Gaara

Template:Infobox Naruto character Gaara (我愛羅) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is the youngest child of the Fourth Kazekage, making him the younger brother of Kankuro and Temari.

He is known as "Gaara of the Sand" in the Viz translation, "Gaara of the Desert" in the English anime, and "Sabaku no Gaara" (砂瀑の我愛羅, Gaara of the Sand Waterfall) in the original Japanese (Sabaku 砂瀑 means "sand waterfall", but sabaku 砂漠 means "desert", thus the more common "Gaara of the Desert").

In the annual Shonen Jump polls for the most popular character, Gaara consistently ranks in the top ten, usually between seventh and tenth spot.

Background

Prior to Gaara's birth, Sunagakure saw a series of budget cuts that made it difficult for the village to operate. As a result, Gaara's father ordered Chiyo to seal the One-Tailed Shukaku within Gaara during his birth in the hopes that he would become the ultimate weapon for the village. Because a sacrifice was needed, Gaara's mother, Karura, was used. Before she died, Karura cursed Sunagakure, hoping Gaara would avenge her death.

Gaara was trained by his father, but raised mainly by his uncle, Yashamaru. Because of the power of Shukaku, the villagers of Sunagakure hated and feared Gaara, seeing him only as the monster sealed within him. For a time, Yashamaru seemed to be the only person who cared about him; when he would mistakenly harm others due to the subconscious abilities granted to him by Shukaku, Yashamaru would be the only one who understood that Gaara hadn't intended to harm anyone. Gaara's father, however, did not see him in the same light, and viewed his frequent attacks upon villagers as a result of a failed experiment that was a threat to the village.

Because of the danger Gaara represented, his father began sending assassins to kill him, though when all attempts met with failure, the Kazekage asked Yashamaru to kill Gaara. As a result, Yashamaru tried to assassinate Gaara, though Gaara's abilities defeated him with ease. Although Gaara tried to dismiss this attack as an order of the Kazekage, Yashamaru corrected him by saying that he had willingly accepted the mission. Having never truly loved Gaara, Yashamaru hoped that killing him would avenge the death of his sister, who had named Gaara after the phrase "a self-loving carnage" (我を愛する修羅, Ware wo ai suru shura), a sign of her hate for Gaara. In a last ditch effort to kill him, Yashamaru detonated a number of explosive tags covering his body, asking Gaara to "please die". Gaara survived the blast without injury and lost the only person he thought had cared for him.

Personality

While Gaara had initially tried to be friendly towards others despite their fear of him, Yashamaru's actions and words changed him. Realizing that nobody loved him, Gaara used his sand to create the kanji on his forehead (愛, "Love") as a symbol of a "demon loving only himself". He became emotionally withdrawn, all but silent, and consumed with a bitter loathing for everyone but himself. He learned to find pleasure and eventually a reason to live in annihilating the numerous assassins sent to kill him – and by extension, anyone who threatened his existence. Gaara's insomnia, forced upon him by the fear that the demon inside him would eat away at his personality if he were to fall asleep, although this is not what caused the rings around his eyes (this is eye liner) only furthered his instability and desire to kill. In time, Gaara's father would come to appreciate Gaara and the uses he could serve, and canceled all assassination orders in the hopes that Gaara would become an effective tool.

For his first assignment as the village's weapon, Gaara is entered into the Chunin Exams taking place in Konoha to play a key role in the village's eventual invasion. While he enjoys the opportunity to kill others for much of the exam's early stages, he is eventually pitted against Rock Lee during the preliminaries. With his strength and speed, Lee is able to overcome many of Gaara's defenses, becoming the first person to ever hit Gaara. While Lee is able to deliver a number of ordinarily debilitating blows, Gaara's sand allows him survive each and eventually gain the upperhand on Lee. While the match is stopped before further harm can come to Lee, their match allows Gaara a change in ideals; rather than determine his own existence by killing anyone he meets, Gaara finds a drive to kill those strong enough to defeat him, and begins to long to find a formidable opponent.

Gaara's wishes are soon realized and he is matched against Sasuke Uchiha during the exam's finals. With his One Thousand Birds Sasuke is able to badly injure Gaara near his shoulder, so much so that Gaara is unable to participate in Konoha's invasion as planned. Despite this setback, Gaara's wound magnifies his desire to kill Sasuke and the two soon resume their battle. With Gaara's encouragement Sasuke is able to give additional injuries to Gaara, though his rapidly progressing Shukaku transformation leaves him unfazed by the attacks. When Sasuke is no longer able to battle and Gaara goes in for the kill, Naruto Uzumaki arrives to save him. With the desire to save his friends from Gaara, Naruto meets him in battle and is eventually able to defeat him despite being in full Shukaku form. Realizing that Naruto's strength stems from his desire to protect others, Gaara abandons his prior ideals and decides to acquire strength by caring for others.

Gaara's new disposition is first seen when he comes to Rock Lee's aid during the Sasuke Retrieval arc. Upon seeing that the injuries Lee received during their last battle have yet to fully heal, Gaara repeatedly stops him from fighting, concerned that Lee will only harm himself further. These new ideals are seen again during the anime's filler arcs, where Gaara acquires a student named Matsuri. As the two begin training, Gaara worries that all of the potential training weapons might cause Matsuri injury, so he has her train with the least harmful weapon present. When she is later kidnapped, Gaara and his siblings go out to rescue her, and with the help of the Konoha ninjas they succeed in their task.

File:Sand Siblings.png

Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro in Part II

Over the timeskip, Gaara's personality changes a great deal. While in the past he was fairly hostile to his siblings, he has since come to hold them in a higher regard, and talks to Kankuro about his problems and dreams. As a result of becoming the Fifth Kazekage (五代目風影, Godaime Kazekage), Gaara now acts as the villager's source of protection and values their lives over his own. The villagers, in turn, have also begun to hold Gaara in a more admirable regard, especially amongst the younger females of the village.

Abilities

As the host of Shukaku, Gaara posses the ability to manipulate sand at will, typically moving it through the air to serve various purposes. The amount of sand he can control at one time is fairly immense, as in Part II he is able to gather enough sand to cover Sunagakure as a shield. If sand is lacking in abundance, Gaara can use what little sand there is to break apart minerals in the ground to create more sand. While he can control any sand (assuming it isn't wet), ordinary sand requires that he exert more chakra to manipulate it, tiring him at a rapid rate. As a result, Gaara keeps his own chakra-enhanced sand with him at all times in a calabash gourd he carries on his back, which also happens to be made of sand. Because this sand is already infused with his chakra, Gaara has a great deal more control over it and, in addition to always having some sand handy, allows his attacks to be faster and more potent.

During battle, Gaara rarely moves, attacking with his sand from a single location and rarely using taijutsu. When first introduced his basic means of attacks is to first use Desert Coffin (砂縛柩, Sabaku Kyū, English TV "Sand Coffin") to capture, immobilize, and potentially suffocate an opponent with sand. Once doing that he uses Desert Funeral (砂漠送葬, Sabaku Sōsō, English TV "Sand Burial") to cause the sand to crush the opponent with varying intensities. In time he is able to increase the scale of these attacks; by first using Quicksand in the Style of a Waterfall (流砂瀑流, Ryūsa Bakuryū), Gaara covers a large area in an ocean of sand, and then uses Desert Imperial Funeral (砂漠大葬, Sabaku Taisō) to compress the sand and crush all that it covers. If Desert Imperial Funeral fails to kill an opponent, he can use Prison Sand Burial (獄砂埋葬, Gokusamaisō) to loosen the ground beneath an opponent and allow them to sink hundreds of feet underground, where the sand compresses to such an extent that the opponent is no longer able to move.

As the second element of his stationary combat style, Gaara has a number of sand-based defenses to be used in case an opponent gets too close. His primary defense is his Shield of Sand (砂の盾, Suna no Tate), an automatic sand shield that surrounds and protects him from damage whether he wants it to or not. Gaara can control the shield to some degree, strengthening it to steel-like quality or calling upon it to completely encase himself. While an effective defense, the shield can be overcome with high speed attacks or simply be broken through with incredibly forceful strikes. Should this happen, Gaara has a layer of sand covering his body called the Armor of Sand (砂の鎧, Suna no Yoroi). Although it's a useful secondary defense, the armor requires large amounts of chakra to remain active and also has the side-effect of weighing Gaara down. If need be, Gaara can protect himself before being put into danger by using Desert Prison (砂漠牢, Sabaku Rō), which dedicates a desert's worth of sand to containing a single opponent.

In addition to these basic methods of offensive and defense, Gaara also has a number of miscellaneous attacks that, while capable of being an attack or a shield, are not limited to such purposes. By making a Sand Clone (砂分身, Suna Bunshin) of himself, Gaara can have an ally to be used in battle or a mere distraction to be used to buy him time. Unlike most other clone-jutsu in the series, the Sand Clone can retain its shape after more than one attack, and can even reform itself or capture an opponent upon being dispersed. Sand Drizzle (砂時雨, Suna Shigure) allows him to collect sand in the air that rains down on the opponent at high speeds in potentially harmful shapes. With Desert Suspension (砂漠浮遊, Sabaku Fuyū) Gaara can use sand as a platform to allow himself and others to float in the air. His Third Eye (第三の眼, Daisan no Me) also allows him to create a floating eyeball of sand in any location that he can see through as a means of spying.

At some point in time Gaara begins to be able to form weapons in Shukaku's likeness. The first that is seen is Last Absolute Defense: Shield of Shukaku (最硬絶対防御・守鶴の盾, Saikō Zettai Bōgyo: Shukaku no Tatte), which creates a toy-like replica of Shukaku that is roughly twice the size of Gaara. Because the replica is formed under extreme pressure and is built of the strongest minerals it is virtually indestructible, having yet to be penetrated by any force. The anime expands on the idea of having an "ultimate defense" by creating an "ultimate attack": Ultimate Absolute Attack: Shukaku's Halberd (Saikō Zettai Hōgeki, Shukaku no Hōkō). The attack creates a spear under the same conditions as the replica, only the blade resembles one of Shukaku's claws. Like the shield, this attack has yet to meet a defense it can't break.

In desperate situations, Gaara can take on the form of Shukaku by layering sand on his body, making him many times more powerful than he already is. Shukaku's personality grows more dominant during this transformation, increasing Gaara's homicidal tendencies. Once finished, Gaara assumes a human-sized version of Shukaku wherein he relies on his brute strength to destroy everything around him. While in this form Gaara can use Sand Shuriken (砂手裏剣, Suna Shuriken) or Sand Halberd (砂戈, Suna Hōkō) to hurl sand-based forms of the weapons at an opponent. Shukaku also gives him the ability to utilize wind-based attacks such as Wind Release: Infinite Sand Cloud Great Breakthrough (風遁・無限砂塵 大突破, Fūton: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa, English "Wind Style: Sandstorm Devastation"), which spews large amounts of sand from his mouth, devastating both the enemy and a large area around him.

If need be, Gaara can almost instantly create a life-sized version of Shukaku should the human-sized form fail. In this form, he remains deep within the Shukaku copy safe from harm though unable to move. Gaara can also unleash the spirit of Shukaku through his Feigning Sleep Technique (狸寝入りの術, Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu, English TV "Play Possum Jutsu"), which forces him to sleep to allow the Shukaku copy to operate at its full potential. To do so, however, Gaara must emerge from within the copy, leaving him open to attack for the duration of the jutsu. While Gaara is initially dependent on waking independently or through someone else's intervention to regain control of his body, he begins to be able to suppress Shukaku by himself towards the end of the anime's filler arcs. By the time Part II begins, Gaara is even capable of using numerous Shukaku arms for attack without losing control of himself.

In Part II, Gaara is captured by Akatsuki and the Shukaku is extracted from his body, causing his death. Chiyo, regretting the life she gave Gaara when she sealed Shukaku in his body years earlier, gives up her life to revive him. While he no longer possesses the Shukaku, Gaara is still able to control sand, though to what degree has yet to be seen.

Other media

In the second Naruto movie, Gaara helps defend Sunagakure from an onslaught of mysterious knights, killing many of them with his sand until a ship launches projectiles at the battlefield and forces them to retreat. Later, in one of the wrecks of the invading ships, he fights Ranke, one of Haido's henchmen that utilizes electricity to fight. Once she transforms into a Frankenstein's monster-like state, she gains the upperhand and becomes virtually immune to the crushing force of Gaara's sand. He eventually neutralizes her electricity with Thunder God of Sand, and then kills her with Desert Imperial Funeral.

Sources

• First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden:Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book)
• Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book)
• Jump's 2nd Great Hero Book's Mini Data Book (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
• Naruto anime and manga Guidebook (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
• Taken directly from the Naruto manga chapters and anime episodes.