The oldest child of and former heiress to the Hyuga Clan of the Hidden Leaf Village in Naruto, Hinata Hyuga is a gentle soul who's also unsure of herself in the beginning. On more than one occasion, her timid nature and shyness have caused people to question her potential as a ninja.
However, her caring nature, character development, and innocent admiration for Naruto make her a fan-favorite to this day. Although she's not a loud or opinionated personality, Hinata still has several moments where she acts with grace under pressure in spite of opposing circumstances, especially as she grows into her own.
10 When She Refuses To Back Down From Neji
At the Chunin Exams, Hinata comes up against her cousin Neji, who resents her for being weaker and a reminder of his limitations as a branch family member. At first, intimidated by Neji's taunting, Hinata steels herself once Naruto shouts encouragement and goes through with the fight with both the Byakugan and Gentle Fist technique.
While Hinata is soundly beaten by Neji, she refuses to give up. She keeps rising to continue even after she's in dire need of medical attention, and even glimpses accurately into Neji's psyche. This shows Hinata's inner strength and signals the beginning of her character growth.
9 When She Fights Pain To Save Naruto Despite Being Outmatched
Hinata doesn't stand a chance against Akatsuki member Pain and she knows this. Yet, she comes to Naruto's aid solely out of love for him and is the only person of the Hidden Leaf to do so. While Hinata tries her hardest, even managing to land a strike with her Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, she's ultimately overpowered by Pain's abilities.
Even then, she keeps trying, and it takes Pain smashing her into the ground and stabbing her to halt her efforts. While a slight demonstration of her abilities, it's more a moment that displays Hinata's self-sacrifice and determination to protect the ones she loves, no matter the odds.
8 When She Puts Her Heart Aside To Save Her Sister
Hinata has loved Naruto since they were children. Even though her devotion is one of her biggest traits, Hinata's actions in The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014) prove that she will not even let that get in the way if Hanabi is endangered.
The film follows Naruto finally realizing his feelings for Hinata, reciprocating the love she has long held for him. But with Hanabi's life on the line, Hinata lies about her own desires. She tells Naruto that she doesn't feel the same so she can continue her mission to protect her sister by pretending to be a willing bride to the villain Toneri.
7 When She Isn't Afraid To Put Her Husband & Son In Their Place
In Boruto, Hinata has married Naruto and become a mother to two children, Boruto and Himawari. While Hinata's qualities and sensibilities make her well-suited for a housewife role, she still retains the self-confidence and tenacity she gained over the course of her arc in the previous series.
This means that, while a stay-at-home mom, she's far from a pushover. In fact, she can be a strict disciplinarian, such as when she intimidates Boruto with her activated Byakugan when he skips school, or when she orders her husband and son out of the house for fighting while she's caring for an ill Himawari.
6 When She Accepts Naruto For Who He Is From The Beginning
One of Naruto's goals in life is to gain the respect of the Hidden Leaf Village by becoming the Hokage. While he eventually reaches this milestone after his victory over Pain, the fact remains that Naruto has to prove his worth before the villagers give him the time of day.
In comparison, Hinata admires him from the beginning for standing up for her, his will to prove himself and chase his ambitions, his dedication to his Ninja Way, and his complete and unabashed ability to be himself. Her gracious and open-minded love of Naruto leads to one of the sweetest and most positive anime relationships.
5 When She Defeats Jiga With Strategy, Intellect, & Skill
It occurs in the filler Land of Vegetables Arc, but Hinata gets the opportunity to use her intelligence and overcome an enemy that Naruto cannot. Sent on an escort mission with Choji and Naruto to protect merchants, the group is actually a princess and her bodyguards running from ninja that want to kill her and usurp her country.
When one of them known as Jiga fights and defeats Naruto, Hinata observes the way his magnetizing powers work, allowing her to use Gentle Fist and a precise hit to reverse his chakra. This causes him to strongly attract metals beyond his control. Jiga is buried to death in iron sand while Hinata is saved by her teammates.
4 When She Pulls Naruto Out Of His Despair During The Fourth Shinobi World War
Coming on the heels of her cousin dying to protect them, Hinata's fortitude is impressive. Seeing that Naruto is despairing from losing his allies, Hinata gives him one slap to bring him to his senses but lets her hand rest on his face.
Firmly, she reminds him they share a Ninja Way to never go back on their word and that Neji was only following his own—to never let his friends die, which he saw through to the end. Hinata calmly reminds Naruto they still have a war to fight and asks him to do it with her. Using words of encouragement, Hinata is able to keep Naruto moving forward.
3 When Her Plan To Destroy The Tenseigan Core Orb & Defeat Toneri Ultimately Works
One of the positive aspects of The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014) is that Hinata gets to shine in a major part, showing how she has grown. Aside from agreeing to Toneri's proposal to help Hanabi, Hinata also comes into her own as the Byakugan Princess, the only one who can defeat Toneri by destroying the Tenseigan Core Orb.
Hinata plans an infiltration into Toneri's base, holds off his puppets with martial arts prowess for some time, and improvises a combination of her powers with Naruto's to finally destroy the Orb. As an added bonus, she steals back the Byakugan Toneri took from Hanabi and shields Naruto from the final attack by sharing her chakra.
2 When She Uses Her Ability For Social Tactfulness
While the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan is primarily used for combat, it has more mundane uses too. On their first date, after Naruto and Hinata have officially gotten together, Hinata has a character moment that exhibits her considerate and thoughtful strength.
While Naruto plans on taking Hinata to a fancy place for dinner, she uses her eyes to look into Naruto's wallet in his pocket where she glimpses that he does not have enough to pay for it. Tactfully, Hinata suggests they switch the date location to Ichiraku Ramen, knowing of Naruto's love for the food and its better affordability.
1 When She Doesn't Let The Life Of A Ninja Or Her Circumstances Prevent Her From Being Kind
The life of a ninja is a tough one and hardens many who take part in it. Hinata, however, holds onto her kindness. At the Chunin Exams, she gifts both her crush Naruto and her own teammate Kiba with a healing ointment after their duel.
Hinata also doesn't let her family's low opinion of her skills and weakness as their heiress make her bitter. She also doesn't become a negative person after she undergoes childhood bullying for her status and Byakugan. At the same time, she never encompasses the belief that her clan name and position make her superior to anyone else.