Kisame Hoshigaki, the Monster of the Hidden Mist
Was Kisame just a badass shark guy who went out like a "real one" or a layered character? Let me make a case for his complexity.
Background
Kisame served the Mist village, specializing in information protection. His task was to eliminate any comrade whom he could not successfully escort to a desired destination. He later finds out that the very person assigning him to these information protection missions was selling out information to opposing nations. He is recruited into the Akatsuki by Obito, where he teams up with Itachi Uchiha.
Psychology and self view
Unlike his seemingly carefree, wild demeanor in the Akatsuki, the Kisame we see in the Mist village flashbacks is reserved, detached and quiet. He struggles to form bonds to his comrades, knowing that he would likely eliminate them at some point in the future. When offered a shared meal by a female comrade, he responds by telling her she has no reason to be nice to him. Kisame holds deep rooted self-resentment over his actions. He has internalizes guilt, and feels unworthy of compassion and connection.
Once it is revealed to him that his master was selling out the very information that Kisame was protecting, he suffers from an identity crisis. If he wasn't killing his comrades for the well-being of the village, what was it all for? His response is to cope by adopting a mask of an egotist, believeing that it is a sharks nature to be selfish. He murders his master and steals his sword. He convinces himself that it was never about the village, that he was simply a self-serving brute, his master was no different from his comrades, just another person he killed for his own well-being. This way, Kisame didn't feel betrayed by his master, it's a brutal world and his master was only doing what was beneficial for himself. He felt he had regained autonomy over his own life this way, he wasn't a tool, he was simply an opportunistic beast. Ironically though, he had surrendered his autonomy to what he believed to be the true nature of a shark. Since adopting this worldview, Kisame's personality changes, he becomes outgoing in a nihilistic way, by accepting that he was born a monster, he no longer felt guilt over his "monsterous" actions. His mentality goes from "I'm a bad person so I'll shut myself off from my comrades because I'm unworthy" to "I'm a bad person so it doesn't matter how I treat my comrades because bad people do whatever they want".
The Infinite Tsukuyomi
Kisame is a man whose trust has been betrayed. When Obito calls him an ally through the 4th mizukage, Kisame's response is "Until you erase me too, lord fourth" with a giant grin on his face. Though he plays it off as a joke, he is a distrusting, paranoid man. The Infinite Tsukuyomi appeals to him because it is the only place where his paranoia can be soothed. In the fake world, he doesn't have to lie to his comrades. In the fake world, he doesn't have to fear his masters lying to him. This reinforces his paradoxical selfishness. He can't form bonds out of guilt, a guilt that comes from his distaste for selfishness, yet he wants to force reality into a dream world, thus taking away other people's real bonds, which is selfish. He has embrace selfishness, so that he may never have to be selfish again.
Relationship with Itachi
Itachi, like Kisame, is a comrade slayer. This, ironically, encourages Kisame to form a bond with him. He doesn't feel guilt over the fact that he may one day be forced to kill Itachi, because Itachi, as a comrade slayer and a fellow "monster", should expect that. In their introduction, Kisame directly tells Itachi that he would likely be the one to kill him, and gives a speech about sharks:
Itachi reminds Kisame that they are not sharks, but humans. They weren't born to solely cannibalize other sharks, they are morally gray beings with nuance. This has an immense impact on Kisame, not only because itachi is the first person to neither see Kisame as a monster (like the whole shinobi world does including Kisame himself) nor as a tool (like the Mist village or Obito), but also because Itachi calls him out in a way. If Kisame wasn't born a monster then he can't justify his nihilism and all the dirty work he has done. This conversation sticks with Kisame, and he even reminisces about it in his last moments.
Conclusion and self-acceptance
Kisame, the supposed selfish egoist, sacrifices himself for Obito, a nihilist who has abandoned reality and thus also all bonds, including Kisame. He is exposed for what he truly was, what he always has been, a people pleaser with low self-worth. Through this he acknowledges that Itachi was correct in saying "You do not know what kind of human you are until the very end." In death, Kisame abandons all shame and self-loathing and accepts his selflessness for the first time in his life, regardless of whether it is a virtue or a flaw.
Symbolism
Beastly appearance and the "Tailless tailed beast" nickname - symbolize how the world perceives Kisame.
Samehada - an all consuming monster and a tool, symbolizes Kisame's self-view. It ends up betraying him over the simple fact that Killer B has tastier chakra. The Samehada is what Kisame wishes he was, if he could've been as ruthless as it, he would've avoided so much suffering.
Mind searching scene - he frees himself from the mind searching jutsu by biting his own tongue off, symbolizing his obedience to protecting information through self-sacrifice.
Death scene - Kisame is eaten by sharks, symbolizing the fact that he died for a cause facilitated by truer egoists- Obito, Madara, Black zetsu. (Not to say that some of their egoism wasn't also performative.) He was a human in a world that encourages shark-like behavior.
Keep in mind, his entire character unraveled within 2 chapters. Kisame remains one of the most subtext-rich characters in fiction.
@St3v3Cel
@Pray to Yukon Koala
Was Kisame just a badass shark guy who went out like a "real one" or a layered character? Let me make a case for his complexity.
Background
Kisame served the Mist village, specializing in information protection. His task was to eliminate any comrade whom he could not successfully escort to a desired destination. He later finds out that the very person assigning him to these information protection missions was selling out information to opposing nations. He is recruited into the Akatsuki by Obito, where he teams up with Itachi Uchiha.
Psychology and self view
Unlike his seemingly carefree, wild demeanor in the Akatsuki, the Kisame we see in the Mist village flashbacks is reserved, detached and quiet. He struggles to form bonds to his comrades, knowing that he would likely eliminate them at some point in the future. When offered a shared meal by a female comrade, he responds by telling her she has no reason to be nice to him. Kisame holds deep rooted self-resentment over his actions. He has internalizes guilt, and feels unworthy of compassion and connection.
Once it is revealed to him that his master was selling out the very information that Kisame was protecting, he suffers from an identity crisis. If he wasn't killing his comrades for the well-being of the village, what was it all for? His response is to cope by adopting a mask of an egotist, believeing that it is a sharks nature to be selfish. He murders his master and steals his sword. He convinces himself that it was never about the village, that he was simply a self-serving brute, his master was no different from his comrades, just another person he killed for his own well-being. This way, Kisame didn't feel betrayed by his master, it's a brutal world and his master was only doing what was beneficial for himself. He felt he had regained autonomy over his own life this way, he wasn't a tool, he was simply an opportunistic beast. Ironically though, he had surrendered his autonomy to what he believed to be the true nature of a shark. Since adopting this worldview, Kisame's personality changes, he becomes outgoing in a nihilistic way, by accepting that he was born a monster, he no longer felt guilt over his "monsterous" actions. His mentality goes from "I'm a bad person so I'll shut myself off from my comrades because I'm unworthy" to "I'm a bad person so it doesn't matter how I treat my comrades because bad people do whatever they want".
The Infinite Tsukuyomi
Kisame is a man whose trust has been betrayed. When Obito calls him an ally through the 4th mizukage, Kisame's response is "Until you erase me too, lord fourth" with a giant grin on his face. Though he plays it off as a joke, he is a distrusting, paranoid man. The Infinite Tsukuyomi appeals to him because it is the only place where his paranoia can be soothed. In the fake world, he doesn't have to lie to his comrades. In the fake world, he doesn't have to fear his masters lying to him. This reinforces his paradoxical selfishness. He can't form bonds out of guilt, a guilt that comes from his distaste for selfishness, yet he wants to force reality into a dream world, thus taking away other people's real bonds, which is selfish. He has embrace selfishness, so that he may never have to be selfish again.
Relationship with Itachi
Itachi, like Kisame, is a comrade slayer. This, ironically, encourages Kisame to form a bond with him. He doesn't feel guilt over the fact that he may one day be forced to kill Itachi, because Itachi, as a comrade slayer and a fellow "monster", should expect that. In their introduction, Kisame directly tells Itachi that he would likely be the one to kill him, and gives a speech about sharks:
With this Kisame is basically saying that him and Itachi are like animals, they were fated to become treacherous monsters because of the circumstances they were born into.
Itachi reminds Kisame that they are not sharks, but humans. They weren't born to solely cannibalize other sharks, they are morally gray beings with nuance. This has an immense impact on Kisame, not only because itachi is the first person to neither see Kisame as a monster (like the whole shinobi world does including Kisame himself) nor as a tool (like the Mist village or Obito), but also because Itachi calls him out in a way. If Kisame wasn't born a monster then he can't justify his nihilism and all the dirty work he has done. This conversation sticks with Kisame, and he even reminisces about it in his last moments.
Conclusion and self-acceptance
Kisame, the supposed selfish egoist, sacrifices himself for Obito, a nihilist who has abandoned reality and thus also all bonds, including Kisame. He is exposed for what he truly was, what he always has been, a people pleaser with low self-worth. Through this he acknowledges that Itachi was correct in saying "You do not know what kind of human you are until the very end." In death, Kisame abandons all shame and self-loathing and accepts his selflessness for the first time in his life, regardless of whether it is a virtue or a flaw.
Symbolism
Beastly appearance and the "Tailless tailed beast" nickname - symbolize how the world perceives Kisame.
Samehada - an all consuming monster and a tool, symbolizes Kisame's self-view. It ends up betraying him over the simple fact that Killer B has tastier chakra. The Samehada is what Kisame wishes he was, if he could've been as ruthless as it, he would've avoided so much suffering.
Mind searching scene - he frees himself from the mind searching jutsu by biting his own tongue off, symbolizing his obedience to protecting information through self-sacrifice.
Death scene - Kisame is eaten by sharks, symbolizing the fact that he died for a cause facilitated by truer egoists- Obito, Madara, Black zetsu. (Not to say that some of their egoism wasn't also performative.) He was a human in a world that encourages shark-like behavior.
Keep in mind, his entire character unraveled within 2 chapters. Kisame remains one of the most subtext-rich characters in fiction.
@St3v3Cel
@Pray to Yukon Koala
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