WHEN DID THE CHIMERA ANT ARC BECOME TRASH?

I don’t know if there was a meeting I missed or when the decision was made to hate the Chimera Ant Arc but we are here. 

The fact that we are here should confuse the fuck outta me but it doesn’t. People get onto the internet to have their opinions handed to them everyday. They cannot formulate their own opinion. They wait to see which bandwagon has the most people and hop on that bandwagon so they will not be excluded or criticized for having their own independent thoughts. 

I always believed the Chimera Ant Arc is a masterpiece. My only criticism was how long it was but the story in my opinion is very nuanced and as close to perfect as you could get. York New City is my personal favorite arc in Hunter X Hunter but the Chimera Ant Arc puts on a clinic in amazing storytelling and character development. 

Everyone has given this opinion on this arc recently and I’m just gonna throw my two dollars into this and leave it alone. 

Here are my reasons for why I believe Chimera Ant Arc is a really great arc and not only the best arc in Hunter X Hunter.

THE SETTING OF THE STAGE 

The setup of the Chimera Ant Arc was done beautifully. There’s this immediate shift in tone for the story. Along with the shift this is where you see world building really pay dividends. 

Seeing that the world didn’t view the ants as a top threat kind of shows how vast this world is, the possibilities of it, a sense of mystery to go along with the shift in tone and the potential dangers of other species lurking in the world. 

The Chimera Ant Arc is the preview of how dark this story is going to get from this point. This isn’t Greed Island. You sense nothing light hearted is coming into your life in this arc. You just feel uneasy. It feels like you’re watching a different anime once the Chimera Ant Arc starts.

How the fuck a humanoid ant that eats any and everything and reproduces offspring made its way from a forbidden place like the Dark Continent not be a top threat? 

WORTHY ANTAGONISTS 

When Kite was explaining the ants to Gon and Killua and we learned more about Phagogenesis the stakes just kept getting higher and higher. It started out as a B level threat then you see the Queen ant put her plan into motion eating whatever she could and reproducing then the intelligence of her and her offspring soldiers just growing more and more. Once they figured out humans with nen abilities were more nourishing that’s when you were ready to see the head on collision. The way the antagonists were built was similar to a meal that was being slow cooked to perfection. You felt for the heroes because you knew it was too little too late to try and contain the problem. They were losing the race against time. The ants were growing at a rate that they could not stop. 

When Mereum is born and seen as the perfect specimen and King. The moment Mereum is born you knew these mothafuckas were in trouble. He was already a bloodthirsty, homicidal, and wicked ruler. He already believed that there is no greater life form than his. Immediately out the coochie he did not give a fuck about his momma. You know how sinister you gotta be to not give a fuck bout your momma who helped make you who the fuck you are? Before he was born he was planned to be the perfect Chimera Ant. He was. He also was the perfect villain. Dude wasn’t even a minute old and was already detached from his mother’s plan and killing his family members. 

The Royal guards are the perfect antagonists along with their king. What makes them interesting and enjoyable as antagonists alongside Mereum is their different personalities. Pitou has a playful but cruel nature. It’s as if she has multiple personality disorder. Pouf is just chill as fuck and is the one with those most ideals. He’s the one who’s on Mereum’s nuts the hardest. His level of dickriding made him very irrational. Youpi don’t give a fuck bout shit. He just there to fuck shit up. He has no ideals. It’s almost to the point it feels like he has no personality at all. He’s pure muscle. All 3 of their different personalities make for a sinister group of misfits. 

Mereum is not the typical shonen antagonist. He is presented as a typical shonen antagonist when he makes his debut in the arc. He has the same goals as a typical antagonist. He has the same evil behavior as a typical antagonist but at the end of his character arc we see that Mereum does not understand the assignment of a typical antagonist and that is amazing because that made for some of the best character development I’ve ever seen. The depth that Mereum is written with is masterful. 

GON’S DESCENT INTO DARKNESS & KILLUA’S JOURNEY TO THE LIGHT

Chimera ant arc is where we see that Gon and Killua are out matched. Kite was trying to warn them. He told them they had to be able to protect themselves if they wanted to accompany him. Netero and his men even told them that this mission may be too much for them to handle. Despite all of this Gon still had this blinding optimism but at this point in the story we figure that’s just who Gon is. He smiles everything off and you believe everything is going to be okay. 

When Kite is attacked by Pitou we see Gon immediately lose his mind and attempt to unleash his power. Killua knocks Gon unconscious and escapes through the forest realizing that they were overconfident. Killua knew that Kite was dead while he was running through the forest. Kite sacrificed himself to save them both. 

What makes this moment great is that there isn’t a feeling that Gon and Killua are going to get stronger and defeat Pitou. Togashi made them useless. There isn’t any shonen power up. There isn’t an ass pull that’s going to happen. You knew they were fucked and if they get out of this arc alive they will be scarred. 

The light in Gon’s eyes. The blinding optimism. The certainty that Gon believed that Kite had escaped death is one of the saddest moments in the entire anime. Gon didn’t get it. He still was oblivious to not only the situation but oblivious to life overall. He is unable to accept how harsh reality can be. Killua doesn’t tell Gon the truth at this moment. Killua in previous arcs would’ve told Gon the truth right there. He would’ve told Gon there’s no way Kite is alive and friction between them would’ve been immediate. Killua knows that “hope” is like a drug at this moment.  Killua’s maturity and empathy for his best friend in this moment doesn’t get talked about much cause I feel this is where their paths began to split. Gon and Killua have always been yin and yang but with the tone of this arc you felt that they won’t come back together like previous arcs because they’re growing apart. They’re at the stage where they have to figure out who they are as individuals. They have to have time where they don’t depend on each other. 

Killua called Gon the light in that moment which is true but Killua was truly the light in this moment.

Kite’s lifeless body was placed in front of Gon and Gon, still displaying his innocence and naivety, is still hopeful that Kite can be saved. The anger that is running through him along with the weight of guilt is battling his hope and denial. Gon keeps trying to keep the light within himself so he focuses on healing Kite when there’s obviously nothing to heal. The man is long gone. Gon’s denial is a product of Gon holding on to whatever little light he has left in his soul. 

Gon has changed. There isn’t any happiness. Gon has no mercy to give. Gon was prepared to kill Komugi (a child) along with Pitou and gave zero fucks about doing it. Killua being the light prevents Gon from doing so. Gon at this point doesn’t care about Killua at all. It’s clear their relationship is not the same and they’re growing in two different directions. You knew this before this moment but it was clear as it ever was at this moment. 

When Pitou tells Gon that she did kill Kite and that her new ability cannot bring the dead back to life. Gon’s descent to darkness is complete because his view of the world has been shattered. Togashi crushes Gon’s beliefs. Which normally doesn’t happen in shonen. Shonen main characters' views of the world normally remain intact. Even if their view has some resistance against it, the story finds some loophole to make sure the MC’s world view isn’t completely destroyed. Togashi made sure to BREAK Gon. He makes sure that his positive outlook was ripped from his spirit. 

Gon has no choice but to finally accept the truth. The guilt and grief that has been building up crashes down on Gon like a tsunami. Gon is insane at this moment. He has always been a psychopath but this is different. When Pitou brings out Dr.Blythe and Gon looks at Pitou with a seed of hope that Pitou had maybe figured out something that could save Kite and Pitou started to heal herself in front of Gon, Pitou stepped on that seed of hope and crushed it and that’s when Gon could not be saved and neither could Pitou. 

Killing Pitou is the only option for Gon and he doesn’t care what he has to sacrifice to do it. He gave up his dream of being the best hunter and meeting his dad. He gave up his relationship with his friends. He gave up his life energy. He gave up on the thought of any positivity happening in the world. He gave up his humanity. 

He beat Pitou to the point she didn’t have a head any more. He lost an arm like Kite and made it seem like it was poetic. He told Killua that he was okay when he was far from okay. You literally watch Gon die while breathing. Killua is watching the death of his best friend. Gon saved Killua from succumbing to darkness. Killua could not save Gon. Killua could not return the favor. Pitou is defeated but Pitou’s defeat feels like the worst shit that could’ve happened. There isn’t any relief. There isn’t any joy. There’s only helplessness. 

MEREUM’S HUMANITY 

As I stated before, Mereum is an evil ruler. You couldn’t convince me that a creature as ruthless as Mereum would undergo some of the best character development in an arc I’ve seen in recent memory. We see him go from this wicked and evil character who ate a child to this character that changes his perception of humans through a little girl who keeps kicking his ass at gungi. 

You should absolutely despise Mereum for the evil things he has done but by the end of the arc you start to feel for him and see that the change he has in his perception of humanity is actually genuine. Mereum goes on a journey from apathy to empathy and you take the same journey as a viewer. You were likely apathetic towards Mereum at the start of the arc. You were likely slightly empathetic towards Mereum at the end of the arc. 

We were watching the Chimera Ants just like humans learn emotions through experiences and relationships. This arc beautifully describes the complex simplicity of the human condition. When Mereum relationship Komugi deepens that’s where the shift in thought and behavior happens for Mereum. He diverted his entire purpose of ruling the world to focusing on beating a gifted child at a board game. Sounds ridiculous but the way the arc’s foundation sets it up makes it brilliant. Mereum is the strongest in the verse and gains admiration for humanity and learns how to analyze strength in humans not just through the vacuum of ability and power but through the weakest character in the arc Komugi. 

The Mereum that met Netero for the first time is nowhere near the Mereum WE met for the first time. The fact that Mereum and Netero had a conversation before fighting is proof that Mereum’s understanding and acceptance of humanity and how far he has come as a character in this arc. Mereum went from treating humans like cattle to wanting to protect the weak no matter the creature or species. 

Just look at the behaviors between the humans and the ants. The ants did not have emotions. They weren’t taught emotions or what is right or wrong. They never experienced relationships of any kind. Humans do know right from wrong and experience relationships with people with different viewpoints. Yet you see in life and in this arc humans still do evil things. They knew people would be killed if Netero fought Mereum because of the nuclear bomb and they felt it would be justified to murder all of the innocent as long as the ants were a part of the explosion. We see that the humans are just as bad as the ants and arguably worse since humans know right from wrong and have been taught right from wrong. 

The ending was the perfect lesson and conclusion to a character arc. The Chimera Ant Arc is all about life and how you value life. How Gon values it. How Mereum and the ants value it. How Killua values it. How Netero and the hunters association values life.

Iconic moments. Amazing fights. Memorable character arcs. A message and theme that parallels our reality. A ending that sticks the landing. The Chimera Ant Arc is one of the greatest stories ever told. 

Love, Benny

Iconic moments 

Amazing fights 

A message 

Character development 

“Killua is not nice, but is good. Gon is nice, but is not good”, and this aspect of their characters is demonstrated really well in this arc.