Hunter x Hunter 2011

[Carnage]

By the way does anyone know where to download the OST?

[Buffalobiian]

By the way does anyone know where to download the OST?

http://animeost.info/8086/hunter-x-hunter-2011-ost
http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=search&cats=3_0&filter=0&term=hunter

animeost gets me a 403 error atm, but it normally works.

[DarthEnderX]

So one of the things that occurs to me is that, Greed Island is a game built in the real world by 11 Nen users, does that mean that those Nen users possess the Nen abilities of every card in the game? I mean, they'd have to have that ability to make a card that can do that ability wouldn't they? Especially since they can make the cards work in the real world if they want.

Either that, or it's one person whose Nen ability is that they can do anything, provided they have the ridiculous requirements that make up the entire game.

[Carnage]

So one of the things that occurs to me is that, Greed Island is a game built in the real world by 11 Nen users, does that mean that those Nen users possess the Nen abilities of every card in the game? I mean, they'd have to have that ability to make a card that can do that ability wouldn't they? Especially since they can make the cards work in the real world if they want.

Either that, or it's one person whose Nen ability is that they can do anything, provided they have the ridiculous requirements that make up the entire game.

I think different Game Masters handle different cards. Razor mentioned he handles most of the emitter stuff when he met the Troupe and crushed their boat.

Thanks Buffalobiian!

[DarthEnderX]

So them presumably, it's the first thing, where between them, they have all the abilities of all of the cards.

So there's someone in those 11 people who can just heal any person of any injury short of death instantly?

[enkoujin]

My hypothesis is that the GMs can only use their Spell Cards only on that island and yes, it would make sense that someone would be able to heal all injuries...

[Buffalobiian]

My hypothesis is that the GMs can only use their Spell Cards only on that island and yes, it would make sense that someone would be able to heal all injuries...

Kurapica could do some pretty amazing stuff with Emperor Time with Enforcer abilities.. so yeah I can see it happening.

What DE brings up is that it would mean Gin is NOT needed to run the game since he's on walkabouts.

[Kraco]

They could have a huge stockpile of those cards, made by various members, many not anymore living on the island. Heck, they could have even bought some from outsiders. Nen seems to remain in objects for a very long time, so nothing would prevent that, to keep the game running despite people leaving.

[Buffalobiian]

They could have a huge stockpile of those cards, made by various members, many not anymore living on the island. Heck, they could have even bought some from outsiders. Nen seems to remain in objects for a very long time, so nothing would prevent that, to keep the game running despite people leaving.

The whole idea that only a certain number of cards can be in play at any one time, and that the number refreshes once the card is used suggests otherwise though.

[DarthEnderX]

My hypothesis is that the GMs can only use their Spell Cards only on that island and yes, it would make sense that someone would be able to heal all injuries...But if the winner of the game can take any 3 cards out of the game and use them, then logically, the GMs with the powers that made those cards in the first place would be able to use those powers freely in the world as well.


This is not, like, a suggestions of what the GMs can do with their cards.

I was just musing over the fact that one of those GMs apparently has a Nen ability that lets them teleport groups of people anywhere on the planet. One of them has a Nen ability heal any injury. One of them has the ability to make you super lucky 19 times out of 20. Etc.

[Kraco]

The whole idea that only a certain number of cards can be in play at any one time, and that the number refreshes once the card is used suggests otherwise though.

That's just game mechanics, nothing more. Maybe the two girls control such things (numbers, that is), considering they seem to spend their days accessing computer consoles.

[DarthEnderX]

On an aside note, I guess the author revealed all 100 of the restricted cards (http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Greed_Island#List_of_the_100_Specified_Slot_Cards) at some point. Kind of interesting to see the kinds of things Gon COULD have had. There is some seriously awesome and insane shit on that list(Pregnancy Stones? The fuck?!)

[Kraco]

He would have taken Gold Dust Girl if he hadn't needed accompany to find his old man.

[MFauli]

He would have taken Gold Dust Girl if he hadn't needed accompany to find his old man.

lol, what a card. Makes me think: Can these game masters even create life with their powers? Reeeally strange.

I wondered anyway just how Greed Island is being managed. Do these game master have to be sitting around all those years, focusing on keeping up the game´s appearance? Or is it more of a "once created, it´s there" thing?

[DarthEnderX]

Hormone Cookies! "After eating this candy, your sex will temporarily change for 24 hours. A set of 10 boxes; 20 cookies per box."


lol, what a card. Makes me think: Can these game masters even create life with their powers?Presumably, though they'd just be Nen constructs.


I wondered anyway just how Greed Island is being managed. Do these game master have to be sitting around all those years, focusing on keeping up the game´s appearance?Probably not. It's not as if Genthru has to concentrate on all his bombs after he set them.

[David75]

I presume that the creators of the GI game are nen monsters. If Gon at his age is one in a million nen user, my take on this is that part of the team... if not all the team comprises the top nen users of the world.
For them, those cards a very easy to create, this is only a game for a pre-teen boy after all.

I wonder what a trully gifted nen user would become at 30, 35 and 40 after 20 to 30 years of training and honing his/her skills. And I guess Ging is probably around 35. Probably at a peak where both his physical abilities are still top notch and his nen mastery gets better and better.

The only problem is that past certain levels, I guess you could consider they are Gods or very near the idea of what a God might be.

[DarthEnderX]

I wonder what a trully gifted nen user would become at 30, 35 and 40 after 20 to 30 years of training and honing his/her skills. If the series goes long enough, presumably we'll find out.

Though at the rate this writer writes, It'll probably take him 150 years to get that far...

[Carnage]

Imagine if Ging used the pregnancy stone to conceive Gon?

[shinta|hikari]

People actually peak in terms of abilities. I think around 30 would be the peak for nen users, since physical ability is also important in their trade, unless of course the person has a specific ability to prevent aging.

[Kraco]

People actually peak in terms of abilities. I think around 30 would be the peak for nen users, since physical ability is also important in their trade, unless of course the person has a specific ability to prevent aging.

I doubt that's true. They might peak around 30 for raw power, but not otherwise. I reckon lots of nen users would spend most of their time training their core abilities and strength until well over 20, before they would become interested in more obscure techniques, theories, and possibilities of expanding their area of expertise outside of their initial type. I reckon many wouldn't even later. However, 30 would be too soon to think they could have gained significant broader knowledge and set of skills, as well as sufficient wisdom to judge correctly their opponents. It might be a bit different for people like Gon and Killua who always seem to have a new instructor materialize out of thin air when they need to expand their power and skills.

[shinta|hikari]

I just think that those talented enough (like the monsters and soon to be monsters in their universe) grow so fast that they exhaust their possibility to develop at an early age. The Spiders don't seem to be older than 40 (most are much younger it seems), and they no longer seem to train to get stronger. I think if they could not learn it in a few years, they will probably never learn it (or learn it enough to be useful in real battles) because it is outside of their expertise.

Maybe it is indeed different for normal nen users, who will probably spend years just to learn what more talented ones will learn in a few days.

Experience for judging the enemy will still grow with age though, so I get that point.

[Kraco]

Actually if we think it statistically, you might be correct indeed. If a person with potential only concentrates on getting stronger at his core abilities, which, I now think is probably the case for most in fact, then 30 might be it. Most of Spiders, or Bomber for example, didn't really show any awesome spectrum of skills. They were really good at the basics and then their specialty, but that is. So, they would peak when their strength is the strongest, which probably is around 30. In the end that's all they will ever need to be kings among normal humans, so there's probably little drive to go through the trouble of expanding their horizons. It's hard to say about Gon and Killua since they are still kids, but I got the feeling they would have neglected even lots of essentials without Biscuit.

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah, Nen is like a spiritual energy/martial artsy thing. Those NEVER don't keep going up with age.

That's why all the most powerful mystical martial artists are either ancient masters, or shounen characters with inexplicable talent.

[TwisT]

You all realize that the strongest nen-user (as far as we know) is probably the oldest nen-user. Even though he hasn't shown much most come to the conclusion that Netero is probably one of the strongest out there (if not the strongest). Definitely top 5. Another strong geezer is of course Zeno. Zeno held his own against Chrollo. And when Zeno used En to flush out Chrollo it was mentioned in the old anime that a nen master could create a 50 feet nen field while Zeno could use a 300 feet nen field without any problems. If i remember correctly this was never stated in this version. So even though they may be aging body wise, their nen don't seem to diminish.

[Kraco]

Yeah, but those guys are clearly exceptions. Would a "normal" dude, like Bomber for example, especially if he hadn't lost to kids, ever be motivated to study and train his whole life, challenging totally new things instead of using what he has to gain whatever he wants (money, influence, job, etc)? That's like assuming in our world most people would have, say a couple of master's degrees and a doctorate or two, instead of just studying their time normally and then getting a job requiring that particular knowledge. I guess most nen users might gradually expand their expertise a bit, but they might also actually grow weaker objectively because their experience would allow them to do stuff with much less effort than beginners need to put in everything.

[shinta|hikari]

Netero and Zeno might have been stronger (or just as strong) in their youth.

And Chrollo is young yet matched Zeno, so age doesn't really mean strength.

Also, when I said peaked, that does not necessarily mean that they will get weaker with age (although most probably will due to normal human deterioration). What I wanted to emphasize was that they don't get stronger at that point. It is quite possible for someone to maintain their peak for a long time.

[DarthEnderX]

Also, when I said peaked, that does not necessarily mean that they will get weaker with age (although most probably will due to normal human deterioration). What I wanted to emphasize was that they don't get stronger at that point. It is quite possible for someone to maintain their peak for a long time.I think it depends what you're doing.

HxH is shounen rules. Which means the more you fight, the stronger you get. The only way characters will ever peak is if they get complacent. As long as they continue to seek new challenges and new obstacles to overcome, they will never stop getting stronger, no matter how old they get.

[Carnage]

New episode is out, I dont know if my body is ready for this arc.

[DarthEnderX]

Hmmm....I just remembered the part with Kite from the old anime. I guess they cut it out of this one.

Didn't...didn't Gon totally know Kite from that time? That's how I remember it. But they're playing it off like they barely know each other here.


Anyway, the new intro does not give me confidence that we're going to be seeing any Kurapica or Leorio any time soon...

[MFauli]

Incredible! Totally feels like back when Dragon Ball Z was finally shown on German television, after years of reruns of Dragon Ball (small Goku).
One of the best anime seasons, I have to say, with both the best of shounen AND Shingeki no Kyojin.




Didn't...didn't Gon totally know Kite from that time? That's how I remember it. But they're playing it off like they barely know each other here.


dito

[DarthEnderX]

I guess they're just changing their relationship to cover the fact that this anime has never even mentioned the character before.

I kinda wish they'd have just shown that flashback now instead.


Incredible! Totally feels like back when Dragon Ball Z was finally shown on German television, after years of reruns of Dragon Ball (small Goku).Are you sure that's not just because the bugs and the other guy in the intro look a hell of a lot like Cell's various forms? :p

[MFauli]

Are you sure that's not just because the bugs and the other guy in the intro look a hell of a lot like Cell's various forms? :p

That helped greatly, sure :D

This will be so great, damn. I read some of the Chimera-arc as manga, but stopped after a few chapters, since anime >>> manga.

[Buffalobiian]

Hmmm....I just remembered the part with Kite from the old anime. I guess they cut it out of this one.

Didn't...didn't Gon totally know Kite from that time? That's how I remember it. But they're playing it off like they barely know each other here.


Anyway, the new intro does not give me confidence that we're going to be seeing any Kurapica or Leorio any time soon...

That's how I remembered it too, so I was pretty damn surprised and confused when Gon didn't go "Kite-san!"

It was Kite in the old series that really inspired Gon to become a hunter and find Gin, from memory. The other surprising thing was the ant. I always knew queens were the boss in ant-world, but I never actually associated a female voice with their faces.

[Kraco]

I always knew queens were the boss in ant-world, but I never actually associated a female voice with their faces.

Haha. I felt sorry for the voice actor...

But I guess these ants have more than a regular insect's nervous system. It's actually so big that it needs lungs to get enough oxygen, so I suppose it could speak as well.

[DarthEnderX]

Also, what's with Ging and his little pubescence stache?

[Carnage]

Yeah I have no idea why they cut out the first episode in this series. Kaito is the reason Gon took the Hunter Exam in the first place.

[DarthEnderX]

I mean, I can see why they did it. For pacing. But they should have just put it in NOW as a flashback, instead of completely rewriting the character's relationship.

[Carnage]

I mean, I can see why they did it. For pacing. But they should have just put it in NOW as a flashback, instead of completely rewriting the character's relationship.

I think they should have included it in the first episode, and simply sped up the pacing for the first 4 episodes to fit it in. Its a different feeling to see Kite again rather than for the first time.

[DarthEnderX]

I think they should have included it in the first episode, and simply sped up the pacing for the first 4 episodes to fit it in. Its a different feeling to see Kite again rather than for the first time.*shrug* I don't have a problem with it if it doesn't effect the storyline. But rewriting their relationship almost certainly does that.

I also might not care if I thought he wasn't going to be around again, but the intro gives the impression that he's going to be a primary character in this arc.

[Archangel]

The intro gives too many impressions, i suggest anime only viewers don't watch it too attentively.

[DarthEnderX]

Well I can't UNwatch it now can I.

[Buffalobiian]

The intro gives too many impressions, i suggest anime only viewers don't watch it too attentively.

Dude, that's like saying "In case you were wondering, the OP spoils." >_>

[Carnage]

For anime viewers only its fairly impossible to put anything together, so I wouldn't worry about it at all.

[Archangel]

For anime viewers only its fairly impossible to put anything together, so I wouldn't worry about it at all.
As an anime only viewer allow me to call you out on this bulshit. I put way too much together off that opening.

[Carnage]

Fine. Correction, anything important. Its no more giving than the last opening, if not less so. Trust me you'll never know whats going to happen in this arc, it's batshit crazy.

[DarthEnderX]

There's an army of ant people. And that guy that looks like Cell is probably their king. And Gon, Killua and Kite are going to have to do stuff, probably fight the ants. And then suddenly, beast people show up! Then the Chairman looks concerned after hearing about it.

Arc summary complete!

*dusts off hands*

[Kraco]

Since they were called chimera ants, I almost expected Killua to be in deep shit when he was bitten. Because it visited my mind that getting bitten, or contaminated, by the ant would turn a human into some sort of human-ant hybrid. But I guess it wasn't the case, after all, since Kite didn't think much of it.

[Carnage]

There's an army of ant people. And that guy that looks like Cell is probably their king. And Gon, Killua and Kite are going to have to do stuff, probably fight the ants. And then suddenly, beast people show up! Then the Chairman looks concerned after hearing about it.

Arc summary complete!

*dusts off hands*

Even knowing rough elements of the plot won't prepare you for the particulars. It would be like predicting the Phantom Troupe arc by knowing what the members look like and that Gon/Killua/Leorio/Kurrapica are involved.

[David75]

Since they were called chimera ants, I almost expected Killua to be in deep shit when he was bitten. Because it visited my mind that getting bitten, or contaminated, by the ant would turn a human into some sort of human-ant hybrid. But I guess it wasn't the case, after all, since Kite didn't think much of it.

Maybe the point is that something that seems as powerless as an ant was able to catch Killua offguard.
You could always say that he was concentrated on other matters, still I do not remember him making such a blunder that much.

[shinta|hikari]

That makes perfect sense. A kid that can sense enemies hundreds of meters away and can create clones of himself just by moving getting bitten by an ant... Super ant ftw.

[MFauli]

Well, it IS a super ant :P

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 77 is out!

[DarthEnderX]

Okay, it's pretty easy to see how these ants can become a serious threat in a hurry.

Eat a Hunter, boom, next generation of ants all has Nen powers.


Anyway...phagogenesis...isn't that the thing that Gormet cells do in Toriko?

[Kraco]

Okay, it's pretty easy to see how these ants can become a serious threat in a hurry.

Eat a Hunter, boom, next generation of ants all has Nen powers.

Considering the squad leader could talk right after birth, without having been taught by anyone (since the queen was surprised he could), I guess it wouldn't be a stretch. But otherwise it would, since genes only give a potential, after all. No human is born a nen master. They all must discover and develop it. But at the very least they won't be eating any nen masters any time soon. They would need generations of gradually better nen users to get to the point of being a threat to people of high calibre.

But, man, quite a plot element to first introduce those kids with such warmth and strength, and then the next moment they will be eaten. That's good, impactful writing.

[MFauli]

And just like that, HXH went full-on Gantz-style. Wtf. I filly expected someone to jump between the monster and the kids. And not only were the kids killed, they even showed the boy getting hit by the attack. To make it extra clear, we also saw his clothing after he had been eaten by the queen. wow.

One thing I don´t understand is either why Kaito bears such fear of these chimera ants, or why the chimera ants are posing a threat NOW and not whatever amount of years ago. The former can be explained by what we saw in this episode: They´re super-quickly evolving and kill people. Good. But why now? Hope they clear that up.

And god, if I don´t love that all the chimera monsters look like they´re from Dragon Ball. The queen is basically a mix between Cell and Piccolo. So good.

Oh, what I also wondered: Is the queen the defacto appearance of a proper, 100% chimera ant, or did she eat humans before? Since clearly she´s very humanoid. From her sensation after having eaten the kids, I guess not. Still ...


PS: Btw. anyone know a good picture from the chimera arc that I could use for my future smartphone case? Google is flooded with manga images that I cant really use. Need some color. http://www.case-custom.com/custom-google-nexus-4-case.html?for-item=8023 :>

[Kraco]

Oh, what I also wondered: Is the queen the defacto appearance of a proper, 100% chimera ant, or did she eat humans before? Since clearly she´s very humanoid. From her sensation after having eaten the kids, I guess not. Still ...

The effects of the eaten species only appear in the offspring. Looking at the queen, one could surmise its own mother, the previous queen, had eaten a human. Or perhaps already two or more generations ago because the leap from an insect to a thinking and talking humanoid is quite a big one. So, whether this particular queen had or hadn't eaten humans before wouldn't affect in the slightest its own countenance or mental capability (provided it had enough food in general to develop fully, which it did).

The next queen ought to be quite interesting, though. I have a feeling we might see it before Kite, Gon & Co lay waste to the whole colony.

[Harima Kenji]

Something tells me that Kite's team will all be eaten.. no nen powers and looking for the queen? Recipe for disaster.
In the preview we see 2 'old' Hunter candidates... food for the queen or something more substantial...
I love it that I have no idea what's going to happen.
The fact that Kite's voice is the same as Char Aznable makes it even more awesome!

[enkoujin]

Anyone else bothered by the fact that these Chimera Ants haven't been exterminated by this point in the story instead of being placed on high-level quarantine? When you have a type of species that have this phagogenesis capability and aggressive behaviour towards people, why wasn't there been further action planned against them considering their potential to produce offspring with human genes?

[DarthEnderX]

But at the very least they won't be eating any nen masters any time soon. They would need generations of gradually better nen users to get to the point of being a threat to people of high calibre.That really depends on whether she can choose to pass on the genes of one thing she ate into an entire batch of ants, or just one.

If she can make 10 Nen users for every 1 she eats, it probably wouldn't take them years to work their way up the chain. They can just overwhelm stronger Nen users with superior numbers.


Oh, what I also wondered: Is the queen the defacto appearance of a proper, 100% chimera ant, or did she eat humans before? Since clearly she´s very humanoid. From her sensation after having eaten the kids, I guess not. Still ...She might never have eaten a human before, but probably the queen that spawned HER did.


One thing I don´t understand is either why Kaito bears such fear of these chimera ants, or why the chimera ants are posing a threat NOW and not whatever amount of years ago. The former can be explained by what we saw in this episode: They´re super-quickly evolving and kill people. Good. But why now? Hope they clear that up.Well, they WERE under quarantine. So maybe they'd just never eaten a human before the Queen's mother.

And before they ate a human, there were probably just dumb bugs.


Anyone else bothered by the fact that these Chimera Ants haven't been exterminated by this point in the story instead of being placed on high-level quarantine? When you have a type of species that have this phagogenesis capability and aggressive behaviour towards people, why wasn't there been further action planned against them considering their potential to produce offspring with human genes?I get the distinct impression that only Hunters know much about these things, and the Hunter organization strikes me as one that's probably expressly against genocide of any kind.

[MFauli]

I´m starting to wonder if the whole Hunter-organization has some deeper connection to the Chimera-monsters. Like, they´re undeniably a global threat. And if there was a previous queen that ate human beings, chances are it was nen-users that defeated that previous queen. Considering their strength, only an experienced nen-user would stand a chance against these monsters. Who knows, seeing him in the opening, maybe Netero was the one who defeated the previous Chimera-queen/king?

Since the Chimera could appear anywhere on earth, having hunters everywhere "hunting" stuff would come in pretty handy.

Well, that´s maybe all pure fanfiction on my part, but I like the thought :)

[DarthEnderX]

I´m starting to wonder if the whole Hunter-organization has some deeper connection to the Chimera-monsters. Like, they´re undeniably a global threat. And if there was a previous queen that ate human beings, chances are it was nen-users that defeated that previous queen.How do you know queens don't just die when they give birth to the next queen? That's a thing some insects do.


Considering their strength, only an experienced nen-user would stand a chance against these monsters.Um...what strength? The only thing we've seen one do so far is kill a couple kids.

[Uchiha Barles]

One of them looks like a blatan cross between Cell and Vegeta. I wouldn't think lightly of their yet undisplayed strength.

[DarthEnderX]

One of them looks like a blatan cross between Cell and Vegeta. I wouldn't think lightly of their yet undisplayed strength.I would be surprised if this one is any threat to a pro hunter. If he'd been hatched by eating someone awesome, I might think that. But he got his power from a couple little kids.

[shinta|hikari]

Even in its tiny default ant form, one managed to bite Killua, who easily wiped out the last batch of hunter examinees, and defeated a relatively strong hunter in Greed Island. If size is any indication of increase in power, they would be quite formidable.

[Buffalobiian]

Does the queen have to eat the entire organism for her to take proper traits from it, or is one bite all she needs?

If she needs to have a good serving (1+ organism?), the ants were probably too small to really give the queen enough food. Remember that the queen can't move around, so the little tiny ants had to carry the bits of food to her. If the entire species was tiny, then there could have been minimal harm.

If they were some species that was isolated to one island with the only other food being fish/random rodents/insects, then their harm would have been localised. It would have also delayed their discovery.

I just hate these all-assimilating beings though. They scare the hell out of me because they're clearly superior in terms of survival. They also just generally don't give a fuck in general.

[DarthEnderX]

Remember that the queen can't move aroundShe seems to be able to walk around just fine.

I think she just hangs out in the cave to protect herself.


I just hate these all-assimilating beings though.I love it. It's one of my favorite Superpowers. Although...consumption is not my favorite method of manifesting it...

[Buffalobiian]

She seems to be able to walk around just fine.

I think she just hangs out in the cave to protect herself.

I love it. It's one of my favorite Superpowers. Although...consumption is not my favorite method of manifesting it...

She can walk, but she can't go hunting. You know.. general pregnancy issues. I'll agree with you and amend it to "the queen won't move around".

It's okay to have to brain that lets you learn new abilities, but anything that learns from from absorbing/devouring/destroying the original being upsets me.

[shinta|hikari]

Why? It makes the most sense out of the possible methods.

[Kraco]

She seems to be able to walk around just fine.

I think she just hangs out in the cave to protect herself.

The queen needs to stay there for three things: Protect itself, lay eggs, and last but not at all least to simply be there when the offspring hatch. Considering insects living in colonies, if the queen is not present with its pheromones, the hatchlings might start to behave in a detrimental manner.

[Buffalobiian]

Why? It makes the most sense out of the possible methods.


They scare the hell out of me because they're clearly superior in terms of survival. They also just generally don't give a fuck in general.

The idea that something out there is driven by survival instinct to steal my genes and make a super-me freaks me out.

[DarthEnderX]

Why? It makes the most sense out of the possible methods.Yeah, but in any series where characters have unique superpowers it means the only way to give this character new powers is to kill off other characters.

For exampe, Sylar from Heroes. The only way for him to become a more powerful and threatening villain, is to have him killing off your favorite characters.

[Buffalobiian]

Yeah, but in any series where characters have unique superpowers it means the only way to give this character new powers is to kill off other characters.

For exampe, Sylar from Heroes. The only way for him to become a more powerful and threatening villain, is to have him killing off your favorite characters.

Eating the target does kill them. You're both agreeing that killing to take powers = way it should be done. :confused:

[DarthEnderX]

Well, in a lot of series characters like this don't always assimilate powers through consumption.

Per the Heroes example earlier, Peter DOESN'T kill people to obtain their powers. As he's an Empathic Mimic (http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Empathic_Mimicry) as opposed to Digestive Assimilation (http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Digestive_Assimilation).

[MFauli]

Heroes sucked, I don´t knoiw why anyone would use it to prove anything.

[DarthEnderX]

Heroes sucked, I don´t knoiw why anyone would use it to prove anything.Well, A. Season 1 of Heroes was awesome. And B. Prove what? We weren't having an argument. We were talking about powers we like and I was using it as an example.

[MFauli]

You´re right, season 1 was great, and season 2 had potential. Either way, I don´t like characters that can copy other characters´ abilities. However, the chimera ants are different from that imo. The queen cant copy abilities for herself. She can only outfit her children with it. And probably at random, too, unless she has control over her dna.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 78 is out!!

[DarthEnderX]

Okay, that devolved from bug people into full blown furries in a real hurry...

Anyway, the Queen is already making the King and she still hasn't eaten any Hunters. Not sure how much of a threat these guys are logically suppose to post to our protagonists.

I mean, at best it's just all the mental capabilities of a human with all the best physical qualities of animals.

That's cool and all, but it's not going to do much to a kid who can punch holes in mountains.


Also, Worst. Amish. Ever.

[MFauli]

Scorpion girl is mine. For now. Until catgirl from the opening appears :>

Anyway, I have trouble writing about this episode, since literally every single scene was good, fun, interesting.

Maybe what I love most at the moment is how "random" the plot has become. And I mean that as praise. Giant bugs suddenly appearing and killing people, Gon going there. That´s 100% unrelated to both his search for his father and his personal growth. Oh sure, Gon will develop further during this new adventure, but it´s not like the Yorkshin-arc, where, even though the Spiders weren´t his top priority, it was all part of introducing nen powers. The Chimera-arc, as it is right now, is really just that: An adventure. And I love that.

You know, the only reason why HXH hasn´t turned into a full-blown Gantz-style anime is because of the less gruesome presentation. Seriously, that first village that got attacked ... just grabbing people, piercing holes through their bodies, and then throwing them on a pile, only for some bug queen to be eaten. That is super gruesome and cruel. It´s also such a mood shit. These aren´t enemies with a political purpose. They want to eat you and that´s all. No room for debates. At all.

Lastly, let me say that the chimera-monsters remind me a lot of Tengen Toppa´s beastmen. Am I right that the chimera-arc was released before Tengen Toppa? If so: Another anime that copied from HXH :D

[Buffalobiian]

Anyway, I have trouble writing about this episode, since literally every single scene was good, fun, interesting.

Really? I got pretty bored. Hopefully we'll get Gon and Killua doing something next episode, because I can only watch so much "We'll sit over here and think about bugs, while bugs kill this island and make themselves at home".

Character designs have something to do with it as well, I think. I'm not super-fond of these random chimeras.

[MFauli]

Well, you have to start looking at the Chimeras as characters. They´re as much characters as Gon for now.

[Buffalobiian]

By random, I'm talking about their appearance. Sure, randomness is apt for high-production offspring - but still random.

[David75]

By random, I'm talking about their appearance. Sure, randomness is apt for high-production offspring - but still random.

As random as what the Queen eats. And she tries anything she gets.
I was just a little put off by the fact every chimera now speaks and even has a fairly high intellect... at least Turtle and Pinguin.
That's extremely fast considering the first talking chimera was our little brother and sister chimera and their mother did not die from exhaustion yet. So we're talking about 2 weeks? 5 weeks? Way too fast to my liking.
But I guess this is part of that arc setting, so that chimeras can adapt very quickly to first fire arms and army, then nen users... with the Ponzu group giving nice genes and powers, etc.

[MFauli]

with the Ponzu group giving nice genes and powers, etc.

Hey, they´re not dead, yet, asshole :(

Ponzu <3

[Buffalobiian]

I don't think anyone other than the King should have nen powers. The Royal Guards should be the last group of soldiers before the King comes, and they're already in development outside of the queen. Assuming the island didn't have any Nen users already, the only chimera ant that can still vary its power is the King.

[DarthEnderX]

Maybe what I love most at the moment is how "random" the plot has become. And I mean that as praise. Giant bugs suddenly appearing and killing people, Gon going there. That´s 100% unrelated to both his search for his father and his personal growth.I beginning to think the author has set it up so that he can do literally any story type he wants and not have to create a new manga for it.

I mean, Christ, the last arc was a goddamn card battle anime. Which should have NOTHING to do with the original premise set forth by the series.


That's extremely fast considering the first talking chimera was our little brother and sister chimera and their mother did not die from exhaustion yet. So we're talking about 2 weeks? 5 weeks? Way too fast to my liking.But you didn't have a problem with the one from last week that could talk from birth?

There is no developmental process here. The new ones are probably exactly as smart as some of the people the Queen ate. That's how it works. There's no gradual buildup. If she can get something in her mouth, her offspring can be just as good immediately.


with the Ponzu group giving nice genes and powers, etc.Considering Ponzu hasn't managed to pass the Hunter exam yet, I find it unlikely that Ponzu even has Nen powers yet.

Bow kid probably does though since he's apparently a Hunter now.

[David75]

I said Ponzu group as that's the only name I remember and I do not think she'd die even if she's supposed to be the weakest from the group... because she knows about social insects, they can protect her and she manages poisons well.
I meant the other ones, probably the 2 other heads I think we've seen for the first time.
For the boyish character we've already seen? I don't care about him.

My guess is that from that group, the 2 no names might have some nen and would be a great upgrade for the colony.

MFauli, just be careful ok ?

[Kraco]

The queen must be a pretty mighty nen user already. Otherwise the offspring wouldn't be born with so high skills. What other power but nen could explain how well she mixes genetic traits and also pumps the intelligence and wisdom of the victims into her children?

Personally I wish the ants all looked more like insects, like the queen, only with secondary traits from the other creatures the queen eats, but I guess this approach makes more sense with the skill and attribute sets they possess. Still, considering they are so intelligent, it should be impossible to remain so loyal. Even the fact the crocodile ant was so keen on competing with others suggests he would rather see himself on top. First on top of the other squad captains, then on top of the whole colony!

[Buffalobiian]

What other power but nen could explain how well she mixes genetic traits and also pumps the intelligence and wisdom of the victims into her children?

The genetic power of chimera ants?

They've been able to do that from the beginning, that's what we're led to believe.

[Kraco]

The genetic power of chimera ants?

They've been able to do that from the beginning, that's what we're led to believe.

True, but in the HxH universe nen isn't, per se, any magical ability. It's inherent to the world and the raw potential a person has is dictated by their genes. There's no particular reason why beasts wouldn't possess it. In the end the basics are incredibly simple and don't require high intelligence and consciousness (or Gon would never learn anything). The advanced techniques, yes, but if we are talking about beasts, it would be highly specialized techniques. There are many monsters in the HxH universe (not talking about Gon), and their existence and ability to survive and operate could be explained by nen.

[MFauli]

Well, there´s one more thing to consider: Is Nen really the only way to become (superhumanly) strong? After all, the Nen we know is more of a way for measy human beings trying to expand their might through unusual means. What if the Chimera-monsters possess some natural strength´s somewhat a counter power to Nen? Like, say, Rock Lee vs. Sasuke, Taijutsu vs. Ninjutsu. :> And then imagine the future King to combine both :D

[DarthEnderX]

I'm with Buffalobiian. I don't see any evidence that the Chimera Ant's phagogenesis is any kind of Nen ability.



True, but in the HxH universe nen isn't, per se, any magical ability. It's inherent to the world and the raw potential a person has is dictated by their genes.This is a completely semantic argument. Especially since there are settings where actual "Magic" is itself inherent to the world and the raw potential a person has for Magic is dictated by their genes.

Nen is just another generic "chi" trope. Whether you consider that stuff to be "natural" or "magical" is a pretty pointless distinction to try and make.

[Kraco]

And some human supremacy thinking isn't completely pointless? Humans are far from the best in everything but logical and certain emotional brain power in this world. And since Gon can use nen splendidly, we know with 100% certainty it doesn't depend on one's intelligence.

The difference between magic and nen (chi) that I was referring to is that magic often requires different sorts of rituals, mumbling arcane spells, drawing magic circles, using ingredients, staves, whatever. Chi, however, doesn't require anything of that sort (at least not for everybody in HxH. Some have certainly had spell like details). Some nen users we have seen are sort of living in perfect harmony with their special kind of nen (like some of the shadow beasts, for example).

[DarthEnderX]

I'm saying, it's irrelevant, since they not only obtain genetic traits, but clearly they also obtain learned abilities.

If they hatch from their eggs with complete human language skills, then they can hatch from the egg with fully trained Nen abilities if the queen manages to eat anyone that is actually trained.

[Kraco]

That's also irrelevant, because we know Gon & Gang is going to beat the whole bunch before this arc is over (unless this arc is really going to surprise me). So, what does it matter if they get nen abilities or not if they are going to get beaten by the main characters anyway? In fact, everything happening in this series is irrelevant because Gon is going to meet his old man before the end to conclude the story.

Right, DE?

[DarthEnderX]

So, what does it matter if they get nen abilities or not if they are going to get beaten by the main characters anyway?Because whether or not the ants have Nen abilities or not is probably going to determine whether them getting beaten but the main characters is going to be interesting to watch or not?


In fact, everything happening in this series is irrelevant because Gon is going to meet his old man before the end to conclude the story.Ah, I see what you're doing now. You're trying to suggest that because I suggested you were saying something pointless that if it is, then everything must be pointless.

You were trying to differentiate between Nen and Magic in a shounen series. Which is irrelevant because everything is magic and nothing is. You're trying to give a term a definition that it doesn't have by trying to define "Magic" in overly narrow terminology. That's pointless. There are series that actually call their supernatual abilities "Magic" and follow NONE of the "requirements" you assign to differentiating Magic from Chi-like abilities.

The things that happen in a series are not pointless. And you trying to equate the series entire plot with the same importance your weird theory is dumb.

[Kraco]

Then I suggest you review your high school biology books if you think there's nothing strange about how this phagogenesis works. It's even stranger than Lamarck's theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics. Yet you need to do nothing but add nen to the equation, and you have a perfectly working system. I can't fathom why you wouldn't even consider it.

That was my whole point. I see nothing wrong with beasts using magical abilities (such as nen), but I can't see them using ritualistic magic. After all, folklore and fantasy are packed full of magical beasts.

[DarthEnderX]

Then I suggest you review your high school biology books if you think there's nothing strange about how this phagogenesis works.Is it really any stranger than tigers with unicorn horns that cook their food over a campfire?

I think the main problem with your theory is that so far, everyone we've seen has had different Nen abilities. Even people who are directly related.

While phagogenesis is a power that works exactly the same in all Chimera Ants. If it was really a Nen-based ability, I don't see why it would be so specific, and also so identical in all Chimera Ant queens.

[David75]

At this point, I guess we do not really care. What we need is a good story with exciting moments and nice pace. If chimera ants get nen and this fullfills the requirements I just named, then it'll be great :D

[Kraco]

I think the main problem with your theory is that so far, everyone we've seen has had different Nen abilities. Even people who are directly related.

While phagogenesis is a power that works exactly the same in all Chimera Ants. If it was really a Nen-based ability, I don't see why it would be so specific, and also so identical in all Chimera Ant queens.

On the contrary, I think it only strengthens my theory. The ants have little intelligence to speak of initially, I reckon. So, they basically have no choice or option how to develop their abilities. They only have instincts to eat stronger and bigger prey to make their offspring inherit better characteristics - to hunt even more varied prey. In fact the queen is still exactly like that, despite having wits. It's not like tiny ants could choose to develop special nen techniques like humans do. An insect only has what its genes grant it. And we know genes play a big part in nen.

[DarthEnderX]

It's not like tiny ants could choose to develop special nen techniques like humans do.But if Phagogenesis is a Nen ability it would be the most specialized Nen technique ever. It'd either be Specialist as fuck, or the most insane Conjurer ability ever.

Given their simplemindedness, if Chimera Ants had Nen they'd probably all be Enhancers. And the ones that weren't STILL wouldn't all have the EXACT same ability.

[Kraco]

But if Phagogenesis is a Nen ability it would be the most specialized Nen technique ever. It'd either be Specialist as fuck, or the most insane Conjurer ability ever.

We have even seen a specialized genius nen ability of predicting the future... If that's not specialist as fuck, I don't know what is, because it's a divine ability. But anyway, why not? This phagogenesis is actually very specific and streamlined ability, even if the results are outrageous, as we have seen. Something like that would suit brainless insects much better than summoning a vacuum cleaner or something else as outlandish.


Given their simplemindedness, if Chimera Ants had Nen they'd probably all be Enhancers. And the ones that weren't STILL wouldn't all have the EXACT same ability.

The flying offspring actually are technically either enhancers (because such a big thing would need lots of extra power fly with such small wings) or manipulators (to alter gravity to fly). But I feel like it's useless to go down this path...

[MFauli]

And I feel like your debate is taking place way too early. We simply haven´t seen enough to guess either way.

Personally, I like to think that the chimera ants either achieve their strength by natural development, putting the fancy nen-powers in their place, OR they´re natural nen-gatherers, absorbing nen through their cells and using the fantastical ability that is phagogenesis without even realizing what they´re doing. But that´s all baseless speculation.

[DarthEnderX]

But I feel like it's useless to go down this path...That's what I said 2 days ago. And yet here we are...

[Kraco]

OR they´re natural nen-gatherers, absorbing nen through their cells and using the fantastical ability that is phagogenesis without even realizing what they´re doing. But that´s all baseless speculation.

That's basically what I've been meaning. Although naturally the queen at this point already realises what it's doing, since its intelligence is equal to a human of some level. But since we are talking about eating and breeding, consciousness isn't required.


That's what I said 2 days ago. And yet here we are...

Well, it's not like there would have been too much other stuff to talk about at this point, before the new episode. Certainly not the culinary sense of these ant beasts...

[DarthEnderX]

Although naturally the queen at this point already realises what it's doing, since its intelligence is equal to a human of some level. But since we are talking about eating and breeding, consciousness isn't required.Which isn't saying much because the vast majority of humans don't even know what Nen is. Even those that are using it without realizing it.

[Carnage]

Episode 79 is out. I suppose no filler was too much to hope for, there wasn't nearly this much focus on the drug dealers.

[MFauli]

That Koala bear was annoying. At first he seemed like some kind of more sophisticated, intelligent chimera monster, but as time went on, he just randomly killed everybody he met, spouting his nonsense "no hope". whatever.

What the fuck is wrong with the bee hunter girl not knowing to fight at all?! That´s just bullshit. Running from the monsters, then tripping to the ground and screaming in fear. Pathetic. But I fear the bow hunter guy will die, too, when they meet one of the stronger chimeras :(

Also, something I actually noticed last week: Why are they chimera leaders wearing clothing ? Lol, sure, so we dont see Zazan´s bare titties, but does it make sense on a more reasonable level? One explanation, of course, would be their human DNA parts. However, with how much the chimera despise human beings, you´d think they wouldnt touch human clothing from a thousand miles.

[Buffalobiian]

It helps to show their level of civilised thinking and individuality.

Welcome to NGL
*sees desert*

^ that got a chuckle out of me.

[DarthEnderX]

Man, Ponzu got hot.


Also, something I actually noticed last week: Why are they chimera leaders wearing clothing ?I know right? Where are they even getting them?

I know that Koala didn't get that suit from anywhere in this country!

For that brief second there when he was holding that Uzi, that Koala was the coolest looking thing ever...

[Buffalobiian]

For that brief second there when he was holding that Uzi, that Koala was the coolest looking thing ever...

Nah, that goes to Killua riding horses like a boss.

[David75]

I liked Killua's clothing and attitude too.

My guess is that Chimera ants are showing human traits in everything from strong personalities, to clothing and the ability to fight/kill their own kind. Some of them also begin to act for their own interest, and for the moment it's the fun of hunting and killing and do not care about their mission that is to feed the Queen.

I wonder if fighting among themselves would really be detrimental in the long run provided they do not annihilate themselves.

[Kraco]

Man, Ponzu got hot.

Yeah, I hope she won't die. She's too cute to die in the hands of some ant monster.


I know right? Where are they even getting them?

I know that Koala didn't get that suit from anywhere in this country!

The suit might have come from some drug trafficker or a smuggler. It's not like the border control and official propaganda would be the whole truth in a country that big. Goods would be certain to be smuggled in and people certain to enter unofficially. The no technology stance would also make it next to impossible to really control contraband and illegal entry. Even if a citizen saw something suspicious, what would they do? They can't make a phone call with no phones, and with the lack of modern technology they need to toil from morning till evening to eke out a living, so they can't afford to make a timely trip to report to anybody. So, any smugglers would have a free reign as long as they didn't draw too much attention. Not to mention the drug gang is probably sanctioned by the government.

[Archangel]

Yeah, I hope she won't die. She's too cute to die in the hands of some ant monster.

I'm gonna go ahead and call she IS gonna die, along with an healthy portion of this arcs characters. Fuck, i wouldn't be surprised if Killua got offed as well.

[Kraco]

I'm gonna go ahead and call she IS gonna die, along with an healthy portion of this arcs characters. Fuck, i wouldn't be surprised if Killua got offed as well.

I'm 50-50 divided thinking she will or won't die. But Killua dying... Haha. The manga would have lost too many fans to justify an anime remake if that had happened.

[DarthEnderX]

Eh, I'm sure she'll be fine. Pokkle seems like a fairly competent Nen user now. He'll keep her alive at least long enough for them to meet up with Gon.

Now those other two guys on his team that don't even have names? Yeah, they're doomed.


I wonder if fighting among themselves would really be detrimental in the long run provided they do not annihilate themselves.What it does is it leave the possibility open for Gon to befriend some of them and have them make Heel Face Turns.

They're basically just beastfolk already, so it wouldn't surprise me of Gon could convince a couple that killing people is wrong.


The no technology stance would also make it next to impossible to really control contraband and illegal entry.That's not really an issue since we know the "no technology" thing is just propaganda, and the people actually running the country have no problem with guns or anything else.

[antiravage]

Episode felt slow to me. Since the new arc started, madhouse slowed down the pacing. The latest episodes only covered like 1 chapter each.


Eh, I'm sure she'll be fine. Pokkle seems like a fairly competent Nen user now.


Those arrows seem fairly weak. True that we don't know how strong the ants with human genes are, but they'll certainly be stronger than the ants Pokkle seemed to have problems with in this episode. I mean, they had to run from them.

[Buffalobiian]

Those arrows seem fairly weak. True that we don't know how strong the ants with human genes are, but they'll certainly be stronger than the ants Pokkle seemed to have problems with in this episode. I mean, they had to run from them.

I was hoping she could control them to a degree after she showed us her powers last episode, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[DarthEnderX]

Those arrows seem fairly weak.Given that his Nen ability is called Rainbow, and the attack he used was called Red Arrow, I'm willing to bet he's got a total of 7 different colored Arrow attacks. Some are probably stronger than the one he used.


I was hoping she could control them to a degree after she showed us her powers last episode, but that doesn't seem to be the case.I was thinking the same thing. That if she can control the bees, she could control the ants a bit.

And it's possible she still can, and she just hasn't bothered to try it yet.

[Kraco]

I was thinking the same thing. That if she can control the bees, she could control the ants a bit.

And it's possible she still can, and she just hasn't bothered to try it yet.

I imagine it wouldn't be very easy. As I had hoped before, we have already seen the more intelligent ants are starting to do as they please. Even these three stooges, quite insectoid still, already appeared unsatisfied and ready to switch to another squad. So, it seems imminent the hierarchy and society in general inside this ant colony can't be anymore based on everybody mindlessly serving the queen's needs. However, this also means any outsider shouldn't have much more luck controlling them than controlling any random human organization would take - with the exception these guys consider humans a food source and you don't usually obey your next dinner.

[DarthEnderX]

Makes sense.

[Archangel]

Episode is out.

[Buffalobiian]

Chimera ants were engineered to be world-enders huh? Well that explains everything.

Ponzu also got killed by the most unlikable of the intelligent ants and applied a bad taste to the act of hunting in the process.

[DarthEnderX]

Ugh...what a depressing episode.

Now they're going to eat Pokkle and gain Nen.


Chimera ants were engineered to be world-enders huh? Well that explains everything.What's this? Did I miss this part?

[Buffalobiian]

Ugh...what a depressing episode.

Now they're going to eat Pokkle and gain Nen.

What's this? Did I miss this part?

Gyro's backstory told us that he was out to destroy the world. Appearance of world-destroying ants that were given the chance to do so by growing in a backward, powerless country? Coincidence? I don't think so.

Gyro's men might have been resisting, but the man himself wasn't in a rush to leave

[MFauli]

Wow, the only reason why HXH doesn´t feel quite as depressing as Shingeki no Kyojin is the shounen-esque artstyle and the more placative music. Basically, the lack of subtlety. Other than that, HXH is MORE gruesome than Shingeki. Just wow. Piling up dead bodies, gathering living prey, killing and eating that girl. Just wow.
Fuck, I don´t want Pokkle to die. Come on, the way he evaded the spider´s netstring-attack was the first time he showed somewhat fighting skills. Remember, he became a hunter only because Hisoka was uninterested in fighting him. And now he´ll be eaten. No. :( But unavoidable, I guess, since for plot-reasons they need a nen-user´s genes.

While I can see how someone could get tired of all these episodes basically just showing humans being eaten, I feel like the producers are doing a damn great job in world building here. Ffs, the last moments when Kaito, Gon and Killua finally started to activate hunter-mode, it felt like "omg, Son Goku and Son Gohan finished their training in god´s palace, now they´ll fight Cell!". Pure awesomeness.

Only weird thing: Why is Gon angry? We´ve had debates about Gon being seemingly without feelings towards murder before. Shouldn´t this be all natural to him?

Also, about the first half of the episode: First, I thought Gyro was the guy that Gon fought in the tower arena. The one with the spinning.
But anyway, since they spent so much time on this unknown guy, also stating that he became king of the NGL, it´s fairly safe to assume that Gyro´s personality will heavily influence the future mentality of the Chimera-King.

[Buffalobiian]

Only weird thing: Why is Gon angry? We´ve had debates about Gon being seemingly without feelings towards murder before. Shouldn´t this be all natural to him?

Gon was pretty pissed off and challenged Bomber when they obtained Patch of the Shore. I'm pretty sure he gets angry when people are killed, but he just doesn't go around dealing judgement on them.

[Kraco]

Oh, no, Ponzu! This show has few enough cute girls as it is, and now one of them got eaten by a gun-loving ant. Gon and Killua better start wiping out the ants by the next episode. They have had their way long enough as it is.

Somebody should also sent in a fleet of bombers dropping canisters of pyrethrin.

[MFauli]

Oh, no, Ponzu! This show has few enough cute girls as it is, and now one of them got eaten by a gun-loving ant.


hey, we´re getting a bunch of hot furry girls instead. Well, at least scorpion girl and cat girl a hot. Not so much the rest, lol.

[Splash!]

Now they're going to eat Pokkle and gain Nen.


They already seem to be using nen at some level, although they dont seem to quite understand the specifics yet. The spider dude could see the arrows and observe the flow of aura around pokkle, something that should only be possible using Gyo. He was also able to grab the arrows bare handed. Their abilities seem much more developed than 'raw potential'. Even one in hundred million talents like Gon and Killua couldn't actually see nen until Wing taught them the basics.

But having Pokkle give them a better understanding of their own powers will indeed make them much stronger.

[MFauli]

As I (and others) assumed, it seems that the chimera monsters are natural nen-users, independent of any food source. So as I guessed before, I think Phagogenesis is their inherent nen-ability.

[Splash!]

So as I guessed before, I think Phagogenesis is their inherent nen-ability.

That's still not a conclusion I would come to. The spider guy and the earlier autopsy both confirmed that the grunts (which seem to be less human than the higher ranked ones) couldn't see Pokkle's arrows. I would expect having human dominant traits would be a minimum requirement to allow the spider guy to be able to see nen.

Phagogenesis is an innate ability of chimera ant queens, human genes or not. I don't see why it has to be anything more than a biological process for them. Either ways, it doesn't matter too much.

[DarthEnderX]

But having Pokkle give them a better understanding of their own powers will indeed make them much stronger.I'm betting at the very least they'll need Pokkle in order to learn unique abilities.


As I (and others) assumed, it seems that the chimera monsters are natural nen-users, independent of any food source.I think it's just that they're like people that way. Some people have more natural talent with Nen than others. And the Ants that happen to be made from those people will have inherited that talent.


Also on note is that this episode they revealed that the Ants don't just remember vague knowledge. They retain some actual memories from the people they came from, as Colt showed when he remembered his sisters name.


It also seems pretty clear to me at this point that the queen can't just eat something, and then pass that ability on to ALL of it's offspring. Every specific creature she eats can get loaded into one specific offspring. She can put a lot of creatures into one offspring, but she can't take one victim and spread their abilities out over multiple offspring.

Which means every ant with human intelligence requires a specific human sacrifice. Which hopefully means that every Ant they want to give advanced Nen abilities requires a specific Nen user to be eaten.

It's either that, or once they eat Pokkle and learn exactly HOW Nen works, they can just teach any other Nen-talented ant how to use it.

[Buffalobiian]

The king looks a bit like Pokkle, so I'm going to say he's the most advanced Nen user of the bunch. I don't think teaching is going to happen, but the guards and monsters will be pretty strong anyway when they combine their physical capabilities with nen potential.

As for the one-off genetics, it's hard to say. If we use that current logic, that means that the queen would have continues to eat crabs, turtles, scorpions and cheetahs along with humans. My impression was that ever since she acquired a taste form humans, she's been eating them exclusively.

Thinking about it, there isn't very much "ant" left in them anymore. The funny thing too is that the queen tries to birth a king instead of future queens. So what happens to the next generation?

[enkoujin]

Thinking about it, there isn't very much "ant" left in them anymore. The funny thing too is that the queen tries to birth a king instead of future queens. So what happens to the next generation?

Going by the Hunter x Hunter Wiki (Spoiler Website) (http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Chimera_Ants), the Queen gives birth to the King, which in turn leaves the hive to impregnate another different organism to produce the next Queen.

[Buffalobiian]

Going by the Hunter x Hunter Wiki (Spoiler Website) (http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Chimera_Ants), the Queen gives birth to the King, which in turn leaves the hive to impregnate another different organism to produce the next Queen.


Hahahaha.. oh god, that's great..
(only read until I got what I needed)

[Harima Kenji]

Was it me, or did this episode feel like 2 minutes.
The whole Gyro backstory felt a bit dragged out to me.. just mentioning a messed up childhood would've been enough. Maybe it will become useful information later...

[Archangel]

Why the hell is this in a children's anime time slot? Shit's brutal yo!

I wonder how Gon and Killua will fare against the chimera ants. The arrows guy never gave me the impression of being that strong but he lost to almost scrub tier bugs, that spider guy wasn't even a squad leader.

[DarthEnderX]

I don't expect any of our main characters are going to have any real difficulty with anything less than the royal guards. I don't think it's coincidence we have 3 royal guards and 3 main protagonists here.

[Kraco]

Based on everything we have seen, it would make no sense they would have troubles with random lower tier ants, as those ants have hardly shown any extraordinary prowess so far. I could perhaps see the captains already posing a threat, maybe pushing Gon and Killua to finish polishing some techniques that could then really shine against the royal guards. However, the lieutenants could show us some jolly scenes of an ant acting all arrogant and confident, but then getting one-shot defeated.

[Buffalobiian]

the MCs must rely on their Nen abilities since the bugs have them beat in the physical department. Gyo bugs will pose some problems until the Hunters use something involved like lightning. Royal guards will be a problem, so I don't even know how the King would come in. Maybe Hunter Association pops in at the end with some killer moves or something, since I doubt we'll see Gin.

[DarthEnderX]

Gyo bugs will pose some problems until the Hunters use something involved like lightning.Why? It's not like having Gyo has made anyone else difficult for Gon and Killua to defeat.

All Gyo is going to do is let them see how glowy Gon's fist is right before he puts it through them.

[Buffalobiian]

Why?

Because the bugs are physically superior.

By "involved", I mean actually trying. So like 85% strength and upwards.

Royal guards would take 100%, if not more (pressured improvement - aka penguin's "Human's capacity to learn").

[enkoujin]

81 is out!

[Archangel]

Holy shit, a 2 on 1 with a foot soldier and they had that much trouble with it? They better hope backup is coming...

[Buffalobiian]

Why? It's not like having Gyo has made anyone else difficult for Gon and Killua to defeat.

All Gyo is going to do is let them see how glowy Gon's fist is right before he puts it through them.

Haha, and even then I underestimated, though I suppose Rammot was like, 2nd-command of a squad under Colt like the spider is under Zazan (hot damn Zazan), so that's not too bad an effort. (comment also directed @Ark)

[DarthEnderX]

Ugh. I am severely disappointed in their performance...

That said, Killua has gone from electrified Yo-yos to just straight up throwing lightning bolts since the last time he fought anyone.

I swear Togashi has ADHD or something...

[Archangel]

Ugh. I am severely disappointed in their performance...

That said, Killua has gone from electrified Yo-yos to just straight up throwing lightning bolts since the last time he fought anyone.

I swear Togashi has ADHD or something...
He couldn't use his hands last time.

[Buffalobiian]

Ugh. I am severely disappointed in their performance...

That said, Killua has gone from electrified Yo-yos to just straight up throwing lightning bolts since the last time he fought anyone.

I swear Togashi has ADHD or something...

No, Killua used Electric Palm last time, then just beat the shit out of the guy with his yoyo (non-electric).

This time, he tried a lightning bolt. The range has increased, but the effect is probably slightly lengthened (based on what we saw, there's no way for us to scale the power between Bomber jnr #2 and this Ant).

[MFauli]

I´m dying from pure awesomeness in this episode. Fantastic, gorgeous, great!

I expected the winged rabbit-chimera to be cannon fodder to our heroes. Completely wrong. Goddamn! This guy even gave me the chills, when he shouted, screamed at them while his leader flew him to safety. Kind of reminiscent of Uborgin. These guys are strong, and now we know just how strong they are. And even then ... Kaito was super cool.

The preview seems to indicate that Gon and Killua will take out some of the higher Chimeras, however. Well, they have to start somewhere.

Want to see Pokkle, and also know if the queen already ate the NGL leader.

Anyway, judging from this episode, I guess there´s a reason why we see Netero in the opening, haha.

[Kraco]

My initial feeling is that I expected more from Gon & Killua or conversely less from the ants. But then again, looking at it more analytically, this must have been a lieutenant class ant and I reckon we saw its full power already. We didn't see Gon and Killue fight at 100%, though. They just didn't feel the pressure or weren't fired up enough at this point. However, the ant dude was already defeated and would have died if not saved by Captain Dutiful. Based on this my earlier prediction wasn't entirely correct as the captains could already be a major obstacle for Gon & Killua, not only the royal guards.

The ant society is falling apart nicely internally, in any case. That much was to be expected when the ants started to show so human characteristics. Maybe that's the reason why the whole world isn't dominated by that species, apart from starving to death after having consumed all food, since they seem to be incapable of anything beyond aggressive hunting & gathering.

[Archangel]

Here's the thing Kraco; this was a 2 on 1 vs a lieutenant who's below a captain who's below a royal guard who's below the king.

Ergo, the King is gonna shit on them really fucking hard.

[Kraco]

I don't honestly see Gon & Killua having any business fighting the king. Fighting 2vs1 with a captain I could see them winning, with the correct win or die trying attitude. However, I deem to face a royal guard they would first need to go through some shounen training gaining lots of new power. I'd prefer the king to be defeated by someone else as it it would feel cheap if Gon and Killua could pull it off based on what we saw in this episode. In the end those two are still brats and it was only a very little time ago that they discovered nen. Gon is still a far cry from Uvogin. So, they don't need to be able to save the world just yet.

[Carnage]

Considering how much progress they've made in just 1 arc since learning to use they're powers, Gon doesn't seem THAT far from Uvogin.

[MFauli]

gon and killua were granted a shit ton of peaceful training time, though. Kaito won´t have the time (and skill?) to train them. So there´s really no logical jump in power to be expected. Other than some bullshitty "My will is giving me the strength to defeat you!!1".

[Kraco]

Considering how much progress they've made in just 1 arc since learning to use they're powers, Gon doesn't seem THAT far from Uvogin.

Are you serious? Rewatch Uvogin's fight with the shadow beasts and the mafia mob to remind yourself. This ant warrior would have broken its arm trying to hit Uvogin, and then died. I'm sure down the road Gon will catch and surpass Uvogin's level, but he's got ways to go. However, it's true that temporally he might not be so far because his progress is obviously highly accelerated.

[Archangel]

Considering how much progress they've made in just 1 arc since learning to use they're powers, Gon doesn't seem THAT far from Uvogin.
All of my wat. Gon's punch couldn't kill that man rabbit thing, Uvogin's punch destroyed a everything within 100~ meters.

[Carnage]

I should have been more clear. The distance between Gon and Uvogin is wide. But considering the rate at which he's learning, the time to close that distance shouldnt be as long as one would imagine for normal hunters/nen users. In just one arc Gon went from no Nen powers to a canon punch.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 82's out!













--------------------------------












Sooo awesome. I never get tired of seeing Killua go into assassin badass mode. I suppose the training he lacked while he healed his hands does put him behind Gon overall, alongside the inherent difficulty of transmutation - but he doesn't need it. I do enjoy that better, since it puts variety into the show so it's not an entire Nen-showoff. I suppose snake-arms and dracula-claws are transformations in their own right though.

The others were also good to watch. Gon's growth is always cool and Kite was slick, but Killua's CQC prowess, sharp mind/attitude along with his kung-fu-inspired outfit does it for me.

(edit: just realised Gon has the same pants/shoes, but a sleeveless shirt instead - which probably puts him closer to traditional chinese clothing than Killua's turtleneck.)

It was also hilariously apparent that the simulation wouldn't be correct as soon as centipede started.

I really have to wonder if Rammot got his Nen powers by absorbing/learning from the fight, or whether the injury simply pushed his rage to the max and released his innate potential. Gon and Killua will undoubtedly have to learn during combat, but the former would mean that there's no clear advantage since the Ants would also learn from you more and more.

[Splash!]

I really have to wonder if Rammot got his Nen powers by absorbing/learning from the fight, or whether the injury simply pushed his rage to the max and released his innate potential. Gon and Killua will undoubtedly have to learn during combat, but the former would mean that there's no clear advantage since the Ants would also learn from you more and more.

Maybe Gon's attack caused the forced awakening of Rammot's nen powers, kind of like how Wing awakened Killua and Gon's nen. Although it was kind of a delayed reaction.

[MFauli]

BEST. SHOUNEN. EVER.

How freaking awesome is that shit that´s going on here?! In just one episode, we get three battles, new powers for known characters and a crazy nen-awakening for the Chimera-ants! And now one of the commanders is on the hunt for our three heroes.

Absolutely loved the animation during all three fights. Gon´s sword is cool, infinitely better than his uncreative punch. Didn´t see it coming. I actually expected him to use a punch, but unlike the spider guy´s prediction, it´d be so strong that not only his left arms, but his complete body would splatter to violett blood.
Killua went assassin again, after what felt like an eternity. Very cool.
And Kaito is just so elegant while fighting. Yet, while his moves kinda looked playful, they didn´t give off the feeling of taking the opponent lightly. It was a matter of perfect effeciency. Fantastic.

An I´m repeating myself here, but hot damn, this "shounen" does not hesitate to show gruesome violence: question for the experts: Is HXH seinen at this point? Both for actual violence as well as gruesome themes (abusing two humans as dogs)?

Man, I love this show so much. And now I´m on to Shingeki no Kyojin. Best day of the week :>


Edit: About the nen awakening: As I´ve said before, I´m now sure that Chimera Ants, at least the higher ups, are natural nen users. It´s just now that Rammot has wittnessed nen in action, that combined with his near death-experience and rage gave him a better understanding of his own capabilities. And by obversing him, the other Chimera Ants will experience the same.

[David75]

What I understand is that CA have phagogenesis from their Queen, which redistributes potential powers from their prey.
So each CA is born with a set of cards they have to understand/discover for some.

Nen is an advanced power every human possesses (Was it stated earlier in the show?), so those evolved CAs having human genes just needed to know that there's that power hidden inside them... and now they can progress as individuals.

[Kraco]

These ants should start to show some weaknesses (in addition to their greedy scumbag personalities). They are getting too good and gifted at everything. Of course they could have a lifespan of a single years (except for the queen), who knows, so that would easily solve it, even if it made no difference for this arc, I guess.

Gon showing an adapted technique was jolly indeed. Killua's assassin quirks are always welcome, even though in this case highly expectable. I guess Gon will grow a thicker skin during this arc, as he will need to kill and crush several talking, humanoid opponents before its all over. I don't expect Kite or Killua to finish off every single opponent he only crippled.

[Buffalobiian]

Gon showing an adapted technique was jolly indeed. Killua's assassin quirks are always welcome, even though in this case highly expectable. I guess Gon will grow a thicker skin during this arc, as he will need to kill and crush several talking, humanoid opponents before its all over. I don't expect Kite or Killua to finish off every single opponent he only crippled.

On that note, I should say that Killua made a mistake in his fight, just as Gon did. He was immune to poison, but the fact remains that he got hit. Had that hit been one designed to pierce his spine instead of just injecting poison, he'd be gone. He was saved by his conditioned body in the same lucky way that Gon was saved by Kite. Had the centipede bitten Gon (who just happened to be immune to poison), the outcome would have been the same.

[Kraco]

That's true. Though it's quite natural for Killua to make that mistake. In fact I wouldn't have been surprised if he had made the same mistake that Gon made. After all, the Zoldycks are assassins, that is, killers of humans. Killua is far better at fighting humans than anyone of his age should be due to his background, but when he lets his instincts and training guide him, it actually makes him weaker against opponents with nonhuman characteristics, especially those as ridiculous as these ant hybrids. I'm sure he would deal with dogs and such very efficiently (since assassins would need to deal with guard dogs), but how would one train himself to fight these things?

[DarthEnderX]

"It's been awhile since I flipped my switch."

So awesome...


I don't know why everyone seemed surprised about Scissors.

Gon explained in the last arc exactly what he intends for Rock, Paper and Scissors to do. As soon as Gon said Rock wasn't working on their tough carapace, I knew he was going to show us Scissors and slice through him.


I do think it's funny that the Ants are apparently going to keep stumbling into them in convenient groups of 3.


Man, I don't even fucking know what's going on with Nen anymore...

[David75]

Rock, scissors, I wonder how paper will be depicted.

[Buffalobiian]

Rock, scissors, I wonder how paper will be depicted.

A blast Galik Gun.

Rock is reinforcement,
Siccors is transmutation,
Paper is a emission.

[Archangel]

Rock, scissors, I wonder how paper will be depicted.

Energy ball would be my guess, something like Razor's.

[antiravage]

"It's been awhile since I flipped my switch."

So awesome...


I don't know why everyone seemed surprised about Scissors.

Gon explained in the last arc exactly what he intends for Rock, Paper and Scissors to do. As soon as Gon said Rock wasn't working on their tough carapace, I knew he was going to show us Scissors and slice through him.


I do think it's funny that the Ants are apparently going to keep stumbling into them in convenient groups of 3.


Man, I don't even fucking know what's going on with Nen anymore...
http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Nen

Quoting the part relevant to this episode:
"A student learning Nen trains to manually open and close their aura nodes so that they can control the flow of their aura. One typically learns this process slowly and gradually through meditation. The second method (colloquially called Initiation or Baptism) is by having one receiving an influx of aura from an experienced user that forces these nodes to open; despite how quickly it works, the method is typically frowned upon due to its danger to the student if the user is inexperienced or has malicious intent. Initiation via physically attacking another with the use of an enhanced aura typically causes permanent disability or death."

The second method was how Rammot was able to awaken to nen.
Normally, a human being that never used nen dies if attacked by nen. Rammot survived because he's not human. The ants are way more durable, and that's how Rammot survived and learned to be a nen user.


Energy ball would be my guess, something like Razor's.

Would never be as strong as Razor's though, because Razor is an emission type, while Gon is an enhancer, which is why Rock will always be his best offense.

[Kraco]

I still think Gon & gang should go get themselves cans of Raid. That would solve a lot of problems easily.

[Carnage]

Even if one is an enhancer, his emitter technique can be stronger than an actual emitter's if his power/nen-level is simply that much higher. Or so I'd assume.

[DarthEnderX]

Energy ball would be my guess, something like Razor's.Aye, it's gonna be a Hadoken.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 83 is out!

-----------------------














Why? Oh, why do you have so much style, Killua? :3

Seems true enough that Kite's power is made circumstantial in order to make it more powerful. (whatever happened to "they can survive without parts of their body" though? :p)

Rammot was less rebellious than I thought. Seems he doesn't harbour killing intent towards Colt like I thought he would have.

[MFauli]

Punching Colt´s head seemed really "mean" though. For plot purposes it didn´t, but normal that should have killed him. I would demanded a punch to the belly.

The Armadillo´s face when talking about how they´re killing for fun was super awesomely creepy. And the line "at this point the others vomitted organs" was super disgusting, too. And wtf, Gon, don´t kill in such nasty ways ... pushing the poor Chimera monster to death, eww.

Shall we assume that tiger-guy was observing them? If so, I wonder what power he has that makes him confident against Kite.

And then there´s Netero. Shit´s about to get real :>

[Kraco]

(whatever happened to "they can survive without parts of their body" though? :p)

Nothing. He told Gon & Killua to be careful because this won't kill the ants immediately and they are walking among the bodies. However, that hardly matters since the ants are in no position to follow or do anything much productive. Even if they lingered alive for a moment, they will die soon enough with they bodies split in two. It's not like they could heal such a wound.


Rammot was less rebellious than I thought. Seems he doesn't harbour killing intent towards Colt like I thought he would have.

I guess he simply doesn't like taking orders or share his prey.

The king would definitely be born within three days, so the Hunters response is a bit late. But then again, if producing one king takes so long, then it wouldn't necessarily matter. The hunters could simply track down the lone king and slay it as well.

[Buffalobiian]

Nothing. He told Gon & Killua to be careful because this won't kill the ants immediately and they are walking among the bodies. However, that hardly matters since the ants are in no position to follow or do anything much productive. Even if they lingered alive for a moment, they will die soon enough with they bodies split in two. It's not like they could heal such a wound.

So why don't they look worried about anybody lurking around, waiting to pounce with a poisoned barb? That's what the last guy tried to do. Kite seemed pretty pleased that he killed everything.



Oh yeah, regarding the King




Going by the Hunter x Hunter Wiki (Spoiler Website), the Queen gives birth to the King, which in turn leaves the hive to impregnate another different organism to produce the next Queen.

Hahahaha.. oh god, that's great..
(only read until I got what I needed)

The king goes around banging other organisms. That's one awesome way to procreate. xD

How for down the life cycle will we get to see? That bubblegum-girl might come back into NGL...

(I only just found out that Enkoujin had the text in white and wasn't simply linking to the site)

[MFauli]

The king goes around banging other organisms. That's one awesome way to procreate. xD

How for down the life cycle will we get to see?

Well, I for one doubt that this anime will turn into a hentai, so not THAT far, lol

[Kraco]

So why don't they look worried about anybody lurking around, waiting to pounce with a poisoned barb? That's what the last guy tried to do. Kite seemed pretty pleased that he killed everything.

As if these guys needed to worry about some half-dead ant as long as they are aware of the danger. Gon was surprised back then because he couldn't imagine the ants could do that.

Kite did kill everyone there. Some of them just like to take their time dying, but in a day the end result is the same.

[Buffalobiian]

Xenomorphs just popped into my mind. I can't believe it hadn't earlier.


Kite did kill everyone there. Some of them just like to take their time dying, but in a day the end result is the same.

If attacked me, but then I died a day after from the trauma.. you hadn't "killed" me until I was dead. "You're already dead" doesn't actually work. :p

If you're saying they're on the lookout, then so be it.

[Kraco]

If attacked me, but then I died a day after from the trauma.. you hadn't "killed" me until I was dead. "You're already dead" doesn't actually work. :p

It works just fine if we consider this a war. They are permanently removed from the enemy's strength, even if they are still technically alive. Kite's team is mainly fighting against time here, seeing as they hope to reach the queen before the king is born. These low-level enemy grunts were nothing but a delay (even the enemy commanders considered them such), and in that sense being dead or dying changes nothing. They weren't really individuals worth noting.

I bet Kite will later regret allowing Rammot to escape, though, not finishing him off immediately when things started to go wrong.

[Buffalobiian]

I bet Kite will later regret allowing Rammot to escape, though, not finishing him off immediately when things started to go wrong.

I wouldn't consider it "allowing", more he couldn't help it. Flying wasn't one of their skills. If you mean "not killing Rammot on sight but used him as training material for Gon/Killua", then I'd be more inclined to agree.

[Kraco]

A man of his calibre should have been able to react fast enough, had he acted as if their life or the mission's success had depended on it. But he has been assuming too much the position of teaching and testing Gon and Killua, even to the point of half forgetting this is hardly the time for such a luxury, with the chimera ants running rampant. But I guess all nen masters are kind of eccentric, so it can't be helped.

[Archangel]

Now that the Captain's have been established as trash tier here's what's gonna happen, one of those Royal Guards is gonna show up, Kite will finally get a good roll and get instagibbed anyway and then Gon and Killua will survive somehow.

They're both gonna need some massive powerup to be even remotely relevant this arc, which sucks because until then it's basically been a very organized process with them finding good trainers and taking advantage of their natural talent. The way things are going i'm afraid it's just gonna be one of those "omg i'm so mad i'm stronger now" moments. Or maybe they'll eat some of the bugs lol :P

[MFauli]

there are established ways to get stronger quickly. see kurapika.

[DarthEnderX]

That final line of the episode is clearly meant to forshadow Gon meeting Colt.


Kite did kill everyone there. Some of them just like to take their time dying, but in a day the end result is the same.Only, as we've seen with Rammot, that's not really the case.

As merely severely injuring Chimera Ants with Nen powers apparently gives him Nen powers.

[Kraco]

Only, as we've seen with Rammot, that's not really the case.

As merely severely injuring Chimera Ants with Nen powers apparently gives him Nen powers.

Rammot wasn't in two pieces. All of these grunts were, and it wasn't just limbs they lost. When your body isn't anymore supported by a full complement of vital internal organs, your life expectancy gets kind of low. Plus these are all warriors, they wouldn't even want to keep living incapable of fighting. Probably the society wouldn't let them live, either.

[enkoujin]

I agree with Kraco in that the ants have a short life expectancy once they become dismembered (if they can't regenerate).

I think that the reason why none of these ants bothered to attack the three after being killed by Kite was because Kite instilled fear into their bodies and stimulated their past human lives of being devoured by the Queen as depicted by the toad guy.

[neflight86]

I'm starting to assume that Kite calls all of his rolls bad spins if the limitation of their usefulness somehow augments his nen as a condition...

[shinta|hikari]

That is probably it. Purposefully creating limitations like having a random weapon that can only do 1 thing and cannot be replaced until used is probably a means of improving the specialized power of each weapon.

[Buffalobiian]

I'm starting to assume that Kite calls all of his rolls bad spins if the limitation of their usefulness somehow augments his nen as a condition...

The machine also said he never rolls a bad roll. Based on that, I reason that it must choose the best nen ability for the task - along with the limitation that would make it "troublesome".

-Shoot raging ant in the head, but you have one second.
-Eliminate all ants in the area, might kill your friends.

Besides being troublesome though, I wonder how it uses up Kite's nen? Is it the summon, or the attack? For example, if Kite was low on reserves, will he be:

-unable to summon the gun?
-unable to maintain the summon of the gun?
-unable to fire the gun?

[shinta|hikari]

I think the roll is random, and that is part of what makes it troublesome. I think that having no bad rolls simply means that all the weapons are good. Kite may just be too picky, or the other unrevealed weapons are simply that much more powerful.

Has there ever been an issue of Nen running out in the show?

[Buffalobiian]

Has there ever been an issue of Nen running out in the show?

Gon passed out before in dodgeball, while Killua says that his lightning drains him very quickly.

[DarthEnderX]

Rammot wasn't in two pieces. All of these grunts were, and it wasn't just limbs they lost. When your body isn't anymore supported by a full complement of vital internal organs, your life expectancy gets kind of low.Except for the animals that that kind of thing isn't an issue for, some of which could be used in the makeup of any of those ants.

Who knows what kind of starfish DNA or whatever could be in them.

[Kraco]

They wouldn't live long enough for starfish DNA to save them. Like I said, it wasn't a limb they lost. Only some really fancy nen technique might help, but none of these grunts obviously have such.

[DarthEnderX]

Honestly, I'm pretty displeased with this new development of Nen for the Chimera ants.

It just feels like the writer is being lazy. We have to perfectly established methods through which the Ants could have obtained Nen, but because neither one is convenient for the story, it feels like he just ass-pulled a new one.


They wouldn't live long enough for starfish DNA to save them.That was just an example. There are other animals in the world, some of which are capable of regrowing entire vital organs.

And that's just the real world. The Hunter X Hunter world is full of fictional animals. Who knows what kind of natural abilities they might have.

[Buffalobiian]

Honestly, I'm pretty displeased with this new development of Nen for the Chimera ants.

It just feels like the writer is being lazy. We have to perfectly established methods through which the Ants could have obtained Nen, but because neither one is convenient for the story, it feels like he just ass-pulled a new one.

This gives the ants time to learn and develop techniques instead of just being nen powerhouses though. Colt is already trying to reproduce the effect on himself while Peggy is about to study Rammot. It'd make more sense for the higher-ups to figure out abilities now and have them teach it to the Royal Guards and King, instead of having the King magically being born a Nen master from the start.

In any case, it feels better than being a "random" event. If none of the Ants had Nen so far, it doesn't seem likely that they'd just "spontaneously" get it at this point - and only the Guards/King are left to be born. Plus, we've had plenty of characterisation so far and it'd be a waste to use them as easy cannon fodder.

[MFauli]

Honestly, I'm pretty displeased with this new development of Nen for the Chimera ants.

It just feels like the writer is being lazy. We have to perfectly established methods through which the Ants could have obtained Nen, but because neither one is convenient for the story, it feels like he just ass-pulled a new one.


And I feel it´s fine, because it´s really just what I´ve been speculating about. The chimera ants are natural nen-users, they just need a catalyst of sorts to change it from a passive to an active ability.

[shinta|hikari]

I think the reason they can use Nen is not because the ants have an affinity towards it, but because they ate humans, who can use Nen if they are trained to do so. As Colt has been saying several times, they can do what humans can do.

[Archangel]

It's pretty simple:

- Their human characteristics allow them to use Nen

- Their Nen was forcefully activated by being attacked by it

[DarthEnderX]

It'd make more sense for the higher-ups to figure out abilities now and have them teach it to the Royal Guards and King, instead of having the King magically being born a Nen master from the start.It DOESN'T make sense though. It doesn't fit with either the the way Nen abilities have been introduced in the past, or with how phagogenesis works.

Having someone who knows Nen teach them how to use it(or be forced to teach them)? That's fine. Have them eat someone who knows it and learn it that way? Also fine.

Developing it spontaneously just from getting hit with it? Feels like a total ass-pull.


- Their Nen was forcefully activated by being attacked by itWhich would be fine if that was a thing that had ever existed in the series before now.

I never said it was complicated. I'm saying it violates the setting as has been established up until this point.

[Archangel]

Which would be fine if that was a thing that had ever existed in the series before now.
... like when Wing did the exact same thing to forcefully activate Gon and Killua's Nen?

[neflight86]

Hmm.... I seem to recall that incredibly talented people could use Nen without realizing it, and that it was a power attainable by anyone if they trained long enough...

The chimera ants, being made of humans (possibly multiple per), having some concentration of nen talent within them doesn't feel too far fetched.

Also, there was some foreshadowing when the captain-class ant could perceive Pokkle's light arrow to catch it. The same thing happened to Kurapika when deciding to dodge that acorn from his soon to be teacher way back when. That (perception) was explained as an affinity for learning to use Nen; the same thing these ants have. Another instance was when Hisoka's aura kept G&K from advancing to register for their fights, yet the red-herring attendant was unaffected as far as we were shown.

As for the trauma unlocking nen, that also appears in line with what Wing did to the two boys at Heaven's arena. He explained that nen could have both evil or non-evil (offensive, really) application; a chance he did not want them to take. As I understand it, the handy-capable trio likely learned/unlocked nen the same way Rammot just did. Three similar cases, but Wing was willing to pull the punch.

I can't really defend the position beyond that, but it is enough to allow me to suspend disbelief.

[DarthEnderX]

... like when Wing did the exact same thing to forcefully activate Gon and Killua's Nen?I...hmm...

Alright, withdrawn.

[Archangel]

I...hmm...

Alright, withdrawn.
Good boy.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 84 is out!!

[Carnage]

I dont know how they air this on Saturday mornings in Japan...

[Buffalobiian]

See how scary these ants are? Not only do they learn things by eating people now, they also learn by delving into your bloody mind. My fear of them stems for their amoral pursuit of being the strongest being possible - it means they'll stop at nothing, and nothing can stop them (if given the correct circumstance).

Being "outclassed" as a species is probably a good way to describe it too.

[MFauli]

This is the most gruesome, cruel anime this season. Sorry, Shingeki no Kyojin, but you´re outclassed in that category ... by a "shounen"-series.

I felt so sorry for Pokkle. What do you do in that situation? Nothing. There´s exactly nothing you can do. You´re these monsters´ helpless prey.

I hate Neferpitou (though I love her appearance, come on, catgirls!). Always hate these situations where previously confident, strong characters fall to their knees because suddenly a 100 times stronger ally appears. Hope, some human puts Neferpitou in her place in an upcoming fight.

[Kraco]

I'm starting to think Kite is pretty arrogant thinking he can take down these enemies only by himself and two kids still very much in the middle of their development. I feel the speed and ease the ants develop with is bullshit, but I guess it was a simple way to make a really horrible enemy out of nowhere. And I still think Kite should have contracted an insecticide manufacturer...

Pokkle really spilled the beans this time.

[Archangel]

That shit was downright disturbing, this is supposed to be a children's show? Holy shit...

Also lol, the preview. Rip in peace.

[DarthEnderX]

Poor Pokkle. They gave us hope that he'd live only to snatch it away from us...

It is however, a much more believable method for them to learn how Nen works.


Anyway, guess you guys were right. The way they described what happened to Rammot is the same as what Wing did to Gon and Killua.

It's weird to imagine that anyone that happens to survive a powerful Nen attack could just end up getting Nen powers though.


Always hate these situations where previously confident, strong characters fall to their knees because suddenly a 100 times stronger ally appears. Hope, some human puts Neferpitou in her place in an upcoming fight.I was expecting her to execute Rammot during that whole scene for daring to think he could be King.


I'm starting to think Kite is pretty arrogant thinking he can take down these enemies only by himself and two kids still very much in the middle of their development.I think he was hoping to get to them and kill the Queen before the Ants developed as far as they have. He certainly didn't expect them to have Nen when he started the mission.

[Kraco]

I think he was hoping to get to them and kill the Queen before the Ants developed as far as they have. He certainly didn't expect them to have Nen when he started the mission.

Indeed. But making favourable assumptions is a sign of arrogance.

I never really expected Pokkle to survive (though I didn't certainly foresee this grotesque scene), not after Ponzu kicked the bucket.

[DarthEnderX]

I don't like that they're bringing back characters I liked from the Hunter exam just to kill them off.

If they do anything to Hanzo then so help me...!

[Splash!]

The pig butchering the humans, quite ironic...

[Carnage]

I think its unfair to expect Kaito to be even more cautious than he already is when even the Ants themselves hadn't conceived of power levels so large.

[Kraco]

I think its unfair to expect Kaito to be even more cautious than he already is when even the Ants themselves hadn't conceived of power levels so large.

It's the opposite. The ants knew nothing, so obviously they didn't even know their own full potential. After all, they have no culture or history of their own whatsoever. Their civilization is from hive insect instincts, the scattered memories of those the queen ate, and from random books. But Kite, being quite a master hunter and nen user, should have taken all possibilities into account. If he didn't, he's no better than the greenhorns Gon & Killua. Though I guess a little better than Pokkle's foolish group since Kite had the wits to send his non-nen buddies away.

[Buffalobiian]

Kite is fighting against time. He has to get there as fast as he could to prevent all this from happening. If anything, this happened because he wasn't fast enough. He took the opportunity to see if Killua and Gon were up for the job by testing them on Rammot - so his only possible mistake would be that he didn't think Rammot could leave alive. Whether the failure to predict Colt being trees can be seen as a failure, I'll leave that up to you. Actually, considering the Neferpitou was born without the influence of Kite.. that ultimately doesn't matter very much.


Anyway, guess you guys were right. The way they described what happened to Rammot is the same as what Wing did to Gon and Killua.

I was testing out headphones with youtube and I happened across the old HxH episode 46 where Gon went home after his exam. In that episode, Gonta's son (Gonta's the bear-thing that grew up with Gon) was injured and the duo poured Nen into it to heal him. Right before the credits, Gonta's son was glowing with nen.

I had forgotten that little bit.

[DarthEnderX]

Why is that quote calling me David?

[Buffalobiian]

Why is that quote calling me David?

Memory was blending in between threads. I blame the D-

[Kraco]

Kite is fighting against time. He has to get there as fast as he could to prevent all this from happening. If anything, this happened because he wasn't fast enough. He took the opportunity to see if Killua and Gon were up for the job by testing them on Rammot - so his only possible mistake would be that he didn't think Rammot could leave alive. Whether the failure to predict Colt being trees can be seen as a failure, I'll leave that up to you. Actually, considering the Neferpitou was born without the influence of Kite.. that ultimately doesn't matter very much.

No, his mistake - if such a mistake appears and he doesn't just annihilate all the ants, royals guards and kings included - was underestimating the chimera ants despite having studied them and calling them extremely dangerous when Gon & Killua appeared in front of him. I mean, like I said before, if you intend to take care of the whole problem all by yourself, with the help of two kids you intend to train in the process, you aren't exactly expecting heavy resistance or major difficulties.

[DarthEnderX]

No, his mistake - if such a mistake appears and he doesn't just annihilate all the ants, royals guards and kings included - was underestimating the chimera ants despite having studied them and calling them extremely dangerous when Gon & Killua appeared in front of him. I mean, like I said before, if you intend to take care of the whole problem all by yourself, with the help of two kids you intend to train in the process, you aren't exactly expecting heavy resistance or major difficulties.Well.... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x1YuvUQFJ0&feature=youtu.be&t=1m54s)

[Carnage]

But he's hoping to get to the nest before the royal guards and the king hatch. Considering a squadron leader (highest rank underneath Royal Guard) just ran away from Kite with his tail in between his legs, Kite so far hasn't underestimated anything.

[Kraco]

But he's hoping to get to the nest before the royal guards and the king hatch. Considering a squadron leader (highest rank underneath Royal Guard) just ran away from Kite with his tail in between his legs, Kite so far hasn't underestimated anything.

They haven't yet fought any nen using ants. Opponents without nen skills, ants or humans, are at a disadvantage against nen users, plain and simple. Yet Rammot could survive Gon's rock shattering nen-punch without dying or even getting permanently wounded, without any nen defenses. This means, of course, that Rammot could have fought againts The Bomber, for example, simply ignoring the little flower. That was pretty tough already, but now he has nen powers to boot.

But like I said, if Kite makes short work of them all, then it's proven he didn't miscalculate. But if he starts to get pushed back, he did severely underestimate the ants' potential and only increases the hazard as there's a danger he could himself (or Gon/Killua) get fed to the queen.

[DarthEnderX]

Yet Rammot could survive Gon's rock shattering nen-punch without dying or even getting permanently wounded, without any nen defenses.They've already shown though that that has less to do with the power of Gon's attack, and more to do with their innate resistance to impacts due to their insect carapaces, because Scissors, which isn't as strong as Rock, cuts through them easily.


But if he starts to get pushed back, he did severely underestimate the ants' potentialAnd again, so what?

To reiterate my earlier point, I'm supposed to hold it against a guy for not being an expert in something that has never happened before?

[MFauli]

I dont see how Rammot would be immune to Bomber´s Little Flower because of Gon´s failed attack. One is a fist punch, the other one a concentrated explosion that has killed EVERY pro hunter that participated in Greed Island and got trapped by Bomber. Little Flower would have killed Rammot.

[Kraco]

To reiterate my earlier point, I'm supposed to hold it against a guy for not being an expert in something that has never happened before?

So, you are more careless and self-confident when facing an unknown threat? How does that work unless you think you are the boss and nothing could possibly threaten you? The fact alone he took two kids with him tells he doesn't really think that much of the chimera ants. It's true he's possibly like Ging in the sense he thinks one learns best through action and experience and facing deadly danger, so he didn't necessarily think there's no risk, but he did think taking the two brats with him wouldn't slow him down or endanger the mission.

[Splash!]

So, you are more careless and self-confident when facing an unknown threat? How does that work unless you think you are the boss and nothing could possibly threaten you? The fact alone he took two kids with him tells he doesn't really think that much of the chimera ants. It's true he's possibly like Ging in the sense he thinks one learns best through action and experience and facing deadly danger, so he didn't necessarily think there's no risk, but he did think taking the two brats with him wouldn't slow him down or endanger the mission.

To be fair to Kite, he did make it a priority to notify the hunter organisation right away. Secondly, Gon, Killua and himself are the only nen users around at the moment. The alternatives would be to either go in alone or sit around doing nothing waiting for the royal guards and king to hatch (neither of which are any better options). He is taking a gamble that he will be able to take out the queen before before she gives birth to the king, which is about the only thing he can hope to do right now.

[DarthEnderX]

Little Flower would have killed Rammot.So would have Scissors.


The fact alone he took two kids with him tells he doesn't really think that much of the chimera ants.Why should he? They've never done anything like this before.

The Royal Guardian doesn't even make sense. She's apparently insanely powerful, far more powerful than anyone the Ants could have eaten in order to create her. There's no logical reason she should be as powerful as she is given what's known about the ants.

And it's going to suck when that becomes a problem for them, but I'm not going to hold Kite responsible for not knowing something there's no way he could POSSIBLY know.

You seem to want us to think less of him as a Hunter because he's underestimating them, but I'm not about to lower my estimation of a character for not being psychic enough to possess information that only the viewers possess at this point.

[Kraco]

And it's going to suck when that becomes a problem for them, but I'm not going to hold Kite responsible for not knowing something there's no way he could POSSIBLY know.

You seem to want us to think less of him as a Hunter because he's underestimating them, but I'm not about to lower my estimation of a character for not being psychic enough to possess information that only the viewers possess at this point.

You know... My whole point is that because he knows less than we, the audience, he should be even more worried. Whether I think less of him as a hunter or not will depend on the outcome (I'm not a fan of the concept of almost accidents and almost mistakes). But I do think he would have moved considerably faster without Gon & Killua. First of all, he could have likely used stealth more (he's not interested in defeating every single grunt out there). He set out without waiting for other pro hunters because he wanted to prevent the king from being born and thus making matters simpler, despite the fact it's a big risk to challenge a whole colony on his own - the fact if he's defeated further complicating the situation because his body would be quite a feast for the queen. However, despite taking this big risk for a worthy goal, he instead compromises by having Gon & Killua tag along. That's the facet of arrogance and underestimation I'm trying to point out. In short, he feels he has leeway when dealing with the ants, despite not knowing much.

I can't explain my stance any better than this. If it's still not enough, I give up.

[MFauli]

I wonder who´s stronger, Neferpitou or Uborgin. Pitou´s entrance and her overwhelming power kinda reminded me of him. :>

[shinta|hikari]

Nef is cuter so she wins.

[DarthEnderX]

I can't explain my stance any better than this. If it's still not enough, I give up.There's nothing to explain. Your stance is quite clear. Even though it's a situation that he knows, for a fact, becomes exponentially worse the longer you wait to deal with it, you think the wisest decision for him would be to wait around and do nothing until backup arrives.

I understand your stance, and I think it's wrong.

That they become stronger the more time you give them to operate is an inevitability. Him being killed and used to create a stronger ant isn't. And in fact becomes MORE likely the longer he waits to deal with the situation.

[shinta|hikari]

I think Kraco is saying that Kite should have left Gon and Killua and rushed to the colony and kill the queen as quickly as possible.

[DarthEnderX]

I think Kraco is saying that Kite should have left Gon and Killua and rushed to the colony and kill the queen as quickly as possible.

Looks like he's saying he shouldn't have gone at all to me:
He set out without waiting for other pro hunters because he wanted to prevent the king from being born and thus making matters simpler, despite the fact it's a big risk to challenge a whole colony on his own - the fact if he's defeated further complicating the situation because his body would be quite a feast for the queen.

[shinta|hikari]

Read the two sentences right before that quote from Kraco.

I think Kraco is saying that if Kite wanted to rush, he should have left Gon and Killua. If he wanted to be careful, he should have waited for other pro hunters. He did neither. He decided to take 2 kids with him despite the time pressure.

I am not agreeing with Kraco. I am just clarifying his point as I understand it.

Kraco, please point it out if I misunderstood you.

[Kraco]

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant, Shinta. It's a huge risk to go alone, especially with the little knowledge anybody has of chimera ants. Yet it would also be a huge risk to allow the king to be born, creating a situation where the ant colonies could spread rapidly. Yet despite this a rock and a hard place situation Kite thought he has enough margin to take Gon & Killua with him, to teach them along the way. So, he's only 50% concentrating on getting to the ant colony on time, the remaining 50% spent on looking after the kids, advicing them, and granting them time to fight random ants. That's underestimating something he doesn't even fully understand, plain and simple.

Now, of course I understand that this is a shounen show and it would have been ridiculous to leave the main characters behind, so that was unavoidable. I certainly prefer this to the alternative of Kite telling the two to stay out of NGL, those two sneaking after Kite nonetheless, getting into trouble, Kite saving them and having no choice but to allow them to continue with him. In any case Kite himself seems to be noticing of late he has neglected to take something into account.

[Buffalobiian]

Technically Kite shouldn't be looking out for the kids because they're only supposed to come along if they're good enough. The Rammot test was for this purpose.. In practice though.. yeah, we had to get individual fights or it'd be no fun.

[neflight86]

it would have been ridiculous to leave the main characters behind, so that was unavoidable. I certainly prefer this to the alternative of Kite telling the two to stay out of NGL, those two sneaking after Kite nonetheless, getting into trouble, Kite saving them and having no choice but to allow them to continue with him.

Or even worse, them saving Kite in the nick of time, Naruto style... One thing I super enjoy about HxH is that it is not afraid to rub into our faces just how 'big the world is' and how outclassed Gon and Killua are as of now. At least, thats the feeling I get from it.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 85 is out!!



----------------------------------













Which of you said Kite was going to die? I want to wring your neck so badly...

(Also, don't wiki Kite. I thought I'd read just a little, and the 2nd sentence told me something I shouldn't have known.)


At least Bisuke's in the next ep though!! :3

[Penner]

Jesus christ, shit just got super real!

God damn this show is crazy awesome.

[Kraco]

Hmm... I wouldn't still bet everything on Kite being dead. The opponent is a day old ant, so Kite might have pulled off some kind of replica stunt in order to escape and buy time to recuperate, and the enemy would be none the wiser. The royal guard might have huge potential and raw strength, but it's still stupid due to lack of knowledge and experience.

I wonder where Netero dug up those arrogant bastards... But since he did, their power must be genuinely high and not bluff and bravado.

Edit: It looks like Killua agrees with me on the three of them underestimating the ants and being too arrogant for their own good.

[MFauli]

damn, fucking damnitydamn!

This show is so incredibly unpredictable, not following any typical shounen-formula. So fun to watch. Or not. Kite :( This episode felt like some netorare anime, but instead of your loved one getting fucked by another, he was killed :/

The two guys accompanying Netero seemed had a somewhat arrogant attitude, but I have no doubt that they´re genuinely strong. Super strong. Strong enough for the Royal Guard? No idea. But that buff guy was right about what he said: Once you let yourself be overwhelmed by the opponent, you already lost the fight. Though, the guy has no idea about the chimera ants, so that´s where Killua´s call was right, too. The difference in power would have cost Gon his life (and consequently all three of them). It really was a combination of "being overwhelmed" AND "too fucking strong", so it isn´t a clear matter of wrong or right choice.

By the way I knew Kite was going to die, had that spoiled long time ago, but I didn´t know how. Damn. What made it all the more effective was how the anime just kept showing to us how Killua traveled all the way back, night turning to day, then reaching the country border, exhaustedly. True desperation, well knowing that he left a friend behind, certain to die. And then, just before the gruesome death is revealed, we have one of those adorable "EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT, IM SURE OF IT! *smile*"-moments of Gon´s. Ugh. Should they ever find out about Kite´s death, and I´m sure they will, Gon will be absolutely devastated.

And now the big elephant in the room:
HOW - THE - FUCK - ARE- GON - AND - KILLUA - SUPPOSED - TO - GET - THAT - MUCH - STRONGER? In a reasonable amount of time so they can continue to be part of this story.
My first idea was "develop some special techniques", but winning against the Royal Guard requires such a rise in just raw fighting power that I don´t think any "trick" will be enough. That is something I thought when I saw Netero´s two followers: These guys aren´t "bullshit outta-nowhere stronger than anyone else"-characters. Those two are guys like Gon and Killua, just, say, 10 years older. They are what you get when you keep honing and developing a talent like that of our two protagonists.
And that´s why I´m left wondering how those two shall catch up in a short amount of time. There is no room for side important side adventures, like there was during the YorkShin-arc, where Kurapika was doing all the fighting, and Gon and Killua did sneaky jobs. It´s all about live-or-die battles in this arc. And it´d be boring if our heroes were just fighting the below-royal guard chimera ants, wouldn´t it.

Man .... maaaan ... this anime.

Highlight of the season, no contest.

Edit: By writing "I spoiled myself Kite´s death" I mean that I knew about what would happen in this episode. If Kraco´s speculation about Kite not really being dead is true ... well, I wouldn´t know that. I just saw that particular scene in the manga and assumed that Pitou holding Kite´s head in her lap was a death confirmation. So, no spoilers happened.

[David75]

Netero and the 2 other guys against 3 royal guards.
Then the king remains.

But that would be too easy for that show.

[Buffalobiian]

And now the big elephant in the room:
HOW - THE - FUCK - ARE- GON - AND - KILLUA - SUPPOSED - TO - GET - THAT - MUCH - STRONGER? In a reasonable amount of time so they can continue to be part of this story.
My first idea was "develop some special techniques", but winning against the Royal Guard requires such a rise in just raw fighting power that I don´t think any "trick" will be enough. That is something I thought when I saw Netero´s two followers: These guys aren´t "bullshit outta-nowhere stronger than anyone else"-characters. Those two are guys like Gon and Killua, just, say, 10 years older. They are what you get when you keep honing and developing a talent like that of our two protagonists.
And that´s why I´m left wondering how those two shall catch up in a short amount of time. There is no room for side important side adventures, like there was during the YorkShin-arc, where Kurapika was doing all the fighting, and Gon and Killua did sneaky jobs. It´s all about live-or-die battles in this arc. And it´d be boring if our heroes were just fighting the below-royal guard chimera ants, wouldn´t it.

Time Machine/2nd Container-esque training, I would think. Something that would buff up basic stats somehow.

[MFauli]

Is there any known hunter/nen-user that´s stronger than Netero?

[Buffalobiian]

Is there any known hunter/nen-user that´s stronger than Netero?

I don't know. I don't even know how strong Netero is. I just assume he's strong because he's chairman.

[David75]

Ging probably is several orders of magnitude stronger than anything on earth.
Hard to tell for other characters.

[Carnage]

Only previous reference to power levels has been Biscuit mentioning that Netero once told her that Ging is one of the top 3 nen users in the world. Im pretty sure you wont find anything else if you go back through the series.

[shinta|hikari]

Time for Netero to kick some ass. It's too bad Nef has to die. I like her practical yet bad ass character, and she does not look anything like an ant or freak. Female chimera ants apparently look pretty human, while males look like gnats of some sort.