Hideki Hinata

''This article is dedicated to the fan-made continuation of Angel Beats, A Step Closer. For the official page of Hideki Hinata, click here.''

"It was pretty intense. You could feel them glaring at each other. You have a knack for attracting girls or something?"

- Hideki Hinata

Hideki Hinata (日向 秀樹, Hinata Hideki) is a character in Angel Beats! A Step Closer and one of the co-founders of the Afterlife Battlefront. He is also Otonashi's best friend. He is introduced in Chapter 3, waking up Otonashi to bring him to the battlefront base, where he ultimately reunites with the leader, Yuri Nakamura.

Appearance
Hinata has multiple sets of appearances in A Step Closer.

In his Afterlife Battlefront civilian uniform, he wears the standard white long-sleeved polo shirt under a sandy brown coat and black slacks. Unlike some of the SSS males, he chooses not to wear the red tie originally paired with his uniform. Instead he leaves his coat open which exposes the plain white buttoned down collared shirt, underneath he sports a maroon red T-shirt. The sandy brown coat holds a velcro Afterlife Battlefront patch on the left shoulder.

In Chapter 18, during an operation, he suffered a gunshot wound to his right shoulder. Although it was treated immediately, it had left visible scarring that he tries to hide.

Combat Gear
Being a bit more lax compared to his colleagues regarding uniforms, he opts for a more casual look in both during combat and in non-combat settings. He typically wears sport shoes, his red shirt, and jeans only.

Due to his role as a co-founder of the battlefront and thus trained in every specialization, he often supports Yuri in terms of leading the top brass in operations. It is typical for the top brass to split up into two fireteams with Hinata taking lead of one fireteam.

Head Gear
Hinata prefers to not wear a helmet and goes instead for a cap with velcro in order to attach patches.

Plate Carrier
Due to Hinata's dislike of black clothing, he instead opts for the standard CAGE Plate Carrier but instead in a green/sand color scheme.

Battle Belt
Hinata likes to wear his custom made RONIN SENSHI battle belt due to it's MOLLE capability and durability.

Weapons
Due to Hinata's vast area of specializations and open mindedness, he doesn't have a weapon that he prefers. He does feel more comfortable with firearms he's handled in the past. He carries a Smith & Wesson 645 as his sidearm.

Personality
Hinata is an insanely funny and friendly person who doesn't fall short of his promises. Being the most friendly and recognizable member in the Afterlife Battlefront, he's usually the one tasked with recruiting previous members of the battlefront after they are discovered. This is seen when Hinata visits Otonashi in Chapter 3 following the extensive Operation Medical Watch.

He has a somewhat flirtatious nature that causes various members of the battlefront to question his sexuality, typically from Otonashi. Despite his extrovert personality amongst his peers, he is completely dependable and acts in a serious manner when the situations call for it. Though it's not rare for him to throw in jokes during serious situations. He often goes out of his way for other members of the battlefront, taking the heat for things that would result in them getting punished severely, but advocates that it's important to not do such things. As he plays the role of the intermediary between the leadership and normal members, his actions earned him the respect of the entire battlefront. Unaware to the other members, he reveals to Otonashi in the future that he does this not only because that's just how he is, but he understands that stability is everything when it comes to their group. It helps to have an understandable leader whose more in tune with their lower brass compared to a strict one like Yuri, but both roles are essential.

Despite his friendliness, Hinata seems to have a self-degrading view of himself following the events of the Afterlife.

Deployments/Operations

 * Operation Medical Watch (completed)
 * Operation Serpent's Guard (ongoing)
 * Operation Tornado

Miscellaneous

 * Investigation of APT51 (target of operation)