I have a question.. never watched/read and of the Boruto stuff. Did Ikimoto/Kishi or whoever brainstorms these plots. Has Hinata ever been "relevant" on a consistent basis in the post-Naruto era as the female lead?
What? Are you asking about the term or something else? Because reading it should make clear an important part of it is, it isn't planned. Its an accidental.
Kishimoto has taken a back seat since he gave control over to Ikemoto. As for him, thinking things through is not something Ikemoto does. If you were to read Boruto manga you will realize he is very predictable and easy to read. The only surprises are curve balls to shake up the monotony that often backfire.
I don't watch the anime anymore so for that its hearsay to a degree.
At large after the ending Hinata was given more prominence because she was the heroine now and the mother of the next hero. So she had to do more. But this backfired along with the backlash to the ending because she doesn't have much of a personality, personal interest besides Naruto, charisma, or storylines that make her interesting. So she was largely shove back into the background as much as they could. As she was not liked by the Japanese fans, that weren't her supporters, and they see her as the reason Naruto was ruined.
The anime made her an almighty mom to try to counter the notion she a passives wife that has lets her husband neglect their children while they became spoiled rotten unlikable brats. It didn't work, and it doesn't surprise me if she had a lot of scenes in the anime even after I stopped watching. But how unlikable her kids are reflects on her because she is clearly the one who is raising them. So she doesn't get the positive only appears when its important that she used to have. As how her kids behave is part of the story. So she is always somewhat in the back of readers' minds whenever Boruto starts having a hissy fit. That this is Hinata's fault they have to suffer through this brat's behavior.
In the manga, she rarely appears but that is the same for most Naruto characters or even next gen characters that aren't Ikemoto's own creations. Not helped that she was sealed away at the end of part 1 along with her husband. She was largely stuck as the wife of Naruto and the mother of his kids as she seems to have retired unlike the rest of the cast. Kawaki doesn't treat her like a parental-figure like he does Naruto. Her biggest moment was slapping Kawaki because he wants to kill her son and then she was sealed away with no resistance; undermining her big moment.
She is no longer the secretly powerful most beautiful ninja that only appears when its important and is the only one who truly loves and understands Naruto; in her fans' minds at least. She is now a housewife doing nothing while her family is a mess.
Sakura benefited from the reduced role because that means most people impression of her as an adult is not her crying, doing nothing, but hitting Naruto they had she was when she was a heroine. Instead, while yes, most people do not like her with Sasuke, outside her shippers. She now largely appears to either heal someone, or its related to her daughter. Her daughter is a very well received and well like character so this reflects positively on her, as she was the one who raise her on her own. Her big moment was her speech to her daughter in chapter 33. Besides issues among other things the art that undermined it so it can't truly be called great. Most people seem to agree it is the best scene in Boruto.
Edited by Bail o' Lies, 22 May 2026 - 06:38 PM.
