Gaara in Naruto

Gaara (我愛羅) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto designed Gaara as a foil to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, as the two were born through similar circumstances, but develop vastly different personalities as they deal with their troubled upbringing. Initially introduced as an antagonist and Naruto's rival, the two eventually develop a bond as kindred spirits and become close friends as the series progresses.

In the anime and manga, Gaara is a ninja affiliated with Sunagakure, and is the son of Sunagakure's leader, the Fourth Kazekage. As a fetus, his father attempted to turn him into a human weapon by placing a tailed beast into him, and he was ostracized by the Sunagakure villagers. As a result, he develops into a ruthless killer, slaying others without remorse, and treating his siblings Kankuro and Temari with contempt. His battle with Naruto during the series changes this outlook, and he begins to aid others in order to emulate Naruto. In Part II of the series, he becomes Sunagakure's Fifth Kazekage. Gaara has appeared in several pieces of Naruto media, including the second featured film in the series, the third original video animation, and several video games.

Numerous anime and manga publications have commented on Gaara's character. IGN labeled the disparity between Naruto and Gaara as "emotional" and "a tad creepy".Anime News Network called Naruto's fight against Gaara the high point of the entire series.Among the Naruto reader base, Gaara has been popular, placing high in several popularity polls, and always making it to the top ten characters.Numerous pieces of merchandise have been released in Gaara's likeness, including plush dolls and key chains.

Gaara

Character outline

Background

Gaara's background is primarily expanded upon in flashbacks during Naruto manga volume fifteen. Before he was born, Gaara's father had the tanuki-like One-Tailed Shukaku (一尾の守鶴 Ichibi no Shukaku, English TV: "Shukaku the Sand Spirit"), a tailed beast, sealed into his body while Gaara was still in his mother's womb, giving him the power to manipulate sand.The Fourth Kazekage, Gaara's father and the leader of the village of Sunagakure, intended to use Gaara as the village's personal weapon.Gaara was trained by his father throughout his childhood to help gain control over the abilities granted to him by Shukaku.Despite this, Gaara was ostracized by the Sunagakure villagers, who viewed him as a monster for being the host of a tailed beast. Shukaku would occasionally manipulate sand against Gaara's will to harm other villagers, cementing their perception of him.These attacks on the villagers convinced Gaara's father that he was a failed experiment, and he ordered Gaara's assassination. All of the attempts on Gaara's life failed, as Shukaku would always protect Gaara from harm and kill the assassin.Realizing that he had been abandoned by his family, Gaara adopted the belief that he could only rely upon himself and Shukaku, and that he had to kill others in order to confirm the value of his own existence.