Hey everyone! For this week’s Why It Works, I dove back into Hunter x Hunter, that seemingly infinite well of potential storytelling topics. This time, I explored the unique ways the show characterizes its protagonist, and how it manipulates our expectations regarding its genre to essentially conceal Gon’s most frightening qualities. I’ve sorta been going through Hunter x Hunter one arc at a time, highlighting various strengths of the show along the way, and this time I cheated a bit – this is technically the “Greed Island article,” but it’s more about Gon than Greed Island itself. Still, I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it too. Let’s get to it!
The Madness of Hunter x Hunter’s Hero
Gon’s response to his dad abandoning him to be a hunter is “Wow. Being a hunter must be amazing!”
From episode one he’s rationalizing his feelings of worthlessness. It’s part of why I love his scenes with Mito so much – she really carries the sadness for that poor boy.
Damn, the characters in HxH are resplendent.