Kishimoto Reveals Why He Killed Off Neji Hyuga

This article contains spoilers from Naruto’s Final Arc.

Summary

• Neji died during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
• Fans were stunned by the manner of Neji’s death.
• Kishimoto revealed Neji was killed off to bring Naruto and Hinata together.

The Naruto series is no stranger to killing off characters. In fact, one of the things that fans love about the story is that no character is truly safe. Kishimoto has, on many occasions, shocked the fans by killing off their favorite characters, and at other times, bringing something back to life. Such is the writing of the Naruto series. And while this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, it is certainly how Naruto fans like their story to be.

That said, some deaths in the series are quite clearly questionable. Kishimoto isn’t infallible and he has made mistakes while writing his story. He has on many occasions brought back to life characters who certainly didn’t deserve it and failed to add anything to the story, and at other times, killed off characters on an absolute whim and essentially ruined their character. Neji is one such character.

Neji’s Death in Naruto Shocked All Fans

• Neji Died During The Fourth Great Ninja War
• Fans Were Stunned By The Manner Of Neji’s Death

At the beginning of the Naruto series, Neji was introduced to the fans as a very talented ninja. Having been born into one of the four noble families of Konoha, that is, the Hyuga, Neji was deemed to be a genius the likes of which could hardly ever be matched in the story. Neji possessed such skill that even Sasuke was very careful around him, and the likes of Kakashi openly claimed him to be a genius. During the Chunin Exams Arc, the character that most people wanted to fight was Neji himself. His genius was such that he was the first person from Konoha 11 to become a Jonin.

Even though Shikamaru was made a Chunin after the Chunin Exams arc, Neji took things one step further and rose to the rank of Jonin during the timeskip. This meant that his overall skill was incredibly high, much higher than that of the other members of Konoha 11, and that he was a mature leader at the same time.

Because you called me a genius. – Neji

For fans of Neji, this was a great sign as it meant that Kishimoto would throw some great focus on his character later down the line. Unfortunately, that never happened. Neji became one of the characters that Kishimoto sidelined quite a lot during the Naruto series, and, with time, fans only got to say glimpses of him. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Neji was given some screen time, but, all of this culminated in one of the worst writing decisions that Kishimoto has ever made. During the assault of the Ten-Tails on the Shinobi Alliance, Neji finally met his end. His life ended in a flash, and he gave it up to protect his cousin, Hinata Hyuga, and the man who later went on to save the world, Naruto Uzumaki. Neji’s death failed to invoke any kind of emotion in the fans because the way it was dealt with was quite cheap. This death was meant to invoke a certain emotion in the fans, but that never came because Neji’s character, at this point, had become incredibly bland, and at the same time, it was clear to see what the author was truly attempting to do with his death.

Kishimoto Reveals Why Neji Was Killed Off

Neji Served As The Cupid To Bring Naruto And Hinata Close Together

Fans might be wondering as to why Neji was killed off. Some fans argue that Neji was killed off because this completed his character arc and made him free. While that is true to a certain extent, the way it was handled was incredibly cheap and it did not feel like Neji was freed from anything. The only reason why Kishimoto killed off Neji was so he could play Cupid and bring Naruto and Hinata together. Kishimoto has clearly stated this himself in an interview and this has largely disappointed the fans. The entire character that was so meticulously crafted for over 10 years was essentially sacrificed just so Naruto and Hinata could have a moment together in the midst of a battle where everyone else was dying and get closer to each other.

Naruto, remember that Lady Hinata is willing to die for you. So, remember that you have just more than one life in your hands. – Neji

Undoubtedly, this is one of the worst writing decisions by Kishimoto and the cheapest one as well. As fans know, Neji was not given the treatment that fans had expected, but to make things worse, he was used to bring other characters closer to each other. The relationship between Naruto and Hinata in itself was non-existent. Kishimoto failed to create a romantic bond between them throughout the series, and when he realized that it was too late, he then decided to kill off Neji to bring them together.

Naruto and Hinata could easily have come together if Kishimoto actually wanted to write a romantic subplot for them. At the same time, he could have preserved Neji as well and not given him the cheap death that he ended up doing.

Was Neji’s Death Badly Handled In Naruto?

Neji’s Death Remains To Be One Of The Worst Deaths In The Story

It goes without saying that Neji’s death was the cheapest in the entire Naruto series. It is unfortunate that Neji was a character so brimming with potential and yet all his character culminated and was being the cupid for Naruto and Hinata. Neji could still have sacrificed himself for Naruto or Hinata at some point later down the line, but sacrifices have to hold a certain amount of weight in order for them to mean something. In fact, Kishimoto has done sacrifices right in Naruto on many occasions. For instance, Kushina and Minato sacrificing themselves to save Naruto when he was born is handled to perfection and serves the plot beautifully. Similarly, fans have also seen other sacrifices and one of them came in the Fourth Great Ninja War itself when Obito gave up his life in the battle against Kaguya.

As far as deaths go, Kishimoto has done them beautifully across the story, such as when Itachi revealed the truth to his brother and then went on to sacrifice himself for the Shinobi cause. All this is to say that Neji’s death was incredibly cheap and failed to evoke any sort of emotion in the fans. The only legacy of Neji that exists right now is the fact that Boruto is named as a tribute to him. Other than that, Neji is a forgotten character, who, in the grand scheme of things, ended up not even mattering much.

This is incredibly sad for all the fans, but authors make mistakes all the time and one can only be grateful for the incredible content they gave them instead. Even though Neji’s character was somewhat ruined, he is still one of the most exciting individuals in the first few arcs of the series and his battles against the likes of Naruto Uzumaki and later down the line, Kidomaru, are truly fascinating to watch.

Naruto is available to read on the MangaPlus and the Shonen Jump app. Fans can read the official release and support the author by doing so.