Sasuke Uchiha, a mysterious and edgy shinobi, is one of the main characters of one of the most popular Japanese anime series “Naruto”. Masashi Kishimoto is the author and illustrator of the manga series. It was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1999 to 2014. As of now, the manga has 72 volumes. There are two anime adaptations, Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, which have 220 and 500 episodes, respectively. This anime series is about Naruto Uzumaki, his life journey, telling the story of his pre-teen and teenage years. However, Sasuke, as his arch-rival, has achieved his own fair share of popularity amongst fans. So, here we shall look into some facts about Sasuke Uchiha.
In the popularity polls in the Naruto fandom, Sasuke almost always comes in the top five. He is also one of the strongest ninjas out there with his Sharingan eyes, powerful jutsus, and fast attacks. For the fans of the series, his backstory, goals, and personality make him one of the most interesting characters. For the uninitiated, we have made this article that lists down all the important facts about him, starting from his weird food habits to his powers. There might be some facts in here that even the most die-hard fans didn’t know about before.
1. His Sharingan Eyes
The Sharingan eye is a Dojutsu, a ninja ability encoded in the bearer’s DNA and manifested through their optic nerves. It is seen only in the Uchiha clan. There are also advanced forms of the Sharingan like the Mangekyō Sharingan and Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, which are very rare. Sasuke awakened his Sharingan as a child, but he was only able to get the Mangekyō Sharingan after he witnessed his brother Itachi’s death. Later on, Sasuke replaces his eyes with Itachi’s in order to get the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. If he didn’t replace his eyes, he would suffer from vision loss. The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan is much less tiring to use and has no side effects like vision loss.
2. Sasuke’s Summoning Jutsu
A summoning jutsu is a space-time ninjutsu with the help of which a ninja can transport animals or people from anywhere instantly via blood. Throughout the series, there are many characters with the power to perform summoning jutsus, Sasuke being one of them. He can summon hawks. Under Orochimaru’s training, he also learned about how to summon snakes and use them in battle. Sasuke’s summoning jutsu is so powerful that as long as he has the contract, he can instantly summon even hue beasts like Manda.
3. His name is inspired by a Manga and folk hero
For Masashi Kishimoto naming Naruto’s rival was a very difficult job. Naming any important character is a very difficult thing to do for any writer. Eventually, Kishimoto took inspiration from Sanpei Shirato’s eponymous manga and the folk hero Sarutobi Sasuke to name his own character. Sanpei Shirato’s Sasuke manga from 1962 is very different from Kishimoto’s Naruto. In folklore, Sasuke is known as the leader of the Sanada Ten Braves, a fictional group of 10 ninjas who assisted the warlord Sanada Yukimura during the Japanese civil war era. Very different from the brooding Sasuke we know from ‘Naruto’.
4. Sasuke’s Signature Forehead Poke
Sasuke had the strongest connection with his brother Itachi amongst all his family members. When Sasuke was younger, Itachi would poke his forehead in an affectionate way to tease him or when bidding him goodbye. So when Sasuke grows older, he does the same thing with Sakura and even his daughter Sarada. One instance is when he is about to leave Konoha to begin a new journey; he pokes Sakura on the forehead. It is a sign of thanks and also a silent promise that he will return one day again. For Sarada, the head poke is to show her that he still loves her even though he is traveling most of the time.
5. Sasuke is Beloved yet hated at the same time
Many fans often see Sasuke as cold and somewhat distant. While that is true, it is also true that he changed in the latter part of the series. Sasuke is Naruto’s rival and drawn to be the total opposite of him. This is supposed to make the viewers relate to Naruto more. Many Japanese fans also find Sasuke to be extremely rude when he’s talking, as he never uses honorifics. He stopped using them after the horrific tragedy of his entire clan. Even while referring to Kakashi or his comrades, he does not use suffixes like “chan,” “san,” or “Kun”. However, despite that, Sasuke is one of the most popular characters in the series. In Japan, there are many character polls for the different characters in Naruto. Sasuke, even after all the criticism, has always remained in the top five.
Also Read: Relatable Pain Quotes From Naruto Shippuden
6. Sasuke’s Personality was inspired by Hiei
Yu Yu Hakusho was a hit shounen anime from back in the day with four main characters. Kishimoto took inspiration from Hiei when he was thinking about what personality to give to Sasuke. Yu Yu Hakusho was one of his all-time favorite anime. Word has it that Kishimoto also wanted to analyze the dynamic between Yusuke and Kuwabara as he had never created a shounen series with a rivalry at its core before. In the end, he just took Hiei’s mysterious, edgy personality and abilities as inspiration for creating Sasuke.
7. Sasuke’s Favourite foods are Onigiri and Tomatoes
Sasuke is known for having very weird tastebuds. His favorite foods are onigiri and tomatoes. There are also scenes in the anime where he’s just sitting and enjoying these foods. Onigiri is a Japanese dish made with rice and seaweed. On the other hand, Sasuke hates all things sweet and Natto, a traditional Japanese fermented soybean dish. Natto is known for its strong aroma and unique taste. Maybe Sasuke just never acquired the taste for it. Disliking sweets can also be linked to his personality as sweets are generally associated with happiness, and he is usually seen brooding.
8. Always a Perfect Student
As a student at the Konoha Ninja Academy, Sasuke was one of the perfect students. He always had the highest grades in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. He would even surpass Ino. Sasuke got a B in classroom attitude, a C in positivity, and an F in cooperation. The last two grades fit his personality really well as he doesn’t make friends easily. He does learn to cooperate with others, but he would just rather work alone. I think this part of him is evident when he always goes away on missions by himself. If Sasuke didn’t end up going leaving the village in search of revenge for his clan, he might have been the best student in the academy.
9. Sasuke is cross-dominant
Sasuke can use both of his hands at the same time with the same prowess. Since he can use both his arms at the same time, some may think he is ambidextrous. But being ambidextrous means a person can use both of their hands equally for the same tasks. But Sasuke is cross-dominant, that is, he can use his two hands for two separate tasks at the same time. For example, he usually uses his left hand for more powerful attacks like the Chidori, etc. While his right hand is reserved for tasks that need more dexterity, like sword-fighting, writing, or shooting his bow and arrow. This ability of his makes him more of a threat to his enemies.
10. Sasuke’s Strength
Sasuke Uchiha is one of the strongest shinobis out there in the Naruto series. His unique abilities and Sharingan eyes make him incredibly powerful during combat. He has Fire and Lightning Releases, very strong jutsus like the Chidori, Fire Ball Jutsu, Kirin, and Amaterasu. Sasuke also has very good sword-wielding skills. During the Five Kage Summit Arc, Sasuke defied all odds and took on all five of them in battle.
Fans were very shocked at how powerful he had become from his initial training days. He was also only sixteen when fighting the Kages, so he didn’t really have much time to level up either, but he did it nonetheless. Even Gaara, who barely shows any emotion, cried after seeing Sasuke as he saw himself within Sasuke. And Gara thought that he could not be saved anymore.
If you haven’t watched this amazing series yet, do give it a watch on Netflix. Here’s a guide to watching the Naruto series as it has so many episodes that even hard-core fans get confused.
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