Gaara is the Kazekage of the Hamlet Hidden in the Sand and the former host of Shukaku the One-Tail beast. If about Naruto fans tin agree on i thing, they can all say that Gaara is an amazing character and deserves all the love. He's this great mixture of an insanely powerful ninja combined with a fairly young teenager who'southward still healing from a traumatic past and learning to connect with others. He's endlessly fascinating and wonderfully crawly.

But how much do you actually know about our favorite sand ninja? He's not exactly the nigh open up of people, and his whole civilisation isn't all that trusting. But over the years, nosotros have learned some interesting things about Gaara. And then here are some awesome facts about Gaara you probably didn't know.

Updated on October 18, 2022 by Gabrielle Huston: Are you a Gaara fan? Y'all're in luck! We've spruced up this article to give this grapheme the dearest that he deserves.

13/13 Quite The Double Significant

Naruto - gaara

Gaara has a bit of an unusual proper name; practice you lot know what it actually means? The name Gaara tin can take two meanings: it can mean "self-loving demon" or "self-loving silk." This is actually really interesting, considering Gaara's origins and nature.

Gaara has the One-Tail beast sealed away inside his body, and so he technically could exist considered a type of demon. And in the beginning, Gaara has such a hatred of people and he only looks out for himself, not caring what happens to others. It makes the name rather interesting.

The story backside the name, nevertheless, is a bit more mundane. Kishimoto had the name suggested to him by his editor, who got it from a ski resort.

12/13 Young And Filled With Leadership

Naruto - gaara kage

Each village has a leader also known equally a Kage. For example, Konoha has a Hokage, and Sunakagure has a Kazekage. The ages of the unlike Kages often differ, only the average historic period for them tends to be a bit older. It makes sense; the older you lot are, the more mature and wiser you are (in theory), so for a village to have a young Kage is a scrap rare.

And so Gaara came along. He became the Kazekage of Sunakagure (The Village Hidden in the Sand) at the age of 15. This actually makes him the youngest Kage e'er recorded. While some people were initially leery of Gaara condign a Kage, he proved to exist quite the pop leader. He somewhen earned the respect of the other Kages and the other villages and was instrumental in winning the Fourth Slap-up Ninja War.

11/13 The Meaning Of This Symbol

Naruto - gaara 2

1 of the iconic elements of Gaara's image was the grapheme etched into his forehead. He apparently etched this symbol into his own peel using his sand, later he found out his own uncle tried to kill him. So what does the character mean? Well, it really means "love."

Before he snapped, Gaara tried to win the beloved of the village, but they turned him abroad, fearing him. Somewhen, he realized that since no ane would love him, he would have to honey himself, so he would only look out for himself and hate anyone else. Every bit a outcome, he became a bit of a sociopath, non caring almost others and killing people mercilessly. Afterward his fight with Naruto, he grows to realize that he must try to beloved others over again. Information technology's a beautiful irony that the discussion beloved is etched into the skin of a teen who was in one case the embodiment of hatred.

10/thirteen His Father Is Kind Of Terrible

Naruto - rasa

Gaara certainly didn't have a very happy childhood, and part of that is actually due to his father, Rasa. Seriously, his father may take been interim for good of his village, but as a event, Gaara got pretty screwed over (and screwed upward). Non just did his father seal Shukaku the Ane-Tail in Gaara, but he then tried to have him killed.

Apparently, his begetter considered him pretty dangerous, and he was trying to draw out Gaara'due south powers. He deceived Gaara into thinking that no one loved him, hoping that would help him to draw on his power, and then he arranged to have Gaara killed. There was a total of half-dozen assassination attempts on him, all of which obviously proved ineffective. Somewhen, Rasa stopped trying to kill him and tried to use him instead. It's all incredibly messed upwards.

9/xiii A Planned Aficionado

Naruto - gaara 3

Did you know that Gaara was originally going to be an aficionado? In fact, Gaara's whole graphic symbol was going to exist pretty different, according to Kishimoto. Even his name went through a few changes since he was going to be called Kumomaru, then Kotaru, earlier they settled on Gaara. But they were originally going to make him much younger likewise.

Initially, Kishimoto was going to introduce Kumomaro as an elite seven-year-old ninja who driveling substances in club to push button himself beyond his concrete limitations. Yikes, a seven-twelvemonth-onetime substance addict. That's a niggling dark, even for Naruto. But Kishimoto decided to go in a unlike management. Then Gaara was created. Personally, I rather like his electric current backstory than the ane Kishimoto was going to do. This is why nosotros rewrite, people!

8/13 The Offset To Striking Him

Naruto - gaara and rock lee

Thanks to Gaara's unique abilities, he didn't really feel much pain or injury until he was a teenager. The sand acted as a natural protector, keeping him from any type of concrete injury. As a outcome, it was incredibly difficult for someone to even land a hit on Gaara. Well, 2 people managed to do it during the Chunin exams.

Rock Lee was actually the offset person to land a striking on Gaara during their fight. Thank you to Lee'southward powerful taijutsu and speed, he managed to punch Gaara, surprising him. This wasn't enough to defeat him though, and Lee concluded up losing. Then Sasuke became the first person to actually injure Gaara. During their battle, Sasuke used his Chidori technique to intermission through Gaara's barrier and cause him to drain. Understandably, Gaara freaked out a chip.

seven/13 A Unique Secret Ability

Naruto - magnet release

Even Gaara has a few tricks up his sleeves. Those that are familiar with Gaara but through the anime likely don't know that he has a rather special ability that he doesn't employ very often. This ability is called the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, and it allows him to control iron sand.

This ability was first revealed in the manga story Gaara Hiden. So why doesn't he use it very oft? Information technology's really for a pretty skillful reason. Gaara doesn't like people knowing about this ability since it helps ensure he stays one footstep ahead of his enemies. It's basically a underground weapon. Information technology also makes sense that if he doesn't have to use it, he won't, and his enemies won't know everything about him. Still, it's a pretty crawly power.

6/xiii Interesting Tastes

Naruto - gaara eating ramen

While Gaara is shown to eat occasionally on the show, it wasn't very often. Nosotros're pretty sure people believe that the guy lives on air. But Gaara does consume nutrient, and he does have his likes and dislikes... though they may not be what y'all expected.

According to the databook that you can discover on Gaara, his favorite foods are salted tongue and gizzard. A little foreign, but hey, y'all do you Gaara. On the flip side, his least favorite foods are yokan and marron glace, which are types of sugariness confections. So basically, he doesn't really like sweets at all, and he prefers more than savory foods. We can respect that.

5/13 His Hobby May Surprise Y'all

Naruto - Sen using Cactus Genjutsu on one of the cacti

For someone as powerful and rather emotionally unattached as Gaara, it's hard to imagine him with doing everyday things or even having simple hobbies. But there are things that Gaara likes to do besides fight, and you'd be surprised what 1 of his favorite hobbies is. Information technology'due south cultivating cacti!

Aye, Gaara actually likes to care for cacti. We think this is adorable, and can run into why he likes cacti. He even talks about his hobby and why he likes it to other people, which is too amazing. To see this character that was introduced every bit a rather psychotic killer share his interest in cultivating live plants is a scrap surreal. Merely it shows just how far Gaara has come, likewise!

4/13 He Has An Interesting Tie To The Matrix

Naruto - gaara 4

Kishimoto talked almost Gaara's look, proverb how his outset outfit was actually a niggling difficult to describe often and keep consequent. So, he changed it up toward the finish of Office I, and we have to say that Gaara looks pretty good! Information technology definitely makes him look a bit older and more mature. But did you know this outfit had a rather interesting inspiration?

Manifestly, Kishimoto said he took from the movie The Matrix for Gaara's new look. And looking at the two, we can see the similarities. There's the high neckband, the solid colors and the almost trench coat feel to information technology. Information technology's kind of absurd that activeness movies like The Matrix can even influence anime shows.

3/13 He Almost Got Married

Gaara in Boruto

Did you know that Gaara almost got married? Well, it was a fleck of an arranged marriage, introduced in Gaara Hiden: A Sandstorm Mirage. The council of Sunakagure was worried that if Gaara never got married and had kids, the next heir to the Kage role would be from Konoha since Temari married Shikamaru. And then, they arranged for him to meet the woman they chose for him, Hakuto.

Gaara was actually okay with most of this since he saw the logic in it, and when he met Hakuto, he genuinely liked her. Merely things didn't work out. Well, meaning that Hakuto was planning to go out Suna with her lover and elope. It was complicated, but in the stop, Gaara allow them go. We approximate he won't exist finding love someday presently, but we besides think he's okay with that.

2/13 Intense Missions

Naruto - gaara and naruto

The way the missions go in Naruto is that S-rank missions are the highest and nearly dangerous, followed by A-rank, B-rank, C-rank, and D-rank. Most Genins would complete D-rank and a few C-rank missions. But most genin aren't Gaara. Since he was a immature kid, he had to fight to survive and was ofttimes forced to become stronger out of necessity. And so, he proved to be quite capable at tougher missions.

When he was only a genin, which is 1 of the lower rankings in the ninja military, he completed many B-Rank missions. In fact, throughout his career, Gaara has completed 0 D-rank, nine C-rank, 8 B-rank, 14 A-rank, and 3 South-rank missions. Basically, Gaara is someone you really don't want to fight, because he volition mess you lot up and get in look similar it was painfully easy.

one/13 His Backstory Is Kishimoto's Favorite

Naruto - young gaara

Ane of the things that Naruto does really well is that it gives pretty interesting backstories fifty-fifty to the characters you may not like initially. As a result, you could empathize with whatsoever character, even if they're a villain. Gaara'due south backstory in item is really an astonishing ane.

When we first come across Gaara, he seems pretty sociopathic and has this deep hatred for all people, but besides this common cold indifference to them. Combined with his astonishing power, he'south genuinely scary, and makes for a good "villain." Then we get to his backstory, and we learn about his terrible babyhood and how he was twisted and in so much pain. Information technology's heartbreaking. We've never inverse our mind nearly a character so fast. Kishimoto himself has said that Gaara'south backstory is his favorite from Part I. We don't blame him; it's truly incredible.

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