When Did Mangekyou Eternal Sharingan First Appear In Manga?

I still get chills thinking about that orange spiral mask. Back when I first reread 'Naruto', the guy calling himself Tobi shows up pretty early as the goofy, behind-the-scenes Akatsuki member — that masked Tobi first appears in the manga during Part I, introduced as a mysterious and oddly cheerful presence amid the darker Akatsuki scenes. He’s the one who acts silly around Deidara and the others, which makes his later reveal all the more jarring. The identity stuff gets messy in a good way: later on you learn that the playful mask-wearing Tobi is actually Obito Uchiha pretending to be someone else, and then for a while he claims to be Madara Uchiha. The public “I am Madara” moment (when the big bad persona really takes over the war narrative) comes much later in the war arc. So if you’re tracking appearances, there’s the initial masked debut early on, the Obito flashback revelations in the Kakashi Gaiden-related chapters, and then the full-on Madara reveal during the Fourth Great Ninja War. Re-reading those chapters on a rainy weekend made me appreciate how Kishimoto planted seeds for years ahead.

I still get a little buzz thinking about the moment Naruto dropped the Rasenshuriken into the story — it hits like a mic-drop. In the manga, the technique surfaces during Part II of 'Naruto' when Naruto finally masters Wind nature and combines it with his Rasengan. The first time we see him actually create and throw the full Rasenshuriken is in the battle against Kakuzu during the Hidan and Kakuzu arc; that’s when the move is revealed as a proper high-level technique rather than just a training exercise. The context matters: he learned the wind-infused Rasengan through intense training and experimentation, then pushed it into this explosive shuriken-shaped form when the stakes were sky-high. Reading that chapter felt like watching a character hit a new power ceiling. Kishimoto uses the sequence to show both Naruto’s growth and the cost of such a technique — it’s brutally effective but also has a personal toll (it’s lethal on contact in its original form). After that debut, the Rasenshuriken becomes a recurring signature, spawning later variations and tactical uses during the Fourth Great Ninja War and beyond. I still think back to sitting on a couch with a paperback of 'Naruto' and being like, "Yep, this kid just leveled up." Whether you’re into the choreography of the panels or the emotional payoff of hard-won power, that first Rasenshuriken scene is one of those classic shonen moments that sticks with you.

There’s a cool, brutal logic to how the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan works in-canon, and the short, concrete list of folks who actually obtained it keeps the power feeling rare and meaningful. From the pages and panels of 'Naruto', the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (EMS) is only achieved when someone with a Mangekyō Sharingan transplants the Mangekyō eyes of a close blood relative into themselves. That transplant cancels out the progressive blindness caused by using the Mangekyō and fuses the ocular abilities into a stronger, more stable form. In canon, the two explicit, confirmed cases are Madara Uchiha — who took his brother Izuna’s eyes — and Sasuke Uchiha — who received Itachi’s eyes. Those two moments are framed as pivotal: Madara’s gaining EMS cemented his legendary power, and Sasuke’s transplant after Itachi’s death was a major turning point for his battles in 'Naruto Shippuden'. I still get chills reading those scenes; the artwork and the weight of Uchiha tragedy make the mechanics feel tragic and intimate. It’s also why characters who had lots of Sharingan, like Danzo, or outsiders who borrowed eyes, like Kakashi, never ended up with EMS — the transplant has to be from a compatible Uchiha bloodline, not just a random eye swap or a hoard of stolen eyeballs. So, canonically, if you’re asking who can obtain EMS: only Uchiha with Mangekyō Sharingan who transplant a Mangekyō from a close blood relative can — and we’ve only seen Madara and Sasuke actually get there in the official story. That rarity is part of what makes the EMS so memorable in 'Naruto'.

If you’re in the mood for eye-gore and epic Uchiha moments, the quickest way to spot the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan is to follow two names: Madara and Sasuke. Madara’s EMS shows up in both his old flashbacks and his reanimated, war-time rampages, while Sasuke’s EMS appears after he replaces his Mangekyō eyes with Itachi’s. In terms of where to look in 'Naruto Shippuden', start with the Itachi vs Sasuke sequence (the arc around 'The End') to get the lead-up — that’s where Itachi’s Mangekyō story ends and Sasuke’s path toward transplanting Itachi’s eyes begins. For Madara, the big moments start when he’s brought into the Fourth Great Ninja War; the episode titled 'Madara Uchiha' is the dramatic entrance, and many of his signature EMS-powered moves are shown throughout the war arc (watch the flashback episodes too — they explain how he gained Eternal Mangekyō by taking his brother’s eyes). Sasuke’s Eternal Mangekyō becomes visually obvious later in the war/final arcs when he uses his upgraded Susanoo and more intense ocular techniques — those later episodes in the final arc show the distinct, darker pattern and the way it removes the blindness drawback of the normal Mangekyō. If you want a watchlist vibe: (1) the Itachi–Sasuke confrontation arc (for the origin story), (2) the episodes around 'Madara Uchiha' and the Fourth Great Ninja War (for Madara’s EMS in action), and (3) the late-war/final episodes where Sasuke displays his new eyes and Susanoo techniques. Binge those slowly — the animation quality and music really sell the eyeball drama. Happy rewatching; I still get chills when those tomoe flare up!

The canon list is remarkably short but legendary: only two characters achieve the eternal mangekyou sharingan in the official storyline. I get a little giddy whenever I think about how rare and emotional those moments are, because the whole concept ties power to loss and brotherhood in 'Naruto' in a way that actually hurts in a good storytelling sense. Madara Uchiha is one. He gains the eternal form by transplanting his brother Izuna's eyes after Izuna dies, which stops the blindness that comes from heavy mangekyou use and supercharges his ocular powers. That upgrade let him use sustained Susanoo and other crazy ocular techniques without collapsing, eventually paving the way for his later rise to the Rinnegan and near-godlike status. The other is Sasuke Uchiha, who receives Itachi's eyes after Itachi's death. Sasuke's eternal mangekyou lets him wield prolonged Mangekyou jutsu like Amaterasu and Susanoo with less strain, and it becomes a springboard to his later supernatural transformations. Those are the only two in canon — it feels fitting that both gains are rooted in those intense sibling bonds and tragedies. I still find the mix of tragedy and power in those scenes really moving.