Neji Hyuga
| Media |
|  | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characters | ||||||||||||||
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)), like Hiashi, Hanabi, Hinata, and Hizashi. His name means "Screw", "Spiral", or "Helix", which probably refers to his Heavenly Spin technique.
In Shonen Jump's annual character popularity polls, Neji often ranks in the Top 10, usually in the 6th-8th range.
Background
Template:Spoilers A Genin at the start of the series, Neji Hyuga was the #1 rookie of his Ninja Academy graduating class. He is also considered to be the strongest and most talented of all the Konoha Genin who attended the Chunin exam during the first part of the series, and is the first of them to become a Jonin. Neji has been praised as a natural genius of the Hyuga clan, but can never lead it because he's a branch house member. He is perhaps the most skilled Gentle Fist user in the series, despite this fact. Though the most powerful techniques of this style are normally kept within the main house, Neji learned them through simple observation.
Neji is in the same Genin team as Rock Lee, Tenten, and their Jonin-sensei Might Guy. Neji and Lee have a long-ongoing rivalry, which, not unlike the rivalry between Guy and Kakashi, mostly comes from Lee's side. Lee, who has been fighting against his fate as a worthless shinobi all his life, tries desperately to prove himself to the world in general and Neji in particular. Neji mocked Lee's dream of becoming a fine shinobi in the past, saying one cannot go against fate, but after Neji's defeat by Naruto, he seems to have warmed up to Lee. Tenten is often seen sparring with Neji, which usually consists of Tenten honing her skill with throwing weapons and Neji deflecting the weapons. The two of them are often equally annoyed with Lee and Guy's overreacting and 'youthful' behavior, but are similarly equally dedicated to fighting for their teammates. Despite his rank, Neji still goes out on missions with his team.
One of the implications of Guy's team is that they are the archetype of the "Chinese rivals," a common staple in Japanese anime and manga. Several of Neji's techniques have Chinese aesthetics to them, in addition to his clothes. Lee also bears a strong resemblance to Bruce Lee. Tenten is the most overtly Chinese with her outfit, hairstyle, name, hobbies, favorite foods, and high-pitched voice (a stereotype of young Chinese girls).
Because he is a member of the branch house, Neji can never be the leader of his clan, despite his mastery of Gentle Fist and the Byakugan; his father, Hizashi Hyuga, despite being Hiashi Hyuga's twin, was born second, making him a branch house member. In his childhood, Neji had nothing against the main family as he was too young to fully understand the implications of being a branch family member, but as he grew up seeing his father feel nothing but hatred for his own brother and the main family, he gradually came to resent it himself. His resentment only deepened as he witnessed his father enraged first hand while watching Hinata Hyuga, Hiashi's elder daughter and Hyuga main family heir, train with her father; Hizashi knew that his own son, Neji, would never be the heir of his clan. Detecting Hizashi's vibes of animosity, Hiashi activated the cursed seal on Hizashi, putting his brother in immense pain as his nerves were being attacked. It was Neji's first encounter with the Hyuga cursed seal.
It was not until the incident with Kumogakure's and Konohagakure's peace treaty, however, that Neji truly became who he was when he showed up for the Chunin exams. The two villages, which were at war with one another, decided to sign a treaty, and for this representatives from Kumogakure arrived. On the same day, the very same cursed seal that tortured his father was put upon Neji himself; and that night, the ambassador from the Lightning country attempted to kidnap Hinata, revealing that the intention of the "treaty" was all along to get into the Fire country and acquire the secret of the Byakugan. Hiashi detected the intruder and killed him at once, for which Kumogakure requested payback in the form of Hiashi's dead body. That day, Neji's father was sent to his death instead of Hiashi, and Neji grew up believing that his father was sent against his will to protect the Hyuga clan's secret bloodline. This chain of events drove him to the point of believing that a person's future is decided from birth and that there was no way to escape or change destiny, making him a character with a grudge against the main house.
In the original Japanese manga, Neji's seal is in the shape of a Buddhist Manji (卍). However, in the anime and English manga, it was altered to an "X" because of its resemblance to the Nazi "Hooked Cross" swastika.
Part I
Chunin Exam arc
The calm, stoic image Neji presents breaks rather violently with pent-up hatred in the Chunin Exam third stage preliminaries, when he is randomly chosen to be Hinata's opponent. Despite knowing full well that he can't possibly lose, as he is simply older and stronger than her, Neji opts to mentally attack and unbalance her, telling her that she is a harmony-seeking person not fit to be a shinobi, and that he can see that she wants nothing more than to be somewhere else. When she stutters that this is not true, and that she entered the exam because she wanted to change herself, Neji concludes that she is truly a pampered child of the main family, believing in such absurdities, and gives her a stern speech tinged with fatalism about how people cannot change, bringing her to the verge of tears.
In doing so, however, he terribly enrages Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, having fought all his life against such ideals, interrupts his speech and yells at Hinata to stand up for herself, partly because the speech is driving him nuts. This actually gives Hinata the willpower to do just that, something Neji definitely did not fathom was a possibility. Even though he is far stronger than Hinata and manages to knock her down again and again, she refuses to give up and carries on fighting. Though Neji is still in a superior position, he starts sweating, since people who fight against their fate do not fit into his world-view. When Hinata tells him that he is in fact the one suffering at the hands of fate, and trying with all his might to fight against it, he nearly kills her in a fit of rage, but is stopped at the last moment by the Jonin that were in attendance. Neji further calls both Hinata and Naruto dropouts subsequently after the fight, and this is the bursting point for Naruto who runs toward Neji to attack him, only to be prevented by Rock Lee, who reasons that even a dropout can defeat a genius with enough training, but it has to happen in a proper fight. Naruto grudgingly accepts this, but is still so outraged that he swears on Hinata's spilled blood that he will defeat Neji in battle.
A month afterwards when Naruto and Neji actually engage in battle in the third stage main event, Naruto continuously confronts Neji about his attitude and the way he treated Hinata, until Neji decides that if he cares so much, he will share the sad story of his twin father and uncle. While Naruto is shocked at the tragedy, he refuses to acknowledge it as an excuse for how Neji is acting, and berates him for his hypocrisy, going on about fate but defying his in a twisted way, almost killing Hinata while as a Hyuga branch family member it is his duty to protect her. Though Neji remains dominant for the first part of the fight, and even manages to block Naruto's chakra points completely, Naruto harnesses the power of Kyubi to heal himself by reflecting on his promise and the ideals he is fighting for. With the power of the Kyubi, Naruto is able to overpower Neji, and just before a final, booming clash between his revitalized self and Neji, he recalls Neji's various disheartening speeches, yelling back at him, "I don't know about the Hyuga fate of hatred, but... if you think it's impossible, then don't do anything! After I become Hokage... I'll change the Hyuga for you!"
After the smoke clears from the powerful explosion that follows, Neji is finally seen standing up while the unconscious form of Naruto lies in a nearby small crater. Thinking he had won, Neji turns off his Byakugan and starts on yet another speech, but is interrupted by the real Naruto - the unconscious Naruto having been a clone - lunging out of a tunnel that he dug in the ground, almost knocking Neji out with a powerful uppercut. His hands dripping blood (his own this time, from digging the hole) and having won the fight, Naruto chooses to appeal to Neji in hopes of reforming his bleak outlook on life somewhat. To Neji's comment that he was careless, losing to a Shadow Clone - Naruto's favorite technique - Naruto replies by telling Neji that he has failed the Academy graduation exam three times because the exam was always based on the technique he was worst at, and after a short pause reveals that the move was the the regular clone technique, the upgraded version of which he just used to win (in direct defiance of Neji's assertions that one's talents and skills are set from birth). While Neji lies on the ground, Genma Shiranui tells him, "When a bird trapped in a cage grows wiser, they will try to open the cage with their beaks. They don't give up because they want to fly again". This is an apt metaphor for Neji's situation; in fact, birds flying near Neji are a common occurance before this match.
After this fight, Hiashi - Neji's uncle - decides to finally tell Neji the truth of Hizashi's death. Hizashi was never sacrificed after all; he volunteered to die as an act of defying his fate, by dying not as a member of a branch house for the sake of the main house, but as a Hyuga for the sake of his brother and family. Neji refuses to believe this at first but then he sees Hiashi on the floor bowing. He turns away, tears streaming down his face and smiling.
After Hiashi leaves, Neji is left looking out of the room's window, wondering about the nature of fate and the legacy of his father. He reaches a turning point as he starts to finally accept that people can change, after all, and even birds in cages that try hard enough can break free and soar the skies again.
Neji's defeat to Naruto and Naruto's words are able to help Neji see that destiny is capable of being changed, and they become good friends from that point on. Neji may never admit it, but he is thankful for Naruto showing him a brighter part of life.
Masashi Kishimoto says:
The theme for the Neji-Naruto fight is "destiny." I wanted to express the difference between Neji who believed that destiny can't be changed and suffers within that belief and Naruto who lives to change destiny while looking forward.
Sasuke Retrieval arc
Some time later in the series, the reformed Neji joins Shikamaru Nara's squad (consisting of Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, Choji Akimichi, and later Rock Lee, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari) on the failed mission to prevent Sasuke Uchiha from crossing over Land of Fire's borders and into the Land of Sound and Orochimaru's control. He confronts Kidomaru of the Sound Four, risking his life for the sake of his comrades, sustaining critical injuries, and at one point coming inches from death (he purposely got hit by Kidomaru's arrow so that he could guide his chakra through the string controlling the arrow, in order to kill him), surviving only thanks to treatment by a medical-nin team that is promptly dispatched. During the fight against Kidomaru, he feels for once how it is to be on the hopelessly disadvantaged side while your opponent taunts and mocks your hopeless predicament, as he has done to Lee, Hinata, and Naruto. Much like they did when up against his former, bitter self, Neji refuses to give up and fights with feverish determination; this is what enables him to emerge victorious in the end. Neji reveals to Kidomaru that there is a specific reason that he cannot lose. Referring back to Naruto's last words to him after beating him at the Chunin exam, "Unlike me, you're not a loser" meaning that Neji shouldn't complain about his fate because truth be told, he was born excellent. Neji takes those words as inspiration declaring that he cannot lose because since he has always been called a genius, there are people who rely on him as a genius, and he can't let them down. Neji then reveals that if anyone can save Sasuke from the darkness, it's Naruto, for Naruto also saved him from the darkness.
At the epilogue of the first part of the manga and anime, Neji is shown having friendly conversation with Hinata and training with Hiashi, and they later all have tea together, symbolizing that the Hyuga clan seems to finally be coming to terms with one-another.
Anime Filler arcs
Neji makes a number of appearances in the filler arcs that follow the end of the first part of the Naruto anime.
He appears in the Raiga arc, Bird Country arc, the Star Village arc, the Third Great Beast Arc, and Konoha Eleven story arc. He and Naruto seem to get along very well in these story arcs, though they tend to argue from time to time. Overall, he does treat Naruto and his teammates better. They usually work well together when they are fighting opponents, and they usually end up winning. All of the missions they share together, have ended in success, with the exception of the original Star Village mission. The modified Star Village mission, which comes into play after the truth of the village's "star" is discovered, is considered a success by Tsunade.
A rather comical scene in the Raiga story arc is where Neji is unconscious, and Tenten, miscalculating the amount of curry, gives him about three tablespoons of it. It does ultimately wake him up, but he ends up red as a tomato.
The anime fillers also indicate that Neji is getting along better with Hinata and Hiashi. He often trains with Hiashi in a dojo-like courtyard in the main Hyuga mansion. In the latest filler arc, Neji kindly asks Hinata for assistance in searching for traps. Though his request is likely due in part to her possessing the Byakugan as well, he does so with a much nicer tone than his pre-Chunin Exam self would have.
Naruto II arc
New personality
Neji's personality has changed a great deal after the timeskip (mostly due to Naruto's influence). He has changed his jacket in favor of traditional Hyuga robes and has grown his hair even longer than it already was. Neji is still a very serious person, but he seems to be somewhat more cheerful and kinder. He no longer has a pessimistic attitude that his fate cannot be changed, and he seems to encourage his teammates to a certain extent. Neji seems to care more about his teammates than he did before, and he seems to have developed a stronger bond with them. Neji also seems to be more willing to use teamwork in battle, rather than always fight alone.
New abilities
Two and a half years later, Team Guy - including Neji - is sent as backup for Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi on a mission to rescue Gaara from the hands of the criminal organization Akatsuki. Neji has become a Jonin, and has learned at least one new technique: Eight Trigrams Empty Palm. His Byakugan also seems even more powerful, allowing him to almost instantly locate four small tokens scattered across a mile radius in a woodland area. Template:Endspoiler
| Media |
| | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characters | ||||||||||||||