#At this point i just want Togashi to end it the way he wants to

[emeyuko]

i don't think i have to say anything about hxh's ending d thing that people didn't said already, i am mostly sad of how devasting it must feel not knowing if you will be able to complete the story you love so much like Togashi is going trough rn. So i am just gonna say that the shipping discourse that i am seeing on Twitter makes me kinda annoyed, not only bc Togashi made clear this ending is just an alternative if smth happends and he doesn't really like it, but bc seriously? Out of everything....you are just happy that Gon is "straight"?

[i-heart-hxh]

is Killua truly jealous of Palm?

Yes, I absolutely think he is!

It's never explicitly stated, but the subtext is so in your face in a few different ways that it's essentially not even subtext any more.

Togashi could have chosen so many different ways to portray the way Killua feels about the Gon/Palm date subplot, but making it clear over and over again how bothered Killua is by the whole situation absolutely reads as jealousy, especially within the larger context of the arc. Look at these especially!

Togashi puts so much emphasis on Killua's expressions and distress throughout the whole subplot. Of course it's partly intended to be comedic, but this situation with Gon and Palm does have serious emotional weight for Killua as well--pulling out the needle, his breakdown in front of Palm, what she ends up saying to him after that, etc. I do think the exaggerated and extreme ways Togashi expresses Killua's feelings are intended to make the audience go, "Oh, he's really jealous, isn't he?"

People can argue Killua's reactions are just because of who Gon is on a date with (someone unhinged/violent and much older than him), or that it's just "concern" about Gon because of his nen situation, and those are both definitely aspects of what's going on here--but to reduce it down to only that ignores those deeper emotional impacts it has on Killua. I think the protectiveness aspect is something Killua uses to veil some of the other things he's feeling about it even though of course he is legitimately protective of Gon in this situation (and he has good reasons to be so). I also think Togashi himself uses the ambiguity to his advantage here, because if he put in romantic jealousy that was any clearer, would Jump allow it?

The way Killua goes immediately from the topic of going on dates/being freaked out about the prospect of Gon having been on dates before to feeling heartbroken because he wants to be with Gon forever the next panel is telling, in my opinion... (The English translation is a little vague, seems like it was intentionally toned down. In the original Japanese version he says he wanted to be with Gon forever.)

Here's a post where @tjlnn22 and I discuss this weightlifting scene in more detail.

I firmly believe that a big part of Palm's role as a character is to get the audience to question the nature of Killua's feelings for Gon. Without considering this context, the way her character is set up from the beginning and what role she's intended to play in Chimera Ant Arc is confusing. But when if you look at her character as having been built for that role, suddenly her entire character and subplot makes sense. Here's an older post where OP talks about some of the framing of Palm's character, and then I talk in more depth about why Palm is written the way she is.

It especially makes sense when you consider that the date with Palm is one of the factors that destabilizes Killua's faith in his relationship with Gon, leading to him wondering if they're acting together as friends or just as teammates. Here's an awesome post @tjlnn22 put together and submitted to me on this topic, with specific details supporting this argument. I think this is an important part of the arc that gets overlooked, and I love how clearly it's laid out in the linked post.

Killua also acts dismissive of Gon worrying about Palm to the point where other characters comment on his behavior, which to me seems like another sign of jealousy and bitterness on Killua's part. Then when he encounters Palm again after her transformation, this is how he behaves towards her:

Hands on his hips, full sass mode here. Again with the jealousy...

...And then shortly after this he proceeds to have a total emotional breakdown when he admits to himself that he thinks maybe Gon cares more about Palm than him, and that Palm might be the only one who can help Gon, rather than Killua. Of course there are more factors than this behind his breakdown, including him getting pushed away by Gon prior, but this is DIRECTLY the thought that leads him to start crying and then sobbing on the ground.

The Palm subplot is one of the biggest things in the series that makes me confident that the romantic subtext around Killua's feelings is completely and utterly intentional. The way the whole subplot is constructed, the decisions Togashi makes around Palm and how she's presented as a character, the way Killua's reactions and emotions are emphasized with regards to it, and the significance of this subplot in the greater arc of Killua's character all show a great deal of thought and care, and it's hard to come to any other conclusion when looking at it carefully.

Thank you for asking!

[justxtalking]

Do u think maybe when killua was stalking gon it was because he was jealous of gon and not palm for going on a date with palm or just going on a date?like what proof do we have that he was jealous of palm other than him not liking palm?and when he asked gon if he had went on a date before gon said yes and killua had a rock drop on his face😭and he kinda envied him like hes so experianced,maybe he was jealous of gon not palm

Eh, the third magical option?

The thing is, Killua doesn't show any interest in dating. Not then, not before and not after. And, as you pointed out, he doesn't even like Palm. What we do know about Killua is that he wants to be with Gon forever.

Let me explain my thoughts a bit more, with all the proof.

Disclaimer: This is how I see it. Just my perspective on this topic. Literally, just my opinion.

Before talking about the date, I think it's necessary to talk about the scenes that came before. Everything it's clearer with context, and I think it's better if we don't see the date in isolation.

Killua's conflict in these scenes (and more) revolves around his love and care for Gon. Being more specific, his desire to stay with Gon. These scenes are written mostly focusing on Killua's perspective, too.

“Gon, you are light.”

The scene is really powerful and important for Killua as a character and in his relationship with Gon. Here, Togashi focuses mainly on Killua’s feelings towards Gon, as it is shown through the art and the inner-monologue. Before, Killua was feeling down thanks to what Knov, Netero and Morel said to him. Here are some examples of what they said:

It directly links to Killua’s weakness, which is presented later in this part of the arc.

However, Gon thanks him and makes him feel better. What I want to take from this scene is 1. Killua sees Gon as light.

Togashi literally portrays Gon as light by using the white space, lines that seem to come from Gon, and adding subtle white lines to Killua’s shocked expression. To Killua, he shines so bright he can’t keep on looking at him.

If you ask me, I don't think this is the first time Killua sees Gon like this. I think Gon was bright to him since almost the moment they first met, though I do think Killua's feelings grew more and more as the story continued. However, it is the first time we, the readers, are told by Killua about it. This is the first time Togashi shows Killua thinking in those terms about Gon.

And 2. He asks himself, “But… can I still stay by your side?” This is important because Killua, here, is already questioning himself if he, being the person he is, can stay with Gon.

2. Palm

When this scene ends, we meet Palm. What I want to take from these scenes is the following.

First, Palm is introduced as a highly disturbing character, and clearly not mentally well. Her design resembles a horror character (she looks like the girl of The Ring), her speech bubbles are wobbly as if she's trembling, and her behavior is truly unhinged in more ways than one.

It's also important to take into account that Togashi loves dark humor, and he makes a lot of jokes with Palm.

Second, neither Killua nor Biscuit know how to talk to her. They are deeply disturbed by her (and rightly so) and uncomfortable. The only one who can speak to her normally is Gon. Not because he is not disturbed or because he is totally oblivious, he was weirded out at first, but he has a clear goal (train and rescue Kite) and knows how to behave around her better than the other two.

Examples of Biscuit and Killua:

Gon is acting determined and positive, which leads to Palm liking him. Killua, in these cases, is disturbed by Palm and he notices Gon is able to deal with Palm, something Biscuit and him can't do.

Third, Palm is highly worried about Gon and Killua not being able to beat Knuckle and Shoot. She's presented like a threat to the trio, and she warns them more than once about it.

If Palm gets angry, they could be killed. That's why Biscuit ends up running away.

3) Killua's weakness

Here we, the readers, are informed for the first time of Killua's weakness in battle. If we pay attention to Killua's behavior in previous scenes, we would realize that this is something that he has been doing since the beginning.

What I want to take from this is the following:

This spell takes “an enormous effort to break.”

2. Killua gets scared and worried that, if he can't get over his weakness and beat Shoot, he will have to “stay out of Gon's life” because one day he could “let Gon down and leave him to die.” Killua does not want to leave Gon and does not want Gon to suffer because of him. This is linked with the first point I explained, and Killua questioning himself about being able to stay with Gon.

What Biscuit said to him served as a wake-up call for him to try and change.

However, despite his best efforts, he still lost against Shoot. Killua feels awful about that because it means he will have to leave Gon. He made up his mind that it was for the best, but since Gon is nenless, Killua feels like he can't leave him alone just yet. He needs to protect him.

4) The date!

First, when Gon and Killua arrive, Palm is destroying dolls of Gon with a knife, and wanting revenge because Gon and Killua failed despite Gon's promise. Both react shocked, but Gon is the one who tries to make it up to her, since he was the one who made the promise and failed.

Here, Killua is clearly unhappy about the situation. He gets angry and disturbed. He understands the concept of dating and he doesn't like that Gon will have a date with Palm. He tries to object and complains to Gon and to Palm, going back and forth. He doesn't want Gon to go out with Palm, not because he wants to go on a date instead of Gon but because Gon will go out with Palm. I don't think Killua would have cared this much if another person instead of Gon would have gone out with Palm.

It's one of the cases where we could say Killua was jealous, as he is taking an active role to avoid this date from happening.

Second, the gym scene. As I mentioned before, Killua was already thinking about Gon being able to deal with Palm, so here he asks him about dating (since he made the connection between the two.)

When Gon answers that he did, as you mentioned, Togashi draws a rock drop, a device to show that Killua was extremely shocked by Gon's answer (and also for comedic effect.) Killua relaxes a bit when Gon says it was mostly with Mito, but he again reacts shocked when he hears there were others.

The fact that Killua thinks Gon “is so experienced” together with Gon saying that “They call those types cougars” while looking so innocent is a joke of dark humor. We don't know the true nature of these dates, to be honest, but it's what gave Gon the experience to know how to behave around Palm so she doesn’t hurt them.

Killua here does not act like he envies Gon, he's more shocked than anything (and a bit disturbed.) What's interesting in this scene is when Gon asks Killua back about dating, Killua answers a bit nervously and completes his sentence in his mind: “And I thought we would stay together.”

If you ask me if he's okay with Gon dating other people, I would say he isn't because of these reactions.

Killua is not interested in dating someone else, he just wants to stay with Gon. What comes to his mind at that moment is what Biscuit said to him (what I explained in point 3, Killua's weakness.) He truly doesn't want to leave Gon, but he thinks it's for the best.

And I may have no proof, but it looks as if he shed a tear or two and he wiped his face fast. Togashi did hide Killua's face when Killua was about to cry.

Third, the date. Before delving into how Togashi wrote it, we need to take into account that this date is a romance trope often found in shoujo. There is a lot to say about the shoujo elements Togashi includes in his stories, but I'll focus only on this one.

This trope is still pretty popular, but it was easily found in romance during the 2000s, especially in school romance. I believe the Hunter X Hunter chapters of this scene came out around the early 2000s (at least that's what my own volume says), so it makes sense that Togashi wanted to include something of the sort in his work.

The trope has different forms, however, Togashi follows the most traditional one. It is usually used to add drama and tension to the love story. Literally, to stir up some drama. The third person is shown as a possible threat to the main couple (typical love triangle) and helps the couple and the characters to grow in some way.

In relation to the scene, it consists of the main character going on a date or simply going out with a third person outside of the relationship (sometimes it can be the second male/female lead or someone else) while the main love interest follows them making excuses as to why but worried about them being together.

Togashi follows the same format in this scene, with his own goals. It's one of the reasons why I think the reader would think Killua is jealous, since he's acting like the love interest in hiding.

Generally, the character wears a hat, glasses, or both to go undercover. Killua wears a hat.

The love interest in hiding makes excuses as to why he's following them. During the date, Killua follows Gon and Palm (and lies about his whereabouts to Gon), and he keeps on saying he’s following them because “he needs to protect Gon,” which could sound like an excuse to justify himself. He even feels self-conscious about what he's doing, but says to himself that he's doing this to protect Gon.

It adds to the fact that from the beginning, as I've explained before, Killua feels like he needs to protect Gon. Killua, despite losing against Shoot, stayed with Gon because he would be vulnerable against the enemies and Palm. He thinks more than once that he needs to protect Gon.

3. Killua gets annoyed by Palm's new appearance, which is another reaction that the love interest in hiding usually has. In my opinion, Killua was shocked by it and he was also mad because now she looked more like a possible love interest to Gon.

Also, another thing about the trope, Gon takes Palm out for a date so he can make it up for failing her. He takes her to several places that are used for dates in shoujo (the aquarium, for example). I think it's interesting to know that, too.

During the date, I'll admit that Killua's reactions smell a bit like jealousy of Palm (at least to me). He also continues being disturbed. But I repeat, he doesn't show interest in dating. The thing is, the focus is in his worry for Gon's safety and his deepest desire, which is to stay with Gon.

To end this section, it is also interesting to mention that when the date ends, Gon rejects Palm at the same time Killua leaves to find the chimera ant. The main character (in this case Gon) rejects the second love interest (in this case Palm) since he's not interested in them.

5) The conclusion!

I know you only mentioned the date, but I think it's important to talk about how all of this ends, since it has to do with Killua's turmoil I mentioned at the beginning and Killua's stand on Palm and Gon.

Killua fights the chimera ant and finally takes Illumi's needle out of his head. This scene must be one of the most powerful scenes of Killua. After failing in his fight against Shoot, he is now fighting against a dangerous enemy, who does want to kill him and Gon. (I hate that ant.)

Killua makes a tremendous effort and is able to take the needle out because of his own strength and desire to not lose Gon. What gave him so much strength is his love for Gon. He literally frees himself.

When he returns, he's a lot firmer with Palm. He does look a lot freer than before, too. Killua doesn't have to leave Gon anymore.

I would like to highlight some dialogues in this scene. It continues to resemble a love triangle between the three of them (Gon, the main character, Killua, the main love interest, and Palm, the third character who comes to make drama), among other things.

Before, Palm already said to Killua, “Stop interfering, it's between him and me.” Killua complained but it didn't get him anywhere.

Now, Palm repeats to Killua, “Stay out of it. It's none of your business,” which in turn Killua answers, “You stay out of it. In fact, just go away.” At this moment, this Killua is able to stand up for himself a lot better than before. He's clearly showing his discontentment for Palm and her dating Gon.

Something interesting about this is that Palm notices Killua's cuts from the fight at that moment, too. Killua is also able to dodge Palm's attack with no effort and to run away with Gon.

Palm gets extremely angry because Killua is interfering in her relationship with Gon. She literally wants to find him and kill him.

She doesn't because Knov appears, lol.

Togashi finishes this whole Palm's adventure with Gon and Killua thinking how Gon can get free from Palm. Just like Killua was not interested in dating Palm, Gon wasn't either. He was just forced.

So yeah! This is how I see it. I'm sorry I can't give you a more confident answer. You're free to make your own conclusions.

I think Killua's annoyance can be easily interpreted as jealousy of Palm (the romance trope doesn't help his case lol). And I think it's safe to assume that part of the reason why Killua doesn't like Palm is because she likes Gon.

However, at that moment, I don't think Killua has still reached the point of wanting to date Gon (maybe he surprises me in the future), or anyone for that matter. Though I do think if Gon asks him to date for real, he wouldn't say no.

Killua does show genuine concern for Gon and a deep desire to stay with him. And it's obvious that he loves him a whole lot. If you ask me if that love is romantic or not, I would say that yes, but it's a lot deeper than that.

I think it's highly interesting that Togashi wrote such important scenes for Killua with Palm in mind. I can't get over the fact that he literally used a romance trope to make Killua grow. Food for thought, to be honest.

I hope I answered your question and that I'm not too late, omg. I had a good time writing this, so thank you. I got really excited when I saw your question because I love speaking about this. However, I hope I was coherent enough. For you and anyone who is reading this.

[sickkonline]

Orpheus and Eurydice and how they inspired Killugon.

this is just speculation on my part, but since it’s pretty well known that togashi uses myths and legends within his work, it’s pretty plausible.

not going to give too many details cuz i know y’all are only here for killugon so here we go

Apollo in this situation would be Ging, obviously, and the lyre represents becoming a hunter. Gon is Orpheus. Gon falls in love with Killua during the hunter exam, (just like i thought) and then…

Illumi comes (Hymen.) He says assassins aren’t meant to be friends and says eventually, Killua will end up killing Gon.

I think “dancing with Nymphs” could refer to Killua going along with the zoldycks ways of life, like killing people, even though he does not belong. Killua does not DIE, but I think the death could represent returning back to his house that’s full of death, or his spirit breaking. (especially after his first taste of real true friendship and love)

Gon DEFINITELY makes it clear thru the zoldyck family arc that he wishes he was there for killua, how he wants him back at his side. He makes it clear to everybody, it’s why Leorio and Kurapika were so willing to go along with him.

Isn’t the testing gate LITERALLY referred to as “the gate to hades?” There is a clear connection there. Gon arrives at the zoldycks manor and manages to move every single employee he meets, like canary, zebro, and gotoh. (Ghosts and souls of people unknown.) I dont think this is in the manga, but I remember that in the 1999 version, Gon befriends Mike (Cerberus.)

While I think Hades should represent Silva, I think it expresses Gotoh’s feelings more. Gon proves himself through the coin game, and Gotoh allows Killua to return to Gon.

The rest of the story ends up with Eurydice dying, but I think this part of the story is more metaphorical than anything.

Killua following Gon, and him not being able to turn around and meet Killua’s eyes. It’s a common theme within Hxh.

shoutout to strawberrylianlian on tiktok for pointing this out to me, i think this is a really cute myth and really conveys just how IN LVOE gon is with killua. Amen

[maagicmushies]

Nen Talks #3 Kurapika

Hey. You got a free hour or two to spare? If not, fuck off because we're talking about Kurapika's abilities, their symbolism and their connection to his story line and this will be a yap session because he is one of the most storied characters in the series with the highest number of abilities.

So, I think for Kurapika it mostly makes sense to talk about how Nen abilities in chronological order, starting with the Dousing Chain. It's a silver chain with a ball at the end attached to his ring and while it is Kurapika's main chain for combat, the real interesting thing is that the name isn't just for show. Dousing Chain can be used to read maps and tell lies. We're already starting strong because Kurapika is someone who HATES being lied to or even having information withheld for him. All hunters are greedy to an extent, because to be a hunter means to constantly want something that you don't have. Kurapika is this with information, he (unintentionally) compromised the safety of his entire clan just because he wanted to experience more, learn more. The Dousing Chain is this hunger for knowledge taken to it's full form. You cannot lie to Kurapika, nor can you hide anything from him.

His next chain is the Chain Jail on his middle finger and no, I don't think that is a coincidence. It's a gesture brimming with spite and anger and how Kurapika binds the Phantom Troupe. There is more to say about Chain Jail, but it's better saved for a little later on. Next up is the Holy Chain, allowing Kurapika to heal himself or others. This one is almost purely subtext, but Kurapika has a lot of holy themes tied to him. He wears a monk's garb as his primary design for the Yorkshin arc and his primary adversary, Chrollo, has a lot of "anti-christ" theming going on with that evil bible, a cloak adorned with St. Peter's Cross and his twelve disciples. Kurapika is the holy soldier on a mission of righteousness while Chrollo is the embodiment of everything that Kurapika strives to avoid.

The turning point in Kurapika's abilities is the reveal of Emperor Time. It's not a chain, but instead a state he enters when his emotions reach a fever pitch and his eyes go scarlet. Instead of Kurapika being a Conjurer with 100% potential in conjuration with diminishing returns everywhere, it turns him into a specialist with 100% potential everywhere. This is the ability of someone who wants to do everything on their own. Hunter x Hunter's cast is initially set up like one of Togashi's previous works, Yu Yu Hakusho where everyone has their own strengths and no one can truly do anything on their own. However, Kurapika defies this, breaking away from everyone and trying to find any way to be his own team. It's not that he's selfish, it's just that this is HIS holy war and doesn't see the need to drag his friends into it. This aspect of Kurapika isn't just spiritually destructive, but physically destructive because late in the manga it is revealed that there is another restriction tied to Emperor Time. One second for the Emperor shaves off one second of Kurapika's life. As his search for his clan's eyes gets harder, he needs to use Emperor Time more and more. No one really knows how much time Kurapika has left. We just know that he has lost at least 6 years of what he would have had originally, and likely much more than that. After he completes his quest, that might be it. He might just fully burn out. Kurapika has acknowledged this possibility... and is mostly ok with it. Just like Gon and Killua (and his arch nemesis, Chrollo), he doesn't have a ton of self worth, that's what allows him to grab ahold to this great power in such a short time and leads well into the Judgement Chain on his pinkie. Judgement Chain forces someone into an oath with Kurapika and if the oath is broken, the chain which is wrapped around the heart will crush the heart, killing them instantly. I think the allusion to "pinkie promise" might be intentional? As said earlier, oaths and truths are a big thing to Kurapika, so this makes sense but the real tragic thing here is that Kurapika has used Judgement Chain on himself. In order to stop himself from going out of control on his revenge quest, he has made a Judgement Chain vow with himself to only use Chain Jail on Phantom Troupe members. Failure to acquiesce will kill him. Kurapika... still doesn't really know what will happen if he accidentally uses it on someone who isn't a troupe member. It's this lack of foresight and lack of self worth that keeps showing up for him, Kurapika just keeps digging down with no plan on how to get back up and seems to be resigned to the idea that he may never get back up.

The final chain and the one I likely have the least to say about is the Steal Chain. It's his index finger. It basically sucks someone's aura out of their body and then gives that aura (and the ability carried within it) to an ally using Stealth Dolphin. Steal Chain holds a similar role to Chain Jail in Kurapika's characterization, this idea that some nen users are terrible people who need to be chained to hell, having all of their godly nen powers removed. Kurapika really likes this idea because he even uses Judgement Chain to impose this on Chrollo. It fits into that religious theming that keeps coming up with Kurapika, his mission is one of righteousness or at least that's how he sees it.

There are largely two forms of story telling done through nen in Hunter x Hunter. One form hints at a characters backstory and struggles and how they've evolved past it while the other hints at the core of who the character really is. Kurapika's skillset is a fantastic case of the latter, because you get such a vivid picture painted just by knowing what these does. His obsession with truths and oaths, his religious subtext with the troupe and his lack of self worth. It's all communicated through his chains and eyes and this is honestly a fantastic showcase of what a "main character" ability looks like for this series.

[yuyuconfessions]

"I've noticed that younger fans seem to have trouble connecting the dots that a lot of adults on this website were kids younger or close to the age of Yusuke when this series was originally airing back in the 90s in Japan and the 2000s in the west.

Although these fictional characters' stories ended for them at 18 it doesn't mean that Yusuke and the gang stop being important, interesting, or compelling to us. It also doesn't mean that we have to stop loving these fictional characters and their stories after we turn 19.

If you as a minor 14-17 or someone aged 18 - 25 thay feels comfortable shipping these characters, viewing art of them, and reading fic about them ESPECIALLY NSFW art/fic; but your skin crawls that people older than you are creating that content, then you need to sit down with yourself and ask yourself if fandoms that are literally older than your existence are places that you are ready to be socializing in.

Fandoms that are older than your existence will have fans that are MUCH older than you and they are making content and having interactive conversations.

Yu Yu Hakusho is not an Adult Only fandom but it is a fandom that is Mostly Adults.

I fell in love with this show when I was a pre teen. I'm in my mid 30s. The show's target audience is teenagers. But here is the thing: it's target audience was teenagers back in the 90s and 2000s and that's still most of its audience today because Togashi told a fun and resonant story that tends to stick with its audience.

If you can't handle shipping content or adult conversations (conversations about mature topics and themes not necessarily 18+/NSFW but these are definitely present also) about Yu Yu Hakusho then you should try to avoid adult spaces when searching for discussion or content and stick to spaces specifically for minors.

A space specifically for minors would have a ban against all 18+/NSFW content that is strictly enforced. It would not have an 18+/NSFW section at all.

Tumblr and most of the discord servers for YYH that I've seen are adult spaces. Because there is an expectation that while minors are allowed on the websites they must be over a certain age with parental permission because adult conversations happen here where minors could see them.

All of this to say: Unplug from the adult spaces if you feel uncomfortable with adult themes and content or 18+/NSFW content.

Talk to friends irl about Yu Yu Hakusho or find a minor focused space online to talk about it. Come back to the adult spaces in a few years.

This applies to the 18 - 25 crowd also. If you can't handle seeing someone ship these characters or if someone ships them in a way that you don't agree with and it's so upsetting to you that it's causing you a great deal of anger or distress then you need to consider if you really want to be in the Greater Online Yu Yu Hakusho Fandom at this particular point in your life. Or if maybe you want to filter tags on tumblr and drop sites that you can't filter to make your fandom experience more smooth.

If Yu Yu Hakusho has lasted 30 years then it'll last another 3 or 5 years while you get adjusted and engage with Yu Yu Hakusho in minor focused or safely filtered fandom spaces. Trust me. Yu Yu Hakusho will be somewhere on the greater internet when you're older and you've gotten better at self regulating your intake of content online and your response to seeing content online that you don't like.

Yusuke, Kazuma, Kurama, Hiei, Keiko, Botan, Shizuru, Yukina, Genkai and the rest will be here when you get back. That's the great thing about resonant media. It sticks around because people connect to it.

You can love them as long as you want to. They'll always be there. They're not going anywhere."

This mod would just like to add

No one shipping Yusuke x Keiko is sexualizing or exploiting minors; yes, even if the person shipping is 35 years old. These are cartoons, fictional, 2d drawings. If you want to play cute with "but they're 14!" No. Yusuke was created in 1992. He is 31.

If any of the above makes you, a minor, uncomfortable, then get out of adult spaces. Back in myyy day (que groans), any show I liked and looked at online had adult content, like Inuyasha or Naruto, even Teen Titans. I'd be 12 and see suddenly complete porn of Raven, and as a teen, I'd just exit out of it. Now, kids see things online, things they shouldn't see because the internet is NOT safe for kids without parental oversight, and their response is to... yell at the people making the content... for other adults.

If you wouldn't walk into Spencers and yell at the employees there for the vibrators, don't yell at adults drawing porn of Yukina and Hiei fucking. Exit out, or ask your mommy and daddy to put restrictions on what sites you can access. The internet is NOT your babysitter.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

there are sometimes who is strange in all the side-information that we have about TPN.

In a interview, the author told that Grandma was the one to choose the names of the babies.

But in a bonus comic, Isabella tells Ray, Emma and Norman how she choose their name.

So either she lied...

Either that's a incoherence.

Either Grandma didn't name the kids who were going to Isabella to let her "daugther" names them as she want.

....either Grandma had given other names to kids who were going to the Grace Field House 3 an Isabella deliberally changed the names in a way to say "f*** you" to her former guardian (since the demons didn't care about the names) and claim the kids as her own. Carol is the only one to not have had a change of name because of Krone presence.

I don't know why but the last idea is hilarous to me ^^"

I default to the bonus comic being the most accurate to simultaneously keep any sisters in HQ from potentially getting attached to the infants by giving them official names and to make the moms more endeared and caring toward the children they named themselves (for reference for anyone who hasn't seen it; a reward for scoring high on the official site's IQ test:)

(Reprinted in The Promised Neverland Art Book World; one of the few times we get to see them with their short sleeves for warmer weather.)

Unless Shirai meant Sarah named them literally right before handing them off to the moms in the plants, but I don't believe she'd care enough then or at any point after becoming Grandma.

That last one is funny though dlkfjsd

The little petty ways you get back at your mom when you're both victims and perpetrators of a violent system.

But you're right; Shirai's said some conflicting things over the course of the series' run that I think come from being run ragged by a hellish production schedule and a work just naturally evolving as opposed to being antagonistically contrarian to spite fans he views as obnoxious.

The other two that readily come to mind are Shirai saying the series could range anywhere from 10 to 30 volumes long…

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | October 2018 Franceinfo Interview | October 2020 Series Completion Interview)

…before his health took a nosedive and saying it was always going to be 20 volumes at most, with him wanting to maintain his sense of artistic integrity by completing the series on his own terms (the similarities between this and the way Yoshihiro Togashi ended Yu Yu Hakusho, one of TPN's biggest inspirations, is sadly staggering).

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 5 | October 2020 Series Completion Interview | TPN Wiki's Chapter 134 Page | WSJ Editorial Department 9/5/19 Update)

And him (and Sugita) being purposely mum about how he felt about Noremma when speaking with Cloverworks staff during the production of season 1 in 2018 compared to what he mentioned to Kendo Kobayashi in an earlier January 2018 interview, assuming he ultimately wanted to leave it up to the audience's interpretation rather than imposing his own (Demizu notably interprets all the relationships in the series as platonic).

(Minerva Confidential Report from the S1 Blu-ray | Mystic Code Book Chapter 1)

[basedkikuenjoyer]

It's late at night and we're a month away from the big return. So excited! Overall I keep my hopes for Hunter x Hunter reasonable. Maybe not this batch but within two from it we can finish the Kakin Succession Arc and by extension Kurapika's story. Then if we can get something on the Dark Continent Leorio's set up to shine, make good on what he started with the Election Arc. An ending is feasible, a good one with everything we need to resolved. It'll take time, but I just usually think about the Succession.

I care about the Dark Continent though. And what sold me was these dudes. Agents in some unspecified multinational travel advisory organization that also has a secretive department pertaining to the true nature of the world. It's cool we're getting to One Piece's equivalent of seeing the true extent of the world's deep secrets, but I don't think Oda can compete with Togashi here. I love these guys because they're so real, and I think in a way where it'll come back around for Leorio. I'm going somewhere with this:

We've seen Gon & Killua's arc play out, but with what we have so far I think I get the point with the other half of our quartet. They sorta changed places from where we established them at the start. I love the 99 dub having a line of them like, answering at the same time a Hunter is the noblest/wealthiest profession around. We've developed this well so far, Kurapika's quest for vengeance has led him into an opulent but sleazy lifestyle around organized crime and organ dealers. Leorio's not really found that material success but his Hunter license ends up being a fast track to public prominence. He has all the skills to be someone like Pariston, and it's very rare to see a guy written to be a benevolent version of that. So what does that have to do with the G-Men?

I love these two having a little mini arc to kick off the arc because they're so...realistic for a modern fantasy world. Does that make sense? Like, I don't get the vibe these two are great Nen fighters. But they're probably familiar with several classified reports on it. Kinda like how East Gorteau had that one Nen user guard. Yes, of course a world with modern governments and world beater threats has a government agency overseeing boring nuts and bolts. And they act just like a present-day NGO too. Their solution with Kakin is kinda slimy but on point for contemporary diplomacy. Find that line that lets everyone get what they want without really rocking the boat.

I love how well it works, how it builds off of Pariston showing this alternate way of fighting for a goal. It's a great transition...but I can't shake the feeling this also casts a long shadow over everything going on with this expedition. The agents seem quite casual about the idea they may need to replace the Hunter Association suggesting they have the capacity to. And I'd agree. All in all, just remember these two when you're getting back up to speed. You can't discount the impact of a multinational agency who's #1 is making sure people don't fuck around with the DC and their MO is to act like they're playing along.

[mugiwara-lucy]

I don't mean any disrespect for what I'm about to say but given that One Piece Chapter 1098 was publicized despite the art being unfinished....

Honestly, Oda should probably go on an AT LEAST two month break.

It's obvious he's under stress and given his recent eye surgery, it would probably benefit him to go on an EXTENDED break for him to heal both mentally and physically because this chapter reminded me of what happened with Togashi and Yu Yu Hakusho.

Like compare early in the series Yu Yu Hakusho to late in the Chapter Black and Three Kings Saga Yu Yu Hakusho in terms of art:

(And I feel using the raws gives a greater illustration of my point).

And when you realize Oda has been hospitalized several times and when you realize how both Togashi's mental and physical health deteriorated over the course of Yu Yu Hakusho which led to him not ending Yu Yu Hakusho the way he wanted (because if you all don't know, rather than the Three Kings Tournament of Wasted Potential, he initially intended for the Final Arc to be a war between Human and Demon World):

And it scares me that One Piece COULD potentially befall a same fate because of Oda's potentially deteriorating health.

(And I know people think I hate One Piece but I don't, I'm just highly critical and hell when I rewatch Yu Yu Hakusho fairly soon, I'll criticize aspects of it on my rewatch ESPECIALLY that final arc 😅)

[exodiust]

convinced a demon possessed togashi to make gon a bad father/husband in that alternate timeline because ain't no way that's the same man who wrote this

not the man who wrote one of the few shonen manga that points out that being an absent father/family member, regardless if they're famous or are doing a greater good or whatever, is bad and makes you an awful person and deserving of getting your ass kicked by leorio.

gon and ging are similar in the way that they're both driven by selfish desire to do what they want, they both left mito and made her (and other people) sad but the whole point of gon's character is that he is NOT a carbon copy of Ging.

He is actively learning how to be better because while he IS selfish and can't be tied down he also cares a whole lot about his friends and family than Ging ever cared for anyone. Why would he make his main character just Ging 2.0 when that's against everything he has been building up till now? I can never take that ending seriously it HAS to be a joke

[kosmicdream]

Ode to Togashi

Stream of conscientious incoherent rant about manga/hxh below, read at your own discretion as i AM NOT EDITING IT: 

While I’m still in the mood to talk about art and what i love about manga, i feel like i wanted to share (some) of my thoughts on why HXH continues to be one of my favorite stories. Togashi’s writing method continues to be probably like, the closest one that i aspire to replicate in my own work, partly because i love to see how much it builds and learns from itself, reinvents itself, ect. But i DONT think Hxh is perfect, even if i wouldn’t change anything about it or togashi’s writing style. 

When I first got into HXH, it was actually through the old anime. I watched that all the way thru before reading the manga, and when i was watching the anime it was during a period of time when i hated all shonen. I still kinda hate “the shonen” model, despite loving many shonen series, but something abt HXH pulled me in to give it a try and i was quickly hooked. I of course, already had experience with YYH growing up as a teen but i somehow missed HXH completely until my early 20s. I had already started trying comics by then, but it was EGGSHELLS and i had not started FFAK at that point.

HXH almost lost me at greed island my first round, ngl. I appreciate it now, andi still think the set up for Greed island was amazing but the arc itself.. I was not into it, mostly cause i think the villain for it was kinda lackluster and i didn’t really think the world of greed island had a strong design sense. There was interesting aspects, i enjoyed Bisque as a new character and she helped carry a LOT of the weight of that arc for me, but it was kind of a drag. IDK if it was also partly the adaptation for that arc, but i didn’t enjoy it much more in manga form either. It just went a bit faster. However, the end of that arc and the final fight was surprisingly brutal and enjoyable, which made me optimistic and helped me to continue. And then the chimera ant arc was the first arc i read ONLY manga first and i truly fell in love with it, obsessed even. That arc, as many readers already know, is probably like the closest thing to FFAK’s “Parent” for inspiration. Obviously, FFAK draws from a lot of things (Trigun is probably the 2nd strongest influence on FFAK) but it isn’t quite the same as HXH. As MUCH as i adore hunter x hunter part of me does cringe and laugh that like, in the end, a battle shonen manga still excited me that much but like.. As MUCH as i clearly love battle manga.. I am so over them. You know? Who cares. IMO. No matter how great it looks, i probably am never going to be more impressed (visually) with an action scene than the ones Yukito Kishiro drew. He did it, He won the action manga game to me. I have no idea what’s actually happening in Gunnm most of the time but as far as the visual spectacle of it all, it literally doesn't even make sense how good his action scenes look. (I could talk a lot about Gunnm too, but i’ll save that for another time IG) Like how the fuck does someone draw that good and it just made everything else by comparison just like, not.. Matter too much to me anymore. Which is great, because I can then look at other aspects for a work rather than just being drawn in by the visuals. And stuff. 

Where i’m at now.. I dont want to read another, even if its drawn well and .. the powers are SO powering or whatever. And i love to draw action scenes, they’re really hard and i still have so much more to go to learn about them. At best, I think im okay at them. But even when i work, i just get tired now so i cut them down a lot. Thats partly because i jsut dont have the time to draw fighting scenes. So i kind of feel embarrassed by a lot of them that ive made, i know I was lazy. Lazy in a way I’m not proud of the result, but im proud of the compromises to get the shit done. Which is the most important think in the end, to juggle your own expectations and limitations with the timeframe you have to get somewhere you need to go. I will still read more action/battle manga in the future.. But im in no rush. And im certain, for the most part, they arent going to teach me anything I don’t already know. They might entertain me and i might be like “..huh!” at a few things, but my expectation for them to do more than that is pretty low. I’m delighted when im wrong, but i cannot deny the apathy towards them is super deep. Togashi to me, is one those authors, that makes me really wake up and realize there’s still a lot of unexpected territory out there. 

He writes like an enthusiastic newbie, not a seasoned old timer that he is, who basically helped popularize the “tournament arc” and “dark edgy shonen” stuff with YYH. All his characters in HXH are geniuses, which is kind of a valid critique and can be annoying as hell too… Id say most readers dont really get how the hell nen works, yet somehow the story still functions so well in its character motivations/conflicts that it kinda doesn’t matter too much that.. It doesnt really make sense? We have to relearn what nen is basically every arc. Its not gonna stick. And yet im just so excited every time it updates and i really want to know what he wants to do with his new arc, if he is going to be able to do it. Nen to me is like a fake fantasy science that is tangible and real yet also you’re in a dream and you try to read the letters on a page, and you can read it but if you stare hard at it. The words are just blurs, or it doesn’t really connect. I like that there’s this malleable illusion that it functions in a way, that is concrete, but it isn’t really. But its enough that i can believe that for the characters, who are also not real, it is real for them. 

The fact that i can talk about “”””NeN””” like this to me is essentially why it becomes the perfect shonen to me because it takes itself so seriously, so genuinely, yet it also is nonsense but not in the way where its like.. Irony poisoned, “gotcha” twists? Im sick of all these subverting shonens that arent subverting anything. Or even just the attitude that is what makes a good shonen these days is to subvert, diminish, laugh, ect at shonen while completely stepping inside the same footprints again and again. So much manga just wants to be dragon ball, but dragon ball was good cuz it was just a fun, well drawn action manga that wasn’t trying to BE dragonball. It was just dragon ball. (maybe now its trying to be dragon ball, which is why i dont care about whatever sequel attempt we’re at now, but that’s another story.) Its fun to me that i dont know if Gon is gonna come back in Hxh. like, maybe he will and his powers will be restored ect.. But at the time of writing this, and for YEARS we just.. Have the main pals of the manga separated. Their friendship has changed. There’s a great shift in it. Gon met his dad, who sucks, but that kind of was his main quest. Sure, we have kurapika’s arc, and many other routes to go - but in a weird way HXH is done and it isn’t done at the same time. I’m just like, what are we going to do now. TOGASHI said flat earth real and was like, the other half of it is UNEXPLORED AND SO DARN DANGEROUS and theres SOM BIGGGGG DINOSAURS THERE and it just feels so gleefully like.. You’re on the swingset and some kid just keeps having to up the stakes but in the most kid-like way possible. For serious. But Togashi’s 58. But he’s right too, the dark continent IS so cool.. I just imagine leorio going there and getting so sick and shitting mutant diahrea and dying the SECOND he sets foot there and its awesome. That’s NOT what’s going to happen but im delighted at the opportunity.

This is the point where I’m writing something when i take a pause and wonder how the hell i got here. I have skimmed the above written text. Whatever point i think i was going to make, wasn’t made, but i expressed.. good feelings here. This is how i write. I typed all of that in about 15 minutes with no idea where it was gonna go. Part of the process now would be to go back, organize, edit, ect. To *TRY* to make it a little more comprehensible, as with all writing. Believe it or not i have gotten better at editing my own work. But the true nature of it all is still the same. And its the same in the way that i dont want, no matter how much i improve at my craft, i dont want to lose that enthusiasm i feel when i reach 58. I think that would be such a triumph, id be so lucky to be able to muster that energy. When I think of togashi, i think he has that. He has that real artistic spark that no amount of time/experience has ever diminished and that’s why i think he’s truly my personal favorite mangaka.  (maybe tezuka too)

[i-heart-hxh]

Hello! I hope AX is fun!

I have a question along the lines of some that you probably have already gotten before. If so, sorry. Mine is basically: do you think people who say there's queer/gay subtext in Gon and Killua's relationship are reading too much into it, or are otherwise biased to an extent that it's effecting objectivity?

The reason I ask is: usually people who say these sorts of things are the borderline homophobic sort that insist kids their age can't be gay or make fun of people who like to engage with anime fandoms, but I have come across someone (in private, friend of a friend, lol) with a couple of arguments which I think leave out all that, and I thought it would be valuable to ask, both just to have a discussion and because I don't quite trust my own skills.

One point was that the famous shinjuu line isn't as romantically charged as the English speaking fandom makes it out to be, and that the word contemporarily refers to multi-death tragedy or dedication resulting in death generally, especially in the context with which Killua said it (being that he was about to follow Gon into a fight with Pitou which he knew they'd lose without any prior mutual agreement). The argument was that a romantic reading of the line comes from bias and unfamiliarity, and as a result isn't as paid attention to in Japanese HxH communities as it is in English ones.

The other was that a lot of the moments showcasing the intensity of Gon and Killua's feelings (such as the dodgeball or "you are light" scenes) are very typical/standard of shounen anime, which often have central themes of friendship that are frequently "overestimated" by fandom to be intentional romantic undertones, and that these two characters are not unique in that respect. They said determining romance-establishing purposes to scenes like the ones Killua shares with Palm is projection that interferes with analysis for all the reasons mentioned above. Part of the argument was that a romantic interpretation ignores a subversion of 'the power of friendship' shounen trope, as Gon and Killua have a comparatively tragic "end" (in quotations because obviously the story isn't done), where Gon pushed Killua away, Killua could not stand up for himself, and Gon ended up defeating a powerful enemy without him; adding romance to it obscures and misses the point of this subversion. They also said it was very unlikely for Togashi, should he want to explore queer themes like this, to be so subtle about it, and to not ascribe intent to the author.

The way I see it is that reading romance between Killua and Gon is just one of many interpretations someone may get from a culmination of moments from the text, and that a lot of meta analysis will inevitably be biased by someone's own experiences. For example, a lot of people can relate to the experience of having a baby gay crush, and so see themselves in Killua and read the character with that background in mind. I think the arguments I see here (on tumblr, but also your blog) are well-substantiated and well-explained, which I think are all that's needed for a "valid" interpretation.

Anyway. I apologize for the long ask. Thank you for reading all that!

Hi! AX was fun, thank you!! I caught a cold so I've been slow to recover this week, but I'm starting to feel better.

So, I've answered similar questions with a lot of different reasons why I think the subtext is intentional, and I think it's worth reading that first because it helps when thinking about Togashi's mindset and interests in his works. While of course I can't put words in Togashi's mouth, there is validity in examining things he has actually said and included in prior works and deducing some of his tendencies and patterns based off of that. I do not think it's a stretch or leap at all to read queer themes into the work of someone who has stated an interest in creating queer works, expressed that he enjoys and is influenced by queer works, is married to someone who created a work known for its queer themes, and has previously included queer themes in his works as well. And I mean, KilluGon isn't even the only queer inclusion in HxH by far either.

The thing is, I can understand where this person is coming from...up to a point. If you take any one or even a small handful of these points in isolation, sure, it's not difficult to say that perhaps the romantic reading of those moments is incidental and not intended to be taken that seriously.

I think the real problem with this attitude is that when you start adding up the number of times something with a romantic implication is included between Gon and Killua and look at the picture as a whole, it does reach a point where it gets increasingly ridiculous to claim it isn't intentional or has no real weight. Why would someone like Togashi, who has such an eye for detail in his stories, bother including these implications over and over and over again if he didn't want it to be read this way? Especially when he is someone who has expressed interest in writing queer stories? I struggle to look at the full picture and accept that there isn't a strong degree of intention to the decisions he makes.

I've seen tons of other anime, including lots of shounen, and while I understand that person's perspective with the fever-pitch friendships that the fandom then takes and interprets as more (something I believe Jump intentionally fosters as a marketing tool), personally I do see HxH as being several notches above other shounen series with regards to both how much subtext exists and also how seriously the bond between the characters is portrayed. To me, it does feel distinct from even many other series where male characters are commonly shipped for these reasons, and I'm actually rather skeptical with regards to the majority of these ships being considered canon or even close to it even when there is some basis the fandom is going off of. But I do think HxH leans into this aspect even more than most other shounen do, both in the series itself and in related offshots like the musicals and marketing and even how both versions of the anime were approached.

Also, I will say that I follow the Japanese side of the fandom pretty closely and read tweets frequently, and I do see people bring up the shinjuu line with regards to Killua's feelings and especially what it says about the gravity of how he feels towards Gon. I would actually agree there is less emphasis on it in the Japanese side of the fandom because the word (including the subtext) is already familiar to Japanese audiences and so they just see it upfront and then either take it that way or not, while it has to be explained to a non-Japanese audience due to the lack of cultural familiarity and also the inadequacy of the English translations to capture the meaning.

Regardless of the fact that it technically can be taken either way, I do strongly feel like the word was used by Togashi with intention and knowledge of how it's normally used in a literary sense. I believe Togashi made a choice to use that word on purpose and let his audience take it as they will. It's also worth noting that Gon and Killua directly parallel another lovers' suicide--that of Meruem and Komugi, who do use romantic language towards one another. Komugi says "I may not be much, but please, let me accompany you," which is an old fashioned way for Japanese women to accept a marriage proposal. This echos Killua's "Gon, you are light. Sometimes you shine so brightly, I must look away. But even so, is it still okay if I stay at your side?”

I also think Gon and Killua's friendship can be and is still a subversion of shounen friendship tropes while at the same time being romantically coded. In fact, that it is so close to romantic is a bit of a subversion itself. I don't think the coding gets in the way of the shounen friendship subversion or takes away from it--both can exist at the same time. I still say that the way the Palm subplot is constructed doesn't fully make sense if you remove the intention of the exact nature of Killua's feelings being explored. Otherwise why bother to have so much emphasis on romance as a theme? Why not construct things differently? Why not have Gon make a platonic friend for Killua to get jealous over instead? Why essentially give Killua a romantic "rival"? Why have Killua "stalk" them on their date and point out that's what he's doing? Why have him freaking out at the thought of Gon going on dates and then saying he wants to be with Gon forever literally the next panel? Why make his jealousy come off as romantic in nature because of the way the whole situation is set up? These decisions matter! Togashi could have approached this entire subplot from any angle, and yet he chose to keep repeatedly referencing romantic love when the focus is on Killua's feelings for Gon.

Obviously as someone who ships Gon and Killua, I do have a certain degree of bias, though I like to think I am able to step away from that and look at the series more objectively as well. I do have moments where I go, "I am I being a little delusional here? Do I need to re-assess?" and think over all of what we've been provided again and...honestly I just come to the same conclusion every time no matter what angle I try to look at it from. I do believe that Togashi writes the KilluGon dynamic in such a way that people who would rather ignore the romantic subtext can do so. It's a perfectly beautiful and complex friendship regardless of whether you acknowledge the romantic subtext or not. I think Togashi enjoys playing with the ambiguity of it. But just because it's ambiguous doesn't mean the romantic subtext doesn't exist or have meaning/intent behind it, and to me, adding up all the different choices made in the series, it does reach a tipping point wherein I seriously believe Togashi includes it with full intention and knowledge of what he's doing. And for what it's worth, I don't think it's actually that subtle. A lot of people notice it and wonder about it and connect with it, even including some people who don't actually want to see it (think about all the dudebros who post online going, "Is it just me or does Killua seem kinda gay???").

I hope this response is helpful to you! I wish I could provide more concrete examples in this post, but I feel like it's getting awfully long as it is. I do sincerely believe that the romantic interpretation is a valid and meaningful one that has legitimate merit when looking at the series. If others would rather ignore that aspect, they're allowed to feel that way, and of course no one is obligated to ship Gon and Killua in a romantic way no matter how much subtext exists. But I don't think that perspective erases the existence of the romantic implications, which are fairly heavy in my opinion when you add them all together.

[subdee]

We know from PUZZLE that Kite is also “without nen,” how do you think that would play out with respect to Gon in any future arcs? Also, what’s the likelihood that we might get a split-narrative between events on NC/DC/Known World? I haven’t read YYH so I’m not sure if this is something he does across settings for multiple chapters. I’m trying to be optimistic, but he’s going to be in his 60’s by the time we get off the murder boat at the rate he’s going…

Hi anon!!! These days I have Baby Brain but I'll do my best...

I think there have been lots of plot crumbs already for a future Gon-and-Killua-vs-Ants arc part two, and I talked about that a little bit here. In a nutshell:

*Half or more of the Hunter Association are on the murder boat, including the leadership (Zodiacs)

*The Phantom Troupe, who have been protecting Meteor City for the last decade+ via their scary reputation, are also on the murder boat

*The 5,000 chimera ant eggs Pariston stole are MIA. Where could they be? Well...

*As we saw at the end of the CA arc, Hina, Bizef, and Welfin are all headed to Meteor City, where Gyro is rumored to have gone.

So I don't know if Togashi would switch back and forth between the boat and the Known World, BUT I do know that in HxH in particular he loves anticlimax and ending arcs in unexpected ways. I think what YYH taught him was that he never wants to do a complete tournament arc or keep going with a plot "just to finish it" ever again.

So what I sort of expect to happen with the murder boat is that they'll never reach the Dark Continent at all (they might reach the New Continent, just to wrap up the succession contest).

That would be the ultimate anticlimax, right? Set up this great power-scaling training ground in a shounen series, spend more than a decade of irl time on a boat going there, and then just... Never arrive. Haha.

Instead I think something will happen back on the mainland while all these characters are trapped on the boat, and they won't even be able to teleport away (because as we saw with Kacho, leaving the boat before the urn ceremony is complete activates a nen trap and is fatal - at least for the Princes).

In fact I think this could have been Pariston/Beyond's plan all along - to distract everyone with the boat while they made their real move in the Known World.

So then I think it's up to Gon and Killua to do something about whatever is going on in Meteor City while literally every other important character is away....

Well. I think my point is, whether or not the plot ends up being like what I have described, there are plenty of dangling plot threads in HxH pointing to **some** kind of long term plan... and Gon and Killua are the main characters so they should be part of that plan!

Because you're right, both Kite and Gon don't have nen at the moment. And Kite is an Ant. And they're traveling together to out of the way places. Also, Ging didn't say Gon could **never** get his new back, only that there would be "hell to pay" if he did. So that seems like a setup for him to get his nen back in the future, if, as you say, Togashi's health doesn't give out first.

And if that happened, it wouldn't happen for no reason, but because it would be required by the narrative. In other words, Gon would need something to **do** with the nen he just got back.

At least, if I was writing HxH, that's how I would do it.. the main reason I think it might **not** happen this way is because at least one person (me) has now predicted it, and HxH in general is not that predictable. Haha.

Anyway. Thanks for the ask!!

[justxtalking]

hi hi i was the anon who sent the ask about ging and the granddaughter having the same same name. i ended up shortening my ask bc i thought it was a bit much lol so i hope you dont mind if i just write out the rest of my thoughts :>

on the topic of names, i found it funny how none of the other grandkids got names -- it was always "one of the grandsons" and so on... like the narrative equivalent of going "ok whatever you get the idea," which is so antithetical to the vibe of hxh. the whole point is that we DONT get the idea, it's a deconstruction of the genre...togashi enjoys going in weird and unpredictable directions. he'd never want us to just fill in the blanks like that. especially when he's intent on finishing the story his way.

Hello again! Don't worry, I don't mind it at all.

Well, the whole idea is hilarious, to be honest. We don't even know who they are, those friends and grandkids. I hope in that alternative universe, Ikalgo had a baby squid. And I wouldn't totally scrap the possibility that even the ABC endings were part of the whole joke. He has a weird (and dark) sense of humor, look at some jokes in Hunter X Hunter (a great example is Palm). I feel like the fact that the grandkid was called like Gon's father should have been clear enough lol

Togashi is so chaotic, I love him for that.

[justin-peudeau]

RARE THEORY : WHY AND HOW THETA WILL BE THE 9TH QUEEN OF KAKIN

Yo I already talk about this in some comments. But I really wanted to make an official post of that theory here in my blog.

So there is this genius @itsmyara and @hunterexamcheatsheet who talk about the fact that each actual queen of Kakin's name are related to their position in the harem hierarchy :

Then we have Theta, Theta means nine in ancient greek.

And with what we highlight above. We know that Togashi put way to much attention in the queen's name just for accidentally making such a "coincidence".

Furthermore, there is Oito's backstory. Oito WASN'T born to be a queen AT ALL. Her backstory shows to us reader that EVERY WOMEN of every social statues have a chance to be a queen if the king "fall in love" with them. And that includes my baby girl Theta.

Of course only 8 women success to make it, so it's nearly impossible. Plus, "the King falling in love again" is an even rarer possibility because of the context of the succession war. Indeed, why Nasubi would marry a woman when he seems to be ready to die in 2 months. Theta can't even have the time to birth a new prince at this point.

If he marries Theta she would not make any heirs to the throne, so she would be a pretty "useless" queen. That the second biggest reason why it seems impossible for Theta to be Nasubi's wife.

BUT !

Let's go back to the comparison of the meaning of Theta's name and the other queens. All the queen's name are related aproximatovely to numbers but they don't have any meaning by themselves expect from Oito = eight and Seiko which is a famous watch mark in japan.

On the other hand, the word Theta has an HUGE array of meanings. Many recognize the mathematical symbole for naming angles.

But it is above all a letter in its own that has been derived and incorporated into the alphabet of many dead languages :

The Ionic, Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Etruscan, Gallic, Cyrillic, Slavic, Coptic and Armenian alphabet for examples.

This letter will then take as many different forms depending on the civilizations that use it.

In the end, Theta’s name in comparison to others can be interpreted as adaptability, communication or even impartiality. So even throught Theta doesn't make any child she would be an excellent key of power stabilisation if she is used correctly.

The story already shows us very well how Theta can adapt to a large panel of complex situation. She is also an essential source of information and meticulous analysis.

Nasubi will probably feel for those qualities. Plus, to survive this far, Theta WILL NEED to deploy every weapons she had in order to survive. I am sure that she will indirectly stole some other royal hearts in her tricky way to the mysterious mission success 😁

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WHOA EXPLANING A THEORY IS EXAUSTING AS FUCK 😫.

But it was also sooooo fun !😊 Anyways, I hope I was clear and if I was not or if you want to hyperfixate over Theta with me TALK TO ME, IT WOULD BE AN HONOR FOR ME TO HAVE DEEP THETA CONVERSATION WITH YOU *Trembles uncontrollably and violently*

[finitevoid]

in yyh’s last arc, it takes an abrupt and intense heel-turn in tone. the manga has never been, like, happy-go-lucky or anything. it’s sort of... edgy. it can be dour. it’s opening moments are of it’s teenaged protagonist getting vehicular manslaughtered and then deciding that he wants to be dead, because it’s easier than being alive. which all sounds really dark, but it’s not, really. one of yusuke’s first scenes is making a little kid laugh by making funny faces. there’s all kinds of crass jokes, jaunty musical cues and explosions of emotion from characters that wouldn’t be out of place with a laugh track behind it.

by the time yusuke dies the second time something is different. but it’s not really all that different from yusuke’s fight with toguro at the end of the dark tournament, so you don’t really notice. itsuki is proclaiming his love for sensui and yusuke is getting possessed and making jokes about how his heart isn’t beating, anymore. so you don’t really notice. and yusuke’s meets the first spirit detective and gets kicked out for being a demon, and you don’t really notice. and yusuke leaves keiko behind and hiei is called off on the promise of his own death and kurama’s family is getting threatened by a shadowy man and you don’t really notice.

i think, at least personally, the moment it sunk in that the final chapters of yyh are different was when yomi explained to us, the audience, how youko kurama, his boss, friend, and closest confidant, brutally mutilated him and left him for dead. i remember being 14 and not really knowing what to do with that, because yeah, kurama’s past life had always been implied to be an antagonistic figure, but here was the reality. in this character with all the cool confidence and control in the world, blinded by his best friend. and how kurama becomes embroiled in this tense, political fever-pitch of yomi’s iron grip on him because of kurama’s sudden gaining of the concept of compassion.

like, hiei’s (adult woman?) girlfriend who is also his boss explains how she was born into sex slavery by her lecherous father, and how her escape involved mutilating her own body to the point it was non-recognizable so that she could not be a prize any longer. yusuke’s ancestor slash father-figure tells him about how the only thing that sustains him is the flesh of living, breathing, fully alive humans, and how he fell in love with one such human he intended to eat. and how he then swears off the act of sustaining himself in her honor and memory. and all of this is just. there. for you to chew on.

the saddest about the three kings arc was that it was clearly meant to be something more than it was. it touches upon these grim topics as the status quo of the series shifts very rapidly from being about being a kid to about Being A Young Adult, and how that is complicated and messy and how there are no good answers. I want to see more of it. part of me wishes for a world in which that could’ve been realized. but, then, isn’t this a reflection of togashi’s mental state at the time, too? characters mutilated, scarred, begot with chronic illness and disability. is this not a reflection of the ways he was making himself ill just to write yyh?

it’s impossible, at least personally, not to notice this. and the series goes back to having levity once the tournament gets into full swing, but it never really recovers from that blip of just, pure despair, in my opinion. koenma controls spirit world and yusuke opens a little ramen stand and keiko goes to university, but everytime I finish yyh, i’m always left thinking about those 20 chapters or so in which all there was was pain. just pure, physical pain, pain of the body, of the physical form. as if the author’s pain was leaking into the pages, staining it. mukuro is scarred. yomi is blind. raizen is starving. i cannot help but think about it, even long after the characters have all gotten their happy endings.