7 Naruto Characters Who Should Not Have Been Redeemed

Shonen franchises and forgiveness have gone hand-in-hand for decades, with multiple series routinely seeing villains become heroes. Franchises such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, My Hero Academia, and Dan Da Dan are just a few examples of antagonists that found redemption. Arguably, the series that saw the most villains finding the light was Naruto, the ninja-focused series from creator Masashi Kishimoto. Since debuting in the early 2000s, Naruto has continued on by passing the torch from father to son, and during this time, more and more villains have joined the light side. As Boruto: Two Blue Vortex marches forward, now seems like the right time to look into the shonen’s past.

7.) Sasuke Uchiha

Let’s start things with a bang, as Sasuke Uchiha might have started as a hero as a part of Team 7, but the Hidden Leaf ninja eventually found himself trying to bring down Konoha for the better part of Naruto Shippuden. At first, Sasuke had only one thing on his mind: eliminating his brother Itachi and getting revenge for the loss of his clan. Once it was revealed that Itachi killed the Uchiha clan on orders from a previous Hokage, Sasuke turned his ire upon his former homeland. Ultimately, Sasuke wasn’t successful at destroying Konoha, but the ninja always did work more as an anti-hero, or flat-out villain, than a full-fledged do-gooder. While Sasuke would go on to become one of Boruto’s best mentors, we can’t help but think his past crimes should not have been forgiven.

6.) Pain (Nagato)

Nagato, aka Pain, never had the opportunity to fight alongside Naruto to take on Madara Uchiha and Obito, but his final act changed the landscape thanks to the Seventh Hokage’s winning personality. Pain used a jutsu to bring back those he had killed during his fight with Naruto and his assault on the Hidden Leaf Village, but any redeeming acts couldn’t wash away the sins he committed over the course of the series. Responsible for the death of Jiraiya, along with untold victims as a part of the Akatsuki, Pain was a terrifying threat to the ninja world, and his redemption did take away from his more villainous role in the shonen overall.

5.) Zabuza

Zabuza was one of the first big bads that Team 7 took on as a team, and while he is far weaker than many of the other villains that faced Konoha in the future, he left quite an impression. The masked ninja from the Mist would eventually see the error of his ways when he realized that his sidekick, Haku, was giving everything they had for his life. Much like Pain, Zabuza would only see the error of his ways during his final moments alive, though he would eventually return from the grave as a part of the Fourth Ninja World War. Ultimately, Zabuza’s change of heart was earned, but it seemed slightly out of character for a mercenary who had shown little to no emotion during his early time in the series.

4.) Itachi Uchiha

Itachi’s secret reason behind why he eliminated the Uchiha Clan, for us, ultimately fell flat. Sasuke’s brother killing his clan to join the Akatsuki and gain power seemed more in line with what we knew of his character, so it did feel like a bit of a cheat when it was revealed that he had done so for the betterment of Konoha. While it did make for one of the Naruto franchise’s biggest twists, Itachi losing his edge at the end, and the lengths that he went to for the previous Hokage, felt like quite the gut punch to the characters of this world and anime enthusiasts alike. While the moment between Itachi and Sasuke during their final fight was a heartwrenching scene, and one of the anime’s best, changing the older brother’s motivation for what he did lessens its impact.

3.) Kabuto

The heir apparent to Orochimaru, who followed in the fiend’s footsteps following the snake ninja’s defeat in Naruto Shippuden, was brought to the light side in quite the wild way. During his fight with Itachi, Kabuto was placed into a genjutsu where the only way he could escape was by becoming a completely different person. Seemingly discovering the error of his ways after spending an eternity trapped in his own brain, Kabuto would then go on to join Konoha and run an orphanage. While Kabuto certainly earned his redemption thanks to the millennia he spent inside his own head, the former Orochimaru follower was far more effective as a villain, and we have to wonder how much cooler it would have been had he been a presence in the Boruto sequels.

2.) Obito Uchiha

Of all the redemptions on this list, Obito’s still raises our eyebrows when it took place during the finale of Naruto Shippuden. Following his amazing fight against Kakashi, Obito sees the light thanks to Naruto, as so many villains have over the course of the shonen franchise. Obito might have been corrupted thanks to his brush with death and Madara Uchiha’s influence, but many of his actions were all his own. Considering when he eventually saw the light and the fact that it had little impact on the story overall, it seems like a waste that Obito couldn’t simply remain a villain throughout his history within the ninja world.

1.) Orochimaru

Of all the villains that have appeared in Naruto, or the shonen medium as a whole, Orochimaru’s “redemption” is still one of the most bizarre choices that an anime story has ever made. Orochimaru performed such heinous deeds during his life, even going so far as to raise children like livestock in an attempt to ensure his immortality. At the end of Naruto Shippuden, the snake ninja was given the chance to live in the Hidden Leaf Ninja, even without so much as apologizing. While Orochimaru’s turn to the light would give us the new character Mitsuki to join Team 7, we can’t help feeling creepy knowing that Orochimaru is thriving in the face of his evil past.

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