Madara Uchiha (Japanese: うちは マダラ, Hepburn: Uchiha Madara) is a fictional character and one of the two main antagonists in Masashi Kishimoto's manga (and anime adaptation) Naruto. He appears for the first time in "Part II" of the manga and the Shippuden anime adaptation (During the Fourth Shinobi War Arc). He, along with its First Hokage Hashirama Senju, is one of the co-founders of Konohagakure (Japanese: 木ノ葉隠れの里, Hepburn: Konohagakure no Sato) village also known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Their power conflict over how to run the village, as well as the long-time feud between clans, leads to Madara deciding that humanity is beyond saving and seeks to cast a genjutsu (infinite tsukuyomi) on the entire planet, however, he is not aware that this plan will eventually annihilate humanity and turn them into numerous variants of White Zetsu. This leads to his defection and death in a battle with Hashirama; however, it is revealed later that Madara secretly revived himself, surviving well into elderhood, and manipulating Obito Uchiha into laying the key for his future plans before his true death. During most of the series, Madara serves simply as a posthumous background and influential figure while Obito uses Madara's name to create an aura around himself. However, this changes when Kabuto Yakushi reanimates the real Madara, who eventually teams up with Obito, before betraying him and becomes a major threat until he is disposed of by Black Zetsu. Kishimoto created the character to provide a strong villain in the series' final arc who would face the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. This confrontation would be different from that with previous enemies and result in more of a focus on fight scenes. Merchandise has been released in Madara's likeness, including keychains, plush dolls, and figurines. In the Japanese anime, Naoya Uchida voices Madara, while Go Inoue voices him as a child. In the English version, Neil Kaplan provides Madara's voice with Xander Mobus voicing him as a child. Critics have commented on his role as an antagonist in the series. Some have placed him on top all-time anime villains lists, while others have criticized certain contrivances associated with his actions. Nevertheless, Madara's background was well-received for how integral his story is to the series' scenario. Madara has appeared in several pieces of Naruto media, and many Naruto video games, as well as the crossover games J-Stars Victory VS and Jump Force, have featured him as a playable character.
Creation and design
Madara originated from Masashi Kishimoto's desire to elaborate on the ending to the manga series Naruto. Once the series began its second part, simply referred to as "Part II" in the manga and Shippuden in the anime, Kishimoto felt the need to create a story arc that would emphasize the tragedy of wars, leading to the final arc which would include a war. According to Kishimoto, Naruto and his group were weak as children in the first part and he wanted to make them stronger in the second part. This is the reason he introduced the Akatsuki (and later on Madara) as their enemies. In an interview, Kishimoto asserted that making the villains "flamboyant" was one of the "guiding principles" he followed. He desired to create villains with "powerful auras". Madara appears late in the manga, as one of the masterminds leading to the fourth shinobi world war, in the final arc. Nevertheless, he wanted to make him an engaging antagonist who would clash with Sasuke Uchiha and the Tailed Beast known as the Ten Tails to give the storyline a proper conclusion. According to Kishimoto, Madara is not just like any other character introduced in the series. He created Madara as a character with no weaknesses. As one of the central antagonists in the story, Kishimoto designed Madara Uchiha to serve as a complex figure whose methods and goals contrast sharply with the protagonists' values, epitomizing the traits of an anti-villain. Unlike a traditional villain, Madara's actions are driven by a desire to create a world without conflict, believing that his radical approach—creating a new world order through the Infinite Tsukuyomi—is the only viable solution to end the relentless cycle of war and suffering. His methods, although unethical and extreme, stem from a vision of peace, setting him apart from typical antagonistic figures who pursue power or chaos for selfish reasons. This blend of noble intentions with morally ambiguous actions makes Madara an exemplary anti-villain, as his goals, while seemingly benevolent, are achieved through questionable means that challenge the moral foundations of the story's protagonists. Kishimoto also said Naruto always defeated his enemies without intending to kill them by settling disputes with words since his battle with Nagato. Naruto truly forgave his enemy instead of having to kill them, a concept Kishimoto liked but which no other shonen manga truly followed. Kishimoto found the idea of the two characters interacting and settling their differences more interesting, and challenging, rather than killing them. So from the Nagato battle onwards, he decided to introduce the resurrected Madara to have someone to beat. According to Kishimoto, this was one of the reasons why he introduced Edo-Madara into the storyline. But he confessed this was complicated at first. It ended up with confusion about the difference between the two characters. Japanese voice actor Naoya Uchida enjoyed voicing Madara's character, most notably in his final recording where he sent regards to fellow actor Kazuhiko Inoue (Kakashi Hatake) and Wataru Takagi (Obito Uchiha). Neil Kaplan first voiced Madara in the video game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. Because CyberConnect2's fighting game's storyline preceded the television series' plot, he was asked by their staff to read the series' manga to get an idea of the character. Kaplan said this made it difficult for him to voice Madara for the first time.
Appearances
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