Development
Despite difficulties in designing him, Kishimoto enjoys illustrating Sasuke's character. He aimed to make Sasuke look appealing in his Part II design.
Sasuke was not included in Kishimoto's original concept of the Naruto manga. While discussing the future of the series, his editor advised him to add a rival character for the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, so he created Sasuke.[2] Kishimoto read a variety of manga to gather ideas for creating an effective rivalry between the characters, and he incorporated these elements into Naruto and Sasuke's relationship. Kishimoto also drew inspiration from his own relationship with his twin brother, Seishi. Since childhood, Masashi had worried about Seishi when he faced failure, such as in high school or college, and tried to help him.[3]
To contrast him with Naruto, Kishimoto was careful to never make Sasuke too emotional, instead depicting him as a "cool genius". Kishimoto felt he had created the ideal rivalry in the pair.[4] He wanted Naruto and Sasuke to seem like brothers and rivals at the same time, building on their mutual experience of childhood loneliness. At first, Sasuke does not view Naruto as an opponent worth considering, but is quickly surprised at Naruto's growth, and becomes fiercely competitive. In the finale to Part I, their rivalry leads to a fight and the two grow further apart. Kishimoto has said that he did not want Sasuke to recognize Naruto as an equal until later in Part II.[5]
To introduce Sasuke, Kishimoto originally wrote a chapter which was set before the creation of Team 7, when Naruto had just become a ninja. However, this idea was later scrapped and Sasuke was introduced alongside Team 7, although he kept the same traits and his rivalry with Naruto.[6] Sasuke's first name comes from Sanpei Shirato's Sasuke, a manga Kishimoto likes, and Sarutobi Sasuke, a fictional ninja featured in Japanese children's stories.[7] Kishimoto has remarked that Sasuke's character was also influenced by Hiei from YuYu Hakusho, stating that he referenced Hiei when designing the character character and his Sharingan ability.[8] Since Sasuke had few appearances in the Naruto movies, Kishimoto decided to give him a bigger role in Boruto: Naruto the Movie. In Boruto, Sasuke becomes a teacher to Naruto's first son, Boruto Uzumaki, an apparent reference to Piccolo and Gohan from the Dragon Ball manga series by Akira Toriyama.[9] Kishimoto first planned Sasuke and Sakura's romance early in the production of Naruto. He also decided Sasuke would remain a rogue ninja at the series' close despite ending on good terms with his allies.[10]
When dramatic plot developments made Sasuke one of the series' antagonists, Kishimoto compared him and Naruto to the yin and yang due to their notable differences and complimentary natures. He has mentioned that when one progresses, he makes sure the other does as well.[11] In 2013, as the series approached its climax, Kishimoto encouraged readers to look forward to Sasuke and Naruto's final fight.[5] Since it started serialization, Kishimoto had planned that the series' ending would feature the final fight between the two characters, although he was not sure whether the characters would end the duel as friends or enemies.[12] While the two use ninja techniques in the beginning, in the climax the author wanted both fighters to rely on hand-to-hand combat.[13] In the end, Kishimoto decided to have Naruto forgive Sasuke as he had forgiven Nagato, another former enemy.[14] Before the series finale, Sasuke decides to leave on a solo journey. Kishimoto later explained that besides self-atonement, Sasuke also wanted to discover the origins of the series' final antagonist. However, Kishimoto decided not to explain this in the manga.[3]
In retrospect, Kishimoto says he felt Sasuke was a difficult character to write, requiring a great deal of forethought and planning. In early 2014, when asked whether Sasuke was good or evil, Kishimoto referred to him as a "very pure person," adding that while some of his actions, such as following his clan's ideals, are positive, his self-centered nature tends to cause problems for others.[15] For the spin-off focused on Sarada Uchiha, Sasuke and Sakura's daughter, Kishimoto wanted to explained how the couple was connected despite not being close as a result of Sasuke's mission which made him leave his village. The author also wanted to put effort in the final scene of Uchiha family as for him that was the most important area of the spin-off.[16]
Design
Original sketch of Sasuke's Part I design, which was revised to be less detailed
Because he was developed to be Naruto's opposite, Kishimoto remarked that Sasuke was the most memorable character for him to design.[17] He also considered Sasuke his most challenging character to create, because his design gave Kishimoto a number of problems. He lacked a proper idea of what Sasuke's face should look like, and his initial drafts of Sasuke appeared too old or mature for a character the same age as Naruto.[18] Original designs of Sasuke had a number of necklaces and ties around his arms and legs a result of Kishimoto's habit of giving characters as much ornamentation as possible. Realizing he could not draw such a complex character on a weekly basis, Kishimoto simplified the design to be a basic contrast of Naruto's costume.[19]
Sasuke was also the most difficult character for Kishimoto to draw. He felt that his drawings tended to make Sasuke look too old, a result of his inexperience in drawing younger characters mature beyond their years.[19] Sasuke's hair, originally kept short to save Kishimoto time, slowly grew longer as the series has progressed.[18] Midway through Part I, Kishimoto drew a new costume for Sasuke featuring a number of belts strapped around his arms and legs, but because it took too long to draw, he returned to Sasuke's original costume design.[20]Despite the time and energy Kishimoto spends drawing Sasuke, he has become his favorite character to draw.[19] He ranked Sasuke alongside Sakura in terms of drawing difficulty.[13] In some cases, his superiors even asked Kishimoto to redraw parts of the manga that did not illustrate Sasuke well.[13]
When designing Sasuke's appearance in Part II, Kishimoto's main objective was to make him look cool. For this, he tried several outfits, such as wrapping him in Shimenawa to evoke the design Orochimaru, then Sasuke's master. He also tried other clothing such as a turtleneck and a military uniform to show "cleanliness". However, he ended up choosing Japanese-style clothes with a Chokutō-style sword.[21] For the film The Last: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto gave Sasuke a new, young adult design, with "even sharper" facial features.[22]
Voice actors and personality
Yuri Lowenthal, voice of Sasuke in the anime's English dub
In Japanese animations, Sasuke is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama. At the beginning of the Part I anime, Sugiyama found it difficult to voice Sasuke because he did not know much about his personality. Sugiyama felt that he started to better understand and portray the character when Sasuke encountered his brother Itachi. Sugiyama also read the manga and became particularly interested in Sasuke's development once the character left Konohagakure. Sugiyama even wanted to redo some scenes, including Sasuke's departure from Konohagakure.[23] In the Behind the Scenes of Uchiha, a feature centered around Sasuke's and Itachi's backstory, Sugiyama noted that he got emotional during sixth season's recording sessions Naruto Shippuden, when Sasuke learned the truth about his brother's role in the massacre of the Uchiha clan.[24]
Sugiyama has stated that Sasuke's line "you are annoying" sums up Sasuke's feelings towards Sakura. He is initially annoyed by her, yet when he repeats it before leaving Konohagakure, he is smiling. Naruto's voice actor, Junko Takeuchi, remarked that Sasuke's line "See you next time… Thank you," addressed to Sakura, revealed his feeling for her. Sugiyama noted that by the end, Sasuke realized how much he hurt Sakura's feelings across the series, and apologized to her after his final fight against Naruto. In preparations for the film Boruto, Sugiyama expected to see a bond between Sasuke and his student, Boruto.[25]
Yuri Lowenthal, who voiced Sasuke in the English dubs, felt honored to be chosen considering the large retinue of voice actors auditioning for the role, but noted the job was stressful because fans were highly critical of any deviation or mistake in his recordings.[26] His first impression of Sasuke was that of "a serious guy dedicated to his training," but his view changed as he learned more of Sasuke's backstory.[27] In 2010, Lowenthal said that Sasuke was one of the first "dark" characters he voiced, commenting that "He's sort of a hero, but he’s not the naïve, young white – hat hero."[28] Nevertheless, he said he loves voicing the character.[29] Due to Viz Media often censoring parts of the series' dialogue for Western viewers, Lowenthal said some of Sasuke's lines were changed such as his usage of the word "kill". As a result, he commented he preferred the series' original Japanese version due to remaining true to the character.[30]
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