Kurenai Getting Unnecessary Hate in Naruto for Fighting Itachi is Downright Sexist for a Good Reason

Kurenai Yuhi is one of the few characters in Naruto who specializes in genjutsu, but it feels like her abilities are often overlooked. Genjutsu is such a fascinating aspect of the ninja world, and Kurenai’s expertise in it could have been explored much more. With it, her skills are said to rival those of even Itachi’s and he himself praised her skills. Unfortunately, Kurenai had to go against the master of genjutsu himself and Kishimoto never used her again.

A lot of Naruto fans have criticized Kishimoto for not writing female characters properly and in Kurenai’s case, the criticism is justified. The series hyped the woman so much and then basically ignored her. She could have been like Might Guy, in a class of her own and the best in the art of genjutsu.

Being the Hidden Leaf Jonin, who is the sensei of the “Tracker Team”—Team 8, which includes Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, Kurenai could have been involved in many battles before her battle with Itachi, or even after that, but sadly, Kishimoto failed to do her character justice.

A brief note on Kurenai’s story in Naruto

Kurenai arrived in Konoha with a natural Genjutsu talent, graduated from the academy at the age of nine, and became a Chunin around the age of thirteen. She only recently became a Jonin. She is frequently seen with Asuma Sarutobi, and it is commonly assumed that they are romantically engaged. In the anime, whenever someone asks if they are together, they both turn their heads and deny it.

In Shippuden, however, after Hidan and Kakuzu visit Konoha and kill Asuma, a heartbroken and grief-stricken Kurenai states that they were together, that she is pregnant and expecting a child, and that she was wearing a wedding ring. Shikamaru tells Kurenai that he will help her because he and Asuma were also very close.

At some point in time, Kurenai visited the Hyūga estate and took on Hinata as her charge. She asked Hiashi whether he was certain about his decision to have his daughter join the regular forces; he promptly dismissed her, stating that the Hyūga clan had no place for the weak. During Hinata’s fight with her cousin, Neji Hyūga, she remembered the terrible relationship Hinata had with her father. She also noted the stark contrast between the current Hinata, who refused to give up, and the former Hinata, who would give up easily.

When Neji was sent into a blind rage and tried to kill Hinata, Kurenai helped stop him along with Kakashi, Guy, and Hayate. But the most important fight of her life is with Itachi, who gravely injures her.

Kurenai vs. Itachi—was she completely useless?

Soon after Konoha proved successful in defending the Hidden Leaf village, Kurenai and Asuma discovered that the Akatsuki members, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, had infiltrated the village. That single maneuver instigated the fight between Itachi and Kurenai. Though Asuma and Kakashi join the fight later on, Kurenai was able to trap both Itachi and Kisame using her genjutsu, signifying her mastery over the technique.

As she was about to land a deadly blow on Itachi from above, he managed to avoid it and, in turn, hurdle a fatal attack on Kurenai, and she avoids that too. However, Itachi gets the upper hand in the fight due to his superior command of genjutsu and Sharingan. Kakashi and Guy join the fight but Kakashi gets severely injured for which Kurenai had to take him to the hospital.

If she remained on the battlefield, she might have died then and there. According to a fan on Reddit, every leaf ninja, including Kurenai and Asuma, were idiots on the battlefield but at least one can give Kurenai some benefit of doubt. Asuma, on the other hand, acted very irresponsibly by assuming he could take on Itachi on his own.