Chapter 420

Could Kurapika solo Meruem if he didn’t swore on spiders but swore on the ant king himself only?

So my gf got me into this series earlier this year. We’ve spent many nights after work watching it in my car, start to finish, and it’s been quite the ride lol

Anyway, since this hyperfixation isn’t going away just ‘cause we finished the series (we’re moving on to the ‘99 version next 👌), I figured I’d rank the arcs by which ones were personally my favorite

My top favorite is Yorknew, and that’s mainly due to the Phantom Troupe being some of my favorite villains in fiction. Idk what it is about them, I just love them. Chimera Ant is right on par with it; though while I loved it for the most part, the pacing toward the end with the palace invasion got kind of tedious imo. I do think the ants themselves are cool and that ending did indeed kill me 🥲

Loved Heaven’s Arena and the Hunter Exam; they were just fun to watch. Greed Island was fine, maybe I’m just dumb but the card mechanics got kinda confusing after a while. As for the Zoldyk Family and Chairman Election arcs… the former is so short that I keep forgetting it’s even a separate arc, and the latter was okay. Political jargon isn’t really my favorite thing to listen to, even in fiction, but Ging getting punched in the face was a huge plus 👍

I can't lie I've gone from collecting just non-anime volumes, to favourite highlights, to entire arcs and honestly I'm getting so tempted to just finish it...

If I do tho.. which volumes should I get separately or as 3-in-1s, cos I like the combination

There's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 (hunter exam and greed island which I previously wasn't fussed about getting)

I also js wanted to show my shelf lol cos I think it's pretty cool architecturallyyyy

Imagine the outcome of fight if the two Zoldyck assasin face uvogin in this famous Room thant night ! ?

Why hunter association d'ont sent biscuit 🍪 to resolve problem in NGL ?

They are consistently at odds, and she's been a bad influence on Illumi and Miluki. Like why did he choose a woman from Meteor city? Is it just love? They don't seem like they like each other at all tbh.

Top 8 characters : 1.Chrollo Lucilfer 2.Kurapika Kurta 3.Meruem 4.Hisoka Morrow 5.Gon freecs 6.Killua Zoldyck 7.Isaac Netero 8.Kite
My Top 6 Moments:1.Chrollo Requiem 2.Meruem Conclusion 3.Gon Transformation 5. You know nothing of the bottomless malice within the human heart 6.We are no different from the ants in fact we can be much worse
Top 3 Arcs 1.Chimera ant Arc 2.Yorknew Arc 3.Succesion Contest Arc

Assuming the 1/7th segment actually fought Knuckle instead of going to the King, who wouldve won this fight. Although pouf is top 5 in the verse, the only thing we see from his 1/7th form was him being Low fried up by GS Killua

I feel like I cant get over how this anime is written. Like for the first couple seasons, you get the impression that the main characters are Gon along with Killua, Leorio and Kurpika. Then you meet the spiders and you think this is probably going to be the main antagonists. But then Gon and Killua split off and go to heavens arnea and greed island. And the chimera arc happens, still no sign of kurpika, and the entire way of narration changes. Now the story is very detailed, slow, with the 3rd person narrative voice. The final season reveals a secret of the zoldyck family, we finally learn more about the hunter x hunter association, and it goes back to the main story line of Gon finally meeting Ging. We finally see Leorio again, but theres still a question left unanswered, how is he using being a hunter to make money? We also don't really see the spiders (except illumi) or kurpika. I think he didn't go deeper in what Kurpika is doing because of pacing, but it left the watchers wondering.

Also, unlike other animes, I feel like the reader/watcher can trust the author. Theres been so many animes I've watched where I love the one of the main side characters, and then they just disappear as the plot gets complex. Togashi isn't like that though. He doesn't forget the main characters, it is a paced story. This is what makes the hunter x hunter world feel coherent.

Its just like your impression of what you think is going to happen does and doesn't happen and yet it never lost the story line of Gon finding Ging.

We have been told that world class people in any field are often unknowingly utilizing nen which explains much of the extraordinary capabilities of non nen users. From craftsmen to athletes to board game players. This surprisingly makes the world even more grounded cause any deviation from realism can be explained through nen being present in all people.

Now I know humans in hxh aren't one to one from real human limits since we have seen Leorio push an 8 ton door. But if you accept that nen fundamentals can be encroached through extreme focus on a specific task than the transition to nen use becomes smoother. Meditation has been told as a main method of gaining nen which primarily relies on extreme focus and repetition. These are impulses needed in mastering any skill at high levels, automatically leading the mind to a meditative state.

Wing eluded to this by saying gon already had a grasp of zetsu learnt by lowering his presence around wild life. I believe he could instinctively lower his nen and manifested a proper zetsu when hunting Hisoka. Killua's abilities also retroactively fall under these fundamentals with snake arms technique combining flexibility of joints with ten and shadow step utilizing lowering and increasing your presence in a pulsating zetsu. His claw hand is a bit tougher to nail down but ignoring the retracting claws it is utilizing body mechanics of fingers similar to world class rock climber with ten. Ponzu's command of bee's is through the natural tendency of animals liking people with nen. Someone with a trace of nen and chemicals would be able to communicate with the bee's chemical receptors.

Another mental aspect that increases nen is emotions amplifying willpower shown by Kurapika. His rage induced a sudden spike in strength as a precursor to the use of ren. The scarlet eyes have shown to give the Kurta a boost but the mechanism is utilizing the nen fundamentals. Gon similarly was able to crush Illumi's arm due to rage alone with the latter being surprised. If Gon could do this without the emotion we would have seen it in the Hanzo fight that just occurred. A few kid troupe members also displayed the ability to notice nen like Machi and Pakunoda. Fans are surprised by Killua's lack of knowledge of nen but he is instinctively in tune with it through assassin techniques. Similarly Camila's soldier are aware of nen curses without understanding the full scope of nen.

This to me makes nen feel like an omnipresent force which helps account for the nen gained by sacrificing mass number of people in the succession contest and the 500,000 people that were set to sustain chimera kings apatite for a long time. The capability existing in everyone makes the value of people shine through.

Apparently, Togashi created a character who looks a lot like Jean-Luc Mélenchon

I think the Phantom Troupe absolutely massacred the Kurta. Uvogin remembers fighting them in Chapter 83, calls them strong, and directly connects the job to Kuroro and the Scarlet Eyes. I’m not arguing that the Spider was framed or innocent.

What I question is how literally we should accept every detail and the stated motive. In Kurapika’s Memories Part 2 / Volume 0, Togashi does not show the massacre directly. We get a newspaper report written after the bodies were discovered. That report describes family members being stabbed and decapitated, children being mutilated in front of their parents to intensify the Scarlet Eyes, non-blood relatives being brutalized, and the eyes being removed. Some of that is explicitly framed as what investigators believed or assumed happened from the crime scene.

Then there’s the message supposedly left by the killers:

“We’ll accept anything you leave here, but don’t ever take anything away from us.”

That is not a random Troupe slogan. Chapter 395 establishes it as Meteor City’s law/creed of retaliation, born from a place where children were routinely abducted and the inhabitants had no legal protection. That makes the message very strange if the entire motive was simply “Scarlet Eyes are valuable, so we stole them.” It sounds like retribution for something being taken.

The newer Troupe flashback in Chapters 395–397 makes this even more suspicious. Sheila was one of Kuroro, Pakunoda and Sarasa’s childhood friends, and she is also the woman who later encountered Kurapika and Pairo before the massacre. Sarasa’s horrific murder is what pushes Kuroro toward building the Spider around revenge, deterrence and protecting Meteor City through fear. Sheila then separates from that path. There is clearly connective tissue here that Togashi has not fully explained yet.

And in the Volume 0 interview, Togashi said he originally wanted to depict the Kurapika/Phantom Troupe conflict “starting from their origins,” and that he finished Kurapika’s part quickly before shelving the rest. That strongly suggests Volume 0 was never meant to be the complete perspective on what happened.

So my view is:

The Spider did it. The massacre was horrific. But I don’t think we currently have enough to say the newspaper’s reconstruction, the exact motive, and the full chain of events are all settled fact.

The missing context may explain why it happened without excusing what they did. And that Meteor City message, especially after Chapters 395–397, feels far too deliberate for Togashi to have put there for no reason.

Imagine having to explain each arc to someone who has never heard of the series with a single sentence.

Hunter exam: Kid leaves home to get his license, makes friends along the away but feels he doesn’t deserve his license because a homicidal clown showed him mercy.

Zoldyck mansion: Kid visits his friend’s house to see if he can come play.

Heavens arena: kid tries to train to get strong enough to punch a homicidal clown in the face.

Yorknew: Kids try save up money to buy a video game and get in the crossfire between the mafia and a group of bandits.

Greed Island: Kids try to beat a real life video game infiltrated by terrorists.

Chimera Ants: kid tries to see his dad but gets duped and ends up in a fight to save humanity against mutant ants.

Election Arc: kid is in life support, gets saved by his friend and finally meets his dead beat dad.

Heavens arena: g

By this point in the story, Tserriednich is still the predator. He just got done outsmarting Benjamin, the Royal Army and his own subordinates in Chapter 418, and further outsmarted the Royal Army in Chapter 419. Everyone is, and has always been, dancing to Tserriednich's tune. If we go back to his introductory scenes in 345/347, his mastery of Gyo in only half a day during 368, his avoiding of death in 385 or the detailing of the time he beat the Academy fieldstipping and reassembling weapons record in 394, Tserriednich has always been an individual who has his way in the end. If he wants something, he'll have it. If he attempts something he can achieve it. If he finds himself struggling, he will simply dedicate his entire being to the task and, in the end, he will overcome it.

Tserriednich sees a bunch of dead Royal Army guards on the floor. He believes it may be the work of Luzurus and Zhang Lei's personal armies. Since his view of the world Nen encompasses is still limited, his mind jumps to the forces of might he's familiar with. However since their armies use guns, he believes it's likely an assassin working for one of them.

We are then blessed with this page turn.

Hisoka, this absolute wildcard, makes a grandiose return to the plot. He's playing a high stakes game called Swamp Ball (or The Bog from Kaiji). A game, in which Kaiji could only win through cheating/deception, is perfect for Hisoka. Hisoka is not only a character who is a master at deception but he is completely unbound by rules. Hisoka, a man who Togashi himself struggles to control, cannot be confined by the rules of a machine. We can see him using a trick used in the Kaiji manga (magnetic can to influence steel balls).

The scale of the image on the far right is a visual of where they stand in comparison to one another. Hisoka is levels above Tserriednich literally and figuratively. Hisoka is out of reach. In his own world unbothered by Tserriednich's presence. Tserriednich has Hisoka on his mind but the reverse isn't true.

Tserriednich initially believes Hisoka is a degenerate (accurate) but decides to check if he is also the one who killed members of the Royal Army. His plan is to fire a shot then use Laplace's Devil to see what actions Hisoka takes. By the time he turns the corner Hisoka is gone.

Tserriednich is about to have his perception of the world changed.

The choices of character designs and their positions on the page allows Hisoka to appear far more grandiose than Tserriednich.

Tserriednich is in commoners, maybe even criminals, clothing. His appearance does not portray any of his royal allure and his princely charm is not conveyed at all through his clothing. It looks as if Tserriednich is hiding himself from the world. In contrast Hisoka's outfit shows colour. His flamboyance is presented through his clothing. If anything, he looks like the Prince

Hisoka is also on top of Tserriednich. Again, we get a visual telling of their positions. Perhaps if this were back in Kakin, Tserriednich would have his rank, family position and would clearly be of a higher standing (politically and financially) than Hisoka. But in this empty casino, where Tserriednich's rank is hidden behind his mask and strength is the deciding factor, Hisoka is the clear superior.

Hisoka makes light work of Tserriednich in the vision. He gets behind him before he can even fire a shot and slices his neck. To Hisoka, Tserriednich is no different to the Royal Army soldiers he just got done killing. The same Royal Army members Tserriednich ran circles around but, to Hisoka, that's irrelevant. Both the Royal Army soldiers and Tserriednich are leagues below him and were both ignorant to try and challenge him. And so he kills them exactly the same way.

This also demonstrates a clear change in heart when compared to Hisoka's old fighting style. While the use of card remains consistant, Hisoka would usually let his opponent try a few things before trampling on their efforts. Now Hisoka is immediately killing anyone who tries to oppose him, not letting them try a single trick.

Hisoka, in his head, expresses boredom at the idea of killing Princes. Also, Tserriednich at this point has failed to distinguish himself from the other Princes. To Hisoka, the 3rd Prince, 4th Prince, 7th Prince ect are one and the same. Boring opponents who have no thrill to offer him.

However, he then looks up where Tserriednich's Nen Beast is positioned. Who knows what Hisoka was thinking in this moment. Since he is in the 'vision timeline', Tserriednich should still be 'a corpse' on the floor. Yet he senses something from above. Is he concerned? Merely curious? Tserriednich is worried Hisoka may be able to see the Nen Beast since it would make his ability, the same ability he hailed as perfect, utterly useless. Tserriednich believes if it's an ability for him, it must not have such a flaw. But Hisoka is a free spirit, unbound by Tserriednich's preconceived notions of himself.

To further prove how little Hisoka cares about Tserriednich's preconceived notions of his own abilities, right after looking at his Nen Beast, he glares directly in Tserriednich's direction before walking away. Again, who knows what Hisoka is thinking in this moment. Did Tserriednich's usage of a Nen Beast bore him? Did Tserriednich get a 'passing grade', the same one Hisoka gave Gon in the Hunter Exams? Is Tserriednich still just another Prince to Hisoka?

We see Tserriednich sweating through his disguise, speechless and afraid.

Tserriednich books it out of there and is laughing manically while thinking about the threat Hisoka poses. Despite expressing some fear of Hisoka, Tserriednich has not allowed these fears to overwhelm him. Instead, he has his sights set on Hisoka. Furthermore, Tserriednich doesn't only aim to reach Hisoka's level but aims to surpass him. Tserriednich is treating Hisoka like every other obstacle he has faced in the past. Temporary roadblocks that he has overcome time and time again. And he believes, wholeheartedly, that he will overcome Hisoka just as he has overcome the obstacles before.

'I've never been so humiliated in my life! I am such a masochist!! What a rush'

Similarly to Hisoka, in the face of danger, Tserriednich expresses feelings of lust. Tserriednich is in a similar position to Gon after facing Hisoka for the first time in the Hunter Exams. The threat scares them but they aim to face their fears as opposed to letting their fears win over them.

'I'm scared but if I let fear take over, I won't be able to fight anyone ever'

A quote from Gon in his fight vs Hisoka but very applicable to Tserriednich in this scene.

So I am on my another rewatch of HxH 2014.

But when I started watching it first time, I watched the original version that was remade with the 2014.

To my point. I heard the reason anime ended where it ended is because Togashi at the time finished Gon's story. So are we waiting for continuing of anime when he finishes manga fully? Or did anime industry put HxH fully to rest? I mean, even though manga continues further, anime ended in perfect part of story. Gon's story is fully finished and anime ends with incredible sent off.

(I know Togashi is really sick and his hiatus is unpredictable. I am saying this loudly, so nobody here says I am souless. deep breath TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST! Man is sick and needs his rest. So take as long as you need man. So take care of yourself first Togashi, after that, deal with other stuff, like putting out chapters of one of the most succesful manga stories .

Simply said, Togashi is incredible author and deserves his rest)

Tell me if I am missing some announcement about the state of anime.

I am dumbass mostly, not a**hole.

I am a big fan of HxH but I am not really an anime and manga guy
I wish to continue from where the anime stopped, any tips?
I'd love to know if there is any information I will be missing, by skipping all the way to where the anime ended, and which chapter it is

thanks!

A conjurer made creature that resides between dimensions. Once created it never dissappears. You can see and hear it but can't interact with it. When it senses hostile intent towards it's creator it attacks the source. It cannot harm the opponent but when it attacks it creates a copy with 1% power that can attack and be attacked and that copy makes a copy at 2% and that one makes one at 4% and so on swarming the enemy.

Wolf or humanoid for design can't decide. Also should the form change at % thresholds?