Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-12509038-20160207075301

This discussion is loosely based on this video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATXZ_xHrepg

Which version of Sasuke was the best? Choose from the following options-


 * Rival Sasuke- this is the version of Sasuke who primarily appeared in Part I., and served as the main foil/rival for Naruto's character. This is from the very beginning of the series, up until his first meeting with Itachi.


 * Vengeful Sasuke- this is the version of Sasuke who became very jealous of Naruto, and left Konohagakure to obtain power from Orochimaru. This is from when he first fought Naruto on the hospital roof, up until the moment where he defeated Naruto at the Valley of the End.


 * Hebi Sasuke- this is the version of Sasuke that appeared at the beginning of Part II, and occurs over the course of forming his own team, battling Deidara, and defeating Itachi. This is from when he first reunites with Team 7, up until the moment where he learns the truth about Itachi/obtains the Mangekyo Sharingan.


 * Evil Sasuke- this is the version of Sasuke that invades the Five Kage Summit, sacrifices Karin to kill Danzo, and vows to destroy Konohagakure. This is from when he battles Killer Bee, up until the moment when he meets Edo Tensei Itachi in the forest.


 * Confused Sasuke- this is the version of Sasuke who's goals became very conflicted after meeting Itachi once more, and he decided to rethink his overall purpose in life. This is from when he and Itachi battled Kabuto, up until the moment when he decided to protect Konohagakure.


 * Revolution Sasuke- this is the version of Sasuke who reunited with Team 7 to defeat the Ten-Tails, Obito, Madara, and Kaguya, and who ultimately decided to start his own shinobi revolution, until he was defeated by Naruto in their final battle. This is from when he arrived on the battlefield and declared that he wanted to become Hokage, up until the moment when he admitted defeat to Naruto.


 * Vagabond Sasuke- this is the version of Sasuke who decided to journey around the world in order to atone for his sins. This is from when he and Naruto ended the Infinite Tsukuyomi, up until the point where he started a family with Sakura.


 * Adult Sasuke- this is the adult version of Sasuke, who travels around the world in order to search for a mysterious Otsutsuki threat, and eventually becomes Boruto Uzumaki's mentor. This is from the end of the series (#700), up until the Boruto film and beyond.

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My ranking is as follows-

1) Revolution Sasuke- this was always the path I wanted Sasuke's character to go on. It always made sense to me that Sasuke would strive to prevent another incident like the Uchiha Massacre from ever happening again, and inciting a shinobi revolution seems like the most logical conclusion for his character. Not only are some his beliefs similar to my own, but my personal favorite battle of the series (Naruto vs. Sasuke VOTE Rematch) occurs during this stage. Also, as I love when a character's goals remain a mystery, I was constantly on the edge of my seat to understand what Sasuke's definition of a 'Hokage' was. Of course, I wish the main event of Sasuke's revolution was expanded more than just the final eight chapters, but I am still satisfied nonetheless.

2) Adult Sasuke- this is ultimately what I always imagined an adult Sasuke becoming, and I am glad my vision was completed. Sasuke is not a family man, and so it always made sense that he would be out on missions. However, now that the main threat has been eliminated, hopefully he can begin to build stronger relations with his family. In addition, Sasuke has reverted back to his former Part I self, yet much wiser and clearly more powerful. I tend to think that his adult version has become the perfect mix of Itachi Uchiha and Madara Uchiha.

3) Hebi Sasuke- to be frank, this version of Sasuke is just a plain bad-ass. At the time, he appeared to be the most powerful character in the series, but he never seemed too delusional or power-crazy. Even when facing powerful adversaries such as Orochimaru, Deidara, and Itachi (which are all some of my favorite battles in the series), he never lost his cool, and it was here more than ever that he implemented excellent strategies into his battle tactics. Finally, his reaction to the truth of Itachi was very emotional, and though I find his decision of destroying Konoha problematic, I do believe it was an understandable reaction to the situation.

4) Vagabond Sasuke- though this is easily the version of Sasuke we know the least about, it is also the most intriguing one. Like what I said for Adult Sasuke, I always figured that Sasuke would travel around the world in order to atone, and so I was very happy to see my wishes come to fruition. Based on what I read about Sasuke Shinden, it seems as if this is a period in time where Sasuke struggles to come to terms about if he has made the right decision to make amends with Naruto. While it's not a large focus, it's still extremely interesting. Also, I must say that Sasuke's design in The Last is one of my favorite character designs in the series (I love the poncho and his makeshift headband). More than anything, I myself have always wanted to travel around the real world and learn from the experience; so it's possible that I am vicariously living through a fictional character until I have the opportunity in life to do the same.

5) Vengeful Sasuke- this is the first time in Part I where I felt that Sasuke actually began to develop his own character outside of a typical Shonen mysterious rival that the main character has to overcome. It is during this time that we learn the full extent of the hell that Sasuke has endured in his life, and it was the first time where we can begin to sympathize with him for wanting to achieve power. Also, as I am studying for a psychology major at my university, I find this side of Sasuke very interesting to analyze. I could spend hours diagnosing Sasuke's different behaviors during this time period. Finally, this was the first time when Naruto and Sasuke's conflict finally began to become a very important part of the story.

6) Evil Sasuke- though I still find much enjoyment in this side of Sasuke, this is the point in the list where I start to find some flaws in Sasuke's characterization. That being said, let's get the good out of the way first. The primary reason why I enjoy this Sasuke is that it was very enthralling to see Sasuke sink so deep into the darkness. It was an excellent way to further drive home the conflict with Naruto, as it would have been amazing to see him save Sasuke after he had fallen so far (though, that obviously did not happen). Also, once Sasuke actually sacrificed Karin, it truly demonstrated how unpredictable he had become. Finally, this is when Sasuke's most powerful abilities began to develop, specifically the Susanoo. However, my main problem here is that I do believe many of his motives are completely irrational. As opposed to destroying the village, it made more sense for Sasuke to kill Danzo and the village elders. Though despite this, I can't completely fault this, as it would not have had such a dramatic impact on the story, and the very fact that Sasuke is thinking so irrationally is what Kishimoto was trying to portray at this stage.

7) Rival Sasuke- to be clear, this version of Sasuke is not bad by any means. The reason why it is so low on the list is simply because there was not much to Sasuke's actual character at this time other than the fact that he was the popular guy who rivaled Naruto. While there was certainly mystery surrounding him, it wasn't as compelling at this point in the story as it became later on. So essentially, even though he was a solid character at this point in time, there just wasn't enough substance from his character outside of being the "talented, cool guy."

8) Confused Sasuke- easily the worst version of Sasuke is when he was in his state of perpetual confusion. In fact, I struggle to find any elements I like at all during this stage. The best moment I can think of is basically his reunion with Itachi, as it was one of the most heartwarming scenes in the entire series. However, there are so many problems with this stage that it would take forever to explain. The largest issue is probably the fact that this completely erased all of the progress that Evil Sasuke was making. To many, losing Evil Sasuke completely mitigated the impact of the final battle, and to some extent, I agree (although upon reflection, I do prefer the Revolution conflict much more). Also, it really doesn't make sense that Sasuke would change his mind so quickly and in such a drastic method. While I can believe that Itachi's words had a large impact on Sasuke, I find it hard to believe that Hashirama's story was enough to completely change Sasuke's ideology. So yes, this is easily the worst version of Sasuke in the series.  