The Untold Truth Of Hinata Hyūga From Naruto

Whether you're a longtime fan or a late-to-the-party viewer, "Naruto" has a character for everybody. One character that hooked fans since her initial appearance is Hinata Hyūga — the shy kunoichi of the Hyūga Clan who grows up to marry her longtime crush, Naruto Uzumaki. What made Hinata stand out from the large cast of bold fighters was her down-to-Earth personality as a self-conscious girl who wanted to break out of her comfort zone and prove her worth to the world. Fans also related to Hinata's crush on the class clown, Naruto. While many feared and shunned Naruto for the nine-tailed demon fox that was sealed inside of him, Hinata admired him for never giving up when the chips were down and always standing out. He was essentially who Hinata wished she could be.

Through the course of "Naruto" and "Naruto: Shippūden," Hinata learned to come out of her shell, and eventually slapped some sense into Naruto when he needed it the most. Thanks to her hard work and perseverance, Hinata earned the fairytale wedding of her dreams and gave birth to two children: Boruto and Himawari Uzumaki. However, there's more to Hinata Hyūga than the ninja girl next door.

Among the many powerhouse characters in "Naruto," the young Hinata Hyūga stuck out like a sore thumb. She was shy, weak, and lacked the self-confidence that overflowed from her friends and fellow students. It was hard to believe that a girl as fragile as Hinata could ever become a ninja. Well, according to "Naruto: The Official Character Data Book," Hinata Hyūga wasn't designed as a ninja — not in the original blueprint for the series, that is. The early concept art of Hinata Hyūga, shared by series creator Masashi Kishimoto, depicted the kunoichi in civilian attire — a dress, to be exact. If Hinata was originally envisioned as a normal girl, that may explain why her early characterization centered so much on her timid personality. It's worth noting that Hinata was always planned to be a love interest for Naruto Uzumaki, and the first draft of her in a dress may reflect that.

For anime-only fans, Hinata Hyūga has always been a part of the "Naruto" franchise. Back when the first TV episode of the original "Naruto" anime series aired in the early 2000s, Hinata could be seen quietly cheering on her crush, Naruto Uzumaki, as he prepared to perform a clone jutsu and came up short with the technique's execution. In the first chapter of the manga, however, Hinata is nowhere to be seen. That's because she didn't officially appear in the series until Chapter 34, which marks the beginning of the Chūnin Exams story arc. 

Why the change? It's hard to say for sure. But since Hinata was always a student at the Academy, having her visible in the background of the first episode seems to make sense. It's also a great tease for manga readers to see Hinata already crushing on Naruto early in the story. Having Hinata appear in the first episode of "Naruto" fleshes out the world and makes it feel more alive. It's also more satisfying to see would-be major characters already present among the cast, instead of just appearing out of nowhere when needed.

No one tunes in to "Naruto" for an in-depth look at the characters' academic progress. When it comes to Hinata Hyūga, however, fans wonder how well this shy genin was able to perform her duties at the Academy. Was she a straight-A student like Sakura Haruno? Or an underachiever like Naruto Uzumaki? According to the Hyō no Sho, also known as "Naruto Secret: Scroll of Soldiers Official Fanbook," Hinata was an above-average student. She earned As in taijutsu, cooperation, and classroom attitude, and Bs in ninjutsu and genjutsu. There was only one subject that Hinata failed at — unsurprisingly, she scored an F in positivity. For actual ninja activities that Hinata participated in, "Naruto: The Official Character Data Book" states she has only accomplished 33 official missions: 10 D-rank, 14 C-rank, 8 B-rank, 1 A-rank, 0 S-rank. This does not take into account the anime-only missions Hinata completed in the TV series.

In comparison to the other characters, Hinata Hyūga wasn't given enough limelight to show off her epic skills as a ninja in "Naruto" or "Naruto: Shippūden." While Hinata was gentle in nature, she was anything but a pushover. In fact, her greatest accomplishment was the development of the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, a jutsu she created at the young age of 16. The move — which changes the shape of chakra released from both hands into giant lion-shaped shrouds for maximum range and destructive power — was developed by Hinata with the help of her cousin, Neji Hyūga. According to the anime, Hinata developed this technique after hearing about Naruto Uzumaki's new technique — the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken — from Ino Yamanaka. The Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists is an extremely difficult ability that requires precise chakra control. Although the move is considered exclusive to the Hyūga Clan, Hinata is the only one who has canonically been seen using it. This does not include her sister Hanabi Hyūga, who uses the technique in "Naruto" video games.

As a descendent of the Hyūga Clan, Hinata Hyūga possesses the great powers of the Byakugan. The Byakugan gives its users a near-360-degree field of vision around themselves, with the exception of a small blind spot at the back of the neck above the first thoracic vertebra. While all users in the Hyūga Clan possess the capability of the Byakugan, it is up to the individual to take it to its full potential. As a child, Neji Hyūga's Byakugan range was 50 meters. By the "Naruto: Shippūden" era, his range had increased to at least 800 meters. Hinata's Byakugan, on the other hand, could reach up to 20 kilometers, as demonstrated by the battle against Toneri in "The Last: Naruto the Movie." Additionally, Hinata can use her Byakugan to identify genjutsu users, as well as detect the slightest presence of chakra. In the anime, Hinata could use infrared vision and even enhance the visuals of tiny objects.

As a result of her kind, caring, and softhearted attitude, it's easy to confuse Hinata Hyūga as an apathetic fighter. Despite her shyness, Hinata wanted to prove her worth to the world, especially to her family. It's why, according to the character databooks, Hinata wished for a rematch against her cousin, Neji Hyūga. As "Naruto" fans know, Hinata was matched against Neji in the Chūnin Exams arc and lost. Even though Naruto defeated Neji in her honor, Hinata wanted to fight Neji one more time, presumably to show her growth as a fighter. Unfortunately, the rematch can never happen, as Neji sacrificed his life for Naruto and Hinata in Episode 364 of "Naruto: Shippūden." 

Hinata's desire to fight her father, Hiashi Hyūga, also presumably comes from the same motivation to fight Neji — Hiashi originally gave up on Hinata becoming the successor of the Hyūga Clan when she was a child, choosing to focus on her sister, Hanabi Hyūga, instead. Today, we know Hiashi's relationship with Hinata has changed for the better. This is thanks to Naruto getting through to Neji before his death by changing his limited outlook on life, which led Hiashi to re-evaluate his own philosophy and relationships with others.

Even though Sakura Haruno was part of the main cast and one of the three members of Team 7, many don't see her as the main heroine of the "Naruto" series. During an interview at Jump Festa 2010, series creator Masashi Kishimoto said he had been told by his colleagues that they consider Hinata Hyūga to be more of a heroine than Sakura. This has also been reflected by the fanbase, as Hinata outranks Sakura in a few character polls conducted by Shonen Jump. Even Kishimoto himself, in an October 2015 interview with Viz Media, admitted that Hinata's kindness makes her his favorite female character. The high preference for Hinata over Sakura has even been referenced in the anime, as the omake for Episode 165 of "Naruto: Shippūden" has Sakura accusing Hinata of trying to upstage her as the main heroine of the series, much to Hinata's confusion. Hilariously, Naruto steps in to explain that the reason why Hinata is the focus of the new end-credits sequence, featuring the outro song "Bicycle," is because of her fans within the anime staff.

One of the defining traits of Hinata Hyūga is her longtime crush on Naruto Uzumaki. Before the manga concluded, many fans wondered if Hinata would be successful in winning Naruto's love, or would he reject her for Sakura Haruno. According to creator Masashi Kishimoto, Hinata and Naruto were always planned to be together. When interviewed by the Anime News Network, Kishimoto said Hinata and Naruto were meant to be, as Hinata acknowledged Naruto's worth before even Iruka Umino did. Although Naruto initially had a crush on Sakura during the early storylines, that was only to prolong the inevitable with a "messy love triangle," as Kishimoto put it in the 2017 Jump Festa interview. Kishimoto, who has admitted some discomfort at writing romance, thanked the anime staff of Studio Pierrot for fleshing out the romantic relationship of Naruto and Hinata in "The Last: Naruto the Movie," which ends on the two love birds finally getting married and having two kids. Some of the animators on staff were also thrilled about Naruto and Hinata finally getting together and being able to adapt it in animation.

The names of Hinata Hyūga's children, Boruto and Himawari Uzumaki, have a deeper meaning that relates to the Hyūga Clan. Boruto was named after Neji Hyūga, Hinata's cousin, who sacrificed his life to save her and Naruto in "Naruto: Shippūden." In an interview with Movie Walker, Masashi Kishimoto stated the name Boruto is meant as a tribute the late character Neji, as "Boruto" (ボルト) is the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "bolt," while the meaning behind Neji's name is "screw" (捻子). For Himawari, her name (向日葵) means "sunflower" in Japanese. However, if the first two kanji are reversed (日向), they spell "Hyūga" and can also be interpreted as "Hinata." Digging even deeper, "Hinata" and "Hyūga" both mean "place in the sun." Plants within the Helianthus genus — also known as sunflowers — tilt towards the sun during the day to gain enough sunlight to bloom. So, as you can see, there's more to Himawari's name than being named after a pretty flower.

Who could have guessed that a woman as beautiful and bashful as Hinata Hyūga would have such a monstrous appetite? And yet, in the omake that followed Episode 95 of "Naruto: Shippūden," Hinata managed to beat all of her opponents in an all-you-can-eat ramen contest hosted by Kakashi Hatake. She even beat her future husband, Naruto Uzumaki, who eats ramen the same way he breathes air. Even though this happened in a gag anime short, Hinata's ramen victory is considered canon and was referenced again in "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations." In Episode 18 of "Boruto," titled "A Day in the Life of the Uzumaki Family," Boruto Uzumaki is shocked to learn that his mom was crowned the "Legendary Queen of Gluttony" after devouring 46 bowls of ramen like it was nothing. It's no wonder why Naruto and Hinata are such a perfect pair together. Here's hoping Boruto can find a special someone with a healthy appetite like his mom.