Naruto is a shonen series that tells the tale of Naruto Uzumaki, the boy who dreamed of becoming Hokage someday. Throughout the series, Naruto greatly boosted his likability as a person and as a shonen protagonist, and a variety of his allies, friends, and even enemies did the same. There are many wonderful reasons to like most Naruto characters.
That includes Gaara of the sand, first introduced in the chunin exam story arc as a sinister villain who crushed his foes with merciless sand jutsu. But there's much more to Gaara than his rage and bloodlust, and by now, Naruto fans absolutely love this character and everything about him. Gaara found all kinds of ways to boost his likability, making him one of shonen's finest villains turned heroes.
10 Gaara Keeps His Cool
Some anime characters are beloved because they are lively and fun, such as genki girls, but other anime fans prefer the opposite - a character who maintains a cool and aloof exterior that isn't easily disturbed. Such characters exude an aura of confidence and maturity, and that includes Gaara.
Both before and after being redeemed, Gaara impressed Naruto fans with his cool exterior, and it seemed that nothing could upset him or rile him up. He would simply fold his arms and slouch his way through the story, unbothered by the shenanigans around him. It's a welcome change of pace from characters like Naruto, Sakura, and Ino.
9 Gaara's Forehead Mark Took On New Meaning
The kanji on Gaara's forehead reads "love," but the exact nature of that love changed a few times. Perhaps it once symbolized the family love Gaara longed for, but for years, it actually represented the fact that Gaara, as a beast, only loved himself. It was a selfish and brutal love.
Later on, after his redemption, Gaara learned to love his remaining family and his village, and he also embraced the Konoha 11 group as friends. Now, that love is genuine, and Gaara's forehead mark is more meaningful than ever.
8 Gaara's Sand Gourd Is Iconic
Some shinobi carry unique equipment or items around, from Temari's oversized fan to Tenten's weapon-summoning scrolls, and that includes Gaara's special sand gourd. Gaara can manipulate any sand around him, but he can't bring the dunes of the Land of Wind with him, so he settles for that gourd.
This iconic gourd contains all the sand Gaara needs to perform his ninjutsu, even in the middle of a forest or on a prairie. If Gaara uncorks that gourd and sand comes out, Naruto fans know exactly what is coming next, and Gaara's enemies won't like it.
7 Gaara Learned To Be Humble
Humility and a balanced self-image can go a long way in making an anime character more likable. It's one thing to be confident like Fumikge Tokoyami or Roronoa Zoro, but an arrogant character is more likely to alienate fans or become a total jerk. Gaara made sure to work on this.
Gaara was once cocky as a human weapon, but he became much humbler after his fight with Naruto. He still exuded cool confidence, but he no longer saw himself as the ultimate killer. Instead, he accepted himself for who and what he was, and nothing more.
6 Gaara Risked His Life To Fight Kimimaro
When Sasuke abandoned Team 7 and the Hidden Leaf Village, Naruto and his allies fought a handful of Sound ninja to get Sasuke back, including the mighty Sound Four and Kimimaro. Naruto and Rock Lee took on Kimimaro, but they stood no chance and almost died. So, Gaara arrived to help.
Naruto fans couldn't help but cheer when the mighty Gaara arrived to save his former enemies, and he used every jutsu he had to take on Orochimaru's #1 minion and save the day. Even if Gaara didn't deal the final blow, this still boosted his likability a great deal.
5 Gaara Became The New Kazekage
Naruto was shocked, proud, and a little envious to hear that his new friend Gaara had actually become the new Kazekage right before the events of Naruto Shippuden. As a jinchuriki and powerful fighter, Gaara had what it took to succeed his father as the Hidden Sand Village's leader, and he did.
Gaara impressed Naruto fans with this promotion, and even if he was a novice politician, Gaara did what he could to keep his village running and set an example for Naruto. Now Gaara fights not for himself, but for thousands of Land of Wind citizens.
4 Gaara Protected His Village From Deidara's Explosives
Early in Naruto Shippuden, the explosive Akatsuki member Deidara infiltrated the Hidden Sand Village to capture Gaara, and the two of them soon got in a fight. Deidara used a massive explosive that threatened to flatten the entire village, so Gaara took action.
Gaara moved a vast amount of sand to shield his home village from Deidara's wrath, and it worked. Even if Gaara lost this fight, it was thrilling to see him go this far to protect his home from an Akatsuki invader. Finally, his sand is being used to protect lives instead of taking them.
3 Gaara Took Command Of The United Shinobi Force
Once the villainous Obito Uchiha declared war on all ninja nations on behalf of Madara Uchiha, the shinobi nations all pooled their forces to fight back, including a neutral headband design that simply read "shinobi." But someone had to lead all these troops, and Gaara got the job.
This was a lot to ask of a teenage boy, but he was up to it, and he handled this duty with dignity and humility. It was wonderful seeing Gaara lead not just his own people, but everyone in a war against some of the series' greatest villains.
2 Gaara Dreamed Of A Perfect Family
At one point, the ultimate genjutsu, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, was cast, trapping everyone in their own happy dreams. This allowed the series to peek at everyone's innermost desires, such as Rock Lee getting together with Sakura, boys fighting over Ino, and Kiba Inuzuka becoming Hokage. Gaara had a more wholesome genjutsu dream than that, though.
Despite his immense power as the Kazekage and a wielder of sand, Gaara only wanted one thing - a happy, idyllic life where his family is finally whole. That says a lot about Gaara, and in this dream, his younger self could meet and play with Naruto Uzumaki every day.
1 When Gaara Thanked Naruto For Saving The World
After Naruto and his friends finally defeated Kaguya Otsutsuki the moon princess, peace returned to the land, and Kakashi Hatake became the 6th Hokage. Gaara, as a fellow Kage, traveled to the Hidden Leaf Village to watch the ceremony, and while there, he personally thanked Naruto for all he had done.
This was a grand gesture, seeing how Gaara was a Kage and Naruto was, technically, a low-ranked ninja. But ranks and titles didn't matter here - Naruto and Gaara are friends and allies, and Gaara graciously made his admiration of Naruto's accomplishment clear.