Hunter x Hunter Ch. 420 Analysis

~ my quick review thread of the latest Hunter x Hunter Chapter 420: Encounter, by Yoshihiro Togashi (@Un4v5s8bgsVk9Xp). Read here on z-punk, my Substack. Spoilers up to this chapter. Please read the official translation at VIZ and consider supporting the author:

https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/hunter-x-hunter

~ 777 words / 5 minute read

The Return of Hisoka

Fun fact: the pachinko game Hisoka is playing is a reference to an impossible game called “The Swamp” from the manga Gambling Apocalypse: Kaiji.

The king killer is back, the murderous clown, the most sadistic hunter – and part-time examiner – in the game. Hisoka is here, surrounded by bodies he laid down, playing an impossible pachinko while cracking a cold one and moaning unto himself. ♥️

Tserriednich has forgotten his fear and feels untouchable. He has been lucky up to this point. But you are not the tester in this instance. You have no idea whose lair you just stumbled into… 🤡 #HxH420

Clown of Decapitation

Really creepy frames here of Tserriednich wandering through half-decapitated bodies of guards. All killed without firing a bullet. A devastating scene and there is empathy in Tserri’s awe.

Side note: Hisoka kills like how Chrollo told his puppet in Heaven’s Arena audience to take down Hisoka: crush / sever the head.

no guards firing a bullet is crazy speed. Hisoka as an S-class Nen user can slaughter entire floors of men in instants, with perfect stealth, then gamble away Martial Law alone in his lair, the casino.

Chrysler 300 vs. Phantom

A Chrysler 300 looks just like a Phantom…until a Phantom pulls up.

Hisoka is built differently.

Hyper-Sensation and Goku shunpo speed.

Tserri is one lucky ass mofo.

Togashi’s Darling

Hisoka is a special character. I feel as though Togashi-sensei writing him and his scenes is as comfortable as an old reliable baseball glove.

He gets this wonderful spread of him playing pachinko alone in a grand casino, during the middle of Special Martial Law – surrounded by bodies of trained soldiers.

Hiso jumps Tserri, feels faint interest at seeing he’s a Prince, and then appears to sight the Dark Jester Nen Beast at the spot where Tserriednich activated his ability.

Hilarious panels. Hiso flicking off his shades like that, treating him like a broken toy. Yet still hard not to feel some empathy for another of Tserri’s pitiful corpses. Add another death to the counter; the psychology of this ability is so fascinating. #HxH420

From Tserri’s perspective it is a terrifying moment as his Beast must be revealed, and to this creature of impossible murderous speed. Hisoka then turns and looks right at him. Same as with Theta before. Can high level Nen users see him with Gyo or some other Nen sense?

We see a pair of *rare* Hisokas, of genuine confusion and a lock-in that does not involve his whole countenance shifting to display that signature daemonic lust. // Tserri I do believe you have intrigued the freak. He desires to know more.

But Hisoka walks. Tserri sprints away invisible, in Zetsu still (impressive).

Why Did Hisoka Turn Away?

Because he has no interest, or a certain level of fear, of the Prince’s Nen beasts. // Why mess with something that may be unstoppable?

Or: Hisoka is intrigued by Tserri and his ability. He is able to use Zetsu, and fake his death with unconscious expertise. // We know from 405 that Hisoka has knowledge of the Nen Beasts and the Royal ritual around Kakin; we know he knows Nen as well as anyone in the saga.

Hisoka says himself that he garners no pleasure from killing these people, meaning: Princes + Royal Army.

Either way, by leaving Tserriednich alive, Hisoka has once more acted a haphazard mentor for the main characters around him. Tserri has been given a paragon Nen ‘monster’ to follow on a path beyond.

1-second Zetsu achievement will save him in combat with the best. (Maybe.)

Tserri sure loves to gamble his life.

Tserri’s Inner Life

Learning about Tserriednich’s inner life has been such a blessing and a curse. What an absolute gem of a freak of a person. This brief tango with Hisoka is a vital pivot point in his dark journey…

Canonical pisspants 4th Prince Tserriednich is on the move again, determined to surpass Hisoka as a monster and reach somewhere below Tier 1, closer to the mafia and Morena and the Troupe.

We end up with Tserri looking out the ship and plots to use his ability one last time to reach his destination. — Where will that be?

What a chapter, swift yet enforcing the wonderful return of Hisoka Morow.

End of Batch

Chapter 420 concludes this batch, with many early revelations from Kurapika in the Nen training room, revealing ritual lore and baby swaps. Benjamin and Furykov command chapters and then we end with 4th Prince’s Tserriednich’s metamorphosis and odyssey through the rampage of his older brother, escape, and first maneuvers of desolation and massacre upon the Royal Army.

The first Acts of the Anti-Christ upon the Black Whale have rung through history.

Now Chapter 421 and beyond will showcase more Tserri, Troupe, Hisoka, Wang, Hinrigh, Kaiser, Morena, Benjamin, and of course, Kurapika’s motions too.

We are on hiatus but we know Togashi-sensei has delivered up to Chapter 427. He has been working well and consistently tweeting. Thus it plausible to assume this hiatus may be shorter than the last one.

I look forward to seeing more Hunter x Hunter updates from Togashi-sensei and am grateful for his enterprising mind and craft for storytelling.