Summary

Kurapika's revenge resulted in isolation as he pursued vengeance against the Phantom Troupe.
Gon's revenge against Neferpitou led to sacrificing his future and losing his role in the story.
Hunter x Hunter showcases characters losing connections and facing isolation due to their pursuit of revenge.

Hunter x Hunter begins as your typical shōnen action affair. It starts with Gon learning the ropes of being a hunter as he attracts friends thanks to his strength and infectiously upbeat personality. Much of the beginning of Hunter x Hunter shows us how important the bonds of friendship are for these characters, but this emphasis only feeds into a dark turn the show takes later on.

Various characters, from Kurapika to even the happy-go-lucky Gon, become consumed with revenge, and the viewer is treated to the painful process of this revenge, unraveling their relationships. While the act of revenge destroying the individual is a common theme in many stories, Hunter x Hunter brilliantly makes the viewer feel the impact through the ways relationships with other characters are destroyed as well.

Hunter x Hunter: 8 Things You Should Know About Kurapika

Here is everything you should need to know about Hunter x Hunter's Kurapika Kurta.

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By Rei Penber

Kurapika’s Revenge

A Different Goal From His Friends

kurapika healing — Kurapika uses his Nen abilities to heal himself. (Hunter x Hunter)

Kurapika is introduced as a quiet, brooding character with a troubled past. The Phantom Troupe massacred his entire clan for the harvesting of their unique eyes, with him as the only survivor. After personally witnessing the aftermath, including discovering the remains of his friend Pairo, Kurapika decided to dedicate himself to avenging his clan and vanquishing the Phantom Troupe.

"A beast in human's clothing understands better than anyone how people want to be treated." -Kurapika

Despite his trauma, Kurapika found himself making friends again after meeting Gon, Killua, and Leorio. However, after passing the hunter exam and learning nen, Kurapika doubled down on his desire for revenge. He set specific rules that made him more powerful, but he could mostly only use these abilities in battle against Phantom Troupe members. Kurapika became so single-minded in his revenge that while he managed to defeat some members, he was unable to continue traveling with his friends in the aftermath of his battles. This caused Kurapika to essentially disappear from the show, becoming more isolated as he lost deep connections with his friends. It was this isolation and different goals that made Kurapika unable to remain with his friends and part of the story for a long time.

"I do not fear death. I fear only that my rage will fade over time." -Kurapika

Hunter x Hunter: What Happened to Kurapika's Clan?

Kurapika was once part of a very small clan that met a tragic fate. What happened to them?

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By Vasalya Moodley

Gon’s Revenge

Losing Your Role in the Story

gon hair long — Gon's adult form seen in the battle with Neferpitou. (Hunter x Hunter)

Kurapika’s arc foreshadowed the eventual fall into the desire for revenge that Gon fell into. After the chimera ants captured Kite, Gon was deeply filled with guilt and rage, blaming himself for everything that happened. His solution to overcoming that guilt and pain was not to rely on his friends but to turn inward and make a similar vow to what Kurapika did. The effect of his efforts was that Gon did get his revenge against Neferpitou, but it cost him nearly everything. Gon sacrificed his future with Nen and nearly died. Killua rushed to the scene and saw the aftermath, and while he desperately did everything he could to save his friend, the truth was that the Gon he knew was essentially gone.

Even after Gon was able to make a recovery, Killua and Gon had to go their separate ways. Gon’s actions made it so he could no longer use Nen. This forced him to be unable to continue on as the story’s protagonist, deciding to return home as he and Killua no longer had the same goals.

The Hunter x Hunter anime’s take on revenge goes beyond just showing the destruction of the individual as the cost for its characters. Characters that pursue revenge at the cost of everyone and everything else lose their role in the story itself, forced to live with the isolation they built until they can find their way again. This way of handling the aftermath of revenge hits way harder than a story where the revenge-seeking hero dies in the end. They have to live with the circumstances their actions have created, and we, as the audience, feel the pain of seeing the once happy dynamic they were a part of be removed from the story entirely.

Hunter x Hunter can be streamed on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu.

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