Template:Infobox Naruto character Hinata Hyuga (日向ヒナタ, Hyūga Hinata) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. She is a member of Kurenai Yuhi's Team 8, consisting of herself, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame.
"Hyuga" (日向) means "toward the sun" and is the name of a city in the Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. "Hinata" is a pun, as it is another way to read this kanji and means "a sunny place".
Hinata generally ranks among the top ten in Shonen Jump's character popularity polls. She placed 10th in the first Naruto manga anniversary poll, placed 6th in the second and third polls, and 9th in the fifth poll.
Background
SHE IS FAIL!!!!!!!!!!
Personality
At the start of the series, Hinata lacks self-confidence and the willingness to fight. Although she would train more than anyone else in order to improve her skills, she would immediately give up when faced with competition and failed every mission she was assigned as a result. In an attempt to change herself, Hinata entered the Chunin Exam. When pit against her cousin, Neji Hyuga, in the exam's preliminary matches, Neji is quick to ridicule Hinata for her personality traits and attempts to convince her that she is a failure who will never be able to change herself.
While Neji's words bring her to tears, Naruto Uzumaki's encouragement empowers her to fight her cousin despite the injuries she has sustained. Although she is defeated, Naruto's words have a lasting effect on Hinata and she becomes more confident in her abilities. Before collapsing after her fight with Neji, she attempts to turn the tables on him and explain that he is actually the one hopelessly fighting his destiny, her first attempt at sticking up for herself. As she is carried away to recover, she attempts to ask Naruto if she changed at all during the battle, though loses consciousness before she can do so.
After her recovery, Hinata continues training, to prove herself to her father and Naruto. Her efforts are successful in both regards, as she is eventually able to acquire a better relationship with her father. Naruto has also come to hold her in a higher standing, and he tells her that while he had considered her timid and weird before, he now views her as a likable person. She also has a much better relationship with Neji, who acts kindly towards her, and even trains with her in the anime.
Hinata and Naruto
Hinata has a long-standing crush on Naruto Uzumaki, which has been present since their time in the Academy and is characterized by her watching him from a distance. This stands as a rather glaring exception in the series, as no other girl around Naruto's age has displayed anything of the sort for him. Her feelings for him are rooted in his determination and confidence, both of which are traits Hinata severely lacks. Despite the rather obviousness of her feelings, Hinata has yet to openly admit that she likes Naruto, though many characters have shown to be aware of her feelings. In a similar fashion, Naruto has thus far remained completely oblivious to Hinata's attempts at impressing him.
With her affection for Naruto, Hinata is constantly willing to break away from her normal personality traits in order to help him. One such example is during the written portion of the Chunin Exams, where she offers Naruto a chance to copy the answers off of her paper. Although he appreciates the offer, Naruto turns her down in fear of getting her in trouble if they get caught. Further examples are seen throughout the anime filler arcs, where she uncharacteristically insists that Naruto go on missions with Team 8 in order to help him cope with the loss of Sasuke Uchiha.
In addition to shifting personalities for Naruto, she also doesn't hesitate to defend him, even to himself. When he starts questioning his abilities prior to the final rounds of the Chunin Exam, Hinata insists that his willingness to prove himself is an admirable trait and makes him truly strong. Her confidence in Naruto is seen again in the Land of Vegetables arc when Naruto is demeaned by the princess they're assigned to protect. Hinata defends Naruto, saying that he has never thought of abandoning people to save himself and works hard to gain respect and become the next Hokage.
Her feelings for Naruto are one of the driving forces in her self-improvement, as she tries to gain strength in an attempt to both impress him and become a better person. When he leaves Konoha at the end of Part I, Hinata watches him from behind a pole, vowing to get stronger by the next time they meet. When this happens two-and-a-half years later, Hinata is unable to bring herself to greet Naruto and passes out when he comes to greet her, her feelings for him having apparently been amplified during his absence.
Abilities
As a member of the Hyuga clan, Hinata possesses the Byakugan, which gives her an almost 360° field of vision. During the Chunin Exams, she displays the ability to focus the Byakugan's sight, increasing the distance that her eyes can see. She also specializes in the Gentle Fist fighting style, which allows her to damage her opponent's chakra circulatory system and inner organs directly with even a slight tap.
In her quest to get stronger, Hinata begins training to create a new ability, which consists of manipulating water to sprout in an orb around her. Her training manifests itself during the Bikochu filler arc in the form of Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms (守護八卦六十四掌, Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō), a combination of the Hyuga clan's most powerful techniques. With it Hinata emits streams of chakra from her palms to create extremely sharp blades that she can use to hit any target in her field of vision. Due to the speed at which these blades move, the amount of control she has over them, as well as her ability to manipulate their size, Hinata can use this to technique to attack and defend simultaneously. Over the timeskip she rises to the rank of Chunin, indicating that her training has been effective in making her stronger.
Other media
Hinata is a playable character in most Naruto video games. Due to a lack of information in concern to Hinata's abilities, developers often make up non-canon techniques for her so her moveset is equal in quantity to other playable characters. In Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 and Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 4, Hinata is playable in an "awakened" form where chakra is shown radiating from her body. While in this form, Hinata is capable of using a number of attacks that she is unable to during the manga or anime, such as Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
Sources
- First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book)
- Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book)
- Jump's 2nd Great Hero Book's Mini Data Book (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
- Naruto anime and manga Guidebook (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
- Taken directly from the Naruto manga chapters and anime episodes.