Naruto

[odd-urahra]

naruto is one of my favorite animes  

[imbar]

i enjoy watching as well

the manga is good too whee  

[Suzaku24]

List of Naruto antagonists

Creation and conception

When creating the antagonists of the Naruto, series creator Masashi Kishimoto's primary goal was to create villains that were directly opposed to the lead characters' moral values. He stated that this focus on illustrating the difference in values is central to his creation of villains to the point that, "I don't really think about them in combat". The villains' physical appearances were embellished in order to differentiate them from other characters. Kishimoto commented that "the difference between the heroes and the villains must be obvious" and that the different appearances should make it easier for a reader to follow the story and "recognize that 'this character is a bad guy'", even in heated battle scenes. In some cases, Kishimoto creates antagonists to fight specific characters, and ensures that the antagonists' unique attributes "make the battles interesting". Kishimoto also noted that making the villains "flamboyant" with a "showy costume" is part of his "guiding principles" in ensuring the villains were clearly visible from the other characters in the story, as well as making them "more memorable".  

[Suzaku24]

Otogakure

Otogakure (音隠れの里 ,Otogakure no Sato?, lit. "Village Hidden in Sound") is a village founded by Orochimaru for the purpose of collecting ninja for his experiments to learn all the jutsu in the world. The village is not contiguous, consisting of multiple assorted lairs located within the Land of Sound and outside it.

Orochimaru (大蛇丸 ?) is a fictional character from the Naruto universe created by Masashi Kishimoto and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, OVAs, movies, video games, and other collectibles. He was created as one of the series' main antagonists, and intended to represent the opposite of the protagonists' morals and values.

In the anime and manga, Orochimaru is a former ninja of the village of Konohagakure, and leads his own ninja village, Otogakure, in hopes of destroying his former home. During his time in Konohagakure, Orochimaru distinguished himself as one of the village's most powerful ninja; however, his desire for power led him to obtain a means for immortality by transferring between different host bodies. This desire for a host is one of his driving motivations throughout the series, resulting in his desire to acquire Sasuke Uchiha due to his powerful genetic heritage. Orochimaru has appeared in media outside the Naruto anime and manga, including several video games.

Several anime and manga publications have praised and criticized Orochimaru's character. As one of the series' premier villains, he has been praised in this regard; IGN compared his character to Darth Vader of Star Wars fame. His lack of redeeming qualities and open malevolence was also praised by reviewers, with Mania.com calling him the "first real villain" of the series. Among the Naruto reader base, Orochimaru has been popular, ranking within the top twenty characters in several polls. Numerous pieces of merchandise in Orochimaru's likeness have also been released, including action figures and plush dolls.

First appearance: manga chapter 45
Naruto anime episode 27
Voiced by:
Japanese
Kujira
Yuriko Yamaguchi (as Grass ninja)
Mayumi Yamaguchi (as a child)
Sachiko Kojima (as his female body)
English
Steven Jay Blum
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (as Grass ninja)
Michelle Ruff (as his female body)

Profile
Age: 50-51 in Part I
54 in Part II
Date of birth: October 27
Ninja rank: Missing-nin

Creation and conception

As one of the villains in the story, Kishimoto created Orochimaru as an antithesis to the protagonists' values. His snake-like appearance and related features were intended to make it easier for the reader to recognize that he is a villain. In an interview, Kishimoto asserted that making the villains "flamboyant" was one of his "guiding principles," and attributed this to his desire to have the villains have a "powerful aura."

Following this theme of distinguishing villains, Kishimoto attempted to make Orochimaru's face appear "pasty and sickly," which serves to emphasize the "scary looks" that Kishimoto frequently has Orochimaru performing in the manga. As these occurrences are his "trademark," Kishimoto modifies Orochimaru's appearance and the scene to focus on Orochimaru's face; for instance, highlights that are normally added to Orochimaru's hair are removed and the background is blanked out to create a "creepy atmosphere."

Background

Unlike most other Naruto characters, whose backgrounds are told in chronological order over a consecutive series of chapters, small portions of Orochimaru's past are explored throughout the series. After his parents died when he was young, Orochimaru's only source of affection was received from his teacher, the Third Hokage, and his two teammates. As they grew older Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade collectively became known as the "Legendary Three Ninja" (伝説の三忍 ,Densetsu no Sannin?) due to their exemplary ninja abilities. Orochimaru, however, craved more power than could be obtained from training with his master, and began abducting villagers of Konohagakure for experimentation. He simultaneously applied for the title of Hokage, the village's protector, hoping that the position would give him access to new abilities. The Third, though wishing to pass the name of Hokage to his favorite student, could not bring himself to knowingly satisfy Orochimaru's lust for power, and thus gave the position to Jiraiya's student.

No longer having a reason to keep face in Konoha, Orochimaru was less discreet about his abductions and experimentations, giving the Third the opportunity to discover what he was doing. Unwilling to bring himself to harm Orochimaru, the Third allowed him to escape and flee the village. In time Orochimaru joined the criminal organization Akatsuki, where he tried to get close to and steal the body of Itachi Uchiha so as to gain the Sharingan. When Itachi was easily able to repel his efforts, Orochimaru was forced to flee the organization. With Akatsuki now seeking to assassinate him due to his knowledge of their organization, Orochimaru founded his own ninja village, Otogakure, populated with ninja loyal to him. There he continued his experimentations uninhibited, gaining the means to make all his dreams of power come true.

Personality

Orochimaru's various human experiments take place so as to serve two purposes, most prominent of which is his desire to learn every jutsu in the Naruto world. Jiraiya speculates that this is due to the fact that his parents died when he was at a very young age, and flashbacks shown during his battle with the Third Hokage speak to this effect. Perhaps because he wanted to see his parents or as a means of avenging their deaths, he experiments on others to see what kind of modifications the human body can endure and to otherwise harness a subject's unique abilities for himself. Once accomplishing this goal, Orochimaru hopes to be worthy of the title of "ultimate being". Because a human's lifespan does not allow enough time to learn every jutsu, Orochimaru also experiments on others so as to achieve immortality. By living throughout the ages, Orochimaru need never worry about death and thus all the knowledge he gains will never be lost.

Above all else, Orochimaru cares only for himself. He grows bored when there is no conflict or violence in the world, and immediately strikes fear into others when they first meet him. Though he has a number of followers who would do anything for him, Orochimaru treats them as mere pawns. He does not hesitate to send them to their deaths for his own personal benefit, and only finds remorse in their loss if they are unable to properly complete a task. To win over these followers to their disposable status, Orochimaru approaches them with promises of making their dreams, such as obtaining power, revenge, or a purpose to their lives, come true. He applies a cursed seal to many of his stronger subordinates in order to corrode their body and mind, making them more susceptible to his influence and control.

Abilities

Much of Orochimaru's arsenal of abilities deals with snakes. By summoning them to his side during battle, Orochimaru can battle multiple opponents at once and simultaneously keep himself out of harm's way. Through his experimentations he has also been able to add some snake-like characteristics to his own body, such as shedding his body to escape injury or extending parts of his body to great lengths. Of the more common of his snake-related abilities, Orochimaru possesses the Kusanagi sword (草薙の剣 ,Kusanagi no Tsurugi?, English TV "The Grass Long Sword"), an extendable blade that he stores within a snake that is in turn stored in his own mouth. Though he can wield the sword regularly with great proficiency, it is not uncommon for him to use the sword without ever removing it from his mouth.

The influence snakes have had on Orochimaru is most evident in the results of his immortality research: after years of study and self-modifications, Orochimaru's "true" form has become that of a giant white snake that is composed of many smaller snakes. To live forever and escape death, Orochimaru first finds a new body that will act as his own. He then leaves the confines of the body he is inhabiting, revealing his true form. Once doing so, Orochimaru needs only to consume the new body and gain dominance over the soul of its current inhabitant, thus gaining complete control and access to all the body's unique abilities. While inhabiting this body, Orochimaru typically wears a mask of his original face, it being both his personal preference and easier for others to communicate with someone they recognize. Orochimaru can only perform this body-transfer once every three years, at which point in time weaker bodies begin to reject him and therefore necessitate he find a new body.

Plot overview

Orochimaru acts as the primary antagonist for the first part of the series, planning the invasion and eventual destruction of Konoha so that he can kill the Third Hokage and gain the body of Itachi Uchiha's brother, Sasuke Uchiha. When the Third is able to fight back during their battle and take away Orochimaru's ability to perform jutsu, he is forced to put his plans for Sasuke on hold, calling off Konoha's invasion and pulling his forces back. Wanting to regain the ability to use jutsu, Orochimaru seeks out a way to cure himself. When all his efforts prove unsuccessful, Orochimaru sends his Sound Four to fetch Sasuke, hoping that a body-transfer will undo the Third's seal. Though he waits as long as he can, Sasuke takes too long to arrive and Orochimaru is forced to switch to the body of one of his prisoners instead. Once Sasuke arrives, Orochimaru begins molding him into the ideal body, coveting the day that he will be able to take the body for himself.

Two-and-a-half years later, in the second part of the series, Orochimaru prepares to take Sasuke's body. Sasuke, unwilling to give himself up to Orochimaru, fights an attempted body-switch. Having the stronger will, Sasuke retains control of his body while trapping Orochimaru's soul within him, giving him access to many of Orochimaru's abilities in the process. In the aftermath of Orochimaru's defeat one of his subordinates, Kabuto Yakushi, absorbs his remains, which have since begun to slowly take over Kabuto's body. During Sasuke's later fight with Itachi, Sasuke is left too weak to continue suppressing Orochimaru's spirit, allowing Orochimaru to escape and try to take his body again. Before he can do so, Itachi traps him in an inescapable dream-like realm, robbing Orochimaru of his chance to gain the Sharingan and releasing Sasuke from his influence.

Appearances in other media

Orochimaru so far has only appeared in the most recent Naruto film, Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds. He is not present in the other four films in the series, nor any of the original video animations; however, is a playable character in nearly all Naruto video games, including the Clash of Ninja series and the Ultimate Ninja series. In some games, he utilizes variations of his techniques not seen in the anime or manga, and in the second installment of the Ultimate Ninja series, his state after his arms were sealed by the Third Hokage is available as a separate character. Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2 marks the first appearance of Orochimaru in a video game set in Part II, with the second one being Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 2.

Reception

Orochimaru has been featured consistently in the Shonen Jump popularity polls, commonly placing in the top twenty characters. The last such poll was in 2006, in which Orochimaru was in 24th place. Merchandise based on Orochimaru has also been released, including action figures, plush dolls, and key chains.

Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Orochimaru's character. IGN compared Orochimaru's search for power and subsequent fall into villainy to that of Darth Vader, and labeled Orochimaru as "something more than just pure evil." Mania.com considered Orochimaru the "first real villain" of the series, noting that he had no redeeming qualities, as versus Zabuza Momochi, the villain of the previous arc. DVDTalk celebrated the introduction of Orochimaru into the series, as well as the potential plot development from the curse seal Orochimaru placed on Sasuke, noting it was one of the best parts of the series. Instead, Anime News Network labeled Orochimaru to be a character that can not be killed. However, they considered Kujira, Orochimaru's Japanese voice actor, as one of the best ones from the series.  

[Suzaku24]

Kabuto Yakushi (薬師 カブト ,Yakushi Kabuto?) is Orochimaru's foremost servant. As a child, he was found on a battlefield by a medical officer from Konohagakure, who took Kabuto and raised him as a son. Kabuto began acting as a spy for numerous countries and organizations, including the criminal organization Akatsuki, which ordered him to enter the service of Orochimaru. Kabuto uses his various former affiliations as a means to gather intelligence on Orochimaru's behalf; for instance, he participates in the bi-annual ninja exams as a villager of Konohagakure so as to gather information on his fellow participants. Although Kabuto has professed his utmost loyalty to Orochimaru, Orochimaru has admitted that he cannot determine where Kabuto's true loyalties lie, and has suggested that Kabuto secretly works against him.

Kabuto is highly proficient with medical techniques, being likened in ability to Tsunade: he can regenerate from wounds by reactivating dead cells in order to grow new ones and can form a scalpel with chakra to deal precise blows to his opponents. Orochimaru uses Kabuto's talents in his human experiments, primarily to keep test subjects alive for longer than is normally feasible. During Part I, he infiltrates Konohagakure to prepare for Orochimaru's invasion, and rejoins Orochimaru in Otogakure following the invasion. In Part II, after Orochimaru is killed, Kabuto integrates Orochimaru's remains into his body in order to become powerful enough to not serve anyone again. Orochimaru's remains have gradually begun to take over his body, but Kabuto expresses desire to kill Sasuke Uchiha, and afterwards fight Naruto Uzumaki once he has learned to control the remains. In the Japanese anime, Kabuto's seiyū is Nobutoshi Canna, and his English voice actor is Henry Dittman.  

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Sound Four

The Sound Four (音隠れの忍四人衆 ,Otogakure no Shinobi Yonin Shū?, lit. "Hidden Sound Shinobi Four People", English TV: "Sound Ninja Four") are Orochimaru's elite bodyguards. They are introduced during Orochimaru's invasion of Konohagakure, but do not become a prominent part of the story until Sasuke Uchiha attempts to leave Konohagakure to join Otogakure. The Sound Four act as his bodyguards, and although they are all defeated by Konohagakure ninja, Sasuke manages to escape. The group was originally known as the "Sound Five", as they were forced to accept Kimimaro as the leader after he defeated the entire group in battle. After Kimimaro became bedridden due to his illness, the group resumed calling themselves the Sound Four. As a group they specialize in barriers, defensive walls, and sealing techniques. Orochimaru has given each member of the group one of his cursed seals, which allows him to control them and greatly increases the strengths of the users when active.

Jirobo (次郎坊 ,Jirōbō?) is the first member of the Sound Four to be introduced in the series. When Masashi Kishimoto was creating the Sound Four, he was the third member of the group to be created, and was intended to be the largest member of the group. Jirobo is the physically strongest member: he can lift boulder-sized rocks and hurl them across long distances with ease. He can also absorb others' chakra, which he uses as a form of sustenance. His fellow Sound Four member Tayuya frequently calls Jirobo fat due to his size and habit of consuming chakra, something he is quick to scold her for. When Sasuke Uchiha leaves Konohagakure, Jirobo battles Choji Akimichi, and after criticizing Choji for his girth, Choji, after consuming a level three soldier pill, dispatches Jirobo. In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Kenta Miyake, and his English voice actor is Michael Sorich.

Kidomaru (鬼童丸 ,Kidōmaru?) is the second member of the Sound Four to be introduced in the series. He was the first member of the Sound Four created by Masashi Kishimoto, with his spider-like traits meant to be main aspects of his character. As such, Kidomaru possesses six arms, a third eye, and the ability to excrete webs from his mouth. This webbing, a mixture of body fluids and chakra, is as strong as steel and can ensnare anything that comes into contact with it. He can also produce a golden webbing that hardens upon contact with oxygen, allowing him to make armor or weapons. Kidomaru treats battles as a game and tries to get as much enjoyment from them as possible; when he battles Neji Hyuga, he calls him a "trash character" and looks for weaknesses in Neji's defenses to take advantage of. Despite being near death, Neji manages to defeat Kidomaru. In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Susumu Chiba, and his English voice actor is Peter Lurie.

Sakon (左近 ?) and Ukon (右近 ?) are twin brothers who share the same position in the Sound Four. Sakon was the final character in the Sound Four created by Kishimoto, who initially was unable to decide which character for him to fight. After deciding to have him battle Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru in a two-on-two battle, Kishimoto created Ukon to complete the matchup. In battle, Sakon enjoys toying with his opponents, causing him to waste time in battle by using showy techniques. Conversely, Ukon is impatient and likes to end battles quickly. Due to their genetic ability, the brothers can merge their bodies together. Ukon usually resides in Sakon's body, with only his head protruding on Sakon's back. When Sakon battles an opponent, Ukon can protrude his arms and legs from Sakon's body to increase the strength of his attacks and defend his blindspots. Both brothers can also merge with an opponent's body, where they can destroy the opponent's cells from within. Sakon and Ukon manage to overpower Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru in their battle, but Kankuro arrives and kills Sakon and Ukon. In the Japanese anime, the seiyū for both brothers is Shunsuke Sakuya, and their English voice actor is Brian Beacock.

Tayuya (多由也 ?) is the fourth member of the Sound Four introduced in the series. She was the second member of the Sound Four to be created by Masashi Kishimoto, and was intended to be the only girl in a group of boys. She uses a flute in battle to control three demonic beasts named "Doki" that she summons to her side during battle. Though primarily meant to perform the physical attacks she avoids, the beasts can also produce ethereal, snake-like creatures that consume an opponent's chakra. Once her opponents are weakened in this fashion, Tayuya can trap them in illusions she creates with her flute. She attempts to use her many techniques against Shikamaru Nara, but his superior intelligence forces her to rely on brute strength to gain victory. Though she almost succeeds, Temari arrives to help Shikamaru and creates a windstorm that crushes Tayuya under a pile of debris. Her seiyū in the Japanese anime is Akeno Watanabe, and her English voice actor is Kari Wahlgren.

Kimimaro (君麻呂 ?) is one of Orochimaru's premier servants, and the last surviving member of the Kaguya clan (かぐや一族 ,Kaguya Ichizoku?). When his war-loving family died in battle, Orochimaru took Kimimaro into his care. Because of this, Kimimaro develops the belief that Orochimaru is the only person who cares for him, and is completely loyal to him. His clan's genetic ability, Shikotsumyaku (屍骨脈 ?, lit. "Dead Bone Pulse"), allows Kimimaro to manipulate his skeletal structure. He can grow additional bones and sprout them from any part of his body, enabling him to use them as melee weapons. His genetic ability also allows him to strengthen his bones to a steel-like quality, making him virtually immune to most types of damage. Due to his unique abilities, Orochimaru chose Kimimaro as his future host body, but Kimimaro contracted an illness that left him bedridden. To do what he can for his master, he leaves with the rest of the Sound Four to ensure his replacement, Sasuke Uchiha, reaches Orochimaru, and battles Naruto then Rock Lee and Gaara in the process. Although he nearly kills both of them, he dies of his illness during the battle. In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Toshiyuki Morikawa, and when he is featured as a child, he is voiced by Makoto Tsumura. His English voice actor Keith Silverstein, and Kari Wahlgren provides his child voice.  

[Suzaku24]

Akatsuki

Akatsuki (暁 ?, lit. "Dawn" or "Daybreak") is a criminal organization composed of ten high-level ninja that have defected from their village of origin. The group receives little attention during the first part of the series, only becoming main antagonists in Part II. Akatsuki members are characterized by their long, dark cloaks bearing red clouds with a chin-high collar. Each also possesses a unique ring, which seems to symbolize one's membership in the organization. Members are partnered together in teams of two, each team sticking together as they traverse the Naruto world. Despite this partnership, members tend to have a strained relationship with their peers, only cooperating enough to complete their assignments and showing little concern when another member is killed. Orochimaru defects from the organization before the start of the series, taking his ring with him, and thus Akatsuki never exceeds nine members during the current storyline.

Akatsuki was founded by Madara Uchiha after he was expelled from his hometown of Konohagakure. Though initially meant only to mask Madara's movements, Akatsuki eventually began taking part in assassinations and espionage. By the start of the current storyline, Akatsuki's ambitions grow to plans of world domination. To mark this more dynamic goal, Akatsuki increases its activity throughout the series as it attempts to capture the nine powerful tailed beasts. Each member is assigned to capture a specific beast or its current host, at which point Akatsuki convenes to extract the beast and seal it away for their grand plan. As the Akatsuki leader, Pain, explains it, once all nine beasts have been captured Akatsuki will be able to harness their great strength to start world wars at their leisure. With the world governments unable to deal with the beasts' power, Akatsuki will be turned to for salvation, teaching the world the meaninglessness of fighting and giving Akatsuki complete control in the process. As of Naruto manga chapter 419, Akatsuki has captured seven of the tailed beasts.  

[Suzaku24]

Itachi Uchiha (うちは イタチ ,Uchiha Itachi?) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the series, Itachi is the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha responsible for killing all the members of their clan. However, during Part II of the series, it is revealed that Itachi was ordered by the former leaders of Konohagakure to kill the Uchiha who were attempting to start a war. Despite his reservations, Itachi fulfilled his mission and defected from Konohagakure to become part of the criminal organization Akatsuki. Itachi has not been featured in the films and original video animations from Naruto, but he is a playable character in most video games of the series.

First appearance: Naruto manga chapter 139
Naruto anime: episode 80
Voiced by: Japanese
Hideo Ishikawa
English
Crispin Freeman
Skip Stellrecht (Naruto Episodes 29-30)

Profile
Age 17-18 in Part I
21 in Part II
Date of birth: June 9
Notable relatives: Sasuke Uchiha (brother)
Ninja rank: Rogue ninja
Akatsuki partner: Kisame Hoshigaki

Background

For much of the series, the only information given about Itachi's background is what his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha, knows or remembers, as is chronicled in volume twenty-five of the Naruto manga. He grew up as the child prodigy of the Uchiha clan, establishing milestones for Sasuke and future Uchiha to live up to. Over time, however, Itachi began to distance himself from the clan, acting hostile towards its members and prompting his father to discourage Sasuke from following in Itachi's footsteps. Itachi soon afterwards killed every member of the clan with the explanation that he was testing his potential. He spared only Sasuke, who he claimed was too weak to be worth killing, and challenged him to live a life of hate so that he would get strong enough to someday pose a challenge to Itachi. Itachi vanished into the night, leaving Sasuke with the motive for revenge that drives his actions for most of the series.

Towards the end of Naruto manga volume forty-three, after Itachi's death, the truth of his background is given in full. Itachi's early childhood was marred by war, the violence of which caused him to seek peace at any cost. When years later the Uchiha clan began planning a coup d'état to take control of the village of Konohagakure, Itachi, knowing that a coup d'état would only start another war, turned double agent by providing Konoha with intelligence on the Uchiha. The village eventually gave him the mission of assassinating the Uchiha, a task he asked Madara Uchiha for assistance with. After the Uchiha were eliminated, Itachi, tormented by his actions, could not bring himself to kill Sasuke too. He made himself out as a villain so that Sasuke would someday kill him to avenge their family. To keep Sasuke safe until then, Itachi threatened to share everything he knew about Konoha with its enemies if the village ever harmed Sasuke. In the meantime, he joined the criminal organization Akatsuki to keep an eye on it and Madara in case they ever conspired against Konoha.

Personality

Itachi usually has a dispassionate appearance, rarely showing emotion and keeping his composure even when surprised or irritated. When first introduced, Itachi is portrayed as being extremely loyal to Akatsuki, trying to have Kakashi Hatake disposed of for knowing something about the secretive organization. He is also shown to be confident in his abilities, taunting Kakashi for not being on the same level as he is. In both instances, Itachi proves to be on good terms with his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki, who immediately does as he asks and worries about Itachi's well-being. He is more considerate to his opponents in Part II, praising Kakashi during their re-encounter for improving his abilities and, when later confronting Naruto Uzumaki, only desiring to speak with him. Itachi is, however, consistently hostile towards Sasuke; during their first meeting since the destruction of the Uchiha, Itachi breaks Sasuke's arm and ridicules him for still being weak. This attitude reaches its peak in the conversation that precedes Itachi's death, where he abandons his passive expression for excitement at the prospect of finally getting to kill Sasuke. This is all revealed to be a facade after his death, as his chief concern is Sasuke's safety, the evil persona being used only to cement Sasuke's resolution to kill Itachi.

Abilities

Within the series, Itachi is renowned for his mastery of all ninja abilities. From his days as a ninja of Konoha, Konoha ninja know by reputation not to underestimate Itachi, his killing of the Uchiha clan only elevating him to the classification of an extremely dangerous criminal. During his appearances he is shown to be very fast with his movements, attacking before his opponents have the chance to respond. Generally, however, Itachi does not actively participate in battles, remaining in a stationary position where he analyzes an opponent's actions, only then acting in self-defense. In these instance he relies heavily on trapping opponents in illusions to keep them preoccupied, something he can do by only pointing or looking at them.

As an Uchiha, Itachi possesses a Sharingan, an eye technique that gives the user heightened analytical capabilities. Before he assassinated the Uchiha he advanced his Sharingan to its next level by killing his best friend: the Mangekyo Sharingan. When activated, the Mangekyo Sharingan changes the Sharingan's appearance and grants Itachi with abilities derived from Japanese mythology. The first, Tsukuyomi (月読 ?), allows him to torture opponents for what seems like days in a matter of moments. Amaterasu (天照 ?), the second, generates black flames at his focal point that will continue to burn until the target is reduced to ash.[20] The final ability, Susanoo (須佐能乎 ?), creates a massive ethereal warrior that attacks on his behalf and uses the Yata no Kagami to protect him from all attacks. Despite the effectiveness of the techniques, use of the Mangekyo Sharingan deteriorates Itachi's eyesight to the point of blindness. Only by taking Sasuke's eyes can he restore his vision, something he pretends to want in order to encourage Sasuke to kill him.

Plot overview

Itachi debuts in Part I after the death of the Third Hokage, Konoha's protector, by infiltrating the village with Kisame. After drawing the attention of Konoha's forces Itachi reveals that, as part of Akatsuki's goal to capture the nine powerful tailed beasts, they are after Naruto Uzumaki for the nine-tailed demon fox sealed within him. During a scuffle with Konoha's ninja they discover that Naruto has left the village, and upon tracking him down find that he is under the protection of Jiraiya. Itachi sets up a distraction to draw Jiraiya away from Naruto and the two try to capture him. Sasuke, having heard that Itachi was back, intervenes, and Jiraiya soon returns as well. After briefly tormenting Sasuke for still being weak, Itachi and Kisame leave to avoid capture by Jiraiya. After Itachi's death in Part II, this entire visit to Konoha is revealed to have only been to make sure that the Third's death did not cause Konoha to forget to protect Sasuke.

Itachi makes a brief appearance at the start of Part II, distracting Naruto and the rest of his team while Akatsuki seals one of the tailed beasts it has captured. Later, Itachi learns that Sasuke has absorbed Orochimaru, a man he defected from Konoha for in order to get strong enough to kill Itachi. Knowing that a stronger Sasuke is now coming for him, Itachi meets with Naruto. After his death he is revealed to have given some of his power to Naruto to be used to protect Sasuke and Konoha in case Sasuke ever attacks the village. Sasuke ultimately tracks him down and they have their final battle, during the course of which he uses his Mangekyo Sharingan to push Sasuke to his limits. In doing so, Orochimaru is drawn out from Sasuke's body, and Itachi seals him away to keep him from Sasuke before he dies of exhaustion.

As his final act, Itachi implants his Amaterasu within Sasuke, meant to act as a protection that would kill Madara in case he ever approached Sasuke. Since this surprises Sasuke, Madara explains the truth of Itachi's past, what is claimed to be an unfounded mistrust of Madara, and that, even though Itachi had been dying of disease, he kept himself alive with drugs so that he could die by Sasuke's hands. Now knowing his long-hated brother to have led a tragic life because of Konoha's orders, Sasuke resolves to destroy the village, even though Itachi had gone to lengths to protect it.

Appearances in other media

Itachi is not present in any of the four featured films in the series, nor any of the original video animations; however, is a playable character in nearly all Naruto video games, including the Clash of Ninja series and the Ultimate Ninja series. In some games, he utilizes variations on his techniques not seen in the anime or manga. Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX marks the first appearance of Itachi in a video game set in Part II, with the second one being Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel.

Reception

Itachi has ranked highly in the Shonen Jump popularity polls for the series, continuously placing in the top ten and reaching sixth place once. The last such poll was in 2006, in which Itachi was in 11th place. Several pieces of merchandise based on Itachi have also been released, including key chains, plush dolls, and figurines.

Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Itachi's character. IGN reader Jason Van Horn characterized Itachi as "badass" and jokingly mentioned he is a character to be afraid of since in his first fight in the series he did not make any remarkable move. In the Shelf Life section from Anime News Network Bamboo Dong comments that Itachi is one of their favorite characters from the series noting his background and his introduction as the best parts of the series. Activeanime writer Davey C. Jones celebrated Itachi´s fights as the best ones in the series remarking his abilities to be as amazing as a "sci-fi ninja". Holly Ellingwood from the same website agreed on this, noting his fight against Kakashi Hatake as one that "few will be able to forget". The reviewer also praised Itachi's attitude commenting "is as cold and as ruthless as any villain yet". In a review of the volume 16 from the manga, Debi Aoki from About.com listed Itachi's introduction in the series was one of the cons from the volume, saying that he "goes nowhere". However, he praised his first fight in the series to be very entertaining and that are meant to "whet readers' appetites" for future fights between Konoha ninjas and Akatsuki members.  

[Suzaku24]

Kisame Hoshigaki (干柿 鬼鮫 ,Hoshigaki Kisame?) is a former ninja of Kirigakure and the partner of Itachi Uchiha. While most Akatsuki partners are hostile towards each other, Kisame and Itachi get along considerably well; Kisame does as Itachi asks of him unquestioningly and always looks out for Itachi's well-being. While he was still loyal to Kirigakure, Kisame was one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, a group of violent ninja that use particularly large swords in battle. His sword, Samehada (鮫肌 ?, lit. "shark skin"), is covered in scales that can absorb untold amounts of an opponent's chakra, and only allows Kisame to wield it. Kisame himself has massive amounts of chakra, enough so that a clone created by the Akatsuki that held only 30% of his power contained an amount of chakra comparable to Naruto when using the Nine-Tails' chakra. Kisame has a unique appearance, having pale blue skin, a gill-like facial structure, and sharp triangular teeth. These shark-like characteristics extend to his choice of attacks in battle, as he frequently shapes water into the forms of sharks to damage opponents. If there is no water nearby, Kisame can quickly produce his own lake to use at his leisure. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Tomoyuki Dan, and his English voice actor is Kirk Thornton.

Deidara (デイダラ ?) is a former ninja of Iwagakure. He tends to end his sentences with an audible grunt that is usually translated as "hmm", "yeah", or "un". He acted as a terrorist bomber for hire before being forced to join Akatsuki by Itachi Uchiha. Though he came to embrace the organization, Deidara holds a grudge against Itachi and all Uchiha throughout the series, as he feels their Sharingan eyes look down on his abilities. Upon joining Akatsuki he is partnered with Sasori, who Deidara treats as his master due to his artistic expertise. Sasori is replaced by Tobi after his death, and Deidara assumes the master-position as Sasori had before him; although he still abuses Tobi when annoyed by him, he becomes more like Tobi's teacher, and adopts a genuine care for his well-being. By consuming clay with mouths in his hands, Deidara is able to create his own form of art: sculptures that explode with varying intensities. Deidara's creations can take any form he so chooses, and from the time of their creation to their detonation he can bring them to life and control them remotely. He is very confident in his art's ability, such that he believes it cannot be defeated. When Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother, is able to systematically nullify and gain the advantage over his art, Deidara transforms himself into a living bomb in an effort to kill Sasuke and prove his art is supreme, but ultimately fails and kills himself. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Katsuhiko Kawamoto. In his cameo appearance in episode 135 of the English adaptation, he is voiced by Quinton Flynn, and in Naruto Ultimate Ninja 4 by Roger C. Smith.

Sasori (サソリ ?) is a former ninja of Sunagakure and known as "Sasori of the Red Sand" (赤砂のサソリ ,Akasuna no Sasori?). His parents died when he was young, leaving him in the care of his grandmother, Chiyo who taught Sasori the art of puppetry, which he refined to fit his needs over the years. Lacking the love of parents, Sasori left Sunagakure when he got older and joined Akatsuki where he is initially partnered with Orochimaru. After Orochimaru's defection Sasori teamed with Deidara, who looks to him and his artistic knowledge with reverence. In due time he devised a way to convert the corpses of humans into puppets, allowing him to use any of the ninja abilities they possessed during their life for himself. In time he even converted his own body into a puppet, which gives him eternal life and allows him to control hundreds of puppets at once. Each weapon in his puppets' extended arsenal is laced with a poison of Sasori's design that causes extreme pain to the inflicted until they die. Sakura Haruno is able to create an antidote for Sasori's poison, allowing her and Chiyo to fight him uninhibited. They eventually destroy his heart, the only part of his humanity he kept when converting himself to a puppet, resulting in his death. In the Japanese anime, Sasori is voiced Akiko Yajima as a child; and as an adult, he is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai. His scorpion-like puppet body, Hiruko, is voiced by Yutaka Aoyama in the japanese version and in the English version by J. B. Blanc.

Zetsu (ゼツ ?) is the only member of Akatsuki to regularly act without a partner. This is in part a result of his ability to merge with any object and quickly travel to a new location, something that few other ninja are capable of. Because of this ability Zetsu serves a variety of different positions in Akatsuki, such as a spy that observes and reports on battles of interest or a lookout during Akatsuki's meetings. He is cannibalistic, and is often sent to dispose of bodies Akatsuki does not want found, mirroring the large venus flytrap that envelops his body. Zetsu's body is split into two different colors, his right side being black and his left being white. Similarly, the two sides have their own personalities and knowledge bases, frequently leading to discussions and arguments between the two. As Kishimoto originally planned Akatsuki to be a group of individuals with close to no human characteristics, he decided to make Zetsu half black and half white to better show his double personality. The black half speaks in katakana in the Japanese manga, and white speaks kanji and kana. In the Japanese anime, Zetsu's seiyū is Nobuo Tobita, and in the English adaptation, Zetsu has two voice actors: the black half is voiced by Michael Sorich and the white half is voiced by Brian Beacock.

Hidan (飛段 ?) is the immortal, foul-mouthed partner of Kakuzu and a former ninja of Yugakure, the Village Hidden in the Steam. He is a member of the Jashin (ジャシン ?, lit. "evil god") religion, a religion that worships a deity of the same name and where anything less than death and utter destruction is considered a sin. His religion's experimentations have led to the creation of his unique abilities; by consuming an opponent's blood and then drawing Jashin's triangular-design on the ground, Hidan can create a voodoo doll-like link with his opponent. Once this link is created, any damage done to Hidan's body is reflected on his opponent, allowing him to kill them by giving himself fatal injuries. Because he is immortal, Hidan is not impaired while doing this, instead finding pleasure in the pain it causes him. After Hidan uses this ability to kill Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru Nara fights him to avenge his teacher. Their battle culminates in Hidan being blown up, and Shikamaru buries his still-speaking remains in a place Akatsuki will never be able to reach. As such, Hidan is no longer considered a member by the rest of Akatsuki. In the Japanese anime, Hidan's seiyū is Masaki Terasoma.

Kakuzu (角都 ?) is the partner of Hidan and a former ninja of Takigakure, the Village Hidden in a Waterfall. Kakuzu is motivated by greed and joins the Akatsuki to seek out valuable bounties. However, his extreme temperament led Kakuzu to dislike having a partner and eventually killing whoever he is partnered with in a fit of rage, being paired up with the immortal Hidan as a result. Kakuzu's body is composed of large amounts of black threads, allowing him to sew things (such as Hidan's head and Deidara's arm) back together. The threads are also capable of piercing flesh, which Kakuzu uses to remove the still-beating hearts of his opponents for his personal use while executing a forbidden Jutsu called Jiongu (地怨虞 ?) to integrate their hearts into his body to cheat death and extend his life indefinitely. He claims he has lived since the time of Hashirama Senju, Konoha's first hokage. He can store up to four spare hearts in animal masks that are sewn to his back. The masks can be detached during combat situations to shoot elemental blasts at his opponents, and can quickly be recalled to his body if he needs their heart. Kakuzu's hearts are systematically destroyed soon after his introduction by a group of Konohagakure ninja. After Naruto Uzumaki leaves his final heart on the brink of failure, Kakuzu is easily finished off by Kakashi. In the Japanese anime, Kakuzu's seiyū is Takaya Hashi.

Pain (ペイン ,Pein?) is a founder and the leader of Akatsuki and the partner of Konan. When first introduced Pain is shown as nothing more than a shadowy outline. As Part II of the series progresses parts of his face are shown, culminating in the revelation that the Pain that is seen is actually Deva Pain, one of six different bodies collectively known as the The Six Paths of Pain (ペイン六道 ,Pein Rikudō?). Controlled by a single conscious mind, each of the six bodies are individually named after one of the six Buddhist paths of reincarnation.[83] All have an orange hair color and a number of body piercings that, from a design standpoint, give Pain a "more dangerous" appearance and relate the pain of their installation to the character's name. Each also has the Rinnegan (輪廻眼 ?, lit. "Saṃsāra Eye"), a unique eye technique characterized by a ripple-like pattern around the pupil that enables the six Paths to share visual information and coordinate attacks. Discovering the secret behind Pain forms a major component of the plot in Part II, and through the efforts of ninja from Konohagakure the identity of Pain's base mind is revealed.

The Paths of Pain are controlled by Nagato (長門 ?) who, like Konan, was an Amegakure orphan that was trained by Jiraiya along side Yahiko before he became Deva Pain. During his time with Jiraiya he awakened his Rinnegan and came to desire peace for the Naruto world. As the years went by he realized that peace could only be attained by teaching the world the pain caused by war. To that end he adopted the name "Pain", conquered Amegakure, and became the "god" of its citizens. In Part II Jiraiya tries to eliminate Pain to stop him from bringing chaos to the world, but is only able to figure out how Pain works before he is killed. By outfitting corpses with a unique type of body piercing, Nagato can channel his chakra into the bodies to animate and control them remotely. He can also give them unique abilities - the Animal Path can summon a wide array of creatures, the Preta Path can absorb attacks as a form of defense, the Deva Path can attract and repel objects, and the Naraka Path can revive the other bodies. Controlling six bodies puts a great strain on, and according to Konan is endangering the life of, Nagato, who is frail, emaciated, and is confined to a chair. All six bodies were eventually defeated by Naruto, with Deva Pain the last to fight him. In the Japanese anime Pain's seiyū is Ken'yū Horiuchi and in his cameo appearance in episode 135 of the English adaptation, he is voiced by Dave Wittenberg.

Konan (小南 ?) is the only female ninja in Akatsuki. As such, Kishimoto originally wanted her to have an obscene appearance showing more of her bust. Being a partner of Pain, Konan was also a pupil under Jiraiya after she was orphaned as a child by one of Amegakure's many wars and forced to fend for herself. Because she serves under Pain, she is referred to by villagers of Amegakure as "God's angel". While under Jiraiya, Konan learned to take advantage of her natural talent with origami, using it as a key component in her battle style. Konan can divide her body into countless numbers of paper sheets, which she controls and reshapes remotely to scout out an area or form weapons for attack, or wings that mirror her title. However, Konan's abilities are constrained while wet, as paper clings to itself and loses its stiffness.

Madara Uchiha (うちは マダラ ,Uchiha Madara?) is one of the founders of Akatsuki and the first possessor of the Mangekyo Sharingan, a rare form of the eye condition unique to the Uchiha. Though it gave him the strength needed to take control of the Uchiha clan, overuse of the Mangekyo Sharingan left him blind, and it was only by taking his own brother's eyes that he was able to regain his sight. Madara eventually banded together with Hashirama Senju to create Konohagakure. The two founders disagreed on who should lead their new village and after a momentous battle between the two it was believed that Madara had died. In later years the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked Konoha, an act Minato Namikaze says to have been Madara's doing, though Madara denies it. Once the fox was sealed by Minato, Madara infiltrated Konoha in secret, trained Itachi Uchiha, and subsequently assisted him in assassinating the Uchiha clan.[90] Kisame Hoshigaki, upon seeing his face, recognizes him as the former Mizukage.

Much of Madara's role in the series has been under the guise of Tobi (トビ ?), who replaces Sasori in Akatsuki after his death. While acting as Tobi he is carefree and goofy as opposed to Madara's usual serious self. Tobi's tendency to take credit for other's work and undermine his superiors annoys his partner, Deidara, who either blows up or strangles him in comical fashion as punishment. After Deidara dies during a battle with Sasuke, the Tobi persona is discarded as Madara takes a special interest in Sasuke's development. However, Madara has not completely outlived the use of his guise as he reassumes Tobi's personality on occasion, such as while delaying a group of Konoha ninja.

Though Madara's face as it appeared during Konoha's founding has been shown in full at various points in the series, he always wears a mask in the current Naruto storyline. The mask features a swirl pattern focused around his right eye. His black hair (cut back from his earlier years) is the only constantly visible part of his face. When asked how Madara could have survived since Konoha's founding, Itachi Uchiha states that Madara is immortal. The specifics of his immortality have yet to be touched upon, though Madara implies the potency of his chakra has something to do with it. In battle he has been shown capable of making his body intangible, leaving him visible but otherwise impervious to most forms of damage. He can also teleport over great distances at will. In the Japanese anime, the seiyū for Tobi is Wataru Takagi.  

[Suzaku24]

Hawk

Hawk (鷹 ,Taka?) is a group formed by Sasuke Uchiha that consists of Orochimaru's former subordinates. When first formed it goes by the name "the Hebi" (蛇 ,Hebi?, lit. "snake"), with its mission being to find and kill Sasuke's brother, Itachi Uchiha, to avenge the latter's slaughter of the Uchiha clan. After Itachi's death and Sasuke's discovery that the Uchiha were wiped out under the orders of Konohagakure, Sasuke renames their group "Hawk" and changes its mission to the destruction of Konoha. In the meantime, Sasuke has agreed to work with Akatsuki to help them capture the eight-tailed beast; the members of Hawk are later seen wearing Akatsuki cloaks to signify this.

Sasuke Uchiha (うちは サスケ ,Uchiha Sasuke?) is originally one of the members of Team 7 and is the founder and leader of Hawk. He was created to be a rival to Naruto Uzumaki, as well as a "cool genius", which Kishimoto believed was an integral part of an ideal rivalry. He is one of the few remaining members of the Uchiha clan along with his brother, Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke's sole desire is to kill his brother, and he develops a cold and withdrawn personality. His interactions with his fellow teammates, especially Naruto, make him focus less on revenge at the start of the series. During an encounter with his brother in Part I, Sasuke is easily beaten, which leads him to leave the village to seek more power from the criminal Orochimaru. His teammates' attempts to recover him from Orochimaru form a major component of the Part II plot. In the Japanese anime, Sasuke's seiyū is Noriaki Sugiyama, and his English voice actor is Yuri Lowenthal.

Suigetsu Hozuki (鬼灯 水月 ,Hōzuki Suigetsu?), a former test subject of Orochimaru, is the first character to be recruited for Hawk. He is not afraid to speak his mind and always does as he pleases. When he is first introduced this results in frequent clashes with Hawk's leader, Sasuke Uchiha, but he later comes to accept Sasuke's position and even put himself in harm's way to protect him. Suigetsu is able to reduce himself to liquid form and return to bodily form at will. Although this gives him an easy way to avoid physical attacks, it also makes him very susceptible to electricity. In addition, upon reforming himself, Suigetsu can change the size of his limbs, proportionally increasing his strength in the process. Sometime before being introduced, Suigetsu trained to be one of Kirigakure's Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, an organization of particularly violent swordsmen. Having been unable to become a member, Suigetsu has begun collecting all of the swords of the Seven Swordsmen for himself instead. To this end, he takes Zabuza's Kubikiri Hōchō from its burial site, soon after joining the group, and hopes to be able to take Kisame Hoshigaki's Samehada by working with Sasuke.

Karin (香燐 ?), a former assistant to Orochimaru during his experimentations, is the second character to be recruited for Hawk. Karin has red eyes, matching hair color and an unusual hairstyle; her hair is short and unkempt on one side, and long and combed on the other. She tends to fluctuate between two dynamic personalities, appearing tough and in control when Suigetsu or Jugo are present and highly flirtatious when she is with Sasuke. Karin has an unhealthy obsession with Sasuke; she goes so far as to keep one of his battered, sweat-drenched shirts for herself and plans to "ravage" him after the rest of the team has fallen asleep. Karin's special ability allows her to find and track specific individuals through chakra. She is able to do so over long distances and can even notice subtle changes in an individual's chakra. Kakashi Hatake surmises that Karin is a particularly skilled chakra-sensing ninja, as she is not only able to tell that his eight-man team is approaching her location, but also that one of them is a dog. Additionally, she can heal others by letting them bite into her skin and suck on her chakra, repairing even the most fatal wounds. As a result, some parts of her body are lined with bite scars from individuals she has healed.

Jugo (重吾 ,Jūgo?) is the final character to be recruited for Hawk. He is mentally unstable, sporadically fluctuating between a bloodthirsty and a docile personality. While in the former mindset, Jugo kills anyone around him without remorse until he somehow returns to his senses, at which point he seeks confinement or solitude to protect others from himself. It is only through Sasuke Uchiha's promise to keep him in check and the fact that Sasuke reminds him of Kimimaro that Jugo agrees to join Hawk. Sometime in the past, Jugo sought out Orochimaru in the hopes that he could find a cure for his impulses. While examining him, Orochimaru isolated enzymes in Jugo's blood that caused him to radically transform the appearance and capabilities of his body. By extracting these enzymes, Orochimaru was able to reproduce the transformation in his own subordinates, making the cursed seal. Though Orochimaru's refined transformations are more controllable, his subordinates are limited to using only one form. Jugo is able to alter his transformed state to suit the situation, and can even isolate the transformation to a single part of his body. He can also fuse some of his own flesh to someone who has, or has had, the cursed seal in order to heal their injuries, but he regresses to a younger age as a side-effect.  

[Suzaku24]

Other

Zabuza Momochi (桃地　再不斬 ,Momochi Zabuza?) is one of the first antagonists to be introduced in Naruto. He was once one of Kirigakure's Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, a group of ninja that use particularly large swords in battle. Zabuza possesses a massive sword called Kubikiri Hōchō (首斬り包丁 ?, lit. Decapitating Knife), which is later claimed by Suigetsu Hozuki after Zabuza's death. After a failed coup d'état wherein he tried to assassinate Kirigakure's leadership, Zabuza and his followers fled the village and began working as mercenary assassins. Like most Kirigakure ninja, Zabuza is skilled in water-based abilities. His area of expertise, however, is in assassinations; by blanketing an area in mist, Zabuza can blind an opponent, locate them by the sounds they make, and kill them without them ever noticing his presence. His talents lead to him being hired by a criminal mastermind named Gato to kill a man named Tazuna, a job he is never able to finish due to interference by Tazuna's bodyguard, Kakashi Hatake. Because he takes too long to complete the task, his contract is revoked, and his employer tries to have Zabuza killed. Zabuza kills him first, though is mortally wounded in the process due to having lost use of both arms and most of his stamina and chakra in battle with Kakashi and dies soon afterwards. The Kubikiri Hōchō served as Zabuza's gravemarker until it was taken by Suigetsu. In the Japanese anime, his seiyū is Unshō Ishizuka, and his English voice actor is Steven Blum.

Haku (白 ?) is Zabuza Momochi's right hand man and most faithful follower. He has a heavily androgynous appearance, so much so that when Naruto Uzumaki first meets Haku he ends up mistaking him for a girl, saying that "he's prettier than Sakura!". Before he started working for Zabuza, Haku lived as an orphan. His father killed his mother when it was discovered that she possessed a genetic ability, and his father would have done the same to Haku if Haku had not killed his father first. After wandering from place to place for a time he was found by Zabuza, who recognized Haku's talents and agreed to take him in as a tool. As a result, Haku becomes unquestioningly protective of and loyal to Zabuza, and only by being useful does he find a purpose in life. He ultimately gives his life in his mission to be useful to Zabuza, becoming a human shield to protect his master from Kakashi Hatake's Lightning Blade. Haku's genetic inheritance, Hyōton (氷遁 ?, lit. "Ice Release"), allows him to mix wind and water elements to create ice. He commonly uses this ability to surround an enemy with ice mirrors that he can freely merge with and instantly move between. He then bombards them with needles, and with his superb accuracy he can hit pressure points to put opponents in a death-like state. This reflects his pacifist nature; despite being a ninja and Zabuza's tool of battle, Haku dislikes fighting and does all that he can to subdue opponents without actually killing them. His seiyū in the Japanese anime is Mayumi Asano, and his English voice actor is Susan Dalian.

Reception

Although a large number of antagonists appear in the series, Mania.com has called Orochimaru the "first real villain", noting that he had no redeeming qualities, versus Zabuza Momochi, the villain of the previous arc. Anime News Network comments that Itachi Uchiha is one of their favorite characters from the series noting his background and his introduction as the best parts of the series.

Active Anime praised the fight between Rock Lee and Kimimaro as "astonishing" and an "absolute favorite of the entire anime series so far". According to IGN, this fight was "a breath of fresh air" and "graphically one of the best fights to watch".

Several of the antagonists have been very popular within Naruto reader base. Itachi Uchiha, since his debut in the manga, has continually ranked high in the official Shonen Jump popularity poll of the series, reaching as high as 6th position. Haku and Zabuza Momochi respectively reached 8th and 9th position in the first poll. Deidara ranked 3rd in the latest poll while Sasori ranked 6th. There has not been another poll since 2006.