As one of the villains in the story, Kishimoto created Orochimaru as an antithesis to the protagonists' values. His snake-like appearance and related features were intended to make it easier for the reader to recognise that he is a villain. In an interview, Kishimoto asserted that making the villains "flamboyant" was one of his "guiding principles", and attributed this to his desire to have the villains possess a "powerful aura". 

 

  Following this theme of distinguishing villains, Kishimoto attempted to make Orochimaru's face appear "pasty and sickly," which serves to emphasise the "scary looks" that Kishimoto frequently has Orochimaru performing in the manga. As these occurrences are his "trademark", Kishimoto modifies Orochimaru's appearance and the scene to focus on Orochimaru's face; for instance, highlights that are normally added to Orochimaru's hair are removed and the background is blanked out to create a "creepy atmosphere".

 

 

 

Orochi means "Great Snake" and Maru is a common suffix in male names.​

 

• Orochimaru borrows heavily from Japanese myth and literature:

  • Literature — Orochimaru's name, as well as those of Jiraiya and Tsunade, come from the "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya" (児雷也豪傑物語, Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari). The Orochimaru in that story was originally a student of Jiraiya's called Yashagorō, until he was corrupted by snake magic and took on the name Orochimaru.

  • Myth — Yamata-no-Orochi (八岐大蛇, Eight-forked Giant Snake), a giant eight-tailed, eight-headed snake killed with the Totsuka Sword by the god Susanoo-no-Mikoto, who found theKusanagi Sword in one of its tails. This mirrors almost exactly how Itachi Uchiha using Totsuka Sword wielding Susanoo sealed Orochimaru, while in his Yamata form, and wielding the Kusanagi Sword kept inside of him.

• In the English VIZ translation of chapter 49, Orochimaru introduces himself to Sasuke as "Orochimaru, the Giant Snake". This was not present in the original version.

• The symbolism of Orochimaru's snake affiliation can be also tied to how many cultures, Eastern and Western, perceived snakes as symbols of immortality and rebirth via the shedding of their skin.

• Orochimaru shares his blood type with his former team-mates, Jiraiya and Tsunade.

• After the preliminaries conclude, he is never shown again wearing an Otogakure headband.

• According to the databook(s):

  • Orochimaru's hobby is creating techniques.

  • Orochimaru wishes to fight those with techniques that can be used in the future.

  • Orochimaru's favourite food are eggs, while his least favourites are anything cold.

  • During his time as a Konoha-nin, Orochimaru has completed 1,468 official missions in total: 16 D-rank, 332 C-rank, 521 B-rank, 491 A-rank, 108 S-rank.

  • Orochimaru's favourite words are "destroy" (破壊, hakkai) and "chaos" (混沌, konton).

• Orochimaru appears in the anime adaptation of Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden as the comedic main antagonist. Like the main series, he plans to destroy Konoha, but after his début, he aims more at seeking revenge on Team Guy for foiling his plans.