#hxh Ending D

[cocogum]

Togashi planned different endings for HxH.

The fourth one surprised people.

Recently, there have been news regarding Togashi on his health and what would become of HxH in the near future, so he wrote his answers on a talk show for an interview. From the small leaks and sneak peeks that people were able to gather and collect from the ongoing interview, we got to know a bit more about Togashi’s thought process as well as what he had planned for some scenes to go about but later changed.

These sneak peeks and leaks were later translated by these same fans and got shown on Reddit. You can find some of the translated questions and answers HERE!

But while this was going on, what really caught the fans’ attention about this interview (that we got of for now), were the possible endings Togashi had in mind. Since his health and back weren’t doing so good, Togashi figured he could at least give us some information on the possible endings of HxH he had planned. Of course, his answer was in Japanese but thankfully, some fans (like @pewpiece on Twitter) were able to take some parts and pieces of the explanation and translate it for us.

This is what Togashi said:

According to what the translation is saying, Togashi has planned THREE possible endings for HxH and has also estimated how good the ending would impact the fans.

Ending A (the first one), seems to look rather fine. This ending is deemed to be satisfactory by 50% and unsatisfactory by 20%.

Ending B (the second one), looks like it’ll have an equally mixed reaction. This ending is deemed to be satisfactory by 50% and unsatisfactory by 50%.

Ending C (the third one), looks like it’ll have the worst reactions between them all. This ending is deemed to be satisfactory by only 10% and extremely unsatisfactory by 90%. (Ending C is very likely that it’ll receive negative remarks but Togashi kept that one possible ending around because he personally liked it.)

Despite the fact that he had made three ending possibilities for HxH, he still plans on keeping them on the side to think about a bigger ending that could be better and bigger than the three he had made up: “I want to think to the utmost extent about an ending to the point where I might not choose any of these three and create what I find most enjoyable, which is my ideal and goal.” -Togashi on paragraph 2.

He also mentioned, however, that if he doesn’t find a better ending than these three before his time runs out, he’ll resort using the fourth ending as the true ending.

Yes, there’s a fourth ending that he hasn’t estimated the satisfactory and unsatisfactory rate of. Apparently, he had planned a fourth ending but scrapped it. It’s called the “Ending D” (or the fourth ending) and was the reason why people are starting to talk about this interview (at least from my end).

Curiously, Ending D was the one that had been talked about more by Togashi. Since he didn’t give any estimation on the satisfactory and unsatisfactory rate, he decided to tell us a bit on what it would be about.

To summarize it, here’s what it’s about:

Gon ends up marrying Noko, the only other kid on Whale Island, and they end up having kids. Now, Gon and Noko are grandparents and we get introduced to their granddaughter named Jin who was currently following the Freecss tradition: taking out the Lake Lord fish and share it with the other Whale Island residents. She ends up catching the fish and proudly goes up to her mother to tell her that she will not leave the island to become a hunter (insinuating that this must be a requirement once you capture the Lake Lord fish) and she’d rather stay here to inherit her parents’ place instead. Jin then goes to the shop from Mito’s days to cut up the fish all while thinking about how her mother will never understand how she’s saddened by the fact that being a hunter meant making the people that you love worry for you. Jin complains about how grandpa Gon is unaware of how his hunter stories make grandma Noko sad which is why Jin has decided that she’ll never become a hunter. Then, just as she had finished thinking about her resolve, a chubby little boy (holding a plant for some reason) enters the shop to which Jin seems to act very comfortable with. She tells him that she had caught the Lake Lord fish and they are both happy as they begin cooking it together.

This ending is odd because of three major key points.

1) This ending sounds way too much like a shonen anime ending where it’s a childhood love story like so many main pairings have gone through in the past. Plenty of people would be complaining (and even stating) that this ending is fake since Togashi would never write something this basic but you have to understand that he DID write something like this back when he was working on his old work Yu Yu Hakusho. The main character Yusuke returns after his adventures to get married to his childhood friend Keiko.

2) The way Togashi worded the ending at the end of it.

“The son of one of them, the daughter of another, and the grandchild of another live in different places, exchanging smiles. They might be the children of that character and the grandchildren of that character.” - last paragraph

This specific chunk of paragraph sounds a bit confusing at first read since Togashi doesn’t name any of these people and doesn’t address or clarify who is who. All we know, is that the “children of that character” and “the grandchildren of that character” is Gon when Togashi says “that character” since it has been established that his granddaughter Jin, the little boy with the plant, and the two kids’ parents are aware of who Gon is. However, we get confused yet again once it says “the son of one of them” and “the daughter of another” implying that “one of them” and “another” is not just Gon. This all seems a bit confusing but Togashi does have a habit of remaining ambiguous and vague when he explains in interviews.

3) The last line of the translation ends with “In the background, a figure watches the scene.” Who’s the figure you ask? No one knows.

Nonetheless, what we do know now, is that Ending D should NOT be ignored.

Many fans have already concluded that it shouldn’t be taken seriously because Togashi ‘scrapped��� it out but you have to understand that he had kept it around and WILL use it if time runs out for him and he doesn’t manage to find a better ending than the three he already has.

This is why the Ending D, also known as the fourth ending, should also be known as the default ending.

So if Togashi can’t continue anymore, this could be the true ending for HxH.

Keep in mind that this is Gon’s ending too.

We have no idea what he has in store for Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio not to mention Hisoka and the Phantom Troupe.

———————————————————————

Btw I can’t believe I’m seeing this cuz I once talked about Noko like two years ago and said how I wished that she could have more scenes or anything remotely interesting about her AND NOW WE GET THIS!!!?!! Damn.

this is the post I was talking about her if ur wondering.

I’m sure other ppl must’ve wondered about her too at some point cuz why would Togashi include the fact that she’s also the only other kid on Whale Island if ur not gonna do anything about that fact???

@thelovelyghostwriter

@itsmyara

@cautionworks

[delphi333]

how you are feeling about the hxh ending D?

I.. I really don't like it man 😭 i didn't really understand what was going on exactly- I think Jin is gon and noko's grandkid. which means gon and noko had children together??? apparently, noko was the only kid on whale Island aside from gon. I don't really like the idea of them getting together but thats because I'm very biased 😭 like where are killua leorio and kurapika?? are any of them going to be apart of gons future at all?

overall, I'm glad it's not the official ending, I don't enjoy it at all lmao. whatever ending togashi goes with I'll be fine with as long as we get closure about the other characters probably. but hxh aside, I don't want to think about what would happen if togashi doesn't make it...

[i-heart-hxh]

I think what scares me about ending D is that by leaving Gon, Killua has opened up a place at Gon’s side that could be filled in his absence. Like what if Noko becomes closer to Gon while Killua is gone? That’s what scares me and I don’t think Killua has thought of this or if he has, he’s accepted it (which hurts just as much, I hate the idea of him being “over” Gon). And how would Killua even react if he met Gon again and saw someone else at Gon’s side. He can’t be mad considering he’s the one that left.

Hi!

So, I think a good thing to keep in mind is that HxH is not real events happening to real people. The characters aren't going about their lives in actuality with the "danger" of things going in some unexpected direction, they're living out a story that has been pre-determined to whatever degree Togashi has planned it out. As much as I dig into the character psychology and such, I think this is worth remembering. Stories are created with intention.

Togashi already "spoiled" the scrapped idea of Gon ending with Noko, so I personally see it as extremely unlikely this is an idea he intends to continue to use. It's possible Noko will appear while Gon is on Whale Island, but at the same time they've never been portrayed in the series as being particularly close, and if Togashi has no intention of ending it with them together I don't see why he'd bother with giving her more than some sort of cameo. Ending D aside, which is separate from the series itself as something that was rejected, she hasn't been given any important role in within the story so far.

I think it's unlikely Togashi still has some real role planned for her at this time. The series has spent so much time and focus on Gon and Killua's relationship, and there is a lot still unresolved between the two of them. The audience of HxH has been clamoring to see them again for over a decade now, and I feel like focusing on Noko all the sudden just seems like a random diversion that I don't think Togashi has the time/energy to deal with at this point. However, as usual, I can't speak for Togashi himself, and HxH can be quite unpredictable so I can't say anything for certain. These are just my best guesses based on the set of circumstances we have currently. I personally don't think it's worth worrying about Noko currently, however.

[justxtalking]

my thoughts on this hxh ABCD mess

Being a Togashi fan is such a roller-coaster of emotions. I think I went through all the stages of grief in only one day.

Half of me believes he's trolling.

To be honest, it's better to just take it with a light heart. Togashi is known for joking around about himself, his health and his own story. (I wasn't in the fandom at that moment, but I wonder how everyone reacted when he said everyone was going to die). I consider ending D to be so uncharacteristically him for so many reasons I could talk for hours about it. I find it ironic how he gave a stereotypical-shonen-like ending when he talked several times (even in this interview) about how he likes to surprise himself (and his readers) when he writes. Some other times he explained he likes to play with these shonen stereotypes and just do something different. I mean, he's been doing it since the beginning of his career.

And I'll be honest, ending D sounds like a mockery of shounen.

(And I feel a bit dumb taking this so seriously if he's joking.)

(Though, this also may be the case of "the boy who cried wolf" and he's actually saying the truth this time.)

The other half of me thinks he's being honest.

If he is actually giving us a back-up ending, I find it incredibly sad. Not only because of his health, but also because he felt pressured enough to give us an ending, no matter its form and no matter if it's an ending he doesn't even consider anymore. He shouldn't have been on that position.

It is important to take into account that this is not an ending he wants or even considers anymore, it is an ending we can take if he's not able to finish HunterXHunter. We need to realize there's a lot of circumstances we don't know about or may not be considering for him to give us this ending as an option at that moment. And what type of ending too.

I seriously want for him to be able to finish Hunter X Hunter the way he truly wants, not worrying about anything else. He's thinking about three plausible scenarios that may see the light of day or not. And no matter what he ends up choosing, he should choose whatever he wants. It's his story, no ours. And it may even be his last story (I know it's sad, I want him to keep on writing forever, but it's true). Honestly, a part of me wants him to choose the A scenario because that's where seems to be less drama, but actually I want him to choose the C scenario. Even if that ending is Gon married to a lizard with beautiful lizard-babies in the Dark Continent. And that's because that ending is what he would actually want to do with the story.

(I really am curious about it, though. I know I wouldn't be able to guess even in a million years, but I'm still curious. And I so want to read the whole interview and see the whole episode, since there were more questions about other things.)

For the shippers

I know this feels like a punch in the gut or something even worst. I felt it too. And it's totally valid to feel like we do and not agreeing with ending D. Even as a non-shipper because what do you mean, Gon did what?

Everyone who follows me knows I'm a proud Killugon and Leopika shipper. And I will keep on being one even if Hunter X Hunter transforms into Boruto and I have to see Grandpa Gon (the more I say it, the more it sounds like a joke).

Honestly, I always considered the gay ships were never going to be explicitly canon.(Kishimoto traumatized me). Not because of lack of material, but because there's a whole context and a lot of external circumstances we sometimes forget about (and Kishimoto traumatized me). There was a reason why Togashi couldn't make his queer manga in the 90s, which, I'm sorry, I don't consider it to be that long ago. And there is a reason why he can't explicitly say that characters like Pouf or Hisoka are gay (despite being totally obvious and them being villains).

I still find it admirable how Togashi included so many queer elements in his stories and got away with it. And he's a mangaka that does shonen. And not just any shonen, a battle manga in Shonen Jump. (He included a trans man in Level E and made him transition. The way Togashi explains some things about this character may be a bit problematic, but Togashi still did this). And those queer elements are still there and are still as canon as when he wrote it the first time. Pouf is as gay as he is dramatic. And Ging and Pariston still have that sexual tension (and I'm 100% sure they fucked or they are going to fuck in the near future or both). And Killua is still the queerest boy I've seen in the longest time.

Sometimes, I think there's a possibility of Killugon being canon. But only because of Togashi's history and tastes. He may feel a bit rebellious and just go with it, he's so unpredictable that I'm always expecting anything and everything from him (I mean, he did what he did with Hisoka and Illumi and so many other things). However, he's an introvert, I'm not sure if he actually wants the attention he would get if he actually goes with it. And that is something we should also respect. (I do think the most plausible option is Killugon to be as ambiguous as they are now.)

In relation to ending D, I don't think we should worry that much. At the end of the day, it is an ending he doesn't consider anymore. (At least we can sleep well knowing that the ending he wants to do doesn't have to do with Grandpa Gon). What's important is what he writes and does in the manga. That is what speaks louder than anything.

Though, I do think it's going to be a pain in the ass interacting with other fans. I'm not looking forward to it. (At least they are going to stop saying that Kurapika will die, I hope!). What I'm looking forward to is the new Killugon content in the fandom.

My personal take

Gon =/= Ging. I could say a lot about this, since one of the things I love the most about Hunter X Hunter is what he did with these two and Gon's arc, but I think this is clear enough.

So!

After saying all of this, I think the only thing we should consider as canon is the manga. If he doesn't write it, it didn't happen.

If he's saying the truth, he may be thinking about how to finish Hunter X Hunter sooner or later. Even though so many fans say that they want an ending, I feel like we are not ready. Not even for Gon marrying a lizard and having beautiful lizard-babies in the Dark Continent.

I hope I was coherent enough. I have no answers, only thoughts and thoughts! I feel like we can only speculate and ending D is so confusing because how did we even get there?

I may be going through all the stages of grief again tomorrow, but I wanted to share my thoughts (at least partially). I may erase it if I feel too uncomfortable, but yeah!

Conclusion: Let's just take it with a light heart and wait to see what happens! (I know it's hard).

[toadxhunter]

So, regarding that ending

I want to deliver an interesting nugget. I'm being led to believe by translators in the r/HunterxHunter discord server (no longer associated with the reddit cause reasons) that the Japanese audience reaction has been more positive generally? I mean, obv it's entirely possible the Japanese fanbase has just as many if not more 'dudebros' who are just eating it up uncritically. I however am interested in the possibility that our rough translation is making it somehow even worse? Apparently, if the translators are to be believed in there, the image out right now was translated using chatGPT. So if it feels like it reads janky to anyone else, there's that. Said translators in there, (that mostly work on manga scanlations) are working on a hand translated version, so I'll share it when it's out! In the meantime, someone scalped this together somehow, it's the original Japanese text of Togashi's Letter to the program. Go nuts!

池のほとりで釣り竿を握り微動だにしない少女。突然竿が大きくしなり、少女が叫ぶ。彼女の名前はギン。ギン「来た来た来たァァ!!」池の主を担ぎ、得意気にギンは1人の女性の前に立ち言い放つ。ギン「約束通り主を釣ったよ!!お母さん!!」さらに女性に近づき小さな声でギンは続ける。 「これでもう二度と私にハンターになれとか言わないでしょ…！」仕方なくうなずく女性。ギンは主を担ぎながら去って行く。 母親「主を釣り上げることで狩猟（ハント）に目覚めてくれると思ったんだけど…ねぇ？」女性が隣の夫に同意を求める。父親「島から一生出ないで店を継ぐ…。それが現在（いま）のギンの希望なんだ。尊重してやろうよ」。 女性はまだ不満気だ。母親「まぁ、途中で気が変わるかも知れないしね。全くあなたもギンに��でそんなに…って、そりゃミト大ばあばとノウコばばの血筋よねェ…。」どうやらミトとノウコが血縁関係にないことを女性は知らないらしい。夫は静かにほほ笑む。あきらめきれず、女性は続ける。 母親「でも！ゴンじいは有名なハンターだったんだし…！あの娘（コ）だっていつかはきっと島を」　ギン「出ないからねッッ!!」姿すら見えなくなった森の奥から、両親のやりとりが聞こえるはずもないのに叫び返す娘。父親は楽しそうにつぶやく。父親「お見通しだね」 場面が変わり、ミトのころから続くお店。主はきれいにさばかれ全ての部位が下ごしらえされている。作業をしながらギンの独白。ギン（お母さんはわかっていない…）（じいがハンター時代の思い出を楽しそうに話す時、大ばぁばがさり気なく席を外していること） （ノウコばばの相槌が全て誰かからの伝言で、ばばがじじのそばにいられなかった寂しさを控えめに滲ませていること）包丁を持つ手でまな板を強くたたく。（私はまっぴらだ!!）（誰かの帰りを何ヶ月も何年も心が締め付けられる想いをしながら待つのも!!自分が誰かを待たせるのも!!）（私は…） 扉が開く音。のんびりとした穏やかな声が響く。小太りの少年が植物を抱え入ってくる。少年「山菜とったよ～　おおっすげ～本当に主を釣ったんだ！」「よ～し島民全員にふるまおうぜっっ」 ギン（私はずっと…ずっと一緒にいたい人と）　少年「皆の喜ぶ顔が目に浮かぶぅ」「さあ、始めよ～」　ギン（ずっと一緒にいる!!）「うんっっ!!」満面の笑顔で料理を作る2人。 島から一羽の鳥が飛び立つ。大空を鳥が舞う。鳥の下にはどこかの街。様々な人々。誰かの息子、誰かの娘、誰かの孫が色々な場所で暮らし、誰かと笑顔で交している。それはあのキャラの子どもや、あのキャラの孫かも知れない。鳥が空の彼方へ飛び去る。それを見送っている誰かの後ろ姿。　完

[exodiust]

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

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

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

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

[subdee]

hi! I love your HXH analysis. I wanted to asked you. Did you read the D ending from Togashi interview? What do you think?

Hi anon, thanks for the compliment!

I think it's a pretty cliched WSJ ending, which is probably why Togashi isn't using it anymore. It doesn't have any connection to what's currently going on in the manga, so it feels like something he planned a long time ago, before the story went in a different direction.

It has the advantage of not giving anything away away about how the CURRENT story might end, which as a writer is important - once you've told people about the ending, or even planned it in detail, you kinda lose motivation to actually finish the thing (at least I do).

All this stuff about "if I die" is pretty morbid, and I wonder if people are bugging him for an ending as if he's in the hospital on life support and this interview is spite....ahaha.

What else... thematically, ending D has HxH's message about the tradeoff between professional success and your home/family life - you can be a successful Hunter OR raise your children right, but not both - but it does it in a cynical way. Gon isn't any better than Ging in the end, he's also putting his career before his family. Work-life balance is an intractable problem - a problem the new generation can't solve any better than the old one could. Realistic, maybe, but cynical.

(I do like that the next gen focus is on a granddaughter and not a grandson though.)

Also, if Killugon shippers are supposed to be happy that it's implied that Noko is not the love of Gon's life and just the woman he picked to raise his kids ... Nope, sorry, not cutting it. I love Killugon but I feel bad for Noko!

Finally, it continues Togashi's track record of never, ever, ever discussing Killua in interviews.

[cyaneyedcl]

an orv reader saying "i would survive the twsa universe" is the same as a hxh fan saying they would pass the hunter's test

[labgrown-emerald]

reading all the blog posts freaking out about ending D is as funny as it is heartbreaking. I just got so attached to this series and was so excited to hear togashi came back from his hiatus only to see the different endings he's thought of now 😭

[cemeteries]

lot of panic over the leaked togashi interview which. i get it. but i think it's good to remember that 1) we don't even know if the leaks are real, 2) the ending that's causing said panic is scrapped, and 3) we don't have Any other details on said ending

if this does turn out to be true, i wouldn't be surprised to find out that the scrapped ending was an older, long discarded idea from earlier on in the story's development. togashi already talked about some scrapped concepts from the beginning of the series last week, so it's entirely possible imo! a lot can change while building a story, so i don't want to take this as some kind of bad sign

[dendromancer]

no because togashi saying his personal preference for an ending will have 90% negative reactions is so chaotic of him

[thelovelyghostwriter]

I told my IRL friend about this and she said "maybe Gon promised her that he'll come back and marry her" 😜

I just realized two things:

Gon has also mentioned Noko in the Chimera Ant arc when he made a promise to Palm. Apparently, the anime HASN’T shown Gon say this, but the manga did.

We see Gon saying how, besides Mito, the only other person who he pinky promises to like this is with Noko. That would mean that everytime he pinky promises to her, he has to seal the promise with a kiss by pressing their thumbs together. If this isn’t the cutest shit ever when in comes to hxh details, then I don’t know what is.

I wonder what kind of promises he makes for her 👀

[delphi333]

it would b goofy asf if gon married this little thing

[i-heart-hxh]

Okay, I will say one thing quickly before I get back to work: I'm reassured by how many people (and particularly, people with a good grasp of the situation/Togashi's writing) see an element of satire/parody in Ending D, and aren't taking it seriously.

I've felt all along that it's hard to take seriously or accept as an ending because it's so generic, unsatisfying, and un-Togashi-like, so seeing that theme over and over again in other analysis and comments about it helps reinforce that sense. Togashi himself can be very sarcastic/tongue-in-cheek in interviews and such, so I don't think it's out of character at all for him for him to drop something like this that people are going to discuss a ton, and meanwhile tantalize everyone with hints of what he's actually considering.

With how HxH constantly subverts and riffs on common shounen tropes, there's something appropriate about one of his rejected endings being a parody of a typical shounen ending, with elements that are clearly unsatisfying to people who are paying close attention to his writing.

As I said in another post, I'm also sure it's intended to generate buzz for Puzzle (Togashi Exhibition) because that just started up again very recently.

[justxtalking]

I just read what togashi said about the ending of hxh and I can't tell if he's being serious or just joking again

[toadxhunter]

The little girl from ending D might not be the child of Gon and Noko, and they may not be married either?

Someone I share a discord server with shared this post from a Japanese twitter user. The auto-translate is a bit rough but it seems they are saying they don't think this Jen/Gin character is Gon's and Noko's kid, nor do they think they're married? They are seemingly making an argument based off the text of the letter for this, but again it's hard to understand the auto-translate. This is what we're working with 1/2

2/2

I'm pretty sure the message that is coming through here is essentially "Mito and Noko aren't related / connected by blood ties - therefore Gon isn't married to Noko" gonna be honest a lot of this is tough for me to make sense of. Here is the Japanese if anyone would like to give it a crack!

ハンター結末パターンD熱かった！

(本日放送のイワクラ吉住の番組)

色々解釈��るけど、ギン父はゴンとノウコの子供じゃないだろうな。

ノウコはポストミトさんで、フリークス一族が連れてくる子供の育ての親。ギンは運命を断ち切った。

ギンが島から出たがらないことを、母親はミトとノウコの血筋だと言っている。

その流れを受け、『ミトとノウコが血縁関係にない事を女性は知らない』と書かれているので、ギンはこの2人とは血が繋がっていない。

つまりゴンとノウコも結婚していない。