In my experience,
if you bother to scope out the internet and check the way that most Hunter x Hunter watchers and
readers tend to rank the story’s arcs, you’ll notice a pretty prevalent pattern - Chimera Ant
is almost always either first or last (usually first), Yorknew is almost always top three,
and the Zoldyck Family arc, sometimes known as the Killua retrieval arc, is almost always
ranked dead last, if it’s even included. And I often find myself in a weird position when it
comes to this last one, because while it would rank at the bottom for me as well, I also find
myself mildly annoyed because of how often it gets downplayed. I can only speak for myself,
but I’ve seen it called bad or mediocre or trash far too many times to not get a bit miffed when
people don’t acknowledge the many things this little arc does well. And the reason I enjoy
the other arcs more isn’t due to it having any crippling flaws, but simply because of the fact
that it is the Hunter x Hunter arc with the least Hunter x Hunter in it. It’s the shortest. There is
no downgrade in storytelling quality whatsoever here, but it’s just that more of a good thing is
better than less of a good thing, and the other arcs just have a lot more to them. The truth is,
the Zoldyck Family arc is written and presented with just as much artistry as the rest of the
arcs and is full of subtance, and I actually think that it’s one of the most efficient
and subtly subtextual ones in the series. The Hunter Exam is an amazing foundation,
introducing us to several of the primary characters in the story and their motivations,
the main overarching plot, the world and several societal factors that would end up
being significant. And in addition to this it smoothly sets up key elements that are vital
for the long term journeys of the characters, such as Gon’s subtle psychological hangups and Killua’s
caged-in mentality. There is so much that is done here, but it ends with Killua having left for the
home he despises, with Gon, Leorio and Kurapika determined to save him. The trajectory for the
series from here is set, as each of the characters need to begin their journeys to each of their
respective goals now that they have their license - Gon needs to begin making strides to find Ging,
Leorio has to begin his path to becoming a doctor, and Kurapika must start immersing himself in the
underground to make connections and lead him to the Spider. But there is one character who doesn’t
have a clear goal, doesn’t have a license, and is not pursuing something at all, but instead running
away from a life he deplores. Killua is lost, and he will remain that way for a sizeable amount of
time, but the beauty of his journey is watching him slowly stumble into finding himself through
following Gon’s light. This is the catalyst for one of anime’s most beautiful character arcs,
and these days it’s a pretty prevalent opinion that Killua is one of the most relatable
characters in not just this series, but anime and manga in general. This is a magnificent character
and a wonderful journey that strikes deep and touches upon so many genuine human elements.
However, to properly understand and empathize with Killua, to set the stage for this progression,
the audience needs context - and that is a big function for Zoldyck Family. We had
gotten snippets from his words about his family and we learned a ton through Illumi’s appearance,
but getting a good look at his home life and the people he’s surrounded with is essential for
having the audience fully invest themselves and buy into why Killua is so forlorn. And
along with this, the arc serves as a way to characterize one of the most interesting group
dynamics in the Zoldycks, providing us with a three dimensional idea of how the family
functions and what each member is like, plus the butlers and some extra worldbuilding. This
stretch also really needed to sell the bonds that our group have developed between one another in a
short period of time to continually build our emotional investment. So this arc had a lot of
functions to carry out and just four episodes to do it. And not only does it achieve all of this,
but it does it while giving us some improved, more dynamic presentation,
flowing like water whilst juggling so many new characters and concepts,
training our characters up, and providing us with a wide spectrum of emotions.
Now, the reason this arc flows so well is because Togashi is so efficient at using
minimalistic details and doing so much with so little. Despite being introduced to a bunch of
new characters through the Zoldycks, screen time is pretty evenly split between them
and our group to keep momentum. And yet we are able to fully form ideas of who
these people are and how they function through extremely small lines or moments. For example,
we have the actions of Kikyo, who more or less acts as the antagonist here - stifling Killua,
trying to fend off his friends and discourage them from seeing him. She is erratic and obsessive,
suffocating Killua with this smothering, twisted love. She tries to micromanage everything that
goes on in the family for the sake of ultimately elevating the family despite having married into
it, and yet has such a lack of influence in the grand scheme of things. She tells Gotoh
that it’s essential for Killua’s development that he be isolated, but he ultimately ends up
bending to Killua’s wishes instead, showing his care for him, asking that Gon take good care of
him and later on trying to protect Killua and help him live his life. She does whatever she
can to prevent Killua’s movement, but in the end his own force of will leaves her powerless - and
impressed. She airs her grievances out to her husband and then simply gets told to shut her
mouth. In this family, Kikyo speaks the most, has her hands in everything, enacts a stifling
control over her children and gives herself wholly to the name of Zoldyck, but her true influence is
insignificant and all major decisions are clearly made by Silva and Zeno. Kikyo clearly favors
Killua above all her other children, and makes no attempt to hide this favoritism, and this combined
with her other behaviours subtextually tells us so much about the Zoldycks just within this arc.
And from here, you can see how differing wills and factions sprout up within the butlers like Canary
and Gotoh, who must play the role of the dutiful butler whilst slyly helping Killua. Through Kikyo,
you can see a lot of the ways in which Illumi inherited his twisted love and overcompensatory,
parasitic attachment to Killua, and you can see why her actions,
along with some other factors, have lead to neglect for Kalluto and Illumi,
who respond to that reglect in ways that form the core of their characterization.
Additionally, through the little bits we see of Zeno and Silva, we get a full picture of
how the business functions. Zeno appears to be non-malicious, more relaxed yet very much
a servant to the profession. Perhaps he has mellowed out in his old age but either way,
his cool detachment is contrasted by Silva’s malicious and controlling fiery side. Silva
holds within him this twisted, overbearing nature that is the true core of the Zoldyck
family profession. Though he isn’t as outwardly micromanaging as Kikyo, he is the true will,
and his borderline maniacal confidence that Killua will inevitably come back in some sort of allusion
to fatalism despite having just told him prior that he must never betray his friends is one of
the most heinous acts in the series. Building him up, forming this connection with him and garnering
Killua’s respect, only to plan for him to break down and come back home after - for reasons that
get specified later. The Zoldyck Family is a cold machine where affection is either not present
or pathologically overbearing, controlled by a patriarch who cares not for the well being of his
children and will manipulate, coerce, and use his family as tools for the benefit of the business.
At this point it’s not clear why exactly Silva is this way and if Zeno and he contrast or reflect
one another from Zeno at a younger age, but either way these two are the head of the snake,
with Zeno the more relaxed, silent observer acting with the business in mind first and foremost,
and Silva the true root of so many things we see. Illumi acts out the way he does likely
due to some combination of inheriting his father’s will and orders, his mother’s constricting nature,
and the sad neglect he has no doubt experienced that he then used to overcompensate and pour
himself into Killua. Kikyo tries to force everything, trying to be all that she can
to benefit the family while being ignored and told to shut up when it matters most,
and you can easily see why she spiralled over the years in yet another compensatory way in
response to this lack of affection from Silva and a lack of importance, leading her to just try and
force Killua into being the next family head with more and more desperation and leading her to not
provide any warmth to the rest of her children. And from there we can see why Milluki and Kalluto
act the way they do, and more than anything, why Killua wants to get the hell out of there.
This is all easily inferred through the dynamics we see purely in this arc,
with just a few powerful scenes for Kikyo and quite a bit less screen time for the others.
It’s a masterclass in efficiency and telling us so much with so little, trusting the audience
to be able to infer these things with just the right amount of implications and confirmations.
Just through roughly half the screen time in a mini four episode arc, we’re able to see a full
picture of the culture of this family, their place in the world, how and why they operate
the way they do and why Killua grew up the way he did, why exactly he has so much insecurities and
fragilities. Gotoh and Canary are likely the only reason he was able to grow up feeling even just a
semblance of normalcy, but due to restrictions of their job it was not nearly enough and the
time was ripe for him to seek out other horizons. Which luckily led to him meeting Gon. But.. what
about the rest of the children, who are in many ways victims as well? Either unwilling or unable
to reach out for freedom in the way Killua does? It’s not a fun thing to think about.
This is all essential stuff for the Zoldycks, but the arc also has functions outside of this.
Tonally, this is quite a bit of a departure from the Exam, shifting things to an overall
moody and dark tone. In the first arc we got glimpses of darkness and drastic shifts thanks
in large part to Hisoka and Illumi, but this is where the complexion overall is pretty damn dark,
as our protagonists see the truth and specifics behind where their friend has grown up. In my
opinion Togashi executes an alternating tonal approach between light and dark from arc to
arc for various reasons, and this is where that pattern begins rearing its head. Additionally,
Zoldyck Family expands the setting through providing details of the trade and around the
mystique of the ZOldycks and Kukoro mountain, it helps our characters train and level up to
a point that’s needed for future developments, and it provides such heart and genuine honest emotion,
as through the scene that has since become a meme but always makes me tear up, we see the depth of
Gon’s care for Killua and how far he’s willing to go for him, as well as the strength of the bonds
and trust between him, Kurapika and Leorio. The arc ends with Killua retrieved, and everyone sets
off on their respective destinations, with Gon and Killua situated to take on this new challenge
in Heaven’s Arena having progressed their relationship enough for there to be a very real
connection, but with plenty of room for growth as well - with the vast expanse and challenge of
the world ahead of them - Gon leading from the front and Killua watching on from beside him.
This arc shifts tone, characterizes, expands and enriches, providing us with emotions and
flowing like water, giving us a minor but full self-contained internal plot,
before pivoting and situating everyone exactly where they need to be for the next phase of the
story. The Zoldyck Family arc is amazing, and I think it deserves far more respect than it
gets because of how it’s able to do so much so seamlessly. And notably - it does all of
this while being engaging and entertaining the whole way through, which is no easy feat. There
is absolutely nothing bad about this arc and it just so happens to have the unlucky distinction
of being filled with the least amount of great things in a series full of arcs filled to the
brim with great things. But that does not at all mean that it does not have any value, and
hopefully this video has adequately touched on a few of the reasons why. Many thanks for watching.