pants, and the customary Konohagakure headband. Early in the series, a man, Orochimaru, brands Sasuke with a Cursed Seal, which covers his body with black marks and later gives him gray skin, white hair, and claw-like wings. In Part II, he usually wears a white kimono and black pants. Although he is skilled in the use of shuriken, in Part II, Sasuke uses a chokutō sword, which he calls Kusanagi. In addition to using Kusanagi for swordsmanship, Sasuke combines it with lightning-based techniques to increase the power of his attacks.

Sasuke is a silent character who tries to become stronger to kill his older brother, Itachi Uchiha, for betraying and murdering their clan. He is moved when Naruto Uzumaki wants him to make peace with the village, and Sasuke considers Naruto his only friend. Sasuke becomes more kindhearted by the end of the series, but he decides not to return home, choosing to redeem himself and search for an enemy threatening the peace of Konohagakure.

Appearances

In Naruto

In Part I

Sasuke is introduced in Naruto's third manga chapter as a young ninja assigned to be a member of Team 7 alongside Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. The trio is trained under the guidance of Kakashi Hatake to improve their skills. Although Sasuke is antisocial, he starts caring about Naruto and Sakura. During a mission, Sasuke awakens his Sharingan, his clan's inherited ability to see through illusions, allowing him to learn imperceptible movements at a superhuman rate. Later, it is revealed that Sasuke is the sole survivor of the once-powerful Uchiha clan of Konohagakure. At age seven, he survived the massacre of his clan by his brother, Itachi Uchiha, who spared his life only because he considered Sasuke unworthy to kill. Across his fights, Sasuke seeks out strong opponents to reassure himself that he is growing in terms of power.

During a ninja examination meant to improve their ranks, Team 7 encounters Orochimaru, an exile from Konohagakure, who afflicts Sasuke with a Cursed Seal. The seal, which contains a fragment of Orochimaru's consciousness, increases Sasuke's physical abilities, but it also makes him cruel and sadistic. Kakashi teaches Sasuke the lightning-based offensive technique, Chidori, in an attempt to appease his desire for power. During a siege of Konohagakure, Sasuke is beaten by a berserker ninja named Gaara and rescued by Naruto. Shortly afterward, Itachi returns to the village; Sasuke tries to kill him, but he is beaten and tortured instead. He decides to leave Team 7 and Konohagakure to become stronger. Thinking that 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, spares Naruto's life and continues to Orochimaru's hideout.

In Part II

After two-and-a-half years of training, Sasuke absorbs Orochimaru before he can possess his younger body. Following this, Sasuke forms Team Hebi to track Itachi down. They fight, and at the climax of the battle, Itachi dies of an illness. Sasuke then meets Itachi's superior, Tobi, who reveals that Itachi killed the Uchiha clan under Konohagakure's orders 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, giving him powerful new techniques. After he agrees to work temporarily for Tobi's terrorist organization, Akatsuki, Sasuke becomes a criminal. He kills Danzo Shimura, a mastermind of the Uchiha massacre and the Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure. Sasuke is confronted by his former Team 7 teammates, and Naruto challenges him to a death match.

Despite initially preparing to face Naruto, Sasuke instead decides to protect Konohagakure after his encounters with the reanimated bodies of Itachi and the First Hokage. Thus, he rejoins Team 7 and fights the Ten-Tails, which is controlled by the masterminds behind Akatsuki. Sasuke inherits the Rinnegan, an eye technique, from Sage of the Six Paths Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the first ninja. Team 7 fights and seals an ancient being called Kaguya Otsutsuki, Hagoromo's mother, who created the Ten-Tails. After that, Sasuke fights Naruto one-on-one to settle their village's future; when he loses his left arm, Sasuke surrenders and reconciles with Naruto. Sasuke then destroys Akatsuki's illusion placed on mankind with his Rinnegan. He is pardoned for his crimes by Kakashi, the current Hokage, and thus decides to travel the world in search of redemption. Before leaving, he says farewell to both Sakura and Naruto with gratitude. By the end of the manga, Sasuke has returned to the village and has married Sakura; they have a daughter, Sarada Uchiha.

In other media

Sasuke also appears in the first four original video animations (OVAs) produced for the series: helping Naruto and Konohamaru Sarutobi find a four-leaf clover in the first, joining Naruto's team for a mission in the second, participating in a tournament in the third, and working with Team 7 in the fourth. One OVA presents an alternate fight between Sasuke and Naruto in Part II of the anime. The character appears in the first two Naruto feature films, guarding a princess in Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2004) and appearing briefly in a flashback in Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel (2005). The first Part II movie with him is Naruto Shippuden 2: Bonds (2008). The sixth Part II movie, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie (2012), contains an alternate-reality version of Sasuke as a flirtatious Casanova. In The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014), an adult Sasuke returns briefly to Konohagakure to protect it from a meteor.

He is a recurring character in the Naruto light novels and the protagonist of the 2012 Naruto Jinraiden: The Day the Wolf Howled, 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 he 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), where he agrees to aid Konohagakure by investigating a rash of disappearances. With the help of Taka and a ninja named Sai, Sasuke solves the case.

In the 2015 spin-off Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, Sasuke discovers that a new threat is approaching. He rejoins Naruto and the others to oppose Orochimaru's former test subjects, who want to revive the Akatsuki and avenge Itachi. After defeating the test subjects, Sasuke manages to bond with Sarada for the first time and resumes his mission. Sasuke is a protagonist of Kenji Taira's Naruto spin-off manga, Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan Legend, where he and Taka search for Itachi. According to Taira, Sasuke would be characterized as an "idiot".

In Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015), Sasuke returns to Konohagakure to warn Naruto of the threat posed by Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki. He meets Naruto's son, Boruto, who asks Sasuke to take him on as an apprentice to surpass his father. When Momoshiki and Kinshiki attack the village and kidnap Naruto, Sasuke joins Boruto and the four other Kage to rescue Naruto, and he and Naruto help Boruto to defeat Momoshiki. Sasuke is also Boruto's teacher in the sequel manga, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. After Momoshiki's defeat, Sasuke notices that the enemy placed a seal on Boruto and tells the teenager to seek his help if anything happens to him.

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 chapters and episodes, he does not appear in any games based on Naruto: Shippuden until Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2. Sasuke has appeared in crossover games, such as Jump Super Stars, Jump Ultimate Stars, Battle Stadium D.O.N, and J-Stars Victory Vs.

Reception

Popularity

Sasuke has ranked among the top five Naruto characters in every Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity poll of the series. Initially alternating between third and fourth places, he has finished first twice. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone customers voted him their fifth-favorite black-haired male anime character in 2014. IGN listed him as the seventh-best Naruto character when the series ended in 2014. Additionally, a popularity poll on the Japanese website Charapedia ranked Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry as the best one from anime media. In developing the fighting game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama said that his favorite fight was the one between Sasuke and Itachi. Kishimoto was questioned by Nogizaka46 member Rina Ikoma while cosplaying as Sasuke in a Mezamashi TV interview; Kishimoto complimented Ikoma's cosplay. At New York's 2015 Comic-Con, moderator Christopher Butcher and editor Jo Otsuki said that Sasuke had become the series' most popular character, and Otsuki called him his favorite. Butcher was surprised because Sasuke's pessimistic worldview contrasted with Naruto's more-positive outlook and wondered if readers found Sasuke a more relatable character after the defeat of his worldview by Naruto's in the series finale. According to Otsuki, fans regarded Sasuke's character and abilities as "cooler" than his rival's and, given the similarities between the characters and the series' happy ending, Sasuke had found a more-positive worldview.

Sasuke-related merchandise has been released, including key chains and figurines. Boruto film audiences were given two fans, with pictures of Sasuke and Sarada. Bandai released a S.H. Figuarts action figure of Sasuke performing the Chidori move. In promoting the video game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, two 1/6-scale statues depicting Sasuke and Naruto during their final clash in the series were developed by Tsume in Luxembourg. In May 2017, Premium Bandai also launched an action figure of Sasuke's Part II appearance while showing his Susanoo technique below him, representing god of thunder Raijin. Studio Pierrot released artwork sold alongside this figure. Another Bandai figure is a limited adult version of Sasuke from the Naruto finale and the Boruto franchise, which impressed Scott Green, a writer of Ain't It Cool News and Crunchyroll, due to the attention to the details on its facial features.

Critical response

The Eastern fan, uchiwa, is said to be related to Sasuke's origins and his relationship with Naruto.

Manga, anime, and video-game publications and related media have commented on Sasuke, providing both praise and criticism on the character across the series. GameSpot's Joe Donson called Sasuke's abilities "badass", but he stated that the character's personality resembled "emo" stereotypes due to his cold attitude. Ross Christmas from T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews noted critically that Sasuke fell into the stereotypical "rival" mold of shōnen manga. However, Mania Entertainment's Dani Moure praised the fact that Naruto and Sasuke were forced to work together despite their rivalry; regardless of their competition, "the group [Naruto and Sasuke] come together when they need to". A study of whether readers could predict character types based on physical cues found that Sasuke was a ISTJ (Myers-Briggs) character type, making him a foil for Naruto. Rik Spanjers saw the difference between Sasuke and Naruto as tragic, but he mentioned that the contrast between the protagonists' approach to the world is 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." Amy Plumb wrote that Kishimoto's references to Japanese mythology in Naruto add layers to the story, including Sasuke's clan's heraldic symbol: a fan known as an uchiwa. The fans are used in Japanese mythology to exorcise evil by blowing it away; Sasuke discovers late in the series that he has the ability to "blow away" the influence of the Nine-Tailed Fox on Naruto. In the book The Rough Guide to Manga, Jason S. Yadao stated that while Sasuke and Sakura's characters are meant to help Naruto reach his goal of becoming the Hokage, the relationship between the members of the team is complex due to the love triangle within them; while Naruto has feelings for Sakura, she is instead in love with Sasuke. This makes Naruto feel jealousy to the point of becoming Sasuke's rival in the process despite Sasuke not being interested in Sakura at that time, resulting in the complex relationship Yadao explained.

Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network (ANN) described Sasuke's fight in the Chunin Exams as "pure action", and he stated that Orochimaru's influence on him maintained the tension. In another review, Kimlinger wrote that Sasuke needed development when he escaped from Konohagakure, but the long flashbacks of his life before his fight with Naruto were unnecessary. Their fight has been called one of the series' most entertaining because of its tactics and emphasis on the rivalry's emotional undercurrents and development. In the book New Media Literacies and Participatory Popular Culture Across Borders, Amy A. Zenger wrote that Sasuke and Sakura's relationship was popular with fans even before Sasuke reciprocated Sakura's feelings. Charles White of IGN wrote that Sasuke's farewell to Sakura in the first series was one of its most emotional scenes; Sakura's feelings had grown beyond her crush on him. Sasuke's response led White to believe that they could become a couple. Theron Martin of ANN praised Yuri Lowenthal's voicing of Sasuke, but he noted that the actor had difficulty sounding younger in flashbacks.

Sasuke's traits from Part II of the manga evoke elements of Japanese mythology, such as the Susanoo technique (above) and the Qilin (below).

Sasuke's appearances in Part II of the Naruto manga have been praised. His weaponry and techniques, such as the Kusanagi sword and his Susanoo eye technique, are based on Japanese mythology. Plumb wrote that Kishimoto expects his readers to understand the references, allowing him to avoid explanations. Another example of an allusion to mythology used in the story is one of Sasuke's strongest techniques, Kirin (麒麟), which instead originates from the creature Qilin that appears in multiple Asian cultures. Manga Life's Park Cooper noted that Sasuke's new abilities and his fight against Orochimaru indicated a "change in the nature of things". Writer Jason Thompson enjoyed Sasuke's new design and his first interactions with Naruto after the series' timeskip. Reviewing a scene later in the series, Thompson noted that Sasuke had not become evil; Itachi is the only one of his enemies whom he kills. Sasuke's reintroduction in the second story arc inspired the animated adaptation, Naruto: Shippuden, to begin with a sneak peek of the scene. In Shippuden, Sasuke's personality did not differ much from the original series. His more-emotional attitude made scenes interesting, as did his conversation with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox which foreshadowed future events. Casey Brienza of ANN called Sasuke's final fight against Itachi "epic", noting that Itachi's death and revelations about his life impacted Sasuke's personality and point of view. UK Anime Network's Dan Rhodes compared Sasuke's fight scenes in a later arc favorably with the scenes of Naruto's also famous fight against Akatsuki member Pain, noting the characters' motives for each fight. Chris Beveridge of the Fandom Post enjoyed Sasuke's decision to protect Konohagakure, since it meant that he would aid Naruto's group in upcoming episodes with the reanimated Hokage.

The following reviews focused on Sasuke and Naruto's final battle and results. Jacob Hope Chapman of ANN called Sasuke and Naruto one of "Anime's Fiercest Frenemies", citing their similarities and the renewal of their friendship after the mortal battle. Amy McNulty of ANN also praised their final fight, despite finding Sasuke unlikable in that scene due to his darker personality. In the same episodes, Beveridge wondered if Sasuke had a god complex given his desire to spark revolution in the episodes leading to his final fight with Naruto, but he appreciated the battle's choreography. Sarah Nelkin of Anime Now found the final fight between Sasuke and Naruto one of the series' darkest moments because of how close they came to killing each other, although Naruto tried to reconcile with Sasuke during the battle. In a later review, McNulty liked a scene in which Sasuke admitted his crimes and agreed to go to prison, since it indicated an acceptance of responsibility for his misdeeds. McNulty also approved of Sasuke's later journey of self-redemption and his decision to respond to Sakura's feelings before leaving. IGN's Ramsey Isler found Sasuke's change of heart drastic, but he felt it was a good conclusion for the character and fit with him leaving the village again, this time on good terms. Manga author Hiroaki Samura enjoyed Sasuke's character arc in the series, especially his influence on Naruto and his return to Konohagakure. Finding Sasuke's fate in the manga's ending predictable, McNulty wrote that the character's monologue after his final fight with Naruto indicated his deeper side.

Following the post-Naruto media, Sasuke has received a positive response. Reviewing Boruto: Naruto the Movie, writers enjoyed Sasuke's fight scenes against the antagonists, most notably his team up with Naruto, to the point of remarking it as the best parts of the film. Similar comments were given to his new characterization as an adult. Beveridge liked Sasuke's personality. while both Sam Stewart of IGN and Ken Iikura of Anime Now how caring Sasuke became when it came to his daughter's sake. While McNulty disliked the romance between Sasuke and Sakura in the original series because she felt it was a one-sided crush on Sakura's part, believed their marriage was easier to understand thanks to Sarada. Similarly, Another Anime Now writer, Sarah Nelkin, said that the episodes develop Sasuke as a father and a husband. Stewart praised Sasuke's depiction as a flawed parent, noting that his farewell to Sarada demonstrates his difficulty in being a good father.

External links

Media related to Sasuke Uchiha at Wikimedia Commons