Is Itachi a Mary Sue?

[Guntah]

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For those who don't know. A Mary Sue is, as defined by Wikipedia, an idealised and seemingly perfect fictional character, a young or low-rank person who saves the day through unrealistic abilities. Well, technically, Mary Sue would refer to the female variant, Gary Stu or Marty Stu, but I think both these names sound stupid, so I'm going with what most people know. Now, it brings up the question, does Itachi fit the bill? Lets analyse them one by one going with the description given out by wikipedia.

Idealized? Certainly. He is said to have the wisdom of a Hokage back when he was still only a child and the God of Shinobi himself admitted that, in life, Itachi did a better job as a Shinobi than him. Itachi is pretty much portrayed as the perfect Shinobi in a series talking solely about Shinobi.

Seemingly perfect? Not initially, seeing as Itachi did have one kinda valid flaw, that being him liking to do everything by himself...but then, by the end of the story, he overcomes that one flaw and agrees to work with Sasuke against Kabuto, so again, that's a resounding yes.

Young? Not as much as others, but by the start of Part 1, Itachi was nineteen. Hell, when he killed his entire clan, he was even younger. So, again, yes.

Unrealistic abilities? Absolutely. Just check Itachi's abilities in comparison to everything else in part 1.Amaterasu are flames burning hotter than the sun and Tsukuyomi is a Genjutsu that traps you in a world where Itachi is basically omnipotent for three days while simultaneously distorting the time around it so everything else goes by in seconds. No other abilities we've seen then even come close to Itachi's two Mangekyo during the first half of the story. Then we have Izanami, which is possibly the most conveniently introduced jutsu in this manga to win Itachi a battle that he otherwise would've never come out victorious from...and finally, Susanoo. Which really might not seem like a big deal to us today, but Itachi first using his Susanoo pretty much marked the point where this series stopped being about ninjas with otherworldly abilities and started being about...something else. I'm not really sure what. And all of that goes without even getting into the Yata Mirror and Sword of Totsuka and the implications their abilities pose in the long run of the series.

But other than the low ranking requirement, Itachi fits all of these to a T. Its actually pretty amazing how well it really connects, though its not like its a particularly bad thing. I do admit that I am though curious to see what his fanbase has to say about this. Saying no would be denying the idea that Itachi is perfect, after all.

Anyway, thoughts?

 

[Passerby]

"In the end I only failed"

 

[JStar King]

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For those who don't know. A Mary Sue is, as defined by Wikipedia, an idealised and seemingly perfect fictional character, a young or low-rank person who saves the day through unrealistic abilities. Well, technically, Mary Sue would refer to the female variant, Gary Stu or Marty Stu, but I think both these names sound stupid, so I'm going with what most people know. Now, it brings up the question, does Itachi fit the bill? Lets analyse them one by one going with the description given out by wikipedia.

Idealized? Certainly. He is said to have the wisdom of a Hokage back when he was still only a child and the God of Shinobi himself admitted that, in life, Itachi did a better job as a Shinobi than him. Itachi is pretty much portrayed as the perfect Shinobi in a series talking solely about Shinobi.

Seemingly perfect? Not initially, seeing as Itachi did have one kinda valid flaw, that being him liking to do everything by himself...but then, by the end of the story, he overcomes that one flaw and agrees to work with Sasuke against Kabuto, so again, that's a resounding yes.

Young? Not as much as others, but by the start of Part 1, Itachi was nineteen. Hell, when he killed his entire clan, he was even younger. So, again, yes.

Unrealistic abilities? Absolutely. Just check Itachi's abilities in comparison to everything else in part 1.Amaterasu are flames burning hotter than the sun and Tsukuyomi is a Genjutsu that traps you in a world where Itachi is basically omnipotent for three days while simultaneously distorting the time around it so everything else goes by in seconds. No other abilities we've seen then even come close to Itachi's two Mangekyo during the first half of the story. Then we have Izanami, which is possibly the most conveniently introduced jutsu in this manga to win Itachi a battle that he otherwise would've never come out victorious from...and finally, Susanoo. Which really might not seem like a big deal to us today, but Itachi first using his Susanoo pretty much marked the point where this series stopped being about ninjas with otherworldly abilities and started being about...something else. I'm not really sure what. And all of that goes without even getting into the Yata Mirror and Sword of Totsuka and the implications their abilities pose in the long run of the series.

But other than the low ranking requirement, Itachi fits all of these to a T. Its actually pretty amazing how well it really connects, though its not like its a particularly bad thing. I do admit that I am though curious to see what his fanbase has to say about this. Saying no would be denying the idea that Itachi is perfect, after all.

Anyway, thoughts?

Yeah, that's not a Mary Sue. Wikipedia isn't credible. A Mary Sue is someone who is apparently flawless and perfect all around. They outsmart everyone, everyone loves them, they always have a solution to every problem, and they can master anything with ease.

However, another term could be a flawless character that is the self-insertion of the author who has written the story where the character is placed. Many authors have inserted themselves into their own stories in order live out their own fantasies. On the other hand, self-insertion doesn't have to be this way. Many writers and movie makers have starred in their own works as their own character.

A perfect example of a Mary Sue would be Bella Swan from Twilight and/or Rey from Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

[Guntah]

Yeah, that's not a Mary Sue. Wikipedia isn't credible. A Mary Sue is someone who is apparently flawless and perfect all around. They outsmart everyone, everyone loves them, they always have a solution to every problem, and they can master anything with ease.

The basic concept is that of a perfect character, the specifics naturally vary depending on who gives you the definition. For example, all the points that Wikipedia described were valid tropes amongst Mary Sues, but its certainly not all of them. But...you know, that which you described is pretty much still Itachi. I mean, he is not loved by everyone, sure, but holy hell does the author drive home the point that he should be.

 

[JStar King]

The basic concept is that of a perfect character, the specifics naturally vary depending on who gives you the definition. For example, all the points that Wikipedia described were valid tropes amongst Mary Sues, but its certainly not all of them. But...you know, that which you described is pretty much still Itachi. I mean, he is not loved by everyone, sure, but holy hell does the author drive home the point that he should be.

Yeah, when it comes his to combat skills and how he has a powerful technique or weapon that suddenly pops out of his ass at the last minute. I just wonder how he got the Totsuka Blade, Yata Mirror, and learned how to perform Izanami. He's riddled with asspulls.

Shisui was seen as the only person to match him.

 

[Avani]

Nope, he isn't.

 

[JStar King]

However, Itachi does have flaws. He even admitted how much of a failure he is as a brother and how he screwed everything up. His choices wasn't always the best, especially how he massacred his entire family in their sleep.

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[Guntah]

Yeah, when it comes his to combat skills and how he has a powerful technique or weapon that suddenly pops out of his ass at the last minute. I just wonder how he got the Totsuka Blade, Yata Mirror, and learned how to perform Izanami. He's riddled with asspulls.

Shisui was seen as the only person to match him.

And don't forget that when Shisui was alive Itachi was still at best fourteen while Shisui was in his late teens.

 

[Guntah]

However, Itachi does have flaws. He even admitted how much of a failure he is as a brother and how he screwed everything up. His choices wasn't always the best, especially how he massacred his entire family in their sleep.

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That though goes back to his one big flaw, that being him liking to take everything on by hiself. By the end of the series however, Itachi overcame that and worked together with Sasuke to brind own Kabut. Itachi might have made his own mistakes in his own time but in the end he died flawless and perfect.

 

[Your Creepy Stalker]

That though harbors back to his one big flaw, that being him liking to take everything on by hiself. By the end of the series however, Itachi overcame that and worked together with Sasuke to brind own Kabut. Itachi might have made his own mistakes in his own time but in the end he died flawless and perfect.

In general, a Mary Sue would have not made any of those mistakes. He would somehow have prevented the coup de ta without so much genocide.

 

[Avani]

The basic concept is that of a perfect character, the specifics naturally vary depending on who gives you the definition. For example, all the points that Wikipedia described were valid tropes amongst Mary Sues, but its certainly not all of them. But...you know, that which you described is pretty much still Itachi. I mean, he is not loved by everyone, sure, but holy hell does the author drive home the point that he should be.

A perfect character as in a well written character that readers may see as a perfect character from a story, doesn't make a Mary sue. He/she must be viewed and treated as a perfect being -by people within the story. It's a character who is so perfect, that his/her universe bends to accommodate her/him and gives them what s/he want. e.g.

Heroine of the Atlus Shrugged, Bella Swan..Batman, Jason bourne.. they are much nearer to being a Sue than Itachi.

In the manga Itachi isn't the only talented child around either.Hahirama, Tobirama, Izuna Madara, Kakashi- the manga is full of child soldiers who can defeat adults just like that. It works within the universe. Same about powers. Many have them.

 

[Guntah]

A perfect character as in a well written character that readers may see as a perfect character from a the story, doesn't make a Mary sue . He/she must be viewed and treated as a perfect being -by people within the story. It's a character who is so perfect, that his/her universe bends to accommodate her/him and gives them what s/he want. e.g.

Heroine of the Atlus Shrugged, Bella Swan..Batman, Jason bourne..

So a Mary Sue for whom the universe doesn't bend in their favour? Well, fair enough, I suppose.

 

[Avani]

So a Mary Sue for whom the universe doesn't bend in their favour? Well, fair enough, I suppose.

Universe didn't forsake him completely either. He has his flaws and losses but he was able to achieve his goals in a round about way with the help of other people. So..nope he is balanced.

 

[Sagebee]

I'm not really sure the details of what makes a character a Mary sue, but I think the point your getting at why do people take itachi as a perfect character that can do anything, beat anyone and get out of any jam. Sasuke's whole journey of power was initially based on beating his prodigy brother so the general view of the character is one made by the author of being an individual to pretty much unrivaled genius. To even making fools of great minds like orochimaru. The view that itachi being a character that can do anything is one initially created by the author even making his death something of his own will so he's never been portrayed as a lesser to any character. But itachi is a flawed character as well mainly by the authors doing again of not giving a cohesive sensible back story, the way itachi is flawed is his intentions are good, but fundamentally he was confused how can I solve these problems and his answer choose was to take the burdens himself. What I appreciate from characters like minato is like itachi he's is this idolized being with genius feats wise surpass itachi in many ways he's itachi antithesis and choice he made instead of taking all the intellectual and physical burdens himself he would have hope in the future. As readers when we view itachi it's not by some idolized vision, but simply by the abilities and character portrayal we get that he could do all people think and say he can do, but in the end of the day itachi isn't the main character or even main antagonist so he will never reach those feats.

 

[SIR HERDERP PRESIDERP SDO]

I don't think so.

 

[baul 24]

Don't know why people ***** him a lot but this guy truly loved and cared for the people who hated him and wronged him as a person and his clan as a whole.

As he hated war so need to kill his clan and even the hokage and the elders ordered for the massacre as it is a last resort to prevent a war and please don't tell u all are better leaders than the hokages who are wisest and strongest in konoha and those people who says that coup can be prevented are either haters or delusional and for **** sake don't compare ordinary civilian life style with shinobies who are raised and trained for one purpose, to kill.

He nearly soloed everyone he faced and only avoided jiraiya as his loyalities were with konoha and he downplayed against sasuke as he loved him and only wanted to be judged by him.

He has the most OP techs and weapons in NV that were never emulated by anyone other than amaterasu by his own blood brother for some strange reason nobody emulated amaterasu other than the uchiha brothers not even other MS user or kaguya.

He is the only one who displayed IZANAMI another reason he is OP as **** and designed to solo others.

Yes the only flaw is the way he molded sasuke which actually paved the theme for the manga and his plot disease which was not even mentioned by kishi

May be the only shinobi who was acknowledged and praised by most of the infamous shinobi even madara acknowledged him and praised him when he stopped the edo tensei and gokage hailing him as a savior unknowingly and even danzo who rarely acknowledges anyone in NV hailed him as a hero

Most OP shinobi in NV fears and respects him let it be orochimaru or obito who actually controlled the akatsuki and yes that includes pain.

Konoha was destroyed to ground after his death not once twice thanks to pain and kawaki what a coincidence even the so called saviors and heroes were down to dust it seems.

He has most OP genjutsu in NV that is reason why the most powerful genjutsu in existence is Infinite TSUKUYOMI

No wonder why sasuke hasn't inherited his spiritual weapons despite having Itachi's eyes if he had trust me sasuke had owned everyone including kaguya, madara and naruto and were unique to Itachi by coincidence again.

May be only shinobi in NV who never lost a fight other than fights which he downplayed on purpose

Nearly all of his quotes are infamous and not only reflects the truth in NV but also in our real lives. Well my favorite - We don't know what kind of people we truly are until the moment before our deaths

He even corrected the main character's path by explaining the true meaning of a hokage and what true strength is i.e having trust in your comrades and not relying on your power alone and acknowledged his own flaws which were actually cannot be avoided in the path he chose to walk, while all the others only boasted about their strength.

Hands down wisest shinobi in NV even the hokage and even hashirama acknowledged him.

BZ who actually soloed JJ madara in a single panel and fooled likes of hagoramo and has knowledge of centuries only displayed surprise and acknowledged ITACHI as invincible with his susnoo and spiritual weapons

His trade mark head poke was carried down to his next generation boruto while naruto's trade mark dattebayo stopped with the previous manga.

Top of everything he is an uchiha and we all know the treatment uchihas get under kishi's supervision.

 

[Tantalus Thief]

first, the wisdom hokage thing ws a mistranslation. It said he thought like a hokage. Itachi himself admitted he was a failure and his character had flaws like his personality leading to f**king up Sasuke. So that alone makes him not a gary stu because gary stus have no problems that's my 2 cents. Don't let the fanboys get under your skin like that.

 

[FemmeFatale]

No, he had a weakness. He needed Sasuke's eyes to reach his Zenith.
Sakura is a Mary Sue and was so since part 1. She was just restricted by the plot.
Ultimate Power is perfection in the NV. She could reach ultimate power anytime she wanted because she always had the qualifications on her own. Brains, Perfect Chakra Control,and Strong Will Power. So no, Itachi isn't. Sakura is the only one who came close to being one.

 

[Pumpkin Ninja]

The only weakness he had, he pointed out himself, which ironically, adds to his perfection. The Uchiha assassination was stressed to be the only way around the coup and Itachi saw that. However, his life was more of a tragedy and Mary Sues aren't really like that. His character's purpose though, is to be a plot-device fo Sasuke. I think the reason he seems like a Mary Sue is because Kishi also used him to get himself out of a corner in his writing so if it wasn't for his tragic life, and original purpose in the story, you could call him a Mary Sue.
Good examples of Mary Sues would be everyone in Fairy Tail but I still enjoy the anime to some extent.

No, he had a weakness. He needed Sasuke's eyes to reach his Zenith.
Sakura is a Mary Sue and was so since part 1. She was just restricted by the plot.
Ultimate Power is perfection in the NV. She could reach ultimate power anytime she wanted because she always had the qualifications on her own. Brains, Perfect Chakra Control,and Strong Will Power. So no, Itachi isn't. Sakura is the only one who came close to being one.

Sakura is Kishi's attempt of making an average, real-life girl so the female reader can relate to her, while still giving her relevance, smh. She couldn't be further from a Mary Sue, and even if, Mary Sue is considered poor writing, not something to brag about. You're either a troll or have the reading comprehension of a squirrel.