Fans wonder if Naruto and Hinata's romance was too hasty

The Naruto fanbase seems to be actively engaged in numerous discussions about couples in the series. Over many years, the series introduced a ton of characters and a good chunk of them have love interests as well. One of the most popular couples in the series is Naruto and Hinata.

In the anime world, many shonen series seem to have done a good job when it comes to developing the relationship between two characters. However, the Naruto series seems to have struggled a bit when it comes to characters’ romantic relationships. Despite the fanbase liking both the characters, many wonder if 'NaruHina' was forced.

Let’s take a look at whether or not the aforementioned couple’s relationship was forced in the series.

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Naruto and Hinata: Was their relationship rushed or forced in the series?

As a couple, Hinata and Naruto are quite popular, and a majority of the fanbase loves seeing them together. While this might be the case, there is no doubt that their relationship was forced to a certain degree. Their relationship might have developed after their feelings were known to each other. Looking into their past will give us a good idea as to why their relationship seems forced.

Anyone who has ever read the manga or watched the anime knows that Hinata has always loved the protagonist, and has supported him in any way she could. She would often get nervous around him, and anyone who knew Hinata also knew about the person she was interested in. Naruto inspired her to become a stronger person and stand her ground. However, we all know that the protagonist was always in love with Sakura since the first day at the academy.

It’s a little difficult to gauge how true their feelings were at that age since they were still kids. Despite his feelings for Sakura, she constantly denied his advances and always had an eye out for Sasuke. It took a long time for Naruto to stop expressing his feelings for Sakura and realize that she had her heart set on Sasuke.

Even at this point in the series, he didn’t particularly understand Hinata’s hints and treated her like a close friend for a long time. When Hinata was flustered around Naruto, he would behave the same way he did with others, indicating that he only saw her as a comrade.

A major reason why fans believe that 'NaruHina' (a term used to refer to the romantic relationship between Naruto and Hinata) seemed rushed was due to the unexpected demise of Hinata's cousin, Neji, during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

The creator of the series, Masashi Kishimoto, admitted that Neji’s death was important because it served as a catalyst to further develop the protagonist’s and Hinata’s relationship in the series. When a popular character’s death is required to progress two characters’ relationship, there is no doubt that it was forced and rushed. Fans feel that if maybe Naruto and Hinata's relationship wasn't rushed, Neji's death could have been avoided.

It would be interesting to see how the fanbase would have reacted if the romantic relationship between Naruto and Hinata was explored after the Fourth Shinobi World War. There was a lot of peace at the time, and the series could have taken its time to show how their relationship developed. Either that or the series should have addressed this during the earlier parts of Naruto: Shippuden, which would have been the perfect time for this relationship to develop.