Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge is a 2013 film based on the Hunter × Hunter manga series. The first film in the franchise and surprisingly the first of two that came out that same year.
The story, apparently taking place between the Yorknew City and Greed Island arcs, follows Kurapika suddenly getting his eyes stolen by a mysterious priest who uses a likeness of one of his friends for the Kurputia clan. Luckily Leorio was with him when the deed happened and gets in contact with Gon and Killua who agree to go look for and retrieve his eyes. Along the way, they meet a young puppeteer girl named Retsu who joins them on their quest.
As things progress, it turns out this priest, named Omokage, was one of the former Phantom Troupe before he left them, which gets the Phantoms involved in the hunt. Plus that Retsu might have a connection with Omokage as well.
Tropes
- All Just a Dream: The film opens with Killua doing an assassination mission with Illumi supervising him. He manages to pull it off easily. But when he ends up in an alley where some kids are playing soccer, the ball ends up bouncing to him and he's poised to kick it back. Illumi goes to attack them to prove his point about Killua not needing friends. Then Killua wakes up, revealing he's dreaming and on a passenger blimp with Gon.
- Back from the Dead: Subverted, Uvogin seems to have been brought back and attacked Gon and Killua, with neither managing to so much as land a scratch on him. But Nobunaga arrives and swiftly behead him, revealing it was just a puppet.
- Big Damn Heroes: Hisoka comes to the group's aid when Omokage sets puppets of the Phantom Troupe at the group. The real ones later come to finish their doppelgangers off.
- Bittersweet Ending: Gon and Kurapika get their eyes back and Omokage is defeated, but Retsu, understanding she's nothing more than a puppet, decides to "die" along with Omokage after she kills him, stating that she's nothing more than a memory. Though she thanks the group for stopping her brother.
- Continuity Nod: When the Phantom Troupe run into Kurapika at the climax of the movie, they reframe from attacking him since, at the time of the movie, their leader, Chrollo, was still under Kurapika's Judgement Chain that he placed on him during Yorknew arc. And one of the requirements was that they couldn't harm him or his friends otherwise the chain would pierce Chrollo's heart. Of course, they do vow to settle the score with Kurapika someday along with Hisoka who had betrayed them.
- Eye Scream: What gets the plot moving, Kurapika gets his eyes stolen in the film, as does Gon but they're eventually restored in the end.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Omokage is killed by Retsu, the puppet of his sister, with her explaining that, having Retsu's personality, she wouldn't have wanted Omokage to do all his actions, least of all bringing her back.
- It's All My Fault: Killua really takes it hard after Gon's eyes are stolen, blaming himself for letting it happen to the point he nearly hits a Despair Event Horizon and Driven to Suicide via standing in front of an oncoming train. Luckily Gon saves him.
- New Friend Envy: Since Illumi has been drilling in his head that Killua doesn't need friends, the latter's insecurities flared up when Gon introduces Retz as a new friend he met. He acts rude to her whenever Gon gives her attention and is quite suspicious that she will betray them, even confronting Gon about his scenario. Gon's Taking the Bullet moment hit him really hard and he's more sympathetic to her after hearing the truth, ultimately trying to save her in the end.
- People Puppets: Omokage's Nen ability though skews pretty close to Necromancy. He can make puppets from the deceased even with their personalities intact but lack one thing when initially created: eyes. Hence why Omokage goes after Kurapika.
- The Reveal: Retsu is Omokage's sister who died a long time ago. The one Gon and Killua interact with is just a puppet in her image.
- Taking the Bullet: Omokage makes a puppet of Illumi and uses that to emotionally mess with Killua before trying to take his eyes. Gon rushes in and pushes him out of the way only to get grabbed and have his eyes stolen instead.
