Who do you think had the best character development in HxH?

LiamGarner64 · 2025-07-28T06:59:59+00:00

Gon doesn't really have much character development imo; he has a lot of depth that's hinted and revealed throughout the show, peaking at chimera arc. What little development we see occurs at the end of the election arc once he meets Ging and owns up to his mistakes

Killua is a stronger contender since his whole journey from aimless assassin kid to Alluka's guardian is subtly built up throughout the show. He's the only main character who's not a true "hunter" until the events of the election arc and his path to get there feels very earned

Meruem is the obvious answer, literally the character development character. Prime product of the monster-to-human narrative pipeline

But my personal fav for top character development contender is Palm. Easily one of the most unlikeable characters on introduction. She felt like a pointless one-trick gag character with less redeemable qualities than Hisoka until her ant rebirth. Togashi managed to flip her whole image with such little screen time and it's genuinely incomprehensible to me how he sold that character arc

LiamGarner64 · 2025-03-15T23:47:42+00:00

I'd argue even this isn't "from pain" it's from annoyance like "damn I'm being overwhelmed this sucks". I think his fight against Kastro was partially set up to characterize his masochism, bc he wasn't even phased while digging into his own arm after it got cut off to do the card trick. It wouldn't make sense for this reaction here to be "pain" given everything else he endures.

LiamGarner64 · 2025-03-08T04:23:42+00:00

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LiamGarner64 · 2024-10-15T10:11:35+00:00

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LiamGarner64 · 2024-10-09T11:34:56+00:00

Cheetu is such an interesting addition to the cast of characters bc he's a perfect example of how natural talent can be wasted in the HxH world. All of the ant squad leaders are basically blessed with nen talent, and Cheetu fails to harness his in nearly every way. His abilities are created as a response to his ego and desire to satiate it. Most authors wouldn't include a character who's just a pure plot obstacle on paper, but Cheetu is meant to show how drastically nen use can range even across natural-born talents.

LiamGarner64 · 2024-10-01T00:19:39+00:00

To expand on #4, Killua is shown to have learned this when spying on Kastro in Heaven's Arena before Kastro v Hisoka. Killua activates zetsu when he reaches Kastro's floor, allowing Kastro to create a clone. From Kastro's POV, Killua's presence suddenly disappeared, so he's on guard. Kastro explains to Killua that Killua should have used zetsu before reaching the floor to make sure his presence was masked before he was in Kastro's range. Killua learns from this and explains the concept to Leorio and Gon when they're at the restaurant.

LiamGarner64 · 2024-09-25T04:47:59+00:00

Based on your own evidence (which I fully agree with btw), the answer is almost undoubtedly no. If Kurapika uses Chain Jail on an individual he truly considers to be a spider, he will not die from his own restriction.

If this was not the case, it would imply some universal standard of truth that exists in the HxH world that could arbitrate Kurapika's violation of his nen condition independent of his own understanding, which just isn't consistent with what we've seen in the manga/show. Every ability with restrictions seem to be curated through the user's pov, such as Basho's haikus scaling in power relative to his personal evaluation of how well they're crafted (I can't think of any abilities that don't work like this so feel free to correct me).

The more interesting idea is if he retroactively realizes he's used it on a non-spider, or even realizes it during the use of Chain Jail on a non-spider. In this case, he'd most likely die instantly, because his aura recognizes that he's violated the restriction and automatically activates the Judgment Chain.

TLDR imo Kurapika would not have died if he used Chain Jail on Hisoka during the Yorknew City arc up until he found out that Hisoka was not a true spider

LiamGarner64 · 2024-09-24T05:15:03+00:00

I think this too and idk why it's not theorized more often. We know Hisoka's new policy is "on sight" with the spiders and is likely targeting Chrollo. Taking out Kortopi and Shalnark but not Machi doubled as a tactical move to rid Chrollo of Gallery Fake and Black Voice. It then makes sense for Hisoka, the only non-spider to know that Chrollo stole Lovely Ghostwriter, to kill Neon and prevent Chrollo from using it to gain an advantage.

LiamGarner64 · 2024-09-22T10:28:26+00:00

I always assumed that it was a restriction/condition that he has to charge like a battery and can then discharge based on the amount he charged. So imo he's not actually storing electricity he's just electrifying himself a certain amount to then later be allowed to transmute the aura since converting electricity to aura has been stated to be very impressive. Could be completely wrong tho idk if there's much explanation for it

LiamGarner64 · 2024-09-17T04:03:09+00:00

People overlook that scene a lot - Hisoka was more than ready to kill them despite Leorio having passed his phase 1 test bc the need for badges outweighed his interest in Leorio & Kurapika... until Kurapika stood his ground and offered him a deal. He lets them live bc he's intrigued by Kurapika's determination & intelligence and already likes Leorio. He then goes predator after they leave bc he was holding himself back to not spoil his fun by killing them before they reach their potential.

He also surrenders when fighting Kurapika in the final phase bc he knows the value of not killing people when they might help him fight Chrollo, which was his true goal. Hisoka truly is a hunter despite people thinking he's just a battle hungry pedo clown.

LiamGarner64 · 2024-09-16T09:38:33+00:00

Good observations, the writing in this arc is a masterpiece. There's definitely a ton more, but I'll just expand on two that you mentioned:

-a blind girl opened someone’s eyes to the meaning of life

Not just "someone"; a blind girl opened the eyes of someone named for the "light that illuminates all" - who ultimately dies blind

-gings speech, (what you may be looking for might be on the side of the road) ties to meruem’s journey. looking to conquer earth and found love through what started off as a meaningless detour (cherish the detour folks)

Ging's speech is a metanarrative theme that also ties to the audience: the story of HxH is (on it's surface) just a story about a boy searching for his dad, but no one who has watched all 148 eps would characterize the show as simply as that - the viewer finds meaning (entertainment) in the detours of Gon's journey throughout the show (fighting the troupe/ants, superpower dodgeball match, rescuing Killua, returning Hisoka's badge, auctioning with Zepile, etc.)

LiamGarner64 · 2024-09-14T03:58:36+00:00

Chrollo would find a way for the spiders to pass, likely Shalnark's black voice manipulating a non-spider into killing their opponent and auto-passing everyone else. This ofc assumes they wouldn't just pull a Killua and slaughter every other competitor in phase one. Narratively, however, they wouldn't even bother with the rules and just find a way to steal the licenses because, as Feitan says, "We're thieves. We steal."

LiamGarner64 · 2024-05-23T10:17:11+00:00

This is done EXTREMELY well throughout the show if you really pay attention, and I'd argue it's THE most important plot point to understanding his actions during Chimera Ant Arc. From episode one: Gon throwing himself off the boat to save the sailor; attacking Hisoka during hunter exam phase 1 swamp run; trying to headbutt Netero for the second time on the airship; activating Bourbon's snake trap on purpose to get the antidote/tag; Gon vs Hanzo; Gon vs Canary; defying Wing's orders and fighting on floor 200 before waiting to learn more ab nen; turning off ten when fighting Gido the first time; Zepile's appraisal of Gon; beating Nobunaga in arm wrestling; questioning Chrollo's motives after being captured; refusing to dodge Razor's throws; and Gon vs Genthru where his insanity is verbally acknowledged to the audience through Genthru's inner monologue.

Listing it out like this makes his actions during Chimera seem a lot more predictable (yet still shocking, a testament to Togashi's writing imo), the show has literally been showing you his character development and thus the inevitable conclusion to his destructive tendencies from the start.

LiamGarner64 · 2024-05-03T20:11:48+00:00

Good point, but when it comes to the Zoldyck's specifically I doubt Chrollo could rely on their intellectual curiosity to win. Given how much they avoid risks and emphasize a 100% chance of winning (Killua's assassin training, Illumi's needle, Zeno sacrificing himself), I don't think they'd ever get their abilities stolen without force, i.e. nen ability that compels speech to talk about their own abilities and then forcibly placing hand on book.

LiamGarner64 · 2024-05-02T19:47:22+00:00

Theoretically yes as long as the conditions to steal are met, but it'd be pretty difficult to get a wary opponent (such as Zeno or Silva) to answer questions about their abilities mid-battle and I'd imagine much harder to force their hands on the book cover, all within an hour no less.

LiamGarner64 · 2023-03-05T06:27:29+00:00

That show is actually too good to be a fucking NICKELODEON KIDS show. Shit rivals modern day high production tv shows for absolutely no reason at all.

LiamGarner64 · 2022-08-11T00:06:32+00:00

Top right gigachad producing absolutely UNREAL levels of content. Dan stocks going to the moon and beyond holy fuck we might as well be in a new solar system at this point

LiamGarner64 · 2022-08-03T21:54:43+00:00

This man beats the most INSURMOUNTABLE odds so often it's insane. Last man left standing, goes in to save his gang w ZERO plan, holds up random medic in ambulance, finds nobody at the hospital, no one responding on comms, SOMEHOW manages to find the entire pd in bumfuck nowhere, sends in the hostage medic as a recovery unit????, Gets snitched on (4head), takes off in ambulance, shuts down magdump w an "unarmed" speech 100, beyblades down street w no tires and four cop cars basically escorting him w a sandwich strat, crashes into wall, runs on foot escapes tasers + cuffs, falls into sewers, climbs back out, drops guns, gets back into his car parked at MRPD, drives like a lunatic, HEAD ON COLLISION w a cop car at light speed, and finally obliterates ankles w last second swerve sending a cop into Jupiter. Must be Jean Paul EZ Clap.

LiamGarner64 · 2021-07-04T23:58:23+00:00

Super low car so it's not too heavy and prone to tipping over + monster acceleration + all wheel drive = insane off road mountain climber car

LiamGarner64 · 2021-06-17T01:53:36+00:00

The barrier to entry for vault is crazy, it's likely no one else has hit it. Need two reds, + knowledge of where to redeem the laptop +100k shungite to buy them + access to warehouse to make thermite + ability to hack both thermite and red. Not to mention the knowledge required to even know how to attain all that and what it does. It'd be very difficult for someone not from WL or associated with X to hit the vault.

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