The bad guys in Naruto share a similar trait throughout the franchise: they are tragic characters that facilitate the audience's empathy. Orochimaru is not a tragic character, nor is he worthy of empathy. Since his first appearance in NarutoOrochimaru has inspired terror, fear and darkness as a villain. He is by far the most impactful and evil character in Narutoand his slow redemption over the course of the franchise left many fans puzzled as to why he deserved such a happy ending compared to many other villains who had a clear path to redemption, but met an untimely end before they could grow as characters.
From humble beginnings as a villain in Naruto to a nice uncle and father who supported Team 7 in BorutoOrochimaru's journey as a character is fascinating yet frustrating to watch as his relevance as a villain slowly wears off Boruto progressed. Unlike many villains in the franchise, Orochimaru is one of the most prominent and terrifying villains in all of shonen.
Orochimaru's Legacy as a Villain in Naruto
Orochimaru has committed unspeakable evils in Konoha
Few shonen villains can match the evil deeds of Orochimaru, who has experimented on and killed hundreds, if not thousands of innocents in his quest for immortality. But before Orochimaru was lost to evil, he was a morally ambiguous hero of the Leaf Village, becoming a legendary Sannin during the Second Great Shinobi War after surviving Salamander's Hanzo alongside his two teammates, Gallant Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade. Even as a war hero, Orochimaru has shown very little care for human life, such as when the three Sannin stumbled upon several orphans; Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. Orochimaru's first inclination was to kill them out of mercy rather than allow the orphans to suffer in a war-torn land. Orochimaru was only stopped from murdering the three children by Jiraiya's insistence on training them himself.
Orochimaru's disregard for the sanctity of life continued well beyond the war, as his morality slowly crumbled. Eventually, he began experimenting on human subjects in secret within the Hidden Leaf Village, reaching a climax when the 3rd Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, launched a raid on his laboratory and discovered the horrors within. Orochimaru's explanation was simple: he wanted immortality at any cost. By experimenting on living humans, he could understand the intricacies of chakra and other similar experiments to determine the best way to live forever.
After Orochimaru was forced to flee the village as a rogue shinobi, he joined the Akatsuki to discover powerful jutsu and utilize the organization's resources in his quest for immortality. He partnered with Itachi Uchiha and attempted to steal the Uchiha Clan's coveted eyes, the sharingan. When he failed to ambush Itachi, Orochimaru fled again and went on to found the Hidden Sound Village and consolidate his experiments across dozens of hideouts and bases.
By the time of Naruto and Sasuke, Orochimaru had truly become a full-fledged villain who would stop at nothing to learn every jutsu and become truly immortal. Orochimaru discovered several alternate methods of limited immortality, such as his ability to jump between bodies via a special technique known as Living Corpse Reincarnation, where he can overwrite a person's soul with his own and completely take over their body. Having failed to acquire the Sharingan from Itachi, Orochimaru's next best bet was Sasuke Uchiha, who he considered the perfect vessel for his next body jump, before ultimately being defeated by his student.
Orochimaru's Rise as an Unlikely Ally in Shippuden
Orochimaru became a hero during the Fourth Great Ninja War
After Orochimaru was sealed during the climactic battle between Sasuke and Itachi, he was resurrected by Sasuke and found himself in the midst of the Fourth Great Ninja War. Unable to defeat his former student, Orochimaru chose to help Sasuke discover the truth about the Uchiha clan and reveal the dark history of the Leaf Village by resurrecting all four former Hokage to answer Sasuke's questions.
By reviving each Hokage, Orochimaru unwittingly gave the Allied Shinobi Forces their most powerful allies. However, Orochimaru was prepared to order each revived Hokage to destroy what remained of Konoha, depending on the path Sasuke chose. Once Sasuke was satisfied and left for the battlefield, Orochimaru followed him along with the rest of Taka, eventually stumbling upon the five defeated Kage and his fellow Sannin, Lady Tsunade.
Orochimaru chose to help his former ally and contribute to the war effort in any way he could, as Sasuke had inspired him to. By saving Lady Tsunade and the rest of the Kage, Orochimaru found a way out and grew, albeit slightly, as a character. However, his survival depended on the Allied Shinobi Forces' victory over Madara and Obito Uchiha, so Orochimaru's sudden change of heart can be attributed to his selfishness towards life.
After every evil deed Orochimaru committed throughout his life for immortality, his sudden change towards redemption was not out of guilt or wanting to move on, but because Sasuke's path to redemption made him want the same thing. He wanted to see Sasuke grow as a shinobi and came to admire his former student's heroism during the war. No villain can become a hero through a few good deeds, but through a fundamental change of character towards goodness. Orochimaru ultimately succeeded in his subtle redemption, but not without much controversy from fans.
Orochimaru's Controversial Redemption in Boruto
Orochimaru faced no consequences for his crimes
Thanks to Orochimaru's contributions to the Fourth Great Ninja War, he walked away a free man, despite Yamato's endless surveillance of his activities. Considering the amount of damage and destruction Orochimaru had caused throughout the franchise, his apparent transformation into an unlikely ally in Boruto angered many fans. Orochimaru had committed unspeakable crimes, yet his past actions had almost no consequences, compared to Sasuke Uchiha, who had done far less and still earned a lengthy prison sentence before being pardoned by Kakashi Hatake. Criminal Proceedings in Naruto Apparently, the franchise likes to play lightly and casually with the rules.
At the moment of BorutoOrochimaru had long since abandoned his evil ways and chosen to live a peaceful life as a researcher under Yamato's dutiful watch. In exchange for his relative freedom, Orochimaru became a neutral, yet distant figure in the eyes of the Hidden Leaf Village. As long as he minded his own business and committed no crimes, he was allowed to continue his research into immortality, among other experiments.
Instead of being a bloodthirsty villain, Orochimaru had become much more relaxed and neutral in Borutosupporting the main cast and raising Mitsuki as his own son. Orochimaru seemed to have softened a lot as a shinobi and villain due to Mitsuki's influence during a time of peace, and his working relationship with Sasuke and the Hidden Leaf Village in general seemed to play a role in his passive nature.
Many factors play a role in Orochimaru's redemption, but regardless of the reason, the fact remains that his redemption doesn't seem justified to many in the fandom. Character redemptions are one of the most compelling types of story arcs, but if written poorly, like anything, the redemption arc will fall flat because it will feel unjustified or unearned if the character is redeemed too quickly. Orochimaru fails in both cases. So while Orochimaru started out as one of the most evil characters in Narutoat the time of BorutoOrochimaru has become an unlikely supporting character and ally, though many disagree with Orochimaru's apparent redemption.