One of the original Konoha 11 in Naruto, Ino Yamanaka didn’t make her first appearance in the manga until the fourth volume. She certainly made an impression with her blunt approach to conversation and her obsession with Sasuke Uchiha. Some fans might have dismissed her as the token pretty girl, but Ino proved herself to be more than that as the manga and anime went on.
With abilities that allow her to sense chakra levels, switch her mind with someone else’s, and probe the depths of another’s subconscious, Ino is an extremely powerful shinobi by the end of the series. She’s helping to raise the next generation of shinobi in Boruto with her son Inojin, but there might be a few things about her that fans missed.
What Is Ino’s Favorite Thing
Naruto’s databooks provide a lot of additional information about the characters fans love. From their favorite foods to their favorite words to their ninja stats, there’s all kinds of information. One of those pieces of information about Ino is her “favorite thing.”
Some fans might be surprised at Ino’s favorite thing. It’s listed as being the flower she gave to Sakura Haruno when they were children. The flower was something she gave to Sakura to cement their friendship when she helped Sakura to see that she didn’t need to listen to the other children teasing her. Not long after the two became the best of friends, however, they became competitors for the affection of the same person, and decided to become “enemies” until they faced off in their Chunin Exams.
What Does Her Name Mean
Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto made a habit of giving his characters names that held special meaning. In the case of Ino Yamanaka, all of those born into the Yamanaka clan have names beginning with the “Ino” prefix. Ino doesn’t appear to be short for anything in her case, but in the Japanese language, it can be.
Usually, Ino is short for the name Inoshishi, which actually translates to “boar” in Japanese. Likewise, the Yamanaka surname means “among the mountains.” That would make her name literally “boar among the mountains,” which is fitting since wild boar are often associated with mountain regions in Japan. Her name meaning is also why Sakura calls Ino “pig” repeatedly when the two aren’t on the best of terms.
What Is Unique About Her Academy Grades
Like the databooks, the Naruto Fanbook also provided fans with new details about the characters from the manga and anime. One of the items included was report cards for the characters from their time at the shinobi Academy.
Ino’s grades were particularly good considering the early days of the series didn’t show much of her character in action. In her practical skills, Ino received an A in ninjutsu, a B in taijutsu, and a B in genjutsu. She shared that ration of an A and two Bs with Shino and Hinata. The only character to have better marks than the three of them in the practical skill set was Sasuke Uchiha, with As across the board.
Why Is Ino’s Interest In Flowers Important
While she was growing up, Ino’s father owned a florist in Konohagakure. Following his death in the Fourth Shinobi World War, Ino took over the business. Flowers weren’t just important to her immediate family, however.
Ino had an interest in flowers all her life, frequently using metaphors for plants and explaining flower meanings to her friends. Her clan symbol is that of the bush clover. The bush clover has purple blossoms, just like Ino’s signature color. It also symbolizes the bond of friendship, honest love, and bluntness, which all point to Ino’s personality.
What Is Her Astrological Sign
Western Astrology doesn’t play a large role in the Naruto franchise, and even in modern culture, beliefs waiver as to whether it holds any meaning for personalities, or if it’s just good fun. If Ino was interested in her astrological sign, a September 23 birth date would make her a Libra - though just barely as she’s born on the Virgo cut off.
Virgos are detail oriented, planners, and they tend to make good leaders. Some might call them bossy. Libras prefer balance, hating what chaos can bring into their lives. Ino shares all of those traits with her Virgo teammate Shikamaru Nara, who was born just one day before her. Of course, Libras are also ruled by Venus, so they tend to be focused on appearance more than most. That’s perfectly Ino.
How Is Her Team’s Name Significant
Ino is a member of Team 10, commonly referenced as Team Asuma as a nod to their team leader, Asuma Sarutobi. It’s also called Ino-Shika-Cho in reference to the names of the teens who make up the team. That name is traditional as their family members make up a three person team in every generation of Konoha shinobi.
Ino-Shika-Cho isn’t simply a reference to family names or tradition. Instead, it’s a reference to popular Japanese culture. One creature in the popular Dragonball series was called an InoShikaCho. It was literally an animal that was part boar, deer, and butterfly, as the names of the characters indicate. The name also references a particular hand of cards in the Japanese game Koi-Koi.
What Is Ino’s Blood Type
Blood type personality theory remains popular in Japan, despite no scientific basis found for it in new studies. As a result of the belief that blood type influences personality traits, many fictional Japanese characters have their blood types included in their information.
Naruto fans can find the character blood types in the databooks. Ino is Type B. According to theories, that would make her outgoing, passionate, creative, and selfish. She shares this particular blood type with a lot of powerful Naruto characters: Naruto, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.
How Is Her Position In Konoha’s Defensive Forces Different
When Ino became a chunin, she had to find her path in the shinobi world. With the world on the brink of war and a penchant for chakra control, Ino chose not only to become a medical ninja, but also to fight.
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Ino was shown working on the battlefield primarily in the anime. Following the war, Ino has been running the family florist. In the manga, however, there’s an added duty. She also becomes the leader of the Konoha Barrier Team. That is the group responsible for detecting outside threats to Konoha using their sensory skills. She’s still the leader in the Boruto manga as well.
How Many Missions Has She Completed
The Naruto databooks give fans the official number of missions completed by members of the ninja teams. Those numbers include missions alluded to in the manga, but they don’t include filler episodes of the anime. Plenty of the missions would have also occurred “off screen” for the reader.
In Ino’s case, she’s completed 40 official missions. The majority of the missions - 23, to be exact - are of the easiest classification, D-Rank. Nine were C-Rank and 6 were B-Rank. She only had two missions at A-Rank, the most difficult of hers. There are no S-Rank missions in Ino’s official docket, which are said to be only for elite shinobi.
Why Did Ino Decide To Become A Medical-Nin
The anime gave a clear reasoning for Ino’s decision to become a medical ninja. Inspired by Sakura studying under Lady Tsunade, Ino decided to follow the same path. Both young women had immense chakra control and could use their medical studies to help their peers beyond simply fighting in the field instead of sticking with sealing work.
That’s an admirable path, but the manga never revealed just why Ino chose that particular path. The light novels that followed the Naruto manga even revealed that Ino and Sakura founded specialized hospitals for children who experienced the trauma of the war, but Ino’s motivations, beyond falling into the career, were never made clear.
