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Saturday, July 22, saw the Naruto franchise release a special promotional video for Sasuke Uchiha, focusing on his history throughout the franchise’s original series. The promotional video looks back on his role and highest and lowest moments in the original series, and was released as a celebration of Sasuke’s birthday, which falls on July 23.
While the promotional video does primarily focus on Naruto and Sasuke’s friendship and rivalry throughout the series, there are also several moments which are purely Sasuke-centric. Shots of his time as a member of the Hebi and Taka, as well as his history with elder brother Itachi, are also present throughout.
Part of the reason why the Naruto franchise chose to release the promotional video for Sasuke’s birthday undoubtedly stems from his popularity as a character. Even as a side character with a relatively minor role in Boruto, Sasuke still manages to steal the show for many readers and viewers, proving his popularity to be truly timeless.
Sasuke Uchiha’s popularity proven to be as high as ever with Naruto's release of his celebratory birthday video
The recent popularity of the Sasuke Retsuden manga series and associated Boruto anime arc further proves that the character is as popular and relevant today as he ever was. Many fans praised the manga for offering a unique look at Sasuke, whose motivation throughout the story was to both save his best friend and fulfill his role as the Shadow Hokage.
As for the story’s anime adaptation into the Boruto series, many fans went as far as to call it the best arc the anime series has produced yet. While the anime’s production is admittedly somewhat sloppier and less canonical than the manga, it’s still impressive to see how much Sasuke’s presence alone can elevate a story arc.
Speaking of the Boruto manga, Sasuke is seemingly set to play a major role in the manga’s second part as a new ally of the titular character. While Sasuke admits to not knowing Boruto to be the person he claims he is (i.e., Naruto's son), he seemingly has decided to be the eponymous protagonist’s secret ally at the request of his daughter, Sarada.
While the actual debut and start of the manga’s second part could detail their relationship as different otherwise, the final moments of the first part suggest this to be the case. It’ll certainly be interesting to see Sasuke come to terms with his understanding of who Boruto is as he tries to help him at Sarada’s request. Nevertheless, the predominant hope from Naruto and Boruto fans is that he’ll continue to stand by Boruto’s side.
Be sure to keep up with all anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
