This is a topic that I've been wanting to address for some time now; it has actually been one of the primary reasons I joined this forum, and after going through multiple threads and finding an almost overwhelming amount of people who seem to support this view, I'm representing the opposing viewpoint, of course, with rational information supporting my perspective. As per my last thread, this is merely my opinion; however, I am hoping that it will give those who read it a broader context to rely on when thinking on this matter. Feel free to leave your opinions, comments, or rebuttals; I'll do my best to answer them.
Based on most of the threads I've gone through that have dealt with or made reference to Sasuke's character, there's an alarming amount of users on the forum who seem to despise his character, his abilities, everything there is about him, and for the life of me, I can't understand why; It's as if most people have only seen the last few episodes he's been in and automatically came to the conclusion that they hate him. If you've watched every episode from Part I to Part II, then there is little reason to feel such malice for Sasuke's character; This is not to say that you should be inclined to say he's your favorite either, but at the very least, some effort should be put in to understand the his overall situation. Sasuke's current dark and corrupt personality didn't just occur one day; it's been a gradual process, and I think most of the 'haters' have forgotten that.
Path to Hatred - Step 1: Annihilation of the Uchiha Clan
A child of less than 10 years (Age 7), Sasuke's entire family was wiped out, by his seemingly loving brother, Itachi, who proceeded to tell Sasuke that his kindness was nothing but an illusion to test him, that he wiped out the clan simply to 'test his abilities', and that Sasuke was soo weak that he wasn't even worth killing. "You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live … if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me … and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life," - those very words set Sasuke on his path to hatred, and the remainder of Sasuke's time spent in Konoha, even while on Team 7, was devoted to gaining enough power to kill his brother.
- At this point, I'm eager to see the show of virtual hands who would be able to experience the loss of their entire family and relatives, at the hands of their sibling, no less, who would be able to resist the urge for revenge. I'm assuming some of you may simply be stubborn and say you could resist doing so, since there's no chance of something like this happening; but the question is simply IF it were to happen, and I know that I would end up taking the same path as Sasuke; I could never go through such loss and not do anything about it.
Path to Hatred - Step 2: Acquisition of the Cursed Seal
Probably one of the most important events that led Sasuke even further down the path of hatred was the influence of Orochimaru's Cursed Seal. During the Chunin exams, after noticing how his drive for revenge seemed to have lessened (due to his time with Team 7), Orochimaru branded Sasuke with his cursed seal, which, in exchange for giving him a brief surge of power, tainted his personality, making him more vulnerable to Orochimaru's influence (mainly the power he could give him). This can be seen throughout most of Part I; while Sasuke had grown a bit closer to his team prior to his encounter with Orochimaru, once he was given the cursed seal, he slowly reverted back to his initial, cold attitude. By the end of Part I, Sasuke was challenging his own teammates (Naruto) and fighting to win, above all else (Using Chidori against Naruto with the intent of killing him).
- Now, everyone knows already that the Cursed Seal played a role in developing Sasuke's hatred, but I added this to indicate the fact that his path of hatred developed gradually. Keep in mind that he was at one point, close with Team 7, and would've sacrificed himself to safe his teammates (i.e. Taking Haku's attack that was meant for Naruto); This can also be seen during his fight against Killer Bee in Part II - While in the midst of figuring out a way to deal with Killer Bee once he'd transformed, Sasuke recalled his current teammates' sacrifices (i.e. Jugo reverting back to his child state in exchange for saving Sasuke's life | Karin allowing him to use her chakra | Suigetsu buying them enough time to escape), and for a moment he briefly remembered Team 7, showing that while still on his dark path, he still showed traces of care for his team, enough in fact, that he chose to use Amaterasu via his MS, in spite of the fatal risk it posed to his eyesight.
Path to Hatred - Step 3: Naruto's Growth & Sasuke's Defeat By Itachi
Even as he was growing more and more distant from his Team, Sasuke was satisfied with his growth in Part I ... until Naruto begun showing some rather extreme levels of growth, succeeding in tasks and performing feats Sasuke struggled/failed to accomplish (i.e. defeating Gaara, who Sasuke couldn't bring down even after using Chidori 3 times; Defeating Aoi of the Rain Village by breaking his Sword of the Thunder God with Rasengan, whereas Sasuke's Chidori only managed to crack it, etc.) - These shortcomings, among many others, only served as a constant reminder that Sasuke still wasn't strong enough, driving him to seek more power by relying more and more on the Cursed Seal. Itachi's brief return to the village was the final straw. Despite his best efforts, and his use of Chidori, Sasuke was thrashed, both Physically and Mentally (Via Tsukuyomi) by his brother, who then proceeded to tell him "You're still too weak, you don't have enough hate. And you know something? You never will." [Via English Dubbed Version] Upon realizing that Itachi was still leaps ahead of him, coupled with his recent failures that Naruto managed to succeed in, ultimately led Sasuke to defect from Konoha at the end of Part I, desperate to gain power, and believing Orochimaru to be the only one capable of granting him this wish.
- At this point, I'm hoping some of the 'haters' have begun to see that these events are slowly but surely driving Sasuke further and further down the path of Hatred; experiencing such events would only leave the option of gaining power no matter the price, after considering his circumstances; I gladly welcome any rebuttals in this section.
Path to Hatred - Final Step: Revelation
Two years after his defection from Konoha, and a battle of epic proportions with Itachi, resulting in the latter's death and the removal of Orochimaru's influence from the former, Sasuke learned the truth of Itachi's legacy from Tobi/Madara, and realized that Itachi had in fact, always been the kind, loving brother he remembered; Itachi's true disposition, which was one of a pacifist (Despises conflict and war), due to witnessing the traumatic experience of war at a young age, was taken advantage of by the higher-ups of Konoha, who knew that his brother would do anything to prevent such conflict from arising in the Leaf Village, even if it meant wiping out his entire clan. However, even with such a strong loyalty to his village, Itachi had an even stronger bond with his brother; So strong in fact, that he couldn't bring himself to kill him - He valued Sasuke's life above the entire Leaf Village, and was willing to live a lie, and die in disgrace, fooling his younger brother to the very end - all in order to make Sasuke stronger, and to bring a sense of honor to the clan in the eyes of the Leaf Village, as Sasuke would be seen as having killed the one who slew the entire Uchiha clan. It is this truth, this knowledge, that corrupts him more than his use of the cursed seal in its second stage; The very village that he once would've given his life to protect, was the same one pulling the strings that led to the demise of his clan and the loss of his brother, who did everything he could to ensure that Sasuke became stronger, even at the cost of love, respect, and ultimately, his life.
- It is for this reason, that his current dark and corrupt mindset is fully justifiable, even under extreme circumstances (i.e. Piercing Karin in order to fatally wound Danzo, despite her being his teammate | Attempting to kill Sakura twice, despite her showing obvious hesitance in attacking him | Feeling no guilt, shame, or remorse for his actions, etc.) Sasuke's hatred is a result of his circumstances, and I happily await rebuttals in this section. I'm quite certain that there is a scarce supply of people who can put themselves in the same position and say "I wouldn't have turned out like Sasuke has." Well, I expect a few stubborn replies, but in your hardest of hearts, most, if not everyone reading this is aware that they would probably end up doing the same things, although perhaps not to such an extreme extent (i.e. Piercing Karin was harsh, even for Sasuke), and I'll admit, I was disappointed when I saw this. However, when taking in to context everything that he's experienced, once you put yourself in Sasuke's sandals, it's quite difficult to imagine how things could've played out differently from what has already occurred.
I've also noticed a few rather weak arguments on various threats for some people's hatred of his character, such as (but not limited to):
1. "He just spams his MS"
- Since Sasuke awakened his MS, in the last several battles he's been involved in (i.e. Killer Bee, Raikage, Danzo), his use of the MS was essential to him surviving the battle. As I'm sure most of you have seen, using the Sharingan against Killer Bee still wasn't enough to read all of his movements, and it was only through the use of Amaterasu (Via MS) that Sasuke was able to seize control of the battle. The same principal applies to his other battles as well; without the MS, he most certainly would've been killed. Furthermore, since when is using a technique you've been granted spamming? If that's the case, then everyone in the entire series should be held accountable for doing so.
2. "He's a noob"
- Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last time I checked, a noob implies that you're a novice with no skill that succeeds only though sheer luck and no effort. Apparently, those who express this view haven't seen any of Sasuke's battles, from Part I to Part II. Sasuke has always been an intelligent character, and has obtained many of his victories through his smart strategizing (i.e. Deidera, Danzo, Etc.) In terms of skill, this argument isn't even valid anymore - Even people who don't like his character have admitted that he's a genius in that field, and this has been shown in Part II quite frequently, in:
1. Ninja tools
(wire strings & Rigged Shuriken)
2. Proficiency in advanced Fire Techniques
(Dragon Flame Jutsu, etc.)
3. Versatility
(Sasuke has created Numerous Techniques all based on one technique Kakashi taught him)
4. Nature Transformation
(Lightning [Kirin] & His Own Unique Blaze Element [Manipulation of Amaterasu])
3. "He's an A**hole, just look at what he did to Karin"
Call him what you like, but that display only serves to show just how much Sasuke has fallen in his Curse of hatred; His goal of destroying Konoha takes precedence over all else, and everything at this point is a means to an end. In that situation, Karin had served her usefulness, and with the added fact that he was soo close to killing Danzo, who was also responsible for Itachi's sacrifice, Sasuke wouldn't think twice about sacrificing his teammates; especially since he'd already abandoned Jugo and Suigetsu. His hatred is the sole thing driving him, and as most of you have or should have already watched/read, by the time he faced Kakashi, His hatred was soo strong that he managed to achieve his Susanoo's Final form before nearly going blind from his overuse of the MS.
I apologize in advance for such a long thread, but this is a significant topic that I feel should be expanded upon as much as possible, and so I did. Most importantly, as I previously mentioned, it's simply one person's opinion, with the bottom line being if you take the time to put things into context with Sasuke's character, and truly try to imagine yourself in his position, you will find it a lot harder to despise his character and a lot easier to empathize with it instead. On the other hand, if you choose to remain stubborn, you with hate what he has become without a significant reason, and in my book, to hate without reason is impractical.
