30 Days of Anime – #17 My Favourite (Male) Supporting Character

#17 Who Is Your Favourite (Male) Supporting Character?

Itachi Uchiha

That’s right, Naruto again! A thousand apologies, but thanks to its large, varied, and well-developed cast of characters, it’s one of my favourite franchises! So when discussing the topic of favourite characters, my mind often drifts to it!

In terms of supporting characters, Itachi Uchiha plays a considerably larger role than most. In fact, despite having very little screen time, he is one of the most important characters in the entire Naruto franchise! It is Itachi’s assassination of the Uchiha clan that provided Sasuke, the second most important character after (surprise surprise) Naruto, with his life’s purpose: to exact his revenge on him. This single, demented wish was behind all of Sasuke’s major decisions for the best part of 300 episodes!

And when Sasuke fulfilled this wish and, shortly thereafter, learned why Itachi killed their entire family, his desire for revenge is renewed and redirected at the elders of Konoha. This new raison d’etre drove him for the remainder of Shippuuden. That’s another 400 episodes!

Itachi’s actions also had a knock-on effect on our titular character, Naruto. Naruto’s desire to save Sasuke from himself and bring him back to Konoha was behind some of his most crazy decisions, like taking on opponents far stronger than himself, infiltrating Orochimaru’s fun-geon, pardoning his fellow pupil, Nagato, for killing their master, Jiraiya, and standing up to an extremely mad, extremely hench Raikage, whose brother Sasuke had just attacked.

However, despite Naruto’s best efforts, it was Itachi’s words to Naruto, which Sasuke unearthed by peering deep into Naruto’s memories (don’t ask), that brought him back from the brink by reminding him of the value of friends and of allowing yourself to be loved by them. So, as you can see, Itachi’s impact on the entire franchise is massive!

Itachi’s also effortlessly cool. His long, silky, raven black hair and penetrating gaze is pretty dreamy! And his frightening, almost nightmarish, powers, which are unmatched by those of the vast majority of other characters, lend him an immensely intimidating presence, which is also extremely cool. But whilst Itachi’s an awesome villain, he’s an even better hero!

Discovering the real reason why Itachi killed the Uchiha clan: to prevent them from staging a coup that had the potential to spiral into all-out war and to protect Sasuke, was my favourite plot twist in all of Naruto. Itachi’s actions were, in part, due to the fact that he was forced to participate in the Third Great Ninja War whilst he was still in single digits. Naruto never really discusses the topic of mental health, let alone assign its many characters diagnoses, but I’m positive that that would have traumatised young Itachi! This explains why he went to such extreme lengths to prevent another war from breaking out.

Saying that, Itachi’s actions were mainly fueled by his immense love for his younger brother and his desire to protect him. I like to think that I’d do anything for my baby brother. But would I kill the rest of my family if that meant saving him? Hmm… Add to this the fact that Itachi did this knowing that Sasuke would despise him as a result and would, as far as he knew, never know the real reason behind his actions! Not to mention that it forced him to stay on the run for the rest of his life. I can’t even begin to understand that level of self-sacrifice. Nevertheless, Itachi never allowed himself to wallow in regret, self-doubt, or bitterness. He shouldered his lot and calmly and quietly endured, content in the knowledge that he’d saved his brother’s life. It’s for this reason, and the ones above, that Itachi is my favourite (male) supporting anime character!