Warning: This article contains major spoilers for NARUTO.
Itachi Uchiha is one of the characters whose reputation changed the most dramatically over the course of NARUTO.
Early in the story, Itachi was portrayed as a cold-blooded criminal who massacred his own clan, the Uchiha, while leaving only his younger brother Sasuke alive.
From childhood, Sasuke devoted his entire life to one goal: revenge against Itachi.
For a long time, that was also how readers saw him.
Itachi was the villain who destroyed Sasuke’s life.
But after Sasuke finally defeated his brother, everything we thought we knew about Itachi was turned upside down.
So the question became:
Was Itachi Really a Bad Person?
After Itachi’s death, Sasuke learned the truth that had been hidden from him.
The Uchiha clan had been planning a coup against the Hidden Leaf Village.
At the same time, Itachi was caught between two sides.
He was a member of the Uchiha clan, but he had also been ordered by the Leaf to spy on his own family.
In other words, Itachi was forced to choose between:
protecting his family and his clan
or
protecting the village and the many people living in it.
It was an impossibly heavy decision for someone so young.
In the end, Itachi chose the village and took part in wiping out his own clan.
But there was one person he could not bring himself to kill.
Sasuke.
Itachi also wanted Sasuke to grow up believing that he had defeated the man responsible for the Uchiha massacre.
In other words, Itachi intended to die as the villain so that Sasuke could live as the hero who avenged his clan.
He never expected to be understood.
He never expected to be thanked.
He simply chose to carry everything with him until the end.
That was Itachi’s decision.
Japanese Fans Were Shocked by the Truth
When the truth about Itachi was finally revealed, years of assumptions about his character suddenly changed.
For a long time, he had been portrayed as:
a terrifying older brother
and
the man who ruined Sasuke’s life.
But now fans learned that, in his own deeply flawed way, Itachi had been trying to protect Sasuke more than anyone else.
That revelation completely changed the way many Japanese fans looked at him.
Reactions often followed the same pattern:
“Everything Itachi did looks different now.”
“So he was thinking about Sasuke the whole time?”
“The burden placed on Itachi was way too cruel.”
One of the biggest questions became:
“Was Itachi really a villain after all?”
That does not mean every Japanese fan believes Itachi was completely justified.
The fact remains that he killed his own clan.
Fans still debate questions like:
“Was there really no other way?”
“Even if it was for the village, can what he did truly be justified?”
So in Japan, Itachi is often viewed less as a straightforward hero and more as:
a deeply tragic person who made serious mistakes while carrying a burden that was far too heavy for one person.
Once You Know the Truth, Even Old Scenes Feel Different
One reason Itachi remains such a memorable character is that once you know the truth, going back through the story changes the meaning of many earlier scenes.
The first time you watch or read them, you might think:
“Why would he do something so cruel?”
But later, you realize there was another intention behind many of his actions.
He tried to make Sasuke stronger.
He made Sasuke continue hating him.
And until the very end, he refused to tell Sasuke the truth.
Itachi wanted to protect his younger brother.
But the way he tried to do it was extremely clumsy and ultimately caused Sasuke even more pain.
That contradiction is one of the most important parts of his character:
He loved Sasuke, but he did not know how to love him in a healthy way.
That is one reason Itachi cannot easily be described as simply “good” or “evil.”
And Somehow, Itachi Became a Meme in Japan
This is where Japanese NARUTO fandom gets a little strange.
Itachi’s backstory is one of the most tragic parts of the series.
And yet, one line used while explaining his fate became one of the most famous NARUTO memes in Japanese internet culture:
「イタチは犠牲になったのだ」
“Itachi became a sacrifice.”
Originally, this was a completely serious line describing the tragedy of Itachi’s life.
But Japanese internet users became fascinated with the distinctive phrasing.
Parodies and edited images started appearing everywhere.
Eventually, people began using the phrase for completely unrelated situations.
For example:
“My day off became a sacrifice.”
“My sleep became a sacrifice.”
“My salary became a sacrifice.”
So in Japan, something very strange happened:
one of Itachi’s saddest storylines also became one of NARUTO’s most famous internet memes.
Overseas, Itachi Became a Meme in a Completely Different Way
In English-speaking NARUTO communities, Itachi became a meme for a very different reason.
One of the most famous jokes is:
“Itachi solos.”
Basically:
Itachi can defeat everyone by himself.
Whenever fans started debating : “Who would win, this character or Itachi?”
some Itachi fans would simply answer:
“Itachi solos.”
It happened so often that the exaggerated idea of Itachi being unbeatable became a meme in itself.
And eventually, the joke went even further:
“Everything is Itachi’s genjutsu.”
In other words:
“What if the reality we are experiencing right now is just another illusion created by Itachi?”
In Japan, Itachi’s meme culture grew out of his tragic role as a sacrifice.
Overseas, it grew out of his reputation for being ridiculously powerful.
It is interesting that the exact same character became funny for completely different reasons in different fandoms.
Why Itachi’s Final Gesture Became So Meaningful
One of the most memorable gestures associated with Itachi is the way he touches Sasuke’s forehead with his fingers.
Itachi had done this many times when Sasuke was younger.
As children, it was often something he did when turning down one of Sasuke’s requests or promises.
But after reaching the end of Itachi’s story, that small gesture suddenly feels very different.
It becomes a quiet expression of affection from an older brother who was never able to tell Sasuke what he truly felt.
Itachi failed to express himself honestly through words.
But even at the end, that familiar gesture remained.
That is why such a simple moment has stayed with so many fans.
Why Is Itachi Still So Popular?
Itachi is not popular simply because he is strong.
He was forced to weigh : his family
his brother
his clan
his village
peace
his own life
against one another.
No matter what he chose, someone was going to suffer.
And in the end, he chose a path where he himself would become the sacrifice.
But that does not mean all of his decisions were correct.
He wanted to protect Sasuke.
Yet his actions trapped Sasuke in a life built around hatred and revenge.
He was kind.
But he was also cruel.
He was intelligent.
But he still made terrible mistakes.
It is exactly these contradictions that have kept people talking about Itachi for so many years.
In Japan, Tragedy and Memes Somehow Exist at the Same Time
To overseas fans, the Japanese attitude toward Itachi might seem a little strange.
Japanese fans genuinely feel the tragedy of his story.
They have spent years discussing his choices, his suffering, and whether what he did could ever be justified.
And yet, at the same time, they have also spent years joking about:
“Itachi became a sacrifice.”
This does not necessarily mean Japanese fans are making fun of Itachi himself.
It is closer to a particular kind of Japanese internet culture:
when people love something enough, even its most serious and emotional scenes can become jokes that fans keep using for years.
Itachi is tragic.
He is cool.
He is pitiful.
He is endlessly debatable.
And somehow, he is also a little funny.
All of those feelings can exist at the same time.
That may be the best way to describe how Itachi Uchiha is remembered in Japanese fandom.
Panda’s Note 🐼
What did you think when you first learned the truth about Itachi?
Do you believe:
“Itachi was a hero”?
Or do you think:
“Even with everything he went through, his choices were still wrong”?
And how is Itachi viewed in your country?
If your fandom has completely different Itachi memes from Japan, tell us about them in the comments too!
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