The Naruto franchise is one of the most popular manga in the world, with over 220 million copies sold since 1999.    Much of its success has come from creator Masashi Kishimoto’s ability capacité to combine a fictional world with combat awesome ninjas and lovable characters with a story of their own.   

Gaara   is one of the characters who instantly gained the attention of Naruto fans due to his power and heartbreaking childhood.    He will appear first as an evil, mad and sadistic character, and then as a protagonist of the series, Naruto .  Gaara’s 

motto began as “love for oneself” (自愛, jiai ) .     He explains this to Naruto by saying,    “I am a relic they want to get rid of, so why do I exist and live?  To exist you need a purpose. To exist  without a reason is like being dead. … I came to the conclusion that I would only love myself and fight for myself. “
In one of the biggest redemption arcs in the series, Naruto will help Gaara  change his outlook on life, which will lead him to adapt the mottos ‘affection’ (慈愛) and ‘future’ (未来) .       

In honor of the Naruto anime first broadcast in Japan 15 years ago, here are the 15 things you don’t know about Gaara yet   .

15.  HIS FATHER ORDERS HIS ASSASSINATION

Gaara’s father, Rasa (the Fourth Kazekage ) was a cruel man and a dubious leader. Rasa was facing increasing pressure from the Suna Council regarding the fact that Gaara could not control Shukakaku (the one-tailed demon that Rasa placed within his son).

In a foolish attempt to teach Gaara about pain and love , Rasa orders Yashamaru (Gaara’s uncle and guardian) to secretly attack Gaara to test his control over Shukaku. Although Gaara was only six years old, he killed his Uncle , Yashamaru in order to protect himself. Overwhelmed with grief by Yashamaru’s last actions and words, Gaara transformed into Shukaku and attacked Suna. While Rasa stopped the with his gold dust, he realized he would never control Gaara, and ordered the assassins to kill his six-year-old son instead of completing the task himself.

Rasa didn’t care who lived and died until Suna became obsolete.

14.  THE SYMBOL ON HIS FRONT REPRESENTS LOVE

Gaara  carved the symbol on his forehead after Yashamaru’s attack to emphasize self-esteem.   

As a child, Gaara wanted the villagers of Suna to accept him despite their fear that he was a jinchūriki  .  

He was often kind to the villagers and offered them help, but inadvertently hurt them due to his lack of control over Shukaku .  Gaara will accept self-esteem as his destiny, until he meets Naruto . Shukaku’s previous jinchūriki   

  had prophesied that someone would show him the overall meaning of tattoos on his own hands.  It is  about accepting ” (受, ukeru ) and” heart ” (心, kokoro ).       Gaara’s  tattoo ,” love ” (愛, ai) , is a combination of these two kanji.      The symbol of l love would then become a reminder of what it was and what it was really meant to be. 

13. HIS UNCLE BECAME HIS AUNT

Yashamaru shared many characteristics with his older sister Karura , often identical to her appearance.   Her fair skin, purple eyes, and blonde hair gave her a more feminine look that apparently left some confused as to her original gender.
Despite being written as a male character, various versions have changed her character to a female .  In the Brazilian, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish and Portuguese versions of the manga Naruto , Yashamaru  becomes a female character.    The trend did not stop with the manga   because  dubbed versions of the anime used a female voice to accompany the character.

Does this mean that Yashamaru is actually his aunt and not his uncle?    Well, it depends on where you live in the world.  According to Masashi Kishimoto   , creator of Naruto , he is Gaara’s uncle .  

12.  GAARA SUFFERS FROM INS OMNIA

One of the factors that contributed to Gaara’s early insanity was his inability to sleep .   Shukaku  spoke through Gaara’s mind, telling her that if he slept on it, he would take possession of his body. Gaara fought sleep for 12 years before Shukakaku was extracted from it. Meanwhile  Gaara learned to stay awake however he wanted, taking control of the sleeplessness that previously haunted him. After the extraction of Shukaku , many Naruto fans wondered why he still had dark circles around his eyes. Was Gaara still an insomniac?            

The Dark Circles may have nothing to do with the fact that he suffers from insomnia. Rasa and Kankurō ( Gaara’s brother  ) have dark circles around their eyes, which means it could be genetic or part of the Kazekage clan culture .       

11.  He HAD SEVERAL EARRINGS

In 2014, the Jin no  Sho  (Fourth Naruto Data Book  )  came out and featured an interview with  Masashi  Kishimoto  about the creation of  Gaara  and the various adaptations he went through before becoming the character we know and love today.

Kishimoto  explains in this interview that  Gaara  had multiple earrings when he was originally designed and was even presented that way in early manga  .

He also explained that the initial design was difficult to draw on a regular basis.  With the character of  Gaara  becoming a character that  Kishimoto  wanted to develop, he adapted his style and removed the earrings to make it easier to draw. Later,  Gaara  dresses in a high-necked outfit that  Kishimoto  explains was influenced by one of his favorite movies, The Matrix  ( The  Matrix) .

10. GAARA  DEAD DURING THE EXTRACTION OF SHUKAKU

When a tailed beast, Bijû , is extracted from his  Jinchuuriki , he dies. Gaara  is however still alive today because he was resurrected by  Chiyo , who turns out to be the one who placed  Shukaku within him under Rasa’s orders . This has led to great confusion among Naruto fans   because  Gaara  still has the same powers as when  Shukaku  was one with him.  Although it was never explained in the timeline, it can be assumed that  Gaara  

 still has his powers because he learned to control and possess them during the extended time of merging with  Shukakaku.
Ironically,  Gaara  becomes more powerful over time after extracting  Shukaku. This will be seen  when he defeats and seals the second M izukage  in the arc of world war .

9.GAARA  HAS COMPLETED B-RANK MISSIONS AS A GENIN

In the first part of Naruto’s story  , it is said that  Gaara  was trained from childhood as a weapon for  Suna .  Because of this, he never had a normal childhood and was forced to become stronger than other children his age.  Having assassins on his heels trying to kill him since he was six only made him stronger, allowing him to later take on B-rank missions with ease.

Gaara  continued to excel during those young days in the Chūnin  exams  where he would set a course record in the Forest of Death without ever receiving a single scratch. He completed 34 missions, including 0 grade D, 9 grade C, 8 grade B, 14 grade A and 3 grade S. His statistics in the data book show this with a total of 29 points out of a total. possible from 40.  

8.  HIS SAND SHIELD PROTECTS HIM THANKS TO  HIS MOTHER

It has long been believed that Gaara’s use   of his Sable Shield   (絶 対 防御,  Zettai  Bōgyo )  came from  Shukaku .  Even  Gaara  believed him at one point because of Yashamaru’s lies  .

It will be proven later that it is his mother’s will that moves the sand to protect him.  After getting  Shukaku previewed  from  Gaara , fans thought they would no longer see his absolute defense.  This also turned out to be incorrect.
After the Fourth Great Shinobi War , Gaara learns to incorporate other abilities into his absolute defense, including the nature of the wind and his kekkei genkai in his shields. Gaara mixes metal particles in his sand shield, which allows him to guard against the  jutsus  used to exploit the weaknesses of the sand.  

7. GAARA  IS THE YOUNGEST KAGE IN HISTORY

Somewhere between the age of 14 and 15, Gaara will become Suna’s fifth Kazekage (五代 目 風影, Godaime Kazekage, meaning fifth shadow of wind). Gaara was extremely powerful for his young age, but that’s only part of the reason he became Kazekage .

After losing to Naruto, Gaara realized that his way of thinking and living was flawed. Naruto inspired Gaara to want to become Kazekage. Soon after their battle, Rasa will die after being betrayed by Orochimaru. . After Orochimaru’s defeat, Konoha and Suna will become allies . Gaara’s new friendship with Naruto has allowed these two villages to work together in a healthy way while also giving Suna purpose and strength in the community. Suna’s council also wanted to keep the Kazekage lineage as their seat of power, choosing Gaara over his siblings because of the control he now had over Shukaku .

6. THE CHARACTER’S PROTOTYPE WAS DEEMED TO BE A DRUG

Masashi Kishimoto revealed in an interview found in the Jin no Sho that Gaara was originally a very different character than the one we know today.        According to Kishimoto , he was “an elite 7-year-old ninja named Kumomaru (雲 丸) , who allegedly abused drugs to push his physical abilities beyond their natural limits.”    

He also had to have a ninken  named Manji (ま ん じ) , which could have been a way of honoring the blade of Immortal Hiroaki Samura .       Manji  was a small dog with dark markings around his eyes (which had nothing to do with insomnia) , as well as the Kanji for Manji (卍) tattooed on his forehead.     His name then changed to Kotarō (小 太郎) , after Fūma Kotarō Kotarō , but Kishimoto’s editor didn’t like it and suggested using Gaara (我 愛 羅) instead.         

5. HE RARELY USES TAIJUTSU OR RARELY APPROACHES HIS OPPONENTS

Gaara’s total score according to the Taijutsu Data Books  was 1 in 5 for the first part of Naruto and increased to 2 in the following parts.        Thanks to his sand powers, to which he adapted in his youth, Gaara learned to fight without approaching his opponents.  

It also has large reserves of chakras, which will not dissipate after the extraction of Shukakaku  .   This allows him to use his powers constantly without worrying about his remaining Chakra stocks unlike a classic Ninja. Staying away from opponents during combat was also a survival skill he learned at a young age.  Even after becoming the Fifth Kazekage , Gaara would continue to avoid close contact when possible.   

4. GAARA AND SHINKI (HIS ADOPTIVE SON)

The Kazekage lineage is important to the Suna council. Each son born in the line had to marry to produce an heir. Gaara, however, had no intention of being with anyone. The council knew that if he were to die, the Shikadai Nara of Konoha could take control. 

When and how Gaara first met Shinki has yet to be revealed within Boruto, but if Boruto follows Naruto’s path, we hope to get a flashback soon. What we do know is that Shinki has an observant eye, can use iron filings and kekkei genkai to control iron sand, and can also create a sand platform attached to his mantle.
Apparently Suna’s advice accepted Shinki as an heir if Gaara were to die, and he is therefore registered as a shinobi of the Kazekage clan of Suna.

3. ROCK LEE IS THE FIRST NINJA  TO  TOUCH GAARA

During the preliminaries of the Chūnin Exam, Gaara was Rock Lee’s opponent . Until this point in the exams, Gaara hasn’t been hit once thanks to his abilities. Rock Lee was known to be quick, but early in the fight Gaara’s Sand Shield proved to be faster.

Guy Sensei then told Rock Lee to take his weights off his ankle, knowing that this would increase his speed. Rock Lee surprises Gaara when he dodges the Sand Shield and then sends him the first shot of the exam! Gaara won the battle, but ironically this will lead him to his next fight with Sasuke Uchiha, in which Sasuke will use similar speed techniques 🌩️.

2. “GAARA OF THE SAND CASCADE”

There is no doubt among Naruto fans that Gaara was a sadist in his youth, driven by a mad lust for blood and killing anyone who crossed his path.      It was during this time that he would be known as the Gaara  of the Sable Waterfall (砂 瀑 の 我 愛 羅,  Gaara of the desert  ) .   

After his loss to Naruto , Gaara realized that his way of thinking that led to this crazy behavior was wrong and that he will have to change.    When discussing the past, he often referred to himself in third person as Gaara.  from the sand waterfall, allowing others to see that the Gaara in front of them was not the same person he was in his youth.   
Fans have often associated Gaara with being a sociopath when he was younger.    Ironically, referring to oneself in the third person can be considered a symptom of this disorder.

1.  THE NAME GAARA MEANS “EGOIST DEMON”

Gaara’s name means selfish demon , but it can also be translated as selfish silk. How is it possible ? The last syllable Râ or 羅, was taken from an abbreviation of Ashura to tend towards the word “demon”.

Ra, however, can also be seen as a type of fabric or silk. Kishimoto  would later reveal the name Gaara suggested to him by his editor. He would later discover that the publisher based the name Gaara on the name of a ski resort. Ra being translated by the word “cloth” which in fact corresponds to the character of Gaara since his mother protects him through the sand to form his Absolute Defense, just like a mother protects a newborn baby by wrapping them in a blanket.