Itachi Uchiha is the most popular character in Naruto. That is not opinion. In the official NARUTOP99 worldwide popularity poll, Itachi took the number one spot with fans across the globe voting him above Naruto himself, above Kakashi, and above every other character in the franchise.
What makes that remarkable is that Itachi spends most of the series as a villain. He is introduced as the man who slaughtered his entire clan, traumatized his younger brother, and joined the most dangerous criminal organization in the ninja world. And yet fans love him more than anyone else.
The reason is simple. Itachi's story is one of the greatest tragedies ever written in anime. And once you understand the full truth behind his actions, everything about him changes.
The Boy Who Had No Childhood
Itachi was born into the Uchiha clan during a time of deep tension between the clan and the village of Konoha. He was a prodigy from the start. He graduated the academy at age seven, awakened his Sharingan at age eight, became a chunin at ten, and joined the ANBU black ops at thirteen.
But Itachi was not just gifted in combat. He was gifted in understanding. As a child, he witnessed the Third Great Ninja War and saw the reality of death and suffering before most kids learn to throw a kunai. That experience shaped everything he became.
While other children his age were playing and training, Itachi was already thinking about the nature of conflict, the cycle of hatred, and whether peace was even possible. He carried the mind of a philosopher in the body of a child soldier.
Caught Between Two Loyalties
The Uchiha clan was planning a coup against the Leaf Village. Decades of suspicion, discrimination, and political isolation had pushed the clan to its breaking point. Itachi's own father, Fugaku, was one of the leaders of the planned revolt.
Itachi was placed in an impossible position. As a member of the Uchiha clan, he understood their pain and their reasons. As a shinobi of the Leaf Village and a member of ANBU, he understood that a coup would lead to civil war and potentially the destruction of the entire village.
The village leadership gave him a choice. Stop the coup by eliminating the Uchiha clan, or let the revolt happen and watch the village tear itself apart in a war that would kill far more people on both sides.
Itachi chose the option that saved the most lives. He chose to destroy his own family to prevent a war.
The Night That Changed Everything
On a single night, Itachi killed nearly every member of the Uchiha clan. His parents. His relatives. People who had watched him grow up. The only person he could not bring himself to kill was his younger brother Sasuke.
Instead of telling Sasuke the truth, Itachi did something that most fans argue is either the most selfless or most cruel decision in the series. He lied. He told Sasuke that he killed the clan to test his own power. He told Sasuke to hate him, to grow strong through that hatred, and to one day come find him for revenge.
Itachi deliberately made himself the villain of Sasuke's story so that Sasuke would have a reason to live, a reason to grow stronger, and eventually a reason to be seen as a hero by the village for avenging the Uchiha.
He sacrificed his reputation, his happiness, and his relationship with the only person he loved more than anything so that Sasuke could have a future.
Life in the Akatsuki
After leaving the village, Itachi joined the Akatsuki. But even this was part of his mission. By infiltrating the organization from inside, Itachi could monitor threats to the Leaf Village and feed intelligence back to the Third Hokage's advisor Jiraiya.
Within the Akatsuki, Itachi was partnered with Kisame Hoshigaki. Despite being surrounded by criminals, Itachi maintained a quiet calm that set him apart from every other member. He never killed unnecessarily. He avoided conflict when possible. He showed restraint that confused even his own partner.
Kisame eventually realized what many fans suspected. Itachi was never truly a villain. He was a man playing a role, carrying a burden no one else could see.
The Eyes That Were Always Fading
Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan gave him two of the most powerful abilities in the series. Tsukuyomi could trap a victim in a genjutsu where Itachi controlled time, space, and reality itself. Amaterasu produced black flames that burned anything they touched and could not be extinguished.
But the Mangekyō comes at a cost. Every use deteriorates the user's eyesight. By the time Itachi fought Sasuke for the final time, he was nearly blind. He had been slowly losing his vision for years, and he knew it.
He never sought the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He never tried to take Sasuke's eyes to save his own sight. He accepted the darkness that was coming because his plan was never to survive. His plan was always to die at Sasuke's hands.
The Final Battle and the Truth
Itachi's last fight against Sasuke is one of the most emotionally devastating battles in anime history. Throughout the entire fight, Itachi was not trying to win. He was trying to draw out Orochimaru's curse mark from Sasuke's body, seal it away, and then die in a way that would make Sasuke the hero of the Uchiha story.
In his final moments, nearly blind and physically breaking down from a terminal illness he had been hiding for years, Itachi walked toward Sasuke. Fans expected a killing blow. Instead, Itachi poked Sasuke's forehead one last time, the same affectionate gesture he had done since they were children, and said his final words.
He smiled. And then he was gone.
It was only later, through Obito's revelation and eventually through Itachi's own reanimated appearance during the Fourth Great Ninja War, that the full truth came out. Itachi had been protecting Sasuke and the village the entire time. Every action that looked like cruelty was actually sacrifice. Every moment that looked like hatred was actually love.
Why Itachi's Sharingan Means More Than Any Other
This is why Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan design resonates with fans on a level no other character reaches. The three-pointed pinwheel is not just a cool design. It is a symbol of everything Itachi represented. Sacrifice. Duty. Love expressed through pain. The willingness to be hated so that someone else could be saved.
When fans wear Itachi's Sharingan on a watch, a tattoo, a hoodie, or contact lenses, they are not just repping a character. They are carrying a reminder of what it means to put others before yourself, even when no one will ever know.
That is why Itachi's Mangekyō is the single most popular Sharingan design in merchandise worldwide. It means something deeper than aesthetics.
Carrying the Legacy
Itachi once told Sasuke that you do not become great by being acknowledged by everyone. You become great by acknowledging everyone around you. That philosophy defined his entire life. He never sought credit. He never wanted recognition. He did what needed to be done and accepted the consequences alone.
For fans who connect with that mindset, wearing Itachi's Sharingan is a daily reminder of those values. It is subtle enough that most people just see a striking red and black design. But anyone who knows the story sees something much deeper.
Our Itachi Sharingan spinning watch features his iconic Mangekyō pattern on a dial that actually rotates, built in stainless steel with a premium finish. It is designed for fans who want to carry his legacy on their wrist every day.
Check out the Itachi Sharingan Watch and the rest of our collection to find the design that speaks to you.
