Good points all.
I tend to think like Madz and Kim: yeah, this was meant as a NH moment. The language is so specific and personal. Hold your hand.... Wait for me.... She's not saying she'll stand by his side and face the future. She's thinking of him romantically. And that's ok.
Yeah, it's as many have said previously. It restates what we already know. She is thinking of him romantically, but that's been clear since at least 2009 when she openly stated she loved him. If I was a NH fan I'd be happy because it would mean it still exists and that all the talk of closure was premature.
Outside of that it doesn't do anything to advance it and it's not worth worrying over.
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However, this has set the Hinata-character-development-o-meter back to zero! She's still the same, pursuing her own goals through Naruto. She has not reached a parallel love yet.
I wouldn't say zero. I would call zero going back to the early stages of Part 1 where a seven year old was kicking her butt.
That said, I'm kind of bugged by the way some people are emphasizing this. Between this and the spoilers thread her inward focus is talked about like it makes her a horrible person and that is what should be taken away from it.
I agree with you that her love for him if focused inward. Aside from simply not likely Hinata, my biggest gripe with the NH pairing is that it is not and never has been a pairing between equals. While I'm not sure Kishimoto is expressly intending to co this, the flip to the heroworship is tht she views herself as inferior to him. As long as she does that it will, as you say, not be a parrellel love. Normally when people say it is not equal it is because one dominates at the expense of the other, but here it's all Hinata and her view of herself.
Despite the romantic tilt, I thought to the boarder point of what she said was at least a personal acknowledgement to herself that this was the case. She finally realized what she was doing and how she was approaching it and so it's a vow to that. Of course, I'd still want to see action, especially because of the last NH moment.
That last interaction, I thought, was the real step backward. After coming through in the Pain fight (without getting into the merits about the quality of the aid) she wilts in front of his presence. Again. After displaying great courage in front of Pain, she goes back to doubting herself and has to be talked up. Again. And there wasn't even a really good reason for it. I don't recall her failing in any significant aspect. Oh, if I were a big Hinata fan, I'd have been a bit aggravated despite the moment they had.
Here, I'd call it staying in neutral. A step foward in that at least she seems to finally acknowledge how she has been viewing herself and vowing to improve on that, but a step back because it reinforces her last appearance and that step back from Pain. Kishimoto really should have offed her against Pain. Would have been a great way to go out and left, at least me, convinced she had finally gained the confidence she desired. I wouldn't have doubted she had it. Now, I do and because of that I want to see more CONSISTENT action, not just words.
Anyway, back to my original point. I don't think this aspect of the love is meant to leave the reader with a bad or negative impression. I don't like her, but I don't think Kishimoto is sending the message that I shouldn't. If her goal is to be the weak loser that acquires the strength to stand on her own then it makes sense that it is inwardly focused if that is how she is aquiring the strength. I have to wonder what he would have done had people not latched on to it as a major pairing in the chunnin exams because that goal can be accomplished with or without her love without changing much.
I do agree that when compared with others who are worried about him she still speaks to herself does make her look bad both as being selfish and as a sign of weakness (for lack of a better word), but I don't think the intent is specifically to make her look like a complete selfish person we should despise for having that trait.
That said I think your right in the comparison of the types of love signify and intent to do something different with each character. I think the Hinata centric nature of the whole thing signifies that it's meant to be a vehicle getting her from A to B rather than the end itself. Personally, I would prefer that when she gets closure she completely moves past the love because for the entire series Naruto has been her crutch (not to mention my own pairing bias). It would be nice if she completely stood on her own.