Hump Day Husbandos: Hinata (Fire Emblem Fates)

Since at the time of writing there is less than a week left of both the Wii U and 3DS eShops remaining open, it’s a great time to re-evaluate and revisit both console and handheld before some of the most exclusive or difficult to obtain titles are sent off to the void on March 27 — and with them, husbandos like Hinata.

With that in mind, I wanted to look back at Fire Emblem on the 3DS in some way, since it is the one series I spent most of my 3DS playtime on. It was my gateway into the beloved strategy RPG behemoth!

So here’s to Hinata of Fire Emblem Fates, one of the most polarising titles of the bunch but easily one of my most cherished 3DS games due to his character alone.

Who is Hinata?

Hinata is a playable unit in two of the three paths in Fire Emblem Fates – Birthright and Revelations. Hinata is a retainer of Takumi, the younger brother of the Hoshido royal siblings family unit. Coming from a long line of samurais who serve under the Hoshido family, his passion for skilfully wielding a katana runs deep in his veins while his spunky, can-do attitude and sheer kindness and good natured soul makes him an immediate hit in my books.

Effective on the battlefield and is an absolute gem of a person? S-Support him immediately, past me once said. With his name meaning “place in the sun”, he was exactly that to me whenever I would start up the game, and he remains as such even after seven years.

Why we love him

Like any minor character found within a Fire Emblem game, the most meaningful depth we get from Hinata is from his support conversations. With the majority of them tending to showcase the very best of his kind nature, even his supposed personality flaws or alleged weaknesses as a character prove to be comedy gold. Him being kind of simple-minded really shows just how much of a dork he is, for example.

This is highlighted best throughout Azura’s support conversation, where he remarks that his meagre bit of profound advice was “the best I could do on short notice”. It is dense enough, but his actions that follow afterwards speak even more volume of his ineptitude. He proceeds to buy a bunch of vegetables without being conned by a pretty lady a second time around, which results in Azura smiling at the gesture. Their S-support can conclude with Hinata picking up yet more vegetables, all in the name of getting an even bigger grin on her face as a means of proclaiming his love for her.

There’s honestly way too much to say about the goodness of his character without going into such examples each and every time – this makes for a perfectly brilliant excuse to suggest reading through every one of his support conversations for how wholesome, funny and entertaining they are.

But without going into anything too specific from hereon, if he is not showcasing his naivety by being way too susceptible to a pretty face, he is either keenly attempting to prove others wrong about their opinion of him, or passionately proclaiming just how awesome his fellow comrades are during their lowest points of self-confidence. Hinata’s consideration for others is a never-ending commitment on his part, and it’s something he never forces but comes naturally to him for the betterment of everyone around him. This can even include himself at times!

Why you will love him

Hinata is such a good guy who makes me widely smile with each and every second he appears on screen. His extreme optimism is more than admirable for how most of the time during his support conversations he is cheering up the other person, encouraging and elevating their mood due to him simply being himself.

But even then he is learning to still build himself up despite being such a flawless human being already. We can see this by how he dives headfirst into trying something new, such as ice sculpting with Felicia, or taking onboard advice from others, such as Mozu teaching him how to haggle during shopping trips.

He does not just listen but takes everything he hears to heart. His sheer consideration for others really does do a number on me since his empathy is evidently on another level entirely. For a romanceable character I want to keep all to myself, I also admit that the rest of his S-Support conversations are just as fun and endearing, if not even beating out Corrin’s very own.

But since he manages to make female Corrin a full-on tsundere during their S-support, this alone makes him a constant go-to as my marriage choice no matter which playthrough I’m on in the game.

Hinata is an absolute comfort character of mine due to just how sweet he is. He is easily one of the most lovable characters to come out of the series as a whole if you ask me. For a character who did not rank particularly highly in the character popularity polls it fills my heart up with unbridled joy to see others give him the amount of love and respect he deserves. Especially so when it’s coming from the archives of Rice Digital even!

He uplifts so many characters so effortlessly that it pains me that he is not on the receiving end of such compliments nearly enough for his infectious positivity alone. On a final note, without Hinata, we would not have the resident pickle lover of the game in the form of Hisame, his son – thanks to this character trait alone, the memes could and would never stop coming. What a time to have been alive.

Grab the game now on the Nintendo 3DS and marry this man asap.

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