Why Pain Is A Fan Favourite, Despite His Akatsuki Association In Naruto?

Pain AKA Nagato belongs to the Uzumaki clan and is one of the main villains in ‘Naruto’. Nagato has a lot of aliases in ‘Naruto Shippuden’, one of them being Pain as it is more of a concept than a person, “The Six Paths of Pain”. He was the head of the Akatsuki, a criminal organization. Despite this association, many fans adore him.

He is responsible for the death of many, including a legendary saanin. For the information of Naruto’s whereabouts, he literally destructed the whole of Leaf Village and murdered the members of the village. However, he stands as a fan favourite and gained sympathy through his past actions. Know more about why the infamous Pain is a fan favourite.

Why Pain Is A Fan Favourite?

Pain was not entirely a bad person, despite his criminal association with Akatsuki. His situation was entirely consequential, where he was led to believe that he had to do what he did. He had a traumatic past, which made the viewers to sympathize with him. Although, his past does not give an excuse for what he had done to the village, viewers readily empathized with the character.

He ultimately gives life back to everyone in the leaf village, including Kakashi Hatake, who was a mentor of Naruto that Pain had murdered. Nagato realized the errors in his way with the help of Naruto, sacrificing his own life to restore the lives he took in Konoha. Finally, Pain realized that forcing the world into peace by using any means necessary was wrong. This realization has moved many fans and he became one of the favourite characters in the series.

Know About Nagato’s Character

Nagato was a sensitive child, prone to crying over the sufferings of himself and others. When he met Yahiko he tried to break this habit by following Yahiko’s philosophy that crying wouldn’t change anything, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Jiraiya later pointed out to him that his sensitivity was actually a strength, as it allowed him to understand pain better and, in turn, be kinder to others.

This view resonated with Nagato and caused him to realise that he wanted to take on all of his friends’ pain so that they wouldn’t have to. It also finally succeeded in ending his crying; when Jiraiya left their group it was Yahiko who cried to see him go, while Nagato only thanked him for all the guidance he’d provided. In one form or another, Nagato spent his entire life placing the needs of others before his own.