Itachi is not a good character, and I am sick of Naruto fans trying to say otherwise

Naruto is filled with many conflicting characters. Around the time when Naruto was released, most Shonen anime had a clear definition between good and bad characters. This anime was therefore groundbreaking for its time, as many characters existed in grey areas. As Naruto progressed, it kept on being revealed that more characters were morally grey.

These characters made decisions that seemed wrong at the moment, but in the long haul, had been beneficial for the Shinobi world. One such character in Naruto is Senju Tobirama. He was the Second Hokage of Konoha and one of the most influential characters in the entire series. Every action he took in the series, even the difficult ones, were to ensure the stability of Konoha.

Another character that fans call morally grey is Itachi, but in my opinion, this take is far removed from reality. The truth is that Itachi is a villain who loved his brother. He loved him so much that he could not kill him, but he did not have that same love for his entire village. However, his younger brother was treated unfairly by Itachi, as he deserved a childhood free from trauma.

Here is why Itachi is one of the most misunderstood characters in Naruto, and why he is actually a villain.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s views and may contain spoilers.

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Why Itachi is a villain in Naruto

He kills defenseless Uchiha like the old and the young (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The entire Narutoverse is filled with morally grey characters and antiheroes. While there are obvious ones like Kashin Koji and Tobirama, subtle ones like Obito and Toneri also exist. Among many Naruto fans, there is this consensus that Itachi is a morally grey character, and they could not be farther from the truth.

Itachi is a villain, and one reason why he is considered a morally grey character is his love for his brother. A lot of fans might see him as a pacifist, but the reality of things is that he was a tool. He was used by Konoha and by his own family. However, he still had agency.

He was a ninja who killed every Uchiha, from the older ones who could not fight back to the younger ones who were barely ninja themselves. He committed familicide for a village that did not care about the Uchiha. All his actions were meant to prevent a war, but his actions caused sparks that nearly led to war.

If Itachi did not kill the entire Uchiha clan, Sasuke would have never joined Orochimaru or the Akatsuki. The alliance between Sasuke and the Akatsuki raised tensions between Konoha and Kumo, and this was due to Sasuke attacking Killerbee. Sasuke also attacked the Kage Summit, and it would have led to his death. The precursor of all of these was the death of the Uchiha clan.

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Final thoughts

For someone who claims to love his brother, Itachi mentally tortured Sasuke. The first time he did this was when he used the Tsukuyomi on a young Sasuke who was not even a genin. The second time was when he fought Sasuke in Konoha. Every word Itachi told Sasuke was meant to tear him down and increase the hate in him. That is not the action of a loving brother or a good person.

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