Hunter X Hunter

Oh please, in episode 1 - Mito had to tell Gon why he was still interested in going after Ging when he abandoned him for the sake of being a Hunter.

Namely, Mito being his only parent was not enough. Oh, no - Gon still needed a father figure.

Also, I just remembered that in the Hunter Exam finals - Gon was willing to die because he felt that the only way he could meet his father was to become a Hunter in that very exam.

So, basically - his own life (cherished and loved by Mito) was less important than the chance to meet his father.

Heck, all this discussion has just made me realize why Gon's family structure is written like this. Had Mito been his biological mother (which I actually assumed she was until around the episodes wherein she recalled the time she was lost and Ging found her), Ging would be even MOAR of a JERK.

Ging is a jerk. When we finally get to meet him, him getting punched in the face is rewarded with a standing ovation from everyone nearby. The series makes no attempt to portray him as anything less than a jerk. He's just a fascinating jerk.

And Gon's willing to die for pretty much anything he sets his mind to do. Heck, he's willing to risk his life for basically no reason at all in the nen training arc (activating Zetsu in a fight). As I've mentioned several times already, you're not thinking of him as nearly crazy enough.

edited 16th Oct '12 12:24:57 AM by Clarste

Since some folks over here seem to be implying I am disrespecting Mito for being "obsessive" with Gon's bio mom...

Nope, I like Mito more than either Ging or Gon. The type of person who would adopt a child that isn't his or hers is probably my most favorite type of person.

Also, I may as well say it - another reason why I dislike Gon's immediate dismissal of his bio mom is cause it more than applied a competition of sorts between both Mito and Gon's biological mother.

Not only is Gon's mom nameless, she's not allowed any sort of description except for ONE - that even acknowledging her existence would mean disrespecting Mito.

Which, I do get in a sense - but if since we're talking about disrespect - it's more disrespectful of Mito's love that Gon would still go chasing after Ging despite her wishes.

Well, the whole theme of the series is the Hunt. To go out and get what you want, by any means necessary. While it's true that Gon is ignoring Mito's warnings, the whole thing is portrayed as a kid leaving the nest and becoming his own person. Identifying something he wants, and chasing after it with everything's he's got. Mito, as one of the few actually normal people in the series, has ordinary parental worries about her kid leaving the nest, but just like those ordinary parental worries, it's portrayed that letting Gon pursue his talents and dreams is the better option.

The fact that Gon happens to be chasing after Ging instead of revenge or money is mostly arbitrary. As always, you're attributing way too many "normal" emotions to the kid. IE: He's not abandoning his mother-figure to pursue his father, he's abandoning his family to pursue what he loves doing. Being a Hunter. He's Ging all over again.

edited 16th Oct '12 12:48:27 AM by Clarste

Can I just please be allowed to dislike that ONE thing Gon did? Hmm? Because frankly - it's usually a waste of time to persuade people to like what they already dislike (intensely).

As for my not liking Gon or Ging, I'm not required to like them in order to watch the show. Right now, I'm hooked on the show because of Kurapika and the Spiders, not Gon's attempts to raise money to buy a videogame so that he can locate his father, who doesn't want to meet him.

You're allowed to dislike anything he does, but your reasons for doing so are pretty poorly thought out. This is long since becoming a broken record though.

Personally, I rather dislike his hatred of Nobunaga's hypocrisy, since he's a similar sort of hypocrite himself.

edited 16th Oct '12 12:51:17 AM by Clarste

Considering that allergic reactions to double standards may involve incoherent rage and massive headaches, I actually envy people who don't see red whenever I think of episode 30-something.

Just because Gon already has an awesome parent (not just a mother) does not mean that I think it's okay to outright dismiss the Missing Mom while desperately seeking the Disappeared Dad, unless she's actually as much a bitch as Ging's a bastard.

Btw, I'm okay that you don't think it's a problem. I just do. I can't help it. I actually wish I can just ignore it.

edited 16th Oct '12 12:55:29 AM by probablyinsane

So, I have a random question. In chapter 232, Gon screams at the bat-ant to disrupt it. This tactic seemed really familiar to me, to deja vu levels. Did something similar happen in YYH, Togashi's other work? Because I swear I've seen it before and thought it might've been in YYH.

Might it remind you of Ubogin screaming at that one porcupine guy to kill him? I honestly have no idea.

Oh, yeah, that's it. Thanks.

quick question... is the manga finished or is it just on another hiatus (again)?

Hiatus. Again. *sigh*

I'd call it a decent stopping place if it weren't for the fact that it ended on basically the first chapter of a huge new arc.

Hiatus X Hiatus is at it again Ladies and gents.

The most insulting thing is that even in between the hiatuses the art quality is on sketchbook doodling level. For the record I know the art is fixed in tankobon and I do buy them to support manga I like, but I can't wait for the tankobon to be compiled, and then translated 6 months later in my country so I think it is valid for me to be upset about the lack of effort he put into the magazine chapters.

Unlike other authors we all know Togashi could draw (refer back to the Yorkshin arc where he drew every drop of rain). The health issue is valid for the first several years but then for the love of god get some assistant or just end the series instead of dragging it.

So, the first chapter of that Kurapika side-story thing is out.

… They're all going to be dead when he gets back, aren't they?

But if they're already dead, who will kill Kurapika's little friend right in front of him?

Double posting to say the second chapter is out.

Mmm. So I was wrong, and yet I was right.

The description of what the bodies were like, though… yikes.

Yeah, that was pretty intense. Made sense though.

I'm glad the plan to foil Kurapika's test didn't go ahead. Good work, Pairo.

...plan to foil the test? That was the test. It was a Secret Test of Character. And he failed it. But through cheating he passed anyway. Not that it matters with all of them dead now, but I was half expecting his unearned freedom to be the cause of their deaths. ...or maybe it is, if those thugs were connected to Meteor City.

No, it sounds more like this was a special circumstance because that guy really didn't want him to pass.

I don't see any evidence of that. If it was then he would have insisted more about being able to choose the partner, since apparently that was part of the original plan which was made several days in advance. And, well, some punks insulting your friend is hardly an unheard of situation. If you can't handle that calmly then you probably shouldn't be allowed outside. And of course it resulted in exactly the negative reaction they were trying to avoid.

Face it: Kurapica failed the test. There is no reasonable interpretation that says he should have passed the test. Trying to make it sounds like the Elder cheated when all he did was set things up to make the test less random is strangely biased towards Kurapica. Who, it should be noted, failed the test and revived everyone's hatred of the Kurata. ...why would anyone even want to defend him here? He was a naive hot-blooded kid who wasn't as good as he thought he was. No more and no less.

edited 14th Dec '12 12:36:18 AM by Clarste

Yeap, I'm the one who sounds biased right now.

Yes, in fact you are. You see, I'm pointing out facts from the story while you're just insulting me for having a different opinion.

Edit: It's also interesting to see how this fits into his later characterization. What you can take home from it is that he failed to learn the lesson he was supposed to have learned as a kid, which eventually came back to bite him much later.

edited 14th Dec '12 12:33:55 AM by Clarste