Hinata Hyuga

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

Hinata was born as the eldest daughter of the Hyuga clan's main branch. When she was younger, a Kumogakure diplomat attempted to kidnap Hinata in order to learn the secrets of the Hyuga clan's abilities. Her father, Hiashi Hyuga, was able to save Hinata and kill the kidnapper, though the repercussions of this act forced her uncle, Hizashi Hyuga, to sacrifice his life for the good of the clan. In light of this, Hinata was trained by her father to become the clan's heiress, though in time he came to deem her a lost cause. Believing Hinata to be of lesser skill than her younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga, her father left Hinata in Kurenai Yuhi's care once she was assigned to Team 8.

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. 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 explain 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. 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 failure who will never be able to change, 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 losses consciousness before she can do so.

After her recovery, Hinata begins training not to better herself, but 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 now views her as a likable person rather than a "dark, timid, weird girl that always looks away from me when I talk to her".

Hinata and Naruto

Hinata has a long-standing crush on Naruto Uzumaki. 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.

File:Vol34Hinata.png

Hinata in Part II

Her feelings for Naruto are one of the driving forces in her self-improvement, as she tries to gain strength in an attempt to impress him. 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 see 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, she 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 arc in the form of Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, which she uses to singlehandedly defeat all of Team 8's opponents. Over the timeskip, Hinata rises to the rank of Chunin, indicating that her training has been effective in making her stronger. Template:Endspoiler

Other media

In 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.

In addition, in Naruto: clash of Ninja 2 (she was absent for the firrst game, although visable in the background)she possessess a new ability, labeled "gentle fist" in the booklet for the game. Her move is an origional attack for the game, which has her use her flexability to attack an opponent all around them in rapid succession

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.