At the start of the series, Hinata has strong admiration toward the main protagonist — Naruto Uzumaki, which eventually turns into love as the story progresses.

[1] In the making of the series, Kishimoto had decided Hinata would marry Naruto; however, the plot regarding their romance was conceived by screenwriter Maruo Kyozuka.

Critical reception to the character has been mostly positive due to her actions in the series and her bigger role in The Last — her interactions with Naruto and her engagement in a conflict with the film's villain have been praised.

Hinata's character was also developed in the film, with Kyozuka saying that she had to put aside her feelings for Naruto to accept Toneri's proposal so that she could rescue Hanabi Hyuga, her sister.

However, drawing Hinata with a pretty and feminine face was difficult, so he largely left the task to Tetsuya Nishio, who was in charge of aiding the author with the character designs.

Hinata is introduced in Part I of the Naruto manga during the Chunin Exams, a series of tests that are meant to upgrade her status as a rookie, along with her teammates — Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame.

[31][32] After the Akatsuki terrorist leader, Pain, attacks Konohagakure and overwhelms Naruto in combat, Hinata attempts to save the latter while finally admitting her feelings for him.

[33] Though, impaled by Pain as means to force Naruto to see the world from his perspective, Hinata survives and her injuries are healed soon afterward by Sakura Haruno.

[33][34] When the Fourth Great Ninja War begins, Hinata is placed in the same division as Neji, and she joins Naruto in the battle against the Ten-Tails after her cousin sacrifices himself to protect them.

But she becomes doubtful he'll accept it when he receives a wide variety of gifts from other women due to his newfound popularity and begins wearing a blue scarf he recently found.

During their journey through the abandoned Shinobi village of the Otsutsuki Clan, Naruto returns Hinata's feelings for him after he is caught in a genjutsu and relives some of her memories.

Despite this, Hinata has been contacted by the spirit of her ancestor, Hamura Otsutsuki, to aid him as the "Byakugan Princess"; thus, she allows herself to be captured by Toneri under his belief that they will be getting married.

In spite of this, Toneri's Tenseigan chakra cloak grants him the power to slice the moon in half, placing Hinata in a giant bird cage.

Near the end, Naruto grasps the last remaining shred of Hinata's scarf and channels his chakra to deliver a punch strong enough to pin Toneri against the wall and depower him, stopping the moon from falling.

She then watches Boruto while he competes in the Chunin Exams, being approached by Naruto to use her Byakugan to confirm his suspicions that their son is cheating by using a particular ninja tool.

Amy McNulty of Anime News Network complimented the voice work of Stephanie Sheh for "simultaneously conveying the character's shyness, anxiety and determination".

[56] Reviewing one of the series' early story arcs, Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network said that her fight stimulated her "determination to change" because of her weak personality.

[57] IGN's Charles White enjoyed Hinata's character arc in the first anime series, praising how she fought alone in order to save Naruto from the antagonist Jiga.

[58] During the series' final arc, Chris Beveridge of The Fandom Post liked the way Hinata supported Naruto and helped him to keep fighting against their enemies alongside her.

[60] After seeing her in the series' Part II for the first time, Jason Thompson enjoyed Hinata's design and expected that she and Naruto would form a couple in the future.

[66] UK Anime Network writer Dan Rhodes agreed with Beveridge, saying the main storyline's focus was Hinata and Naruto's relationship rather than the appearance of the film's villain, whom he considered forgettable.

[68] David West of Neo said that Hinata and Naruto's relationship was well executed, and he praised the inclusion of previous events from the series in which the two characters were together.

[69] In March 2018, Chinese animator Chengxi Huang posted a video of Naruto and Hinata embracing each other naked in bed, to his public work Instagram.

Huang's apology stated that the animation was simply practice, and that he wanted to portray the everyday life of a married couple but still deleted the video in response.