Chapter 420

Are the anthropomorphic or non-human features of certain human characters in Hunter x Hunter related to Nen?

Has it ever been explained why some characters who are supposedly human, such as the Zodiacs and other miscellaneous characters, have animal-like or otherwise non-human physical traits? Is this simply an artistic choice by Togashi, or is there an in-universe explanation, perhaps related to Nen or some other aspect of the worldbuilding?

This is well done in the anime but it's good to see it's in the manga as well, where Killua asks Hanzo why he didn't force Gon to defeat without killing him. In the anime Hanzo says he won me over, though in the manga translated it says "I liked that." Not sure what is better. But "he won me over" is how most everyone felt at that time, including me. And there's Killua with his eyes wide open and taking it all in and realising what a good friend he has in Gon. Gon is someone who gets his arm broken and is tortured extensively by Hanzo, but Gon still doesn't get upset because he understands Hanzo will do whatever he needs to do to win per the rules. So no point getting angry when all he has to do is not admit defeat.

my friend wanted me to draw it for his game 🔥

Context:

After a Year of looking around and thanks to my brother gifting me Volume 28 I have the whole Chimera ant Manga, so I went to read it from start to finish along the anime playing in the background to match and I am so impressed by details I missed on first watch that now I feel like making a post of Gratitude a day giving praises to all the cool characters, I genuinely believe there is no character that could be left without it in some shape or form, order of post do not represent a top tiering, there will be no shaming characters just glaze, wait for your favorite to eventually show up.

Pekuba and Balda:

When we see the Chimera Ant arc we constantly fixate on the main team but honestly, something very good I noticed about it and is slightly expanded in the anime is the building of the chimera ant arc, like for example Ponzu group appearance in the manga is shorter in there, in the anime they give us some extra shots like her hugging Pokkle on the horse ride, more narration that the things on NGL are going worst and worst, this is introduced by a very bone chilling radio transmition from Balda and Pekuba friend, something important to notice here is that the person who infiltrated such an extremist natural reserve has balls of steel sneaking technology in there, Balda coments that they know such actions are punished by public execution to be made an example yet something was so threatening they risked the signal, that high threat is the Ants, ¿what do Balda and Pekuba do? they contact their close friend Pikkle to help them, Pekuba and Balda are so awesome they already are on first name terms with a licenced Hunter!, they speak casually and show no signal of fear even if they are not trained like Pokkle is, hell our Chad here Balda even buys the Tickets for everyone that is a true homie, he is paying the whole trip even for Ponzu without objection because he knows she is important for the mission, and when we get the awesome back riding shot ¿what else do we see? none other than Balda and Pekuba riding right along like the gang they are, pure determination coursing thro their very veins as they go into a suicide mission, some not believers in their grandiour might say "they are just exploring" the fuck they are not, again they came in here with their personal friend a hunter, after knowing something worst than torture and live execution in a secluded zone, without showing nothing but determination, this people are used ot live in the edge of life and danger, even when attacked by Ants they charge first on retreat of Pokkle instruction, no doubt at all they know when to obey the experts and follow chain of command definitively they must have some degree of military training having Ponzu on the back they risk their own lives first, hell if gun ant showed up here they would have tanked the bullets for her, even with Pokkle finally deciding that is way too dangerous when too late, no fear is shown, only the latent Nen talent from Pekuba like the spider sense feeling the dreadful events about to happen, and just when I thought he could not get any cooler, HE MANIFEST POST MORTEN HATSU how else could you explain being able to see, apply critical thought and scream without lungs after being decapitated, there is no other explanation, he gave up his life and awakened this skill to help his friends, the digger ant obviously took down the biggest threat first, even on his final moments we see the always stoic Balda scream like a warrior on Pikes face, he was not gonna go down like a prisoner he was gonna swing till his death, Pike sensed this and had to kill him right away to prevent any danger to Zazan obviously.

I want to start watching the series but I understand that there is an older version that looks more retro? To get the best experience, what do you guys think a newbie should start with?

"I want to play that game too."

https://x.com/gita_zaoldyeck/status/2113278150771876123

Eliminate is -003. Do we know what other “game master cards” there are???

Is he writing, drawing, etc., by himself, or does he have a team of people helping him?

The panel of the trio in the Dark Continent inspired me to draw this. For me, I think there's not enough fanart of these three together ~_~

at the end of the chairman election arc, there were a couple of scenes where Gon is seen with Kite's gang, I wonder if he's still gone on any missions with them, seeing as even without nen he still had a hunter's license which he got without ever needing nen in the first place. basically when it comes to access there's no reason he shouldn't be able to go on (albeit far less serious or deadly as the chimera ant extermination) missions with Kite and his gang. i'm aware that he's in whale island doing
"schoolwork", but let's be honest Gon has both Ging and Kite only a phone call away, i think it's unlikely he's just been doing nothing but schoolwork. i think even a few missions with Kite from the chairman election arc to currently, as well as Gon maturing, growing older and naturally gaining physical power as he ages closer into his physical prime as well as all of the experience he's gained in the chimera ant arc as he ages closer into his physical prime as well as all of the experience he's gained in the chimera ant arc should scale even a nen-less gon pretty highly in the verse compared to his hunter exam self. then there's a whole other avenue of speculation, Ging said Gon still has his aura, he just can't see or sense it. that means there is a possibility that he could have unlocked his nen again by now, (albeit i wouldn't bet money on that), but other than that small possibility i do think that Togashi might intend to have either given Gon his nen back as i just explained which also explains as to why Kurapika would choose Gon and Killua to help him with Prince Wobble in an environment as deadly as the Black Whale, if Togashi didn't intend Gon to have the nen to protect himself. granted i do also think there's a possibility that Togashi has Gon unlock his nen during that mission, or learning how to be useful to the mission without nen, and possibly unlocking it later in the dark continent through some abstract methods. i want to also say that if Togashi just feels like it he could just never payoff that setup and end up not including Gon and Killua in the Succession Wat. anyway, these are just some late night thoughts, let me know what you guys think.

ALSO: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS

We know from the 2024's patch that Chrollo has been looking for Kakin's treasures to steal them in order to upgrade Skill Hunter which will allow it to accommodate an ability that will guarantee Hisoka's death. Do you think this upgrade will ease/remove some of the original 4 conditions of Skill Hunter? Or is the upgrade a 5th additional step/requirement/condition and that Chrollo will have to meet the other 4 conditions to steal the ability?

As promised, I'm continuing to translate the actor's introductions/comments.

--- English Translation ---

Hello everyone. I'm Akutsu Nichika, playing the role of Killua.
We're finally tackling the Chimera Ant arc!

Counting from the first run, 1, 2, 3... 4, this will be our fourth production.

An even more powered-up Killua... I want to do my best so that together with Rento, we can deliver an even better Gon and Killua to everyone, than ever before.

I'm super excited for it.

Probably, all of you are even more excited than we are, so I want to work hard to deliver the best possible work.

I'll be waiting for you at the theater!

--- About Akutsu Nichika ---

He was born on December 23, 2000, in Tochigi Prefecture. Unlike Nishiyama Rento, who joined in 2025, Nichika has played Killua since the very first stage production back in 2023.
He's best known for starring as Ryoma Echizen in the Prince of Tennis musicals (3rd Season) and playing Rui in the Demon Slayer stage play. He's also appeared in various dramas like Atom's Last Shot, Coach or I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama and movies like Tsunagare Radio.

--- Previous comments ---

• Nishiyama Rento (Gon)

The last one for today :-)

--- English Translation ---

Hello everyone!

My name is Naoya Gomoto, playing the role of Morel. Nice to meet you.

I just finished the visual photoshoot, and it was so much fun.

The giant pipe was bigger and heavier than I expected. But because of that, that heavy weight striking deep into my center of gravity felt like it really fit me. As the photoshoot went on, it felt like I was becoming friends with the pipe, which was really fun.

I've loved the original Hunter x Hunter manga for a long time, reading it ever since Volume 1. As a Hunter x Hunter fan myself, I'm truly happy to be part of it in this stage play.

Up until now, I think so much has been built together by the staff, the cast, and all the audience members who have been involved with Hunter x Hunter: The Stage. So as not to ruin that, and to hype things up even more than ever before, I sincerely hope I can become a part of making that happen.

Please look forward to it.

With that said, I'll be waiting for you at the theater!

--- About Gomoto Naoya ---

Born on April 25, 1980, in Osaka Prefecture, Gomoto Naoya is a veteran 2.5D stage actor with over two decades of experience. He played many iconic roles like Kaoru Kaidoh in the original Prince of Tennis musicals, Shuhei Hisagi in the BLEACH rock musicals, and Shingo Kinjo in Yowamushi Pedal.

--- Previous comments ---

• Nishiyama Rento (Gon)
• Akutsu Nichika (Killua)

So few years back, Togashi gave us the tree of known characters and how they became great, excellent, Genius and ultimate.

After looking at it little bit more, I was strongly surprised and everything I say so far, feel free to correct me

Originally, I thought proficienci was about their power, but I was corrected quickly by proficiency of the character being how much of their potencial they are using. Which is why I asume Komugi is above Gon or Abengane being above Genthru or Knuckle. (which also made me realise just how powerful Razor or Gon could have gotten)

Another thing that surprised was that there is no Ultimate one for Manipulators and Specialist. (Yes, Specialist have Alluka as ultimate. But Alluka is pretty much an anomaly.) Chrollo still capable of becoming even more.

Same for Illumi. Which really surprises me. Illumi was capable to create needle so well hidden and so strong, it influenced Killua for years. His Needles allow him to change his appereance and control multiple people at the same time. (also, I was really surprised that Shalnark wasn't mentioned in it, but I asume he will be at least on same level as Illumi, meaning Genius.)

I am not caught up with Manga, so if there are new characters, who are ultimate Manipulator or another Ultimate Specialist, let me know. I am curious and might finally push me to catch up.

Just a side note, after seeing Abengane being a conjurer, I was really surprised. I thought his ability was specialist, since it could 'defuse' another nen ability. But I guess it really shows what kind of power it really is and how he honed it.

Any thoughts about stuff I talked about here? Feel free to correct me and also let me know about your favourite character and what lvl of proficiency do you think they are, (for example Killua. I assume he will be still great, since his potencial was always around same with Gon's. Although Thundergod might put him on Excellent lvl)

In OPM, the main character Saitama went from a normal human into the strongest being in the universe by doing by doing rigorous training. Other characters point out that his training regimen wasn't that hard, but it seems that by the sheer force of will of overcoming his limits, he became stronger than he should.

In this example, even if his work out wasn't that hard, because Saitama believes he is doing a super human effort, he gets super strong.

Does nen restriction work the same in that even if the restriction isn't that much of an issue, if the user believes they are a big deal, that gives a big boost to their hatsu?

Hey All,

Just an FYI for anyone who didn't notice - the preorder page for Vol. 39 in English is finally (!) up on Amazon.com, and due to release on July 8, 2027.

Can't wait!

The 『HUNTER×HUNTER』THE STAGE social media channels are currently uploading the comments of some of the featured actors. I only noticed today (they already have 3 up), but will attempt to translate all of them from now on.

Starting with Nishiyama Rento (Gon) today, with more coming soon! Please note that my Japanese skills are still very basic, so there might be some mistakes, but I'm trying my best! 😃

--- English Translation ---

Hello everyone. I'm Nishiyama Rento, playing the role of Gon.
I'm so happy to be returning to the world of Hunter x Hunter: The Stage.

Just like last time, there are so many things I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll be expressed on stage.
Even though it hasn't started yet, I'm really looking forward to it.

Unlike the previous Greed Island arc, I think I'll be able to show a more serious side of Gon in the Chimera Ant arc, so I'm very excited.

I'll be waiting for you all at the theater!

--- About Nishiyama Rento ---

He was born on May 4, 2009, in Chiba Prefecture and first appeared in Hunter x Hunter: The Stage 3, taking over Otomo Shion's role as Gon. He has also appeared in Kamen Rider MY-TH (2026), Kamen Rider Saber (2020), Tatsuki: Too Kind for School (2026), Tokyo MER (2023) and more.

in the old greed island arc, bisky tells gon the nen categories he needs to master for his ability, she classifies rock as enhancement, paper as emission and scissors as transmutation

rock being enhancement is pretty self explanatory and so does paper being emission (cuz he wanted it to be long range) but the scissors thing is weird since transmutation only allows you to give nen the properties of another substance that means making nen sharp wouldn't be transmuting nen but enhancing it, as in enhancing the sharpness of nen, the only other way i can think of is making his nen super hot but considering killua had to electrocute himself to make his abilities, gon would have to scorch or burn himself, which we never see him do, you could argue that he could've gotten burned as a kid and maybe channeled that feeling but i dont think thats enough, what do y'all think

edit: after reading the comments, i was wrong about the enhancement thing, that was a misconception, but some of you (if not all) are saying "sharp" is an attribute/property, it is generally, but it doesnt fit the criteria for transmutation, something being sharp isnt a physical property or value something being sharp depends on the shape of its edge,

i was also wrong about the bisky's number thing and ging's hand bubbles, cuz now that i think about it, volume is a physical property , overall that was stupidness from me, but sharpness still doesnt stand as viable for transmutation, idk, nobody has given an actual explanation yet

edit 2: i dont think anyone said this but if they did kudos to them, gon can manipulate the density of his aura, and shape it into a blade, aka giving aura the same properties as a sword, sharp itself isnt a property but it can be made