Does Itachi Really Deserve All the Hate?

Naruto spoilers ahead!

Summary:

• Itachi is one of the most controversial characters in Naruto.
• Fans hate him for massacring the entire clan and treating his brother poorly.
• Itachi’s plot twist made a number of viewers change their minds.

It didn’t take Reddit users much time to think of Itachi when they were asked about Naruto characters that they hated but had to admit to be well-written ones. But this character has been receiving just as much hate as love, so maybe it’s a sign that he’s not so bad after all?

Is he really that bad?

From the early moments of Naruto, Itachi was presented as a regular villain. A powerful man said to be capable of killing his closest friend in order to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, or massacring his entire clan, leaving no one else but his younger brother alive. These atrocities made the fans really hate the character, and caused a couple of memes that went outside of the Naruto fandom. Dororo has a questionable character named Itachi as well, and fans like to joke that a good person cannot be named like that.

Later in the series there is a big reveal, connected to Itachi. Turns out he’s not truly evil, and he had his reasons for killing an entire village. Itachi did that to prevent a war, and he was driven by the desire to save his brother, Sasuke.

Fans don’t like the way Itachi treats Sasuke

His treatment of Sasuke is another reason for fans’ displeasure. Itachi brainwashes his brother and actively pushes him into Orochimaru. They say that it’s already a good enough reason to hate the character. Besides, he tortures Sasuke for days, and if the rest of his actions might be explained by the influence of third parties, and Itachi was forced to act that way, the decision to torture Sasuke was exclusively for his own benefit. Itachi traumatizes his brother and leaves him unstable and full of hatred.

Still, this point is not shared by everyone. Itachi did that to discourage Sasuke’s reckless behavior as the younger boy was rushing in against an opponent he had no chance of beating. Itachi did want his brother to hate him and kill him later on because he was so racked with guilt that he saw this as a way to atone for his sins.

After finding out the truth about Itachi, fans became much more understanding of him and his motivation. Some suggest that it was the turning point that made them actually like the character. He goes from a common villain to a much more complex character that some fans have sympathy for.