Yoshihiro Togashi has the distinction of being one of shonen’s undeniably great writers
of villains.
From Hisoka to Toguro to Meruem to Chrollo, his antagonists are revered for their bold
personalities, thematic richness, and depth in characterization.
And this is for good reason.
Particularly in Hunter X Hunter, every single one of Togashi’s villains carries out their
functions extremely well.
However, when it comes to the villain of Greed Island, people tend to be let down.
This is to be completely expected for Genthru given his relative lack of complexity and
depth, but as I said in my Chrollo video, characters do not exist and should not be
looked at in a vacuum.
It’s all about how they contribute to the story, and the fact is, Genthru was the exact
type of villain that was needed with regards to what Togashi wanted to accomplish with
Greed Island.
However, to explain why, we are going to need to take a very long detour, because This intent
and why it resulted in Genthru being crafted the way he is becomes clear when you examine
Togashi’s approach to storytelling, both in overarching terms and within each given
arc with respect to it’s adjacent arcs.
In order to keep the story dynamic and fresh, Togashi often drastically shifts the entire
storytelling style from arc to arc to prevent any one tone from dominating the narrative
for too long and to keep things from getting stale.
I’m going to explain my reasoning for this in a minute, but due to this shifting style,
it’s clear to me that the arcs of Hunter X Hunter deliberately follow an alternating
pattern in terms of tone, and, in most cases, thematic complexity, though that is a point
we’ll address much later.
This idea is presented in the following graphic: Now, you may have already started rushing
to your keyboards to write long rebuttals upon seeing this, so I feel the need to elaborate
on this idea.
Firstly, while I do believe that this structure remains consistent across the manga, the 1999
adaptation and the 2011 adaptation, this pattern is most obvious in Madhouse’s version due
to the stylistic liberties they took in adapting the series.
The 2011 anime takes a more extreme approach to tone, with the light moments feeling lighter
than they are in the manga and the tonal transitions being more palpable as a result.
While on the other hand, the tone in both the manga and the 1999 anime feels more consistent
throughout.
This difference is due to a number of things - the bright, pastel-like colours in 2011’s
earlier arcs compared to the darkness later on, the huge alteration in the type of music
used as the story drives forward, the tiny quirks in voice-acting, etcetera.
The point is, the tonal shifts from arc to arc are more drastic in 2011 than in either
the manga or 1999.
Neither approach is inherently inferior and I very much enjoy how the story can have such
different takes, but I just felt the need to point this out.
Obviously the story of Hunter Hunter is completely diverse and dynamic, so needless to say, I’m
not trying to argue that the arcs labelled as dark don’t have lighthearted moments
and that the lighter arcs don’t have darkness.. and anyone who claims that has probably watched
or read the series blindfolded.
My point here is talking about the general feel of the arc - the additive net tone of
each one, taking all narrative elements within it into account.
So, for example, the Hunter Exam has plenty of death and some moments of twisted darkness,
but overall, the feel is quite playful.
I can’t stress enough that subject matter does not dictate tone.
This might seem obvious, but a constant argument I run into is the idea that because there’s
lots of death in the Hunter Exam, the tone is dark.
However, that is not the case at all.
If bloodshed within a story automatically equated to that story being dark, then Baccano
would be known as a depressing, morbid drama instead of the awesome romp that it is.
Death and violence are obviously dark concepts, but the way they affect the tone of the work
is dependent on that work’s approach to those dark concepts.
And in this case, the casual dismissal of death as a natural element of this setting
in the Hunter Exam contributes to it’s lighter tone.
It is an important indicator towards both Gon and Netero’s character, but it also
sets a deliberate mood.
People die?
Eh, don’t worry about it, that’s life.
But look how cool Killua’s skateboard is!
It’s just a non-verbal indicator that clues the audience into the fact that this world
is dog-eat-dog, but at the same time this doesn’t mean that everything has to be deadly
serious.
So, The Hunter Exam hints at future darkness but it’s objective is to be a fun and engaging
introductory arc that sets the groundwork while being entertaining, and the overall
impression is one of wonder and excitement.
Meanwhile, the mini Zoldyck family arc is next, and I label this one as dark.
This may seem a little odd as the actual subject matter is not actually much darker than that
of the Hunter Exam, but we need to again remember that subject matter does not always dictate
tone, and here is where visual storytelling, emphasis, and the tone and “feel” of the
arc are important.
Context and approach are everything.
The visuals are distinctly different in this arc; the hues are duller, there is more black
used in the manga, and there is almost a dark filter over everything, with each scene seeming
to follow a colour palette that pervades the entire thing.
When you think of the Zoldyck family arc, you think of blacks, grays, and purples, in
contrast to the bright blues and greens of the Hunter Exam (in 2011 at least).
In the adaptations, there is also a shift in the atmosphere through the change in music
used, where the ominous, powerful Zoldyck theme changes the mood almost immediately
- with a distinct use of organs in 99 and the series’ first use of choir in 2011.
And these elements feed into the intent of the arc because the point is to flesh out
both Killua and the dynamics of his messed up family.
Zeno and Silva come off as much cooler and less terrible than Milluki and Kikyo, but
regardless, The Zoldycks are contextualized here as a negative thing from Killua’s perspective
- a dark fate to escape from.
He wants more than anything to get out and live his own life, and he is trapped.
So the feel of this arc communicates that, and the emphasis is on why being brought up
in this family was horrible for Killua.
A secondary objective of this arc would be to show the strength of the bonds between
the main characters through how they persevere in an extremely tough situation to help their
struggling friend, and while touching, this is not a cheerful concept until they succeed,
hence the dark tone in the majority of the arc.
As I said in my video on it, Heaven’s Arena pulls off a very important function, working
as both an engaging introduction to a complex combat magic system and a masterstroke in
subconscious tone transitioning using subtle cues.
But more to the point, the impression it leaves is more light than dark.
Due to these aforementioned cues that foreshadow Yorknew, Heaven’s arena does find itself
closer to darkness than the Hunter Exam.
However, the thrilling nature of a small tournament arc along with the sense of discovery associated
with learning about the potential of Nen made this one an engaging spectacle.
It built Gon and Killua’s relationship in an endearing way and introduced a couple of
characters in Zushi and Wing who were quirky and likeable, though Wing was not without
his dark undertones.
The antagonistic fighters of the 200s were menacing at first but the conclusion to their
stories made them go out with a lighthearted whimper.
And most importantly of all, the story beat that defines this arc - the Gon vs Hisoka
fight - is one that is not pervaded by darkness, but fueled by pure adrenaline.
The unsaid implication here is not that Hisoka is this malevolent force that cannot ever
be stopped, but that he is throwing out a challenge.
In this fight, we don’t see Gon struggling to no avail in a hopeless situation, even
if Hisoka easily outclasses him in the end.
We see Hisoka setting a benchmark, challenging Gon and begging him to catch him if he can
- a challenge that Gon wholeheartedly accepts.
And this is hype as hell.
It’s not dread that he will have to face Hisoka again, but a resolve - that he will
work as hard as possible to win next time.
The intonation could have been much different given the situation but because of how upbeat
Gon is, it appropriately ends the arc on a positive inflection.
The little intermission with Gon and Killua on Whale Island is cool but I consider it
to be it’s own thing rather than a bookend for Heaven’s Arena or a starting point for
Yorknew, so we’ll skip this bit.
However, the Yorknew arc is where the series dips into true dark territory.
Not only is the subject matter more mature, but the emphasis backs that up.
We’re exposed to the criminal underbelly of the world and through the Spider, true
depravity rears it’s head for the first time.
Nihilistic themes are referenced and in Chrollo we have an ominous villain whose presence
is felt in every frame.
We had heard about the terrible deeds of the phantom Troupe prior to this, but witnessing
it first hand is a different monster.
It is here where Kurapika’s quest for vengeance gets serious, and it is truly upsetting to
see this formerly very bright young man slowly come apart and lose himself.
It is gloomy conceptually, but the 1999 version specifically dwells on this in a brutal, quite
disturbing fashion - more effectively than the 2011 version, I’d say.
The effective use of visuals and imagery drive this home as well.
In particular, decrepit buildings, rainstorms and dark hues characterize this arc and the
red moon is not just a scary looking piece of imagery, but also a symbolic indication
of the end of all times in Hebrew Bible.
Yet, this arc is not as dark as I’m making it seem.
There are several breaks in between where we catch up with the amusing antics of Gon,
Killua and Leorio trying to understand the black market.
Hisoka adds a fun chaos factor to the entire thing, and the troupe itself is full of personality
which lightens the tone.
Not to mention, one of the series’ most underrated characters in Melody plays a role
in tone here - keeping Kurapika grounded and adding this distinct element of serenity when
things seem to be going awry.
So while Yorknew is decidedly dark, Togashi ensures that it never quite dips too low to
keep the tonal progression bold but smooth.
Next is the arc that is relevant in explaining why Genthru is underrated.
We’ll skip Greed Island for now and come back to it later, but the most important thing
about it with regards to my point here is that it is a light arc, especially in comparison
to the arcs before and after.
The Chimera Ant arc is almost like the antithesis to the hunter exam in terms of tone - it has
moments of that classic Hunter Hunter whimsy but it is very dark most of the way through.
Now, there is an obvious argument against Togashi’s arc structure that can be made
here - that putting the darkest arc after one of the lightest is a tonal inconsistency.
And while that point has merit conceptually, a closer look at the opening parts of the
Chimera ant arc show that this was taken into consideration.
Through opening chapters that are essentially an introduction to Kite and his relationship
to Ging in a campfire storytelling sequence, the chimera ant arc eases the audience in
gradually to the dark situation, as the tone slowly progresses while the scenes of the
queen ant grow in frequency and punch and start to coincide with our heroes.
Here, the Chimera Ant arc transitions into darkness within itself, similarly to how Heaven’s
arena did it, before really showing what it’s made of.
Needless to say, this arc touches on concepts that are the most grim the series has ever
seen.
However, what’s important to note is that it never got too dark.
The tragic conclusion to Meruem’s arc, actually ended on a positive final note.
Pitou was malevolently playful, Shaiapouf’s insanity was humorous at times and the brief
respite where Gon and Killua recollected themselves was a tonal breather.
The characters of Knuckle, Komugi, Meleoron, Ikalgo and Morel were all functionally important
here because their wit, heart and gleaming positivity provide the arc with just enough
light to balance things and prevent too much darkness, which provides levity and stops
the story from wallowing in dreariness.
Being consistently dark works for brutal nihilistic works like Texhnolyze, but for a series like
Hunter hunter that is characterized by it’s charm, too much bleakness would have buffered
it’s identity.
This is especially important because our two main protagonists, who always tend to be the
ones providing positivity, sunk deeper and deeper as the arc went on.
However, while these secondary characters and lighter themes did keep the dread from
getting too overwhelming, Chimera Ant is undoubtedly the darkest the series has had to offer thus
far, primarily through it’s damning indictment on human nature.
I personally find the Election arc to be one of the most interesting, because it’s a
bit difficult to put your finger on it’s tone.
While the rest of the arcs have an overriding feel, Election seems to waver more or less
equally between light and dark.
The palette shifts from bright to dark depending on the context and mood of each scene rather
than some overarching art direction, which keeps it neutral visually.
Concepts like the neglect of Alluka and Nanika, Illumi’s army of needle zombies, the death
of Gotoh, the existential dread voiced by the Koala man and the gory nature of the deaths
caused by Nanika’s power are all somber - not to mention the fact that Gon was fighting
for his life, looking like some sort of overcooked zucchini.
However, this was all balanced out with the return of Hisoka, some badass Leorio moments,
the sheer presence of the eccentric loveable dickhead of a father that is Ging Freecss
and the great number of emotional goodbyes and hellos.
So I think overall, this arc is more or less neutral in tone.
So why did I label it as light, you may ask?
Well, I think it’s clear that the Election arc is darker than the Hunter Exam, Heaven’s
Arena and Greed Island.
But the difference here is that none of those arcs occurred after something as dark as the
Chimera Ant arc.
Again, context is key.
Here, Togashi was following his pattern of changing up the tone, but as all good writers
are, he was wary of the possibility of tonal whiplash.
If an arc as light as the Hunter Exam had occurred after the Chimera Ant arc, it would
have been a writing misstep because it would be too light - a tonal problem.And because
he wanted to very quickly introduce the Zodiacs, Ging, and the conflict, this eliminated the
possibility of incorporating a gradual transition.
As such, he wanted to make sure that the transition after Chimera Ant wasn’t too light or it
would be jarring.
So he upped the pessimism in Election just a touch so that while the series returned
to it’s playful roots and while it was light relative to Chimera ant, it didn’t completely
dismiss the story that had occurred before.
This creates a consistency - the difference in tone from Chimera Ant to Election is not
too drastically different from the difference from Yorknew to Greed Island because of this,
and it’s a very clever way to keep the stakes high and not betray the preceding events while
also keeping the story fresh.
Lastly, with regards to the Dark Continent arc, if this framework were to continue being
followed then naturally we would have a very dark arc.
ANd while no solid conclusions can be drawn regarding the currently saga, it does seem
to be heading in that direction.