Sasuke Uchiha
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character
in the Naruto
manga
and anime
series created by Masashi Kishimoto
. He was created as a rival and foil
to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki
. Sasuke's design caused difficulties for Kishimoto as he drew the manga scenes, but he has grown to enjoy drawing him.
In the anime and manga, Sasuke is a member of the Uchiha clan, a highly skilled clan of ninjas allied to the village of Konohagakure.His primary motivation throughout the series is to avenge the destruction of his entire clan by killing his brother, Itachi Uchiha
, a task he pursues at all costs. While he was initially cold and singularly driven by his revenge, he becomes more empathetic through his relationships with other characters, notably Naruto Uzumaki, whom he comes to consider as a rival. Sasuke has additionally appeared in several of the featured movies in the series, as well as several other media relating to the series, including several video games and OVAs.
Several anime and manga publications have provided acclaim and criticism of Sasuke's character. While many reviewers have noted his cold and detached attitude and abilities, he has been viewed as a stereotypical "rival" in the mold of several similar characters in other shōnen
manga. His personality has also been subject to criticism, with many finding it difficult to like or sympathize with Sasuke's character. Nevertheless, Sasuke has been highly popular with the Naruto reader base, placing high in several popularity polls. Merchandise based on Sasuke has also been released, including action figure
s and plush dolls
.
, who spared his life, deeming him as an unworthy to kill. When first introduced during his assignment to Team 7 in order to complete several missions, Sasuke displays a great brooding skepticism to his teammates. Feeling that his outstanding abilities, that caused others to call him a "genius", are more special than theirs, he is initially unwilling to cooperate with Sakura Haruno
and Naruto Uzumaki
, but later starts seeing them as useful. During his training, Sasuke starts controlling the Sharingan, an ability inherited from his clan manifested through the eyes and allows the user to see through most jutsu and imitate them. Although Sasuke becomes content with a life of happiness in Konohagakure, he never allows his ambition to gain power to leave his thoughts, always keeping them as a dark muttering. During his Part I battles, Sasuke arrogantly tests his abilities against those of progressively stronger ninja, in the process discovering the weakpoints he needs to overcome.
When going through a ninja exam, Sasuke encounters the criminal Orochimaru
, who begins to manipulate Sasuke into his custody. He brands Sasuke with a cursed seal, which grants him a brief surge in strength and speed when active and later drastically changes his appearances in the process. Sasuke is taught Kakashi's Chidori, a collection of lightning-based chakra in his hand that serves as a rapid thrusting attack to avoid relying on the Cursed Seal. However, after Itachi's brief return to Konoha and his simultaneous defeat by him, Sasuke becomes dissatisfied with what he has learned as a member of Team 7. Believing Orochimaru will be able to give him the strength needed to kill Itachi, Sasuke goes to him, severing his ties with Konoha in the process. Naruto follows him in an effort to stop him, and the two do battle. Though he tries to kill Naruto, Sasuke ultimately cannot bring himself to do so, and instead continues on to Orochimaru's hideout.
After two-and-a-half years, convinced that he has learned all he can from his new master, Sasuke turns against a weakened Orochimaru before the latter can steal his body. Though Orochimaru attempts to force a body switch, Sasuke is able to reverse the process, absorbing Orochimaru. Sasuke forms his own team, "Hebi", to aid him in finding Itachi. Once they are able to track Itachi down, Sasuke faces his brother alone. During the battle, Itachi removes Orochimaru and the cursed seal from Sasuke's body before his death. Sasuke is then collected by Madara Uchiha, Itachi's superior, who reveals that Itachi killed the Uchiha under the orders of Konoha and spared Sasuke out of love, and subsequently allowed himself to be killed. Saddened with the revelation, Sasuke reunites with the members of Hebi, renaming them "Taka" with the intention of getting revenge on Konoha. Itachi's death also makes Sasuke obtain the advanced state of the Sharingan, the Mangekyo Sharingan, allowing him to perform most of his powerful techniques. In the meantime, Sasuke agrees to have Taka work with Madara's group Akatsuki by attempting to capture eight-tailed beast's host, Killer Bee, who later manages to escape from them. Taka then sets out to kill Danzo Shimura, one of the figures behind the Uchiha clan's demise and the acting Sixth Hokage. As Sasuke succeeds in killing Danzo, he is found by Team 7. After a brief clash with them, he and Naruto both agree to later have one final showdown and has Madara him transplant Itachi's eyes to perfect his Mangekyo Sharingan.
.
Sasuke is a common playable character in Naruto video games, including the Clash of Ninja series
and the Ultimate Ninja series
. In some games, it is possible to unlock and play as a version of him with the cursed seal active. Due to his lack of appearances in early Naruto Shippūden chapters and episodes, he does not appear in any games based on Naruto Shippūden until Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2.
When developing the original Naruto manga, Masashi Kishimoto
had not initially intended to create Sasuke. After speaking with his editor about the future of the series, he was advised to create a rival character for the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki
, resulting in Sasuke's creation. To learn more about creating an effective rivalry, Kishimoto read a variety of manga to gather ideas on what constituted such a rivalry, and he coalesced these ideal elements into one relationship. Because Sasuke is intended to be Naruto's opposite, Kishimoto is always careful to make sure Sasuke is never too emotional. With Sasuke's character being that of a "cool genius," Kishimoto feels he has created the ideal rivalry. When first introducing Sasuke, Kishimoto had made a chapter which was set before the creation of Team 7, and Naruto had just become a ninja. However, this idea was later cancelled and Sasuke was introduced alongside Team 7, yet keeping the same traits and his rivalry with Naruto. Sasuke's first name comes from the manga Sasuke by Sanpei Shirato
, a series which Kishimoto likes, as well as from Sarutobi Sasuke
, a fictional ninja featured in Japanese children's stories. Kishimoto remarks that Sasuke's character was influenced by Hiei from YuYu Hakusho
, stating that he referenced Hiei when making his character and his Sharingan.
Sasuke's design gave Kishimoto a number of problems, making him the most difficult character he had to create. Because he lacked a proper idea of what Sasuke's face should look like, initial drafts of Sasuke appeared too old or mature for a character the same age as Naruto. Once settling on a proper face, Kishimoto worked on Sasuke's attire. Original designs of Sasuke had a number of necklaces and ties around his arms and legs, a result of 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 of Naruto's costume.
For Kishimoto, Sasuke remains the most difficult character for him to draw. While drawing, errors and mishaps commonly result in Sasuke's youthful appearance being lost, a result of Kishimoto's inexperience in drawing characters mature beyond their years. Sasuke's hair, originally kept short to save Kishimoto time, has slowly gotten longer as the series has progressed, increasing the amount of time needed to draw Sasuke. Midway through Part I of the series Kishimoto drew a new costume for Sasuke that featured a number of belts strapped around his arms and legs. Because of the time needed to draw a costume of this design, Kishimoto returned Sasuke to his original costume. Despite the time and energy Kishimoto spends drawing Sasuke, Sasuke has become his favorite character to draw.
When designing Sasuke in his Part II appearance, Kishimoto's main objective was to make him look cool. For this, he tried giving him several outfits such as Shimenawa
around him to preserve Orochimaru's style of clothing. He also tried other clothes such as a turtleneck and a military uniform to show "cleanliness". However, he ended up choosing Japanese-style clothes.
popularity poll of the series, Sasuke has ranked within the top five characters. Though Sasuke's rank initially alternated between the third and fourth spot, he has ranked first twice. In an interview, Yuri Lowenthal
, who does the voice acting
for Sasuke in the English
dub
, states that he is honored to be playing that role due to the large retinue of voice actors auditioning for the role, and also noted the stress associated with his job due to fans being highly critical of any deviation or mistake made while dubbing. He has also commented that his first impression of the character was that of "a serious guy dedicated to his training", but he later appreciated the pain Sasuke suffered and where it came from. Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Sasuke's likeness, including plush of his Part I and Part II appearance, key chains
, and numerous figurines.
Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Sasuke's character. IGN
characterized Sasuke as "the resident emo-kid
" due to his cold and serious personality, and found it difficult to have a degree of empathy for his character. GameSpot
's Joe Donson extolled Sasuke's abilities as "badass," although echoing IGN's comments concerning his personality. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews noted that Sasuke fell into the stereotypical "rival" mold of several other shōnen manga, and found him, along with several of the other characters, to not be likable. On the other hand, Mania Entertainment's Dani Moure praised the fact that Naruto and Sasuke are forced to work together despite their rivalry. The relation between both characters was liked by Moure due to the fact they always compete but the same time it was noted that "the group [Naruto and Sasuke] come together when they need to". Although Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network
found Sasuke's fight in the Chunin Exams were "pure action", he noted that Orochimaru's influence over him kept the tension high. In another review, although Kimlinger commented that Sasuke was in need of development when he was escaping from Konoha, he criticized that it was not necessary to have long flashbacks about his life before his fight against Naruto. The following fight between the two characters has been noted to be one of the most entertaining from the series not only because of the tactics the two used, but also as how it helped to show their rivalry's growth giving sentimental scenes to the fans.
Sasuke's appearances in Part II from the Naruto manga have received major praise. This included Manga Life's Park Cooper with the most remarked scenes from his review being Sasuke's new abilities and his fight against Orochimaru which was noted to "change the nature of things" suddenly. His re-introduction in the second story arc was found so important that the animated adaptation Naruto Shippuden started with a sneek peak to this scene. The character's personality, while found not entirely different from the original series, was found to make his scenes interesting thanks to his calmer and angrier attitude as well as his conversation with the nine-tailed demon fox which foreshadowed future events. Sasuke's final fight against Itachi was commented by Casey Brienza from Anime News Network to be "epic" as how the the latter's death and revelations about his life made notable impact in the former's personality and point of view.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Naruto
Naruto
is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series created by Masashi Kishimoto
Masashi Kishimoto
is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan and Blazer Drive...
. He was created as a rival and foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki
is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. The main protagonist and titular character of the series, he is a ninja affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a...
. Sasuke's design caused difficulties for Kishimoto as he drew the manga scenes, but he has grown to enjoy drawing him.
In the anime and manga, Sasuke is a member of the Uchiha clan, a highly skilled clan of ninjas allied to the village of Konohagakure.His primary motivation throughout the series is to avenge the destruction of his entire clan by killing his brother, Itachi Uchiha
Itachi Uchiha
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 and is responsible for killing all the members of their clan, sparing only Sasuke. Itachi is treated as an antagonist for much of the series,...
, a task he pursues at all costs. While he was initially cold and singularly driven by his revenge, he becomes more empathetic through his relationships with other characters, notably Naruto Uzumaki, whom he comes to consider as a rival. Sasuke has additionally appeared in several of the featured movies in the series, as well as several other media relating to the series, including several video games and OVAs.
Several anime and manga publications have provided acclaim and criticism of Sasuke's character. While many reviewers have noted his cold and detached attitude and abilities, he has been viewed as a stereotypical "rival" in the mold of several similar characters in other shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
manga. His personality has also been subject to criticism, with many finding it difficult to like or sympathize with Sasuke's character. Nevertheless, Sasuke has been highly popular with the Naruto reader base, placing high in several popularity polls. Merchandise based on Sasuke has also been released, including action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s and plush dolls
Plush
Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet.Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush...
.
In Naruto
Sasuke is one of the last members from the Uchiha clan from the village of Konohagakure. His whole clan was eliminated by his older brother, Itachi UchihaItachi Uchiha
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 and is responsible for killing all the members of their clan, sparing only Sasuke. Itachi is treated as an antagonist for much of the series,...
, who spared his life, deeming him as an unworthy to kill. When first introduced during his assignment to Team 7 in order to complete several missions, Sasuke displays a great brooding skepticism to his teammates. Feeling that his outstanding abilities, that caused others to call him a "genius", are more special than theirs, he is initially unwilling to cooperate with Sakura Haruno
Sakura Haruno
is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sakura has become the series' female lead, although she was not immediately intended for the role...
and Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki
is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. The main protagonist and titular character of the series, he is a ninja affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a...
, but later starts seeing them as useful. During his training, Sasuke starts controlling the Sharingan, an ability inherited from his clan manifested through the eyes and allows the user to see through most jutsu and imitate them. Although Sasuke becomes content with a life of happiness in Konohagakure, he never allows his ambition to gain power to leave his thoughts, always keeping them as a dark muttering. During his Part I battles, Sasuke arrogantly tests his abilities against those of progressively stronger ninja, in the process discovering the weakpoints he needs to overcome.
Orochimaru (Naruto)
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...
, who begins to manipulate Sasuke into his custody. He brands Sasuke with a cursed seal, which grants him a brief surge in strength and speed when active and later drastically changes his appearances in the process. Sasuke is taught Kakashi's Chidori, a collection of lightning-based chakra in his hand that serves as a rapid thrusting attack to avoid relying on the Cursed Seal. However, after Itachi's brief return to Konoha and his simultaneous defeat by him, Sasuke becomes dissatisfied with what he has learned as a member of Team 7. Believing Orochimaru will be able to give him the strength needed to kill Itachi, Sasuke goes to him, severing his ties with Konoha in the process. Naruto follows him in an effort to stop him, and the two do battle. Though he tries to kill Naruto, Sasuke ultimately cannot bring himself to do so, and instead continues on to Orochimaru's hideout.
After two-and-a-half years, convinced that he has learned all he can from his new master, Sasuke turns against a weakened Orochimaru before the latter can steal his body. Though Orochimaru attempts to force a body switch, Sasuke is able to reverse the process, absorbing Orochimaru. Sasuke forms his own team, "Hebi", to aid him in finding Itachi. Once they are able to track Itachi down, Sasuke faces his brother alone. During the battle, Itachi removes Orochimaru and the cursed seal from Sasuke's body before his death. Sasuke is then collected by Madara Uchiha, Itachi's superior, who reveals that Itachi killed the Uchiha under the orders of Konoha and spared Sasuke out of love, and subsequently allowed himself to be killed. Saddened with the revelation, Sasuke reunites with the members of Hebi, renaming them "Taka" with the intention of getting revenge on Konoha. Itachi's death also makes Sasuke obtain the advanced state of the Sharingan, the Mangekyo Sharingan, allowing him to perform most of his powerful techniques. In the meantime, Sasuke agrees to have Taka work with Madara's group Akatsuki by attempting to capture eight-tailed beast's host, Killer Bee, who later manages to escape from them. Taka then sets out to kill Danzo Shimura, one of the figures behind the Uchiha clan's demise and the acting Sixth Hokage. As Sasuke succeeds in killing Danzo, he is found by Team 7. After a brief clash with them, he and Naruto both agree to later have one final showdown and has Madara him transplant Itachi's eyes to perfect his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Appearances in other media
Sasuke has made several appearances outside of the Naruto anime and manga. He appears in all three of the original video animations produced for the series, helping Naruto and Konohamaru Sarutobi to find a four leaf clover in the first original video animation, joining his team in escorting a ninja named Shibuki to his village and helping him fight the missing-nin that stole the village's "Hero's Water" in the second, and participating in a tournament in the third. Sasuke also makes an appearance in the first two Naruto featured films, although he is only briefly present in a memory segment in the second. He also makes his first Part II appearance in a film in the second Naruto: Shippūden movieNaruto Shippuden 2: Bonds
is the fifth overall Naruto film, and is the second Naruto: Shippūden film. It was released on August 2, 2008. The movie was announced in Weekly Shōnen Jump along with the DVD release date for the first Shippūden movie. Additionally, the teaser trailer for the second movie was aired with Naruto:...
.
Sasuke is a common playable character in Naruto video games, including the Clash of Ninja series
Naruto: Clash of Ninja (series)
The Naruto: Clash of Ninja series, known in Japan as , is a series of 3D cel-shaded fighting games based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. They are developed by Eighting and published by D3 Publisher and Tomy. Various installments of the series have appeared on both...
and the Ultimate Ninja series
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (series)
The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, known in Japan as the , is a series of fighting games, based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, for the PlayStation 2. They were developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai...
. In some games, it is possible to unlock and play as a version of him with the cursed seal active. Due to his lack of appearances in early Naruto Shippūden chapters and episodes, he does not appear in any games based on Naruto Shippūden until Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2.
Creation and conception
Masashi Kishimoto
is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan and Blazer Drive...
had not initially intended to create Sasuke. After speaking with his editor about the future of the series, he was advised to create a rival character for the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki
is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. The main protagonist and titular character of the series, he is a ninja affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a...
, resulting in Sasuke's creation. To learn more about creating an effective rivalry, Kishimoto read a variety of manga to gather ideas on what constituted such a rivalry, and he coalesced these ideal elements into one relationship. Because Sasuke is intended to be Naruto's opposite, Kishimoto is always careful to make sure Sasuke is never too emotional. With Sasuke's character being that of a "cool genius," Kishimoto feels he has created the ideal rivalry. When first introducing Sasuke, Kishimoto had made a chapter which was set before the creation of Team 7, and Naruto had just become a ninja. However, this idea was later cancelled and Sasuke was introduced alongside Team 7, yet keeping the same traits and his rivalry with Naruto. Sasuke's first name comes from the manga Sasuke by Sanpei Shirato
Sanpei Shirato
, known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as his realistic drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He is considered a pioneer of gekiga. The son of the Japanese proletarian painter Toki Okamoto, his dream to become an artist...
, a series which Kishimoto likes, as well as from Sarutobi Sasuke
Sarutobi Sasuke
was a famous ninja in Japanese folklore. He is generally believed to be a Meiji period fictional creation based on the historical ninja ', although some argue for his actual existence.- In folklore :...
, a fictional ninja featured in Japanese children's stories. Kishimoto remarks that Sasuke's character was influenced by Hiei from YuYu Hakusho
YuYu Hakusho
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. The name of the series is spelled YuYu Hakusho in the Viz Media manga and Yu Yu Hakusho in other English distributions of the franchise. The series tells the story of Yusuke Urameshi, a teenage delinquent who is struck and...
, stating that he referenced Hiei when making his character and his Sharingan.
Sasuke's design gave Kishimoto a number of problems, making him the most difficult character he had to create. Because he lacked a proper idea of what Sasuke's face should look like, initial drafts of Sasuke appeared too old or mature for a character the same age as Naruto. Once settling on a proper face, Kishimoto worked on Sasuke's attire. Original designs of Sasuke had a number of necklaces and ties around his arms and legs, a result of 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 of Naruto's costume.
For Kishimoto, Sasuke remains the most difficult character for him to draw. While drawing, errors and mishaps commonly result in Sasuke's youthful appearance being lost, a result of Kishimoto's inexperience in drawing characters mature beyond their years. Sasuke's hair, originally kept short to save Kishimoto time, has slowly gotten longer as the series has progressed, increasing the amount of time needed to draw Sasuke. Midway through Part I of the series Kishimoto drew a new costume for Sasuke that featured a number of belts strapped around his arms and legs. Because of the time needed to draw a costume of this design, Kishimoto returned Sasuke to his original costume. Despite the time and energy Kishimoto spends drawing Sasuke, Sasuke has become his favorite character to draw.
When designing Sasuke in his Part II appearance, Kishimoto's main objective was to make him look cool. For this, he tried giving him several outfits such as Shimenawa
Shimenawa
Shimenawa are lengths of braided rice straw rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion. They can vary in diameter from a few centimetres to several metres, and are often seen festooned with shide...
around him to preserve Orochimaru's style of clothing. He also tried other clothes such as a turtleneck and a military uniform to show "cleanliness". However, he ended up choosing Japanese-style clothes.
Reception
In every official Weekly Shōnen JumpWeekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
popularity poll of the series, Sasuke has ranked within the top five characters. Though Sasuke's rank initially alternated between the third and fourth spot, he has ranked first twice. In an interview, Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal
Yuri Lowenthal is a voice actor that has voiced several anime and video game characters. He also voiced Kamal for the alternate reality game I Love Bees....
, who does the voice acting
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
for Sasuke in the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
, states that he is honored to be playing that role due to the large retinue of voice actors auditioning for the role, and also noted the stress associated with his job due to fans being highly critical of any deviation or mistake made while dubbing. He has also commented that his first impression of the character was that of "a serious guy dedicated to his training", but he later appreciated the pain Sasuke suffered and where it came from. Several pieces of merchandise have been released in Sasuke's likeness, including plush of his Part I and Part II appearance, key chains
Keychain
A keychain or key chain is a small chain, usually made from metal or plastic, that connects a small item to a keyring. The length of a keychain allows an item to be used more easily than if connected directly to a keyring...
, and numerous figurines.
Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Sasuke's character. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
characterized Sasuke as "the resident emo-kid
Emo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
" due to his cold and serious personality, and found it difficult to have a degree of empathy for his character. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Joe Donson extolled Sasuke's abilities as "badass," although echoing IGN's comments concerning his personality. T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews noted that Sasuke fell into the stereotypical "rival" mold of several other shōnen manga, and found him, along with several of the other characters, to not be likable. On the other hand, Mania Entertainment's Dani Moure praised the fact that Naruto and Sasuke are forced to work together despite their rivalry. The relation between both characters was liked by Moure due to the fact they always compete but the same time it was noted that "the group [Naruto and Sasuke] come together when they need to". Although Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
found Sasuke's fight in the Chunin Exams were "pure action", he noted that Orochimaru's influence over him kept the tension high. In another review, although Kimlinger commented that Sasuke was in need of development when he was escaping from Konoha, he criticized that it was not necessary to have long flashbacks about his life before his fight against Naruto. The following fight between the two characters has been noted to be one of the most entertaining from the series not only because of the tactics the two used, but also as how it helped to show their rivalry's growth giving sentimental scenes to the fans.
Sasuke's appearances in Part II from the Naruto manga have received major praise. This included Manga Life's Park Cooper with the most remarked scenes from his review being Sasuke's new abilities and his fight against Orochimaru which was noted to "change the nature of things" suddenly. His re-introduction in the second story arc was found so important that the animated adaptation Naruto Shippuden started with a sneek peak to this scene. The character's personality, while found not entirely different from the original series, was found to make his scenes interesting thanks to his calmer and angrier attitude as well as his conversation with the nine-tailed demon fox which foreshadowed future events. Sasuke's final fight against Itachi was commented by Casey Brienza from Anime News Network to be "epic" as how the the latter's death and revelations about his life made notable impact in the former's personality and point of view.