Genjutsu: Overpowered or Overrated?

[Denzel Washington]

For a while in Naruto, I've had one single pet peeve that stands above the rest:

Genjutsu.

Genjutsu messes with chakra in the brain, making you hallucinate, fall asleep, mind controlled, influenced, etc. Not only that, it can easily be implemented into most battles and is relatively common place.

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A few of the most powerful Genjutsus in the manga. Are they possible to counter?​

But does that really make sense? Could Genjutsu really exist in this world of shinobis without being abused? It seems, coupled with a shinobi's speed, that almost any Genjutsu technique is a one-shot kill when followed by a kunai and a blitz. Looking at just a couple lower tier genjutsus show us the ability to restrict your opponent, whether it be physically or mentally.

Now, considering how easily one can put an opponent into a genjutsu (at times it only takes a glance in the wrong direction, or hearing a sound), wouldn't this be THE supreme shinobi technique? I'd be teaching ALL my students to develop proficiency in Genjutsu. Look at Itachi Uchiha, probably the most famous of all Genjutsu users. In theory, with his Genjutsu techniques, he can beat anybody in the Narutoverse. This obviously isn't the case, however, which leads me to my next point.

Perhaps Genjutsu is just overrated. Jiraiya explains:

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Could the counter for Genjutsu be that simple? Is this why it's not as frequently used as it should be, in theory? If the counter is to simply disrupt your chakra flow, most capable shinobi could manage that. On top of that, when we see Kabuto cast a mass Genjutsu:

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We see Gai and even Sakura break out of it with ease! If all it took was a simple "Kai" and disruption of chakra, perhaps Genjutsu isn't as useful as one would think it would be.

So, what do you think? Genjutsu, overpowered, or overrated?

 

[Untamed]

I think of genjutsu as a cautionary tale... steer clear of the eyes
1 on 1 battles are tougher against a genjutsu user

 

[Smirk]

Im surprised they do it for fun like shrooms or lsd. i dont think Genjutsu is over used though o_o

 

[FemmeFatale]

It's not the sword but the person that wields it, or some shit like that.

 

[The Sach]

It's not the sword but the person that wields it, or some shit like that.

Actually I agree with Femme, genjutsu isn't overpowered.>_>

 

[Gucci45]

Dude your pretty much brain washing someone.. do you know how hard it is to brainwash someone? And its overpowered too.. you get to make it to where people are actually in pain without even touching them by just a glimpse of an eye are you kidding me YES its over powered you just showed a couple of the genjutsus in the manga I don't know why maybe something happened to your fave but I won't jump to any conclusions how about you show itachi vs kakashi or dedira vs sauskestuff like that

 

[FemmeFatale]

Actually I agree with Femme, genjutsu isn't overpowered.>_>

I love how you guys always say, actually first, lol. I'll refrain from fangirling in this response.

 

[Excālibur1]

That disruption of the chakra isn't that easy >_>

Sakura had great control over her chakra so she was capable to do that at that age. One of the most powerful Genjutsu is the Sharingan Genjutsu which is almost impossible to break out.

Genjutsu can only used by people who are capable of doing it by using their chakra like Itachi, Sasuke and some other people. Even Jiraiya had tough time to break out of Genjutsu.

 

[mrcrazyboyravi]

Genjutsu is really overrated . look at all those random fodder ninjas that could do izanami , izanagi etc etc. and also perform genjutsu like it was nothing.
If Genjutsu is really that powerful as hyped by the fanboys then why didn't uchihaa clan defeated Senju clan because all Uchihaa can cast sharingan genjutsu so it shouldn't had been that difficult.

 

[BlacLord™]

It depends on the Genjutsu.

Look at Itachi's Tsukuyomi, methods like that won't work because the aforementioned's control and power is just too strong.

The power scaling is too large to give a good answer. Just think, the same thing could be said for Ninjutsu but with having the likes of Suiton: Mizurappa all the way up to a Bijuudama, it's just to difficult to tell.

 

[Wparker6804]

Im surprised they do it for fun like shrooms OR LSD. i dont think Genjutsu is over used though o_o

 

[Kαmi]

I guess it depends on how skilled the user is. I kind of feel like genjutsu is an outlier in the manga though.

 

[Gucci45]

Oh I would like to add that genjutsu pretty much tells your opponent to revel their secrets I.e obito vs konan and itachi vs kabuto do you know how IMPORTANT that is to the shinobi world heck one of the genjutsus KA makes you obey a command forever till its done without you noticing it this thread is pretty much a wrap

 

[Derek1st]

Its underdeveloped. We only know of like 5 genjutsu that don't involve having a sharingan and looking at someone. Like, we have that tree genjutsu, genjutsu counter, frog song, death mirage, feather illusion, and basic changing of things in the environment.

 

[- J AV -]

It depends on the Genjutsu.

Look at Itachi's Tsukuyomi, methods like that won't work because the aforementioned's control and power is just too strong.

The power scaling is too large to give a good answer. Just think, the same thing could be said for Ninjutsu but with having the likes of Suiton: Mizurappa all the way up to a Bijuudama, it's just to difficult to tell.

This ^^^^ I agree

 

[Gerkak]

It's not over powered or overrated. It all depends on the users skill and proficiency in genjutsu. A good example of this is itachi and kurenai. While kurenai is considered to be quite skilled in genjutsu. Itachi effortlessly breaks out and even reflects her genjutsu on her. It also depends on the genjutsu used. Naruto was unable to break finger genjutsu. The best he could manage to resist it. However such a genjutsu wouldn't have worked on sasuke because his skills in countering and casting genjutsu eclipse naruto's.

 

[Avery Namikaze]

So the point of this thread is to discredit Tsukoyomi in disguise? I find Minato's fans for annoying attention tryhards these days.

Coming from a Sasuke fan, lol just made my day.

 

[sharingansennin]

Genjutsu is really overrated . look at all those random fodder ninjas that could do izanami , izanagi etc etc. and also perform genjutsu like it was nothing.
If Genjutsu is really that powerful as hyped by the fanboys then why didn't uchihaa clan defeated Senju clan because all Uchihaa can cast sharingan genjutsu so it shouldn't had been that difficult.

not all ninja get sharingan numb nuts, 3T is rare

 

[Arian]

Genjutsu is the most dangerous of the three ninja techniques(ninjutsu genjutsu and taijutsu) but also the hardest one to learn and use^^

 

[Excālibur1]

Genjutsu is really overrated . look at all those random fodder ninjas that could do izanami , izanagi etc etc. and also perform genjutsu like it was nothing.
If Genjutsu is really that powerful as hyped by the fanboys then why didn't uchihaa clan defeated Senju clan because all Uchihaa can cast sharingan genjutsu so it shouldn't had been that difficult.

They are not fodder. They are very much skilled, Danzo and Obito are shown to use those jutsus.

Not all Uchiha's were able to awake Sharingan I believe. It depends on the skill of the user on how powerful a genjutsu is.