#hinata hyuuga analysis

[sasukesun]

kishimoto literally said in an interview that neji died as a cupid for naruhina, not that it’s not clear enough by the manga, but the creator said that himself. how can anyone take his death seriously? and when you look at the writing it’s just clownery after clownery.

as this post says, you have the wooden spears being fired, enough time for not one, but two people to jump in front of the attack, but not enough time to use a jutsu to break them, nor to push who’s getting attacked, and the spears aren’t even powerful enough to impale multiple people, just one. so neji, a jounin, end up taking the shot.

and then neji starts his final words with this:

it seems that he is trying to push hinata to naruto, which makes no sense of his character to do that. of course he continues with this:

and that makes a bit more of sense considering that if hinata’s life is at risk, it means his is as well, because, you know, he is her slave and must do that. but still, neji and naruto’s relationship has never been about hinata, it’s out of character of neji to do that, in his final moments above all.

neji isn’t dying for naruto, he isn’t dying for his comrade, the wooden spike would only kill hinata, neji is dying for her, it makes no sense of him to say this either, they tried to push this idea that neji was dying for naruto because “he was called a genius” but i can’t buy any of that when it just looks like he was used as a cupid (and confirmed by kishi after).

and then what happens after obito mocks neji’s death? hinata says this:

pushing some guilt trippy will of fire discourse onto him, and not only that, but the content itself sounds similar to naruto’s speech to his dark self only to repress it, that he needs to be the man, the hero, people expect him to be, which we know it’s bullshit, another part of the story that doesn’t look like it’s taken seriously by kishimoto either.

(would also like to comment about hinata saying “what inspired neji and carried him this far were those very principles” because they are again trying to mask how neji died for hinata as her slave, sweeping things under the rug much).

hinata’s speech to him, which is complemented by kurama for some reason (why is everybody out of character in this moment oh my god), isn’t even that romantic if you look at it, it has a lot of “will of fire” content, and it makes waterfall of truth and boruto (and naruhina consequently) even more ironic and goofy imo. incredible how the parts of naruto’s character going wrong at the ending are all tied to boruto huh.

and if you look at naruto holding hinata’s hand… it’s still not shippy on naruto’s side… he had just thought about everybody “who’s been on his side” (those people… wtf really), and says it’s because of all of those people, not just hinata. even after all this bullshit, naruto can’t genuinely reciprocate her lol.

just can’t wrap my head around how unserious this entire moment is, how damaging it is to the ending and naruto’s character, how it was set up only to push for the cash cow that is boruto, the level gets so low when the own writer doesn’t care about the writing.

disclaimer: sasusaku shippers dni, your ship is just as bad

[saneandrocking]

Lowkey think many of us ignores how badly written Hinata was. I found her to be very likeable, but also very shallow as a character in general. Like Sakura she is writed to be a romantic interest and it's impossible not to note that Kishimoto did not intend to give them more than that in regards of motivation, but there is something about the two of them that makes me relate in some level, despite the narrative not giving anything to rely on when trying to perceive them as complex personas outside of their feelings for Naruto and Sasuke, respectively. Hinata has a whole background to be very much more involved with, which is not a thing we can say about Sakura, nonetheless we saw close to nothing about her doing an active role in the big mess that is her clan. Sure, she was very inspired bu Naruto actions, and did use that inspiration to fight, and that's very deserving of praise - however, with her being as passive as she can be with the Hyuuga clan dynamics and comparing her behavior with Neji about it: it doesn't appear she's really somethin more than a background in another character history. That could be simbolic, but I found it irritating the lack of involvement when she was so central in the matter after all.

[docexe-mx]

The only thing I can say after reading chapter 77 of the Boruto manga is: Well, damn!

Spoilers after the cut.

We all knew the shoe was going to drop eventually, particularly considering how fanatical Kawaki has behaved recently, but I didn’t really expect it would happen this soon.

Mind you, I have to say this most recent arc with Eida and Daemon coming to live in Konoha has honestly meandered a lot. Even if we finally got some interesting revelations regarding the nature of their abilities, the nature and ultimate purpose of the Ootsutsuki clan, as well as Amado’s backstory, the overall pacing of the story has slowed down to a crawl. So a development like this was somewhat overdue in order to give the narrative more momentum.

I also have to assume things are going to get even more serious now, not only considering what Kawaki just did, but also that we just learned Code has amassed quite the large army from the “claw grime” he extracted from the Juubi.

Some general thoughts regarding this and other recent chapters:

All things considered, I think Naruto and Hinata are completely fine and uninjured. Hopefully they will find some method to sustain themselves in whatever dimension they were sent by Kawaki. However, I presume we won’t see them again in a very long time.

It seems Kawaki really expects to be killed (and by Naruto’s hand no less) after he finishes his stated mission of eliminating all Ootsutsuki, including Boruto. The kid is in a very dark place right now and we know things are going to get even worse in the future. You really have to wonder how/if he will ever come around from that.

I hope the scene with Himawari, Daemon and Boruto indicates that Hima is finally going to have a more active role in the manga story. You never can take something like that for granted (this is Kishimoto we are talking about after all), but I hope the implication that Daemon sensed great "intensity” coming from her actually means something significant.

Talking about hoping that female characters finally get some relevance in this manga, I do find it interesting that Sarada and Sumire ended being immune to Eida’s “charming” power, not to mention the dramatic irony that they could potentially be Eida’s first true friends (and Eida seems to genuinely like them), yet they are actually plotting to eventually take her down if the need arise. I just hope the reason for their immunity to Eida’s power is not related to their respective crushes on Boruto. That would just be a massive cliché, not to mention I’m still not fond of the idea of another extended love triangle courtesy of Kishimoto.

I presume a lot of readers found the reveal regarding Amado’s backstory and motivations anticlimactic, given how succinctly it was “lampshaded” as such in the next chapter. I have to admit I was expecting something more sinister than “I just wanted to resurrect my dead daughter” given just how… well, shady and unethical he is as a character. But then again, “sympathetic family related motivation” aside, it seems “shady and unethical scientist asshole” is just who he is as a person.

[sneezemonster15]

When I had started writing this blog, I was told by other SNS to tag my Sakura and Hinata posts as anti Sakura and anti Hinata so I wouldn't be hounded by their crazy ass stans. Well that didn't work. Lol. Anyway, I began to tag my posts as Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata, because even if I don't like them, my analysis of them is based on their characters, I am rock solid secure about it and I don't care who reads it and cries about it.

My suggestion to SNS fans would be, take the antis head on if you wish so. Take any anti SNS head on. Any single one of them. Confront them if you want, without hesitation or doubt. No need to be afraid.

As a SNS shipper, just know you are in the right. I am ready to sign it on a bond paper. Just know that they are ALL CATEGORICALLY WRONG, and you SNS stans are right, as long as you have sincerely read and understood the manga.

Know that you are backed by the author of the manga, media experts and aficionados and several casual fans who value accountability and have a mature outlook towards storytelling and life. Say it with arrogance and conceit even, because sometimes intimidation works just as well. Don't waste your energy on things that don't deserve it. But if you do choose to confront, never be meek, never surrender. Be cool about it or aggressive, your choice but don't feel disheartened at their takes, they don't know what they are talking about. Laugh at them if you want, that's what their theories are good for anyway.

Enough of this homophobic caterwauling. This is 2024, and this is a global fandom with many fans who are impressionable and naive. Let them have the advantage of understanding the true meaning of this manga. You are the torchbearers of Naruto's legacy, like I have said before, SNS fans are true Naruto fans, the rest are just posers and bigoted dumbfucks. No more bigotry, no more prejudice, no more bullshit. It's high time. Enough time has passed and all the 'they are just friends waaah' or 'they are just brothers waaah' or 'It is unintentional waaah' type of takes need to GO! Naruto fandom is your space to explore, take advantage and have your fun and thrill too. YOU own it. Go crazy. Saturate the fandom, open up the discussion, destroy the prejudice and dumbfuckery, confront whothefuckever you wish, and do it with relish because you are right and they are wrong. Period.

Do it. Be bold, be strong, be proud. You have the fandom's support, passionate support too because that's what this story engenders in responsible fans. Confront them without hesitation if that's your vibe and smack them in the face with panels from the manga and explain them too, they are quite easy to decode. Just know you can do it because that's what the story is supposed to be, you can't miss it. High time to change this heteronormative narrative. Naruto is a gay love story and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

[tamelee]

Hi tamelee ❤️ can you do an analysis/review of Kishimoto's recent popularity poll art? I saw a hashimada shipper comment on how Kishimoto drew Madara and Hashirama on exact opposite sides of each other + his love for symmetry and I was wondering if you noticed anything interesting in the illustration (just general observations, doesn't have to be about shipping 😊)

Hi Nonee, sure 🧡!

Long post - Image heavy:

Well, first my eye was drawn to the brightest part of the drawing. Promptly in the middle, big, foreshortening technique used on Minato's arm leading you to his face secondly where the colors gradually get darker and more saturated. As are the colors surrounding the NinJutsu to make it stand out more. Every line on this drawing illustrates Kishimoto's experience, talent and hard work regarding his knowledge on composition.

Then..

Sakura is holding the same type of axe-weapon she was also holding in an illustration for Chapter 15.

Naruto has a slightly different one on Volume Cover 33 too. (I'm obsessed tbh- LOOK AT THE KURAMA-TEETH ON THE SCROLL)

As you pointed out Madara and Hashirama are on opposites of the illustration, almost as if they're battling each other! But also look at how Kurama's tails embrace them, how that enhances the movement and expression of their battle-intent + the Rasengan twirls!! 😱 AND the weaponry that both come from behind their heads at the same spot. (Omg I love Kishimoto so much.)

(Of course on these sides too!)

Naruto and Sasuke are paralleled on either side of the illustration too! (And so are Kurama and Shukaku 🤭..)

Speaking of Shukaku, Gaara is holding what looks like the "Tea Kettle" he was sealed in. The former Jinchuuriki 'Bunpuku' and the beast were inspired by a Japanese folktale 'Bunbuku Chagama' where the creature in the tale is a raccoon dog, like Shukaku.

I think that's a really nice addition. (Especially since I saw this legendary creature used as a toy by this mini-Hinata look-a-like gremlin in 'Boruto'.. what's up with that anyway..)

I think Kakashi's weapon is kind of like the Kamui Shuriken he used when they fought Kaguya?

Furthermore:

I'm glad Kakashi and Sakumo are together on this.. also, Obito's goggles have made a comeback ;-;🥹! It's funny to me that Kishimoto started to draw Naruto with goggles (a way to cover himself and hide as he did in Chapter 1)

..but then said in a later interview that it was too much work. (I tried a few panels drawing them and I totally get it...) Anyway I digress-

We can also see Shisui wielding a sword/drill that looks like it was designed with his supposed(?) Susanoo in mind. This was seen in Ninja Storm the game.

NOW I'M NOT SURE ABOUT ITACHI'S SWORD... BUT:

It loooooooooks like a masamune sword, but I'm not sure.

I'm no expert on weapons. If anyone recognizes it...

Long-ass Indra's arrow-bow.. in physical form.. legendary!!! So fine 🤌 I also love how Kurama's tail frames him in the background. Orange looks good on you Sasuke.

The way the Rasengan swirl pulls your attention on him (and the characters in general) + the Chakra/energy sparks are all placed so nicely *-*! It really communicates more movement and liveliness into the illustration.

Neji is holding what looks like Chakram/Chalikar weaponry? These are throwing knives used for.. well throwing AND close combat. At least that's what I thought at first but then I was thinking about it more and the Hyuuga's "gentle fist" is based on "Baguazhang". This is a martial art style which uses a lot of rotation style techniques. (Hence.. "eight trigram palm" is real because that's what it literally means.)

There are special Baguazhang Crescent Moon knives/Deer horn knives that look like this:

I think that's what these are, which are perfect for rotation-based combat.

In the same category, Baguazhang in practice used a double-edged sword called 'Jian'. It was known as the "gentleman of weapons" in Chinese Folklore. Early Japanese swords known as 'Ken' or 'Tsurugi' are often based on 'Jian'.

It does seem a bit unusual since most of them don't have a guard like that, but they exist as Changjian, or longsword.

What she has could be a Tsurugi though not sure.

Regardless, it seems pretty heavy for her 😁?

Naruto and Jiraiya both stand very wide, using an open, boisterous body-language that Kishimoto often uses for the both of them in many of his previous art. This over-the-top, theatrical design and visual representation is based on 'Kabuki' which is a traditional form of Japanese theatre, dramatic performance/dance. The umbrella is called a 'wagasa', often used in these plays/ceremonies.

I'm happy these two made it!:

A sword made from the tail of Sasori's puppet, Hiruko? That goes so hard!! It kinda reminds me of Renji's (character from Bleach) sword. I always thought that design was so cool, but this one also has that poison..

Not sure how those clay mask bombs work wrapped around a string, but you gotta admit, they're pretty artful! Perhaps it's like wire binding infused with Chakra.. Or what if, once he has put them on you, your head explodes or something..

Additionally:

I love how Kishimoto just added Guy (and Kurama) because he wanted to but also because having Lee and Guy together on the illustration just seems right.

Shikamaru with Asuma's Chakra blades of course~ (He uses them for his Shadows Imitation Shuriken techniques... but I read he gave them away to Mirai?)

I might be missing many things but..

The more I look at it, the more nods to earlier work I see, tbh I could go on and on. I really appreciate it.

Oh and.. no there is no shipping-intent and hints/clue's at all that's also not what this is made for.

Don't let anyone fool you. Naruto is looking up to the banner he's holding lol. It's a shame that the first thing people look for is things like that and then discard the entire thing when it is made with passion, love and hard work..

Anyway thankyou for this ask, this was so fun 🥰

[leportraitducadavre]

Hi! First, I wanna thank you for writing and categorising your analysis for the Naruto fandom. It’s been an eye-opening experience reading your take on the manga. I read the series when I was younger, and I can’t believe now how much of what the manga was trying to convey had escaped me e.g. Hyuuga clan’s slavery and state-sanctioned genocide, and the deconstruction of Hinata — I’ve usually written her off or ignored her but realising her role in the endorsing her clan’s slavery system had really smacked me wide-awake. So thanks for that. I’m rereading the manga with fresher, more critical eyes.

I do have a question though, if you have the time. With everything on the table, what would you think would’ve been a good direction to take from the Chuunin exams, after Naruto and Neji’s fight, to improve the Hyuuga? Or to improve the Hyuuga in general?

Would having Hinata branded with the curse seal after Hiashi passed her over for Hanabi change the narrative? 🤔 Would having Neji interact more with others from the branch family open his eyes to the superficial change in the Hyuuga Hiashi made after his fight?

After reading your analysis, it does make my brain itch for, for change to have taken place, how would it have been brought about? Like what could have been done?

@ melting-puppets

Sorry I never replied to this, honestly speaking, I’m not a fan of “what if” or “how would this be fixed” scenarios as those go beyond what I usually like to do and are mostly irrelevant to the manga in itself. 

Hinata getting the seal isn’t what I consider would be a “good conclusion” to the Hyüga narrative –me pointing out her lack of seal isn’t to complain about “how she doesn’t have it” but about pointing out the inconsistencies within the Hyüga system as it’s a slavery-based structure that presents itself under the premises of “order” (division between castes) and the “protection of the Byakugan”. According to what is presented to us by Neji in the Chünin Exams, Hinata once demoted from being the heir should have gotten the seal, yet she didn’t, as Hiashi decided to spare his daughter from a life of servitude, something he didn’t extend to his own nephew. This contradiction is unjust because the ideology on which it rests is unjust and paradoxical from its very core structure. At some point, someone within the clan secluded a position of power for themselves and decided that those they considered important should be protected by those they considered lesser members of their family, guaranteeing an unwavering loyalty and obedience for themselves through the use of force.

About what could have been done, realistically speaking? Nothing. Neji was a character whose relevance rested in his position as a counterweight to his family’s structure; he was relevant as he opposed the Hyüga oppression, but once he stopped antagonizing such practices, he became inconsequential to the narrative itself, and he was mostly used as a secondary device to move the plot forward without being consequential to it (like when he and Team Gai helped Naruto and Team 7 to open the cave Deidara and Sasori had Gaara in).

“Would having Neji interact more with others from the branch family open his eyes to the superficial change in the Hyuuga Hiashi made after his fight?”

There was not a single change brought by Hiashi, not a single panel proofs otherwise, the only thing we saw was Neji and Hinata fighting together during the war, and that was a very specific case were all shinobi were told to join forces (minus the heir, as Hanabi wasn’t present). Their behaviour during a warlike conflict can’t be translated to the new norm in between the branches, as there’s not a single indication of something changing within the family during non-armed conflicts of such scale. 

“How to improve the Hyüga in general?” 

I mean, to put it simply: stop branding childs with the Cage-bird Seal. It’s as easy as that, all clans have a system of inheritance of the leader title, so the structure itself can be maintained as Hanabi is told to be the strongest fighter amongst them (sans Neji, who is a weird occurrence).

[rpking99]

Submissive Female Muse

This list is super obvious. Female Muses who are very submissive/I prefer to write as submissive

COMICS- DC

Starfire/Koriand'r

Green Lantern/ Jessica Cruzz

COMICS- MARVEL

Spiderling/Anna-May 'Annie' Parker

Silk/Cindy Moon

Spider-Girl/Arana/Anya Corazon

ANIME- DIGIMON

Angie

Angewomon Level: Ultimate

Angie is Bella's little sister. While her sister was a trouble maker, while her sister questioned the teachings of Yggdrasil, Angie never faultered. She prayed for her sisters salvation, knowing she followed the principals and ideals even if she did not follow the truth directly.

Angie rose up the ranks. All the way up to becoming one of the Three Great Angels who's mission was to spread the word of Yggdrasil protect the world.

Even though she was now as good as a queen, Angie was always kind and compassionate and helpful to all those around her. Sweet, sensitive and loving. It was why she preferred her Angewomon form, she was no better than anyone else.

Although, there was a darkness brewing inside her. A darkness she refused to admit to. A darkness born from her repressed desires...

(I am also willing to use her as Kari's partner with the standard Digivolution line)

Angie's Digivolutions

Kari Kamiya

Kari is the little sister of Tai, and is the DigiDestined of Light. She is partners with Gatomon. She was in the Original Adventure as well as the sequel, Adventure 02. A fan of photography she is very focused girl, playfully and cheerful

Meiko Mochizuki

Meiko was the new DigiDestined added in Digimon Adventure Tri. Her partner was Meicoomon and... not getting into any of that continuity stuff. Basically, her partner is dead. She is a very shy and reserved girl, seeing Mimi as her best friend. She ius a cute nerdy girl who can be very fun

ANIME- DRAGON BALL

Good Launch

ANIME- YU-GI-OH

Serenity Wheeler

Carly Carmine

ANIME- NARUTO

Hinata Hyuuga/Hinata Uzumaki

ANIME- PSG

Stocking Anarchy

ANIME- ROSARIO+VAMPIRE

Moka Akashiya

CARTOONS- RWBY

Pyrrha Nikos

Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha, the Invincible Girl. Member of Team JNPR. With magnetic powers added to her impossible fighting skills, her nickname is obvious. She is kind and caring

Velvete Scarlatina

CARTOON- BEN 10

Albedo (genderbent)

A genderbent version of who is assentially Jen's dark mirror. A galvan, assistant to the one who created the Omnitrix that thought she deserved it. And through her acts there, she ended up transformed and locked as an inverted version of Jen's human body.

CARTOONS- TRANSFORMERS KOTOBOKIYA

BumbleBetty

CARTOONS- HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

Mavis Dracula

VIDEO GAMES- PERSONA

Fuuka Yamagishi

Kanami Mashita

Shiho Suzui

VIDEO GAMES- MEGAMAN

Megaman.exe/Hub Hikari (will be reffered to as Hub)

The dead son of Doctor Hikari, twin brother of Lan. Megaman is the main protagonist/shared Protagonist of the Battle Network timeline. And he be a subby femboy

Roll.exe

Roll is the Navi of Maylu, a high tech program that acts as a friend and assistant. She is excels in data management and analysis. A kind, bubbly, data being who lives in the Cyber World

VIDEO GAMES- NiER AUTOMATA

YoRHA Unit 9S

9S is a super curious and excitable femboy. Super submissive and curious to learn anything about humanity, also deeply loyal to 2B.

VIDEO GAMES- MASS EFFECT

Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy

Tali is a Quarian. A race of Space nomads forced from their home from the AI known as the Geth, and intergalactic law screwing them over. She is so sweet and kind, a brilliant engineer and more than deadly with a shotgun

VIDEO GAMES- .HACK//GU

Atoli

[docexe-mx]

Himawari definitely inherited the incredible compassion and determination of her parents. I really hope the manga keeps giving her more chances to shine.

Chapter #72

Chapter #81

Chapter #91

I know this manga has its flaws... But for now I like how they handle Hima's character! At first it was just a wish to help his brother, but then Himawari becomes a true ninja who is trying to find her own path. The way she always consciously approaches this serious issue. And how she accepts responsibility for her strength... Just amazing! Go, girl!

[bourdart]

Well, well, well, if it isn't my very first YouTube video!

This is a video essay on the idea of feminism in fandom discourse; and how it's less effective due to the gap between canon intent and fandom demand in the grand scheme of things.

Hope you like it and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

[verdantmoontruther]

What I think is lovely about Naruto and Hinata's relationship is the same thing I find lovely about Naruto and Shikamaru's friendship - there was no 'overcoming' of anything regarding Naruto's intrinsic nature that led them to loving him. A very important part of the development between Naruto and Iruka, for example, is the fact that Iruka had to force himself to see past his prejudices to the sad, scared, lonely little boy that eight-year-old Naruto was; it took years of working side by side for Sakura to view him as anything more than the annoying loudmouth that cut into her fawning and preening time. Not that I'm holding it against those two for working through their own issues and understanding that their initial, one-dimensional assessments of him were wrong, especially considering in Iruka's case he was most definitely fed propaganda regarding Naruto his entire youth, but... everyone initially had some sort of issue with him that they had to get over, and can you imagine how fucking degrading that is? Think of the way the villagers celebrated him after he defeated Pein and saved all their asses. "Hi, there's an immutable part of your identity that I find irredeemably foul and abrasive, but I have nevertheless decided to grace you with the benevolence of my tolerance and company." Man I'd fucking go apeshit that's so backhanded lmao

On the other hand, Hinata and Shikamaru didn't have to do any of that, because they never saw anything inherently wrong with Naruto's character to begin with. Sure, he was brash and loud and ill-mannered and hot-headed and maybe a little daft and a whole host of other unpalatable things, but they didn't see those things as a weakness - they were just Naruto. They were two of the few characters (alongside Choji and Kiba, I suppose, considering they were Naruto's other close friends during school, but I think that's just because they were genuinely nice rather than because there was something about Naruto specifically that attracted them) with the ability not to look past all of Naruto's 'bad' qualities, but to not acknowledge that he has any bad qualities in the first place. Could they be wrong? Of course, everyone has some drawbacks, but they were also, like, six. We can forgive them their optimism.

I think the reason for this is because, even at such a young age, both Hinata and Shikamaru were already emotionally mature enough to be cognisant of their own drawbacks. Shikamaru is comfortable in acknowledging that he's lazy, maybe a bit of a smartass, definitely picked up some heavy cynicism from his father... but those things don't make him any less of a good shinobi, any less worthy of having friends and family and fun. It's just him. We all collectively agree that Hinata obviously had some serious self-esteem issues courtesy of her father, was very self-critical and anxious about her skills - but the way this manifested in her emotionally is that it made her want to work harder, gave her more drive, in order to prove herself to her father and show that she was worthy of being his heir. This points to the fact that Hinata's self-esteem issues didn't lead to self-loathing, they led to a thirst for improvement, and everyone knows that the first step towards improvement is always to acknowledge your faults. Moreover, the qualities she saw in Naruto that made him ‘bad’ are the qualities she wanted to see in herself - confident, unafraid, stubborn, not deferential, always asking questions. If she, Hinata, strove so hard to have even a smidgen of the personality Naruto had, how could those traits possibly be bad?

This level of emotional intelligence set them apart from the rest of their agemates, and let them understand that a person is no less a person for being human. Therefore, when they both stumbled into the connections they built with Naruto, they didn't have the preconceived notions that everyone else did - they were completely judgement free, because judging other people would open themselves up to judgement, too, and nobody likes being judged. Furthermore,  I think Hinata and Shikamaru had mastered the ability of looking at people as a sum of all their parts; after all, if we were to judge someone like Hinata on a weighted scale of her individual traits, her level of social anxiety would outweigh all her other traits combined, but altogether they come together to make a rather sweet, intelligent, and powerful individual.

IDK if any of this made any semblance of sense but that’s why I personally really value NaruHina. It was one of the few times when someone appreciated Naruto not despite his negative qualities, but for them.

[irisviel101]

"Hinata never did anything about the branch family's seal."

I've seen this take in the fandom several times, almost always used as evidence to show that Hinata is selfish and cares only about being with Naruto, and it got me thinking. Obviously, the reason the seal and the Hyuuga clan's family dilemma were never dealt with properly because Kishimoto didn't develop the clan after the chunin exams. But let's look at this from a meta perspective.

Was Hinata ever in a position to do something about the seal?

In part one, the answer is a clear no. Hinata is introduced as the failure of the Hyuuga clan. She has been disinherited from the clan for not wanting to hurt her sister, and her father doesn't seem to care even about the possibility of her dying.

Hinata, though not yet branded, has not been the heiress for a long time. Her own position in the clan is so precarious that she cannot take any action, especially not regarding such a big change. There's also the issue of people actually listening to her. Hinata is basically one step away from being branded herself; her words hold the same meaning for the clansmen as Neji's would.

In shippuden it's hard to say how much hold Hinata has over the situation given how little the Hyuuga clan is shown. That said, Hinata is still not the clan head. Hiashi is. He has the most power to change things in the clan.

With how little we see of the Hyuuga clan, it's also hard to determine how Hinata feels about the seal. Given her nature, one can say that it's plausible for her to have misgivings about it, but it's equally possible to say that the concept has become so normalized that she doesn't think much about it. On some level, she has to know that it's wrong, but when you've seen something occur for your whole life, it's possible to not think too deep about it.

I find it baffling and unfair when people criticize Hinata for not changing this tradition when there's someone with more power and influence than her, someone who is actually in a position to do something about it. Hiashi's the clan head up until Boruto, and he should be held responsible for it more than someone who wasn't in a position to do anything about it in part one, and possibly in shippuden too since we barely get a clear idea of where Hinata stands with her clan now.

[docexe-mx]

I presume this is especially directed at a certain troll with multiple accounts (the last one I saw from them was @lieshinatafanstellyou, but only god knows how many they have made) that has been harassing Hinata fans for months already, and who keeps using Neji merely as a smoke screen in order to spread their hatred of Hinata as well as general misinformation.

Of course, the thing is that most of their protestations about "Hinata fans lying" are clearly projections: The actual liar is them. Most of what they say about Neji, Hinata and their relationship is incorrect, and deliberately misconstrued in order to spread hate.

From what I have seen, regardless of whether or not they are actually a true Neji fan, they are primarily a bitter SasuNaru stan who still can't deal with the fact that their preferred ship didn't sail, and who decided to become extraordinarily vindictive against "the character who got in the way" as well as the fans of said character by association.

Whoever they are, I can only hope they eventually see reason and stop. Their behavior just isn't any healthy.

People trying to put hatred between Neji and Hinata's relationship when clearly, after his fight with Naruto, their relationship improved a lot. They fought side by side in the ninja war, Hinata cared about him and and even grieved for his death.

And you can see that Neji cared about her too. In this scene he is asking her about Naruto because he knows she likes him. He was trying to support her feelings, it's very cute ❤️

So stop spreading lies and hate all the time. You read the manga all wrong and now you are trying to find reasons to justify your hatred for Hinata, making it seem like she was a bad person when she is not. Hinata and Neji had a good relationship and cared about each other whether you like it or not.

[sasukesun]

Hinata stans act like Hinata is this character that suffers a lot, especially from social anxiety, but what they ignore or fail to comprehend is that Hinata’s “anxiety” is exclusively for male wanking, she does not suffer like Tamaki from BNHA, who actually has social anxiety. All the stuttering and reddening and fainting happens because of Naruto and it’s more for otaku men and self insert girls to find it “cute” than anything.

[orochimarusimp]

Here’s me talking about the misogyny in Naruto!.....again!

can we talk about the constant inherent misogyny that is imbedded in and throughout the entirety of Naruto because of the fact that close to none of the female characters have ever been allowed to do or succeed in anything by themselves?

please?

like, seriously, the only moment i can think of where one of the women succeeded without the help of one of their male counterparts, or even of just some random male character, is Sakura vs. Sasori, and that fight was honestly unbearable to me. It was repetitive and boring, and she didn’t show off anything new, they just reaffirmed what we already knew.

think about it. almost everytime Hinata has ever showed out, she has either been knocked out and one of the men had to finish the fight for her, or she couldn’t handle the opponent so Naruto or someone else (A MAN) took over for her!

every fight Tenten has ever been in, which is very few at that, has been alongside her male teammates, and they always put her out of commission super early and let the boys carry the whole fight.

we’ve barely ever seen Ino in an actual one v. one fight where she is the focus, Temari is almost always accompanied by Shikamaru or her brothers into battle, and don’t even get me STARTED on Kurenai! Kurenai stopped being important to the writers as soon as Asuma died and they found out she was having his baby, and she wasn’t really shit before that! (no disrespect i love her with my whole heart—)

Tsunade and Sakura are two of the only main women we see that got to fight and SUCCEED in at least one fight without the help of a man, but even then, in most of their other fights their saved by Naruto and he has to finish the fight for them. in one of Tsunade’s first damn fights she didn’t do anything until Naruto made a stand!

i’m not saying it’s a bad thing to have the women lean on their male teammates or friends for help sometimes, not at all, but it wouldn’t have hurt AT ALL to let them see a little success by themselves sometimes! or at least let the women fight alongside EACH OTHER instead of the men as battle partners a few times! i don’t think i’ve ever seen an actually important team up between two women that aren’t Tsunade and Sakura during the show, and because of that they’re pushing the narrative throughout the show that the other women of the story aren’t capable of fighting without men as a fallback for when they inevitably fail, and that they’re not as experienced as the men despite the fact that most of them have had the same training and ranks as their male teammates, if not BETTER!

it’s inevitable to have the women interact with the men during fights at least some of the times, especially with how many men and how few women there are in the show, but GODDAMN! their lives and their literal CAREERS shouldn’t revolve and especially EVOLVE around the men of the show! if they couldn’t see that not letting the women exist as good people and strong ninjas without having them be dead weight in the men is inherently problematic, they definitely should have worked harder!

it’s misogyny folks! it’s not outward and it’s not as bad as some other shows, but it’s still HARMFUL! :)

[rock-n-roll-lee]

alternatively, being thick as hell is a Hyuga trait

[fineillsignup]

(1/?)Am I the only one who's not ok with Hiashi having a supposed redemption arc? Like... He was ok with FRIGGIN' SLAVERY. This can't be brushed aside. There's no accounting for the abuse he put Hinata and Neji through. I just... I don't buy the 'he was a traditionalist!' excuse. Empathy and critical thinking skills are natural. If he can't see that SLAVERY is bad AS AN ADULT, he doesn't deserve anything. But yeah... I guess he apologized? How is this enough? Just... How? Am I overreacting?

(2/2)I guess I’m not surprised that Kishi couldn’t find a way to resolve the Hyuga storyline other than making the prime abuser actually good all along. I’m not surprised that he couldn’t write about a revolution and thus, chose to make the oppressors “see the light”. Suddenly, Neji’s hatred of Main House was invalidated because surprise, they were good people! It’s just… No… Oh, and one more thing. Slaves are freed when they’re no longer slaves, not when they “choose to die”. THANK YOU!

One thing I would like to point out to all writers attempting “redemption arcs” is that an arc can’t just be two points without even anything connecting them. Two unconnected points aren’t even a line, let alone an arc. “That character says sorry, sort of” and “everything is better now, here’s an example, maybe, but don’t ask for more than that” is the kind of thing that gives redemption arcs a bad name.

Large casts where all the individuals have their own stories going on, independent of the main character’s motivations and storyline, are really difficult to manage, so I’m willing to cut some slack and have some patience, but at the same time if you make the choice to bring up a plotline, follow through on it.

Empathy and critical thinking skills are natural. If he can’t see that SLAVERY is bad AS AN ADULT, he doesn’t deserve anything.

I’m touching a live wire here, but I both agree and disagree with this. Slavery, of various degrees and kinds, under various names, has been found on every continent of humanity, to such an extent that it feels impossible to argue that “humans naturally know that slavery is bad” is an unquestioned truth; but I also wouldn’t say “humans don’t have any natural concept of slavery being bad” is true either. This is weighty stuff for my humble Naruto blog.

Regardless, I don’t need to come to a conclusion on that topic one way or the other for Hiashi to still be under fire. The branch house slavery is treated in universe as shocking, shameful, and degrading by the various reactions to its reveal in the chuunin exams arc. And Hiashi’s reaction/defence/apology is basically: “you’re right, it’s bad, but it has been useful for the clan.”

“You’re right, it’s bad, but it has been useful” has been the defence for all kinds of slavery across all kinds of cultures, not coincidentally.

Slaves are freed when they’re no longer slaves, not when they “choose to die”. THANK YOU!

No, thank YOU because this is the crux of why this arc is bad. We are never shown the Hyuuga clan branch members doing anything other than what the Hyuuga clan branch members have been doing all along. “They’re fighting together as equals!” Hmmm but it was the branch member who ended up dying for the main house, so I guess some are more equal than others.

It’s also worth noting that Hiashi never made any on-panel/on-camera apology of any kind to Hinata.

Hinata really, really, really needed her own arc that wasn’t about Naruto and it was right there but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ why should we write Hinata having a life outside of Naruto when we could just forget all that tedious “abuse” stuff (except for how it made her so uwu cinnamon roll shy and perfect big tiddy gf!!!) and instead crown her a Byakugan princess with her own ~destiny bloodline~. I mean, it’s not like the hero’s girl has to do anything but be the hero’s girl, right????

But don’t worry, Hinata, you get to graduate from being the hero’s girl with no life outside the hero into being the hero’s mom with no life outside the hero! What a deal.