I do think Kishimoto intended to glorify Sasuke's non-conformist individualism though -- even while reinforcing that love & interconnectedness are what make us truly strong.

I see it as Kishimoto saying "you can do your own thing, your own way, and still be amazing."

To be clear, I'm not talking about his desire to destroy Konoha out of revenge, I'm talking about him thinking FOR HIMSELF and even receiving tacit approval from the founder of shinobi society.

Of course, he loses in the end. Most thoughtful fans understand thematically why.

Sasuke is WAY more popular in Japan than in America, and I think his bravery in carving his own path is partly why.

To us, the notion of "REVOLUTION" isn't that shocking. Sasuke's journey is just another person making their way in the world. But I think the Japanese audience sees it differently.

Japanese society is HEAVILY conformist. The very idea of "success" is intertwined with existing institutions to an extent that your average American probably can't understand.

This paper goes into it a bit pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...