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There are many fascinating concepts in the world ofHunter X Hunter. From the complex yet interesting powers to the creatures and the stories each season tackles, it’s easily one of the best anime out there. And among all these interesting concepts, its world map is also one of them.
At first, the map itself seems rather simple, with funny names that clearly parody real places like Jappon, Azia, and Yorknew City, but there’s also a gigantic area outside the main map only known as the Dark Continent. It’s a topic that’s slowly being addressed during new story arcs, even though the characters haven’t gotten there yet. So, what is it?
The World Map
Before we tackle the Dark Continent, we’ll start with a basic explanation of the map and its contents.The map you see above is addressed as the Known World,and it’s where every single story from the anime has taken place. The manga has left this area already, but they’re still overseas.
What makes the world map interesting here is thatthe entire ocean you’re looking at is not technically an ocean. It’s actually a lake called Lake Mobius.Which means that if this is a lake, then there’s land surrounding it, right?
The land that surrounds Lake Mobius is the Dark Continent.In other words, the Known World is essentially an archipelago in the middle of this lake.There’s also another piece of land eastern to the Known Worldthat is also within the lake, which is simplyaddressed as the New Continentfor now.
The Dark Continent
Now we get to the good stuff.The Dark Continent is the biggest and deadliest location in the Hunter X Hunter universe.It’s likely where humans were born before migrating to the archipelago called the Known World, thanks to historical evidence found there, and it’s also where magical beasts come from. In essence, it’s where life began, though there’s no confirmation about this.
What is certain is thatall creatures that inhabit the Dark Continent are extremely deadly,with most expeditions resulting in catastrophic failure. Not only because the trip overseas is already dangerous, but nearly anything there can kill multiple people with ease.
Though there’s no confirmation,it’s speculated that the Chimera Ants come from this continent.Now imagine a whole continent with creatures as dangerous (or worse) thanMeruem.Nanika, the creature that inhabits Alluka Zoldyck,is already confirmed to be a Dark Continent creature.
Going To The Dark Continent
As you may have assumed after seeing the size of the Known World, Lake Mobius is gigantic (and so is the Dark Continent). It is divided into sections, from the part that is within and directly surrounding the Known World to the untamed waters and, finally, the dark waters.
The way itself is highly dangerous, although we do not know exactly what makes it dangerous —| monsters within the water are the likely bet. However,there is a type of magical beast known as the Gatekeeper,which can create guides that help travelers from the Known World to the Dark Continent,and that is the only safe way we have to get there thus far.
Who Has Been To The Dark Continent?
Though a lot of people have gone there throughout the years, most consist of nameless characters who died on the way, on the continent, on the way back, or lost their sanity even if they managed to survive. There are few relevant characters who managed to get there, but they are worth mentioning.
One person who managed to survive the Dark Continent is none other than Isaac Netero,who went there with two friends,Zygg Zoldyck and Linne Horsdoeuvre.We don’t know much about Zygg other than being part of the Zoldyck family, but Linne has already appeared in the background duringthe election arc.
Beyond Netero, Isaac’s son, has already been thereand is the one who pulled everyone’s strings to make another expedition, being the main catalyst for the current arc in the manga. His intentions aren’t super clear, but he plays an antagonistic role in this whole story.
Lastly,we also know about Don Freecss,the ancestor of both Ging and Gon,who braved the continent over 300 years ago and wrote two massive journals about it,with only one being found. There’s a lot of mystery as to what happened to him and the other journal, and because of the things found on the continent, there’s a chance he’s still alive there.
The Five Threats
From past expeditions, humans learned about some of the countless monsters that live in the Dark Continent. However, their trespassing tends to result in punishments by none other than the magical guide that leads them there, and they usually force humans to take dangerous creatures from the Dark Continent back to the Known World.
From that,there is a group of monsters from the Dark Continent known as the Five Threats.Each was met during one of the expeditions there, and because of the direct interaction, they are the monsters people are mostly aware of, though far from being the only ones.
Power
Pap
It attaches a feeler to the victim’s skull and feeds off of their energy. The people stuck on the feeler feel immense pleasure, making them stay with Pap. The victims also look like miniature dolls by the time they’re completely out of energy.
Unknown, but devastating, as only two people survived the encounter.
Hellbell
It makes its victims feel the need to kill, turning people against one another.
Ai
In theory, it is unknown, but they are the same creature as Nanika, so we can assume they have the same power to grant wishes, and they become more demanding of what they want in return, depending on the wish. Failing to meet their demands can result in the death of multiple people.
Zobae
A disease rather than a creature, Zobae has a high fatality rate, though its symptoms are a mystery. Oddly enough, its sole survivor became virtually immortal, which even feels contradictory to the high fatality rate. The allegedly immortal survivor has lost all sanity, though.
Why Go There?
After reading how much of a hell this place is, you may be wondering why people would even go there. Well, it’s essentially a high-risk, high-reward situation becausethere are many random things on the Dark Continent that could benefit humanity.
The expeditions that went poorly were in search of things that can beenergy sources, increase human’s lifetime exponentially(which is even why some believe Don Freecss could be alive),and cure most if not all diseases, among others.And those are the ones we know about; there could always be more.
