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In the world of Naruto, several moments leave an everlasting impact on both the characters in the universe, leading to subsequent events, and striking particular emotions in fans. One such moment is the death of Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin and Naruto’s beloved mentor, in the hands of Pain.
His death caused a significant change in Naruto and shocked fans across the world. Masashi Kishimoto himself revealed that his death was more than just shock value and a plot twist. It became the moment Naruto truly understood loss and grief.
Jiraiya’s death in Naruto. [Credit: Studio Pierrot]Naruto and Sasuke have always been two sides of the same coin. They are two of the many orphans within the Naruto universe with very different reactions that have shaped their personalities. Sasuke spent a lot more time mourning since he knew his parents before their passing but Naruto never knew his. However, with the death of Jiraiya, Naruto finally understood Sasuke’s perspective.
Shared Pain Through Loss and Grief in Naruto
Naruto and Jiraiya in Naruto. [Credit: Studio Pierrot]Sasuke’s life was driven by grief and the need for vengeance, behaviour which often baffled Naruto. His deep mourning manifested as a single-minded obsession with avenging his family, particularly his parents. The two couldn’t see eye-to-eye on this.
Sasuke grew up with them and had to face the grief and loneliness of losing them. His personality was effectively shaped by this trauma. Naruto, while traumatized by other things in life, couldn’t understand this grief until the death of Jiraiya.
Masashi Kishimoto discusses the reason why Jiraiya’s death had to happen and it wasn’t just for the cheap shock value in the Kana interview:
Sasuke criticizes the latter for his inability to understand the pain of mourning, because Naruto has never known filial love. And in truth, Naruto really doesn’t get it. Naruto will eventually form a close master/student bond with Jiraiya. Jiraiya gives attention, teaching and care to Naruto, a bit like a foster father. A foster father that Naruto will grow to like and who will eventually be killed by Pain. At this point Naruto understand what a family can feel like and starts to understand what Sasuke could feel. But this experience comes too late and he doesn’t get the chance to talk about it with Sasuke.
Naruto finally understood the grief of losing someone close to you but instead of choosing the path Sasuke took, he used it as a learning point to not let revenge consume him. He, like the true hero Kishimoto made him to be, decided to break the cycle of violence and show self-restraint.
Jiraiya’s Death Completed Naruto’s Character Arc
Naruto after Jiraiya’s death. [Credit: Studio Pierrot]While nobody wants to go through grief and loss, Naruto needs to experience it. His journey as a hero would not go by without tragedy and unfortunately, this came with losing his father figure and mentor. But the loss also showed how much Naruto has learnt from his peers and his training, especially not wanting to end up like Sasuke or turn his back on his destiny.
Jiraiya’s death was a pivotal point and an unfortunate bridge that fixed the emotional gap between Naruto and Sasuke. The taste of loss finally gave the protagonist the perspective he needed to understand the misguided Uchiha and also a new emotional side to the hero we know today.
Naruto: Shippuden is available on Crunchyroll.
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