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Who is Hanabi Hyuga in Boruto? Explore the story of the heiress of the Hyuga clan, her connection to Hinata, her abilities, and more.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto and Boruto series have introduced fans to a plethora of compelling characters, irrespective of their role in the narrative. These characters may range from iconic heroes and supporting figures to tragic villains who left a lasting impact on fans.
That being said, one of the Naruto series’ most underutilized and unsung figures is Hinata’s younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga. Despite being a minor character in Naruto, Hanabi eventually gained her footing and became a prominent character in the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations sequel series. With that in mind, let us explore Hanabi Hyuga’s character in detail, including her connection to her sister Hinata, her powers and abilities, and her overall importance in the Naruto universe.
Who Is Hanabi Hyuga?
In the Naruto series, Hanabi Hyuga was introduced as a kunoichi from the Hidden Leaf Village, the younger sister of Hinata Hyuga, and the heiress of the prestigious Hyuga clan. She is the younger daughter of Hiashi Hyuga, the Hyuga clan’s head.
Although the manga did not explore Hanabi’s character in detail, the anime paid more attention to her character and made her a prominent part of the overarching narrative. In the anime adaptation, Hanabi had a quiet and polite personality. However, she opened up to people more easily than her sister Hinata and was more confident than her. Unlike her clan members, she had a lot of respect for Naruto as well, who was a social outcast at the time. Moreover, she was extremely supportive of Hinata’s feelings toward him.
Hanabi has always been fond of her older sister. She admired Hinata’s strength and aspired to be more like her. However, her duties as the future heiress of their clan made it difficult for her to spend time with Hinata. When she learned that she was expected to lead their clan in the future, her views changed, and she became more hardened, as she was determined to prove her worth as the clan’s heiress.
In the Boruto series, Hanabi was portrayed as a capable and responsible adult who took her duties as the future clan head and leader of Team 15 very seriously. Her genin team includes Wasabi Izuno, Namida Suzumeno, and Sumire Kakei, whom she mentors extremely strictly. Hanabi is also very fond of her niece and nephew, Himawari and Boruto Uzumaki, and was shown to always dote on them.
Hanabi’s Connection to Hinata
As mentioned earlier, Hanabi is Hinata’s younger sister. In the anime, their relationship was given more focus than in the manga. Hanabi always looked up to Hinata and aspired to be like her. She deeply admired how strong her sister had become after training and often wondered how Hinata could be so kind despite being strong.
However, Hanabi’s talent eventually came to light during her sparring sessions with Hinata. The fact that Hanabi fought on par with Hinata despite their age difference amazed everyone. As the clan members were growing increasingly doubtful of Hinata’s progress, their grandfather suggested training Hanabi to be the heiress instead. One day, the two sisters fought a duel to determine the future clan head.
Although Hinata found an opening to win the fight, she was hesitant to attack her younger sister, thus allowing Hanabi to counterattack and win the duel. In addition to the result of the duel, the fact that Hanabi showed more promise and confidence than her sister led their father, Hiashi Hyuga, to make Hanabi the heiress of the clan. However, the outcome of the duel did not affect the relationship between the two sisters, as Hanabi remained close to Hinata and her family in the Boruto series.
Hanabi’s Powers and Abilities
Although Hanabi’s abilities weren’t a major focus of the Naruto series, she had more potential and talent than her elder sister, Hinata. Despite their age difference, Hanabi was able to fight on par with Hinata, which was purely a result of her solo training. Her rapid growth rate deeply impressed her clan members, who started wondering whether she should become the clan head.
Hanabi showed proficiency in hand-to-hand combat from a young age. After her duel and subsequent victory over Hinata, their father Hiashi decided to train her rigorously in order to prepare her for becoming the clan head.
As such, through Hiashi’s training, Hanabi became a proficient user of the Gentle Fist, a powerful hand-to-hand combat technique used by the Hyuga clan. She could also perform her clan’s hidden techniques, including the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven and the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Lastly, her ability to use the Byakugan was almost as good as Neji’s. This made her one of her clan’s strongest Byakugan users.
Hanabi’s Importance in Naruto
In the Naruto manga, Hanabi’s character was far less prominent as compared to her anime counterpart. Although she doesn’t exactly play a major role in the anime either, her character provides context for the Hyuga clan and, most importantly, her sister Hinata’s struggles.
Moreover, her early appearances highlighted the harsh training regimen of Hiashi Hyuga, who placed a great amount of pressure on her to become the ideal heiress. Lastly, her growth into a confident and skilled shinobi in the Boruto series served as a counterpoint to her initial appearance.
Conclusion
All in all, Hanabi Hyuga’s character may not be the most iconic or important character in the Naruto universe. Nonetheless, she was fairly important to the narrative due to her connection to Hinata, as well as her own personal growth throughout the series. Additionally, her character served as a stark reminder that characters who remain in the background are perfectly capable of making important contributions to the narrative.
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