An Analysis of Kisame Hoshigaki
I posted this before on my blog Luxurien before I deleted it [and someone, not me, remade it like two days later]. Iâm posting it again for jessi-mini so if youâve read this before⌠Itâs me who posted it.
To start this analysis we have to start with the canon material. What do we know about Kisame before he joined Akatsuki? Â Â
1. Â Â Â Kisameâs major point in his early missions was that he had to kill his comrades and it made him wonder about his purpose. Quote : âI knew that from the first time I had to kill my comrades â kill a Kiri ninja as a Kiri ninja. What does that make me? Am I a friend or foe? What is my purpose and my position? Where do I go? Where can I go? Iâm well aware that my entire life has been one giant lie.â Â Â
 a.    Okay letâs talk about this first. By killing his own comrades Kisame was forced to realize his own place. He was a Kiri ninja who was as disposable as the ninja he disposed of. In other words, he was a tool, an item that could be used and thrown away when it was deemed dangerous. The ninja he had to kill were loyal ninja who cared about Kirigakure, maybe not all of them, but at least some were. His reasons for killing the cypher corps. Was that they were too weak and would leak information. There was nothing else to it â it wasnât like they were selling secrets, spies or anything else. When the time comes, Kisame could and would be disposed of â likely for knowing secrets such as the very people he was asked to kill just like the case was for Kabuto. In psychology, Maslowâs Hierachy of Needs, Safety is second most important human need and he lacks this safety â he isnât safe and neither is anyone else in the godforsaken system that is Kirigakure and the ninja world. Major point of this paragraph: Kisame learns he is a disposable tool with no value to Kirigakure â answering âWhat does that make me?â  Â
 b.    The concept of friendship and allegiances. We see a Kiri nin be friendly with Kisame and he tells her itâs pointless. Why? Because he knows he will have to kill her. This means that he has no point in being friends with any of his fellow ninjas because they are all in the same boat as him they are all disposable. And soon, a ninja would likely come for his head. Everyone is an enemy. Can you imagine the world of loneliness that Kisame lived in here? Even surrounded by people he was completely and utterly alone. Iâm sure all of you are well aware of the fact that a major theme of Naruto is that being alone is the worst form of hell. Naruto and Sasuke lived in this loneliness and it shaped their lives. Itachiâs sacrifice is so meaningful because of the loneliness he was willing to live in for the rest of his life for Sasukeâs sake. In psychology, again Maslowâs Hierarchy of Needs, love and belonging are the third most important thing and as a person who is lonely just like Sasuke, just like Naruto, just like so many others in the Naruto world, Kisame lacks it. But the strange thing is no one really stops to think that Kisame could also be alone but he very much was. Imagine the pain of having to kill someone who tries to connect with you â even if he doesnât show it he mustâve been in massive pain killing that unknown Kiri kunoichi. In the end he is neither a friend nor a foe because he canât be either â if he was a foe he wouldnât be following Kiriâs orders but he was. Major point of this paragraph: Kisame is alone and suffering as much as the other Naruto characters, he is surrounded by people and yet none can be his friend nor his foe thus answering his second question.  Â
c. Â Â Â âWhere do I go? Where can I go?â â As a ninja he literally canât go anywhere because he will be hunted. Any ninja who leaves the village is basically killed for their knowledge, you canât just change your profession or retire as a ninja. You canât seek refuge in another country because they will use you and tear you apart. Not only is Kisame completely and utterly alone, he has no refuge anywhere. He canât go anywhere. Imagine being in a blank room and being locked in there with no exit, and no one to talk to. This was Kisameâs life. Â Â
d. Â Â Â âIâm aware that my entire life has been one giant lie.â â Okay this is very important. Through having to kill all his comrades, through having to watch as one lie after another is told to the Kiri ninjas and to himself he realizes that nothing is real. What does that mean though? Think of it like this: Kiri nin become friends as children, just imagine what a typical friendship is like anywhere. Then as academy students theyâre slammed and forced to kill their friends â the first lie they lived was the lie of friendship. Any second now the person you trusted with your life would kill you. Now moving on, the case with the cypher corps, those ninjas were all told, even if not explicitly, that they were ninjas and important parts of the Kiri family. They have this implicit trust in the other ninjas despite the events with the blood mist â they trusted Kisame before he had to kill them â that trust means that they were lied to in some way or form because they werenât expecting that. Kisame was lied to as well because with the realization of what he is â a disposable tool â he knew that his trust in his superiors was already unwarranted. In other words, since he cannot trust anyone with even basic things like not killing him, how can he trust more complex things about society or life? âIâm an important tool for this villageâ lie. âIâm a Kirigakure ninjaâ am I really, even after killing other Kirigakure ninjas? âIâm doing this because I have to, it was for the best of the villageâ but was it really, were their deaths really necessary, wasnât there another way, were those secrets of the cypher corps more important than their lives? In a world where he canât speak to any other being, canât believe in any other being, what is Kisame to believe in? Thatâs right, nothing. The entire world is a lie. If everyone was just honest with each other, would that be so hard? All this drama could be avoided. Major point of this paragraph: Kisame canât believe in his village, he canât see the truth, he is alienated and confused about why the system has to be this way.Â
e.    All of the above points come together for an important question that Kabuto voices â âWho am I?â Thatâs right, who is Kisame then? He needs to figure that out, learn his own way and create his own ninja way (just like Naruto). He rejects the idea of being a tool, just like Naruto. When the straw on the camelâs back is broken by the fact his superior was also a lying nincompoop, Kisame kills him, just tired of all this drama. He takes Samehada and gets ready to leave when⌠ Â
f. Â Â Â Omg more freaking drama. Turns out just when the system couldnât get any more broken, the Mizukage himself is actually a rogue Uchiha. Yeap, thatâs right every single person in Kirigakure, every single ninja was being lied to. Lie upon lie. At this point Kisame doesnât even look surprised heâs just like (he does look surprised when he realizes itâs Madara, someone who should be dead, but not surprised that the Mizukage is really controlled): Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
2. Â Â Â Kisame joined Akatsuki to create a better world, a world without lies. To him, a world where everyone could speak to eachother honestly would be one where people could feel safe because they would know who to trust and who not to trust. It would be a world without loneliness because you would know how the other person feels â you would know you could be friends. A world of honesty would be the answer to the broken ninja system, and being a tool of such a broken system was useless. In a way his motives were no different from Sasuke or Naruto or Obito or even Itachiâs. He went about his ideology and philosophy in a different way, but then again Itachi, Naruto and Sasuke all had their own differing ideologies for how to fix the broken system, just like Kisame. They all had their own ways of achieving this goal. Â Â
3. Â Â Â In his death Kisame believed the Konoha ninja were fighting for the wrong side, he, at this point, didnât care where they were from or what their purpose was. All he knew was that they were fighting for this broken system. I will come back to the importance of Kisameâs death and why it is so beautiful after I go into his time in Akatsuki and his relationship with Itachi â so letâs get to that. Â Â
4. Â Â Â I said earlier that this would be all canon â well with Itachi some of this is me filling in the blanks and not canon but I will be specific about which parts are and arenât so you can come to your own conclusions. Kisameâs relationship with Itachi is very important because it allows Kisame to fill his Hierarchy of Needs (Okay I realize Iâm referencing this a lot so Iâm going to link every âHierarchy of Needsâ to the wiki page so you can understand what itâs about if you donât know). By filling these needs, Kisame becomes content with life and lives for once, as a human. But more on that later â first letâs get to their relationship development. Â Â
a. Â Â Â Their first meeting, Iâll address everything they say in the order it comes up â the first thing is that Itachi notes that Kisame is lost and unable to find a place for himself. Why is it that Itachi can tell? Itâs because the story is the same no matter where you go. All ninjas are suffering under this oppressive system, it doesnât matter where youâre from. All ninjas are unable to find their place. Itachi knows already when Kisame says that there something to be said of those who kill their own comrades â he knows already that Kisame was likely pushed to do it. Why? Because otherwise he wouldnât have joined a group like Akatsuki, he wouldâve just killed it. He joined for some reason or another. He knows already that under this oppressive system even if Kisame wasnât pushed to do it, he had reasons for it. But more than likely, he was very much aware of the system the blood mist as itâs known had for raising ninjas, it was no surprise that someone would be disillusioned under such a world. Itachi, already, understands Kisame. This is like Sasuke and Naruto understanding each otherâs hearts right here. Seriously. Â Â Â
b.    The second thing to note is that Itachi tells Kisame âNo one who has killed their own comrades can find true peace.â And Kisame assumes that Itachi is there is no point then. Kisame: âThen I guess that means we are both damned to hell.â And Itachi clarifies and gives Kisame hope. He says âNo⌠You never know what kind of person you are until you die⌠Isnât that what dying is?â In other words heâs saying to Kisame that he isnât judging Kisame for his past, heâs saying Kisame can redeem himself and be someone who can find peace through his future actions.   Â
c. Â Â Â The third thing to note is Itachi saying âNo, we are humans not fish.â You know what Itachi is saying to the man who is known as the literal Monster of the Mist? Heâs saying âyouâre human, I see you as a person.â You know what heâs saying to the man who believes heâs disposable as a tool to Kirigakure? Youâre a human. You know what heâs saying to the man who is denied feelings, security, friendship? Youâre human. To the man who has to kill his own comrades and wonders what he is? Youâre human. Just damn. This is the best statement possible, it just tugs at my heartstrings seriously. Â Â
d. Â Â Â Okay now letâs go further into Itachi and Kisameâs relationship now that their first meeting is out of the way. What are some things we canonically see happening between them? Hereâs a list:
1. Kisame is concerned about Itachiâs health (and scolds Itachi on overuse of the Mangekyo Sharingan).
2. Itachi is concerned about Kisameâs health and doesnât let him fight battles he canât win (Kisame got permission from Itachi to fight Roshi, the four tails).
3. Kisame gets freaking permission from Itachi to do things, is this not big?
4. Kisame respects Itachi and acknowledges him as the stronger of the two (potential fight with Jiraiya).
5. Kisame is quick to agree with Itachi and admit fault. He admits fault to Itachi even if he feels defensive at first, heâs considering Itachiâs feelings. (After the fight with Roshi when Itachi scolds Kisame on taking too long is when this happens).
6. Kisame frequently asks Itachi if heâs alright with things (one example is when Deidara announces heâs going to kill Sasuke, Kisame asks if thatâs alright with Itachi. Yup heâs taking into account Itachiâs feelings for everything he does and others do to make sure Itachi is happy.).
7. When Akatsuki announces that Sasuke is dead and Kisame thinks Itachi may be crying he apologizes and tries to comfort Itachi. Damn.
8. After Itachi dies, Zetsu wonders whether Kisame will leave Akatsuki as if Itachi was the only reason Kisame stayed so long. Itâs so serious that Madara has to personally come reveal himself to get Kisame to do what he wants. Geez. 9. Okay this is non-canon it was in the games. In brief sparring session before Itachi goes to fight Sasuke, Kisame knows itâs his last time fighting Itachi and he actually says he will miss Itachi after all theyâve been through together. This is non canon but it can be assumed (headcanon) that Kisame knew that Itachiâs fight with Sasuke would be his last because there is no way Kisame was oblivious to Itachiâs illness and such. Â Â
e. Â Â Â Okay, we get it Kisame and Itachi have an amazing relationship, so what? Okay, Iâll tell you so what. Itachi fulfils Kisameâs Hierarchy of Needs is so what. Kisame feels secure enough to stay his partner so long, he finds friendship in Itachi, and itâs because of that that Kisame learns who he is and gains Esteem, respect for himself and for Itachi as humans and not tools. This is the something many of us actually struggle with but Kisame gains it because of Itachi. If you donât understand the importance of this please go read wiki on the Hierarchy. But to expand a little, gaining esteem is one of the âhigherâ needs that is less important than things like âlove and belongingâ and is rarer to find. Many people in todayâs world donât even get to this level much less in the ninja world. Â Â
5. Â Â Â Kisameâs death and self-actualization. This is just hands down the most beautiful death in the Naruto world in my opinion. Self-actualization is the highest need in the hierarchy, and is described as becoming everything that a person can be and desires to be. In his death, Kisame accomplished this because he became a man who stood for his beliefs and died for them. He died to create the ideal world he believed would benefit humanity. He died for his beliefs and sense of justice. He knew in his time of dying just like Itachi told him, exactly what he was, something he wasnât so sure of before. What he was was an amazing man who deserves every bit of credit that the major Naruto characters got. His sacrifice is as beautiful as theirs. Â Â
6. Â Â Â Okay this is already way too long Iâll go into headcanons and more on his character and personality later, I barely got started here and itâs like 10 pages on word.
 ~
Okay as promised in my analysis Iâll go into Kisameâs personality and headcanons.
The first thing to note is that Kisame shares many shark-like characteristics not only physically but mentally as well. He also has a human side which is overwhelmingly dominant, but that doesnât mean he is immune to the shark side either. A list of canonically shark like traits he has:
1. Gills & ability to breathe underwater
2. The fin, webbed hands in shark mode
3. Blue-gray shark like skin
4. A muscular body - just as we imagine sharks to be muscular/large/predatory
5. Fish eyes
6. In shark mode he loses the hair on his head. Fish donât have hair.
7. Sharks donât hesitate to attack and rip apart their prey and neither does Kisams. He is sadistic (though in all fairness, any good shinobi should be like this and it could be a product of his upbringing. He is said to be the best in Akatsuki at bringing his prey back alive but no one said anything about his prey being in one piece, considering his attitude towards just cutting off Narutoâs legs when Itachi and Kisame first visited Konoha, itâs unlikely his enemies were in one piece).
8. Kisame likes seafood, Sharks eat smaller fish.
Based on the canon statements above I have the following headcanons about Kisame:
1. Kisame doesnât have hair on his body except on his head, like how fish donât.
2. His skin not only looks like a fishâs but feels like one. He isnât warm but rather cold and clammy. In addition, his skin is made of denticles just like sharks, meaning unlike fish scales, itâs hard and rough and useful for protecting himself. His skin is tougher than a normal humans.
3. Like Kimimaro, he would have a hard time getting medical treatment because his body is slightly different from an average humans.
4. Like Kimimaro, Kisame inherited his traits, therefore the Hoshigakiâs are all shark like in nature.
5. Kisame likes the smell of blood and can smell it from afar, if an enemy is bleeding he can use his sense of smell alone to figure out where they are.
6. Like sharks, Kisame can regrow his teeth.
7. Kisame doesnât need to cook his meat, but can if he wants to. He has no preference one way or another.
8. Kisame is possessive and territorial.
In his more human side, Kisame is incredibly intelligent and able to act quickly. Kisameâs intelligence in the databooks is 3.5 which is the same as Sakuraâs in part 1, and intelligence is her defining characteristic. In future databooks, Sakuraâs intelligence is 4. Still, itâs a testament to Kisameâs clearly above average intelligence.
Kisame doesnât feel the need to rip apart every person he sees even if he enjoys fighting and ripping apart opponents. This is proven by the fact that he can and does restrain himself when Itachi asks him to. In addition, he has incredible self restraint and control as he is the best person in Akatsuki at bringing people back alive. This means he knows exactly how much energy or strength to use and he can actually put out the exact amount needed.
As obvious by his attachment to Itachi, Kisame is incredibly loyal. However, that doesnât mean he needs to be obvious, affectionate or anything like that.
He is cold, quiet and reserved until he gets to know someone, as shown by his standoffish nature in Kirigakure, but his more open attitude with Akatsuki members.
Kisame is an optimist. He believes a better world is possible. He sees the good side in people, such as Tobiâs silliness.
He isnât a frilly, kind person. Except maybe for Itachi but even then there are limits, mostly due to the fact that they are Shinobi. In an AU with different upbringings, this concept can be discarded.
Random personality stuff, all headcanons:
1. Kisame is rarely late. He tends to do things on time, and he does his work correctly and thoroughly.
2. Kisame has his own biases, he is not an objective person, but he is as honest as he possibly can be and tries to remain unbiased. His biases appear the most with things he cares a lot about (lies, importance of imformation, ItachiâŚ).
3. He doesnât feel the need to follow the rules of he doesnât agree with them. Using Kohlbergâs stages of moral development, by the end of his life, Kisame has reached the Post- conventional stage. Read about Kohlbergâs stages of moral development here. Note that it is incredibly rare for someone to reach the post- conventional stage.
4. Despite his trust problems and reserved attitude in Kiri, he is a social person and likes to talk. This means his upbringing affected him into being reserved, but he isnât naturally that way.
5. Although he can understand others, he doesnât have sympathy for them. Itâs a good trait as a shinobi, but a negative in AUs.
6. Kisame is in the moment kind of person. He doesnât zone out or get lost in a train of thought. Itachi may, and itâll be Kisame who snaps him out of it.
7. He is vary of strangers and new people, all shinobi should be honestly, and so it takes a long time for him to open up to anyone. Keep in mind a lot of this has to do with trust issues and growing up in Kirigakure.
8. Kisame has a humorous side and does occasionally joke around.
9. Kisame would be muscular and fit in any AU as well as the Narutoverse, just like Gai would except maybe one where heâs malnourished and oppressed or something.
10. Kisame and Gai would be very good friends in an AU.
11. Kisame plays a game where he finds ways to break Itachiâs perfectly impassive and cold demeanor without offending or angering him.
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Kisameâs history-
Kisame was likely an orphan, but knew his parents, and they were killed during one of the many battles during the days of the Blood Mist.
If he had parents they couldâve guided him in the right direction but he lost his sense of self and the world around him, meaning they werenât there to be a guide for him later in life.
However, it should be noted that even if he lost his sense of self he didnât lose the ability to trust or respect others, because he has a lot of respect for Itachi. This to me states that if he did have parents, they were not abusive ones. His family may in fact have been the truth in his life before they were killed somehow, because otherwise Kisame wouldnât be able to trust at all after his experiences in Kirigakure.
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More notes :
Kisame ruthlessly killed his superior for being a traitor and a liar. Kisame viewed lies as a reason the world was the way it was, and sought to fix it.
However, Kisameâs partner Itachi was the biggest liar in the whole series, Akatsuki was one big lie after another, Madara was a lie, the Eye of the Moon was a lie, Black Zetsu was a lie, all around lies.
If Kisame found out about these things his response would differ per situation. For Itachi, he would see that Itachi was still loyal to his village, and see that he himself was the enemy. He would understand Itachiâs lie because it was a lie out of loyalty just like Kisame killing his comrades was out of loyalty (until he got sick of it). I think if he understood Itachiâs purpose he would let it go, unless Itachi continued to lie to Kisame afterwards. This is heavily due to the analysis part where itâs shown that Itachi is Kisameâs most important person because of the change he had on him. Also, even if Itachiâs reasons for Akatsuki were a lie, his relationship with Kisame wasnât. Even when he came back from the dead Itachi thought about Kisame and in life he worried about Kisame as well. If Itachiâs relationship with Kisame was the lie, rather than his reasons for Akatsuki, Kisame would have killed Itachi upon learning the information.
With others in Akatsuki, Kisame would either kill them on learning the truth, or quit and wander in search of his own way to fix things.
If he hadnât joined Akatsuki, Kisame would like have done the same thing Zabuza did to try to bring change- stage a coup de etat against the Mizukage and take charge.
Finally things Kisame is not:
1. Mindless brute.
2. Someone who uses pet names. Just no. He isnât going to call you âangelâ or use the ending â-chanâ just no.
3. Violent without reason. This is just far too common a misunderstanding.
4. Kisame may curse but he wonât do it excessively or very often. Donât overdo it with the cursing, heâs not Hidan.
5. Frilly. The most he will do is ask something like âare you okay?â He will be uncomfortable with asking more or getting more into it. When he comforts someone it will be awkward like his attempt to comfort Itachi after Sasukeâs âdeath.â He isnât going to be overly kind about it. Seriously, heâs not frilly.
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