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Hey guys, welcome back to yet Another Kurapika mini-analysis thread/rant because I have this incredible habit calling never shutting the fuck up. Today I want to address the idea that Kurapika lives solely for revenge/is generally apathetic or uncaring.
This thread is going to be me sounding really tired and it won’t be very good bc this discourse is honestly just dumb and frustrating but hear me out.
I don’t know why this is such a common fandom interpretation, and it’s one of those things I interpret as faux-deep. It’s an embarrassing misrepresentation of his character and what Togashi is trying to depict, going against all of his development and the story’s themes.
Kurapika is nowhere near uncaring. This is proven false in the story time and time again, as he always puts others before his own goals no matter how much he tries to ignore them. We see this in Yorknew when he saves Gon and Killua, but there’s more than that.
Kurapika went into the current arc with the objective to confront Tserriednich, but four days away from the end of the voyage they’re sharing together, he hasn’t gotten a step closer to him because he’s protecting Oito and Woble.
Hanzo himself says Kurapika can “never put anyone before himself” when he tells Hanzo to prioritize protecting Marayam over helping him. There seems to be a constant commentary about his selflessness, but this is all blatant in the story.
What isn’t blatant to some people, and what is a larger topic of debate, is the idea that he’s living for vengeance and nothing else. The story basically yells in your face that isn’t the case, but I guess I have to talk about it.
Chrollo says himself Kurapika’s weakness is the fact that he cares for his friends more than anything else. Kurapika has formed bonds that yes, he tries to push away, but it isn’t like he doesn’t care about his friends or their help at all.
Despite being away from his friends for two years now, he still has visions of them (as depicted in an image seen above.) He just doesn’t want to care about these people, and I think this front that he puts up is why people misinterpret him.
Kurapika WANTS to live solely for revenge. He WANTS to be distant from his strong bonds. That doesn’t mean, though, that his goals aren’t starting to shift now that he’s protecting Woble. And he, to a certain extent, understands that.
He comments that life is never that simple, and that having allies is a complicated thing. It’s something that he believes slows him down, but it’s not something he doesn’t have. He wants to be rid of his emotions, but he can’t be.
Gon and Killua have a debate about the meaning behind Kurapika’s abilities, Killua believing he only wants revenge and Gon believing that he has grown, and his abilities can do so much more than that.
Kurapika is subconsciously a warm, caring person, and we see this in the subtle actions he takes. He wasn’t able to make his abilities solely for revenge because isn’t that type of person. He’s almost incapable of pure hatred because of the influences around him.
Kurapika desperately wants to be someone without friends or a true goal, and he’s convinced himself that’s what he is. But he’s still protecting Woble, still always thinking of his friends, etc. Kurapika isn’t solely focused on revenge because—
—at his core he won’t allow himself to be. He’s who he’s always been, a stubborn, but kind-hearted child going through a lot of grief and trying to channel it into pure rage. But he can’t. He cares too much about everything for that to be true.
Kurapika cares more than anyone. That’s why he’s such a hypocrite. He drives people away but longs for them back. He’s conflicted and emotionally scarred and doesn’t want to open up to people again. But he isn’t emotionless, just traumatized and scared.
This fandom desperately needs to stop demonizing trauma victims and think about the causes behind their actions and their actual mental state for two seconds before spreading misinformation.
This was short as fuck but I don’t care I just wanted to point out story moments that directly contradict bad threads about him lolol
