Neji Hyuga
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| Neji Hyuga | |
|---|---|
| (日向ネジ) | |
 Neji Hyuga by Masashi Kishimoto |
|
| Debut | Manga Chapter 36 Naruto Episode 21 |
| Seiyū | Kōichi Tōchika Keiko Nemoto (as a child) |
| Voice actor(s) | Steve Staley Wendee Lee (as a child) |
| Profile | |
| Age | 13-14 in Part I 16 in Part II |
| Birthday | July 3 |
| Blood Type | O |
| Height | 160.1 cm |
| Weight | 46.8 kg |
| Known relatives | Hizashi Hyuga (father, deceased) Hiashi Hyuga (uncle) Hinata Hyuga (cousin) Hanabi Hyuga (cousin) |
| Information | |
| Current rank | Jonin |
| Current affiliation | Hyuga clan (Branch), Konohagakure |
| Current team | Team Guy (Might Guy, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Tenten) |
| Previous team | Team Shikamaru (Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Neji Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Naruto Uzumaki) |
| Signature jutsu/Kekkei genkai | |
Neji Hyuga (日向ネジ Hyūga Neji?) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto.
Neji is the only known Hyuga clan member whose first name does not start with a kana from the Ha-gyō (ha (ハ), hi (ヒ), fu (フ), he (ヘ), or ho (ホ)). His name means "Screw", "Spiral", or "Helix", which probably refers to his Heavenly Spin technique. His name also bears resemblance to Nèijiā, a Chinese martial arts style that is known for "soft" style and its emphasis on "internal power" rather than "external power", possibly a basis for his Gentle Fist style.
In Shonen Jump's annual character popularity polls, Neji often ranks in the Top 10, usually in the 6th-8th range.
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[edit] Background
Neji Hyuga is a stoic member of Might Guy's Team Guy, consisting of himself, Rock Lee, and Tenten. Neji and Lee have somewhat of a rivalry, much like that of Guy and Kakashi Hatake. Lee is determined to prove that a "failure" such as himself can defeat a "genius" such as Neji. Neji, however, doesn't seem to be interested in this goal of Lee's, and Lee doesn't seem to have made an effort to prove the point to Neji. Despite this apparent clashing of ideals between the two, Neji seems to get along fairly well with Tenten, with the latter often helping Neji with his training. Neji and Tenten also tend to share opinions on Lee and Guy's overreactive behaviors, often wondering how they can train the way they do.
As a member of the Hyuga clan, Neji has a Byakugan, allowing him to see the chakra flow of others and block the flow upon contact with his Gentle Fist style. As a member of the clan's branch house, Neji can never hope to be taught how to use the clan's most secret techniques by the clan's elders. Despite this, Neji has learned many of the clan's strongest techniques independently, even creating a few unique skills of his own. Because of this, Neji is known as a genius ninja and graduated from the Academy as the #1 rookie.
Because his father, Hizashi Hyuga, was a member of a branch house of the Hyuga clan, Neji was born into the branch house. As a result, he was branded with the Hyuga branch family seal at a young age so that the members of the main house could keep him in check. Hizashi, believing Neji to be denied his potential as a branch house member, openly resented the main house, causing Neji to acquire the same feelings due to his father's influence. In time, Neji's hatred for the main house would increase exponentially as result of Hizashi being sacrificed to save the life of Hiashi Hyuga, Hizashi's twin brother. Neji believed that his father was forced to die for his twin brother. Because of this, Neji came to feel that fate was something decided at birth and that no matter what one does, people cannot escape their destiny. This idea would go on to shape Neji's life, creating a deep hatred for the main house and all of its members.
[edit] Part I
[edit] Chunin Exam arc
During the preliminary matches of the Chunin Exam, Neji is pitted against his cousin, Hinata Hyuga, a member of the main house of the Hyuga clan. Neji takes this opportunity to belittle Hinata, ridiculing her weakness and her inability to believe in herself based upon his beliefs that personality traits and abilities are determined at birth. Although Neji's words bring her to the verge of tears, Naruto Uzumaki's encouragement encourages Hinata to fight, surprising Neji. As the two exchange blows, it seems as though Hinata is managing to keep up with Neji, though Neji soon reveals that he is only toying with her. By blocking the flow of chakra in Hinata's arms, Neji is able to render each of Hinata's attacks useless. Despite this, Hinata fights on, confusing Neji, who eventually delivers a finishing blow to Hinata's heart.
Although the attack seems to have beaten Hinata, she rises before Neji can be declared the winner. On the verge of collapse, Hinata tells Neji that he has the situation backwards: he is the one fighting fate, trying so hard to be worthy of the main house despite the fact that he will never be allowed membership. Enraged, Neji tries to kill Hinata, though the observing Jonin stop him before he can land a blow. As Hinata is taken away, Naruto, angered by the way Neji treated his own cousin, vows to defeat Neji in the final matches of the exams, making a pact upon Hinata's spilt blood.
Naruto gets the chance to live up to his promise a month later during the finals, as the two are put against each other for the opening match. As the battle starts, Neji encourages Naruto to give up, believing that someone with Naruto's abilities could never hope to beat him. Determined to prove him wrong, Naruto attacks Neji with shadow clones, though Neji is able to defeat the initial wave with ease. Upon attacking Neji with shadow clones again, Naruto is able to trick Neji, thus allowing him to attempt a sneak attack. Before Naruto can land the blow, however, Neji uses his Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin to repel Naruto, leaving the latter an easy target for Neji's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. After finishing the attack, Naruto is left unable to use chakra, Neji having effectively sealed it all away.
Naruto, however, is unwilling to give up, wanting to make Neji pay for hurting the innocent Hinata. As Naruto tries to draw out his chakra, Neji asks why Naruto tries so hard to escape his fate, to which Naruto replies that he too was once a failure. With that, Naruto begins to draw upon the power of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within him, using it to heal his wounds and replenish his chakra supply. Surprised by what he senses as a newfound demonic aura pouring from Naruto, Neji tries to combat his rejuvenated opponent. The abilities granted to Naruto by the demon fox, however, are too much for Neji to handle, and as the forces clash an explosion is left in their wake. As the smoke clears, Neji rises from a pit, Naruto lying defeated in a pit across from him. Believing himself to be the winner, Neji begins to ridicule Naruto, though is cut short as Naruto bursts from the ground beneath him, the Naruto across the way being a shadow clone. As Neji lies on the ground unable to move, he lectures himself about falling for Naruto's signature jutsu. In response, Naruto explains that creating clones was always his worst jutsu and that every attempt at performing the technique met with failure. With that, Naruto tells Neji to stop focusing so much on fate, as Neji isn't a failure like him.
As Neji recovers after the fight, Hiashi comes to meet him and tells him of the circumstances of Hizashi's death. Hiashi explains that Hizashi chose to die in his place, wanting to die for his brother and not for the main house. In Hizashi's eyes, choosing to die for his family instead of as the order of the main house was a way for him to choose his own destiny. Neji doesn't believe the story, finding it to be a convenient lie told by the main house told too long after the fact to be genuine. Hiashi explains that until now he didn't think he would be in a position for Neji to believe him. Now, however, he can tell Neji as an uncle and not as the head of the main house, and Hiashi gets on his knees to beg Neji for forgiveness for waiting so long. Brought to tears, Neji asks Hiashi to rise. With that, and with Naruto's influence, Neji abandons the idea that fate is inescapable and acquires the dream of wanting to be stronger. In the first databook, Masashi Kishimoto gives a description of their fight: "The theme for the Neji-Naruto fight is "destiny" or "fate." I wanted to express the difference between Neji who believed that fate can't be changed and suffers within that belief and Naruto who lives to change fate while looking forward."
[edit] Sasuke Retrieval arc
When Sasuke Uchiha leaves Konoha, Neji is recruited by Shikamaru Nara as part of the team assigned to retrieve him. Soon after they set out, Neji is forced into battle with the Sound Four member Kidomaru. Neji initially has an easy time with their battle, being able to dispel Kidomaru's web-based jutsu by sending chakra into it. When Kidomaru starts to resort to long-range attacks, Neji finds difficulty in blocking all of Kidomaru's attacks.
As the fight progresses, Kidomaru begins to notice the blind spot of Neji's Byakugan, and starts to focus his attacks at that point. When Kidomaru's finishing blow fails to hit Neji in a fatal area, instead being slightly off-target, Neji reveals that he is acutely aware of his own weakness and expected Kidomaru to attack him from that angle, therefore he knew to dodge an attack. With that, Neji sends chakra into Kidomaru's web, critically damaging Kidomaru. Before his enemy makes it to the ground, Neji intercepts him and unleashes an unguarded Gentle Fist attack, killing the spider-like opponent. Kidomaru's last attack, however, did a great deal of damage to Neji, and he is left at the brink of death. With the combined efforts of much of Konoha's medical team, Neji's wounds are regenerated by using his hair as the medium and he is brought back to full health.
[edit] Anime filler arcs
During the course of the filler arcs, Neji shows to be increasing in his ability to work with his teammates. The Raiga arc also suggests that Neji has a low tolerance for spicy food since the Curry of Life tends to knock him unconscious. The filler arcs also show Neji having improved relations with the main house, often seen training with Hiashi and otherwise being very kind to Hinata, symbolizing that the Hyuga clan is beginning to come to terms with one-another.
[edit] Part II
Neji makes his Part II debut sporting traditional Hyuga robes and longer hair. Neji is still a very serious person, but he seems to be somewhat more cheerful and docile. Neji also seems to be more willing to use teamwork in battle, being quick to save his teammates when they are in trouble. His abilities seem to have increased, as his Byakugan can see several times farther than it could in Part I. He has also learned Eight Trigrams Empty Palm, adding a long-range attack to his arsenal. Unlike his teammates, Neji has become a Jonin over the timeskip, indicating that he has put a great deal of effort into improving himself.
[edit] Rescue Gaara arc
Team Guy is sent to assist Team 7 in rescuing Gaara. Along the way, the group encounters Akatsuki member Kisame Hoshigaki. Kisame quickly traps Neji, Lee, and Tenten in a prison of water, though Neji is able to escape and free his teammates by sending chakra into the water. After Kisame is defeated and Team Guy reaches the Akatsuki hideout, Neji uses his Byakugan to find a number of seals in the surrounding area, which Team Guy sets out to remove. Although they succeed, they are each forced to fight exact clones of themselves, though each defeats their lookalike in time. As they prepare to return to Konoha, Guy has to carry Kakashi Hatake piggyback-style. Lee, believing it to be training, offers to do the same for Neji, who flatly refuses.
[edit] Sources
- First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK Hiden: Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book?)
- Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book?)
- Jump's 2nd Great Hero Book's Mini Data Book (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini?)
- Naruto anime and manga Guidebook (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini?)
- Taken directly from the Naruto manga chapters and anime episodes.
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Characters in Naruto
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| Ninja: | Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno & Kakashi Hatake Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka & Asuma Sarutobi Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga & Kurenai Yuhi Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, Tenten & Might Guy Gaara, Kankuro & Temari Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade & the Third Hokage Zabuza Momochi & Haku • Kabuto Yakushi • Sai & Yamato |
| Ninja groups: | Genin • Chunin • Jonin • Hyuga clan • Uchiha clan • Other clans • Minor enemies |
| Akatsuki: | Organization • Hidan • Kakuzu • Sasori • Other members |
| Countries: | Land of Fire • Land of Sound • Land of Wind • Land of Waves |
| Animals: | Tailed beasts • Summons |
