Hunter x Hunter never followed any morals as such. Yoshihiro Togashi always did what was best for his magnum opus, and he felt that including a moral code with the protagonist would make it like any other Shonen Jump series. Hunter x Hunter follows the journey of a young boy named Gon Freecs, who sets out on a journey to become a hunter and find his father, Ging Freecs.
Gon’s journey took several turns as he made new friends as well as enemies. Yoshihiro Togashi never doubted his protagonist and their decision to change Gon proved to be a massive step for the anime’s popularity. Even popular names like Naruto and One Piece were left behind by Hunter x Hunter after the latter discarded the concept of ‘right proper lad.’
Yoshihiro Togashi Wanted His Protagonist To Be Different
While Naruto and Monkey D. Luffy were teenagers when their stories began, Gon Freecs was only twelve years old when he set out to find his father. Gon did not follow any moral code and did whatever he felt was right. His fight with Neferpitou was one such instance where he was consumed by rage and simply could not think straight. Yoshihiro Togashi’s confirmation about Gon being a ‘crazy kid’ proves that he did it for his readers.
During an interview, Togashi sensei said,
“If I had made my protagonist a ‘right proper lad’ and drawn a battle manga with it, it would have raised complications when he had to duke it out. That per se would have made for a fun story to write, but I thought that wasn’t where I wanted to go with this story. I did not want to alienate my readers who would read for the fights. Thanks to making a ‘crazy kid’ like Gon the protagonist, I was able to write battles without having to depict moral conflicts within the character.”
Not only Gon, but all the characters lacked moral compassion, and this was where Togashi proved his master class. Gon was always focused on his goals, and no moral compass could ever change his course. As a result, he gave us some wild fight sequences. Unlike Luffy and Naruto, he never tried to force his ideals onto others and his first and foremost way was to have a Nen battle.
Hunter x Hunter Will Always Remain An Underrated Gem
Hunter x Hunter has one of the best plots in anime history. It falls under the Shonen Jump category, but the Chimera Ant arc gave the fans Seinen vibes. Fans were eagerly waiting for the Dark Continent arc. Unfortunately, that might never happen since the mangaka suffers from severe back pain and has taken regular extended leaves in recent months.
Interesting characters like Beyond Netero, Ging Freecs, Chrollo Lucilfer, Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou, etc., were supposed to make the Dark Continent arc more interesting. Apart from that, the Dark Continent had mysterious creatures, which would have brought back the Seinen vibes. Even these characters also do not have any moral compass, and would do anything to fulfill their motives.
Ging Freecs was so fond of traveling the world and being a hunter, that he left his infant son at his sister’s place. So, Yoshihiro Togashi never traversed the path of moral compassion and the power of friendship. It was more related to real-world ideals. Of course, It would have been great to experience more of his magic, instead of the four endings that he provided beforehand.
