#hxh togashi interview

[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.

[i-heart-hxh]

Here's a full translation of Togashi's letter to Yumiko Seki!

Source, and a text version of this translation on the Wiki!

[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

[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).

[silkopera]

••HXH 405 Commentary••

This is a very rough and short commentary because I mainly just want to get my feeling and thoughts out because wow this chapter was something. The situation with the Phantom Troupe and Hisoka is finally picking up and getting the ball rolling. I'm eager but also terrified as to what will happen in future chapters.

To start off, Hisoka's in the casino just chilling and playing cards. wow😭. This man is not afraid that the troupe is out for blood. His vest + dress shirt combo+ bolo-tie is very snazzy though. Reminds me of Lestat from interview with the vampire 1994.

Bonolevnov?? I did not expect him to be the star of this chapter but he is living up to his name! I am quite concerned for him though as he's weak to Hisoka's bungee gum and that's literally all Hisoka uses but he's also tailing Hisoka ALONE dressed as HISOKA? The rate of him dying is exponential I fear unless the troupe has another plan or he has an ace up his sleeve.

CHROLLO !! He has finally returned. Very happy to see him again but also my heart does feel for him. He looks so tired. We know how much he cares about his friends and seeing him slowly crumble and succumb to his feelings that he's tried to keep hidden all these years? If we see him break down and bawl, I fear I will cry myself.

This was the most memorable panel from the chapter for me. Chrollo really did love Pakunoda who was 09. Whether as a sibling, friend, partner or something more, he really does love her and miss her. Now that I think about it, he was close and comfortable with all the girls like Sheila, Sarasa and Pakunoda and they often protected him from his bullies aka Phinks, Feitan and Uvo. Then Sheila and Sarasa were gone and Paku was the only one he had. They were together for so long and they had such a sentimental connection even before all that dubbing business so this makes Paku's death hurt even more.

This also basically confirms that the phantom troupe will disband and they are finally realizing that if they continue to go on like this , more of their beloved friends will die. Karma and catastrophe are finally catching up to them for their misdeeds. However the Troupe does look out for Chrollo like how Gon and Killua looked out for Kurapika. I enjoy seeing the parallels between Kurapika and Chrollo along with their friends. They're both so similar but destined for tragedy with the path they chose.

It's satisfying to know what Sarasa's murderer and torturer got what he earned (by the troupe's hand I assume). Ironically he was the chairman of a foundation to help children?? What a joke. The way she ,a small girl, spent her final moments in agony , all alone, surrounded by horrible people, ultimately to end up in a trash bag. She deserved and got the justice she needed. I hope we get to unravel more of the story behind everything soon.

A little extra but Feitan's concerned face and eyebrows actually has me cracking up because we know nothing phases the man🤣.

Finishing this off, there was a LOT more to this chapter but I needed to get my feelings off my chest for these specific parts. Reading and analyzing this manga is a CHORE but Togashi is so good at what he does and It's amazing he can come up with such complex storytelling and make it interesting to read at the same time. Forever grateful for his work and excited to see what lies ahead for 406.

-silkopera.

[hunterxhell]

Did you hear togashi's talk about potential ending and the discarded ending d? People are freaking out over ending d because he made a joke about it being the ending if he dies, even though togashi only said what it was since he discarded it.

omg i have so many messages about this, so sorry for responding to everyone so late!

first i was waiting for the actual video of the talk show to come out because i didn't understand how a leak of a talk show could exist but somehow the leak was real lol. i think i've seen full transcripts posted but i don't have links at the moment. i'm sure it's on the hxh subreddit or something.

i've seen lots of people freaking out over this as well but as you said, it's something he's discarded and the comment about "this is the ending if i die" did seem like togashi's dark sense of humor to me. it's not really worth looking into or getting emotional over, if anything, togashi just confirmed what the ending WON'T be lol.

it wouldn't surprise me if "ending D" was something he considered at the very start of hxh. when your manga is serialized in a magazine like weekly shonen jump, it lives and dies based on reader surveys. you could have 300+ chapters planned for your series but it might get cancelled around chapter 8 and you need to wrap things up asap. i remember yusei matsui (author of assassination classroom) saying in an interview that when he begins a series, he is prepared in case he needs to end a series at any point in time, because you never know how many chapters you're gonna get. "ending D" could've been the ending if hxh got cancelled during the hunter exam, and we flash forward and see that gon became just like his dad. kind of.... sad.... but it easily brings the series to a close by coming full circle.

in togashi's case, his health being a factor will probably play a role in if he's able to finish all the arcs he has planned for hxh or if he thinks he needs to wrap it up early, so having multiple endings in mind with varying levels of satisfaction for himself makes sense. i don't think it's anything to be concerned by, let's just hope togashi can complete hxh with no regrets.

[mariposahxh]

Togashi's "interview" with Jump Ryu magazine & DVD 2016

i found this information and translation from the hxh fandom site - https://hunterxhunter.fandom.com/wiki/User_blog:MrGenial11/Jump_Ryu_Vol.21:_Yoshihiro_Togashi

it’s long so i’m rephrasing and only sharing the Hunter x Hunter stuff & some Togashi facts i found interesting (and y’all too probably) so :

When Togashi was in junior high school, he was fully attracted to Shōjo manga (girls manga) such as Mineo Maya's manga. (Mineo Maya is known for creating LGBT ((shōnen-ai/gay)) manga)

Togashi read manga like "Urusei Yatsura" and learned how to attract female audience.

Although Togashi’s favorite manga genre is Shōnen, he thinks he's suitable for Shōjo manga.

Togashi's first manga serialization was a romantic comedy, Ten de Shōwaru Cupid. Afterwards, he began Yu Yu Hakusho. After YYH, Togashi wanted to create manga that WOULDN'T be popular to show various aspects of his personality as mangaka to his audience. He then created Level E.

After Level E, Togashi began Hunter x Hunter. He changes his style in each arc so his audience can be surprised. Togashi loves surprising his audience.

Togashi thinks characters are sometimes more important than the story itself.

The Chimera Ant arc ended differently than Togashi first expected.

He creates simulations of the characters and how they will talk with each other and take an action in situations. This allows his audience to feel as if his characters really exist.

Togashi drew his characters acting unexpectedly in desperate situations when they encountered someone accidentally. For example, the encounter between Morel and Shaiapouf, or Killua and Meleoron.

Togashi has been attracted to the dirty side of manga rather than beautiful side ever since he was a junior high school student. (whatever that means..)

Togashi drew Yu Yu Hakusho's art style impressively and Level E realistically. In Hunter x Hunter, he avoids using screentones as much as possible.

Togashi considers the manuscripts of Hisoka and Kastro's fight as "bad quality" . He said that the internet fandom was angry and embarrassed with the chapter at that time. (so he DOES look at fanforums. that's no good)

"Togashi-sensei is very gentle. He remembers what editors said in the past" (a quote from one of his editors)

"Togashi resembles Gon/Ging Freecss in terms of personality" (another quote from his editor) (the hunterpedia page said “Gin” so idk if the translator misspelled “Gon” or forgot the last “g” in “Ging” 😺 i see both tbh)

Togashi scolded an editor only once when they slightly changed a few words in the manga without permission.

Togashi is very confident in his words being interesting. He chooses his words and sticks with them, not letting anyone change them. He is very selective and peculiar about the words he uses. (hm this makes me think of the lines “ja nakya dame nan da”/“shika inai” , “dajina”/“kichō” , “shinjū” , ect.)(dw i’m making a post explaining those lines later)

Togashi's message to mangaka beginners: "Keep in mind the audience. Make every effort to go beyond their expectations.”

[hxhhasmysoul]

Do you think that… if Gege had took more breaks if even put jjk on hiatus- similarly to how Togashi would take hiatus for hxh- do you think that Gege would have spend the much needed break and rest to give jjk the pacing and proper development that the story needed?

It's not impossible, but I think the issue is more complex than that.

From what I've gathered from one of Gege's recent interviews, their writing process is a bit like mine. The story is less planned and it more evolves. This means that the author is kinda screwed if they can't edit let's say something on page/in chapter/in episode 5 once they've written page/chapter/episode 30 where some concept already mentioned in chapter 5 gets clarified/changed/etc.

If you're writing something that will only be published once completely finished and edited, it doesn't matter what your writing process is. But if you publish stuff in increments, almost instantly after writing it, then well, it's out there.

I have rewritten parts of already published fic chapters and updated them on AO3 without a second thought, because the story I was writing evolved and I wanted something to be different/clearer/mentioned/better set up/etc in an earlier chapter.

Miura, the author of Berserk, rewrote and republished parts of it, because when he started writing Berserk, he didn't really have a proper idea of Guts' backstory and other crucial elements.

The whole thing with Nobara's mum, the New Shadow Style school, earlier the merger and the foreign military invasion or Yuki, and most importantly Yuuji’s family. All of that feels like ideas that clarified/appeared in Gege's mind too late to be properly developed, or like ideas that felt good at the time but then like stopped fitting the vision. Especially when Gege decided to quickly wind down JJK somewhere mid the Culling Games. 

If I remember correctly they also expressed dissatisfaction with how the Culling Games shaped out be. It may be that Gege’d started writing them in the shape they are now because it seemed to them they had a good idea of what to do with them, and then once writing them it turned out the idea was not what they wanted. 

This happens to me all the time, I’ll write myself into a corner. Even in things I’ve written in collaboration with a friend, where we kinda try to brainstorm ideas thoroughly. Until you write something, you really have very little idea what it will feel like to you once written. And what actual shape it will take. I sometimes write a scene and it takes such a fucking turn… And I rehearse scenes in my head several times before I even open the file. And in such a situation, once you read how the scene went, you see that your initial idea for it was lacking. It felt good in broad strokes but once all of it comes together in detail, when you actually have to write all the sentences, only then you actually see how this scene connects to everything. 

I think a few things came together. Health and time crunch is one thing. I’ve written about it before, but the fact that it seems Gege never planned to turn Zero into a full length series and actually pitched something else. Or that JJK was supposed to be cancelled early on and things from much further down the line were moved so that Yuuji’s death at the detention centre would serve as an ending. 

And this combined with the fact that this is Gege’s first long form story. I don’t think they realised how their writing style would affect it. They might have not even imagined what it would be like for them to write a long story like this. 

People often accuse Gege of asspulls, of making shit up as they go along… this is what fucking writing is… you make up shit as you go along. The fact that some long form stories seem very coherent and so on is usually a mix of experience, luck, and either a planning oriented writing style where the writer is actually good at sticking to their plans, and/or the ability to fucking edit to shape.

So like, I think that Gege really discovered a lot about themself with JJK. 

JJK has some really good ideas and characters and masterfully written moments. It has also disappointing moments, meh or underdeveloped ideas and underused or overused characters.

__________

PS. A bit of salt to make myself feel better.

Underused: 

Nobara, Yuki, Hana, Angel, Kenjaku, Uraume, Hakari, Noritoshi, Kaori, Jin, Sukuna, Eso, Kechizu, Chousou even, Toudou, Tengen, Uro, Yorozu, Tsumiki, Higuruma, Inumaki, Shoko, kinda Megumi even, and in the ending even Yuuji. (I’m sure I forgot some)

Overused:

Gojou as a motivator throughout the Culling Games, Gojou in Shinjuku, Yuuta in the Culling Games, Yuuta killing Mother, Yuuta wasting everyone’s time in the fight with Sukuna, Gojou’s carcass so Yuuta again… did I mention Gojou and Yuuta? Oh and Kusakabe… why is he not dead? I’d add here Naoya, but he at least got humiliated 4 times first by Touji, then by Chousou and Yuuta (the fucking only time Yuuta did anything borderline acceptable) and then by Maki twice. Oh and Sukuna, he was overused for fighting, and underused as a character with interesting potential (he ate no one! Unless it's in some unleaked pages.).

[genderfluiddoppio]

People's reactions to the interview are making me so mad lmao

It's not canon because togashi is still alive learn how to read

This ending will only be canon if togashi dies before finishing hxh, so that hxh isn't unfinished forever

Togashi doesn't fucking owe you anything

No seriously togashi has been working on hunter x hunter for almost 30 years even through the illness and the pain he didn't release this ending to "piss off the fans" or because he's "lazy" he released it so hxh ISNT UNFINISHED FORVER. HE WANTS TO GIVE THE FANS SOME SORT OF CLOSURE IF (IF!) HE CANT FINISH IT THE WAY HE PLANS

BTW HE SAYS HE HAS MULTIPLE ENDINGS PLANNED BASED ON HOW HE THINKS PEOPLE WILL LIKE THEM AND HE WANTS TO GIVE THE FANS THE BEST ENDING POSSIBLE. SHUT UP AND SAY THANK YOU

honestly what did you think was going to happen did you think he would share the whole outline for the succession war/dark continent arc and beyond???

[exodiust]

the biggest mystery in all of hxh has always been "what the fuck was togashi thinking?" because ANY time he does an interview to "clarify stuff" we just end up with more unanswered questions.

[icharchivist]

Icha help what is going on with hxh and its multiple endings, the tag is just confusing me even more, I feel like the whole classroom passed a note and I'm the only one who didn't read it, did Togashi play Who Wanna Be A Millionaire and lost because that's what I'm getting.

oh i'm so sorry i have to be the one to break this news to you

you rn:

so a couple of days ago Togashi was at an event in which he answered some questions from an interview and everything. In this interview, he was asked about the hxh's ending.

Here's what he replied.

the long story short is that he mentioned that he had 3 ending planned for hxh, all of which he calculates would be meet with different level of satisfaction from fans. His favorite ending is Ending C, but he feels like fans will dislike it the most.

However he also added that to give a picture of the possible endings, he's going to share Ending D, which is an ending he disregarded and would not make canon, but then he added "but if i die before i can finish hxh you can imagine this one to be canon"

Ending D is the cliché type of ending from shounen manga where you cut to Gon's daughter, Jin (get it, because Ging, Jin) who is fishing the god of the lake on Whale's Island for Grandma Mito and Noko, her mother (? a brand new character at least.) We learn her father, Gon, has left as an hunter and Jin wonders why her father is living this life, meanwhile "a figure" (probably Gon) is observing this scene from afar.

So as you can imagine, fans have been Losing It™ to say the least. News outlet has been saying THIS is the true hxh ending and now everyone is mad. Homophobic fans have been extremely eager to spam this ending to the replies of anyone talking about Killugon since because "actually Togashi planned on Gon to have a child" and all of that jazz. It's been a riot. On fire. People have been disappointed. Other heartbroken.

... because everyone is acting like it's going to be the actual ending.

While the interview was literally "here's the ending i disregarded but hey, if i die you can use this one in your head"

Like i said personally i think Togashi is trolling and making fun of the fans who are already burying him. It seems too cliché to be serious, and the fact it's not an ending that is considered makes me think it was never that serious to share to start with.

But fans gonna be fans and the fandom has been on fire ever since this interview came out.

And once people calmed down about this ending, people have been theorizing about the others three teased ending and what would Togashi means about "endings fans would find disappointing" and all of that. So that's where we're at right now.

so welcome to this dumpfire, enjoy your stay!

[i-heart-hxh]

Did togashi say this???

Nope, I've never heard of him saying anything like that. He hasn't directly discussed the nature of Gon and Killua's relationship at all as far as I recall.

A few 2011 HxH anime staff have made statements about Gon and Killua's relationship:

Mariya Ise (Killua's voice actress/seiyuu) confirming she sees Killua's feelings for Gon as romantic love.

Hiroshi Koujina (director of the 2011 anime) comparing Gon and Killua to a "mature married couple" where "Gon is the free-spirited husband and Killua is the wife who silently supports him."

However, this is different from hearing from Togashi himself, the original creator of the series and characters. Anime staff's words have more weight than random members of the public, certainly, due to the depth of their involvement with the series, and it's possible they know things we don't about Togashi's intentions, but we have no way of knowing whether that's just their own personal interpretations or not.

Always be skeptical of people quoting Togashi-- there's a lot of misinformation about him out there. If you can't link a statement back to a particular article/interview/some other solid source, chances are it's fake. There are even a few pieces of misinformation out there that have spread far and wide (like this comment about how many arcs of HxH are remaining). I generally try to find the original Japanese source of interviews/articles in addition to translations, just to make sure someone didn't just fabricate it and pretend it's a translation. I've noticed there's tons of misinfo on YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, really anywhere people are discussing the series. It's very frustrating, but a common side effect of social media.

[futuredaysbycan]

Kurapika for that character ask, or Killua if someone else has asked already

Killua it is!!!!

My first impression came to hxh from yyh so he was even tinier hiei, also he is kitty.

My impression now he is kitty. also one of my fav little boy characters ever!

Favorite thing about that character how much he cares about gon, alluka and nanika! also his fits.

Least favorite thing he is the reason illumi exists in the series and i fucking hate him

Favorite line/scene gon, you are light. overrated quote ik but it still hits!

Favorite interaction that character has with another something about any interaction with bisky works so well for me!

A character that I wish that character would interact with more him meeting ging would be very interesting!!! also i want him to interact with kalluto so much!!!!!

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character lots of the white haired anime guys! gojo the most because gojo is literally hisoka killua hybrid also that one scene where gojo is like 12 or something, thats killua.

A headcanon about that character he collect the better fashion magazines like ID, dazed, interview, another etc, showstudio type of guy

A song that reminds of that character f.a.m.i.l.y. by nia archives currently!

An unpopular opinion about that character saw lots of people giving him basic interests because they are basic people like that boy would never listen to taylor swift and such

also the usual flattening of togashis characters like killua still kills people, he is no baby angel that did nothing wrong

Favorite picture

first big kitty moment

[cocogum]

Hating on Ending D will get you nowhere.

Don’t underestimate it.

One thing that pisses me off about this stupid fandom were the reactions of the killugon fans once they heard about Ending D.

Nah cuz let’s talk about it.

These ppl are seriously acting delulu rn.

They weren’t too much before but now it’s just ridiculous.

I’m starting to see a reaction pattern here through this plausible ending:

1) Some are saying that Togashi said this as a joke therefore, he’s just fucking with us and hasn’t actually revealed anything.

2) Togashi will never use this ending because he scrapped it.

3) Togashi said that his personal favorite ending was Ending C but he said that the majority of the fans will hate it. So it doesn’t mean that he’s super ecstatic by Ending D.

4) This ending is way too shonen and cliché for him to actually use. Since it’s so basic, it doesn’t scream his style. Therefore, even if the ending happened, it wouldn’t feel real.

5) The fans who like this ending are problematic and homophobic.

I’m so sick of hearing these same things come out of their mouths so let me just clearly explain why this is all ridiculous:

1) Why would Togashi ever joke about something like his plausible passing and the work he’s been working so hard for which started in 1998?? The dude has never once joked around with the questions he received about hxh. He’s also been the type to spoil some people through interview questions too so if we follow your logic, that would mean he would’ve also lied about the fact that Kurapika and all the phantom troupe members would die.

2) We shouldn’t act so hasty when it comes to this ending just because it got scrapped. Togashi did say that he took it out from the endings he was planning on using but it doesn’t change the fact that he: a) actually took his time out of the day to think about the idea in the past and b) said that he’ll use it if his time runs out and if he can’t come up with a greater ending better than the three ones he already got.

3) Yes, it’s true. Out of the three ones we got, Togashi’s favorite ending was the third one, Ending C. So what? He said he kept it around simply because it was his favorite.

That also means he’s not so into Ending A and Ending B. An author doesn’t have to specifically use their favourite ending to end their series. They have to think about what the audience and what the majority of the reactions would be like to the ending they came up with. So since he estimated that only 10% of the fandom will like Ending C and 90% of it will hate it, there’s a very high chance he won’t even attempt at using it for the ending. Also, we have no idea what the ending is about.

4) The ending may sound basic and very shonen-like but so was Yu Yu Hakusho’s ending. Or rather the ending of the main character Yusuke. If you don’t happen to know, Yu Yu Hakusho was Togashi’s old work and in it, the main character Yusuke comes back from his adventures to marry a girl named Keiko, his childhood friend.

5) Did you ever stop to think that maybe some people just didn’t like killugon? Shocking, I know. We just plainly don’t like it. It doesn’t make the most of us homophobic or problematic in the least, stop trying to shove that dumb idea onto other killugon fans’ throats. Some of us are just not into yaoi and have tried to get into it but just don’t see the appeal (i’m personally more of a hetero and yuri fan) of it. Also, some of us would be delighted to see more female characters taking more major roles in hxh. It would be refreshing to see since the main cast is all filled with males while the females usually take minor roles like mothers, instructors, teachers, supporters for some male characters, (ex: Mito, Kikyo, Abe, Noko, Palm, Bisky, Coco Loo, Coco from Heavens Arena, Melody, Alluka) or are just in the background most of the time (ex: Canary, Amane, Tsubone, Shizuku, Machi) (wow these almost sounds like SHONEN ROLES FOR WOMEN).

[justxtalking]

I saw your recent post about Killugon's departure, don't you think Gon was feeling kind of determined to get over Killua and move on or something, I'm so sad for thinking that😿

Hi! I'm sorry for not answering you sooner. Busy week (:().

In my post, I said Gon was feeling determined to finish his quest/journey, which is meeting Ging (properly this time). I think this user here did a good job on explaining a bit more about it too. I thought, considering Gon's personality, that he would be feeling determined towards reaching his goal (aka. going to his father). Furthermore, afterwards we see him climb the tree like a little monkey. In my opinion, his determination is only related to this topic.

I think the anime showed more of this emotion at the moment Gon and Killua part.

In the manga, I think we see more of Gon's sadness for leaving Killua, though I think Gon is also trying to put on a brave face at that moment.

(The secret is on his eyebrows lol)

But I don't think Gon wants to move on from Killua at all, so please don't worry about it. Gon loves Killua. If it would have been for him, I think they would have stayed together to be honest. I read this answer someone gave you about this, and I think it was very well-said. I agree with them too.

In relation to Killua, I said that Gon was feeling the following (and I still stand by it):

Sad: Because he's saying goodbye to his best friend.

Grateful: Because of everything Killua has done. (Both are grateful of each other to be honest).

Guilty: Because of how he treated Killua during CAA.

I also thought he may be happy because Killua was with Alluka, but that's just my assumption.

I didn't explain further because I wanted to be concise and focus on the possibility that Gon, just like Killua, left some things unsaid between them (nothing bad, and that's just my own conspiracy theory lol). I also wanted to comment about Gon's way of expressing his feelings in general. I'm sorry if what I wanted to say confused you.

Here is a post about Gon and Killua's departure that I think you may find interesting too. That user is one of my favorites when it comes to hxh meta and they have a lot of metas in relation to Gon and Killua that you may like.

I hope it helps! This scene may be a bit bittersweet and there seems to be unresolved tension between Gon and Killua, but that's because this is not the end of Hunter x Hunter.

I always think of what Togashi said on this interview:

Full interview

In my opinion, it's an open ending made on purpose. We can have that ending as one if we don't want to continue reading the story, but that doesn't mean it's official or that it's the end for Gon and Killua. Specially taking into account that he's working on Hunter x Hunter as we speak. We will even have new chapters on September. We should just wait until it's Gon and Killua's turn again to see what's going to happen with them.

Please have a good day or night, wherever you are.

[hamliet]

hi Hamliet! I really appreciate your hxh analysis. Did you read the latest interview that Togashi had? What do you think about the “ending”? I would love to see an analysis from your part. do you have any preference for the others endings?

Hi!

Togashi only described the one ending that he considered "scrapped," right? I know he said he doubted the others would please as many readers but Idk, I trust Togashi lol.

The scrapped ending deserves to be scrapped. It's not a bad ending, it's just meh and uninteresting, which Togashi clearly knows. But if he never does get to end it (and I hope he does), then it's not like... the end of the world. It's also open enough for people to still craft their own headcanons.