NejiTen or NejiHina?

Question

A lot of people like NejiTen and some like NejiHina too. I'm just curious to know why you all like it. Please tell me why and what makes you think that the pairing can happen. I won't be biased (I don't like either anyway. I like NejiSaku ^^) and I'll just give credit to the one most elaborated and most clear and... well, makes sense. ^_^

Answer 1

ok if it was neji and hinata then that would be just plain old freaky cus there cousins and u dont wanna marry ur cousin do u? its neji tenten anyways..... look on youtube.................................dumby lol oh and Neji and saukura never even talk to each other.

Answer 2

Nejihina

Answer 3

Neji & Ten-ten all the way...

Why? First off, it's because of the simple fact that they spend so much time together. You don't really see it in the anime, but because Gai and Lee are so overly-enthusiastic, Neji & Ten-ten would rather train with each other. Also, seeing how Neji is as strong as he is, for Ten-ten to be able to train with him for long hours on end seems pretty impressive... I'm pretty sure this same thought has occurred to Neji. And if you just watch closely, you'll see Neji sticking up for Ten-ten every once in a while and helping her out.

I think as a teammate, Ten-ten can bring out a softer side of Neji, which is made more possible by the fact that Naruto has changed his outlook on life. I think Neji is more likely to form actual feelings for Ten-ten rather than a sense of respect like he has developed for Hinata after his fight with Naruto. Protecting Hinata is more of an obligation for him which was established when he was very young, as a branch member, whereas protecting Ten-ten would be more of something he wants to do... I mean, yeah, she is his teammate, but she can be considered the one person closest to Neji because of all the time they spend together. It's a lot like Shikamaru & Temari. It's already been hinted.

And as for Hinata... dude, that's his cousin, c'mon. Yeah, they have to preserve the clan, but as strong as they are, I doubt they actually have to marry within the clan. I mean, look at the Uchihas. Uchiha Fugaku was pretty strong and had it going on, and I doubt that his wife possessed Sharingan, but his sons, Sasuke and Itachi, came out to be two of the strongest shinobi in Konoha. So I doubt there would be a need for an arranged marriage or romance between Neji and Hinata. Hiashi himself said Hinata was of no use, and I don't see why he would consider her as a wife for Neji if he felt her to be so worthless...

And I reiterate... Neji and Hinata are cousins. No, no, no!!!! For once, let's have a great anime without making it all weird with awkward pairings!!!

But whatever... Ideal pairings are people's opinions, and this is just what I think about it.

Answer 4

I like both.I like nejiten Because it's such an obvious pairing,I can see It's gonna happen and It's the most possible pairing in naruto even if neji doesn't like her jet.I like nejihina just for fun and caus there so distant in the anime, to scared to say even goodmornig. But I understand how they feel ,especially after THAT.(you know) ^_^

Answer 5

Given the choices, I'd pick NejiHina.

1. It's not incest if we take it in the traditional, East Asian culture sense.

Examples are former Japanese Emperors Bidatsu and Yomei who took their half-sisters as consorts.

To date, these practices still occur especially when a family wishes to keep their wealth within the clan.

Cousin-marriages have also been featured in other anime namely, Fruits Basket and Saiunkoku Monogatari.

2. As already mentioned by another user, not all cousin marriages will result to genetically deformed babies. Do note that Naruto, after all, is a work of fiction. Kishimoto doesn't have to comply to natural laws as we know it.

3. Yin Yang. Yin is dark, deficient and passive (Hinata); Yang is bright, excessive and active (Neji).

Their union (if it is possible) can bring harmony and balance, perhaps to the Hyuga Clan.

Answer 6

neji and ten-ten

why write a book about this question

Answer 7

Nejiten is more possible!

Answer 8

For my favourite couple, NejiHina's my favourite. If you can spare me a few moments I'll give arguments on my part on NejiHina, because I really cannot stand the "ew incest! deformed babies" from every NejiHina hater. So I'll gladly use Mizura's manifesto as she has granted everyone permission.

1. Cousin marriages, including first cousin marriages, aren't considered incest in every part of the world

Close cousin marriages have actually been historically quite common: transportation was not exactly common in the old days, so people went the easy way: they inter-married. In some places such as the middle east, cousin marriages are actually still preferred. Some regions in the world actually have close to 50% first cousin marriage rates, imagine that!

European royals intermarried to keep their "bloodline pure" (and contrary to what people think, "hemophilia" is not a cousin marriage problem: hemophilia is carried by the X-chromosome. Long story short, a mother with the problem has a 50% chance of passing on the trait no matter whom she marries). Even the Bible does not list cousin marriages as among forbidden relationships.

I'd also like to refer people to Sintari's lovely piece on enculturation. Marriage has simply historically been a social or economic means above all: in places where marrying out (thus bringing in outside fortune and relations) was viewed as advantageous, people married out. In places where on the contrary they preferred to keep fortunes in the family, people married in. The concept of marrying freely for romance was actually not widespread.

Legally speaking, no European country actually has laws outright banning cousin marriages, either (even if they are not necessarily in favor of it). Half the states in the US actually allow cousin marriages as well (including first cousins). In Japan, it seems that first cousin marriages are now illegal, but it seems like a recent trend due to misguided genetics: 4 in 1000 marriages in Japan are between close cousins, and the Royal Family has historically married cousins as well.

2. Cousin marriages do not pose a strong genetic risk

This is the most common misconception about cousin marriages. YES, Repeated interbreeding increases the probability of recessive genetic traits showing up, but a one-time first cousin marriage actually only has a 6-7% chance of genetic problems compared to 3-4% for unrelated couples. The increase in risk is just about as high as if a woman were to have children after age 40 instead of before age 30.

In a past essay of mine, I've also pointed out that if you were to take genetics seriously, then the Hyuugas as a whole probably has a very high rate of inbreeding. Some could then argue that it further increases the risk for NejiHina, but in this case it actually does the contrary: if there were indeed many recessive disorders among the Hyugas, they would have shown up in mass long ago.

Yet they didn't: the Hyugas are considered among the strongest in Konoha. Neither Neji, Hinata nor their parents seem to have any disorders either. This means a NejiHina child would likely have as much a risk of genetic defects as any other visible Hyuga did (ie, not much). Inbreeding is actually a good way to weed Out genetic disorders if the ones carrying them die out at a young age: this doesn't happen in our modern society, but in the shinobi world, natural selection would probably have done the job, so the Hyugas are probably quite genetically clean.

Or you could argue that bad genes are floating around, but the Hyugas selectively "weed them out" (via Byakugan pre-diagnosis?). Well then, it'd apply to Neji and Hinata's kids, too. If you feel squeamish about that, remember that we're talking about a manga involving kid soldiers sent to kill each other.

In the meantime, those who are truly most at risk are those with a family history of dominant genetic problems: people with dominant genetic defects have a 50% risk of passing the trait on. Two unrelated people with the same recessive trait have a 25% of carrying on the defect. Smoking, drinking and taking drugs also pose risks to newborns. Do I hear people arguing that Kurenai's kid will probably have retarded growth, have attention-deficit disorder and have increased cancer risks because of Kurenai's likely exposure to massive second-hand smoke by hanging around Asuma, or that Chouji and Kiba's kids wlil have other problems because of questionable drug intake?

Long story short, scientists have rejected the genetic argument against cousin marriages long ago.

I also hear people going "ew, but cousins share 25% of their genes!" Actually, any two human beings share 99.9% of their genetic make-up. Siblings share 99.95%, so I guess Neji and Hinata share 99.925%? Pardon me if I'm not moved by the 0.025% extra.

3. Why I personally don't see NejiHina as a sibling relationship

The first thing people would point out is that Hinata refers to Neji as Neji-niisan. However, there are cultural factors to take into account here: in Asia, referring to someone as "brother" does Not necessarily mean you perceive a sibling relationship with them. Case in point: Konohamaru refers to Naruto as "Naruto-niichan." Udon and Moegi do the same in the anime (though they've had fewer contacts with Naruto in the manga). In the Tea country anime filler arc, Sasami blushed heavily at the sight of her cousin, whom she also referred to as nii-chan. In Asia, and in Japan specifically, "brother" can be a semi-generic familiar term much like how in the west, people can refer to an old person as "that old grandpa."

Also, as someone has pointed out, in Japan people rarely refer to someone as "cousin," instead automatically use "nii-san." This is despite the fact that cousin marriages may be viewed as okay. There are actually some instances of arranged cousin marriages (even if they didn't go through) in Japanese anime, even in light-hearted ones such as Card Captor Sakura and Digimon. I actually know someone who confessed that his grandmother is Japanese, and married her first cousin whom she used to call "nii-san:" the social implications just aren't the same as in the west.

The biggest reason I personally don't perceive a sibling relationship between Neji and Hinata, though, is that they were not socially Raised as siblings. People brought up in the same clan, as siblings, do indeed develop ties in a ways that prevent intimate romantic relationships later on. Let me say a few words on the Westermarck effect.

The Westermarck effect stipulates that children raised together at a young age will develop a sibling relationship that will lead to sexual aversion to each other later on in life. This is regardless of their actual blood affinity. However, the cited "critical" period is between infancy, and the ages 6 to 10.

Article

All of this implies that there is a critical period, sometime between infancy and the age of six or ten, during which time biological imprinting takes place which causes a later sexual aversion towards a person.

Article

The more time they had spent together during those crucial first thirty months, the more likely they were to reject the idea of marriage and more likely any subsequent marriage would fail.

Neji and Hinata haven't met until Hinata was 3 and Neji was 4. In one day, Neji developed an intense hatred of Hinata, and I doubt they've since interacted much, until Hinata was 12, and Neji 13.

The real barrier for me, though, is that Neji and Hinata were not brought up as siblings, but as members of separate Castes.

This social barrier (and further physical barriers created by Neji's initial hatred of Hinata) "prevents" in my view for a true sibling relationship to have developed between the two. Others may disagree, but this is how I view things. This separation goes on until Hinata is 12 and Neji is 13, well beyond the minimum 6 years described by Westermarck. Any Westermarck effect would "half-assed" in my opinion: they might still develop a sibling-type relationship from now on, but it wouldn't be Westermarck.

Also, when estranged siblings meet later on in life, the opposite phenomenon sometimes (some studies say "often", though I'm not too sure about that) happens: Genetic Sexual Attraction. Granted, documented cases were for people who were separated by adoption and only met when they were after 20 (not that it'd be easy to gather information for younger ages, since you don't exactly have many cases of estranged siblings finding each other when they're 14).

Article

When close proximity during this critical period does not occur - for example, where a brother and sister are brought up separately, never meeting one another - they may find one another highly sexually attractive when they meet as adults. This phenomenon is known as genetic sexual attraction.

It would be a rather half-assed case of Genetic Sexual Attraction, but it my mind is cancels out the half-assed W. effect just fine. You may disagree, but hey. Half-assed vs half-assed.

4. Besides... it's a manga, who cares?

If all fails... we're talking about fictional characters. So genetics, cultural considerations and whatnot can effectively be considered null in many instances.

If people wanted to be morally righteous, they'd be better off complaining about child labor and the glorification of violence in Naruto instead.

In the end, it's perfectly understandable if some people do view NejiHina as incest from their own cultural point of view, and thus dislike the pairing accordingly.

But they should realize that this view is not universal, just like some people don't like gay relationships, and some people do. As I've said, I had never thought of NejiHina as incest until I heard other people complain about it. The genetic argument is pretty much void even in real life, nevermind in a fictional universe. And as for the interpretation of manga relationships... again, it's subjective. Besides NaruSasu for example has outright been Stated as a "brother" relationship, but you don't see the yaoi fans labeling it incest, now do you?

To each their own, and this is my view. This, though, only describes why I don't have anything against NejiHina.

The next part is about why NejiHina fans like the pairing.


II. The appeal of NejiHina: a multi-faceted pairing

/Edit: O-kay, I have since noticed that not everybody is even up-to-date on the canon interactions between Neji and Hinata.

Apparently, some are still stuck on "Neji tried to kill Hinata!" (and Gaara tried to kill Naruto. So did Sasuke. So they'll all forever remain on bad terms?)

Also, my ears are ringing with people yelling that there is no "proof" of a romantic relationship. Of course there's no definite proof. Ever heard of crack pairing? You know... the ones that make up at good half of the Naruto fandom? (if only because of the conflicting possible main character pairings, and obviously, they're not all going to be canon. There is no proof of SasuNaru romance. Yet it's one of the most popular pairings out there!)


And this is another quote that I like (spare a few moments to read please! XD):

How to start... there are so many aspects to this couple, so many layers, that I hardly know where to begin. Neji and Hinata I believe, are the two people with the deepest and most complex bonds in the entire series (save perhaps for Naruto and Sasuke, but for completely different reasons >.>), and because of their past, because of the difficulties they've had to surmount, I believe those bonds to be even stronger, and for both of them to be stronger for it.

The first thing striking about Hinata and Neji's relationship is that there is something undeniably tragic about it. When you look at the flashbacks, you realize how differently things could have turned out. If Neji and Hinata weren't born into the cold and rigid system that is the Hyuuga clan, if their parents weren't twins seperated at birth, if Neji weren't so strong while Hinata was so weak, things would have turned out so differently. When Neji first saw Hinata, he thought that she was cute. When his father first told him that his duty was to protect the shy little girl, he readily accepted the task. Had things turned out differently, Neji and Hinata would have been friends. Like Sakura had Ino, like Chouji had Shikamaru, even like Naruto had Iruka, Hinata would have had her Neji-niisan, who would guide her through her difficulties, be there for her when she's alone, train her to become stronger when her father is too harsh, and maybe, help her grow less shy. Their relationship would have been a close one, one that could have bloomed into more. If things had been a little different.

Instead, the mere minutes seperating Hiashi and Hizashi's birth, and the weight of countless generations of Hyuuga traditions, meant that their destinies would forever be opposites. Hinata had to grow up alone, with no-one to support her, while Neji, himself, was locked in his own cage of hatred. Both victims of an excessively demanding system. Both trapped by destiny.

Yet each in their own way fought against their destiny. Hinata tried to change, she tried to overcome her limits. And while Neji outwardly appeared resigned to his fate, inwardly he was struggling.

All this came out when Hinata and Neji confronted. All this time, Neji seemed to know everything about Hinata. He read her like an open book, said that she was too kind, said that for her own sake, she should remain a genin. He said that people couldn't change, that no matter what, you were trapped in your own destiny. And he said that in order to no longer feel the pain, you should just give up trying....

Yet Hinata saw more. Even when she was barely standing, even when she was near death, even though she was drowning in her own struggles and difficulties in a system far too harsh for her, she could see deeper into Neji. Neji talked of resigning oneself to one's destiny, he spoke of her thus letting go of her pain. He told her to stop struggling, that it was useless to try. But whose pain is he talking about? If he were truly resigned, why did he kept struggling? If he had truly accepted his destiny, why was he the one to suffer? And Hinata saw that, and reached out to him. Beneath the outwardly appearance of a perfect, undefeatable genius, layed a flawed human being. No, the one who was suffering the most was not her, but him. The one trapped by destiny was not her, not quite, but him. But people can change. You can defeat your destiny.

Her words hit their mark. Neji, who had acted cozy all this time in his beliefs, was disarmed faced with her mentality. "Why" do you keep struggling? Why don't you don't give up? Why don't you let go of the pain? Because... people can change. If people fight hard enough, they can change, they can stop the suffering. Giving in is not the solution, it won't erase the pain, it didn't ease Neji's pain. But if you keep fighting, it might be painful, you might be struck down. But you can get up again and keep fighting, fighting to break through the barriers set by birth, fighting to change, and to be free. And the person who suffered the most was not Hinata, but Neji. And Neji-niisan too, could change. Neji-niisan too, could break free.

He had lashed back at her then. For challenging the cage that binded him, the mentality that he has resigned to despite hating it, for showing that she herself could break free of her bindings even as he thought it was impossible, the normally calm Neji lost his cool, and tried to kill her, tried to kill the one who wanted to show him that perhaps, just perhaps, it wasn't hopeless, it is worth fighting for your freedom.

Back then she had failed to get through to him. But she helped lay the foundations. Neji's cage has been rattled, and now it's up to others to show him more. Naruto then finished the job, or rather, he was among those who showed him wrong. All these people around him, who tried to prove him wrong: in the end, they were right. They had better eyes than him. Lee who fought to prove that people could achieve something through hard work. Naruto who proved that people could achieve something through hard work. Genma who told him that a bird could always try to find a way to open the cage. Neji's father, Hizashi, who showed that even with the Curse Seal binding them down, they could still find a way to fly free. And Hinata, who showed that people could change, for showing that while the struggle is painful, in the end, you can achieve something for yourself. For all these people who fought to prove him wrong, for all these people who did prove him wrong, Neji did the same. He finally broke free of the mental barriers he set himself. Neji himself, finally changed, and became free as well.

Because of all these hardships they went together, I believe their bonds to be stronger now. Neji had always known about Hinata, though she has proved him wrong, and he accepted that. Neji let go of his hate. Hinata let go of her fear. Neji accepted his weakness and imperfection, Hinata accepted her strength. For all these hardships, for everything that has happened, I believe the two to have come out stronger, wiser, and more accepting and understanding of each other.

Thanks to Naruto now, the Hyuugas have started changing. But it is only the first step. The physical cage that binded the two houses in a cycle of hate is still in place. Hiashi, by training Neji, is taking the first step against traditions, yet this is the person who failed to save his brother, and who failed to spare his nephew a childhood of pain. There is only so much Hiashi can do, only so much he can accomplish. Naruto, in the same way, have laid the foundations in Neji, but change must come from within.

And I believe Neji and Hinata to be perfect for the role. Hinata, with her newfound strength, Neji with his newfound wisdom. Neji, with his strength, would stand up to all opposition. Hinata, with her compassion and sense of harmony, would instead heal the hatred that has plagued the two houses. As Isentropic said, Neji would be the strong, confident, intelligent one. Hinata would be the kind, caring, unprejudiced one. They were two sides of the same problem. They would be two sides to the same solution. Neji would find strength in Hinata, who all this time, had better eyes than him, and who all this time, has never hated him. For her compassion and forgiveness, he would stand by her side. He'd protect her again, like he promised as a child, and this time, he'd do it through his own free will, because it's the right thing to do. And Hinata could find strength in Neji as well, the one who was always stronger than her, and yet, the living proof that people can change, and let go of their hate. If Neji can be saved, and support her, so can the rest of the clan. To fight on is not meaningless.

Neji is rigid, cold, but softens up around Hinata. Hinata is kind, understanding, soft, but has a will of steel. Each has managed to surmount the cages that binded them. Each will fight against the cages that used to bind them, and still bind others, one with strength, the other with warmth, both with the determination of those who know that freedom is possible, because they've attained it themselves. It won't be easy, they know: the weight of countless generations of tradition are against them. But together they can rid of the hatred forever.

So I see their relation as a serene one. Not one that is flashy or overly romantic, with loud declarations of love under the storming rain. Instead it would be rather plain and bare, the two leaders of the Hyuuga clan. But if you look beneath, you'd see more to it. Understanding, acceptance, made stronger by the struggles they've had to fight. Respect for the other for having overcome his or her own barriers. Admiration for each other's strength, within or without. The kind and compassionate leader, who'd bring harmony with a determination of steel, and the strong and outwardly cold leader, who deep down has relearned compassion. Neji has accepted his weakness. Hinata has accepted her strength. They have accepted each other. For me, it's like watching the sunrise after the storm. Together they can lead the Hyuuga clan out of the shadows of the past, and back into the sunlight.


Ah well. >_< End of my so-called sensible ranting. Well, happy reading! XP