Hinata Hyūga

"I used to always cry and give up… I made many wrong turns… But you… You helped me find the right path… I always chased after you… I wanted to catch up to you… I wanted to walk beside you all the time… I just wanted to be with you… You changed me! Your smile is what saved me! That is why I'm not afraid to die protecting you! Because… I love you…"

- Hinata admits her love to Naruto. Hinata Hyūga (日向 ヒナタ, Hyūga Hinata) is one of the main supporting characters of Naruto franchise. She is a chūnin-level kunoichi of Konohagakure's Hyūga clan and a member of Team Kurenai. She also has romantic feelings for Naruto Uzumaki, the main protagonist of the series. She is voiced by Stephanie Sheh in the English Version and Nana Mizuki in the Japanese Version.

Background
Hinata is the elder daughter of the Hyūga clan head: Hiashi, and as the first-born, was the heiress-apparent to the clan's main house. From the beginning, because of her position, Hiashi had high expectations for Hinata and subjected her to long hours of arduous training, leaving little time for Hinata to have a normal childhood. After the end of another conflict between Kumogakure and Konohagakure, one night, Hinata was kidnapped by a head ninja from Kumogakure, who under the guise of striking a peace treaty with Konoha, had actually been sent there to steal the Byakugan. Her father killed the would-be kidnapper to save her, but Kumogakure demanded compensation in the form of Hiashi's dead body due to having signed a peace treaty with the village only moments before. This ultimately resulted in the death of Hinata's uncle, Hizashi, who sacrificed himself in order to protect his clan and village. This incident was particularly significant in shaping Hinata's early relationship with her cousin, Neji Hyūga.

After Hinata gained a brutal beating from sparring Neji, both Hinata's father and grandfather began doubting her potential, especially when her sister Hanabi's own prowess began rivalling Hinata's, despite being five years younger. Ultimately, it was decided Hinata and Hanabi would duel to decide the future heir of their clan. While the two sisters began fighting on par with each other, Hinata soon had an opening to win, but hesitated in not wanting to hurt her sister, to which Hanabi quickly counterattacked and won the duel. As a result, her frailty disheartened her father, which made Hinata lose her position to Hanabi. As her father chose to focus and develop Hanabi, he left Hinata under Kurenai Yūhi's care and protection, deeming her a lost cause due to her lack of drive. Hinata's strained relationship with her father caused her to lose more faith in herself and she would often spend her time alone, crying.

It wasn't until she met Naruto that her perception changed drastically: On a snowy day in March, while preparing to enrol at the Academy, Hinata was degraded by a group of three bullies for her Byakugan. Naruto, who had witnessed the event, refused to let them insult her and came to her defence. Since they outnumbered him, the bullies had beaten him up and trampled over his red scarf. Surprised by how much Naruto stood up for someone he didn't know, Hinata thanked him while Naruto let her keep the scarf since it was ruined. Ever since then, Hinata developed a strong admiration towards Naruto, and because he was treated as an outcast by almost everyone in the village, she found herself able to relate with his desire to be acknowledged and praised. She was also amazed that despite having nothing and no one to rely on, Naruto never gave up in believing he could become something great like Hokage. Inspired by his determination, Hinata ultimately decided to try her best to become strong so she could be acknowledged as well, and adopted Naruto's nindō of never giving up. Her admiration for Naruto eventually grew into love, despite warnings from her elders to stay away from him.

Personality
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.

Back in her childhood, as a result of her clan's high expectations as their heiress and her father's gruelling training and him deeming her as a failure, Hinata had become very timid and lacked self-confidence. However, she has shown to be a very hard worker (something that her father initially failed to notice), as she continuously strived to change herself for the better, though initially this lack of self-confidence would hinder her on even missions. As the series progressed, Hinata became more open about her opinion and confident overall, as she demonstrated a willingness on occasion to take decisive action than ever before. By the time of the Fourth Shinobi World War, her bravery and confidence has extended to the part where she is willing to put her own life on the line for her village, friends, and family. The strongest amount of Hinata's new found confidence and bravery was displayed after Neji had died where, although shedding tears for her cousin's death, she was able to pull herself together and even prevent Obito Uchiha from breaking Naruto's spirit.

Hinata's growing self-confidence mainly comes from her long-standing admiration for Naruto, as she was inspired by his enthusiasm and his unyielding determination to never give up no matter what the odds. In the beginning, Hinata was very shy around Naruto, constantly blushing and stuttering when talking with him. However, as Hinata's confidence in herself grows she gradually becomes more confident with herself and her desire to gain Naruto's affections. As the series progressed, her admiration towards him grew into genuine care and affection, eventually leading her to fall in love with him. Hinata also has an unshakeable faith in Naruto, believing that he will one day achieve his goal of becoming Hokage. During Pain's assault on Konoha, Hinata finally confessed her love to Naruto and was also willing to risk her life to protect him. After Neji was killed by Obito, she pulled herself together despite the pain she was feeling so she could inspire Naruto once more to not give up on himself, reiterating their shared nindō, showing how far she has come. Her feelings for Naruto have ultimately become her greatest desire, simply to be together with Naruto, as shown through the Infinite Tsukuyomi. This desire would finally become a reality years after the war, when Hinata and Naruto got married and started a family of their own, with two children that she like her husband, loves dearly. Ironically, when Naruto began to realise his love for her, she was oblivious to it like he was to her that it took him accidentally confessing to her, only to realise it.

By the end of Part I, Hinata was able to foster better relations with both Neji and her father and started training with them, as well as growing closer and stronger together as a family. She is especially caring towards her little sister, Hanabi, to the point where she was hesitant to hurt her, even during their match to determine the heir to their clan. Two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, when Hanabi was captured by Toneri Ōtsutsuki, she went to great lengths to save her such as "agreeing" to marry Toneri.

Hinata is also the closest to her 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. Kurenai is aware of her affection to Naruto and encourages her to express herself to him. Hinata gets along well with her team-mates. Kiba has become one of her closest friends, and his actions toward her are often motivated by his concern for her, such as when he urged her to forfeit if she was matched against Neji or Gaara during the Chūnin Exams. Kiba is also aware of her feelings for Naruto, as he tends to tease her a lot about them by embarrassing her by telling her Naruto is near when he isn't or pointing out when she blushes when thinking about Naruto. Shino possesses a quiet confidence in Hinata, and will make a point of assuring others when they doubt or worry about her.

After becoming a mother, Hinata became more mature and seemingly gained a stricter side, having to remind her children not to run outside barefoot when embracing their father. However, she is not above joining in their fun, such as having a snowball fight with them and her husband.

Appearance
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 an attire comprised 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.

Two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War at age 18, Hinata has changed her previous outfit to a slightly more revealing and form-fitting one. She is now seen wearing a light lavender, sleeveless kimono-style blouse with vertical lines, tied with a dark purple obi around her waist. She wears a pair of short dark navy shorts with thigh-high stockings, revealing parts of her upper thighs, and has changed her regular ninja sandals to black high-heeled boots. Hinata's hair increase slightly in volume and grows to hip-length. She also no longer wears her forehead protector. While off-duty, she wears a grey long-sleeved shirt underneath a pink shirt, black pants underneath a long cream-coloured skirt with pink horizontal stripes, and a pair of brown sandals. She is also seen wearing a lavender hooded-jacket. After Hinata was brainwashed by Toneri during their marriage ceremony, she wore a black long and sleeveless dress with a high collar and matching long gloves. She also wore a black turban with a black and light yellow veil over and yellow crescent moon earrings. After she marries Naruto and becomes a mother, Hinata has cut her hair and bangs to shoulder-length. Her attire consists of a maroon jacket with a dark purple shirt and a cream coloured skirt. She also wears a pair of lavender slippers.

Years later, Hinata has let her hair grow long again, and ties it in a ponytail now. She also dons an outfit that consists of a long-sleeved, collared white shirt, lavender dress, and blue pants.

Part 1
Hinata was born on December 27 and is the daughter of Hiashi who is the leader of the clan. She has a younger sister named Hanabi and an older cousin named Neji. Hinata is described as a weakling in the clan because of her sweet and gentle nature in which her father fears that she is not fit to be the next heir to the clan and that her sister who is only about 5 years younger can surpass her. Hinata does do her very best to become strong and she trains very hard to impress her father. Hinata has both feelings and admiration for Naruto who gives her the confidence to work very hard. She was later taken in by Kurenai Yūhi who became her sensei and she later became part of the Rookie 9. During the Chunnin Exams, she fought against her cousin Neji with Naruto cheering her on and giving her the courage to never back down, even though she was severely wounded. She is now in good terms with her clan, especially with Neji, who has become her protector, and later watched Naruto depart with Jiraiya on his Two Year training so that he can get Sasuke back.

Part 2
In the Shippuden series, Hinata is 16 years old and is now a full leveled Chunnin. When Naruto came back home for the first time after his journey, Hinata blushed and fainted.

Hinata was assigned with her team along with Team Kakashi to look for Sasuke. Hinata along with Naruto and Yamato split up together until they were confronted by Kabuto Yakushi who gave them a book that has records and all the information about the Akatsuki members. Before Kabuto left, Hinata used her Byakugan and noticed that 33 percent of Kabuto's body is being covered with Orochimaru's flesh. Later, Hinata met up with her team and they were encountered with Tobi who delayed their search. Hinata used her Byakugan to help guide her team in finding Tobi. After hearing the news that Sasuke defeated Itachi, Tobi disappeared and Hinata used her Byakugan to help her team follow him. Hinata discovered that there are black flames (Amaterasu) burning where Sasuke and Itachi had their final battle, and the team rushed to investigate only to find that Tobi got there before they did and took Sasuke with him.

Later, Pain invaded Konoha and Hinata helped tend to the citizens to escape the wreckage and heal the wounded. Hinata witnessed Naruto fighting Pain with her Byakugan and noticed that Naruto is starting to lose to Pain and was pinned down by him. Despite Naruto's orders not to get involved in his battle, Hinata rushed into Naruto's aid to defend Naruto. Naruto asked her why is she throwing her life away and she told him that she is doing it because she loved him, which shocked Naruto.

In the manga, Hinata used her Twin Lion Fists to attack Pain but Pain simply dodged the attack and threw her down and used his Chakra Sensor Rod and stabbed her. In the anime, she was able to hit the Deva Path with her Twin Lion Fists and Pain used his Shinra Tensei to subdue her, but Hinata was able to stand up and continue to fight. She was able to crawl over to Naruto and remove the Chakra sensor Rod from Naruto's hand. While her nindo way was echoing in Naruto's head, Naruto watches as Pain stabbed Hinata. In both of these series versions, it caused Naruto to snap and released the Eight-tailed Kurama while the weaken Hinata watches on. Hinata was taken away from the team with Sakura healing her. Later, a relieved Hinata celebrated with the village on Naruto's victory of defeating Nagato and she smiled softly as the worried Sakura hugged and thanked Naruto.

Trivia

 * Hinata is the only female character to never have a crush on Sasuke. Interestingly she was the first to acknowledge Naruto and never downgrades or makes fun of him whenever he screws up.
 * Masashi Kishimoto admits that Hinata was his favorite female character, even feeling that her background makes her a better heroine than Sakura.
 * In an omake for Naruto Shippuden 165, Sakura accuses Hinata of trying to be the main heroine (due to her popularity), much to the latter's confusion.
 * He admits that he planned on Hinata and Naruto getting together midway throughout the manga, knowing that they were meant to be.


 * In the Ultimate Ninja Storm games, whenever Hinata and Naruto are used in a team match, they are labeled as either "Secret Lovers" or "Joined Hands".

Gallery
Hinata Hyūga