Summary
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Hunter x Hunterbegins as your typical shōnen action affair. It starts with Gon learning the ropes of being a hunter as he attracts friends thanks to his strength and infectiously upbeat personality. Much of the beginning ofHunter x Huntershows us how important the bonds of friendship are for these characters, but this emphasis only feeds into a dark turn the show takes later on.
Various characters, from Kurapika to even the happy-go-lucky Gon, become consumed with revenge, and the viewer is treated to the painful process of this revenge, unraveling their relationships. While the act of revenge destroying the individual is a common theme in many stories,Hunter x Hunterbrilliantly makes the viewer feel the impact through the ways relationships with other characters are destroyed as well.
Kurapika’s Revenge
A Different Goal From His Friends
Kurapika is introduced as a quiet, brooding character with a troubled past. The Phantom Troupe massacred his entire clan for the harvesting of their unique eyes, with him as the only survivor. After personally witnessing the aftermath, including discovering the remains of his friend Pairo, Kurapika decided to dedicate himself to avenging his clan and vanquishing the Phantom Troupe.
“A beast in human’s clothing understands better than anyone how people want to be treated.” -Kurapika
Despite his trauma,Kurapika found himself making friends againafter meeting Gon, Killua, and Leorio. However, after passing the hunter exam and learning nen, Kurapika doubled down on his desire for revenge. He set specific rules that made him more powerful, but he could mostly only use these abilities in battle against Phantom Troupe members. Kurapika became so single-minded in his revenge that while he managed to defeat some members, he was unable to continue traveling with his friends in the aftermath of his battles. This caused Kurapika to essentially disappear from the show, becoming more isolated as he lost deep connections with his friends. It was this isolation and different goals that made Kurapika unable to remain with his friends and part of the story for a long time.
“I do not fear death. I fear only that my rage will fade over time.” -Kurapika
Gon’s Revenge
Losing Your Role in the Story
Kurapika’s arc foreshadowed the eventual fall into the desire for revenge that Gon fell into. After the chimera ants captured Kite,Gon was deeply filled with guilt and rage, blaming himself for everything that happened. His solution to overcoming that guilt and pain was not to rely on his friends but to turn inward and make a similar vow to what Kurapika did. The effect of his efforts was that Gon did get his revenge against Neferpitou, but it cost him nearly everything.Gon sacrificed his future with Nenand nearly died. Killua rushed to the scene and saw the aftermath, and while he desperately did everything he could to save his friend, the truth was that the Gon he knew was essentially gone.
Even after Gon was able to make a recovery,Killua and Gon had to go their separate ways. Gon’s actions made it so he could no longer use Nen. This forced him to be unable to continue on as the story’s protagonist, deciding to return home as he and Killua no longer had the same goals.
TheHunter x Hunteranime’stake on revenge goes beyond just showing the destruction of the individualas the cost for its characters. Characters that pursue revenge at the cost of everyone and everything else lose their role in the story itself, forced to live with the isolation they built until they can find their way again. This way of handling the aftermath of revenge hits way harder than a story where the revenge-seeking hero dies in the end. They have to live with the circumstances their actions have created, and we, as the audience, feel the pain of seeing the once happy dynamic they were a part of be removed from the story entirely.
