Sakura Haruno is often regarded as the worst female character in Naruto, however, there is one neglected character who is even worse than her;Hinata Hinata.
Hinata's character development is conspicuously lacking in the Naruto series, with little appearance time and little growth.
The romantic duo between Hinata Hinata and Naruto lacks coherence, as well as important moments compared to the other couples in the series.
Hinata Hinata plays a negligible role in the story, and removing her from the story hardly affects the story, making her an underdeveloped character.
The Naruto series is one of the most popular shonen series in the anime space, however, an acclaimed status does not equate to a flawless show. In fact, the series is full of flaws, one of the most obvious of which is the female characters that surround it. The fact that the author, Kishi Kishimoto, constantly reiterates that he cannot write deeply female characters becomes very evident throughout the story.
Some of the female characters are somewhat three-dimensional, however, others are completely useless and have no meaning to the plot. The community agrees that Sakura Haruno is the worst of the worst group, however, this is far from the case, as there is another character who far surpasses her, and that is Hinata Hinata. She doesn't have any major role in the story, has little to no appearances, and doesn't have an underdeveloped love interest, Hinata Hinata is arguably the lowest of the half-finished female characters in Naruto.
It's a common dilemma for long-running anime to focus on every character, especially when their cast of characters expands as the story progresses. Hinata suffered a similar fate, as she was pushed to the edge after the Nakashinobi exam, only to reappear in Shippuden. It is not so unusual to develop a character, however, it would be strange if this character should be the main love object of the protagonist.
Hinata's situation becomes even stranger, considering that her role may have regressed after a gap of two years. Hinata Hinata maintained the same shy personality and almost passed out when she spoke to Naruto. Her overall development is so small that the audience can barely see the difference between Hinata Hinata after two years and Hinata two years ago. Sakura Haruno, on the other hand, has undergone a tremendous development, she has become more ferocious and has gained obvious and visible powers. Although she is still lagging behind in other aspects, the difference in the development of Hinata Hinata and Sakura Haruno after two years is obvious.
Hinata's relationship with Naruto is one of the most popular pairings in the entire series, however, it is also the least meaningful of all the couples. While Hinata's feelings are fairly obvious and obvious from the very beginning of the series, Naruto never responds to her feelings and never sees her as a potential love object. They never shared any scenes except for the Shinobu exam in the first part, and they only had two touching moments in Shippuden.
Hinata confesses her feelings when she protects Naruto from Payne's attacks, however, he never responds in any way to her bravery. It's almost as if this scene never happened, and Hinata and Naruto barely appeared together after that.
Another moment that cemented their relationship was Ninji's death, however, even this moment, for Naruto, revolved more around Ninji, with Hinata's support becoming a secondary aspect of the scene.
There's no denying that Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha are very problematic with their pairing, but they at least share some moments. Sakura Haruno had been trying to win the interest of Sasuke Uchiha from the beginning, and both parties were aware of the feelings. In Hinata's case, Naruto was never aware of these feelings and did not respond to any interest. Even Ino and Sakai's relationship makes more sense because they both have feelings for each other, while Naruto and Hinata lack any intimate moments that would make them a suitable couple.
The main character's love interest usually has a more important role in the show, however, Hinata Hinata is treated like any other supporting character. Even among the Konoha 11, Hinata Hinata has very little appearance time and roles, only slightly higher than Tiantian. If the show removes Hinata Hinata from the equation, the story will hardly change, which makes her extremely irrelevant to the plot.
Hinata Hinata gains an arc of development during the Nakashinobi exam in the first part, however, the plight of the entire Hyuga clan revolves more around Ninji and the injustice of the family he suffers. Hinata Hinata becomes a secondary aspect of this premise, merely an appendage to Ninji's tragic story. Her role in Shippuden improves slightly, as she risks her life to save Naruto, however, she is immediately abandoned, and the entire scene lasts less than a few minutes.
One of the glaring problems with the women of Naruto is the lack of personal motivation, which is an aspect that separates mature from immature between characters. Every female character's motivation is related to the men around them, and Hinata Hinata is no exception. Her drive to become stronger was inspired by Naruto, and her goal was to become strong enough for him to recognize her.
Although Sakura Haruno initially had no motives of her own (other than to impress Sasuke Uchiha), she was able to find a purpose to become a skilled female ninja. Terumi also played an important role in inspiring her to become a medical ninja, and became a major inspiration**. Ultimately, her motivation goes beyond superficial recognition of a man, and the Fourth Shinobi War showcased that determination. With these obvious differences, it's clear that Sakura Haruno, despite all her shortcomings, is a better character that makes Hinata Hinata the worst female character in the Naruto series.
Naruto is available on Prime Video**.