12.18
Well I finally did it. I have watched the entire 2011 version of Hunter x Hunter. It had always been on my series bucket list years back, but never really got into experiencing because of other commitments. The trudge could be daunting at times, and I had to remind myself I watched much longer series to get ahead, but all in all, the binge has been a net gain in my eyes. Nevertheless, there is that one headscratcher I have after watching the last episode, and something that I believe with no doubt other fans suffer. And that is how there is not a chance in Hell the majority of those lingering plot threads will ever get resolved.
You will never get to see Gon win a battle against Hisoka. You will never witness Kurapika killing all of the Phantom Troupe. You will never watch Illumi finally leave his brother the fuck alone. Anyone hoping for anything resembling a final showdown should not watch Hunter x Hunter if that’s all they want. Even when the last episode finally has Gon meet up with his dad, they open a whole batch of other stuff involving the Dark Continent, which I’ve heard will take longer than the Chimera Ant arc to resolve and will most likely dawdle even more so thanks to Togashi’s infamous breakdowns. By the time your grandchildren are old enough to read hiragana, they’ll go on an illegal manga site and find out only half a dozen chapters came out between now and then.
And yet, one of Hunter x Hunter’s crucial strengths lie in avoiding conclusions. I don’t think Togashi ever intends to finish Hunter x Hunter, because he would have done so by now. Stories with the Chimera Ants and Greed Island are examples that he would rather appreciate the journey in the moment than the endgame. The show is all about how you can never be certain about the future, so you have to enjoy what’s going on right now rather than fret over what could happen next. One moment, you’re looking for something important. The next, an army of giant bugs show up and try to kill you. Even when the battle’s over, the war never truly ends. Personal arcs like Kurapika’s in York New City are left open to contemplation rather than closed off with a sure climax. And so on. “As one door closes, another opens” is the theme running through the show. Major events in real life never get resolved decisively, so is the same with Hunter x Hunter.
Plus, I like to think the story’s open-ended nature is meant to drive the reader or the viewer to imagine what could happen next. Hunter x Hunter doesn’t spoonfeed you everything, but expects you to come up with your own conclusions as to what connects to which. Yeah, it can be infuriating at times, but it’s also probably why the manga’s had such a dedicated fandom after all this time. Admittedly, this could all be bull and Togashi really is struggling to figure out how to close his series the same way Kishimoto didn’t know how to kill off Madara, but an article about that wouldn’t be as thoughtful now would it?