Hinata Hyūga (日向ヒナタ, Hyūga Hinata) is one of the main supporting characters of the series. She is a Chūnin-level kunoichi of Konohagakure, and is the heir to the main branch in the Hyūga clan. She is a member of Team Kurenai, with Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka as her teammates.
Contents
Background
Hinata as a child.
Hinata is the eldest child of the Hyūga clan's leader, Hiashi Hyūga, and as the first-born, she is also the heir to the clan's main house. Perhaps because of this future responsibility, Hiashi had high expectations for his daughter and subject her to grueling training. However, Hinata's slow progress and frailty disheartened her father until eventually, he deemed her a lost cause. Instead Hiashi chose to focus and develop Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi Hyūga, who proved much more promising than Hinata.
At one point during Hinata's childhood, she was kidnapped by a head ninja from the Land of Lightning. Her father killed the kidnapper to save her, but the Land of Lightning demanded compensation in the form of Hiashi's life. This ultimately resulted in the death of Hinata's uncle, Hizashi Hyūga, who sacrificed himself in his twin brother's stead. This incident was particularly significant in shaping Hinata's early relationship with her cousin, Neji Hyūga.
When Hinata was assigned to Team 8, Hiashi expressed to Kurenai Yūhi his distaste for his daughter, remarking that he did not care that his daughter might die on a mission, and that he had no use for a weak heir. Hiashi then left Hinata in Kurenai's care.
Personality
Hinata is timid, soft-spoken, and polite, often using appropriate name suffixes. She is kind, a trait that Neji considers a flaw, and dislikes competing and fighting. Possibly as a result of her father's contempt for her, Hinata lacks self-confidence, and despite her hard work and good intentions, she often makes mistakes on missions. Hinata is incredibly empathetic, and along with her turbulent upbringing, she is arguably one of the few characters who best identifies with Naruto's painful childhood and desire to be acknowledged. Generally, Hinata opts to think carefully before acting, and when she does manage to muster enough self-confidence, she can be surprisingly competent.
Hinata has a long-standing admiration, which has now developed into unquestionable love, for Naruto Uzumaki (making her one of the few female characters her age, if not the only one, to be impervious to the charm of Sasuke Uchiha). Hinata's overflowing fondness for Naruto is painfully obvious to almost every character, save Naruto, who has somehow managed to be oblivious to her feelings. In fact, he finds it awkward to be with her at times since Hinata's adoration for Naruto is such that she becomes unable to properly articulate herself. Regardless, Naruto expresses genuine concern for her since the two of them actually get along quite well. As the series progresses, Hinata goes to great lengths for Naruto because she fiercely believes in him. She truly wishes for him to achieve his goals of retrieving Sasuke and becoming Hokage.
Hinata gets along well with her teammates. Kiba's actions toward her are often motivated by his concern for her, such as when he urged her to forfeit if she is matched against Neji or Gaara during the Chūnin Exams. Shino possesses a quiet confidence in Hinata, and will make a point of assuring others when they doubt or worry about her. Hinata is also the closest to Team 8's sensei, Kurenai, who is not only interested in Hinata's growth as a ninja but also as a person. She knows Hinata's personal struggles and unlike her demanding father, Kurenai tries her best to coach Hinata in ways in which she knows her pupil will best respond. After Hinata was knocked down for the final time by Neji in the Chūnin Exams, Kurenai silently congratulated her student's resolve and perseverance. For the remainder of Part I after the Chūnin Exams, Hinata becomes a little more open and self-assured. She fosters better relations with both her cousin, Neji, and her father and begins training with the two of them, all the while starting to be more honest about her true feelings about Naruto and in general.
In Part II, Hinata's severe anxiety around Naruto has remained the same over the time-skip as she is unable to bring herself to greet him and ends up fainting when he first returns.However, she appears to be more confident overall and demonstrates a willingness to take decisive action, unlike before. During Pain's invasion, Hinata finally confessed her love to Naruto.
