Why I have a problem with Hinata Hyūga.

               Despite being an underutilized character, Hinata has always been the topic of discussion by fans.  Most fans adore her and are easily provoked into arguments by the slightest insult.  Most of the rest of the fans cannot stand her, finding her as nothing but an annoying stalker character that is only there to provide a “moe” element to the series.  There are few that are apathetic to the character.  This is what made me think enough about her to come up with this.  I do hope that the Hinata fans read it for what it is and don’t have my head on a chopping block by the time they finish.  

               Despite his claim that Kishimoto really likes the character, it seems more to me that he either finds her pathetic or loves to make her suffer.  Wait.  Let me explain. 

                As a little girl, Hinata is given away to Kurenai, simply because her father felt that she was so pathetic that she would be a waste of his time to try to train her, despite her being the real heir to the clan.  She tries her best to learn from Kurenai, but when her big challenge is put before her (showing Neji that she was strong now), not only did she lose the fight, she was almost killed, and Neji emotionally tore her apart, piece by piece.  She was bleeding on the floor, and Neji still saw her as pathetic as he did in the beginning, if not more. 

                When the next phase of the Chunin Exam came around, Hinata’s father came to watch the event; because Neji was going to be taking part.  He brought Hanabi, Hinata’s little sister, and he made comments throughout the fights to indicate that he respected both Neji and Hanabi and their abilities. Meanwhile, Hinata had just left the hospital to try to watch the tournament; and she almost died from just sitting there.  Where was her father?  Was he visiting her?  Was the telling her that he was proud of the change she had made?  No.  He was supporting Neji, who he had ignored his whole life. 

   

             The reason that I’m reliving this is to make a point.  When we first see Hinata, we’re told that she’s disposable and not respected in the least.  She works very hard, and the only result is to be further ignored and more aggressively told that she is useless and always will be.  I know that some will point out that it inspired her to work even harder to become stronger, but to be honest, it changed nothing. 

                Hinata jumped in the middle of the fight to try to defend Naruto from Pein, and the result was little more than being swatted aside like a fly.  This is the big part for me.  Pein didn’t even kill her.  It wasn’t because he had pity for a young woman or what she was trying to do.  It was because he saw her as no threat and didn’t feel it was worth his time to kill her.  He just knocked aside something that was in his way. 

                This is just another reminder that, despite any work or training, Hinata is worth nothing.  She is still seen by others as useless, and they don’t respect her.  I know that some will want to point out that there are people that like and respect her; Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Sakura, Ino…  The thing is though that they like and respect her because they see her as a friend and knows that she tries.  They don’t really see her as a powerful shinobi who is vital to missions, the way they do Neji.  In fact, when they do see her do something impressive in the field (usually in fillers), they feel the need to point it out specifically, almost as if to say, “Wow!  Did you see Hinata did something that was useful?”  It isn’t intentional.  It’s just an instinct.  Hinata is their sweet, shy friend that tries to help everyone where she can.  Hinata isn’t a respected shinobi. 

Even with Neji’s dying words, he said that he was protecting them, I guess, fulfilling his “job” of protecting her.  He never said, “I’m proud of you” or called her “sister” as she calls him “brother”.  Once again, she’s a little girl who needs to be protected.  She’s not an equal on the battlefield who he gave his life to protect, like he said to Naruto.

      

          “Naruto” has a running theme of characters who were seen as nobodies as children, who then work their way to proving themselves.  Naruto went from being a pariah to being the hero of Konoha; Gaara went from being a mad man who the village wanted to destroy to being their Kage; Neji went from slave status to being one of the most respected shinobi in the village.  What of Hinata?  Has she not worked just as hard?  Where is her position of respect and praise?  Where are those missions that are important, where the Hokage says, “Send Hinata”.  Where are they?  Nowhere.  To Kishimoto, she’s still portrayed as the little girl that is a throwaway, no matter how much she fights and tries.  I’m not a Hinata fan, but that bothers me tremendously. 

                There are two themes with Hinata.  She is in love with Naruto, and she is always training and working to become strong and respected.  She has gained neither. 

                Then there is the element that comes from fans that bothers me greatly.  There are many Hinata fans that recognize that she is still completely unaccomplished, despite her hard work; and they are waiting for that moment when she gets what she’s tried so hard to accomplish.  To that extent, I do agree.  The problem is that many of the fans that are (some, furiously) fans of Hinata ending up in a relationship with Naruto see her success in ending up in that relationship as succeeding in her desires.  Think about that one for a minute.  She loves Naruto, but her desire for her life is to be seen as strong and be acknowledged.  Why are so many so ready to see Hinata landing a man as succeeding in her life?  He is certainly one of the most famous ninja in the village, if not the five nations.  I suppose that winning his heart would be kind of like getting acknowledgment that she is special and would give her the guy that she’s stalked since she was a girl, but what is the message there?  If you’re a girl and want to be respected, you should find an important man?  There is that idea still in the world that the success of women is in finding a man with money and success, like royalty or celebrity.  They should not achieve things on their own.  They should just attach themselves to someone who has.  I do not want Hinata to end up with Naruto, almost exclusively because I do not want the end of the series to be seen as successful, not because she earned the respect of her clan and those around her but because she ended up with the boy she loved. 

               On the battlefield, Hinata is able to hold her own and is acknowledged by Naruto… for standing with him.  Her father is on the field with her, but even in the chatty battles of “Naruto”, he says nothing about her abilities and does not stop to even think that she is stronger than he believed.  Kiba seems the closest to seeing her as she wants to be, but he also sees her constantly as a delicate flower that needs to be protected. 

               The battles always disappoint me.  Whenever Hinata joins a massive fight to help, it is almost always to help Naruto, and she almost always finds a way to bring it back to being about Naruto, not being a shinobi doing her job. 

Against Pein, she felt that the best idea in the fight was to distract him by declaring her love, knowing she’d probably die in front of him right after it.  In the battle against Madara and Obito, she is focused on staying the Naruto, protecting Naruto, etc.  Even when she does her most impressive attack, she fears she might fail but is then inspired by Naruto to succeed.  It is as if she cannot really perform (unless it is small fights, almost all filler), unless it is to protect or get acknowledgment or love from Naruto.  Even in her fight with Neji, she would have given up entirely if Naruto hadn’t cheered her on. It is as if Kishimoto is telling us that Hinata doesn’t really want to be a strong and respected shinobi and only tries to be out of her obsession with Naruto.  This brings us back to the idea that Hinata will only succeed in life if she gets the man that she wants.  For me, it is not only a backwards and outdated idea, but it is also offensive.  It makes her whole performance a joke to me, only saying “Nevermind, she didn’t really want to be successful.  She was just trying to get a guy.”  This is such a dysfunctional image for young people.  Why can’t there  be young women in shonen anime that can be sweet and shy but not just the girl that loves the main character and nothing more?  It’s not only an insult to Hinata but an insult to the fans. 

                So what would I like to happen?  I’d like to see Hinata realize that she is something more than just a girl who likes a guy, and I would like her to grow up – in many ways.  She should fight to take her place in her clan, get the respect she deserves in the village, whether she wants to be a shinobi, a teacher, a tea seller, or whatever.  She should come to herself and get some self esteem and confidence (which you can have without destroying the character’s sweet, shy, kindness).  Then she can get to know someone, even Naruto, and decide if she likes him.  She’s 15-16 now, and she barely even knows Naruto, other than watching him (as she could barely say a word to him, until recently).  You really want her to get into a serious relationship with a guy she has only had a crush (though intense) version of love for (though her whole life), because if she gets a man she wins?  Doesn’t she deserve a full life that isn’t entirely about another person – any person?  

      Hinata has the personality and power to be a truly powerful character, both in story and on the battlefield.  The problem is that Kishimoto won't let her be one.

My first real OC: My fantroll (Homestuck)

This is the first real original fan character I've made, and I have mixed emotions about it.  The good?  I had an incredible amount of fun creating her, and I'm looking forward to seeing what others have to say about her.  The negative?  As it is not my world, I'm really afraid that the Homestucks are going to crash down on me and tell me how horrible my character is, both as a troll and as an OC altogether.  That's the reason that I don't do much fan art.  I'm just going to stay with the fact that I really had fun and am proud of it.  I'm open to any constructive criticism. 

The art was drawn by me, using a mouse to draw (My tablet and I are still not working together.) with GIMP.  I do know that if we actually go with the numbers, the blood color hue is too blue of a purple to be a sea troll.  Why didn't I worry about making sure that the hue was precisely correct?  Because I didn't want to do it.  Everyone seemed to be quoting the specific numbers on hue, yet when I checked the canon art, Eridan and Gamzee were off by as much as ten points from their supposed specific number, depending on the image.  So.  My point is, I didn't want to stress over it. 

Without further delay:

You are VITREL OBFUSA, and you are almost six and a half sweeps old.  You don’t spend a lot of time around others, and that is fine with you.  You often feel that your lusus is the only one that really understands you, and your lusus thinks you need to stop acting like such a grub.  You love PUZZLES and MAZES, and you are easily lost in completing them.  In fact, you become so focused on solving a new puzzle that you often don’t realize the danger you’re putting yourself in, until you’ve found the puzzle’s solution.  That’s usually okay, because you’re good at delivering fast and dangerous attacks, before you disappear.  This is a good thing, since, once you stopped being an actual grub, your lusus started disappearing and leaving you to fend for yourself in danger.  Your hive is full of RANDOM TREASURES that you brought home from the LABYRINTHS you’ve explored.  You don’t really care about any of them, but you’re not sure what you should do with them either.  

You aren’t really comfortable with others, but you can mimic it well.  You prefer to talk to people online, where you can stay safe in your own little maze, your hive.  You’re not completely comfortable out of water, but the puzzles decide where you go.  You find most land dweller food to be unpalatable.  

You are skilled with the MORNINGSTAR and have recently begun to produce POISONS.  You are also skilled at OPENING LOCKS and ESCAPING.  You can fit through ridiculously small places, when you put your mind to it.  You can be quite slippery when you want to be.

Trollian Handle:  vortexDiver

Typing Quirk:  Yo~u a~lwa~ys inse~rt a~ tilde~ a~fte~r e~a~ch r~o~und vo~we~l.  It re~minds yo~u~ o~f so~me~thing.

 

This is a static pose to show full figure for outfit and weapon, as well as a general overview.



Vitrel with her lusus.
 

Vitrel with perspective God Tier costume.  She would make an excellent Thief of Void, willing to take whatever she needed to hide what she wanted and stubborn enough to will whatever she wanted, even if it took removing the non-existence of something from reality.


Character Notes:
 Vitrel was heavily influenced by her lusus, one of my favorite things, an octopus.  Her first name was taken by Vitreledonella richardi, the scientific name for the glass octopus.  Obfusa was taken from the word "obfuscate".   

A Beginner's Guide to "One Piece"

I have several friends that enjoy anime but have never tried some of the big titles -- markedly, some of my favorites. Because of this, I wanted to make a brief (as brief as I ever am) blog to introduce my favorite anime (tied with “Naruto”), “One Piece”.  It's not a guide; it's not a review; it's just a "what to expect" when you begin the series.

The series can be found in many places for free online, but my favorite place to watch it is on Hulu, as they don’t have the time limits that you find on most other sites.
http://www.hulu.com/one-piece

N.B. I am sure this will contain spoilers. I will try to keep them brief and to the earliest parts of the series.

Personal Note:   It will be difficult for me to stay neutral on this series, as it has meant so much to me. I saw the early parts on Toonami and then was driven away from it by 4Kids. I came back to it when I was going through a crisis in my life, physically and mentally. I know that it sounds weird, but I credit “One Piece” in part for saving my life. When I needed it most, it gave me something to laugh at for hours at a time. It gave me things to get mad at that weren’t part of my life. It gave me things to cry over that weren’t happening to me. It still remains the one thing I can watch that helps me through any emotional problems. It has become very important to me, and if I can get even one person to enjoy it, I’ll feel completely satisfied.


Overview:
“Weath. Fame. Power. The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. The final words that were said at his execution, sent people to the seas.

“ My wealth and treasure? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it. I left all of it in that place.”

Men now, chasing their dreams, head for The Grand Line. The world now enters a Great Age of Pirates!”

“One Piece”, by Eichiro Oda, focuses on the story of Monkey D. Luffy, a teen who wants to become the new King of the Pirates, by finding the legendary treasure of Gol D. Roger, the One Piece! He starts out as just a boy with a dream and a straw hat and begins to build his crew, one by one, while heading toward The Grand Line (a bizarre line of sea, where the One Piece is known to lie). Luffy slowly begins to form the Strawhat pirates, as he slowly makes his way toward his goal. It is set in a fictional world with varied countries, nationalities, and intelligent species. Opposing the pirates are the Marines, the nautical military of the World Government.



Characters and Story:
While Luffy is the perpetual optimist and almost always light and hearted; he does know when to get serious and can be a source of strength for his crew and those around him. He will stop to take care of the problems at hand, no matter how ridiculous the odds; but he is always looking toward the future.

Each member of the crew has three things in common. They all have a dream to become something incredible in the world, they all have a tragedy at the core of their heart, and they all have been saved by becoming a member of the crew. None of them simply volunteered to join the crew. They were all won from their current lives by the actions of Luffy and the others. They each have a specialty to the crew and a fighting style that is very much their own.

Characters… there are a lot of them… so many. I think that there are more characters in this than in any series I’ve ever read or watched. The good news is that they are all introduced slowly and usually in ways that are memorable. Just thinking on how many pirate crews there are is a little daunting, but you’ll get there.



Devil Fruit:
A devil fruit is a mystical fruit, which, when consumed, grants the eater a special power for the rest of their lives. The fruits give three group types of powers, but the actual powers are endless in possibility:
Paramecia: Grants the user a specific power, such as generating wax or shock waves.

Logia: Transforms the user’s body into a substance from sand to electricity

Zoan: Grants the user the ability to create stages of transformation to an animal type. It usually grants a half animal and a full animal stage. This can be anything from a jackal to a human (eaten by an animal, grants the ability to transform into an animal version of human).

Luffy has eaten a Devil Fruit of the Logia type that turned him into a rubber man. A few other members of the crew are also Devil Fruit users.

The catch? Other than the fact that they are rare (especially Logia Fruits) and are very expensive if you can get them, they also give a random power. There is no way to know what you will get until you eat it. That’s not the real catch though.
Legend says that the Devil Fruit was to be created by the Devil of the Sea, and the sea is so opposed to them that they reject the users. That means that the Devil Fruit user completely loses their ability to swim. In fact, they lose their ability to struggle to keep themselves from drowning. When you are a seafarer, this can become an easy trip to the sea floor. Falling into the water is a constant threat, even if it is shallows.



Length:
It’s long. Ok, it’s really long. Alright, it’s incredibly long. At the time of writing this, there are 600 episodes of the anime and 711 of the manga. There are many that are put off from starting the series, simply because of the sheer length of it. This is the way I see it. Have you ever been reading or watching something that you really loved and thought, “I hope that this is over soon!”? I never have. I’m always sad when it is over; and I will be with “One Piece” too. You don’t have to sign on to watch 600 episodes, because you decided to watch the first. You can watch as many or as little as you want. The length of the anime should have no impact on whether or not you like it. The length that you enjoy is completely up to you. The series shouldn’t be about finishing it. It should be about enjoying the journey. If you’re not enjoying it, does it matter if the series is short? Why should it matter if it is long if you are enjoying it?

Of course there is the argument that all good things have to end. A series should end before it kills itself from the inside. Well…. when that starts to happen with “One Piece”, I’m sure it will end. So far, it hasn’t lost any steam. I think that Oda is one of those rare successful writers that actually cares more about his series than even the fans. I doubt he’d keep making it if he started to lose his passion and enjoyment for it.

The story arcs themselves can be long, and that can seem daunting on its own. The first major story arc (The “Baroque Works Saga”) took sixty-nine episodes. It doesn’t feel like this when you are watching or reading. The reason is that within the story arcs are several “acts”, which are mini story arcs. Most of the time, you’re so engrossed in what is currently going on that you don’t really think about when they’re going to get through the entire event. It is more like life. You’ve got a goal that you’re going to accomplish, but it is all about what you are doing day to day while getting to that goal.

Long story short, “One Piece” is a journey. It’s about trying to get from one place to another and trying to achieve things. That’s how the progress and timing of the story works.



Artwork:
“One Piece” has an artistic style that is all its own. It has been described as “goofy”, “childish”, “awkward”, and just plain “bad”. It bothers people, and it has made many people not want to watch it at all. I actually felt the same way in the beginning, and had it not been right in front of me on Toonami, I probably never would have watched it. It can be strange at first, but after a little while, you start to not really notice that there is anything different about it. By the time you get into the story, you begin to realize that it really wouldn’t be good if it were drawn a different way. With all the weird and wonderful things about “OP”, a more realistic style would be what made things awkward. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the style. I think that it just makes a bad first impression.



It’s Weird:
It’s weird. Oda just opened the door to his imagination and yelled, “Come out and play!” That’s one of the reasons that the show is incredible. Everything about it is original. It does follow the shonen anime method of having an action based story, where story arcs end in an epic battle; while the male lead is trying to achieve his dreams. That’s where most similarities end, and the wild fantasy begins. Many of the people they meet are not “normal”. Most of the Strawhats are not “normal”. This can range from a reindeer that can change into a humanoid to a fish man to a crossdressing shapeshifter. It’s weird. Logic has no place here. It’s part of what makes it so much fun and so darned funny. It can be off-putting to those who haven’t started the series (or only watched one or two episodes), but it becomes one of the reasons you love it so much.



It has everything! It can’t even stick to one genre!:
That is true to some extent. It has pirates, robots, sky gods, zombies, cyborgs, etc. It does not have them all at once. It does not have them all commonly. It is a show of expedition and adventure. The Grand Line is a crazy place. While you can travel from island to island, it is not easy. The islands have developed like individual words, and they all have their own environment, inhabitants, and creatures. There are pirate crews that have traveled through or even come through these places and have (or *are*) some of these things. It’s not the same as if a series like “Naruto” (which takes place on one continent) were to have such a wide selection of creatures. It’s more like traveling from planet to planet than it is from island to island.



Pirates and Pirate Crews:
“Pirate” to most people conjures an image of a villainous character who sails from island to island; raping, murdering, and plundering as they go. The truth is that many crews joined for their freedom or to fight an unjust government. This is more the direction of the pirates “OP”, though it takes the idea much further. There are still villainous pirates, many villainous pirates. There are also “good” pirates who are more like explorers. It is, most loosely, a term to describe a crew of seafarers who follow their own law, instead of the law of the World Government. That said, they still follow the pirate “theme”.

The Strawhats are one of the “good” crews. If you’re a roleplayer, they’d generally be a good match to Chaotic Good. They follow their own laws, they’re thieves; they take the chance to party hard; and they don’t really care who their opponent is, even the World Government, if they feel they are doing what they should. Still they always are figures of justice. They do not like bullies, whether it is a rich kid who is punishing the people of the town in which he lives or a Marine Admiral who is killing and destroying for his own selfish purposes. Once an injustice is set before them, they will do anything to set it right. It is by doing what they feel is right that has made them stronger as a crew, as individual pirates, and as bounty holders with the Marines.

Some of the pirate crews (Ok… most) can be strange on their own, following the “It’s weird” rule. Most crews have a theme. Some can be more realistic, like the heavily armed and cutthroat men of the Krieg Pirates; or it can be bizarre and fun but no less dangerous or evil, like Buggy the Clown and his circus themed pirates and the Black Cat Pirates, with Captain Kuro’s unusual attack techniques (and the rest of them). Much like everything else, it’s something you get used to, and it is something you start to love as you watch. I know, when I first saw Buggy, I was thinking “Come on!” Two episodes later, I loved him. A few episodes later, I was just wanting to see him get his butt (or other parts) kicked, on the grounds of that dog (dog is not dead btw).

It is not “Treasure Island”. It is not “Pirates of the Caribbean”. If you are looking for a serious reality based adventure with pirates drawn from history and serious nautical demonstrations, you’re going to be disappointed. “One Piece” is a funny but serious adventure tale that is not afraid to be silly and not afraid to be violent. Just like the creatures, it has it all.



Serious Content:
One thing that many people think when they start the series is that it is a light hearted, weird, funny series that is good for kids and adults. After they watch the first season, they realize that it is a series that can be light hearted, is definitely weird, is usually very funny, but is not for kids. Despite the funny parts, I would not suggest letting a child or sensitive young teen watch, unless it is by episode. There is definitely content that most young viewers would find difficult. Oda does not pull punches. People die. People are beaten, stabbed, tortured, and shot. There are wars. There are executions. There is a lot of injustice. It certainly makes you see that there can be many bad people in the world. I heard that part of the reason we are given all that goofiness, humor, and weirdness is to make the serious parts easier to deal with. It makes sense.

There is usually a point in season one, where a new viewer realizes the fact that it is not a kid’s anime. When I was first watching it, I had this realization while watching Sanji’s backstory. That’s something that no child should have to go through. Most of the people I’ve talked to have realized it at one point during the Arlong Park saga, usually with Nami’s backstory (That’s something no one – child or adult – should go through.) or the fight with Arlong and his men.

With all of this, it is still not a heavy or depressing series. It always focuses on hope, the future, and the idea that there is always a way to make your life better than it is. If anything, the dark parts make it more inspiring. It shows that the pain that you endure and the place you find yourself suffering can be nothing more than the step you use to pull yourself up to something better.



Deaths:
Deaths happen by what is best for the story. There are times when people should die but don’t. There are times when it is realistic. There is one death that people get mad over (not telling), because they say he shouldn’t have died for both method or story (I don’t know about method, but I think it did well for the story.); and there is a person who lived that a lot of people are very adamant over thinking he should have died. It’s a personal preference. Regardless of the side you stand on with the individual elements, the story is still excellent. The deaths almost always follow along.

Final Thoughts:
 There are so many things that I could say, to the point that I'm not sure what to say.  "One Piece" is such an impressive and unique experience.  The only thing that is remotely like it that I have seen is "Fairy Tale", and I think it was inspired by "One Piece". 

In a lot of ways, it is a cartoon -- more like a bedtime story -- for those that have grown up in age but never in their hearts.  It tells you that you may be in the real world, where children can be made slaves and your family can be murdered in front of you; but it doesn't mean that you can't still laugh, be goofy, and even embrace the ridiculous.  It tells you that there are still monstrous villains, some in your own government; but there are still heroes in the most unlikely of places who are willing to stand up to them and tell them that they are wrong.  It tells you that it doesn't matter what you were in the past; it only matters what you can be in the future.  It reminds you that no one is without purpose, no one is destined to be alone, no one is a freak just for existing.  It manages to address topics as widespread as civil wars, racism, and false gods; and it does it all while still showing you that it is Ok to laugh and Ok to be an idiot, a dreamer, and a complete loser.  It's a special series that I'm so grateful to have seen.