Picking up where the last volume of Hunter × Hunter left off, our main protagonist, Gon Freecss, is currently in the fourth phase of the Hunter Exam, where he and the remaining examinees must spend one week on Zevil Island and can only pass with six points if they can retain their own badges whilst obtaining each other’s. As Gon hopes to grab hold of Hisoka’s badge, the deceitful and narcissistic magician sets his sights on Gon’s newly found friends Kurapika and Leorio who have formed an alliance.
While the title of “Hunter” has multiple meanings in the world of Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga, this set piece embodies our traditional idea of a hunter, with numerous characters pursuing one another, even if going as far as killing one another, something Hisoka has no problem with. At this point in the story, you can view Hisoka as the main antagonist, in terms of how he presents himself as a threat towards Gon and his friends. During a confrontation between Gon and Hisoka, we see some nuance in Hisoka’s characterization as he admires Gon’s skills, despite Gon not being a worthy combatant yet. Hisoka ultimately gives Gon his badge, though Gon insists their fight is far from over.
Following the badge nabbing, we get to the final phase of the exam where the remaining nine applicants compete in an elimination tournament with a twist: the winner of each match passes the Hunter Exam, while the loser continues on, giving them more chances. Once again, this is Togashi taking Battle Shonen tropes and literally turning them on their heads. We may not spend too long on this section, but it presents two major outcomes. The first of which is the first match between Gon and the ninja Hanzo, who may be the far stronger opponent, but Gon is too determined to admit defeat no matter what he does and forfeits. This will be a recurring theme throughout Hunter × Hunter where despite Gon’s determination, he is not going to win every fight and how that takes a psychological toll on him.
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The other outcome of the tournament is Killua being reunited with his older brother Illumi who was disguised as one of the examinees. After Illumi’s psychological manipulation led Killua to forfeit their match and kill another examinee, he returned to the Zoldyck family estate. Meanwhile, Gon and his friends, now licensed Hunters, decide to visit Killua. In most Battle Shonen series—dating back to Dragon Ball—there’s often a “Vegeta archetype,” and while Killua shows shades of this with his assassin skills and twisted family ties, his relationship with Gon is different. Rather than defined by rivalry, it’s driven by Killua’s desire to experience a normal life and make friends. Though Gon faces several obstacles on his way to the estate, Killua’s own resolution comes through a heartfelt conversation with his father, who ultimately grants him permission to leave.
As Kurapika and Leorio depart from the story until an upcoming arc, Gon and Killua decide to enter Heavens Arena, a skyscraper where thousands of people fight in front of spectators, to make some money and hopefully fight Hisoka, who continues to be a threat to the two boys. While the setting sounds like another tournament, Gon and Killua are not there to be the best as they prove themselves by winning a couple of fights.
This is where we are introduced to one of the major elements of Hunter × Hunter: the Nen System, a technique that allows a living being to use and manipulate their own life energy/aura. While many Battle Shonen have their own version of a magic system, from Dragon Ball’s Ki to One Piece’s Haki, Togashi goes into great depth about the many ways Nen works, it can get quite technical but opens the door for how characters will use this system in subsequent arcs.
The introduction of Nen adds a new dynamic to the fights, of which there are plenty of throughout this volume. Togashi’s art may not the most polished, but you can see more experimentation from his unique character designs to the fight themselves that are both strategic and odd based on a combatant’s skill set. While there are a few touches of visual comedy, particularly the tiny illustrations where Killia is drawn like a cat to show how sly he is, Togashi’s horror visuals leave a greater impact from the predatory Hisoka to the Zoldycks’ guard dog Mike.
This is where Hunter × Hunter becomes one of the great Battle Shonen series, continuing to deconstruct the storytelling tropes you’ve come to expect from the genre.
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