The One Character That Completely Changed Naruto For Good

As the protagonist of his own anime series, Naruto Uzumaki meets a lot of the qualifications for a classic anime hero. He's kind and lively but can be a bit reckless, and he has strength buried within him that even he is barely aware of. The version of Naruto that fans meet at the start of the series certainly evolves over the course of its lengthy run, but many of his most central qualities remain throughout. Naruto is always headstrong, and he's never afraid to go with his gut when he's faced with a tough decision.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto's reliance on impulse can sometimes get him into trouble. He has a habit of failing to think things all the way through, and acting because of his own emotional involvement in the lives of the people around him. It's a quality that makes him deeply endearing, even if it sometimes leads him into dangerous situations. There's one character, though, who actually changes Naruto for the better. 

After he realizes that he wants to be with Hinata forever, Naruto actually begins to evolve.

In the early part of the series, the relationship between Hinata and Naruto is not one of mutual love. In fact, Naruto is open to Hinata about the fact that she seems a little strange and gloomy. As their relationship develops, though, Hinata eventually tells Naruto about her feelings for him during a battle with Pain. Naruto, who is also involved in the battle, is initially too distracted to fully comprehend what it means. 

Naruto is also distracted by his competition with Sasuke and his lingering feelings for Sakura, which make him feel like Hinata's confession shouldn't distract him from his ultimate goal of being with Sakura. Eventually, though, he realizes how much Hinata has meant to him, and how much her presence in his life has been for the better. It's only then that he confesses his feelings for her, and decides that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. 

After he decides to form a lasting relationship with Hinata, Naruto also decides that he needs to make some changes in his behavior. He becomes more conscious of his health, and begins to eat better than he was before their relationship. On top of eating vegetables, Naruto also starts to weigh his decisions more carefully to avoid getting hurt unnecessarily. Hinata makes him grow up and realize that his life matters to someone other than himself. 

Although Naruto is never going to stop being Naruto, the fact that he's willing to make changes to the way he thinks and acts speaks to the depth of his feelings for Hinata. He wants to live a long, good life with her, and so he's not going to be the same reckless kid we met at the beginning of the series. That doesn't mean he's going to stop getting into trouble altogether, but it does mean that he's going to think about it more than he might have before. Hinata changed him for the better without forcing him to give up who he is — after all, she fell in love with him before he changed.