#and would work with killua's story arc so well

[ithildinwrites]

anime recommendations

it was really hard to limit myself bc i’d recommend all the stuff i’ve watched but then this thread would be too long so! i’ve linked my anilist below if u want more recs from there bc i record them all :)

JUJUTSU KAISEN

ongoing (manga completed)

47 eps + 1 movie

genres: adventure, dark fantasy, supernatural

notes: jjk is hands down one of my fave animes. it just has so many cool characters and the growth that they go thru is so cool to watch, plus the power system is really cool (albeit a little complicated) and it really keeps you on your toes so i always rec this one

HAIKYU!!

ongoing (manga completed)

90 eps (inc. ova's) + 1 movie

genres: comedy, coming of age, sports

notes: hq is one of those feel good animes. gen always makes me so so happy and it always puts me in a good mood. v minimal sadness and v focussed on the character's growth and their relationships with each other. underlying themes of overcoming stuff and becoming a better version of yourself etc. and it focusses on other teams as well, not just the main team. i love love hq with my whole soul and it'll always be so so special to me, i can't not recommend it like i could talk about it for hours

ATTACK ON TITAN (SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN)

completed

94 eps (inc. ova's)

genres: action, dark fantasy, post apocalyptic

notes: aot has one of the best, if not the best, written stories in media, like not just anime. i think it's the best written thing i've ever seen in my life. some things you don't even notice unless you rewatch and you realise how much of what happens later has been hinted at since the very beginning. it's insane how well written it is. gen such an incredible piece of media and no one who wants to get into anime can not watch it, i think it's a must. it was the first anime i ever watched and it just hooked me straight in.

DEMON SLAYER (KIMETSU NO YAIBA)

ongoing (manga ongoing)

63 eps (if watching mugen train as eps not movie)

genres: adventure, dark fantasy, martial arts

notes: i feel like i don't commonly see demon slayer be recommended to people despite it having such a good story, which is insane to me. a lot of people put emphasis on other shows for being heartbreaking / devastating but no one ever mentions demon slayer and it broke me honestly. it's just so devastating in so many moments but that's what makes it so good! you get to see different perspectives, including some from the demons and it explores people changing their opinions on things and how this organisation works and people's motivations, and ofc follows tanjiro on his journey to save his sister and turn her human again.

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD

completed

64 eps

genres: adventure, dark fantasy, steampunk

notes: oh fmab my beloved! it's focussed on two brothers trying to get their bodies back after they messed the up trying to bring their mother back from the dead (they're alchemists). they're v young and also in the army so it's super interesting seeing the missions they go on and the other people in the army they're close / not close with. the enemies are also v well thought out and idk everything in this show is just done so well which shows why it's so highly rated on imdb and myanimelist. it also has such a good ending which is so rare with shonen like i do think hq and fmab are the exceptions to that lmao

HUNTER X HUNTER

completed (i think?) (manga ongoing)

148 eps + 2 (non canon) movies

genres: adventure, fantasy, martial arts

notes: hxh is so good???? yes, it's kinda long but all the arcs are so different it's worth it. the way u get to see gon and killua grow so much from the beginning and how their friendship evolves and the skills they learn and the people they meet is so cool. the show is pretty lighthearted in the first few arcs but it gets darker the further you progress and it all comes to a head in the chimera ants arc. greed island is my absolute fave arc i just adore it sm u get to see killugon flourish! they have one of the best, if not the best, friendships in anime

BLACK CLOVER

discontinued (i think?) (manga ongoing)

170 eps + 1 (non canon i think) movie

genres: adventure, fantasy

notes: i gen never see anyone rec black clover except one friend who told me it was good and i gave it a shot. when i tell you i was hooked so fast???? yeah it's kind of a typical mc has no powers type plot but the found family is INSANE! the black bulls have such a strong bond and they're all outcasts who found each other after yami recruited them it's so cute. they also all develop and grow into their powers and grow stronger as the series develops and it's so cool seeing all the magic knight squads and the arcs are so good. so many arcs so much cool stuff and it's not even finished yet. the found family got me hooked and now im stuck here forever

FRIEREN: BEYOND JOURNEYS END (SOUSOU NO FRIEREN)

ongoing (manga ongoing)

28 eps

genres: adventure, drama, fantasy

notes: one of the prettiest animes i've seen. the music and vibes really remind me of lord of the rings (one of my alltime fave movies ever). it feels so beautiful and fantasy-esque. also it gets quite sad when u think about it but somehow also maintains this really lighthearted whimsical vibe. it's so cool seeing frieren's journey with fern and stark and at the same time getting flashbacks from her original journey with himmel, heiter and eisen even though it was a long time ago but we still learn more about them. v cosy anime.

BLUE LOCK

ongoing (manga ongoing)

24 eps (not inc. s2 which is currently airing)

genres: sports, thriller

notes: bllk is the anime i've recommended the most to people i think. smthn about the vibe in s1 (s2 wasn't out atp) hooked me and then i went and read the manga and just fell more in love with it. idk maybe it was bc it's so crazy seeing an mc like isagi bc it isn't very common to see someone push for working alone and not in a team. maybe it was the bond and relationship he has with his teammates and friends and rivals but it just got me and i've recommended it to so many people and gotten so many people to watch it lol

FRUITS BASKET

completed

63 eps + 1 movie

genres: romantic comedy, slice of life, supernatural

notes: fruba is prob the only shojo on this list even tho i've watched other shojo's. fruba just hit the hardest. it's got elements of fantasy in it and really goes into exploring the backstories of so many characters, not just the main ones, and you learn about them and why they are the way that they are. it's so cool bc it's a story about not only romance, but healing and saving people and friendship! so much friendship! the mc, tohru, is one of the sweetest girls ever i adore her.

KAIJU NO 8

ongoing (manga ongoing)

12 eps

genres: adventure, sci fi

notes: kaiju no 8 reminds me of attack on titan a lot: the whole becoming a kaiju thing and also wanting to protect the people around him plus building bonds w the people in the defense force with him and being surrounded by strong people. the character designs are also so cool and the kaiju are so interesting. also super refreshing to see an mc in his 30s bc i feel like that's not very common but it's cool bc he's like everyone's dad and OFC FOUND FAMILY yk the drill it's like my fave trope ever you'll see it's a common theme

WINDBREAKER

ongoing (manga ongoing)

13 eps

genres: adventure, martial arts, yanki

notes: i actually have two posts on windbreaker, u can read pt 1 here and pt 2 here! anyways yk the drill: found family. that's out the way now, let's talk about our mc. his name is sakura haruka and he's super strong and ofc he's been thru shit. he doesn't take affection v easily and people being nice to him makes him flustered so he's shy and blushes a lot bc he's not used to it. it's cool seeing people supporting him and his friends being there for each other and how they protect the town and all the enemies or enemies turned friends. it's cool seeing all the kids help each other idk. i've seen it be compared to tokrev a lot but i really don't see the comparison lol

YURI!!! ON ICE

completed

12 eps

genres: sports

notes: you're prob noticing a theme with the sports animes but what can i say, a girl needs a break from the sadness shonen hits u with lol. okay! yoi is so good; first of all animation, it's mappa so ofc it's good come on now, they've done aot (s4 onwards), jjk, csm and hells and bf. this anime got me so interested in figure skating like it's gen so cool seeing all the routines people come up with and how it goes from a mess of a routine at the start of the season to the end! also super inspiring seeing a character like yuuri who struggles with anxiety bc it makes it feel more real to see a fictional character go thru that like yk he still goes out there and skates despite it all idk it's cool

LINK CLICK

ongoing

23 eps

genres: supernatural, drama, fantasy

notes: the best way to describe link click is mindfuck. it's INSANE. so much happens and stuff links back to other things in ways i didn't even think was possible. it's abt these two guys and one of them can go into photographs into the body of the person who took the photo and they use this to solve people's questions and find stuff etc and ofc it evolves into more serious issues but it's just super cool. so well written and incredible animation as well. idk if it classifies as anime bc it's in chinese but i couldn't Not put it here it's just too good

THE ELUSIVE SAMURAI

ongoing (manga ongoing)

12 eps

genres: adventure, comedy, historical fantasy

notes: i finished this kinda recently bc the episodes were just airing but it's so good! the animation is insane and again, found family!!!!! they're just a bunch of kids and the mc is the son of the shogun who is super good at being elusive and running away and the others are his retainers, or his most trusted guards. they're all kids but they're so talented and he's gathering more and more supporters to his cause and it's so cool seeing how they overcome their obstacles like enemies bigger and stronger than them but they still push thru to try and get his kingdom back

VIOLET EVERGARDEN

completed

13 eps + 1 movie (movie sucks ass tho don't watch it)

genres: coming of age, steampunk

notes: so beautifully animated it's insane. every episode is done so wonderfully and it makes me so emotional. i think i cried watching every episode. it's about this young girl named violet and she's been a child soldier for most of her life but then someone close to her dies and tells her "i love you" right before he dies so she goes on a journey to find out out what love is basically and just meets so many people on her journey. it's really sweet.

AKAME GA KILL

completed

24 eps

genres: action, dark fantasy

notes: without saying too much and spoiling it, this is one of the most unexpected animes i've ever seen. there's a group of people who are all v strong and talented and they're classed as criminals. i don't remember everything that happened bc it's been years since i watched it but i remember it being so good and being unable to predict anything that happened bc it all came out of nowhere. all i can say is, don't forget who the series is named after (akame).

HIGH CARD

completed (i think?)

24 eps

genres: action, adventure, fantasy

notes: high card reminds me of kingsman a lot and that's a good thing. it's such a cool concept to give different playing cards different abilities and people who have those cards get those powers. plus the fact that they're an organisation masquerading as a normal business makes it cooler (this plus them dressing all formally is what reminds me of kingsman)

TRIGUN STAMPEDE

ongoing (manga completed)

12 eps

genres: space western

notes: maybe some of the best animation i've seen in a series. vash and nai are so tragic i can't stop thinking about them even after it's been ages since i finished the anime and the other characters are so cool??? i love how vash has a skewed sense of like morality if that makes sense bc he wants to not hurt anyone but that in turn hurts people and it's just cool and nai is also so interesting. i don't want to spoil anything but the designs and everything are so on point AND THE MUSIC IS AMAZING! i haven't even talked about wolfwood but we'll be here all day if i start he's awesome

HELLS PARADISE

ongoing (manga completed)

13 eps

genres: action, dark fantasy, psychological thriller

notes: hells is considered one of the dark trio with chainsaw man and jujutsu kaisen but i don't see as many people talk about it as they do with the other two which is such a shame bc it's so good. there's bits that fuck with you so much like i was convinced i was being gaslit at one point but it's just so good and the worldbuilding and fantasy elements on the island are so insane and well done. the mix of characters is also so cool bc there's so many different ones with different motives and they gotta work together it's just cool

SK8 THE INFINITY

ongoing

12 eps

genres: adventure, sports

notes: sk8 is incredible like idk how in 12 eps they managed to make me like so many characters including all the side ones like cherry, joe and miya but also introduce a villain and a conflict, make a fight and resolve it all and we even get a beach episode! the underlying yaoi makes it even better like that scene with langa and his mother and the "reki my love... for skateboarding" like they knew what they were doing. anyways incredible character building esp on reki's part. i love seeing how down he gets bc he's more relatable that way yk like he's the sunshine character who's outwardly so happy but he gets so self conscious as well idk i see myself in him a lot i love reki

FREE!

completed

41 eps + 3 movies (i think? free is confusing okay)

genres: sports

notes: last sports anime i promise. free is prob the most emotional of all the sports animes i've seen and it's not even that bad. can i entice u with the one bed trope bc they fully did that in the show w 2 of the male characters. anyways it's a swimming anime and the mc is haru who loves the water and he only swims freestyle. he has a group of friends (one of them being his childhood bestie) and it all starts when his old friend comes back from school abroad and he's different. i love free a lot i feel like it's very realistic too

okay we're done, here's my anilist so u can see the other anime's i love bc i promise there's good stuff on there :D

[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

[pikamemfo]

Re-read the succession war of HxH and was hit with the strong urge to continue procrastinating life so here we are! Here's a splatter of some random thoughts going through chapter one!

(Note: As this is a re-read, I might reference events that have occurred later in the manga!)

• Some beautiful imagery to kick us off—in general, the style of this chapter definitely invokes a lot of nostalgia both for HxH as well as the aesthetic of that time

• WHO IS THIS??? (Lmao, compared to Killua and other characters later on, there are less changes between Gon at his introduction and his current appearance but it is fun to see how Togashi refined and changed some his initial character designs, especially since his art style changes arc to arc.)

• It's really slight, but you can see the core themes of the story slid into a lot of the small dialogue moments. For example, here, Mito's grandmother notes that it doesn't matter why Gon sets out on his journey, just that he does, reinforcing the idea repeated at the World Tree where the alternative end is discussed, noting that the goal (Gon meeting Ging) didn't matter as much as the actual process of Gon getting there (by making friends, going on adventures, discovering himself, etc.).

• I love how spirited some of these panels are like the way Gon is jumping so animatedly or the adorableness of the foxbear tackling him

• To this day, I will never understand why 2011 removed this Kite flashback. It's the equivalent of not having Shanks lose his arm in romance dawn or not telling Yoki's story in Brotherhood. I don't even think the "We thought people saw 1999 and would get bored" argument works because they adapt pretty much everything else and this is such a critical scene to counter the "Gon's a psychopathic monster" takes floating around by offering a clear glimpse into the invisible trauma that helps form his, perhaps unconventional but also understandable mentality (not to say he isn't a flawed character, he is, that's the point—but there's a lot more nuance behind it than "Kid raised like animal. Selfish and primal. Only saves people he likes.")

• Kite is introduced with the perspective that anything that can threaten a human should be killed, regardless of how unfair or cruel it is (referring to the baby fox cub who had just lost its mother and therefore has the potential to cultivate a grudge against all humans). Although pre-emptive, this is a rational thought. It's why hunters existed in the first place, to acquire food and to protect against wild beasts. Gon of course, in this touching scene, resonates with this cub as someone who had lost his own parents and can't bear to abandon it to its death, even as it scratches angrily against him:

• As someone who has been abandoned (though right now, it's more metaphorical than literal since he thinks his parents just died instead of setting up a fun, peril-filled obstacle course for him to follow—Ging is a fantastic character who makes terrible choices, I promise 😭), he cannot bear to inflict that same pain to someone else which is why throughout the series, and especially in the next few chapters, he's always rushing in to support people who are left behind by others and taking detrimental risks to that end. Of course, this need to hold close, alongside a quality dose of fatherly idolization and a fear that Ging won't even look at Gon if his son doesn't meet an arbitrary standard of strength, are the qualities that are stressed to cause the fallout we see in the Chimera Ant Arc. It's hatred and brashness forged in the aftermath of love and hurt.

• Additionally, Kite plays such a pivotal role in Gon's goals, arguably more than Ging himself. Obviously he literally gives Gon the Hunter's License and his goal by telling him Ging's alive, but if it wasn't for meeting Kite, Gon probably wouldn't have decided to become a Hunter even knowing Ging's story. He goes because he looks up to Kite dearly, and Kite admires Ging so in Gon's mind, to earn Kite's respect, he may have to meet Ging's standards first.

• I love the depiction of Mito being a clearly nurturing character, but also flawed. Not the perfect mother you're led to believe in the anime. She is manipulative in hiding Ging's uh...life from Gon, which was not a choice that's morally up to her to make, and it's not solely out of love for Gon that she hides it either. She, herself, is hurt from Ging leaving her behind time and time again, and is scared Gon's going to do the same. And you know what, Gon does.

• And Gon's choice to leave is also not a naive decision. He knows full well that he's hurting Mito by leaving, which is why he apologizes, telling her that being a hunter must have been such an important job it's worth leaving behind your family (rationalizing Ging's decision), and says "like you said...I am his son, after all."

• But of course, Gon is wrong. As Killua shows, there is a need to escape strict familial oversight so you're able to discover who you want to be outside of the external pressure trying to box you into predetermined paths. But again, the end goal is not as important as this discovery process, and it's the people who care about you and affect you that matter in the end. Which is why characters like Kurapika continually find themselves drawn back to connections they try to hide and Gon returns back to Mito at the current end of his arc, perhaps a little more unburdened than when he left.

And that's a wrap for chapter 1! This was fun—as someone who hopes to write my own story one day, it's really cool to see how coherent the thematic throughlines of this story are written, as well as how a single chapter can clearly establish so much meaningful characterization.

[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.

[aspoonofsugar]

Hi there! so i just found your metas on hxh and they were incredible! i read most of them and it made me want to read the whole manga again… so if possible there’s a few things i wanted to know your thoughts on it.

we have killua here who tries to prioritize important people in his life by saying “alluka’s now is my number priority gon!” (jokingly or not…) and then we have another time that this matter has been addressed, before the start of hunters exam there was a old lady asking two answers question from the trio to let them think about a time they had to choose between their important persons, what do you think about such scenario happening to killua? especially when his arc has always been about protecting someone the question can now change from “how can i protect them? can i even protect them?” to “who should i protect “ you think it’s possible? would it be interesting?

and another thing is killua by far is the character most concerned about love. starting by wanting friendship,friends love and then demonstrating to us that not only he is trying to be a good friend and his character revolves around this but he is trying to be a good family member and wants family love as well. going as far to be the first and only one to interact with a Ai a creature who craves love, answers by “ai..” instead of “hai” (which both means love instead of yes), and is dead set of understanding the correct concept of love, not the one his family has been showing him. the question here is wouldn’t it be interesting to show a romantic love with such a love centric character? at least i’m dying to know if he could resolve his family problems and reach a point as in the head of the family (which btw was a theory of yours that i love) what would be his reaction to romantic love would that be unmanageable to him? would it be used to show his character growth? or it could even be used as a comedy aspect (considering most of his encounters) although i know it’s very unlikely, since it’s a shounen and they won’t revolve around romance much especially since it has not been addressed from the start. but still i’m dying to know! (but… if you have read yuyu hakusho togashi has addressed the main characters love life a bit so there is that hope… so, idk…)

sorry for the rambling, i’m thankful if you have read till here (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀)。

Hello anon!

I had received your ask the first time, but I have been rather busy these weeks :)

First of all, thanks for your nice words and for sharing your thought on Killua, I quite like them!

So, I personally think that you can read KilluGon as romantic tbh (and you can read it as platonic, as well... both readings work).

KilluGon has several traits that make it a puppy love like relationship. This means that several scenes can be read as having romantic undertones. Not to count KilluGon itself is foiled with HisoIllu which has much clearer romantic subtext.

In general, I do think both relationships are just that for now... undertones and subtexts and it is probable Togashi won't explore them more than this. He might, if he wants to, but it is not something he must do for the story to work. As you said, it is a shonen and not all shonens have important romantic plotlines. Some of them do, but others do not. HxH is written in a way that can go both way.

In any case, if you ask me how Killua would react to romantic love, his relationship with Gon speaks for itself imo. Killua is a child (even if he is slowly growing up) and has a very simplistic understanding of all relationships. This is taken up to eleven for romantic bonds, which he is clearly ignorant of (see his reaction to Gon's "expertise" with women LOL). That said, he loves deeply and his relationship with Gon, Alluka and his other friends and family all make it very very clear.

Thank you for the ask!

[seven-snails]

the ending of hxh 2011 still sticks with me so strong even a year later, there's something about it that doesn't feel quite like any other ending i've encountered in fiction. i think this is in part because in the manga it was deliberately written to lead into the next arc, so on a structural level it wasn't intended to be an ending with any real finality to it in regards to the plot as a whole, but it's also like. i remember coming away from the last episode with this very distinct feeling that the adventure wasn't over, but was only just beginning (which is hilarious considering what this hyperfixation has done to the past year of my life lmao), and this sticks out to me so much because even with other works where the ending is explicitly the beginning of something new and bigger for its characters (such as anthy walking away from ohtori, or karen's audition at the very end of the revue starlight movie), i've never come away with this feeling that the story is going to continue rumbling forward, and even take me with it, following what is ostensibly the curtain call. this feeling has very little to do with the scenes we see during the credits (adapted from chapter 339 - i think - titled "silence") and everything to do with the end of gon's conversation with ging, where he tells gon to enjoy getting sidetracked instead of worrying singlemindedly about reaching his destination. there's this really interesting sense that the world is only just starting to open up for gon (and i would argue killua as well) in this complicated, "adult" as in "nuanced and impossible to take in at one glance" kind of way that he was neglecting in his quest to achieve adulthood as a means to achieving power and authority, and this conversation with ging, where he also tells gon about the dark continent, makes it so tangible for the viewer by deliberately linking our limited perspective from the audience's seat with the slowly abating ignorance of this child. it's a really weird place to end a story - with the two main characters having been through so much turmoil, and now setting them down in a place where life is opening up for them on both a literal and an emotional level, and opening up for them because everything they went through has allowed them to mature to this point; it's not just that they're moving on to their next adventure, but that that adventure is necessarily going to be so much bigger and richer than anything else they've experienced because the ways they've grown will allow them to taste life that much more deeply - and what makes it so strange is that we're only seeing the promise of that. not the first step, or even the shape of the next threshold they'll have to pass through - just the promise of it. it gives off this really novel feeling that once you close the episode and walk away, rather than leaving behind an experience that has now reached its end, the actors that made that experience what it is will still be walking forward parallel to you, and i really love that. god what a show.

[timeskip]

Rambling about favorite anime and especially FMAB and HxH

I keep thinking about HxH and FMAB and why HxH so easily overtook FMA as my Favorite Anime (though as a note, HxH is NOT my favorite manga. It's second after Our Dreams at Dusk) and I've come to the conclusion that while FMA is more tighter as a story and you could make an argument about HxH taking more risks--ultimately it all comes down to the deeply subjective thing: I care more about the characters of HxH. The characters of FMA are good, but they're not Gon and Killua, and that's all there is to it :P

And like. I also think part of it is that I had FMA as my fave through a sense of obligation to it as the anime that got me into anime. But at the same time, as I've gotten more years away from watching it for the first time I can see the flaws of it more clearly, which hasn't stopped me from loving it, but it feels different now. I don't want to raise it up to be "the gold standard" or even "my favorite" anymore, except that I didn't really think about it that deeply because it's not like I had any anime to replace it??? I love Mob Psycho 100 and Zombieland Saga and A Place Further than the Universe and Revue Starlight and Sonny Boy, but I never felt a need to quantify those as my sole favorite. They are favorites plural but I don't really like to keep a "top 10 best anime" list on hand because it could change at any time (I made a loose list of maybe 20 shows not too long ago but even then I feel like many of them could easily get swapped out if I find something amazing). But having a sole favorite is nice just to be able to say to people "I love this thing, it's my favorite" when the chance comes

As for HxH, I read the manga first and it exploded my brain. I've mentioned this before I think but I fell out of being into shounens? And then HxH is actually really good??? Whoa. Lifechanging. And all the story things really work for me, the themes, even the flaws I regard with so much love because it creates such a lovely story that I'm so attached to. And the best thing about it is the character writing and the consistency, how Gon and Killua (and co) change and grow through their journey in ways that feel earned and good and I love them so so so much. Such interesting, complex characters. And then I watched the 2011 anime and appreciated it even more. I love FMA, and I was obsessed with it for a small time, but truly I wasn't obsessed with it for a whole year and a half. It's just incomparable.

And at first, I still kept FMA as my favorite. Obligation and nostalgic love. But then I mean. The longer I love HxH, the more episodes I think about or rewatch, the more I realize how much the structure of it into defined, different arcs that increase in complexity surrounds the characters surrounds the themes, the more I realize it's. it's REALLY good. I wouldn't blame anyone for saying that FMA is "objectively" better--it's the anime community's collective favorite (second favorite now with Frieren, maybe? I don't want to act like MAL is the only opinions that matter on that, obviously, so idk) for a reason. FMA is cleaner, well plotted out. The ending *just works* and HxH has no ending. FMA wears its themes on its sleeve while HxH takes some digging through arcs I liked but other people might not. FMA is a lot of people's anime go-to. FMA has different characters that would connect with people better than they do with me. FMA is interesting and complex in its own right, and it doesn't try to be *a battle shounen* in the way HxH does (though, to be clear, I still think FMA counts as one. HxH just deals with the tropes directly)

And like. It's also been a while since I watched FMA. I've watched it maybe 4 times over the years? If I watch it a 5th time maybe I'll Get It all over again, and fall in love with it again. But, uh. Rewatching things isn't really in the cards rn. If I watch FMA any time soon it'll be the 2003 version which I never watched.

Notably, I kind of listened to all the people who prefer Brotherhood over 2003, but lately I've been thinking I should probably watch it myself and see what it's like. And since it's been long enough since I watched FMAB I'll be able to go in without constantly comparing it to Brotherhood like I probably would've even a few years back. So yeah, I've basically decided that if I watch FMA again it'll be the 2003 version with a whole original section at the end. Exciting!

Basically, yeah. idk. I love FMA still but it's now just one favorite anime among many, and that's good! I like having HxH as my top favorite because it affected me the most personally and not because I think it's the "objective best"--and to be clear, FMA did personally affect me, I just don't think it did anywhere near to the level that Gon alone has affected me :P And that's the fun thing about art, and I hope someday I find an anime that gets to me more than HxH has, and becomes my new favorite. Conclusion: HxH is really REALLY good. I love it.

[ladyravenjadethe2nd]

My MHA crossover with HxH series

I started this over a year ago and I've so far written over 100,000 words in this series. This is going to be my finest work and I'm excited it share what I have so far with you!

The series is called If Wishes were Kisses and the first two parts are already on Ao3.

There will be at least 8 planned parts to this series and I will also be making an Extras section to put things like side stories about minor characters and fanart.

So here's the plot.

Because of a wish that Nanika grants serval characters from Hunter X Hunter are being reborn into the world of My Hero Academia with their memories intact.

The characters from HXH come from a timeline that is after cannon when Gon and Killua are around 18. No changes from the anime although as the manga is not finished it may diverge from the manga.

They are reborn into a MHA that had minor changes to cannon in the later seasons. Because of a key event most characters that died in MHA cannon lived however the War arc was much longer and our Class A and B cast fought for nearly two years in a war torn country against villains.

The 'goal' if you will is for everyone from HXH to heal and be happy in a new world. This is much more challenging then it sounds.

I refuse to let the characters be out of character. It is possible for me to fail in this goal for at least some of the characters. It is however going to be a hell of a wild ride in my attempt.

I have further complicated it my making each main character that gets reincarnated have their own story told in a genre especially for them.

Here is the link to the series.

The story starts with Part One which is called.....

✦ Baby ❤︎ Making ✦

At the graduation party of our heroes Mina spikes the punch and Kaminari falls into bed with Hatsume. 9 Months later we get our first official reincarnation Hisoka.

This is a humor focused story about Hisoka gaining a found family while staying in character as a creepy murder clown. So far it as been successful in being both funny, wholesome, and in character. I'm very proud of myself for that.

One of the things this story does really well is introduce you to what the world of MHA is like after the war and shows how the very large cast of characters are living their lives.

The main characters are Hisoka and Kaminari although Bakugou also plays a prominent role. Bakugou/Kirishima is a minor ship in this story as is Deku/Uraraka.

Illumi becomes a main character in this fic after he is born which does take a few in fic years to get to.

This story will conclude when Hisoka is 14 years old and is about to start Highschool. Part two will end at the same time and they will combine into a sequel I will talk about in Part 4.

So far in this story Hisoka is almost 4 years old, we are on chapter 29 at 56,556 words.

I have a spoilers section for each part of my series so that just in case I die or something you will have more information about it.

Feel free to check it out if you don't mind spoilers. I could really use a Beta so if that's something you would interested in read the Spoilers then drop me a message!

Part Two is called.....

|Family|Making|

This story starts with Momo and Shouto fighting a villain who uses his quirk to kill people, but little do they know that under certain circumstances instead of taking a life this quirk can create one.

Shouto has a fairly brief and very non sexual mpreg situation which results in Momo and Shouto being the parents of Illumi. (This will be the only case of Mpreg in the series.)

This is a drama story focused on healing along with the slow burn romance between Momo and Shouto. It begins when Hisoka is nearly 3 years old.

This is very focused on family drama not petty drama. I am taking the Todoroki family drama in one hand and the Zoldyck family drama in the other and clapping my hands together so hard that Momo manifest her own family drama.

This fic gets rather dark at times due to Illumi's mental health. It is important to read the top notes on this fic as I will sometimes add extra warnings about a chapter there.

Shouto/Momo are the main paring however Deku/Uraraka, Bakugou/Kirishima, Ojiro/Toru and Iida/Camie will be mentioned along with past Momo/Jiro.

So far in this story Illumi is 8 months old, we are at 23 chapters and 54,105 words.

This story will be ending when Illumi is 11 years old and the sequel in part 4 will begin right afterwards.

Part 3......Has a title that will give away the character if I tell it to you.

This is going to be a Satire story and I'm hopeful this fic might only be around 30 chapters. Illumi should be around 7 years old when this one starts being posted and I'm working on it now so that hopefully I won't be slowed down too much when the number of stories I'm working on goes up by one.

Part 4......Is unnamed at the moment.

This is the combination of Hisoka and Illumi's story and will be a Crime/Mystery fic with a good bit of Action/Romance in it as well.

This will also be almost a prequal to Part 7.

Of course the main pair will be Hisoka/Illumi, but I won't say anything more for now.

Part 5.....is tentatively going to be called Wish Making.

This is a light hearted Romcom most of the time. I will trick you into being a sad a bit only to fix it quickly.

Very fluffy. Very nothing hurts here. Some deep moments with huge character development happening, but that's mostly in the back ground.

Part 6.....is tentatively going to called Making Kisses.

This is a a heart wrenching dramatic Romance with a good bit of Hurt/Comfort with focus on the Comfort.

Note: Parts 5 and 6 will posted at the exact same time. This is indeed about the same romantic relationship. To be perfectly honest this ship is the main reason I wanted to write this series in the first place.

Part 7.....is unnamed at the moment.

This is the action plot I've been building up to with bits of foreshadowing in everything else. You may need information in Part 4 for this for fic, but I might do something to help people out with that.

I'm hoping it will be very satisfying for people to finally get answers and that I'm able to bring a lot of characters together in a grand finale.

Part 8......unnamed.

This will be only two long chapters. The beginning and the end.

You will learn how and why the wish was made in a prologue.

You will be told what happened after the wish was made in an epilogue.

That will be the end of the series....unless of course a 3rd chapter for this part is called for.

The first chapter of a sequel.

When I'm ready to make my Extra's section I'll have a link about it here as well.

Note I will be editing and reblogging this post every time I update so that the chapter and word counts stay accurate.

[hunting-songs]

Senritsus Birthday! Tagged By: A little Wildbirdie ! Tagging: @kiigan @saiakv @kylo-wrecked @bewitchingbaker @skarletchains @muddsludge @zaeltry @distortedkilling @lightfaithed @soulfulempathy ...and YOU!

What’s your Muse’s birthday? Senritsu was born in december of 1977 on the 12th. Her birthday is the 12.12.1977. Considering that Gons Hunter -exam was on the 6th january of 1999 and in the HunterxHunter world had only passed around two years (Succession arc is in 2001), Senritsu was twenthythree in September 1999 and turned twenthyfour in that years december.

Do they celebrate it?  If so, how? When Senritsu had been a child, her parents would celebrate the day she was born by letting Senritsu decide what to eat for that day a week before (so the group of Traveling People could get their hands on the ingredients in time) and take a day off online-schooling so she could do whatever she wanted. For her that meant she got rabbit-herb-stew and sat the whole day with her father in his atelier to build from wood and bones. Even if that meant just sanding down a small piece of wood for ten hours straight while her father told her jokes from time to time, it was still Senritsus favorite day of the year. In the years she had been traveling with Ask, he had thrown the runes for her to give her a soothsay for the coming year and than they had went out for drinks and cardgames in the nearest pub. Nowdays, she nolonger celebrates her birthday or more accurately she nolonger celebrates with her family or friends, because she for one has no contact with her family and also because she usually travels away from people with whom she could celebrate her birthday. If Senritsu is away from civilisation, she will just have a regular workday and if she is in town or a village she will go after work to the nearest pub to have a beer while listening to the pubmusic. The only thing she will do to celebrate is taking Asks Trollbag and throwing the runes for herself and give herself a soothsay for the coming year, though she is doing it more as a joke than anything else and occaiosnally turns the runes around of throws a second or third time. Senritsu did not shared Asks religion and superstition, but he was her best friend and all his soothsays were of fortune and luck because he wanted her to have a happy new lifeyear so Senritsu keeps his wishes alive.

How did you, the writer, pick this date? Leorios Birthday is march 3th Kurapikas Birthday is April 4th, Gons birthday is may 5th, and Killuas birthday is July 7th, so Senritsu just joined the tradition with december 12th. Also she was suppose to be a figtree and only people born in the timeframes of 14.6. – 23.6. or 12.12. – 21.12. fall in that horoscope.

Is this character’s personality influenced by their birthdate? Senritsu fits he different zodiacs very well! After Chinese Zodiac, Senritsu is a firesnake: “People born as Snakes are mysterious, smart, wise, good at talking, determined, and caring. They value knowledge, work hard to achieve goals, and form deep bonds in relationships. Snakes are mysterious and smart.”

“Fire people are energetic, they believe in the power of charisma and desire. The have creative potential, are intuitive and passionately emphatic. Fire people seek stimulation and so tend to always have a lot of balls in the air because they hate to be bored. ”

After the celtic treehoroscope, Senritsu is a figtree: "A Figtree: Fig Tree (the Sensibility) -- very strong minded, a bit self willed, honest, loyal, independent, hates contradiction or arguments, loves life and friends, enjoys children and animals, a social butterfly, great sense of humor, likes idleness and laziness after long demanding hours at work, has artistic talent and great intelligence."  

After the Western Zodiac, Senritsu is a Sagittarius: "The Sagitarius: The Misunderstood Healer --- Guided by the centaurs and the story of Chiron, Sagittarius is the sign of teaching and healing. They are always ready to lend a helping hand and are natural benefactors, but their selflessness is often misunderstood by the common people. Pain is often hidden behind their smile, and they would willingly give everything they have to help others heal, and seek a life free from pain. Despite being blessed with many incredible things, Sagittarius individuals may still feel like something is missing to make their life complete. Sagittariuses have an independent streak like no other sign. Independence and the freedom to pursue what they want when they want is of the utmost importance to a Sagittarius. They are travelers, and risk-takers. Sagittariuses aren't afraid to blaze their own trails, even if that means going it alone.Perhaps related to their ability to intuitively understand issues larger than themselves is the Sagittarius characteristic for being deeply, soulfully compassionate. Because of their openness to new experiences and lack of strictures, Sagittariuses get along very well with diverse groups of people and are always willing to empathize with another person's experience. Their warm, generous willingness to set people at ease comes from a genuine concern for other peoples' experiences and well-being. All this independence can sometimes translate to behavior that seems spontaneous to the point of random and a tendency to get bored easily. They can also rebel against those in authority, which can cause conflicts at work. Additionally, A Sagiattarius's constant quest for new experiences translates to a reluctance to commit. This can be a good thing if you're, say, an Aries or Gemini, who likewise are likely to want to drift toward the new and get easily bored with the old. However, if you like a safe routine and predictability, the Sagittarius might be more of a challenge to find love with."

[hxhhasmysoul]

So, if you asked to write your top 5 fav from JJK and HxH, what genre will you put them (or you agree that they should be in shounen)....

HxH top 5+:

Gon - he fits battle shounen well but he's also do great in a sports show. Any type of adventure story would suit him, it wouldn't need to be fighting related, he's so curious. And also detective stories, he's very perceptive. But also psychological horror or thriller where he has to face the darker parts of his personality. And high fantasy, Gon's obviously an elf or a hobbit or like a cross between them.

Killua - he would do well in some slow burn romance, period probably where a lot is unspoken. He could also do well as an eccentric detective, genius with poor people skills but actually very observant and empathetic on the inside XD

Alluka (and Nanika)- shoujo, possibly a magical girl one but with slightly darker undertones. You know, both cute and creepy. Or like darker, maybe supernatural or horror yuri drama. Nanika would either be her twin in this, or the dark magical being connected to her like she is in hxh. And obviously gothic horror.

Canary - she would also make a great magical girl, but also any kind of story of reluctant heroine would suit her - she serves the Zoldycks out of necessity but she also grew very emotionally invested in that. Also yuri drama would suit her very well. And considering how she scammed Amane in the Election arc I feel like some kind of story where she uses her wits to achieve her goals.

Leorio - apart from the obvious aka any medical drama, any scenario where it's him against the system. Probably cyber punk would suit him well, because of how such reality would clash with his values. But also rom com, he'd be kinda bad at it and it'd be funny.

____________________

JJK to 5:

Yuuji - I mean he's a shoujo manga heroine, I stand by it wholeheartedly. He's be good in slice of life but also in something very dramatic and painful. And he'd be perfect for romance where he's the clueless one and others pursue him, maybe even harem anime. Also some kind of story where he has a service job and deals with it, kinda heavy but funny story, probably heart warming in the end. Also musicals to utilise his singing skills and charisma.

Nobara - any story where she's the underdog climbing to the top or where she has assert herself against the world. She'd be great in slice of life too, especially comedy. And stuff with yuri on the side though no romance for her as the main plot, like she's more about her goals. And anything where she's ride or die, can be as tragic as Thelma and Luise but also a lighter play on that trope.

Kenjaku - comedy, obviously. Horror, duh. But also spy thrillers, both as the main character, kinda an anti hero, or the villain. And like any historical drama that is intrigue and/or creepiness heavy. And cyber punk with the body hopping. And obviously any story about them being an overbearing parent with a difficult relationship with their kids, like heavy family drama. Kenny's got range.

Sukuna - porn. Any story where he's the ruthless ruler or contender to power - period drama, modern, sf, crime. Any story where he's a cannibalistic serial killer, especially styled after true crime where he'd have groupies. Reality tv where he's the hated judge. But also some heavy drama where he has to deal with societal rejection and/or has to face the personal consequences of the way he is, like the thing Gege is denying him rn. Or a more silly and topey high school drama version of that like a bully getting his comeuppance and rethinking his life, something teen oriented.

Yorozu - so like mad scientist anything for her. But also Crazy Ex Girlfriend kinda thing where she slowly works through her issues and gets over seeking validation in shitty men. Also like Sex and the City but like if Samantha was the main character (as she should've been). Like a reverse rom com. She'd also do well in musicals and super hero stories before the started to strive for being serious, because she's over the top.

[mario8th]

How Many Tropes Can They Get This One Woman To Embody

Episodes 122-124 of the 2011 anime Hunter X Hunter can be easily sliced into three distinct sections. Short King Update, Ikalgo Update, and Killua Update, with some Pouf dispersed around the edges. And each of these three distinct chunks had their strengths and their weaknesses.

Starting with the periphery, Pouf is… still there. He seems to have written off the two other Royal Guards. After so many episodes of knocking them down, this is setting up more dominoes. Especially with how the King himself has changed. Interested to see how Pouf continues reacting.

Speaking of, the King stuff has got to be my favorite parts of this chunk. Short King states in no uncertain terms that he has changed. He now sees the value in lives other than his own. (This change having resulted in a responsive change in Pitou too). But even accounting for the change, Netero still sees Short King as too destructive. Which, to his credit, Short King's worldview is pretty childish. "I'm going to be so tyrannical that I bring world peace" is a very simple way of looking at things. But his motivations are clear, Neteros responses are amazing! Everything's a game with that guy. That Guy!

The Ikalgo stuff was fun. Welfin has been a joy to watch in the past… couple(?) episodes he's appeared in. Especially his mental breakdown when failing to attack Meloreon a couple episodes back. But it also kinda shows the failings of Togashi (and the animator team)'s writing style. It has been so long since I've been asked to think about Gyro, the NGL mob boss. (Gyro Zeppeli on the other hand, Part 7 anime when?) And even when I Was asked to think about him, it was like for a single episode. It was a cool episode! But brief. And now I'm asked to not only imagine and care for him, but to also care for the at the time unmentioned younger (not blood related) brother!? I think this is largely a Togashi problem. He had the idea much later to tie Welfin into that narrative, and by that point it was already long past the point of writing it into the Manga. But the anime team should have known! They had the opportunity to at least somewhat tease this reveal; instead it comes out of left field. Not saying it's bad, just wish it wasn't so jarring. (also I saw some folks in the FATT discord discussing content warnings about this episode and Huh Yeah. I Certainly Can See Why)

Speaking of Bad… Look I'm not saying this is entirely bad either. But let's talk about Palm. Palm Siberia. She's just… blegh. Y'know? Hunter X Hunter as a media property is already running on a dearth of well rounded women characters. We've got that one child butler at the Zoldyck estate… Bisky…¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (thinking back, maybe some of the Spiders would count? Gon's aunt maybe?) But Togashi decided to Try by making Palm integral to the extermination team. "Try" being the operative word. Because throughout this short (incredibly long) arc, Palm's character and story has ping ponged around so much its hard to keep track. She was the absurdly violent lady who needed to go into the NGL. Then she was the lady obsessed with a 12 year old boy. Then she was the beautiful espionage agent who took the knife rather than succumbing to the enemy's wills. And now she's a monster reborn, who through Killua has managed to regain her humanity. Like, if you picked Two of these things (like the latter two), I could see it working better as a package. But as it stands Palm seems less like a person and more like clay for Togashi to mold into whatever the story needs next. And it's a bummer! I want this story to treat women better!

But also I'm in love with this latest iteration. Her design(s) are both Excellent. Her scrying orb has manifested itself on her forehead, the fish scales are a great accent, and her Bayonetta outfit is an amazing look.

But none if it is for Palm. It's all a way to continue Killua's character growth. Palm telling him that he's the one Gon needs the most is a beautiful moment for Killua, but it's yet another example of Palm being the clay to push the story forward (the metaphor might be breaking down a bit, but you get it)

It really feels like this arc is on its way to wrapping up, and I hope I'm right. I've loved these Ants, but I'm getting ready to move on.

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[worldunbent]

i was going to give my ranking of hxh arcs but tbh i enjoy/don't enjoy them for such different reasons that it feels impossible to try to directly compare them. i also could not possibly justify ranking the chairman election arc as highly as i would. general quick thoughts on each instead

hunter exam - it took me a little while to get into it, but starting from around netero's introduction it really picks up and the ending is stellar... on mc+ keith talks about how the show makes you nostalgic for the hunter exam as it goes on and it is kind of great how an arc that feels full of danger and uncertainty at the time becomes almost cute and whimsical in retrospect.

zoldyck manor? - not sure if this counts as an arc but i like it. there's some excellent work in tone with how simultaneously dark and goofy it is.

kevin's heaven's arena - sure does exist. speaking of arcs that feel different in hindsight, greed island kind of makes this arc look worse because that also had a shitton of exposition but it was with a wacky character in a wacky setting while in kevin's arena you're getting powerpoints from a kind of boring character in a kind of boring setting. there's nothing about this arc i really hate, but not much i enjoy either.

yorknew city/phantom troupe - YEAH BABEY. if we go by the dichotomy that everyone is either a yorknew fan or an ants fan, i am definitely a yorknew fan. i love the setting, i love the parade of freaks, i love the inexplicable lengthy digressions about art forgery. all of the character writing is so sharp and funny and tragic. i could talk for ages about how many things i like about this arc on a beat-by-beat level. on a broader level, the pacing is also excellent (even with the lengthy art forgery digressions) and i love how it's a break from the very typical battle shonen-y structure of the surrounding arcs.

greed island - i wasn't expecting to like greed island because i don't like training arcs and have very little interest in stories that deal with video game mechanics but for some reason i really enjoyed it - it's partly because the arc just has great character work (this is where killua emerged as my favorite and stayed that way for the rest of the series even though he was squarely my least favorite of the main four for quite a while in the beginning) and partly because togashi is having so much fun with his own worldbuilding and bizarre ideas that it's hard not to get drawn in. the video game aspect is less interested in the crunchy mechanics... well, it is interested in the crunchy mechanics, but it takes a very broad view of the game's design as well, which is a lot more fun to me. obviously the weak point of this arc is that the villain just sucks ass. i won't deny that.

chimera ants - wellll sure. i like a lot of this arc, especially the continued character and relationship development for gon and killua and a bunch of the new characters on the hunter side, but the stuff i enjoyed most wasn't really specific to the ants. i didn't hate them but i struggled to find them as interesting as togashi clearly did and that's... an issue when the arc is as long and ant-focused as it is.

13th chairman election - i completely understand the flaws that other people see in this arc but i simply enjoy the events that take place and sometimes that's enough. it's a stupid political farce that for some reason has been jammed into the same space as a fucked-up family drama. and the stupid political farce is also a fucked-up family drama itself. it's just so weird and specific that i can't help but like it.

dark continent - i barely remember anything that happened this arc. i do think it's really funny that togashi takes a second pass at the same bit nobody liked in yyh where he starts explicitly powerscaling and says that actually all those past insanely powerful villains are weaksauce b-tier fools and all the real strong guys are over there -> go there now -> -> -> it's not better this time but it is funnier because he's doubling down.

succession crisis - the fact that i don't like something called the succession crisis arc is hilariously out of character but sorry the pacing of this is just so weird and i find it hard to care about most of what's happening. there are definitely parts i like but they're swimming in a sea of togashi just throwing out absolute overload of new characters and ideas too fast to actually develop most of them.

[ultraericthered]

Anime Update  V2 56

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 - Welp, I made it through the series in-tact. Finished the last two episodes and am done with it with one final  “M/ELODY”. The presence of Ghost Yuki really did do so much to elevate this last stretch; even if you’re not fooled by him being there and can see the twist coming, the big reveal of the twist is so much more effective when he’s there to even say, in Yuki’s own voice, that Yuki died three episodes back. As crushing as the whole ordeal was, it made sense that a heavy price would have to be paid in this tragic disaster story, and what price heavier than one of our most central characters? I almost cried along with Mirai and her family, and it hurt to see Mirai fall into the depression that Ghost Yuki as her coping mechanism had shielded her from, but seeing Mari once more and getting closure on the whole experience helped to make it better. A stunningly well done short anime...just not one I’d choose to revisit.

Hunter x Hunter - OK, I am starting to get to where the Chimera Ant forces are kind of working against the show, in that I’m actually not as enthused to be watching Gon and Killua or any of our main good guys because the bad guys are so damn mesmerizing whenever we cut to them saying or doing whatever. I could look at these guys and listen to their internal squabbles and plan-making for an entire episode, that’s how powerful their intrigue is, and we’ve still not even reached the birth of the King yet! While now I’ve seen the first kills of Ant leaders, the creepy guys who used enslaved humans like dogs, rabbit-faced Rammot has unlocked the power of Nen in his body, meaning that things are about to only get more difficult from here!

Fruits Basket - Really creepy, squeamishly unpleasant episode that gave more focus and insight into Shigure and Akito, already two of the show’s most villainous figures, and what their relationship is really all about. One sighting of Shigure and Mitsuru is enough to get Akito jealous and paranoid, and she snaps at Shigure for a past incident where Shigure slept with Akito’s mother Ren, which he did as a petty sort of “payback” on Akito for sleeping with Kureno. And then the two of them end up making out with each other, with Shigure revealing he’s been waiting for Akito to truly love him ever since Akito was a child, as he’s loved her from the day she was born. EWWW.

Re:ZERO - As I brought up as a “Christmas In July” post, I watched the Memory Snow special. It was absolutely thoroughly delightful. No straightforward narrative to speak of other than what Emilia Camp and the villagers did in a situation where Puck’s magic overloaded and generated snow and ice all over the area, but getting to spend more time with these characters and watch their antics left the biggest, dumbest smile on my face for the duration of it. It’s not really a “holiday special” but it just creates a Christmas-y mood the more it goes on, reaching its pinnacle in a stunningly beautiful climax. There is an underlining bittersweetness since this all takes place between Arc 2 and Arc 3, so we know Subaru and co. have hard times ahead. But in some ways, that only makes this thing all the more magical.

Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works - Saber and Shirou do sparring together, Rin and Shirou eat and talk on the school rooftop, Shinji launches a Golem attack inside the school but gets defeated. Not much to say other than if in the future we somehow ever got new El Hazard content to be dubbed, Kyle McCarley would be a perfect replacement VA for Jinnai - so much Jinnai energy in his delivery!

Symphogear GX - Two episodes seen, two of Carol’s creepy doll servants taken down. The first one put a lot of focus on Maria and the crisis of confidence she was having since last time, and the second one put just as much focus on Kirika and Shirabe as they start to grow out of their bad girl habits and learn what it means to work as part of the team responsibly and without holding anything down as a burden, and I just fucking love these two lovestruck dumbasses so goddamn much. Between these was the most interesting part: Hibiki meets her dad again. Her dad seems like the biggest, skeeviest and most irresponsible louse in the world, and talking to him only for a little while is more than Hibiki can bear. This’ll be trouble for us all, as troubling as Carol recovering and spying through Elfnein’s eyes!

Eureka Seven - Almost another totally goofy episode where Gekko State get around to doing something they apparently really wanted to do: hazing Renton by sending him on phony mission, which is being followed and caught on film by Moondoggie. The interesting twist here is that Moondoggie used to be the youngest and victim to his teammates hazing, one who gave up on such bogus missions easier, and he’s jealous of Renton now that he’s getting that “honor” instead! So naturally this culminates in Renton and Moondoggie in a beyond awkward “date” where Renton is clueless and Moondoggie is pissed. Hilarity ensues, and Renton manages to impress the crew by seeing it all through in spite of the humiliation. On the side there’s scenes with Dewey evaluating the remains of a Scub Coral assault to give his findings to the Federation Council, and the very last scene was surprisingly grim: Holland wants to distract his mind, is watching the footage of Renton’s hazing mission and at around a part where Renton’s saying things about himself that clearly Holland deep down believes applies to he himself, Holland calls himself “so uncool.”

Gintama - Another two story episodes where the first segment did nothing for me, but the second one with the big alien cockroaches was a riot, especially with how it ended. More comedy like that, plz?

[telehxhtrash]

I originally wanted to make two separate posts about this but i’m actually making a single one : the overarching theme of love, redemption, second chances and Togashi’s overall positive and optimistic writing are leading me to believe a few things concerning Killua and Gon’s relationship, namely that we’ll get an explicit romantic confession to canonize their relationship, but also that Gon is actually the one who fell for Killua first.

First of all, I know I say it a lot but I really, really do believe that by the end of the manga, Killua and Gon’s relationship will be a canon romantic one. I wrote a short post about this already, but I’m gonna explain briefly my point of view on this as I believe it’s important and relevant to the points I want to try and make in this post.

• Killua is pretty much canonically in love with Gon. There’s just too much subtext concerning this matter, and the “shinjuu” line single-handedly canonizes that fact. Togashi is a very, very smart man, and doesn’t throw random words around, he knows the weight of the word shinjuu and what it implies, and the entire chimera ant arc focuses on Killua’s feelings towards Gon, so there is no doubt in my mind that Killua canonically has romantic feelings for him. These two tweets live in my head rent free because it’s so wonderfully written, so here you go :

• I also deeply believe that Togashi would never leave this ambiguous. I wrote a full post about this if you want to read it, but basically, it doesn’t fit Togashi’s writing style. A lot of people say that Togashi’s queer rep is ambiguous in HxH, but it’s unfair because HxH is literally not over yet. There are still ambiguous things because the manga is still developing. Thing is, Togashi has put queer characters in his previous works, and it was never ambiguous. It was always explicitely stated. Same goes for the relationships between his characters. There’s no reason to believe this wouldn’t be the case for HxH.

• Togashi’s positive writing is echoed in Killua’s story arc, in the sense that Killua reflects Togashi’s optimistic writing style and the overarching theme of love, redemption, second chances and the power human connection. 

Killua’s character arc is one of slowly changing your life around, becoming your best self with a little help from someone to show you the way, it’s about positive growth, healing from trauma and going against what people think of you. It’s about healing and becoming your best self, no matter what.

It’s a very positive character arc, and one that’s been thoroughly demonstrated during the entire story.

That’s why Killua’s romantic feelings towards Gon could never stay unrequited one way or another, because it just would defeat the entire positive narrative of Killua’s character arc. Because Killua’s character arc is about healing and growing, and even though you thought you could never do that, learn how to love. It’s about finding love after abuse. 

And to me, the only way to complete that story arc, when we know that Killua canonically has romantic feelings towards Gon, would be for Gon to return those feelings. Because Killua’s character arc isn’t only about learning how to love someone no matter what, but also about being loved in return. That’s how you complete Killua’s positive story arc. 

I’ll come back to this theme a bit later on, though.

• There’s no way Shonen Jump can intervene and censor HxH. Now, I think I’m one of the few meta writers who actually believes this, but I’m 100% convinced that Shonen Jump always knew that HxH is queer work. I wrote multiple posts about this : the first post I linked mentions why SJ probably knows ; on the general gay subtext in both anime adaptations ; on 99 specifically and finally on the fact that it’s weird that gay subtext was emphasized in 99 anime when there was none in canon material only for it to appear later on in the manga.

But to summarize, there’s just no way Shonen Jump doesn’t know. 

First of all, Hunter x Hunter is published right after Yu Yu Hakusho. Thing is, Togashi ended YYH for a few reasons, but one of them was because he didn’t feel free of doing what he wanted to do with his story, because Jump kept on declining his ideas.

This led him to completely drop the story. Now, if you’re a manga writer who’s been deeply disgusted by how your last manga was controlled, what would you do ? I’m sure you would make 100% sure you could take your next story wherever you wanted. And I’m certain that’s what Togashi did. Because to be able to write his story the way he wanted, he had to make sure SJ would allow him to go anywhere he wanted. That includes his characters and their relationship dynamics, which are the basics when you pitch a story.

Togashi also emphasized in one of his interviews that he’s free to do whatever he wants.

Furthermore, Togashi’s editors and Shonen Jump aren’t dumb. They can definitely pick up on the gay subtext. If they didn’t want gay things in HxH, they would’ve never let Togashi publish some chapters, ESPECIALLY the chapter where Killua declares he’ll commit shinjuu with Gon. SJ isn’t dumb. Shinjuu hits HARD, especially in japanese, so they definitely know what it means (it’s literally the equivalent to saying them dying together would be like Romeo and Juliet).

Finally, and that’s half crack-theory half serious, but one of the main reasons I believe SJ knows is because of the 99 anime adaptation. It was HxH’s first anime adaptation, and Togashi was involved in it to some extent. Now, 99 is extremely gay. I linked the posts where I talk about it above, but basically, it’s rainbow flags overlay on top of the characters in the opening, gay opening and ending song lyrics, over the top gay lines and situations.... which is interesting. Because like i mentioned in one of these posts, it’s interesting that this gay subtext was present and highlighted in the anime adaptation when there was none in the manga at that stage. It’s very, very interesting that gay subtext appeared later on in the manga, after the anime adaptation went crazy with it. I firmly believe it’s because Togashi pitched his manga as gay to the 99 animators, and if so, that’d mean SJ would also know.

Anyways ! In short, I believe Killua and Gon’s relationship will become canon by the end of the manga because there’s no risk of editorial meddling since SJ probably knows this is where the story is going. Killua’s romantic feelings are also pretty much canon, and the only way to complete his positive character arc would be to have Gon return those feelings and prove that you’re worthy of love no matter what. Finally, Togashi would never leave it ambiguous, because that’s something he’s never done before, and Killua and Gon’s relationship has never been portrayed as ambiguous nor subtle, it’s still developing.

Now !! This was just an introduction to what I wanted to talk about in this post, I’m sorry you still have a bit more reading to do HAHAA

But ! 

With this belief in mind that Killugon will be canon in the end, there are two things I want to talk about.

• First, I genuinely believe we’ll get a romantic, highly emotional love confession scene between the two of them. For the sole fact that it’s something deeply intertwined with Killua’s character arc.

Like I mentioned above, Killua’s arc is about overcoming trauma and having a second chance at life, a chance to be better, a chance to be your best self. His arc is about opening up his heart to new experiences and new feelings, and learning how to love and pass that love around. His story arc is representation for trauma survivors that things can and will get better, and you can overcome anything, turn your entire life around, heal, and thrive.

And to me, the completion of that story arc is definitely to show that not only can you learn to open up your heart and love someone, but that you can be loved for who you are. That someone can look at you for who you are, accept you and love you no matter what. You can be loved by someone the same way you love them, in a romantic way.

To me, that’s where the story is going. Considering Killua’s canonical romantic feelings, and the overall positive themes surrounding his character arc, there’s no doubt in my mind that this is the message Togashi wants to convey.

And in my opinion, this message wouldn’t be delivered ambiguously or subtly. This narrative of being loved has always been enforced through highly emotional scenes throughout the manga, to highlight the message that yes !! you, trauma survivor !! can be loved for who you are !!

It’s been expressed through that emotional scene where Nanika tells Killua she loves him, for example.

It’s also been displayed in the countless scenes where Gon expresses his love for Killua, expresses his admiration for him, how he’s glad he’s met him, how happy he makes him, how Killua is his best friend in the entire world.... It’s been conveyed through the stargazing scene on Whale Island, through the entire Zoldyck Family Arc where Gon waltzs in the Zoldyck Mansion to rescue Killua, through the scene in Greed Island Arc where Gon tells him he’s glad to have met him, through the dodgeball match scene where Gon declares that it can only be Killua holding the ball, through the moment Gon says that the first thing he’ll do when he sees Ging is introduce him to his best friend in the whole world, Killua. 

Togashi could have chosen to show and not tell that Gon cares a lot about Killua, and that he finally found someone who loves him for who he is. He could’ve made them hang out normally, and we would’ve understood that Killua found someone who accepts him. But no, this has always been the main theme of HxH. Seeing the both of them grow closer and closer and grow and heal together. He chose to highlight the fact that he’s loved and cared for through words of affirmation to emphasize the narrative of being loved after surviving trauma. For the purpose of providing an extremely clear message of love to trauma and abuse survivors who identify with Killua : that you can find someone like Gon, someone who will love you for who you are. Togashi wanted to make it explicitly clear.

So now, since all of these words of affirmation were “platonic” (i’ll come back to the quotation marks in the last part of this post), but still highly emotional :

Wouldn’t it make sense that the romantic application of this narrative would also be portrayed through a highly emotional scene ? 

For the sole purpose of highlighting the final message of Killua’s story arc of overcoming your past and being loved and accepted for who you are, in a romantic way this time ? Of being loved the same way you love ? 

Since we’ve had so many platonic reaffirmations of this idea, I think it’d be fitting for the romantic part of the narrative to be conveyed through a highly emotional scene. Like a confession scene under the stars that would parallel the stargazing scene on Whale Island, for example, since stars are thematically fitting since they are linked to Killua’s story echoing Tanabata. 

An open love confession would be the final and ultimate way to cement that narrative of loving and being loved. A highly emotional scene, just like we’ve always had, to demonstrate the romantic application of the theme of being loved after experiencing trauma. The ultimate, non-ambiguous message of unconditional love for trauma survivors. 

Showing that you, trauma survivor who identifies with Killua, can learn to love yourself, love someone else and be loved in return.

• Keeping Killua’s character arc in mind, I want to adress a final point that I deeply believe is true. 

To me, Gon is the one that actually fell in love with Killua first.

Thing is, Gon is that type of character that acts first and thinks later on. He always does things on instinct, only giving it thought after the thing happened. So it 100% makes sense that it would apply to romantic feelings too. That’s why, to me, it’s very likely that Gon fell in love first but just didn’t realize it was romantic feelings, because he’s 12, never really thought about it and feelings are confusing. And to me, Togashi is setting up feelings realization on Gon’s part.

Gon has always behaved very intensely with Killua, always reaffirming how much he means to him. He’s always taken onto that role of providing Killua with love from the moment he met him. He accepted him for who he is, and always made him feel cared for. 

Togashi definitely planted the seeds for a possible interpretation of this idea of him falling first. The stargazing scene on Whale Island is just.... so romantic in nature. Gon tells Killua that he’s happy when he’s with him under a starry night sky, tells him he wants to travel the world with him and stay with him, because his presence next to him fills him with joy. Then we have his constant words of affirmation towards Killua, and how cool he is, how amazing and strong he is...

But to me, what really convinces me that Gon fell first is Greed Island arc. Gon’s behavior towards Killua during this arc was extremely emotional. It was deep, deep care and love for his best friend. We get to see him blush as he tells Killua that he’s really, really glad he’s here with him and glad he’s met him.

We get to see him declare that the first thing he’ll do when he finds Ging will be to introduce his amazing best friend to him.

But honestly, what made my brain explode is the dodgeball scene. 

Because as I mentioned in this post, the phrasing Gon uses is one that is used in romantic contexts to confess to someone. It’s a love declaration, literally. And I don’t believe Gon meant it as romantic, because he probably has no idea his feelings are romantic in nature. But. Togashi is a troll. He really, really enjoys toying with his readers. 

To me, the fact this sentence is romantic in nature could be Togashi putting Gon’s feelings right in front of our faces, hiding it in double meaning but still plainly there for us to see. It could be Togashi toying with us in the process of setting up Gon’s feelings, so that when it gets canonized that Gon fell first, on a re-read of the manga, you go “oh. that sentence is romantic. it was literally right in front of our eyes the entire time”. I’m probably reaching !!! but!!!! the fact is, this sentence is still romantic in meaning. It’s still coated in romantic subtext. And that’s intentional on Togashi’s part.

I’ll link this magnificent post by Quintessence that basically explains what I just said much better.

In short, it would totally make sense that Gon fell first. It wouldn’t come out of nowhere, since Gon’s behavior from the beginning of the manga can definitely be interpreted as romantic in nature. The countless emotional scenes where he asserts how much he cares for Killua can definitely be read as romantic, and Gon’s behavior can definitely be explained by him having a crush on Killua, despite him not knowing.

Now, the thing that makes me further believe this is true is the fact that symbolically speaking, it makes sense that Gon fell in love with Killua first. It would enforce the narrative of Killua’s character arc of being loved for who you are and not having to earn love.

It would literally dismiss everything Killua believes about having to earn the right to be loved. About having to earn his place right next to Gon. About having to change to be good enough for Gon.

Because if Gon fell first, then Killua was loved for who he is from the beginning, from the moment they met. Killua didn’t have to earn his love, like he thought he had to, especially in CAA, because he was loved the same way all along.

It’d show that Gon didn’t start to love Killua because Killua earned that right by changing for Gon. He didn’t start to love Killua when he started to heal and change his life to become a good person. He was always loved for who he is because Gon always saw him and loved him no matter what.

And that would once again highlight Killua’s character arc beautifully. It’d show that you are worthy of love even if you literally just came out of years of abuse. That someone can look at you and instantly fall in love with you, no matter how broken and unworthy of love you think you are. You never, ever had to earn that love. It was always here to begin with.

It’d break Chimera Ant Arc completely, it’d break Killua’s belief that he was unworthy of staying by Gon’s side and that he had to earn his place. Because he was always loved and never had to earn his right to stay by Gon, because Gon wanted him there all along. 

And that is a beautiful, deeply symbolic meaning that would complement Killua’s character arc perfectly.

It’d be Togashi showing trauma survivors that you can heal and love yourself, learn how love someone else and be loved in return. 

Showing trauma survivors that you don’t have to prove your worth to be loved. That just like Killua, even if you came out of years of abuse, a broken, scared person, you’re always worthy of love. That you’re worthy of love at any stage of your healing phase. That you’re worthy of love no matter how broken you feel you are. 

Someone will always love you and accept you for who you are. 

Anyways !! Thank you for reading this !! Those two headcanons are really precious to me and I really do believe they could come true. Because it’d make sense in so many ways ! 

I know it’s hard to imagine such a thing happening, because queer representation has always been ambiguous that it’s hard to fathom a manga being openly gay, but I really want to be optimistic about it. We got the subtext, the author interested in LGBT-rep, the positive narrative and virtually no risk of being censored. 

So I want to stay optimistic on this and believe that we’ll get a romantic love confession as a way to canonize their relationship, and that it’ll become evident one way or another that Gon fell in love with Killua first.

Thanks for reading !! 

[gallyl]

[Career x Advice] Gon & Killua

Will Gon and Killua become actual hunters in Hunter x Hunter?

In the current situation, they are rookies without specialization. Gon is nenles. Killua takes care of Alluka and must avoid dangerous adventures to stay safe by her side. But their story is not over. What are their prospects?

NOT meta, it’s a random curiosity and a birthday gift to my one and only gemini @buzzykrueger​ ^_^

KILLUA: THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Killua’s hunter card is not simply an item to travel with his sister for free. This card is a part of Killua’s identity. Killua wanted it. For him, becoming a hunter was just as important as becoming Gon’s friend. In Greed Island arc, Killua discards his father’s work mindset: “That’s how my old man operates. But I’m no longer an assassin. I’m a Hunter!!! Well, unofficially...”

Having the same profession as your friend means that you can work together and stick together like you promised each other at the beginning of the journey. Killua managed to merge the identities of a hunter and a friend. If Killua and Gon eventually work as hunters, they will always stay connected as members of the Hunter Association.

Killua is skillful at reinventing himself and giving his experience a new meaning. He changes weakneses into strengths. His growth steadily contradicts and counteracts his family. Torture by electricity? Electric nen. Nen needles? Godspeed to stop the needle and attack first. A vow to never betray your friends? Use the vow to save a sister and a friend! It would be logical to suggest that instead of killing people, he will save people. This type of job is also consistent with the author’s theme of redemption for past mistakes and crimes.

Killua is devoted, caring, and deeply protective. He prefers to live not for the sake of something, but for the sake of somebody. Apart from protecting Gon and Alluka he saved Ikalgo and instinctively killed Ikalgo’s enemies during the Palace invasion. In Chimera Arc he single-handedly disrupted mass annihilation in the Eastern Goruto and saved countless lives. Killua is a national hero in this country!

Work of this kind could be related to military/police. There’s a Crime Hunter subcategory represented by Mizaistom Nana (“a type of Hunter who tries to solve mysterious cases in the crime world”). But I’m also considering Lost Hunter (“a type of Hunter who specializes in seeking those from whom contact has been lost”) and this is why:

Loupe Highland searches for lost hunters and looks for contacts of various useful people. At present, he is either alive or killed in the Election arc, leaving the position vacant. Killua’s skills can be put directly to practice here thanks to rare nen, experience in espionage and battle. He can search for lost people, rescue kidnapped and jailed people, subvert mass homicide and save victims of natural disaster. This path could be morally gratifying and bring Killua at least two hunter stars.

Electricity can be used in medicine for CPR and cardiac pacemakers. Electrical stimulation speeds up healing of chronic wounds. Killua can even temporarily restore electricity in a building or the whole city in case of an emergency. Nowadays, electricity is everywhere. Electricity is life.

It’s reasonable to object that this work is very dangerous. This objection is valid, unless Togashi portrays Killua’s job in a sweet robin hood manner at the end of the tale.

Killua devoted his life to Alluka, but he’s born for great deeds, and Alluka surely values his potential. She promised to let him go not only for Gon’s sake, but for Killua’s own sake too. Killua is light that illuminates darkness in times of despair.

GON: FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT

Gon is tricky. He may reject the concept of power and remain “normal” forever. Many readers believe that Gon will become a Beast Hunter (he confirmed his love for animals in Ch 40) or a Botanical Hunter. He’s extremely smart and knowledgeable about both, so it’s highly likely and almost certain! But I believe that his future mostly depends on his type of nen. Let me explain.

If Gon regains nen, he could change into a Specialist like his father, or an Emitter like his teen dad Leorio. Both these ideas are popular and are great. I totally agree, but i would like to ADD the most uncool suggestion: Gon will remain an Enhancer.

...but in a brand new way. The Sussession arc has an interesting panel in ch 388. More importantly, Kurapika is the one who speaks:

Kurapika continues, looking at Bill: “You have my gratitude. It’s rare for a male to be an enhancer with a support type ability. Since most of them would choose to take it in a direction where they could increase their battle power.”

That is exactly the mistake Gon made.

Indeed, he used nen to strengthen properties of rocks and floor plates (“support”), but he did it for fights. Personally, I’ve always thought that Gon’s weakest attack was “paper” (emission) because he’s incapable of sharing. He’s a hunter, a soldier and a selfish kid (in an innocent childish way). He was, as Kurapika noted, an Enhancer who “chose to increase his own battle power”.

When Gon didn’t know what hatsu to create, Kurapika was the first person he called for advice. He asked Kurapika to be his coach. Ironically, Kurapika IS a coach now, as if he realized the wisdom of Gon’s proposal.

If Gon becomes a supportive Enhancer, he will apply nen for creation instead of destruction. If you think it’s a weakness, I still believe that Togashi thinks otherwise: his story shows that giving is receiving, and love is the most powerful force in the world. This ability type will not prevent Gon from animal and botanical studies, rather the opposite.

Supportive nen requires a kind heart and a strong life force. Gon has both. His full potential is equal to Meruem and Netero. If he reverses his ability from destruction into support, we will witness someone with the power of a divine creator. A godlike teenager who regenerates wounds, reconstructs ruined cities and restores tropical rainforests and dying species. “The light that shines upon all”.

In short, if the expedition to the Dark Continent causes a planetary crisis, our hero will save the day.

This transformation would make Gon similar to Killua. Killua saves lives instead of killing, while Gon rebuilds instead of destruction. Killua’s electric nen is extremely rare and combines attack and defence. Likewise, Gon may become a rare universal Enhancer, probably one of the kind, who uses nen both ways but chooses wisely. Such ability will reflect his newfound balance between light and darkness.

A HOMAGE TO THE WHALE ISLAND?

Hatsu (発(ハツ), "Release"/"Act") is one's personal expression of Nen. Gon came up with jajanken in dedication to his birthplace. Can he draw a bigger inspiration while reconnecting roots at home?

The whales are one of the most ancient mythical creatures that appear in the nordic, biblical and Asian lores. In Vietnam, among other places, whales hold a sense of divinity. The god of the seas, according to Chinese folklore, was a large whale with human limbs. The Qur'an and the biblical Book of Jonah tell the story of Jonah being swallowed by “a great fish”, often depicted in art and culture as a whale. In the Succession arc, the expedition travels on the Whale ship to the Dark Continent.

The Whale Island could also be an allusion to Slavic mythology/folklore, where the world exists on 3 whales. There is a fairytale about a whale which was punished by God and turned into an island for swallowing the ships. Let’s hope that Gon’s home doesn’t wake up like a volcano!

We must not forget that Gon’s nen nodes were prematurely unsealed by Wing. It is a forbidden practice. Gon needs time off to grow, heal and discover nen on his own terms. The Whale could become Gon’s hatsu to represent his “true self” and “mature self”.

If we suggest that Gon is a foil of Netero, the puzzle falls into place. I am very very subjective and speculative from now on, but the guess is still a guess? Let’s see the common features between the two.

1) Netero meeting the kids wasn’t just for fun. Rather than playing a game, it looked like a trope where “a wise teacher” observes potential successors to his post - in this case sons of Ging Freecs and Silva Zoldyck.

2) Netero was also an Enhancer. He obtained this ultimate power when he reached “enlightment” in the forest. It’s highly likely that Gon will try the same method, meditating in the forest in his free time.

3) Netero’s ultimate power was Guanyin Bodhisattva (Kannon in Japan). Her Chinese name means "[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World". Her second alternative Chinese name means “Lord who Gazes down on the World”. She is the goddness of mercy and compassion. Netero conjures Kannon to protect humanity but ultimately fights to kill and destroy.

In contrast to Netero and his heavenly deity, Gon is an “earthly” person, attached to nature, home and friends. His hatsu would most likely represent the deity of the Earth. This would also make Gon and Netero complementary opposites.

All animal options for Gon’s hatsu (in no particular ranking)

Whale

Foxbear

Frog (Gon sits on a frog in Volume 1)

Turtle (if the Hunter planet rests on the Cosmic Turtle)

Adult Gon - the Enhancer and nature lover - could study and restore flora and fauna and help Killua and other hunters on their missions and adventures. It may also be interesting to see adult Gon as the new chairman of the Hunter Association, provided that it doesn’t cease to exist. Gon could improve the rules in that place. After all, the statement that all hunters are selfish is far from being true.

******

I hope my knowledge of nen is enough, please correct me if I’m wrong. I want to see the best potential of the main four and see them find happiness! I dedicate this post as a present to @buzzykrueger​, who has been my support in the fandom all this time, pls check out her meta (Happy birthday, sunshine, i wish you to reach your full potential and a happy future!). And thank you @little-lonely-flower​ for your wise guidance on this article as well!!

[nyarmand]

Can you sum up Killua? I watched the show (the old one) but im just wondering if you can sum him up?

It doesn’t even have to be right! If you told me he was from Ohio, well he does have that energy to him

KILLUA... KILLUA IS MY BELOVED

so hes this kid who was raised by a family of assassins and as a result has been trained to kill since birth. this has involved a great deal of torture for him. when we first meet him in the story he's like. twelve years old and is taking the hunter exam because he thinks it will be fun. unfortunately he fails because right at the end of it his shitty abusive big brother reveals himself and fucks everything up for him along with a deeply horrifyingly relatable display of ptsd on killua's part. (he also gets his ass promptly kicked by gon for his actions. yay, gon!)

anyway we find out he's really different from most of his family because despite everything he's still a pretty sweet kid. Lil murdery but it's okay. he's working on it.

"Clean living is tough."

over the course of the series we get to see some really wonderful character growth from him as well as more of his childish side (he LOVES chocolate robots and uses yo-yos as weapons). we also find out that he is completely gay.

he's a good kid.

he also gets lightning powers during the greed island arc. it's pretty cool. i'm a fan. he can use 'em for all sorts of things too.

but none of this is my very favorite part. my very favorite part comes in during the election arc. because it's at that point that we find out about alluka.

alluka is killua's little sister. there's a lot to say about these two. for one thing, alluka is canonically transgender, of which killua is very supportive.

for another thing, alluka has a very powerful entity from the dark continent (a landmass outside of the known world) living inside her. this entity is known as nanika.

as i said, nanika is extremely powerful. see, she can grant wishes. any wishes. however, there are a lot of rules. for one thing, in order to gain a wish, the person in question would have to fulfill three requests first. if her requests are declined four times in a row, that person along with those closest to them will instantly die. quite messily. on top of that, the bigger the wishes are, the bigger her requests will be, and the bigger the consequences if refused. for example, someone once wished for a billion dollars, after which the next person was asked for organs. since that person obviously couldn't just give her their organs, they died, along with a great deal of other people.

as you can see, alluka and nanika are powerful to a degree that can be extremely dangerous if people aren't careful. this isn't something they intend to do--alluka looks very confused the first time someone dies after refusing her requests. however, it will still happen. due to her powers, the zoldyck family locked alluka up. she's left all alone with nobody to talk to her or play with her--and she's only eleven years old.

but during the election arc, killua goes to save her. (i theorize that the reason he didn't before was related to some of the brainwashing techniques illumi (the oldest of the zoldyck children) canonically used on him. he breaks out of them in the previous arc.) he is able to rescue her and take her out of the zoldyck estate, though not without illumi chasing after them.

alluka and nanika both love killua very, very much. ('if i was the only person in the world who loved you, would you be sad?' 'i'd be so happy!') nanika even asks killua to pat her head when she does a good job. because of this, killua even gets to know special rules about nanika's wish-granting powers:

If a wish is made for healing, she must make physical contact with the target. Also, there will be no repercussions. It is also shown that healing is very taxing to her, causing her to fall asleep from exhaustion.

Killua has the special privilege of issuing a "command". When he does, his request will bypass any existing backlash and will be granted without any repercussions. If somebody else wishes other than Killua, they will suffer the same repercussions of the previous wish that was supposed to be given, with the command itself not affecting the requests.

Issuing a "command" allows Killua to have his wish granted even if she is in the middle of making requests of someone else, as well as if it is his second consecutive wish.

unfortunately, killua sees nanika as a threat to alluka's safety at first, fear of illumi hurting his little sister causing him to order nanika to never come out again. alluka, however, is furious with him, causing him to realize his wrongdoings and apologize to nanika, recanting his order and asking instead that she never use her powers again, because he'll pat her head whenever she wants.

he loves them both so much. she'll scold him and he'll say 'isn't she the greatest?' gon? who's gon? gay rights are real but sibling rights are more real.

after this they travel the world together. that's where we leave off. just killua and alluka and nanika traveling the world. in case you somehow couldn't tell, their relationship is unbelievably important to me. like... it doesn't get any better than this, okay? it just doesn't.