Characters: Naruto-The Konoha 12 |
The Konoha 12 consists of Squad 7 plus three other teams of genin. The group forms the central cast of Naruto and is noted for being the most gifted class to come along in several years. The three other teams in the Konoha 12 are Squad 8, Squad 10, and Team Guy (sometimes called Squad 9). Squads 7, 8, and 10 were together referred to as "The Rookie 9" during the Chunin Exams Arc.
Here be spoilers. Any thing that has not been aired on the free version * of Crunchyroll
should be spoiler-tagged.
Member of Squad 8. Kiba is a wild, untamed ninja from the Inuzuka clan, a family of dog breeders. As such, he's never seen without his loyal pooch, Akamaru. Kiba utilizes him as both a partner and a weapon, and later as a transport.
He treats Hinata like a younger sister, fights with his ultra-serious partner Shino and, after initially mocking him, considers Naruto one of his closest friends.
Kiba fights Naruto in the preliminary rounds of the Chunin exams, which is one of the latter's first big solo fights in the series. Kiba tries a number of attacks and strategies to beat Naruto, but the kid just won't stay down. Later, Kiba is recruited by Shikamaru for the Sasuke Retrieval team, fights and is nearly killed by Sakon, and is saved by Kankuro.
Among Kiba's abilities are a heightened sense of smell, which makes him especially effective at tracking. He is also one of the fastest seen ninja. In battle, Kiba can transform Akamaru into a clone of himself, allowing them to use combination attacks such as the tornado-like Fang Over Fang. He can also make himself more bestial in nature, increasing his speed and strength, and can combine with Akamaru to become a two-headed wolf. In Shippuden, he has developed his sense of smell to the point that it is superior to that of a dog's. When the Fourth Great Nina War starts, he is placed in the Fifth Division along with Shino, his sister Hana, and Ino.
At first, she played the Shrinking Violet role of the main cast, being completely weak and nonconfrontational. Perhaps her most notable trait is her huge crush on Naruto, who is completely oblivious about it. However, it's this admiration that spurs her on to become stronger.
As Hinata was born into the head family of the Hyuga clan, she will one day take it over. Since she started out extremely weak, this did not sit well with many others (namely Neji and her own father, Hiashi, though other extremely complicated reasons made it even worse for her). With the involvement of Kurenai and the aforementioned admiration of Naruto, she gradually develops as a warrior, becoming more confident (though she's still painfully shy around Naruto until chapter 437).
Hinata, like all members of the Hyuga clan, has the kekkai genkai known as the Byakugan, characterized by the Prophet Eyes of its owners. It grants the user nearly-360-degree vision, as well as the ability to sense the flow of chakra in the human body. Hinata uses the Gentle Fist style of martial arts, a special combat style designed to take advantage of the Byakugan's unique abilities.
In Shippuden, she goes out with Squad 7 to search for Sasuke or Itachi, but that ends in failure when Itachi dies and Tobi takes Sasuke away. In Pain's invasion, she intervenes to save Naruto from Pain, and finally tells him that she loves him. Pain defeats her and nearly kills her, triggering Naruto going into six-tailed mode, but she survives with Sakura's help. When the Shinobi Alliance marches against Madara, she is placed in the Second Division alongside her cousin Neji, Karui, and Kurotsuchi.
Member of Squad 8. Shino's body is host to a large colony of chakra-eating insects, as is traditional in his clan. He commands these bugs in combat, in ways ranging from cool to creepy, and everything in between. He shows almost no emotion and hardly ever smiles; this, coupled with his insects, makes him an enigma among other shinobi, and some are visibly creeped out by him.
In Shippuden, as in Part 1, he tends to stay in the background and get little spotlight. He later is a member of the Fifth Division of the Shinobi Alliance with his fellow Squad 8 member Kiba.
Leader of Squad 8.
Kurenai is... well, a kunoichi, who has only recently become a jonin by the start of the series. We don't really learn that much about her in the first series, save that she's a rather cool lady who took Hinata under her wing, skilled in genjutsu and that she's perhaps involved with Asuma. The vast majority of her team's missions seem to not involve her. Her only plot-involved action was to get knocked around by Itachi Uchiha in a short battle, unless you count some of the filler episodes.
In Shippuden, she appears after the death of Asuma, where we learn that she's carrying his child.
Member of Squad 10. Naruto's resident snarky Teen Genius and the poster boy for Brilliant But Lazy. The first the viewers see of Shikamaru is a person who complains about receiving any work at all. This, combined with the fact that his test scores were almost as low as Naruto's, cause others to initially think that he's a failure and a loser...a perception that Shikamaru doesn't mind in the least. It's only later that Asuma reveals that yes, Shikamaru is perhaps the smartest person in world, having scored over 200 on an I.Q. test disguised as a game so it wouldn't bore him.
Though, like the rest of his clan, his primary jutsu is the ability to control or attack his enemies by extending his shadow, it's his intelligence that makes Shikamaru the first of the Konoha 11 to be promoted from Genin to Chunin. His fight with Temari impresses the Third Hokage even though he forfeited. His first task isn't an easy one, natch: it's to lead a team consisting of him, Naruto, Choji, Kiba, and Neji to go retrieve Sasuke.
While there, he engages Tayuya, a member of the Sound Four. He almost dies at her hands, but is saved by Temari. Later, after the mission is a failure, he considers quitting, but after some encouragement by his father, decides to stay the course. Through the filler arcs and his early actions in Shippuden, it's shown that he has decided to, if not step it up, then to at least shoulder some responsibility.
Shikamaru's best friend is his teammate Choji, although he also becomes extremely close to Naruto as the series progresses. Through this friendship, he helps Naruto to recover from a minor Heroic BSOD following Jiraya's death, announcing that he's going to take on Kurenai's kid as his apprentice.
In Shippuden, he shows up in the first episode (with Temari, no less). He later becomes an Ascended Extra and stars in his own arc. He first joins the newly-formed Niju Shotai (Akatsuki Hunters) with Asuma. There, he's forced to watch as Hidan, a member of Akatsuki, kills his sensei. This provokes him to chase down and engage Hidan - which he does, culminating in his Crowning Moment Of Awesome after he defeats Hidan with surprising little effort. After he returns, he decides that he's going to become a harder worker to honor Asuma's memory. He also was recruited by Tsunade to decode Jiraiya's final communication to the village.Later he becomes acting general in Gaara's place of the Fourth Division with his friend Choji and (possible) love interest Temari serving under him.
Member of Squad 10. Choji is Shikamaru's best friend, and the two hang out together frequently. He's also fat, but this is likely due to the fact that his clan's specialty is a jutsu that converts calories to chakra. He's constantly seen eating to shore up his chakra reserves. But he hates being called "fat" (he prefers "chubby" or "big boned"), so don't call him that.
As a child, we learn Choji was frequently left out of childhood activities and sometimes even bullied because of his large size. Shikamaru stood up for him one day, beginning their long friendship.
In battle, Choji relies on the Body Expansion Technique, which causes his body to both balloon in size and roll into a boulder shape. He then rolls around and tries to crush his enemies. He's later shown using variants on this move, such as the Partial Body Expansion, where he'll just expand his arms.
In the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, he is part of the team sent to retrieve Sasuke. He tangles with Jirobo, who has the upper hand for most of the battle. It's only after Choji uses the three Food Pills of the Akimichi Clan — a move which nearly costs him his life — that he can gather enough strength to beat him. In Shippuden, he helped his team defeat Hidan and Kakuzu after they killed Asuma. When the war starts, he is shown as a member of the Fourth Division with his best friend Shikamaru, Temari, and Gaara.
Member of Squad 10 and the "Ino" in the Ino-Shika-Cho. Her family runs a florist shop, although her father is also a ninja; she is often seen working there between missions. Personality-wise, she's something of the temperamental type. She and Sakura used to be best friends, but after they learned they both had crushes on Sasuke and Sakura had developed quite an inferiority complex in regards to this and Ino herself, they decided to become bitter rivals. This rivalry lasted until they met in battle in the Chunin Exams, when, after some clever plotting on Ino's part and some grit and determination on Sakura's part, they tied, and their friendship was restored.
Much like her teammates, Ino specializes in one technique: specifically, the Mind-Body Transfer Technique. This jutsu allows the user to switch consciousness with another human, but causes their own body to pass out for the duration. It also has a fairly short range.
At the end of the first series, Ino sees Sakura's growth and decides to become Tsunade's apprentice as well. When Shippudenbegins, she has already become a medic, but her medical knowledge isn't quite enough to save Asuma from dying later on. She then goes with Shikamaru and Choji to defeat Kakuzu and Hidan and avenge Asuma. Later she is shown as a member of the Fifth Division as the Shinobi Alliance faces off against Madara.
Leader of Squad 10, Asuma Sarutobi is the son of the Third Hokage. In his teen years, he had something of a falling-out with the old man and decided to travel abroad. He ended up in the guard of the Daimyo of the Fire Country, where he evidently accumulated a large bounty. Later, he returned to the town and became a Jonin.
In combat, Asuma relies on his Wind Chakra, which he channels through his trench knives. This allows him to hit targets from a distance. He can also use his omnipresent cigarettes to generate flames, which can cause third-degree burns.
In the first series, he really doesn't do much besides play Mr Exposition, take care of his team, get knocked around by Kisame, and get accused of dating Kurenai.
In Shippuden, he plays something of a more expanded role. While Naruto is trying to learn the Wind Rasengan, Asuma gives him the advice needed to complete the first stage of his training. In an anime-only filler arc, more of his backstory with the twelve Ninja Guardians (only alluded to in the manga) is elaborated upon. Later, he and Shikamaru mobilize as part of the Niju Shotai (Akatsuki Hunters), where he engages Hidan in battle. Though he successfully decapitates his opponent, it's to no avail: Hidan is immortal. Hidan then completes the ritual that allows him to kill Asuma. It succeeds. After Shikamaru kicks some serious ass in his memory, we learn that Kurenai is carrying his child.
Kabuto later resurrects him with Edo Tensei.
In his early childhood, Rock Lee was frequently picked on by his peers because of his inability to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He believed himself to be worthless and to have no chance at becoming a ninja at all. Then, he met Might Guy, who convinced him to train exclusively in Taijutsu (physical combat), at which he became a master.
Rock Lee's first appearance in the series is one where he challenges Sasuke. Though Sasuke puts up a decent fight, Lee is able to get the upper hand before Guy stops him. Later, he tries to save Sakura from the attacking Sound Ninja in the Forest of Death, but was defeated and this helped trigger Sakura's inner change.
His is the most heartbreaking battle in the Chunin Exams. He is matched up against the psychotic Gaara of the Desert, who has never once bled or even successfully been hit with an attack. Though he puts up an extremely good fight, the strain from his overuse of the Eight Chakra Gates allows Gaara to crush his arm and leg; Gaara probably would have killed Lee too, if not for Guy's interference during the exam and Naruto and Shikamaru in the hospital. This injury keeps him out of action for a long time, and is initially thought to be career-ending - it is not until much later that we see him undergoing surgery performed by Tsunade, and even later that he returns to action.
His first fight after his surgery is against Kimimaro of the Sound Five, who he begins fighting to give Naruto time to catch up to Sasuke. Though he again puts up a good fight, his injuries still have not recovered enough to allow him his full strength. Fortunately, Gaara shows up and saves him.
Rock Lee is as fast as the human body can tolerate, and is a master of the Strong Fist school of martial arts. He also possesses the forbidden ability to open the Chakra Gates, which removes the body's limits and makes him even more overwhelming.
Rock Lee has a very low tolerance for alcohol, becoming a savage master of Drunken Boxing after just one sip.
In Shippuden, he appears in the first major arc, backing Team 7 up as they try to rescue Gaara from the hands of the Akatsuki. He does not do much, but he does beat a clone of himself. When the Shinobi Alliance forms divisions to fight against Madara, he is placed in the Third Division under Kakashi and alongside his teacher Guy and Sakura.
Neji is hailed as one of the foremost prodigies of his time — indeed, he is perhaps the greatest practitioner of the Hyuga's fighting style that there is. If he weren't a member of the branch family, he'd probably be heading up the clan someday. However, his pedigree combined with his knowledge of past events fills him with a seething hatred of the main family.
In the Hyuga clan, there is a branch family and a main family. The branch family exists to serve the main family and tend to their needs. When a branch member is young, a seal is placed on their forehead to keep them from trying to kill the main family (also, it will prevent any foreign ninja from operating on their body and learning the Byakugan's secrets).
When Neji was young, his uncle Hiashi — Hinata's father — killed an intruder who aimed to capture Hinata. Since said intruder had some prestige in his home country, said country began calling for the head of his killer. The uncle was certain that they would attempt to steal the Byakugan's secret, but Neji's father Hizashi went in his place - first, since he had the seal, and second, to defy his clan's tradition and fight against his fate. Neji didn't know about the last part for a long time, though, and for years he resented everyone in the Hyuga clan.
Neji's life experience, at first, makes him something of a Nietzsche Wannabe, as he constantly mentions that fighting fate is useless. Interestingly enough, this doesn't stop him from fighting his fate. He clobbers his cousin Hinata in the Chunin Exams, and is matched against Naruto in the first round of the finals. While he expects an easy win, Naruto quickly proves more resilient than he thought, ultimately defeating him. After Naruto's victory, he convinces Neji that fate can successfully be fought, marking a positive change in his character.
He later shows up in the Sasuke Retrieval arc, as part of the team led by Shikamaru. He engages Kidomaru of the Sound Four, who fights him using ranged attacks. He takes some serious, life-threatening damage in the process, but he manages to win.
Neji is a close-range specialist. He uses the Byakugan, which gives the user nearly-360-degree vision and the ability to see the flow of chakra in the human body, to hit pressure points, blocking off his opponent's access to their chakra. He can also create an impenetrable shield of chakra by rotating quickly; this is normally a technique reserved for the main house, but Neji reverse-engineered it.
In Shippuden, he is the only member of the Konoha 11 to become a Jonin. He later tags along with his team to back up Team 7 in the Rescue Gaara Arc. He is now part of the Second Division, considered to be the Shinobi Alliance's up-close fighting division, along with Hinata, Karui, and Kurotsuchi.
Weapon specialist. Like her teammates, she is vaguely Chinese-themed. That's pretty much it.
The anime filler attempts to develop Tenten more. She seems to have an attraction to pretty boys and falls for a few. Even one that later turned out to be a girl! She also forms a comedy team with Rock Lee during a number of filler appearances, always playing the Straight Man.
In Shippuden, she goes with her team to help rescue Gaara. With the Fourth Great Ninja War starting, she has been placed in the First Division under Darui and with Choza Akimichi.
Leader of Team Guy, Might Guy is the epitome of hard work. Through blood, sweat and tears, he became one of the strongest ninja there was in Konoha, becoming a rival of Kakashi in the process. He serves as both Kakashi's opposite and his Unknown Rival. Like his student, he's a pastiche of Bruce Lee.
His number one student is Lee. While their interactions are often very... odd, to say the least, it's very clear that Guy cares deeply for his student, and views him as the son he never had. He taught him how to open the Eight Chakra Gates (which isn't exactly a cakewalk).
In the first series, Guy shows up sparingly, usually protecting Lee or stopping him from beating someone up. He does save Kakashi from Itachi Uchiha, however, who identifies him as one of the most dangerous ninja in Konoha.
In Shippuden, his team backs up Kakashi's team as they try to rescue Gaara. He fights a clone of Kisame — for some reason, he doesn't remember the Akatsuki member. He opens the Sixth Gate and kicks his ass. Later, while accompaning Naruto on a hidden island in Lightning Country, he goes up against the real Kisame (again), and defeats the missing-nin in one hit by opening the 7th Gate. Even though he hasn't completely recovered from the Kisame fight, he is assigned to the Third Division for the war, under his rival Kakashi, and with his student Rock Lee and Sakura.
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Squad 8
Kiba Inuzuka
Voiced by: Kosuke Toriumi (JP), Kyle Hebert (EN)
Member of Squad 8. Kiba is a wild, untamed ninja from the Inuzuka clan, a family of dog breeders. As such, he's never seen without his loyal pooch, Akamaru. Kiba utilizes him as both a partner and a weapon, and later as a transport.
He treats Hinata like a younger sister, fights with his ultra-serious partner Shino and, after initially mocking him, considers Naruto one of his closest friends.
Kiba fights Naruto in the preliminary rounds of the Chunin exams, which is one of the latter's first big solo fights in the series. Kiba tries a number of attacks and strategies to beat Naruto, but the kid just won't stay down. Later, Kiba is recruited by Shikamaru for the Sasuke Retrieval team, fights and is nearly killed by Sakon, and is saved by Kankuro.
Among Kiba's abilities are a heightened sense of smell, which makes him especially effective at tracking. He is also one of the fastest seen ninja. In battle, Kiba can transform Akamaru into a clone of himself, allowing them to use combination attacks such as the tornado-like Fang Over Fang. He can also make himself more bestial in nature, increasing his speed and strength, and can combine with Akamaru to become a two-headed wolf. In Shippuden, he has developed his sense of smell to the point that it is superior to that of a dog's. When the Fourth Great Nina War starts, he is placed in the Fifth Division along with Shino, his sister Hana, and Ino.
- Beast Man: Fights much like a dog, especially with his All Fours Jutsu.
- Catch Phrase: "Yahooo!"
- Determinator
- Disappeared Dad: He once commented that his dad ran away because he was scared of his wife. May or may not have been joking...
- Facial Markings
- Glory Seeker: Declares that he will be named Hokage after kicking so much ass in the war. This earns him a strong rebuke from his sister to take war more seriously.
- Handsome In Mink: Wears a fur coat in Part I.
- Head Pet: Akamaru in part 1...
- Big Friendly Dog: Akamaru in part 2!
- Hot Blooded: Very much.
- Idiot Hero
- Sai: "It appears that even your dog is smarter than you."
- Jerk With A Heart Of Gold
- Leeroy Jenkins: Kiba's main fighting strategy. Even when other characters warn him about charging ahead he still can't help himself.
- Lightning Bruiser: Very strong, very fast, his only problem is his, well Naruto-like behavior.
- The Nose Knows: His most useful ability.
- Wolverine Claws: Kiba's taijutsu style revolves around the use of his claws which are extended with ninjutsu.
Hinata Hyuga
Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN)
At first, she played the Shrinking Violet role of the main cast, being completely weak and nonconfrontational. Perhaps her most notable trait is her huge crush on Naruto, who is completely oblivious about it. However, it's this admiration that spurs her on to become stronger.
As Hinata was born into the head family of the Hyuga clan, she will one day take it over. Since she started out extremely weak, this did not sit well with many others (namely Neji and her own father, Hiashi, though other extremely complicated reasons made it even worse for her). With the involvement of Kurenai and the aforementioned admiration of Naruto, she gradually develops as a warrior, becoming more confident (though she's still painfully shy around Naruto until chapter 437).
Hinata, like all members of the Hyuga clan, has the kekkai genkai known as the Byakugan, characterized by the Prophet Eyes of its owners. It grants the user nearly-360-degree vision, as well as the ability to sense the flow of chakra in the human body. Hinata uses the Gentle Fist style of martial arts, a special combat style designed to take advantage of the Byakugan's unique abilities.
In Shippuden, she goes out with Squad 7 to search for Sasuke or Itachi, but that ends in failure when Itachi dies and Tobi takes Sasuke away. In Pain's invasion, she intervenes to save Naruto from Pain, and finally tells him that she loves him. Pain defeats her and nearly kills her, triggering Naruto going into six-tailed mode, but she survives with Sakura's help. When the Shinobi Alliance marches against Madara, she is placed in the Second Division alongside her cousin Neji, Karui, and Kurotsuchi.
- Adaptational Badass: In the anime, she actually wins a few fights. Even her Curb Stomp Battle with Pein was expanded a bit, most notable when she tried unpin Naruto from the ground.
- All Of The Other Reindeer: In the anime, revealed to have been bullied because of her high social status.
- Alliterative Name
- Ascended Extra: In the anime, where she frequently stars in filler arcs.
- Base Breaker: Fans new to the series learn quickly that they should never discuss Hinata in any form, for she can create massive Internet Backdrafts on par with Sasuke. The sheer amount of Fan Dumb existing in both defenders and haters is astonishing. Though it's no way as bad as Sasuke.
- Beware The Nice Ones: If you ever hurt, threaten to kill, or take Naruto away, it is guaranteed she will go after you.
- Big Eater: In the omake of the episode 95 of Shippuden. She wins an eater competition, eating 46 ramen bowls. In half an hour. What.
- Bishoujo: After the Time Skip.
- Buxom Babe: Averted. Yes, she has the biggest chest of the 4 girls of the Konoha 12. But it's never ever brought up in-story or in bonus material (compare with Tsunade for example).
- Hidden Buxom: Even before the Time Skip, she's better endowed than the four others female rookies from Konoha (Temari is three years older). But you can only tell this when Kurenai opens her jacket to check her injuries. Averted in Part 2, you can see her big assets even when she's wearing a loose-fitting coat.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Regarding her feelings for Naruto until Chapter 437.
- Die For Our Ship: While she has a strong fan following, about an equal amount bashes her for her characterization as a Shrinking Violet and a developing Yamato Nadeshiko, with such fans saying that "she's too weak and shy and fat and doesn't deserve Naruto." Yeah, rabid Naruto/Sakura, Sasuke/Naruto Fan Dumb and/or self-proclaimed "feminists", we're talking to YOU now.
- Elemental Punch: Her new attack move, the 'Gentle Style: Twin Lion Fist' (Type 6), which involves covering her hands in what can be best described as chakra boxing gloves shaped to look like lions heads.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: One of the more popular female characters with a massive fanbase. Based on the collective freak out the fanbase has been going through since chapter 437, her status as this trope is basically confirmed.
- Lampshaded several times in the anime, where a character (usually an annoyed Sakura) comments about Hinata's large popularity despite not being the main heroine. The episode 165 omake flat out states that even the anime producers are Hinata fans.
- Fan Preferred Couple: With Naruto.
- Fan Of Underdog: Out of all the kids, she was the only one who always supported Naruto.
- Finger Twiddling: She does this a lot when talking to Naruto.
- Form Fitting Wardrobe
- Good Is Not Dumb: In her fight with Neji during the Chuunin exams, he says "You really are a naive and spoiled child of the Main House" for attempting to fight him, the prodigy of the Hyuuga Clan. However, she turns the tables on him by saying that he is the one fighting fate. She did lose to him in the end, but he gets his comeuppanceafter thoroughly getting pounded by Naruto.
- Heiress To The Dojo
- Hey Its That Voice: Stephanie Sheh plays both her and Orihime from the Bleach dub, making them sound quite similar. Both girls happen to be in love with their respective members, somewhat averse to fighting and occasionally struggling with confidence issues.
- Hime Cut
- Honorifics: Uses them on virtually everyone.
- Kill The Cutie / Stuffed In The Fridge: Somehow managed to basically do it twice, by getting beaten almost to death by Neji, and later assumed to have been killed by Pain, but she managed to survive both times. Not that the latter would've mattered much, since Pain ended up reviving all his victims anyway.
- Launcher Of A Thousand Ships: Along with Sakura.
- Martial Pacifist: Dislikes fighting, but willing to go as far as she has to if she has no other choice.
- Milky White Eyes: Inherent to all Hyuga
- Moe: Much of her appeal seems to come from this.
- Ojou: As one of the two daughters of the Hyuga leader.
- Out Of Focus: Taking a moment of your day to say "thank you" wouldn't kill ya, Naruto.
- Plucky Girl: Her defining trait as of her fight against Neji. She's beaten badly, but after Naruto helps her recover from Neji's Hannibal Lecture, she does NOT give up ever. She reaffirms it when she goes against Pein fully knowing that she might not make it, since she wants to not only tell Naruto that she loves him, but to tell him that it's thanks to him that she's reached the place she is now.
- Real Women Never Wear Dresses: Often bashed for being more traditionally feminine and better stacked than the other female ninjas, as well as for her shyness around Naruto. She's an interesting inversion on this trope as far as wardrobe goes. Hinata typically wears pants (with the exception of two short scenes, one a flashback to her third birthday), while Sakura and Ino tend to wear skirts.
- Rescue Romance: If the anime-exclusive flashbacks of Hinata's childhood in Episode 166 are any indication, her great admiration and infatuation with Naruto started when he saved her (while not even knowing her) from kids bullying her.
- Shallow Love Interest: Often accused of this because even though Hinata has an expanded backstory, the main story usually only focuses on her love for Naruto.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: While the rest of the kunoichi population were trying to get Sasuke's attention, Hinata had eyes only for Naruto.
- Shrinking Violet: Terribly shy and underconfident. There's a reason why she provides this trope's picture. Though she slightly gets better. Often Flanderized in some fanfics. Such as fainting whenever Naruto says something to her or something.
- She Is All Grown Up: Grows into quite the beauty in Part 2.
- Shy Blue Haired Girl: Maybe one of the best examples.
- More like Shiny Midnight Black.
- Spotlight Stealing Squad: If the anime staff can use her in anything, they will. Lampshaded in an episode omake where Sakura accuses Hinata of bribing the staff into giving her an ending credits, but Nartuo comes along and says that it's not Hinata's choice; there are just a lot of Hinata fans on the staff.
- Stalker With A Crush: You really can't deny that she is this to Naruto, what with how many times you see her watching him from the sidelines. However, she is undeniably one of the most sympathetic examples out there, with most of these instances looking very sweet. Also, she is very clearly shown to truly care about him, considering shewent up against Pain in order to save Naruto. However, this also has the potential to fuel the arguments of any Hina/Naru haters.
- Took A Level In Badass
- Touch Of Death: The Gentle Fist style that all Hyuugas use.
- The Un Favourite: Her dad resented her for being gentle and shy, preferring her sister Hanabi as an heiress. They might be now in slightly better terms, at least in the anime.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: While she's not his girlfriend, Chapter 437 shows that Hinata has shades of this.
- The Wesley: What her Hate Dumb believes her to be, most primarilly in the anime. Your Milage May Vary as to whether or not her filler battles were moments of being anAdaptational Badass or Shilling The Wesley.
- Well Done Daughter Gal: Wants to be acknowledged by her father.
- X Ray Vision
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Has all the physical traits and some of the psychological ones.
Shino Aburame
Member of Squad 8. Shino's body is host to a large colony of chakra-eating insects, as is traditional in his clan. He commands these bugs in combat, in ways ranging from cool to creepy, and everything in between. He shows almost no emotion and hardly ever smiles; this, coupled with his insects, makes him an enigma among other shinobi, and some are visibly creeped out by him.
In Shippuden, as in Part 1, he tends to stay in the background and get little spotlight. He later is a member of the Fifth Division of the Shinobi Alliance with his fellow Squad 8 member Kiba.
- Bad Ass Longcoat: Even justified since the coat helps hide the bugs he's not currently keeping in his body.
- The Bug Master
- Combat Pragmatist: Very ruthless and creative with his bugs during combat. During his fight with Zaku in the Chūnin Exams he offhandedly mentioned that he stuffed Zaku's arm tubes with bugs before the fight even began.
- Cool Shades: And by extension Sunglasses At Night.
- Generation Xerox: Greatly resembles his father in both looks and dress.
- Genre Savvy
- Good Is Not Nice
- In The Hood: In part II.
- No Mouth: His mouth is almost always concealed.
- Running Gag: That Shino is always forgotten or ignored. Much to his annoyance. Even when Naruto has flashbacks about his friends, Shino is usually way in the back and barely seen. It seems to run in the family as shown when his dad was also forgotten by some friends in an omake.
- The Quiet One
- The Spock
- Squick: His bugs live inside him. Even Madara was grossed out by it.
- The Stoic
- Not So Stoic: He gets quite upset (although he doesn't show it much) when people ignore him, fail to recognize him or leave him out of things.
- The Strategist
- The Unfunny
- Verbal Tic: Shino has an interesting way of speaking. What is it? He likes to explain things after posing a rhetorical question that would normally be left unspoken.
Kurenai Yuhi
Voiced by: Rumi Ochiai (JP), Saffron Henderson (EN, original), Mary Elizabeth Mc Glynn (EN, current)
Leader of Squad 8.
Kurenai is... well, a kunoichi, who has only recently become a jonin by the start of the series. We don't really learn that much about her in the first series, save that she's a rather cool lady who took Hinata under her wing, skilled in genjutsu and that she's perhaps involved with Asuma. The vast majority of her team's missions seem to not involve her. Her only plot-involved action was to get knocked around by Itachi Uchiha in a short battle, unless you count some of the filler episodes.
In Shippuden, she appears after the death of Asuma, where we learn that she's carrying his child.
- Cherry Blossoms: Used in some of her genjutsu techniques.
- Cool Big Sis: To both her team and Shikamaru now.
- Crippling Overspecialisation: Her specialty (Genjutsu) does not exactly help her much, especially when going up against the likes of Itachi.
- Faux Action Girl: Really not helped by the fact pointed above.
- Her Heart Will Go On
- Hot Shounen Mom: More like mom in waiting.
- I Will Protect Her: Shikamaru now looks after Kurenai and her unborn baby. He visits her everyday in the hospital and later defeats one of Animal Pain's summons to protect her.
- Master Of Illusion: Genjutsu specialist
- Pale Skinned Brunette
- Red Eyes Take Warning Inverted. She has red eyes but is on the side of good.
- Team Mom
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: She and Asuma once or twice denied being a couple, but her pregnancy made the truth obvious.
- Widow Woman
Squad 10
Shikamaru Nara
Voiced by: Showtaro Morikubo (JP), Tom Gibis (EN)
Member of Squad 10. Naruto's resident snarky Teen Genius and the poster boy for Brilliant But Lazy. The first the viewers see of Shikamaru is a person who complains about receiving any work at all. This, combined with the fact that his test scores were almost as low as Naruto's, cause others to initially think that he's a failure and a loser...a perception that Shikamaru doesn't mind in the least. It's only later that Asuma reveals that yes, Shikamaru is perhaps the smartest person in world, having scored over 200 on an I.Q. test disguised as a game so it wouldn't bore him.
Though, like the rest of his clan, his primary jutsu is the ability to control or attack his enemies by extending his shadow, it's his intelligence that makes Shikamaru the first of the Konoha 11 to be promoted from Genin to Chunin. His fight with Temari impresses the Third Hokage even though he forfeited. His first task isn't an easy one, natch: it's to lead a team consisting of him, Naruto, Choji, Kiba, and Neji to go retrieve Sasuke.
While there, he engages Tayuya, a member of the Sound Four. He almost dies at her hands, but is saved by Temari. Later, after the mission is a failure, he considers quitting, but after some encouragement by his father, decides to stay the course. Through the filler arcs and his early actions in Shippuden, it's shown that he has decided to, if not step it up, then to at least shoulder some responsibility.
Shikamaru's best friend is his teammate Choji, although he also becomes extremely close to Naruto as the series progresses. Through this friendship, he helps Naruto to recover from a minor Heroic BSOD following Jiraya's death, announcing that he's going to take on Kurenai's kid as his apprentice.
In Shippuden, he shows up in the first episode (with Temari, no less). He later becomes an Ascended Extra and stars in his own arc. He first joins the newly-formed Niju Shotai (Akatsuki Hunters) with Asuma. There, he's forced to watch as Hidan, a member of Akatsuki, kills his sensei. This provokes him to chase down and engage Hidan - which he does, culminating in his Crowning Moment Of Awesome after he defeats Hidan with surprising little effort. After he returns, he decides that he's going to become a harder worker to honor Asuma's memory. He also was recruited by Tsunade to decode Jiraiya's final communication to the village.Later he becomes acting general in Gaara's place of the Fourth Division with his friend Choji and (possible) love interest Temari serving under him.
- Ascended Extra: He's basically become the only main character outside of Team 7.
- Awesomeness By Analysis: His tactical thinking is second to none. He's able to take down foes much stronger than he is, including a friggin' Akatsuki, by outmaneuvering and outthinking them.
- Badass Bookworm: A particular type (see Book Dumb and Brilliant But Lazy).
- Base Breaker: Never ever mention his and Hidan's name together. You'll be in for a huge flamewar. And never ever ask if his arc as a whole was a Broken Aesop about the theme of revenge. You'll risk seeing a mighty bloodbath among Sasuke fans and Shikamaru fans. And third parties.
- Book Dumb: In a sense. Not book dumb * per se* , just too lazy to bother with schoolwork.
- Break Out Character: He became unexpectedly popular and thus his role became more and more prominent as the series went on.
- Taken Up To Eleven in the latest chapters where in the Joint Shinobi Forces, he's placed as commander of the fourth division as Gaara's proxy.
- Brilliant But Lazy: The poster boy.
- Catch Phrase: "How troublesome." ("What a drag." in the English dub.)
- Character Development: Has a multi-point character arc that unfolds over the course of years. None of it due to interacting with the protagonist, apparently... though in a recent chapter, he admits being with Naruto makes him want to follow whatever path he does.
- Combat Tentacles: By Shippuden, his powers have reached this level.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Uses shadows to great effect, so much so that he is capable of strangling people with them. Still unambiguously good.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Generation Xerox: Like the other members of his team, he shares many similarities to his father Shikaku in looks, dress and ability, in addition to the fact that both he and his father are/were part of an Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
- He Man Woman Hater: Until the Tayuya-Temari incident during the Sasuke Retrieval arc.
- I Just Want To Be Normal: Not so much wanting to be a non-ninja, but rather just a normal ninja.
- Improbably High IQ: It's over 200
- Kuudere: Whiny and snarky and all, he still genuinely cares for those he loves
- Launcher Of A Thousand Ships: Despite having so called canon ships with Temari, Shiho, and Ino, you'd be surprised how much he gets around.
- Oblivious To Love: Clueless that Shiho has a huge crush on him or Temari may like him.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Once again, in a sense. He doesn't really act stupid out of any desire to fool the enemy, but it still works as a handy tool.
- Shadow Pin: The effect of his clan's primary jutsu.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Regarding Temari.
- Teen Genius: His I.Q. is over 200. Note that in the real world, only one person has ever been verified to have an IQ over 200.
- The Chessmaster
- The Smart Guy
- The Strategist
- Wise Beyond Their Years: See the speech he gives to Naruto after Jiraiya's death. Also a by-product of his over 200 I.Q.
- Wouldn't Hit A Girl: Despite this, all his major fights before Shippuden are against females.
- Xanatos Gambit: Loves using these in his strategies.
Choji Akimichi
Voiced by: Kentaro Ito (JP), Robbie Rist (EN)
Member of Squad 10. Choji is Shikamaru's best friend, and the two hang out together frequently. He's also fat, but this is likely due to the fact that his clan's specialty is a jutsu that converts calories to chakra. He's constantly seen eating to shore up his chakra reserves. But he hates being called "fat" (he prefers "chubby" or "big boned"), so don't call him that.
As a child, we learn Choji was frequently left out of childhood activities and sometimes even bullied because of his large size. Shikamaru stood up for him one day, beginning their long friendship.
In battle, Choji relies on the Body Expansion Technique, which causes his body to both balloon in size and roll into a boulder shape. He then rolls around and tries to crush his enemies. He's later shown using variants on this move, such as the Partial Body Expansion, where he'll just expand his arms.
In the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, he is part of the team sent to retrieve Sasuke. He tangles with Jirobo, who has the upper hand for most of the battle. It's only after Choji uses the three Food Pills of the Akimichi Clan — a move which nearly costs him his life — that he can gather enough strength to beat him. In Shippuden, he helped his team defeat Hidan and Kakuzu after they killed Asuma. When the war starts, he is shown as a member of the Fourth Division with his best friend Shikamaru, Temari, and Gaara.
- Acrofatic: He might be on the heavy side, but he's still a ninja.
- All Of The Other Reindeer: Nowhere as much as Naruto, but he still was picked on for his size until Shikamaru stood up for him and he became a member of Team 10.
- Attack Of The 50 Foot Whatever: One variant of the Akimichi clan's Body Expansion Technique.
- Balloon Belly: Worked into his fighting style.
- Berserk Button: Never say he's fat. He is, in his words, just "big boned!" When he grows up, this is proved more or less true. Shippuden has him looking more like a football lineman.
- Beware The Nice Ones: as Jirobo found out the hard way.
- Big Eater: Of course. Justified trope, though, for his fighting style.
- The Big Guy
- Bishonen Line: The chili pill has him lose thirty pounds and gain some pretty wings.
- Deadly Upgrade: The soldier pills.
- Facial Markings
- Fetish Fuel: Macro and inflation fetish, anyone? And then there's the Partial Body Expansion Jutsu...
- Generation Xerox: Like the other members of his team, he shares a similar appearence to his father Chouza in both looks and ability.
- Gentle Giant: Kinda dim and always bottomless, but a really loyal and kind friend.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Shikamaru.
- Hey Its That Guy: He is played by the guy who played the role of the original Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch, just look here
- Ho Yay: Jirobo learned the hard way that he may have a little crush on Shikamaru. Insult Shikamaru at your own risk in front of Choji.
- I Am Big Boned
- Meaningful Name: "Choji" means "butterfly", and his Crowning Moment Of Awesome sees him gain butterfly wings made of chakra.
- Mighty Glacier: Excellent strength and stamina for his age group, but somewhat lackluster speed.
- Power Gives You Wings
- Power Perversion Potential: His main power is to expand his body parts... Need I say more?
- Rolling Attack
Ino Yamanaka
Voiced by: Ryoka Yuzuki (JP), Colleen O Shaughnessey (EN)
Member of Squad 10 and the "Ino" in the Ino-Shika-Cho. Her family runs a florist shop, although her father is also a ninja; she is often seen working there between missions. Personality-wise, she's something of the temperamental type. She and Sakura used to be best friends, but after they learned they both had crushes on Sasuke and Sakura had developed quite an inferiority complex in regards to this and Ino herself, they decided to become bitter rivals. This rivalry lasted until they met in battle in the Chunin Exams, when, after some clever plotting on Ino's part and some grit and determination on Sakura's part, they tied, and their friendship was restored.
Much like her teammates, Ino specializes in one technique: specifically, the Mind-Body Transfer Technique. This jutsu allows the user to switch consciousness with another human, but causes their own body to pass out for the duration. It also has a fairly short range.
At the end of the first series, Ino sees Sakura's growth and decides to become Tsunade's apprentice as well. When Shippudenbegins, she has already become a medic, but her medical knowledge isn't quite enough to save Asuma from dying later on. She then goes with Shikamaru and Choji to defeat Kakuzu and Hidan and avenge Asuma. Later she is shown as a member of the Fifth Division as the Shinobi Alliance faces off against Madara.
- Bare Your Midriff: In Shippuden.
- Berserk Button: Don't call her "Ino-Pig". "Ino" means "boar" and calling her pig is fighting words. Sakura calls her this to force her to fight her at full strength
- Bishoujo
- Blue Oni to Sakura's Red
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She stops after Part 1.
- Combat Medic
- Faux Action Girl: She was described as one of the most skilled kunoichi in her class. We pray to the good Lord that's not true... She may have something of a chance now that war is breaking all around, hope she can use it.
- Fetish Fuel: She is very visibly wearing nothing but bandages under a skirt that could generously be called 'minimal'. Then, it appears she has become disposed to using her wiles intentionally
- Forgotten Childhood Friend: Sakura, but they got better.
- Grand Theft Me: Mind Transfer Jutsu.
- Important Haircut: With a twist. She apparently cuts it in the middle of a hissy fit after Sakura taunts her in their fight, but she actually was faking said tantrum and used the discarded locks to trap Sakura and use her Mind Transfer Jutsu on her.
- The haircut turns out to be temporary when she, unlike Sakura, grows her hair back to its normal length after the Time Skip.
- Innocent Flower Girl: Subverted: She works part-time in her family's shop, yet she's anything but naive.
- The Load: Feels like this in the Shiitenshounin Arc and in the Three-Tails arc. In the former, because she feels useless and cannot help Temari and Shikamaru. In the latter, because she has the weakest chakra control of all the sealing team.
- Lovable Libby: Her backstory shows that she was the first one to befriend Sakura and not bully her for her Forehead Of Doom, and later protected her from Ami, a more standard Libby.
- The Medic: Played up in the anime.
- Power Perversion Potential: The Mind-Body Transfer Technique. Come now, if you had the ability to take over somebody else's body, what would you do with it?
- Sarashi: Before the time skip at least.
- Shipper On Deck: She's the local Asuma/Kurenai "fangirl". In one scene, Ino knows the flowers Asuma wants are for Kurenai before he even tells her.
- Team Mom: Asuma asks her to take care of Shikamaru and Choji before he dies.
- Telepathy: Both Ino and her father seem to have some telepathic abilities.
- Tsundere: Lovestruck with Sasuke, tomboyish with everyone else. Although after Part 1 ends, she forgets about Sasuke and develops deeper bonds with Shikamaru and Choji as they become her "boys".
- She does start crying when Teams 8, 10 and Guy discuss the order to kill Sasuke. Though this might be expected since it was a tough decision for everyone and he was their classmate.
Asuma Sarutobi
Voiced by: Jurota Kosugi (JP), Doug Erholtz (EN)
Leader of Squad 10, Asuma Sarutobi is the son of the Third Hokage. In his teen years, he had something of a falling-out with the old man and decided to travel abroad. He ended up in the guard of the Daimyo of the Fire Country, where he evidently accumulated a large bounty. Later, he returned to the town and became a Jonin.
In combat, Asuma relies on his Wind Chakra, which he channels through his trench knives. This allows him to hit targets from a distance. He can also use his omnipresent cigarettes to generate flames, which can cause third-degree burns.
In the first series, he really doesn't do much besides play Mr Exposition, take care of his team, get knocked around by Kisame, and get accused of dating Kurenai.
In Shippuden, he plays something of a more expanded role. While Naruto is trying to learn the Wind Rasengan, Asuma gives him the advice needed to complete the first stage of his training. In an anime-only filler arc, more of his backstory with the twelve Ninja Guardians (only alluded to in the manga) is elaborated upon. Later, he and Shikamaru mobilize as part of the Niju Shotai (Akatsuki Hunters), where he engages Hidan in battle. Though he successfully decapitates his opponent, it's to no avail: Hidan is immortal. Hidan then completes the ritual that allows him to kill Asuma. It succeeds. After Shikamaru kicks some serious ass in his memory, we learn that Kurenai is carrying his child.
Kabuto later resurrects him with Edo Tensei.
- Badass Beard
- Bara: A very popular icon of this subgenre.
- Blow You Away and Razor Wind: His main abilities.
- Disappeared Dad: The Third Hokage. Later on he becomes one himself.
- Former Teen Rebel
- Generation Xerox: He and his father both had their A Death In The Limelight in episode 80.
- Knife Nut: His Weapon Of Choice.
- Luke I Am Your Father: The son of the Third Hokage.
- Not A Date: With Kurenai
- Playing With Fire: Uses an ash-based jutsu to try to burn Hidan, and gets fairly badly burned himself when Hidan's jutsu effect kicks in.
- Razor Wind: Uses it to make his trench knives gain chakra blades with greater reach and sharpness than normal.
- Smoking Is Cool: Even in death. Temporarily stops when especially concerned or upset, though.
- Team Dad: To Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji. But especially to Shikamaru who he acts as a second father too.
- Too Cool To Live
- You Should Know This Already: Can we stop spoilering that he's dead as a doornail? His Edo Tensei-based resurrection, otoh...
Team Guy
Rock Lee
Voiced by: Yoichi Masukawa (JP), Brian Donovan (EN)
In his early childhood, Rock Lee was frequently picked on by his peers because of his inability to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He believed himself to be worthless and to have no chance at becoming a ninja at all. Then, he met Might Guy, who convinced him to train exclusively in Taijutsu (physical combat), at which he became a master.
Rock Lee's first appearance in the series is one where he challenges Sasuke. Though Sasuke puts up a decent fight, Lee is able to get the upper hand before Guy stops him. Later, he tries to save Sakura from the attacking Sound Ninja in the Forest of Death, but was defeated and this helped trigger Sakura's inner change.
His is the most heartbreaking battle in the Chunin Exams. He is matched up against the psychotic Gaara of the Desert, who has never once bled or even successfully been hit with an attack. Though he puts up an extremely good fight, the strain from his overuse of the Eight Chakra Gates allows Gaara to crush his arm and leg; Gaara probably would have killed Lee too, if not for Guy's interference during the exam and Naruto and Shikamaru in the hospital. This injury keeps him out of action for a long time, and is initially thought to be career-ending - it is not until much later that we see him undergoing surgery performed by Tsunade, and even later that he returns to action.
His first fight after his surgery is against Kimimaro of the Sound Five, who he begins fighting to give Naruto time to catch up to Sasuke. Though he again puts up a good fight, his injuries still have not recovered enough to allow him his full strength. Fortunately, Gaara shows up and saves him.
Rock Lee is as fast as the human body can tolerate, and is a master of the Strong Fist school of martial arts. He also possesses the forbidden ability to open the Chakra Gates, which removes the body's limits and makes him even more overwhelming.
Rock Lee has a very low tolerance for alcohol, becoming a savage master of Drunken Boxing after just one sip.
In Shippuden, he appears in the first major arc, backing Team 7 up as they try to rescue Gaara from the hands of the Akatsuki. He does not do much, but he does beat a clone of himself. When the Shinobi Alliance forms divisions to fight against Madara, he is placed in the Third Division under Kakashi and alongside his teacher Guy and Sakura.
- All Of The Other Reindeer: bullied for his inability to use chakra properly.
- Ass Kicking Pose: LOVES these.
- Badass Normal: Relies only in taijutsu, which does not involve chakra use. He can't use either genjutsu or ninjutsu.
- Potentially subverted when Kakashi suggests that he couldn't have gained the ability to open the Eight Inner Gates with hard work alone.
- Bare Fisted Monk
- Berserk Button: People criticizing or insulting Guy.
- Big Ol Eyebrows: Nicknamed "Bushy Brows" by Naruto.
- Bruce Lee Clone
- Charles Atlas Super Power
- Deadly Upgrade: The Chakra Gates.
- Determinator: Maybe one of his biggest traits.
- Drunken Master: Even alcoholic chocolate can induce this in Lee.
- Dumb Is Good
- Generation Xerox: Intentional. He modeled himself after Guy after Guy became his teacher.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Is one of the more popular side characters in America.
- Gonk
- Ugly Cute: For others.
- Hard Work Hardly Works: See The Worf Effect, but Guy notices that he's improved considerably from where he was originally, and he does have many abilities usually not achievable except to ninja far more experienced than him.
- Honorifics: Uses them on everyone except his teammates.
- Hot Blooded: AND HOLY GODDAMNED HOW!
- Large Ham: Especially when he and Guy are in the same scene-
- Leeroy Jenkins: Tends to run in without thinking or waiting for his teammates, especially to save Sakura or if he has some idea.
- Manly Tears
- Spinoff: Rock Lees Springtime Of Youth.
- Woolseyism: Lee speaks formal, polite Japanese. In the English dub, he does not use contractions at all in an attempt to convey this, and in the Latin-America Spanish one he uses a military speech pattern with an enthusiastic accent.
- The Worf Effect: Often loses his fights despite being strong enough to defeat Sasuke the first time. Hilariously enough, one reader submission to the Naruto fanbook in a section about people who are like Rock Lee says "My friend always starts fights with people he can't beat and loses in under 30 seconds! He is Rock Lee!"
- You Suck: The author stated that both him and Sakura were meant to symbolize human weakness.
Neji Hyuga
Child Voice: Keiko Nemoto (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)
Adult Voice: Koichi Tochika (JP), Steve Staley (EN)
Neji is hailed as one of the foremost prodigies of his time — indeed, he is perhaps the greatest practitioner of the Hyuga's fighting style that there is. If he weren't a member of the branch family, he'd probably be heading up the clan someday. However, his pedigree combined with his knowledge of past events fills him with a seething hatred of the main family.
In the Hyuga clan, there is a branch family and a main family. The branch family exists to serve the main family and tend to their needs. When a branch member is young, a seal is placed on their forehead to keep them from trying to kill the main family (also, it will prevent any foreign ninja from operating on their body and learning the Byakugan's secrets).
When Neji was young, his uncle Hiashi — Hinata's father — killed an intruder who aimed to capture Hinata. Since said intruder had some prestige in his home country, said country began calling for the head of his killer. The uncle was certain that they would attempt to steal the Byakugan's secret, but Neji's father Hizashi went in his place - first, since he had the seal, and second, to defy his clan's tradition and fight against his fate. Neji didn't know about the last part for a long time, though, and for years he resented everyone in the Hyuga clan.
Neji's life experience, at first, makes him something of a Nietzsche Wannabe, as he constantly mentions that fighting fate is useless. Interestingly enough, this doesn't stop him from fighting his fate. He clobbers his cousin Hinata in the Chunin Exams, and is matched against Naruto in the first round of the finals. While he expects an easy win, Naruto quickly proves more resilient than he thought, ultimately defeating him. After Naruto's victory, he convinces Neji that fate can successfully be fought, marking a positive change in his character.
He later shows up in the Sasuke Retrieval arc, as part of the team led by Shikamaru. He engages Kidomaru of the Sound Four, who fights him using ranged attacks. He takes some serious, life-threatening damage in the process, but he manages to win.
Neji is a close-range specialist. He uses the Byakugan, which gives the user nearly-360-degree vision and the ability to see the flow of chakra in the human body, to hit pressure points, blocking off his opponent's access to their chakra. He can also create an impenetrable shield of chakra by rotating quickly; this is normally a technique reserved for the main house, but Neji reverse-engineered it.
In Shippuden, he is the only member of the Konoha 11 to become a Jonin. He later tags along with his team to back up Team 7 in the Rescue Gaara Arc. He is now part of the Second Division, considered to be the Shinobi Alliance's up-close fighting division, along with Hinata, Karui, and Kurotsuchi.
- Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: At first.
- Awesome By Analysis: Learned and mastered a technique that only the clan head and clan's heir are allowed to know on principle alone. This is the equivalent of a slave teaching himself to read and then, say reading The Bible cover to cover.
- Bishonen
- Break The Haughty: Being defeated by the once in-universe poster child of "failure" completely changed his views about life (which, to be fair, he wasn't himself completely convinced of deep inside).
- Completely Missing The Point: Naru/Hina shippers who use Neji as the bad guy in their slash fics apparently missed the scene where Neji encouraged Hinata to go see Naruto before the Time Skip.
- Wait, NaruHina equals slash?
- Defeat Means Friendship
- Disappeared Dad: Hizashi, who actually decided to die willingly for the sake of his village and to fight against his destiny.
- Finger Poke Of Doom: Sixty Four of them
- Freudian Excuse: Much of his hatred for the main house and belief in destiny is the result of his belief that they were responsible for his father's death. Once he realizes the truth, he revises these beliefs.
- Milky White Eyes: All the Hyuga have those
- Jerk Ass: Especially to Lee, Hinata and Naruto, prior to his Heel Face Turn.
- Heel Face Turn: After losing to Naruto.
- Heir To The Dojo: Subverted; not being allowed to inherit the dojo, despite his natural talent, is part of the reason why he was such a Jerk Ass.
- Hannibal Lecture: Tries this on Hinata and Naruto about how there is no point in struggling against what you were born to do, both of whom turn it back on him by pointing that he ''is'' doing exactly that.
- Man In White: Especially in part 2.
- The Paralyzer
- Restraining Bolt: The cursed seal on his forehead.
- Ron The Death Eater: Even after his Heel Face Turn and his approval of Hinata's interest in Naruto, he's still often cast as the villain or rather a Knight Templar Big Brother on Naruto/Hinata fics taking place after these events. Though it's often used for all of the potential fun of it. YMMV about stories taking place earlier.
- Shipper On Deck: He tells Hinata to see Naruto off... hmmmm...
- Tall, Dark, Handsome AND Snarky
- Touch Of Death
- The Unfunny: After his Heel Face Turn, he frequently acts as a "straight man" foil to Guy & Lee's insane enthusiasm.
- Weak But Skilled: As far as physical strength goes, he's pretty average, but his mastery of the Byakugan makes him much more lethal than his strength indicates.
- Except that in his style, Strength is actually the least important of the attributes in mastering Jyuuken. The only reason why it would be necessary would be to improve raw speed and even then, raw muscle is not necessary. This is because the style is based on using chakra to attack the internal organs and it does not take any strength to use when even the slightest touch is enough.
- X Ray Vision
- You Cant Fight Fate: Believes this until his Heel Face Turn, although Naruto argues that if he truly accepted his destiny, he wouldn't have tried to kill Hinata.
Tenten
Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (JP), Danielle Judovits (EN)
Weapon specialist. Like her teammates, she is vaguely Chinese-themed. That's pretty much it.
The anime filler attempts to develop Tenten more. She seems to have an attraction to pretty boys and falls for a few. Even one that later turned out to be a girl! She also forms a comedy team with Rock Lee during a number of filler appearances, always playing the Straight Man.
In Shippuden, she goes with her team to help rescue Gaara. With the Fourth Great Ninja War starting, she has been placed in the First Division under Darui and with Choza Akimichi.
- Adaptation Expansion: The anime tries to give her more screentime.
- A Day In The Limelight: After over 300 episodes, they finally gave her a focus episode.
- Badass Normal: She has no secret clan techniques nor seems to be greatly proficient in either taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu. She relies entirely on weapons in a world of immortals and ninja with superhuman abilities.
- Bishoujo
- Chinese Girl
- Faux Action Girl: She only fights twice in the manga and both of the times are off-screen. In the anime, they're shown and she does what she can with her limited arsenal, but even then the hokage mountain has more screen time than her, and her first fight was against Temari of all people. Poor girl's got NO luck.
- Flat Character: While the anime has done more with her character, she still remains the least developed of all the Konoha 12.
- Little Miss Snarker: The few times she can say something, she seems to be a bit of one.
- Improbable Aiming Skills
- More Dakka: Her entire strategy is to use her vast array of ninja weapons against opponents, and if they don't go down, she simply hasn't used enough at once. The only time it has ever worked was the time she fought a clone of herself.
- Odango: She has those.
- Only One Name
- Satellite Character: Along with Shino, she is the least developed of the Konoha 11. We don't know her last name or anything about her background.
- Straight Woman/Only Sane Woman: Tends to complain about the logic behind Guy and Lee's bizarre training methods.
Might Guy
Voiced by: Masashi Ebara (JP), Skip Stellrecht (EN)
Leader of Team Guy, Might Guy is the epitome of hard work. Through blood, sweat and tears, he became one of the strongest ninja there was in Konoha, becoming a rival of Kakashi in the process. He serves as both Kakashi's opposite and his Unknown Rival. Like his student, he's a pastiche of Bruce Lee.
His number one student is Lee. While their interactions are often very... odd, to say the least, it's very clear that Guy cares deeply for his student, and views him as the son he never had. He taught him how to open the Eight Chakra Gates (which isn't exactly a cakewalk).
In the first series, Guy shows up sparingly, usually protecting Lee or stopping him from beating someone up. He does save Kakashi from Itachi Uchiha, however, who identifies him as one of the most dangerous ninja in Konoha.
In Shippuden, his team backs up Kakashi's team as they try to rescue Gaara. He fights a clone of Kisame — for some reason, he doesn't remember the Akatsuki member. He opens the Sixth Gate and kicks his ass. Later, while accompaning Naruto on a hidden island in Lightning Country, he goes up against the real Kisame (again), and defeats the missing-nin in one hit by opening the 7th Gate. Even though he hasn't completely recovered from the Kisame fight, he is assigned to the Third Division for the war, under his rival Kakashi, and with his student Rock Lee and Sakura.
- Awesome Mc Coolname: His name is intended to draw vibes of 'Mighty Guy'. But dig in even deeper, and you realize that his name is an amalgamation of the first names of Nobuyuki Hiyama-voiced Brave Series protagonist: Might Senpuuji and Guy Shishioh.
- Badass Normal: Guy apparently chose to go this route! Unlike Lee, he's entirely capable of using ninjutsu and genjutsu, he just prefers using only taijutsu.
- And then, after popping the seventh gate, he did a punch so fast/strong/something that it sent a pressure wave through water and then several hundred feet through the air with enough power remaining that Naruto had to brace himself against it.
- Big Ol Eyebrows: Even bigger than Lee's.
- Bruce Lee Clone
- Captain Obvious: He make such observations that Kisame's sword is his weapon and there is something strange about Gaara's gourd.
- Subverted actually. During his fight with Kisame he comments, that Kisame only thinks that the sword he carries is his weapon. This is because the person he fought wasn't really Kisame, but a mook posessed by Kisame. This is also why he didn't recognize him.
- Charles Atlas Super Power
- Crazy Awesome
- Crouching Moron Hidden Badass: Constantly going on about the power of youth and getting ignored by his "lifelong rival" Kakashi. Most of the time, people are either creeped out by him or laughing at him, because he's just that ridiculous. Except he's also the foremost taijutsu user of Konoha, capable of using at least six gates without suffering anything more than a severe winding, can actually see through disguises that Kakashi can't, and trained Rock Lee into a badass. Even Itachi warned Kisame not to underestimate Guy, which should say something.
- Dynamic Entry: The Trope Namer.
- Fan Nickname: Maito Gar/Might Gar based on his ability to one-shot Kisame after opening the seventh of the Eight Celestial Gates and using his Daytime Tiger technique
- Generation Xerox: The reason he's very kind towards Lee.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Both he and Lee are incredibly more popular amongst the American Fanbase.
- Gonk
- Gratuitous English: Dynamic Entry is just that in the original, and his name was transliterated from "Engrish" ("Maito Gai") to correct English.
- Hot Blooded
- Large Ham: And HOW!
- Lets Get Dangerous: Can be very badass when he needs to.
- Manly Tears: A candidate for Most Triumphant Example.
- The Only One Allowed To Defeat You: To Kakashi.
- Team Dad: More to Lee than to Tenten and Neji, but still.
- Unknown Rival: Kakashi pretends to not hear him when he talks about their being rivals. Ironically enough, he, albeit unintentionally, gives this treatment to Kisame.
- Worthy Opponent: To Kisame.
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