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Naruto's characters are well-loved by fans of the great shonen because of their great development throughout the series. While some of them managed to take the fans by heart, there were some who received an inordinate amount of hate.
Naruto is one of those anime that screams to not judge a book by its cover. Most characters who are introduced in a certain way are oftentimes shown to have backstories and great development throughout the series, running for over 500 episodes. This is true for both the protagonists as well as the antagonists of Naruto.
As such, today we will list down 10 Naruto characters who don’t deserve the hate they receive.
Disclaimer: This list reflects the author’s opinion and contains spoilers.
10 Naruto characters who were hated but didn’t deserve all of it
1) Zabuza
Zabuza, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, appeared as an early antagonist in Naruto. He was really powerful, managing to almost match the copy-ninja, Kakashi, in strength.
Having committed many atrocities, Zabuza did receive plenty of hate. However, the scene of him dying where he ends up crying watching Haku die does great to portray his humanistic side and makes it really hard for the fans to hate him completely.
2) Shikamaru
Shikamaru’s initial introduction as a character rendered him quite unlikeable. His passive nature and tendency to procrastinate on every given task along with his sexist views did not exactly work in his favor.
However, Asuma’s death in Naruto: Shippuden triggered a major change in his personality, whereupon he became one of the best shinobis of Konoha. He is one of the few characters to take down an Akatsuki member on his own. His intellect seemingly surpasses that of any other shinobi in his village.
3) Itachi
Sasuke’s older brother and the man who committed the Uchiha massacre, Itachi, received a lot of hate from the time he made his debut. All the villagers used to detest him, including his own brother, who was hell-bent on exacting vengeance.
However, the course of Naruto: Shippuden soon revealed him to be a hero from the shadows, as he not only protected Konoha from the angst of the Uchiha but sacrificed his whole life to act as a stepping stone for Sasuke. This completely changes everyone’s perspectives and he is easily one of those characters one can’t hate at all.
4) Gaara
Right from his debut in the Chunin exam arc, Gaara received a lot of hate for his ruthlessness and lack of emotions. His actions against Rock Lee and involvement in the destruction of Konoha during the arc gave rise to immense hatred towards him.
However, upon learning how Rasa, his father, performed brutal experiments on him since birth and that he was the reason why Gaara turned out the way he did, no one could really hate Gaara completely. It is indeed amazing that Gaara eventually becomes the youngest Kage and the protector of his village.
5) Pain
Nagato, more popularly known as Pain, was the head of Akatsuki. He was responsible for countless crimes and the killings of countless innocent shinobi. Yet, you cannot hate him completely since Pain himself was a victim of hatred.
The vicious murders he witnessed as a child during the Third Great Ninja War and losing his best friend, Yahiko, made him realize the truth of the shinobi world. Regardless, resorting to violence and destruction can’t be justified in any way. However, he is not a character that one can completely hate.
6) Naruto
The main protagonist of the anime himself initially received quite a lot of hate from his villagers and fans alike. His childish and dumb personality, aided by his stubbornness, didn’t showcase him as a bright personality. Yet, the course of the anime develops Naruto’s character beautifully.
From an isolated kid who dreamt of becoming the Hokage to achieving it, and becoming one of the strongest shinobi alive, Naruto’s character development is wonderful. Most importantly, he proves the value of having faith and is a symbolic representation of a character who you hate initially, but end up liking in the end.
7) Hinata
Hinata receives quite a lot of hate from fans for always running after Naruto. However, one must understand that her desire to become strong is not only driven by her love for the hero. Being a member of the Hyuga clan, she was forced to become powerful in order to become a good leader.
The fact that she managed to retain feelings for her love throughout the anime while becoming a beautifully-skilled shinobi is something to respect and not hate. Consistency is indeed underrated.
8) Obito
The Uchiha kid, who was assumed to be dead during the course of the Third Great Ninja War, became one of the leading antagonists of the anime. However, upon learning that most of his actions were the result of him witnessing his love, Rin, die and that he was always under the manipulation of Madara, does make Obito a tragic hero.
It proves how he never lost his innocence and makes it inevitably hard to hate this character.
9) Sakura
Sakura receives a ton of hate for her infatuation with Sasuke and for never maturing as a character. But her greatest strength was that she never trained to become strong on her own. She sought the power that would reunite herself with her love.
Sakura eventually played an incredibly vital role in the Fourth Great Ninja War, and without her aid, defeating Kaguya would have definitely been impossible, even for Naruto and Sasuke.
10) Madara
Madara Uchiha is one of the most famous and powerful antagonists appearing in Naruto. And while many fans hate him for his deeds, even this legendary Uchiha was a victim of manipulation by Zetsu.
In reality, Madara also wanted to restore peace and order but fell into the trap of Zetsu by believing that he was following the guidance of the Sage of Six Paths. Since his ideals were so strong and just, but only misled by the evil schemes of Zetsu, even Madara is a character who doesn’t deserve the hate he gets.
