Summary

Genjutsu in Naruto is feared for its ability to manipulate minds, but becomes less used as the series goes on.
Genjutsu's limitations in range and influence, as well as immunity in some cases, diminish its use in high-level fights.
Strengthening genjutsu by allowing it to have more impact on the physical world could have made it more relevant in the series.

In the world of Naruto, nothing quite strikes a sense of dread in the main characters or the audience more than falling under a genjutsu. We see how genjutsu can be used to brutal effect to torture ninjas in a time-dilating setting that goes on seemingly forever. What’s more, the effects of genjutsu are typically easy to activate. If a ninja looks at some genjutsu users' eyes accidentally for even a millisecond, they could fall under the influence of the technique.

"You are already under my Genjutsu." - Itachi.

Given the potency and ease of using genjutsu, why does it seem like it is never a thing to be feared as the series continues? You would think that a technique to influence and control someone’s mind would have much more application than is shown in the series. So why exactly is genjutsu rarely used in high-level fights, and what makes it so underpowered despite its surface-level strengths?

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By Ritwik Mitra

Genjutsu Got Powercrept

Continually Evolving Threats Made Genjutsu Useless

shikamaru melt — Shikamaru suffers under the effects of a genjutsu.

Despite being a fearsome technique, genjutsu simply couldn’t keep up with the continual power increases of the villains of Naruto. Genjutsu itself was limited in that it mostly couldn’t affect the physical world, only people’s perception of it. This simply became not good enough in the Naruto universe, where villains could cause destruction on massive scales.

Genjutsu also had several restraining factors that prevented it from being widely used as the story continued. Often, genjutsu had a limited range and sphere of influence. While a ninjutsu technique to summon a giant meteor could wipe out an entire village, most genjutsu had difficulty affecting more than one person at a time. The genjutsu which could affect multiple people often came at a heavy price. Sasuke's Genjtsu required him to have both the rinnegan and evolved sharingan to allow genjutsu to be used on multiple targets at the same time. There was also the Infinite Tsukuyomi, which required the user to possess the rinne sharingan and have enough power to reflect it off the moon, with the payoff that the genjutsu could affect the entire world.

“In the tsukuyomi, time and space, even physical mass, I control them all. The next 72 hours will be nothing but this, over and over.” -Itachi Uchiha

However, even in these cases, some characters were immune to such wide-affecting techniques. Zombies revived with the Edo Tensi technique were unaffected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi, as well as those who possessed the rinnegan. This underscores another point against genjutsu: if someone in a group is immune to it, it becomes essentially useless. Even if a genjutsu is successful, an unaffected individual can work to rouse someone from the genjutsu state, making it difficult to rely on while fighting multiple opponents.

"As the last one, and the one who possesses the greatest chakra of all, I shall lead everyone!" "There is only one goal... The fulfillment of the Infinite Tsukuyomi."”- Madara Uchiha

A Different Genjutsu

Could Genjutsu Have Been Better?

itatchi tree — Kurenai uses genjutsu against Itatchi.

It’s unclear what could be done to strengthen the concept of genjutsu and elevate it with the rest of the ninja combat styles. One possible answer would be to allow genjutsu to have more of an effect on the physical world. This concept is briefly touched on in the series through the Kurama Clan’s kekkei genkai. In rare cases, members of the Kurama clan could develop such potent genjutsu that it could actually physically harm the victim's body by tricking their brain into believing it was real.

"One's reality might be another's illusion." -Itachi

While this ability seems like a game changer for genjutsu, it was heavily nerfed by its drawbacks, which essentially saw the genjutsu user become a monster and lose control of themselves. This loss of control also came with losing the ability to control the genjutsu fully. If there had been more genjutsu abilities that could go beyond the mental and affect the real world without immense costs, we might have seen genjutsu utilized much more throughout the Naruto series.