Summary
Hunter X Hunteris, by far, one of the best anime out there. From the action to the characters and themes, every major story here is amazing, and it’s also funny how different each story can be. Gon can go from trying to get money to having a story arc based on what it means to be human, which shows how much variety you’re able to get here.
Luckily for us, too, there are no bad story arcs here, so even the worst Hunter X Hunter has to offer is still great. But alas, someone has to be in last place, and that’s what we’ll discuss here. It’s time to reminisce on the fantastic stories Gon has to offer.
We’ll avoid details, but there are still light spoilers here.
9Honorable Mention: Succession Contest Arc
The Ending Is Still Missing
The Succession Contest Arc is what’s currently happening in the manga, and while the story itself is highly complex to the point that it feels like an entirely new manga, we decided to leave it here as an honorable mention for one simple reason: the story is not over.
Still, between all the drama happening, the old and new characters involved, and the setting, it could likely hit the top three spot as long as the ending is as satisfying as the story arc. And there’s still a lot to see after this arc, with all the story that has been teased for a while now. Maythe best Princewin.
813th Hunter Chairman Election Arc
Multiple Stories Here
The 13th Hunter Chairman Election Arc is a short arc that consists of a few stories, and it does a good job of hitting the brakes on world-threatening drama as it takes place after a huge calamity. We have the election for the new chairman while Killua is on a journey to save Gon and also his sister, Alluka.
This arc also teases the main catalyst for the following arcs: the Dark Continent, a place we still know little about as the manga is not over. Still, we have mainly character-driven stories for this arc.
7Hunter Exam Arc
The Beginning
Considering how powerful everyone has become, it’s funny to revisit the first arc and see how weak everyone is here - and most of them are already superhumans here. Regardless, the Hunter Exam holds up well to how compelling the story and the world-building here are.
It’s the perfect introduction to the story and characters while slowly introducing topics that would otherwise be terrible to learn about if they were all dumped at once. And it gives the story a lot of room to grow in future arcs - which it does.
6Heavens Arena Arc
Nen 101
After the exam (and dealing with Killua’s family), the Heavens Arena Arc begins, as Gon and Killua go there to simply make money, and end up finding out about thismanga’s ‘magic system,’ Nen.
While we also get quite a lot of exposition in this arc - Nen can be complicated, so we do need characters literally explaining it - we also see our protagonists grow in power, which is very satisfying.
5Zoldyck Family Arc
The Greatest Assassins
Rewinding things a bit, we have a short story arc where we visit Killua’s family. Not only do we get some background onone of the most exciting characters in the manga,but we also get a better glimpse of how the manga can be dark when it wants to - though we’re only scratching the surface here.
This arc also gives us a few displays of strength among the characters, showing us that they still have a lot to learn and train if they want to be powerful hunters.
4The Dark Continent Arc
Though We’re Not There Yet
We get one more arc focused on world-building and lore exposition, as the characters are (literally) about to embark on a new journey to the Dark Continent, teased as the most dangerous place that exists in the world.
We also get new characters, such as Netero’s son, and a few characters become more relevant, such as Ging. Sadly, Gon and Killua don’t join the expedition, but this only shows that Hunter X Hunter grew to the point that we can have big stories with the ‘supporting’ cast.
3Yorknew City Arc
AKA The Phantom Troupe Arc
The Phantom Troupe is slightly teased at the beginning through Kurapika, so we knew that things would get good whenever those guys showed up. And we were not disappointed, as they are still some of the coolest baddies Hunter X Hunter has to offer.
And if that wasn’t enough, we also get how close they are, something that usually doesn’t happen in a group of villains, which only makes these characters more compelling. We also get our protagonists searching for Greed Island, already teasing the next arc successfully.
2Greed Island Arc
Sword X Art X Online
Speaking of Greed Island, this game developed by Gon’s dad is one of the best story arcs here. It offers a powerful villain, an interesting concept, many entertaining confrontations, and even a Nen-powered volleyball match.
Gon and Killua also become better fighters here as they learn that a capable fighter can successfully beat someone stronger than them. The mix of Nen and the cards is also quite intriguing.
1Chimera Ant Arc
Monsters Become Human, Humans Become Monsters
It’s almost unfair to compare the Chimera Ant Arc with others here, as it’s also the longest story arc, meaning it had the most time to build itself up. A lot of things happen here, and we also get some of the most powerful characters from the manga - at least thus far.
From the buildup to the ant’s royal guard to the King himself and all it takes to fight these monsters as they also learn more about their human traits, this story is as philosophical and complex as it is extremely action-packed.
