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In a series that definitely doesn’t shy away from the occasional mysterious badass
shrouded in an aura of mystique, Gyro has to be the most enigmatic figure in Hunter
x Hunter. And of course a big part of that is due to the comparative lack of screen time
he has, but it also seems to be baked into the nature of his design. There is very little
time spent on him but the bits we do get are pretty substantial, painting a picture and
keying us into what he represents and where the story may take him - assuming it ever
continues. But even as things stand, we can glean quite a bit from what we’ve gotten
that informs us of some themes associated with parts of the chimera ant arc, the election
arc, the Yorknew city arc and the current arc in the manga, which I won’t be spoiling
here. And the elements surrounding this man seem to be focused on a vitriolic, complete
hate for humanity - one that is very unlikely to waver as the Chimera Ant’s opposition
did.
There is no better way to sum up Gyro’s childhood than to describe it as a form of
hell on earth. He grew up in a construction camp, forced into hard labour before he was
even able to do basic tasks. He lived in a modest shack with his drunk of a father, who
often took to abusing Gyro for the slightest things that would set him off. After a long
and hard day’s work, especially for a young child, Gyro would come home to his inebriated
excuse for a caretaker and force himself to sit still for the rest of the night until
the next day’s work, unable to go outside and paralyzed with fear at the idea of giving
his father the tiniest excuse to beat him. It was a terrifying and disgusting existence,
but having known nothing else, Gyro was still able to find some small bit of fulfillment
and value in it - and ironically enough, that stemmed from the person who made this life
a living hell in the first place. Despite everything, he still felt pride in the fact
that his father had not thrown him out and believed that he had cared for him when he
was gravely ill as a young child, and as a result, this was his tether. His father also
provided him with one bit of wisdom that he ensured Gyro would always adhere to - “Don’t
make trouble for others.” And all of this was enough for Gyro to idolize the man, grasping
for the tiniest bits of straw to cling on to the idea that he had a purpose in this
world, that he mattered.
However, this all came crashing down when he was confronted with the brutal truth by
a youth he had gotten into a fight with - the truth that that father hadn’t thrown him
out because he brought in money, and that he was actually cared for by a neighbour when
he was ill. And this all compounded when, in the midst of his beating, he saw the man
looking on and ultimately turning away with vague disinterest, clearly not bothered about
whether his son lived or died. In realizing the reality of his insignificance, Gyro snapped
and bashed his father’s head in with a hammer. He then left and formed the NGL, slowly building
up a nation, providing a waypoint for the lost, and gaining influence with the eventual
goal in mind of destroying life for the entire world. He was eaten by a Chimera Ant during
their takeover of the NGL and he was reborn, but his malice, conviction and pride as a
king were so strong that he maintained his sense of self after the transformation and
simply set off towards Meteor City to restart his plans with that same goal in mind. Apart
from Gyro, no ant had ever been able to completely and immediately maintain their sense of self
after being reincarnated, and none of them had been able to ignore the Queen’s orders
right away. Such is the strength of his resolve and hatred for humanity. And with him now
having the power of a Chimera Ant and the access to Nen, as well as Togashi having explicitly
said that he and Gon will cross paths one day, it all sets up Gyro as a fascinating
and supremely powerful antagonist with tons of potential for the future direction of the
story - again, assuming it continues.
As a result, lots of fans tend to talk about how beautifully Gyro has been set up as a
future villain due to his motives, potential power, ideals and the various ways in which
he contrasts Gon. While he was present in Doli City during Gon and Killua’s mini training
arc, he never came face to face with our protagonist - but he will someday, and the promise in
that is huge. There are of course the obvious parallels with both characters having been
left behind by their fathers - albeit in very different circumstance of course - and having
reacted to that in opposing ways. And Gyro’s hatred and sheer desire to destroy all of
humanity draws a parallel with Gon’s attitude when the latter found out that Pitou couldn’t
heal Kite - before he was ultimately saved. Assuming that Gon learns and grows from this
experience, they could be nice foils for each other in that way - with Gon, down the line,
having potentially grown and matured after delving into and resurfacing from the abyss,
and Gyro, having been submerged this entire time and wielding that hate. It provides a
hell of a contrast and it could lead to some wonderful storytelling if explored in that
way. But as on board I am with all of that, I also think there’s a lot to this man and
what he represents from where we stand in the story right now, and a big part of that
is rooted in the fact that the key thing that turned him to hating humanity was not the
abuse he received, the terrible living conditions, or the fear he felt at the hands of his father
- the straw that broke the camel’s back was.. abandonment, after realizing that his
father simply couldn’t care less about him.
And this draws a parallel with some other characters that we know and .. maybe.. love,
with the Phantom Troupe having been formed due to a mutual sense of dehumanization, desolation
and a loss of identity, having hailed from Meteor City and as a result, having no place
to call home. But while THEY channelled everything into their code and bonds and deeds, Gyro
built an empire with the goal of sheer domination and rage against the world that crushed him.
However, I don’t think that this is solely the result of hatred. To explain what I mean,
we can refer back to the fact that Gyro does not consider himself to be human - which interestingly
enough draws another parallel with Chrollo, who seems to feel the same way. With no roots
or identity of any worth, this lack of connection to humanity seems to allow him to detach himself
emotionally and psychologically to allow him to commit whatever heinous deeds he wants
and enact his will without remorse. And the reason behind this detachment seems to be
up for interpretation, but I view it as three-part. Firstly, after learning of his father’s
true nature, he came to recontextualize the words he said to him as “don’t cause trouble
for humans” in order to not cause trouble for his father - with the veiled implication
there being that he himself is not human. Second, his suffering and experiences were
so intense that it put him in a different psychological plane to other humans, warping
his mind and simply making him feel alien to others. And the last reason relates to
his relationship with
that phrase.
This was the primary tenet of his life, but it’s important to understand why. Since
his father never provided him with anything, this was the one true gift he received from
him that he could interpret as valuable. He cherished these words because they were the
only acknowledgement his father made of him up until that point that wasn’t tainted
with hate, and so he became a young boy with this idea at his core. He embodied the phrase
“Don’t make trouble for anyone” to the best of his abilities because it was representative
of the only connection he had with his father, and as such, it was what made him feel, just
a little bit, like a human being capable of forging bonds - no matter how toxic and harrowing
those bonds were.
But.. soon he realizes the reality of his situation - that his father never cared for
him at all, that they never had a bond, and that those words were NOT caring life advice,
but rather the result of his father just wanting Gyro to not cause trouble for others so that
he wouldn’t be inconvenienced himself. And this reversed everything about his life. He
was taught here that everything he had felt and thought was real was a lie, and so he
responded accordingly. Gyro not only cast off everything he personified, but because
of how betrayed he felt, he diametrically opposed what he once was. From craving connection
to not desiring it at all. From fearful and scared to becoming the one to be feared. From
wanting to build something with his dad to wanting to destroy everything. From idolizing
that father to spitting on his corpse. And from believing it was essential for him to
not cause trouble for others and viewing it as a faint window into a potential future
of prosperous humanity, to believing himself to not be a human at all and deciding to instead
cause as much trouble he could for others as a result. His resentment and rage towards
humanity isn’t JUST the result of him lashing out after his terrible childhood - it’s
something of a logical progression for him after learning that his former way of life
was the epitome of a falsehood. So he did a complete one-eighty in response.
And yet, through letting go of his humanity, along with being highly intelligent, pragmatic
and able to build all of what he gained from nothing, Gyro became someone with a magnetic
charisma clearly capable of connecting with people, ironically through his initial decision
to forego connection. Welfin even states that they became quick friends and would often
jokingly compare whose life was worse, and all in all Gyro is portrayed as something
of a savior for a select few, gathering these people together and helping them find a purpose,
again in a way similar to the Spider. He had comrades who he confided in and shared good
memories with, whom he clearly cared for and wished well, and while this doesn’t at all
overpower the crux of his character being based in deep darkness, I think it’s still
very significant.
So while he fuels himself with this abhorrence for humanity and this methodical response
to his experiences, I think it’s clear that Gyro isn’t one hundred percent, absolute
evil incarnate with no gray to him whatsoever - which is what you’d expect from Hunter
x Hunter. He initially tossed everything about that side of him aside and gave up on any
meaning in life, but as we learn indirectly from tiny pieces of information from others,
since then he has become the type of person that others would dedicate their hearts to
- a ray of light for the forlorn and lost, a person to banter with, and a friend to kindred
spirits. And while I doubt that that will lead to any complete change of heart similar
to Meruem down the line, that tiny crack giving way to the tortured yet idealistic young boy
he once was may be the catalyst to some beautifully nuanced character writing.
So what does all of this really mean thematically? Well, Gyro’s story is currently just past
the introductory phase, so we can’t say much about him with complete confidence. But
what I get from all of this is an integration of many ideas from many arcs. Through his
story we see the corrupt nature of the world as is portrayed through Yorknew, Chimera Ant
and Election, a great examination of how our environment can be key in dictating where
we end up - an idea that is explored constantly throughout the story - and we also see these
little hints to a tiny amount of light hidden underneath all of the loathing, akin to Chimera
Ant. As strange as it is to admit, a tiny part of me feels happy for the young boy inside
Gyro that was able to finally find others to bond with. But that is dwarfed by his intent
- by what he has done, and what he plans to do once more. Paradoxically, in his quest
to destroy all, he has become someone similar to those at the top that lead to the terrible
life he had as a child. We don’t know the specifics of the effects of his D2 plan, but
if he is to continue he will no doubt lead to many innocent lives being taken or damaged
beyond repair, to perpetuating a cycle for others similar to his early childhood. And
I wonder if that makes him hesitate, even just a little bit.
I think the story very much establishes that Gyro will not stop at anything in this rampage
towards annihilation, but at the same time I think there’s enough to hint that he is
very much still a part of the human race that he despises - with all of the positives and
negatives that come with that. And maybe that could have some sort of impact on him going
forward, especially if he has a matured Gon to help exemplify this duality. Though at
this point, everything is up in the air. Much of this is very interpretive and not extremely
solid, extrapolating quite a lot from small pieces of information, so of course I wouldn’t
suggest taking my word for this at all. But what is absolutely certain is that Gyro is
a fascinating figure well worthy of the discussion he spawns. Lending hope and and a hand of
guidance through carnage for his followers, and carrying out his motives with an unflinching
determination, Gyro is the spearhead of an uprising meant to counter this broken world
in the only way he feels is appropriate. And regardless of whether we see his story reach
its conclusion, I think there is quite a lot to take from his journey so far. Many thanks
for watching.