12.07
For those of you just tuning in…
The most peculiar thing about Hunter X Hunter is that it’s a series that is consistently….inconsistent, in regard to its tone and narrative. While I like the idea of having varying different styles of story-telling coming into play to keep things fresh, it is not without it’s flaws. However, what it does allow for is to give Togashi a bit of a clean-slate to work with-in each new story-arc, so by the time he got around to the masterpiece I will be gushing writing about today, he had apparently found his stride with this series, and was able to bring out his A game in creative writing and just general mastery of integrating awesome ideas and concepts with excellent characters to experience them all. So, let’s break it down with a little background, shall we.
Gon is a spunky, naïve, seemingly typical shounen protagonist who wants to become a Hunter which basically is a vaguely defined status that gives you a license to basically do almost anything, all for the sake of….wait for it….ADVENTURE! Oh, and he wants to find his dad who is a legendary Hunter as well, which may or may not be his main goal in the story….just thought it’d maybe be worth mentioning. Anyways, he makes it to the Hunter Exams, and makes 3 friends there: Leorio (the hot-head of the group who….surprisingly doesn’t quite fit the stereotype as much as you’d expect), Kurapika (The smart dude in the group….who also is also on a totally not smart, wreck-less vengeance quest for some other dudes who killed his clan) and Killua (the bat-shit crazy member of the group….who is disappointingly too calm and level-headed most of the time). These 4 guys become the closest of friends through their adventures in the Hunter Exams, and through their bonds, they become completely inseparable and would never leave each other’s side for anything…
Group hug, everyone!
…Except for Leorio and Kurapika who leave Gon and Killua after the second arc to go pursue their own interests like normal selfish human beings. Why can’t they have no life and pointlessly stick around at points in the story where they aren’t actually necessary for the pl—-Oh, I see what you did there, Togashi. Well, at least they all vow to meet again in 6 months at the titular York New City, where Kurapika wants to attend an auction that may carry some of the stolen “goods” from his fallen brethren. Speaking of which…
York New City – The General Story:
So, Kurapika’s two goals in the series are basically this: A) He wants revenge on the Phantom Troupe, who murdered his entire clan while he was away exploring the outside world; B) He wants to collect the scarlet eyes that were ripped right out of the sockets of his fallen brethren, and presumably burry them where they belong, because the bottom line is that he considers it a disgrace for something so sacred to become the mere commodities of novelty collectors. So, how does he go about doing this? He goes to an agency, of course. Unfortunately, despite having a Hunter license, the agent informs him that he does not meet the minimum qualifications for any of her jobs on offer, and he is not a true Hunter yet. So what does that mean? Training time!
Luckily Togashi covers that part fairly quick: Kurapika learns the use of Nen and he develops his own ability involving a chain (I know every single one of you just chuckled at the idea of that). So Kurapika goes back to the agency. This time he passes the requirements and chooses to work for none other than a flesh collector who is the most likely person to know, or have connections to people who know about the whereabouts of the Kurata clan’s scarlet eyes. So, he’s hired as a bodyguard after proving his skills, and it turns out said flesh collector is also a highly influential Mafia crime boss of the Nostrade family with a daughter (Neon) who makes him a fortune by well….having the ability to read other people’s fortunes with insane accuracy.
Kurapika and the other bodyguards (only one other whom has any significant importance to this arc, Melody) escort Neon to York New City and then prepare to guard the auction-house on auction-night, which just so happens to be auctioning off a pair of scarlet eyes very relevant to Kurapika. It also happens that the Phantom Troupe is after the entire auction-house goods, and they don’t exactly intend to pay for it. So, naturally, chaos ensues, a bunch of people die, and Kurapika now has the perfect opportunity to attempt revenge on the very group he has sought to take down for so long. The key word there being attempt.
Pictured in the center: Basho, Kurapika, and Melody; Pictured everywhere else: All of the characters that Togashi created for the sole purpose of being killed off.
So, what makes it so special?
First I just have to say something you all may find a bit surprising: I didn’t care for this story arc the first time that I watched it. In fact, I was kind of underwhelmed by this series as a whole on my first viewing of it. That’s because Hunter X Hunter is a series that is less about the broad picture, and more about what’s happening with its characters in any given moment. It’s something that’s more enjoyable if you follow it at your own pace, and occasionally pause to reflect on what’s really going on from a character stand-point, rather than trying to view it as a junk food blockbuster series that unfortunately encompasses quite a large portion of shounen manga/anime.
So, on my second viewing, why did I go from being disappointed by this series to suddenly thinking it was one of the greatest modern shounen to ever be created? I’d say that it was because I started to notice something that I wasn’t really paying attention to the first time around. Each arc had a theme (as in something more shounen series should do more often). It wasn’t just fights connected by story and plot-points leading up to the next fight, but rather a story that felt like it naturally progressed as it should given the actions taken by the characters. So then, what be the theme of this here arc? The way I interpret it, the central theme of this arc is comradery, which admittedly is just a more acceptable way of saying FRIENDSHIP without sounding like an annoying little prick. Essentially, there is a huge importance in this arc stressed on the bonds that characters have with one another. The Phantom Troupe are such a formidable threat because, albeit being evil, they’re a family that can work together, gosh darn-it! Likewise, Kurapika constantly ends up relying on the help of his friends and allies, and in return does what he can to help them as well.
In fact, take notice to what’s going on when you read or watch this arc. Which characters usually end up getting the worst possible outcomes in this story, regardless of which side they are on? The isolated ones, that’s who. A member of the Phantom Troupe dies when he breaks off from the group to fight Kurapika, just because he’s too damn pissed off and prideful to have been chained up by him (stop snickering back there!) and unable to escape the bind despite using all of his strength, and is ultimately only rescued by other members of his group (see, there’s that comradery again). So, he opts to fight alone, believing that he will not need help to squash this chump, and because he wants to prove that he is ultimately stronger. And then he fights, loses, and gets killed. You want another example? What happens to Dalzollene? Well, when the guys came to rescue Uvo after getting captured, who do you think the one guy who volunteered to stay behind and guard him was? Poor bastard. Yet another example, you ask? Well, apparently leaving Dalzollene alone worked so well that they decided to do the same for Squala, and the dude kind of ended up having his head rolling (literally). Other poor bastard. He even had a love interest! And yes, there are exceptions to this rule. People who work in teams or just stick together can still die if they get overwhelmed by brute force.
And this is pretty much what happened to them.
Still, I do genuinely believe that signifying what it means to trust in others who are willing to help you (and in some cases genuinely care about you), as opposed to working as a solo act, is something that Togashi was going for to some degree.
Of course, the heart of this arc is in its characters. To me, it is the very definition of a character-driven arc. The characters move the plot (through their actions), not the other way around. So, in regard to discussing why I find this to be such a grand story arc that deserves a bit more attention than it gets, I would assume your next question would be: which characters are important to this arc and what makes them so special?
Great question, you pestering ass-wipes! If we break this arc down to its core, it is essentially about Kurapika and his vendetta with the Phantom Troupe, and all of the shit that goes wrong because of this little feud. In that case, let’s start by covering Kurapika’s side of the story for our next installment.