What's the Deal With Kakashi?

So you're wondering why your otaku girlfriend has asked you so many times to "please dress up like Kakashi," and you just don't get it - what's so great about a guy who hides half his face behind a friggin' mask? Who knows if he's even attractive under there, anyway? Right??

Well, lucky for you, I'm here to explain the fangirl obsession with Hatake Kakashi (whose name means  Scarecrow, by the way, in case you didn't know).

First of all, the mask is part of his appeal - it adds to his mystique. Little is known about the Jounin Sensei, except that Minato, the fourth Hokage, was his Sensei back in his Genin days, he got his Sharingan from his deceased Uchiha teammate, and he played a stint in Anbu Black Ops. His opinion of his deceased father was honorable, yet tainted by his untimely, unexplained suicide.

[and allow me to note that I do not read the Naruto manga, I just watch the anime, so I don't know if anything about him has been revealed in later volumes or not - and please don't tell me, either.]

Oh, and he likes Jiraya's smutty novels.

The rest, is an enigma. Who was Kakashi's mother and what happened to her? What was his childhood like? What were his days in Anbu like? What compelled him to join? And then, to quit? Why does he wear that mask, and will we ever see him without it? Is the reason we haven't seen him with a love interest because he's really gay (a personal theory of mine)?

All these unanswered questions - they just make us all the more curious about him. And guys here's a tip: If a girl wants to know more about you, it generally means she's attracted to you; if she weren't she wouldn't care.

You also have to consider his bravery, loyalty, morality, and sense of chivalry. He isn't afraid to put the lives and well-being of those he serves before his own, even if he knows it means certain death.

**Spoiler alert** I was in denial when Kakashi "died" during Pain's invasion of the leaf village. I just knew it couldn't be true. What would be the point of Naruto without Kakashi? It would be like Bleach without Grimmjow or Byakuya... (oh, wait....) **End spoilers**

The way he interacts with Team 7, constantly pushing them to be better shinobi, and also better friends, building their camaraderie and instilling his good values and moral code within them, is admirable (besides, it's always sexy when a man is good with kids).

He's a courageous ninja, unafraid of battle, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he's shy and seemingly inexperienced, which is super cute and endearing. He reads Jiraya's novels religiously, but when asked to read the sensual content out loud, he flushes and gets embarrassed. I watched this scene from Shippuden season 9 like 5 times in a row, I thought it was so cute and hilarious.

As far as I know, he's never been in a relationship. In the anime, there was briefly a gypsy woman, but nothing really happened between them and they ended up going their separate ways in the end. It seemed to me that she was more into Kakashi (and who could blame her?) than he was into her (thus, the gay theory), but the episode was filler anyway, and doesn't really count in the overall scheme of things. As a result, Kakashi's seeming lack of romantic indulgence only adds to his appeal (yes, innocence in love is attractive - it means 1. you don't have any deep baggage, and 2. we haven't had to share you with other women).

Plus, there's this:

I hope all this clears up some of the confusion. You're welcome ;)