Hunter x Hunter: My Thoughts So Far... | Manga Mondays #19

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to another Manga Monday! 

Today I wanted to talk about Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi. This past weekend I read volumes 10-18, which included the latter half of the Yorknew Auction arc, and the entirety of the Greed Island arc. This is my first time reading HxH so I had no idea what to expect in the story. And boy, was I in for a ride...

Synopsis time: Hunter x Hunter follows Gon, a young boy who aims to become a Pro Hunter in order to find his father, who abandoned him when he was a baby. He meets a wide cast of characters, each with their own motivations to be a Hunter, and goes on a series of wild adventures all in the name of finding his dad. Greed Island is the fourth arc in the manga, so I'm a good chunk of the way into the story.

Hunter x Hunter Greed Island Anime Poster

I will say that at this moment, I'm kind of on the edge of enjoyment. I like parts of the manga, and I dislike parts. It's graphic and gory and there is a lot of violence and death, which isn't usually something I look for in manga (horror is, obviously, the exception). But Gon is such an amazing main character, he truly sees the best in everyone and wants everyone to succeed in their dreams, and his friendship with Killua is probably the most wholesome thing I've ever read. 

Alright, I'll be talking spoilers now, so if you don't want to be spoiled for the Greed Island arc, stop reading now! 

For the most part, the only description I have for this arc is long. I feel like it went on way too long. The whole idea of Greed Island is that it is a "virtual" reality game created by Ging (Gon's father) and a handful of other Hunters. It was created over a decade ago and has yet to be beaten, because it has very real consequences if you decide to play. Because, surprise! it's actually a real place, and the game is real too! So if you get severely injured, or die, you stay that way. No extra lives. It turns out that Ging created the game in the first place as a way for Gon to train, which...okay. I get that Ging knew that Gon would become a Hunter, but Greed Island seems a little too intense for "training." 

The entrance to Greed Island

Gon and Killua start playing the game together, which was great because as I said before, their friendship is wonderful. Killua is doing this purely to help Gon find his dad, so he's just the sweetest assassin bean in the world. In order to beat the game, the player needs to collect every specialty card that can be found in the game, which you earn by going on quests, beating monsters, fighting battles, and helping villagers. But there are only a certain amount of card copies, and everyone playing is your opponent. You can see why it has yet to be won, right?

To me, the point of the Greed Island arc was Gon and Killua meeting Biscuit, another Pro Hunter. She teaches them the next properties of Nen, which is the magic in this world. Nen is a very hard magic system, meaning there are precise rules and limitations, which are constantly expanded upon as the manga goes on. The training chapters were the best part of the arc, because I liked learning new ways to use Nen along with the boys. I have a feeling that by the time the series is over, I won't remember half of the rules of Nen, but its definitely fun in the moment. 

(left to right) Killua, Biscuit, and Gon

However, the rest of the arc I found rather ridiculous. It felt like a free-for-all for Hunters, mercenaries, and even some villainous criminals to just beat up and kill people. So many people died in this arc. So many. And yes, they were all throwaway characters created specifically for this arc, but still! Over fifty people died in one panel! It didn't even feel dark or scary or anxiety inducing. The scale of death and mutilation made it feel almost comical, like "Oh ha ha, look at that, another one dead! Wonder who's next?" There were no real consequences for the killers (other than getting punched by Gon) and the arc ends so fast, I have no idea what happened. Yeah, Gon and Killua won the game, but what happened afterward? Did the game end officially? Was everyone who was playing sent home? We got no answers!

Sigh...

Well, the next arc in Hunter x Hunter is called the Chimera Ant arc, and everyone says that this is the "make it or break it" arc for the manga. If you like Chimera Ant, you'll like it so much you'll become a die hard fan and finish out the series no matter what. But if you don't like it, you might as well just stop reading the manga, because this is the peak. At least, that's what I've been told. I'm gonna give it a couple of weeks before I start it, to decompress from Greed Island and maybe catch up on the anime. 

That's all I have for today, I guess. Have you read the Chimera Ant arc yet? Do you agree with what the majority has told me? Let me know in the comments or tweet at me @AllyEmReads (or if you want my anitwt, its @SeijohSoul). 

Until next time!