I do not understand why people hate Hinata.
I get that you like independent women who can be happy without men.
But does feminism today mean that you create a new perfect role women have to match to be considered as “good women”?
Does it mean that women are not allowed to be housewives and mustn’t be madly in love with men anymore? Doesn’t feminism mean equal freedom for men and women and not replacing old restrictions with new ones? I know that Hinata isn’t the first person to think of when discussing independent women.
But does that make her a bad one? I don’t think so.
1. Despite of having a family Hinata has been very lonely.
Only her qualities and skills as a Hyuuga mattered to her family. Not her character. Not her effort. Just the results of her fighting style. She wasn’t very talented as a Kunoichi. She even lost against her sister.
How could she find her place in the world when she would only deserve a place in the Hyuuga family when she was a strong fighter? How could she feel like a valuable human being when the Hyuuga measured her skills in victories?
Her mother never bothered to give her the feeling that she is fine the way she is. Her father never bothered to encourage her. Her sister was too young to remind her that she doesn’t have to be good in fighting to be a loveable daughter. Being the heiress of the Hyuuga isolated her within her family and even outside of it. Remember when other kids bullied her just because she belongs to the Hyuuga, since they thought she would be arrogant? Since they thought her eyes were scary? She didn’t even get the chance to prove them wrong. Again, the name of the Hyuuga was nothing but a burden to her, crashing her self-confidence even more. Do not forget that in this time even Neji hated her so much just because she belonged to the main family. Being the way she is was an equivalent to being unhappy. It must have looked like and endless circle to her. Being part of the Hyuuga –> having to be a skillful Kunoichi –> not satisfying expectations –> not being able to defend herself –> getting bullied because of being part of the Hyuuga… Bleak prospects for her life. Especially since there was no one who showed any sympathies.
2. Some people are just born sensitive.
Of course the situation she was caught in damaged her self-confidence most, but moreover some people just have to habitude to be very shy and sensitive. I think you know one or two people who are like that as well. Anyway, everything contributes to her basic attitude that she is just a burden, increasing the feeling that she’d rather be invisible. Later that fact becomes important.
3. Naruto became her role model.
In the beginning she said that she wants to become kind like her mother and strong like her father, making her parents her role models. Apparently, she absolutely failed. She didn’t seem to be kind enough in her opinion, since no one appreciates her for that, and she wasn’t as strong as her father and high likely she never would.Feeling like a failure she met another person who was called a failure. Naruto.
He behaved totally different compared to herself, although people considered him worthless as well. By watching him she started to learn that there was a different way to deal with her weaknesses. In fact, Naruto showed her a way how to deal with her life without giving it up. He became a role model she was able to emulate without feeling like failing at all. Of course, she would never speak to him, since she was still shy and still thinking that she was a bother to everyone after people drummed that into her for so long. It’s just natural that she didn’t want to be a bother to the person she admires and emulates all the more. She behaved like she didn’t want to transfer any of her “negative” energy to Naruto. Naruto became the reason for her to change her life. The reason to keep going. The person, who didn’t care which family name she carried and just took her as she were. Who proved her that the clan she was born into and the way she has been don’t determine her future. Since he was the only one to behave like that and to give her the courage she needed, he became the most important human in her life.
4. Her following development (until her confession)
Hinata needed time to build enough self-confidence that she didn’t feel like a burden anymore. Then she spoke properly to Naruto for the first time.
Of course she was still shy, especially since he is the measure stick for her development, but she overcame her feeling of being irrelevant. She continued to grow stronger and more self-confident while continuing to follow Naruto on his path to having got things straightened out with himself. As a symbol of the Hyuuga she even opposed Neji, to whom she has always submitted to since she felt like a less valuable human being compared to him. All thanks to Naruto.
Some people say she is just a mere copy of Naruto because she has the same “Nindo” like him, but in my opinion the sentence “I never go back on my word” has a different meaning for Hinata. For Naruto it means to keep his promises and announcements, but for Hinata it stands for not reverting back in her old ways. Not changing her mind about her own value. Not ceasing to try to improve.
That she complements Naruto with her attitude is shown when she reached the climax of her development for the moment. I am speaking of her declaration of love which summarizes why Naruto is so important to her, more than anyone else. We already saw her progress when she raised Naruto’s morale right before his fight against Neji, but the confession surpassed it.
She explains in a metaphorical sense that without him her life wouldn’t have been worth living anyway.
Without him she would have never found the courage and the appeal to change. Without him she would have continued to lead her bleak life – assuming that she wouldn’t had broken totally into pieces.
She chose to die for him not just because she loves him but because in her opinion she owes him her life for preventing her back then from ruining it. This is so much more than romantically love. This is dedication.
She would have died voluntarily because she considered her life already his after giving her a reason to continue living as a child. Saying “I wanted to be at your side” does not just mean that she wants to strike up a romantical relationship with him. It means that she wants to draw level with him regarding character strength and role model function and to acquire all of his attributes she was guided by. That she wants to become a person Naruto loves and admires since that would top her change off. And, of course, she wants to become a person who is there for him when he is weak exactly like he was there for her when she was weak. That’s why she absolutely did not expect to receive an answer to her love confession directly afterwards. She confessed out of the personal reason to prove the development to herself. To prove to herself, that she already became someone who dares to speak his mind aloud without being too shy and retiring to claim her right of telling somebody how she feels. That’s why she was smiling. She felt at peace with herself. That’s the last thing her development is missing: the portion selfishness of wanting Naruto to be with her instead of just wanting him to be happy.
4. Her following development (after the confession)
Ahhhh, the controversial Neji scene. First of all I want to say that I am also sad about his death. I also wish that it wasn’t necessary. And I also think that he didn’t deserve this. But why do people complain that Hinata isn’t grieving enough and shortly after his death already thinking about Naruto? Although she hadn’t been good enough for her clan as a child, she received the classical Kunoichi education, containing that there is no time for grieving on the battlefield, especially when the outcome determines the fate of the world. And she knows as well that Neji’s death would be ridiculously wasted if they stopped fighting there to grieve. Additional to that, three years ago Neji tried to kill her and made her life a living hell. Considering that, I actually think that she was enough sorrowful. If she had sat down and hadn’t been able to fight anymore, everyone would have called her a burden and useless. There is no way to please those who deliberately want to hate her anyway.
Why is it so negatively notable that she turns her attention to Naruto after that? The outcome of the war depends on him. Her fate and the fate of the others depend on him. The value of Neji’s sacrifice depends on him. Of course he is the one she has to remind of the reason why they are fighting! The way she uplifts him just shows another step of her development. She doesn’t depend on telling Naruto what he wants to hear; meanwhile she is even able to criticize him in a supporting way when necessary. She stands strong when Naruto is weak, that’s what she always wished for. Being his role model in a situation. This is even more important than accepting to die for him. Hinata became truly strong!
I heard many people complaining as well that she thought of the warmth of Naruto’s hand afterwards. Everybody who thinks that this is meant in any sexual way is just plain stupid. Of course this “warmth” has a different meaning than Hinata being aroused by the fact that her beloved one holds her hand. Is she blushing? No. Is she smiling? No. It just means that his charisma, the presence she always admired him for, came back. The safety he radiates. The characteristic they need to win this war. If you want to see Hinata like a girl who only thinks of dating Naruto and having a romantical relationship with him, I cannot prevent you from doing so. But this just originates from your own personal, blind dislike and not from reality. Yes, Naruto is more important to her than her family, but that’s justified. Naruto is the one who gave her the will to live. Not her family.
5. Conclusion (alias tl;dr version)
Hinata deserved being Naruto’s partner, because she worked hard to become capable of that regarding mental and physical strength. Her love for Naruto is pure, because it doesn’t depend on his looks or his successes but only on his characteristics all the others noticed much, much later. He is her hero, because he became the reason for her to continue living and improving – something nobody else managed to become. She worked so hard for not depending on him saving her anymore but for becoming his cornerstone instead. He is so important to her not because she needs a man but because he is her role model. Hinata didn’t speak to Naruto as a child because she didn’t dare to, since she wasn’t self-confident at all. Of course her life centers around Naruto, but I think this is actually legit since without him she wouldn’t have this life at all. There is no reason to hate on Hinata. She became Naruto’s tower of strength and the person who loves him for what he is and not for what he does. Similar to his parents’ way of loving him. That’s why she is the right one.
