Tenten (Tenten?) (romanized as Ten Ten in the English anime) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. She is a member of Might Guy’s Team Guy, consisting of herself, Neji Hyuga, and Rock Lee.

In some foreign subtitles, Tenten has been referred to as Ama, from the term “Ama kudari”, which means “descending from heaven”. This has caused some fans to mistakenly conclude that “Ama” is her last name.

The name “Tenten” means here and there. Repeating the same syllable twice is a popular naming scheme for pandas; her odango hairstyle also resembles panda ears. “Tenten” can also refer to the small double marks that appear on Japanese hiragana and katakana to change the pronunciation of certain characters (for example, “ta” [] becomes “da” [] with the addition of “tenten”). Tenten can also mean heavenly, which could refer to her usage of jutsu that involve jumping into the air. Tenten’s name may also be a pun on her uncanny accuracy.

In an interview in the Second Official Databook, Masashi Kishimoto states that, out of the four central Konoha kunoichi, Tenten would be his type “because [he likes] her design”.

Personality

Of the central Naruto characters, Tenten is seen the least, and as such little is known about her. In the manga, her battle with Temari during the Chunin Exams is almost entirely skipped, with her match’s start and her eventual defeat being the only things shown. In her few brief appearances, Tenten has been shown to strongly believe that female ninja can be as skilled as male ninja. As such, her goal in life is to someday be as great as Tsunade.

In the anime filler arcs Tenten is seen a bit more and proves to be quite ditzy. In the Hidden Star Village arc she attempts to follow someone while using a barrel with an eyehole as a disguise and in the Final Filler arc she is unable to participate because she was already on a mission but attacks Lee for not being invited anyways.

Abilities

Tenten specializes in weaponry. According to Might Guy, she can hit a bullseye 100 out of 100 times. Tenten carries these weapons in a number of scrolls, though in Part II, she instead carries a single large scroll. Tenten primarily uses Projectile Weapons (Tobidōgu?) in battle, allowing her to draw weapons from those scrolls. She has occasionally launched kunai directly from her scrolls at a force as though they had been thrown in a manner similar to rhythmic gymnastics. In Part I her arsenal is composed mostly of steel projectiles, though in Part II she is shown using a spiked bomb. In the anime, Tenten has also conjured close-combat weapons from her scrolls, such as a bo staff, tonfas and even a heavy flail, as well as displayed expert knowledge on the use of exploding tags.

Tenten’s most powerful weapon summoning technique is Twin Rising Dragons (Sōshōryū?, English TV “Rising Twin Dragons”), which rapidly summons dozens of weapons so that Tenten may throw them at an opponent in quick succession. The weapons are tied to Tenten’s fingers with thin, nearly-invisible strings, allowing Tenten to throw them again should she miss. Tenten frequently uses this ability to help Neji train with his Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin. Tenten’s accuracy seems to have allowed her extra benefits, as the anime’s Konoha 11 arc shows her to be a keen observer that can pick up on facts others overlook. Over the timeskip, she rises to the rank of Chunin.

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