Ok so, this is the Hyori Ittai theory of Hunter x Hunter.
It’s more of a literary analysis-type thing than a lore/worldbuilding theory, but that’s what my background is in. It’s also at least 30% a joke.
Spoilers through the end of the anime ahead!
The Hyori Ittai theory of Hunter x Hunter states that there are just two characters in Hunter x Hunter: Gon and Killua. Every other character in both the manga and the anime can be categorized neatly as either a Gon or a Killua.
There are a few ways to identify what category each character falls into, but the simplest version (imo) is this: Killuas have suffered in the past, but generally speaking, both morally and in terms of their personal happiness, things are looking up for them over the course of the narrative. Gons, on the other hand, generally start in a better place than they end up; things get worse for them before they get better. They also tend to travel in pairs: for every Gon, there are almost always one or more Killuas.
Other potential traits of Killuas include:
All-consuming devotion to their friends and allies
Risk-aversion
Better at verbalizing their feelings, either in their own heads or out loud
Plan before they act
Direct foil to Killua
General deuteragonist energy
Other traits of Gons include:
Act before they plan
Inexplicable amounts of charisma
Ruled by emotion
Tend to avoid verbalizing their feelings, or don’t understand them
Direct foil to Gon
General protagonist energy
Sometimes whether a character is a Gon or a Killua might be obvious (Hisoka is obviously a Gon, and Illumi is obviously a Killua), but sometimes the parallels are a little less obvious. For example, despite surface-level similarities to Killua, Kurapika is actually a Gon. This is most obvious in his prequel chapters of the manga (see the post I just reblogged), and when you look at his relationships with Leorio and Melody (gee Kurapika, how come Togashi lets you have two Killuas?).
This is also why Kurapika gets to be the protagonist of multiple arcs. He’s the Gon in situations where Gon himself is absent and/or less relevant!
Other notable Killuas include:
Kalluto Zoldyck - While Kalluto’s arc hasn’t finished yet, the fact that they’ve moved away from the Zoldyck household and into the Phantom Troupe (who are shown to be very devoted to one another) points to Kalluto being on a Killua-type trajectory (to paraphrase Sylvi Bullet, this kid could get Killua’d about friends).
Mito Freecss - She was Ging’s first Killua, and was very devoted to him.
Kite - Very much the mild-mannered counterpart to Ging.
Palm Siberia - While I waffled a bit on this one initially, she’s very much a Killua foil who ends up in a better place than she started.
Shoot McMahon - Obviously.
Biscuit Krueger - The two are both transmuters, and while we don’t know much about her backstory, the way she latches onto Gon and Killua is similar to how Killua latches onto Gon during the Hunter Exam.
Komugi - I also waffled a bit on this one, but her nasty home life is what solidly put her in the Killua category for me.
Other notable Gons include:
Chrollo Lucilfer - Chrollo is a direct foil to Kurapika, and therefore by transitive property this makes him a Gon as well
Isaac Netero - A lot of Gon’s counterparts could be described as “if Gon went sour”, and his fight with Meruem pretty directly parallels Gon’s fight with Neferpitou.
Uvogin - Nobunaga was right on the money with this one.
Knuckle Bine - Knuckle is the opposite of Ging, Hisoka, Netero, and Uvo: he’s a Gon that’s doing okay for himself.
Ging Freecss - Ending D proves it, unfortunately.
Menthuthuyoupi - He’s the most straightforward of the royal guard, and the only one who isn’t a direct foil to Killua.
Meruem - Like Komugi, I waffled on this one, since although he’s got major protagonist vibes and dies badly, like Killua, his morality and happiness improve over the course of the story. However, I think he does get worse before he gets better therefore making him a Gon.
A few more notes: first, there are more Killuas than Gons in this story, which makes sense because you almost always have more supporting characters than protagonists. Second, you might be wondering if there are any characters who do not fit into either category, or if there’s overlap.
Yes and no. While there is overlap in some cases (see Palm, Komugi, and Meruem), all characters tend to lean one way or the other. There are a few who have not received enough page time to sort them, especially characters who are newer. For example, Pariston’s position in the narrative slots him into the role of one of Ging’s (or Netero’s) Killuas, but his personality is much more Gon-like. Likewise, Alluka seems to have started out in a Killua-like position, but I could easily see her developing into a Gon should she ever return to the story and get her own arc.
Finally, there is one character who is neither a Gon nor a Killua, and that’s Gon’s unnamed great-grandma. Good on her for being the only normal person in the whole story.
9 notes
·
View notes
What is your favorite ending theme for hxh? For me, it's reason, mostly because I love the instrumental that kicks in at pivotal moments like the dodgeball game or killua ripping out the needle. It's bombastic and I love the rock like theme that plays, kind of like a hero breaking their chains and realizing their true strength all along (literally, in Killua case) but it's also soft and sentimental and sensitive in its own way, particularly in the beginning. (Sorry, I don't know anything about music, I wasn't paying attention during class, so I'm not sure I described it correctly).
It's a tie between Reason and Hyori Ittai for me!
Reason is such a fun and stirring song, it has a nice refreshing feel to it, I adore the visuals in the ending theme and never get tired of them, and I like how it represents the highest point in Gon and Killua's relationship before everything gets much more complicated. Even though it was also used after the separation.... But we don't need to talk about that. I agree that it's nice when used as background music as well!
(Side note, but the orchestral version of Nagareboshi Kirari from the "You are Light" scene kills me every time.)
Hyori Ittai tends to give me flashbacks to the intensity of watching Chimera Ant arc for the first time and how riveting and intense that experience was. Every now and then when I'm listening to it a strong memory of that feeling will hit me and give me shivers! It's surprisingly upbeat sounding for such a painful arc, but it fits perfectly at the same time.
Also, not one of the 2011 endings, but I just want to give a shout out to Wanna Stay, Wanna Go? from the 1999 anime, which is just so unbelievably fruity (complimentary) that it must be seen to be believed:
12 notes
·
View notes
ao no sumika is my favorite jjk opening so far. but i really can't stop being sad whenever i watch the op because someone pointed out that it was geto in the hallway walking away from gojo :(
i wish i didn't find that out because im sad now. just typing it is making me sad again god i hate satosugu 😞
oh i feel u 😭 i can’t hear it without tearing up either! the only thing that tops ao no sumika is its matching ending, akari,,,i bawled my eyes out my first time hearing it and pair that with the visuals?? oh. pain.
10 notes
·
View notes