The Most Over-Hated Anime Character Of All Time

Sasuke Uchiha went through many transformations through Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. From the calm, cool, and collected character at the beginning of the series to what comes across as a sadistic, rage-fueled, monster later on. Now, by all means, each and every person in the world has the right to his or her own opinion when it comes to anything because like the old saying goes there is no such thing as a wrong opinion and this now and forever will be true. But too often within the Naruto fandom, I see people call Sasuke "poorly written" or just call him a downright bad character because of the way he acted in the series. It is one thing to not like a character based on his or her motives, actions, or ideologies, but that should not have an impact on how well or poorly you think the character is crafted. Often in communities such as Reddit, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, fans complain about Sasuke, calling him "too whiny and emo," therefore making him a bad character and I am tired of it. So let's get into why I think Sasuke Uchiha is the most over hated character in all of anime and how not only is he a good character but one of the best-written characters the series as a whole has to offer. (If you have not seen Naruto or Naruto Shippuden be warned because I will be heading into massive spoiler territory.)

So if by now it has not become obvious, you could say I am a bit of a Sasuke fan. As a child, I gravitated to home because if I’m being honest I didn't think there was anyone as cool as him, besides maybe Kakashi. My love runs deep with Naruto and Naruto Shippudden probably because I somewhat grew up with Naruto and Sasuke. Now I, probably the same as you, began to enjoy more mature and grounded content and because of this, my love for Naruto grew because it becomes more mature and grounded in its themes and ideas. Unlike Naruto, we don't immediately get the full picture of what Sasuke wants. We know he wants to get rid of a certain someone and he wants to restore his clan, but that's all. It isn't until later we find out what Sasuke's one true goal is, kill his brother Itachi because he is the one responsible for the death of their family. From this moment moving forward to me, Sasuke becomes one of the best characters because he has the human element to him.

Making an audience be able to feel what a character feels and humanizing them is easily one of the most powerful tools any writer has. Kishimoto created Sasuke with the intention of him coming across the way he does because of how drab his story is. He lost his family at a very young age because of the person he idolized the most. I love Naruto just as much as the next person but let’s face it, not everyone can tackle problems head-on with a smile like him, not everyone can keep seeing and reaching for the light in life when all there is darkness surrounding them. The way Sasuke carried himself in the series is indicative of a person who lost it all. It was a very human reaction to want revenge against the person who destroyed your life. No, of course not everyone would go to the lengths Sasuke, did but realistically we all would want some form of punishment in Sasuke's situation and Sasuke took it upon himself to carry out the punishment. Many like to say Sasuke became corrupted but that's not true at all, he was corrupted the moment he was introduced. Sasuke was never a hero or a villain; he, in his own words, was an "avenger." To stay focused on that goal he had to bear the most painful memories few can imagine and when he finally achieved his goal not only did it not make him feel any better if made him feel even worse.

Sasuke is a good character not because of his motives or actions, but because he has the human feel to him. So next time anyone wants to complain about how emotional he is, kindly remind them of everything he went through as a character.