Hunter x Hunter (2011) Episode 135 Discussion

MrAM said:
Profound.

That’s the word that most repeatedly echoed in my mind throughout this episode. There were other words too: beautiful, spectacular, heart-wrenching, tragic, genius. I don’t think can do this episode justice, or the Chimera Ant arc as a whole, but I’ll try anyways. This arc deserves it.

First things first; I cried. Not outright sobbing, as that almost never happens to me, but I had tears rolling down my face and a had a genuinely difficult time keeping my composure. I thought I was prepared for what was coming, but the actual event had a far greater impact on me that I had anticipated. The King dying I was prepared for, but Komugi too? It was almost too much to handle. I think it’s incredible that Togashi and Madhouse were able to make me feel so deeply for these two characters despite the fact that one of them was introduced right before the invasion and the other was born a maniacal, apathetic killer. It’s writing at its finest, and a testament to Togashi’s genius, which this episode had plenty of.
Palm’s scene with Meruem in the beginning was incredible. It had quite the emotional wallop, despite being part of the build-up to the actual climax of the episode. Palm’s denial of what she knew had somehow become true, and her realization of just how human the Ants had become, echoes that of Knuckle’s, Killua’s, Netero’s, and etc. What makes the scene so fascinating was that it was a Chimera Ant this time, not a human. Palm is part Ant; a feeling of kinship to the King is literally built into her, which is why his kneeling before her horrified her so much. The duality of the Chimera Ants that was so prominent throughout this arc s alluded to here: Palm’s human side can’t comprehend Meruem’s compassionate and humble actions, trying to convince itself that it’s all a lie. Palm’s Ant side is horrified by the King’s humility, by the fact that her mighty King would humiliate himself by kneeling before her. Her conflicting feelings are so strong they move her to tears. It was a magnificent moment for both of them.

The small bit with the reaction of the remainder of the world to the havoc of the Invasion was fanastic. I certainly wasn’t expecting, but I’m glad Togashi included it as it put the whole situation into perspective and underlined the sheer tragedy of the whole situation. The Invasion was the embodiment of chaos, with millions of lives at stake. It was full of huge moments that either transformed or ended people’s lives forever. Yet, in the greater scheme of things, it was just another strange incident in a world full of them. No one besides those who were present will ever know the full extent of what happened in that one night: the evolution, and destruction, of an entire species. The world moves on, the dirty Hunter organization politics continued, and in a society so preoccupied with the chaotic, random nature of life, Netero’s will is almost forgotten.

I was a bit confused the first time I watched the rather odd (but poignant) scene with the real Diego, rocking silently on his porch with his dog. The purpose of showing us this isn’t immediately clear, nor is what is being said, but I think I understood it better on second viewing.

“In every age, there will be good humans and bad humans. Human life is too long to devote to reproduction, yet too short to devote to learning, in the helix of time. Perhaps that is why humans succumb to desire and seek release. Despite the fact that life is complete with the sun, the land, and poetry.”

The first sentence serves as a thesis of sorts for the rest of the statement. There are good people and bad people in every generation; Togashi may have emphasized how much worse we are than the Ants, but he doesn’t believe that we are inherently evil. What decides our paths in life, our morality, is what we desire. The two things mentioned here, reproduction and learning, we share with the Chimera Ants. What separated them from us from the start was that they had the capacity to do with that what we humans can’t, thanks to their unnaturally fast evolution. The Queen devoted her entire life to reproduction; her son Meruuem devoted his entire life to learning. Most of humanity does neither, and so ends up falling into an abyss of hopeless living. Humans simply desire to get whatever they want within the short lifespans they have.

Desire as an integral part of the human condition was brought up by Meruem back when he began his Gungi matches against Komugi, and it’s been a recurring theme ever since, and arguably since before. The entire Chimera Ant arc was, on a fundamental level, driven by the different desires of its many characters. That is what instigated the copious amounts of conflicts in the first place. Initially, the Ants had no reason for living outside of bringing food to their Queen. As they grew more individualistic and developed distinct identities, their personal desires interfered with their mission, and the Chimera Ant infrastructure shattered as a result. Some desired to be King, others to do whatever they pleased, whether it was hunting, playing, etc. The humans in the arc were motivated by their own personal reasons, whether it was vengeance or saving the human race, or just challenging a worthy opponent. All the humans and Ants were motivated by desire, and yet some were far better on a ethical level than others, or just better creatures in general. Our desires shape who we are, and that comes down to what exactly it is we want.

Faced with a short life and limited capability to achieve within that allotted time, most humans simply choose to live in ignorance for the sake of satiating their own selfish wants. It is why world peace has never been achieved, why the Ants collapsed in the end, and why there is so much cruelty in the world. The rich want to get richer, the politicians want to secure more power, etc, and so the less fortunate suffer for their sake. Netero, in this very arc, was basically used by the world’s leaders to get rid of a threat that would leave them blameless and the Hunter organization framed. That was the purpose of the montage of the beginning of episode 134.

The King told Palm in the beginning of the episode that he only desired to see Komugi. When he asked Komugi what she desired during their game, she simply said that she wished for yet another game. Those simple, pure wants are contrasted with the harsh and sometimes downright vicious desires of others, and indeed of much of humanity. And, interestingly, Meruem and Komugi devoted the majority of their lives learning, becoming wiser and wiser, and their motivations were all the better for it. In the end, the real Diego likely gave up his position of authority for a secure recluse to get away from the responsibility of it and live a simple life. Humanity is blessed with a beautiful world to live in with a vast array of resources, but is so caught up in its trifling battles and self-centered views that it misses on the bounties that it could have had. We evolve and reach greater heights, but that evolution is only used to cause further devastation to numerous lives.

Someone already posted a brilliant analysis on the meaning of Meruem and Komugi’s last game, as well as the meaning behind his name, so I won’t spend time talking about that. Honestly, the last minutes of this episode with Komugi and Meruem speak for themselves, and trying to describe them would only detract from their greatness. Heartfelt, poignant, and stunningly beautiful, it’s some of the best anime I’ve ever had the privilege of viewing. The King and Komugi achieve eternal happiness together, blind yet blissful in death. It’s the perfect ending to the Chimera Ant arc, and I couldn’t have asked for more.

The Chimera Ant arc wasn’t perfect; the pacing at times could have been better, the Phantom Troupe two-parter was of significantly weaker quality in relation to the rest of the arc and sticks out liken a sore thumb, and the Killua-needle-in-the-head plot point still doesn’t sit completely well with me. However, those are minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things, and are overshadowed by the almost unbelievable brilliance of the arc. Coming off of the exhilarating fun of Greed Island, Chimera Ant’s rather unoriginal premise of giant insects taking over the world seemed a bit dull, and the first few episodes interested me a bit but didn’t grab me. It was only when the themes of identity and individualism began showing themselves a few episodes in that I was on board, and completely invested by the time Pitou was introduced. From there the story became more and more brilliant, before eventually becoming my favorite arc in any battle shonen, and one of my all-time favorite arcs in anything ever.

Chimera Ant is a controversial arc, and it comes as no surprise that it is. It has some very unorthodox storytelling and Togashi made some very odd story decisions. The infamous narration is one, as is the use of a bomb to kill the antagonist, etc. You either love it or hate it. What can’t be denied, though, is its ambition. Suffice to say no shonen writer has ever attempted something on this level before, a tale of epic proportions with tons of well-developed characters that aims not only to tell a thrilling story but also give some genuinely profound insights on the nature of humanity itself. It’s so far removed from almost anything I’ve seen in a battle shonen that to classify it as such seems to almost be a disservice. Togashi systematically deconstructed nearly every shonen trope in the book in a way that flowed organically with the story, and ruthlessly portrayed the unrelenting brutality of a world that finally broke its protagonist. Chimera Ant was the climax of Gon’s story, and it achieved its goal spectacularly. Thematically consistent, morally complex, carefully plotted, ambitious, and populated by diverse, three-dimensional characters, it’s a masterpiece in every sense of the world, and I am so thankful that Togashi and Madhouse made its existence a reality; the first for writing it, the second for animating it. The anime/manga world’s a better place for it, so thank you, Togashi and Mdhouse. It’s been a fantastic ride.