Hinata Hyuga

Hinata Hyuga (日向 ヒナタ, Hyūga Hinata) is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. A protagonist of the series, she is a teenage kunoichi from the fictional village of Konohagakure. Hinata is a member of Team 8, which consists of herself, Kiba Inuzuka with his ninja dog Akamaru, Shino Aburame, and the team leader Kurenai Yuhi. At the start of the series, Hinata has strong admiration towards the main protagonist Naruto Uzumaki, which eventually turns into love as the story progresses. Hinata has appeared in the series' films and in other media related to the franchise, including video games and original video animations.

Hinata is voiced by Nana Mizuki in the original animated series and Stephanie Sheh in the English adaptations.^[3][4]

Creation and conception

Hinata's relationship with Naruto was determined to turn romantic by the author midway through the series. Kishimoto felt the relationship was meant to be since Hinata had been supportive of Naruto since the beginning, though this angered his wife who wanted him to end up with Sakura Haruno.^[5] For Part II of the series, Hinata was designed to look like a woman who avoids using makeup and be more focused on fighting.^[6]

In the making of The Last: Naruto the Movie, Hinata's voice actress, Nana Mizuki, was surprised with all the focus her character received. When seeing Hinata as an adult, Mizuki commented she was amazed by how more womanly Hinata became as well as how she looked more mature. She also expressed similar feelings when Naruto's adult self. The character's attributes such as her personality as well as her unwillingness to give up regardless of the situation was what made Mizuki like her. Her favorite scene in the movie was when Naruto confesses his love to Hinata. She was happy for what it meant to Hinata but still found it cold when Hinata goes to Toneri's side.^[7] Kishimoto was too embarrassed when making romance in the series to the point he was not sure if he saw Naruto's and Hinata's kissing scene.^[8]

Description

Hinata has dark blue hair and fair skin - traits that she inherited from her mother. She also has the customary white eyes of her clan, which have a tinge of lavender in the anime. She is usually seen with a timid, shy expression in Part I, but less so in Part II, with the exception of when she is around Naruto. Like the rest of her clan, she possesses the renowned Byakugan which, when activated, stimulates the veins and arteries immediately around her eyes to protrude much more prominently. In Part I, her hair was in a short, levelled hime-cut style just above her forehead, with chin-length strands framing her face. She wore a cream-coloured hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem, with navy blue pants. After earning her genin rank, she wore her Konoha forehead protector around her neck. At the Chūnin Exams finals, Hinata wore a long-sleeved, light blue blouse with a high collar, and dark blue pants. While at home, she was seen in the traditional Hyūga garb, consisting of a simple, loose-fitting robe with different coloured trimmings, and an under-shirt.

In Part II, Hinata retained her straight, hime-style haircut, but she had let her hair grow to reach her lower back, while the short strands that frame her face had grown to shoulder-length. Her figure had also grown to become much more womanly. She also donned attire consisting of a loose fitting, lavender and cream hooded-jacket with lavender cuffs over mesh armour with navy blue pants and black, low-heeled sandals. Although she still wore her forehead protector around her neck, its colour had changed from blue to black. In one of the omakes, she was seen wearing a beige apron and light blue scarf tied in a bandanna style. In another omake, she was seen in a casual outfit that consisted of brown capri pants, brown sandals, and a dark green, hood-less jacket with a fire symbol on the upper-right side of her chest. The cuffs of the jacket were rolled up to the middle of her forearms; the inside of the jacket was shown to be cream-coloured. Hinata had a light lavender blouse underneath. During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she donned the standard uniform of her village inclusive of flak jacket. Instead of wearing the forehead protector of the Allied Shinobi Forces, she has seemingly opted not to wear one at all.

Hinata is characterised as shy, thoughtful, serene, kind, and very polite, as noted from her always addressing people with proper honourifics. She is also very gentle, a trait that Neji and her father used to consider a flaw, and dislikes competing and fighting. She is shown to be incredibly empathetic, and, because of her upbringing, is one of the very first characters who identifies with Naruto's painful childhood and desire to be acknowledged.

Appearances

In Naruto

Hinata, the eldest of two children of Hiashi Hyuga, is raised as the heiress to the Hyuga clan main household due to Hiashi being the elder between him and his twin brother Hizashi and thereby making Hiashi head of the clan while Hizashi is demoted to the Branch House whose only purpose is to serve the upper branch. Hinata is nearly kidnapped at a young age, though saved by her father, serving as the catalyst of the Hyuga Affair which ended with Hizashi willingly taking the place of Hiashi to compensate for the death of a Head Ninja who tried to kidnap Hinata in order to prevent a breach in the treaty between the Hyuga clan's village of Konohagakure and Kumogakure. Growing up, Hinata is trained by Hiashi but he begins to have doubts in her ability to lead the clan in seeing her struggles during their sessions, and apparently disowns her, having her younger sister Hanabi as the heiress. Hinata also meets Naruto Uzumaki during her youth, developing an interest in him after he defended her while she was being bullied for her.^[9] Hinata is introduced in Part I during the Chunin Exams, a series of tests that will upgrade her status as a rookie, along with her teammates Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. She reaches the third examination where she is forced to fight her cousin Neji Hyuga. Despite her fears, Naruto encourages her to battle him. She is nearly killed in combat, and Naruto decides to avenge her.

In Part II, two-and-a-half years after the events of Part I, Hinata has been promoted to Chunin and reunites with Naruto, journeying with him to protect him from the Akatsuki and find both rouge ninja Sasuke Uchiha and his brother Itachi. However, the mission fails. When Naruto is about be captured by the leader of the criminal organization Akatsuki, Pain, Hinata tries to save him but is impaled in the process. Her injures are healed soon afterward. With the Fourth Shinobi World War underway, Hinata and Neji are paired on the same division, joining in the battle against the Ten-Tails, though Neji is killed by the Ten-Tails' attack. She manages to both defeat the clone of the Ten-Tails and then get caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, imaging a relationship with Naruto before being released. After Naruto was able to defeat and reform Sasuke, Hinata and everyone else were released from the Infinite Tsukuyomi. She later attended Neji's funeral alongside Naruto and the rest of the Konoha shinobi. In the years following, Hinata and Naruto marry and have two children, a son named Boruto and daughter named Himawari.^[10]

Post Naruto

Two years following the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the events of The Last: Naruto the Movie occurs. At the age of 18, Hinata hopes to give Naruto a personal gift of love - a red scarf - she knitted herself in remembrance of one Naruto used to wear back in the Academy. Toneri infiltrates Konoha then kidnaps Hinata's sister, Hanabi Hyuga. Hinata with Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Shikamaru prepare to set out to rescue Hanabi. On the journey through the abandoned Shinobi village of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, Naruto confesses to Hinata he is in love with her. Meanwhile, in Toneri's palace, Toneri asks Hinata knit a red scarf for him. But in reality, Hinata only accepted Toneri's proposal as she was contained by the spirit of Hamura to aid him as the "Byakugan Princess" to destroy the Tenseigan altar because Toneri had misinterpreted Hamura's decree. But Toneri realized the deception and brainwashes Hinata while destroying the scarf she had originally made for Naruto. Naruto's team finally catches up and a massive attack on Toneri's palace begins. The team splits, with Naruto rescuing Hinata from the ceremony, while the others secure Hanabi. Hinata carries out the will of her ancestor Hamura Ōtsutsuki by helping Naruto destroy the Tenseigan and stop Toneri. However, Toneri's Tenseigan chakra cloak grants him the power to slice the moon in half, placing Hinata in a giant bird cage. Naruto enters Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and a huge duel ensues. Near the end, Naruto grasps the last remaining shred of Hinata's scarf and channels his chakra and delivers a punch strong enough to pin Toneri against the wall and depower him, stopping the moon from falling. Hinata also takes Hanabi's eyes back from Toneri and returns them back to her sister. At the end of the movie after saving Hinata and Hanabi, Naruto reveals to Hinata that the scarf he had earlier was his late mother's, Kushina.

In Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Hinata tries to make the best of her daughter Himiwari's birthday by planning a party in the absence of Naruto with little avail and watches Boruto while he competes in the Chunin Exams. Approached by Naruto to use her Byakugan while watching Boruto, she discovers the latter's use of Kote, causing his disqualifying from the competition as it is prohibited. After evacuating the stadium following Kinshiki and Momoshiki attacking and subsequently kidnapping Naruto, she tries to rescue him by giving chase to the pair, only to be wounded. Recovering thanks to healing from Sakura, Hinata initially denies Boruto membership on Sasuke's rescue effort to save Naruto but eventually gives in. With Naruto then rescued, Hinata tends to the damage of Boruto's jacket before he declines.^[11]

In other media

Hinata appears in five Naruto films; in the fourth, she and Shino briefly cross paths with Team 7;^[12] in the fifth, Hinata, Naruto and Sakura are on a mission to escort Amaru and Shinno to their respective village, Hinata incorrectly confirming the death of Amaru and being captured with the villagers, though later being freed by Amaru;^[13] in the sixth, she goes in search of Naruto and Sakura who are themselves looking for Kakashi and joins Neji in attacking the flying beast combination of Ni, Ichi and San, afterward combining their attacks to destroy it;^[14] in the eighth, Hinata works in a team to bring Naruto back from the Blood Prison; in the ninth, Hinata fights off an attack from the Akatsuki while an alternate version of her, who wears less clothing and has more confidence and assertiveness, appears in the Genjutsu World;^[15] and finally, in the tenth, Hinata, now in her young adult years, goes on a mission with Naruto, Sai, Shikamaru and Sakura to rescue Hanabi after she is kidnapped and enters a relationship with Naruto after he reciprocates her feelings. A light novel titled Sakura Hiden: Thoughts of Love, Riding Upon a Spring Breeze, written by Tomohito Osaki and illustrated by Kishimoto,^[16] details a date between Hinata and Naruto, the pair trying to save Sakura after her kidnapping by Kido Tsumiki, but are too late to save her as she has already saved herself.

Reception

Hinata is a popular character among Naruto fans, ranking #10 in the first annual character popularity poll,^[17] #6 in both the second^[18] and third, #12 in the fourth,^[19] #9 in the fifth,^[20] #13 in the sixth and #10 in the seventh. Amy McNulty of Anime News Network complimented the voice work of Hinata's English voice actress Stephanie Sheh for "simultaneously conveying the character's shyness, anxiety and determination."^[21] Reviewing one of the series' early story arcs, Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network said that her fight was a "determination to change" based on her weak personality.^[22] During the series' final arc, Chris Beveridge from The Fandom Post liked Hinata's role when she supports Naruto's sadness and helps him to keep fighting together against their enemies.^[23] Critic Yukari Fujimoto noted that Hinata, alongside other female characters takes place priority on love, treating it as more important than excelling as a ninja. Fujimoto regards as reinforcing a conservative idea of women - that women do not belong on the battlefield as warriors, only as nurses.^[24]

Reception to the development of the relationship between Naruto and Hinata in The Last was mixed. Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times dubbed their relations in the film an "awkward romance"^[25] while Japanator.com wrote that her struggles with romance were part of the film's positives.^[26] McNulty said that, while the romance might come as awkward, it becomes much more appealing to the viewers as the film goes on.^[21] Brendan Ha from Otaku USA said that while many readers knew Hinata feelings for Naruto ever her early appearances in the series, Naruto's feelings for her were never seen for her and thus The Last helped to show them. Nevertheless, Ha praised the way Hinata tried to confess her love to Naruto making the film "touching".^[27] Beveridge agreed with other reviewers about finding these two characters' development as being appealing, he stated he wished the movie could be condensed in order to focus on the main couple.^[28] UK Anime Network writer Dan Rhodes agreed with Beveridge saying the main storyline's focus is Hinata and Naruto's relationship rather than the appearance of the film's villain who he found forgettable.^[29] Chris Homer, another writer from The Fandom Post, noted how for over fifteen years, the fans of Naruto have wanted to see the this particular pair together and noted the film "delivers". He also praised the relationship between Hinata and Sakura Haruno as the latter tries to make her confess her love to Naruto.^[30]

References