Personal Data:
Horoscope: Libra
Gender: Female
Clan: Yamanaka clan
Family: Inoichi Yamanaka (Father)
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Rank: Genin (Part I), Chūnin (Part II)
Registration ID: 012604
Academy Grad. Age: 12
Chūnin Prom. Age: 14
Missions Completed: 40 (D-Rank: 23, C-Rank: 9, B-Rank: 6, A-Rank: 2, S-Rank: 0)
Favourite Phrase: "The many words of flowers."
Likes: Cherry tomatoes, custard pudding, shopping
Dislikes: Sashimi, Sakura (at first)
Ino Yamanaka started out as Sakura Haruno's childhood friend—and honestly, a lifeline. When other kids bullied Sakura over her forehead, Ino was the one who stepped up and befriended her, acting more confident and tough. She basically helped Sakura find her footing. The problem? Once they both realized they had feelings for the same guy (Sasuke), everything fell apart. Rather than stay friends, they decided to compete, and Ino dropped her tomboyish style to go all-in on the rivalry. It lasted through the Chunin Exam and beyond.
On the surface, Ino comes across as pretty shallow. She's proud of her looks and isn't shy about speaking her mind, even when it stings—like when she casually told Choji he should work on his appearance because girls don't like overweight guys. Her teammates probably wouldn't seem like natural fits for her based on first impressions. But here's the thing: she genuinely cares about them. She's shown up for Sakura even during their feuds, proved deeply loyal to her friends, and would take real risks for them.
Being a Yamanaka is a huge part of who she is. She works in her family's flower shop and has developed serious skills in ikebana. She's sharper than she lets on—she can spot things like Asuma's crush on Kurenai or figure out someone's job just by looking at their hands. The clan's specialty is mind-altering jutsu, and Ino uses her signature Mind Body Switch Technique, which lets her transfer into someone else's body temporarily.
Later on, Ino realized she wasn't bringing much to the table compared to her teammates, especially watching Sakura excel. That's when she decided to train under Tsunade as a second apprentice, picking up medical abilities to be more useful. She's also got this "Inner Ino" persona that represents her thoughts and feelings. By Part II, she's fighting alongside Team 10 and helping take down Akatsuki members.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
