Heiress of the Hyūga clan and master of the Gentle Fist style of combat, HinataHyuga was always shy and weak as a child, but she has come into her own after years of hard work training with her father HiashiHyuga, and teammate Neji Hyuga. Hinata Hyuga isn’t the strongest kunoichi in the world, but her strength lies in her kindness, courage, loyalty, and conviction to never give up no matter what the odds are against her. Here are five reasons why HinataHyuga is an example of a strong female character from Naruto.
Appearance:
In Naruto, women are often reduced to their sexual attractiveness. However, there are exceptions. The most prominent exception in Naruto’s main cast is undoubtedly Hinata Hyuga not only does she have a very feminine appearance, but it’s clear from early on that Kishimoto considered her as beautiful as any other character he has drawn.
The same trope that reduces women to their appearance can also be applied to men, who are judged by their strength and intelligence. However, at least in Naruto, male characters with both physical and mental power can succeed without having to change. These characters include Gaara and Sasuke Uchiha, whose appearances are not considered masculine but are accepted as attractive anyway.
The other major exception is the character HinataHyuga, who has both inner strength and outer beauty. Not only does she have a graceful figure (which she’s sensitive about), but her personality—generally so soft-spoken that she barely ever raises her voice—is described as strong several times in canon.
Personality:
Her shy, humble, and soft-spoken nature contrasts with her father’s behavior in that she truly wishes to succeed him as a leader. She also shows great loyalty and determination, vowing to become stronger for her father and all those who have scorned her abilities. When she does speak out, it is often in defense of NarutoUzumaki who Hinata Hyuga always adores. Her devotion to Naruto stems from his first-ever act of kindness towards her when he offered her his coat; Ever since then, she knew that one day they would be together. As they grew older, both became prime targets for their village’s enemy [[Orochimaru]], although they were not aware of his intentions at first.
Despite her timid demeanor, she has shown to have very good observational skills. She was able to determine with considerable accuracy how far Naruto had gotten in his training without actually seeing him train at all during Part I. It was also suggested that HinataHyuga sees Naruto as her savior since he was responsible for freeing her from her life-long shyness. This love for Naruto deepened after he saved her from Pain, leading to Neji’s death and Toneri’s abduction of Hanabi. She finally confessed her feelings to Naruto while laying under a tree and crying over not being able to protect Hanabi when she most needed it (anime only).
Working Hard:
Like her fellow members of Team Kurenai, Hinata worked hard to improve herself by pushing herself beyond her limits during training. Because she lacked self-confidence, she often underemphasized her abilities and aspired to be as good as her teammates. However, in doing so, Anime suge developed into a much more capable ninja than her father.
Under his tutelage, she had improved greatly and took on leadership roles for missions and other important events. She had begun to prove herself as a kunoichi worthy of being head of the clan; however, all those moments still pale in comparison to when she stood up against Pain and came face-to-face with her true self.
When it comes to women in anime and manga, they often seem to fit into certain molds. One type is the tomboy girl who would rather play sports than clean her room, while another likes girly things but still kicks butt in battle. While both of these types are entertaining and can make for great characters, it’s nice to see that there are other types out there as well.
Such examples include characters like RinNohara from Naruto who overcame sexism to become jōnin (special-class ninja) and Sakura Haruno from Naruto who proved that she wasn’t just a damsel in distress despite being depicted as such early on.
