In Episode 80 — which aired in Japan in 2008 — after a perilous fight, two members of the Akatsuki overwhelm Asuma Sarutobi (Jūrōta Kosugi) and leave him for dead. Asuma was the sensei to Ino Yamanaka (Ryoka Yuzuki), Shikamaru Nara (Shōtaro Morikubo), and Choji Akimichi (Kentarō Itō) — a trio also known as Ino-Shika-Cho. Asuma's vital organs are irreparably damaged. Unable to help, his students are forced to watch him die. After he gives his last words, he smokes his final cigarette and perishes to his students' cries.
Expressing her admiration for the scene (via ComicBook.com), Naruto voice actor Junko Takeuchi mentioned the crew's desire to portray Asuma's death correctly. When it came time to record it, the other actors were sent home, allowing the remaining actors to convey the emotions the scene required explaining, "I heard that the scene was recorded in a very dense time, with the other actors sent home so that it was just the four of them: Ino-Shika-Cho and Asuma."
Upon seeing the scene, the lead voice actor was impressed, praising the production team for making the effort to enhance it. "When I saw the actual footage that was created, I could feel that the scene was done by a very good team, so I thought it was a really wonderful episode," she said. "The staff also took the initiative to do things that they thought were better even if it required a lot of time and effort, and I think this is the result of the human touch."
And it seems fans felt the same way. Ten years ago, Redditor u/jpiep expressed their grief after watching the episode and asked r/Naruto how the community felt about the death. Replying to the original poster, u/TangibleTurian wrote, "Honestly, this was the saddest death for me ... He was my favourite character, and his death completely blindsided me." Whether this death was the saddest for other viewers is up for debate, but they can likely agree with the same Redditor's conclusion: "Never again was there such an epic beard."
