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TW // gore, dismemberment
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hxh spoilers
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do you ever think about how an arm getting severed represented shame and failure?
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hxh spoilers
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do you ever think about how an arm getting severed represented shame and failure?
meruem severed his own arm to punish himself for suggesting komugi bet her life on a match of gungi and show that she was his superior in this area. it was also a show of humility in the face of komugi expressing her willingness to die if she did lose.
gon got caught off guard after killing pitou when his arm got severed by their post-Mortem nen. he remarks to killua that it doesn’t hurt at all and that he’s “just like kite now.” this was a sort of penance for his failure to save kite, an acceptance of his destruction.
kite got his arm severed by pitou when he let his guard for one moment, allowing him to be beaten in combat and killed. his complacency and overconfidence in his, gon’s and killua’s abilities to take on the chimera ants lead to his failure.
netero got his arm severed near the end his fight against meruem, who was able to survive his repeated 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva attacks. this showed that even after all his training and accumulation of power, there was still someone who could defeat him.
what’s interesting is what each one mentioned does after this. they ACCEPT their failure in different ways.
meruem kept playing gungi with intense focus, determined to develop his skill and defeat komugi. he reluctantly allowed himself to be healed, but he seemed to express
meruem kept playing gungi with intense focus, determined to develop his skill and defeat komugi. he reluctantly allowed himself to be healed, but he seemed to express
no pain in response to his injury.
he accepted his failure and moved to learn from it by gaining more power and skill from the matches with komugi.
he accepted his failure and moved to learn from it by gaining more power and skill from the matches with komugi.
TW // Suicide
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gon summoned all of the nen he had access to in a final attack against pitou’s post-Mortem nen and as an attempt to destroy his own life.
he had accepted his failure to save kite and decided to pay with his life for it. he felt he was beyond redemption.
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gon summoned all of the nen he had access to in a final attack against pitou’s post-Mortem nen and as an attempt to destroy his own life.
he had accepted his failure to save kite and decided to pay with his life for it. he felt he was beyond redemption.
kite fought with everything he had to protect killua and gon as they escaped. even though he was seriously outmatched by pitou, kite did whatever he could despite his injuries.
he had accepted his failure to set a strong example for gon (and killua) and to protect them, so he
he had accepted his failure to set a strong example for gon (and killua) and to protect them, so he
did what he could to at least distract pitou and give them a chance at survival.
TW // suicide
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netero pulled the zero hand, a special move that should’ve obliterated meruem, but it didn’t. he then triggered the Rose Bomb, a lethal and considerably inhuman weapon, by stabbing himself in the heart.
he had accepted his failure to defeat meruem
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netero pulled the zero hand, a special move that should’ve obliterated meruem, but it didn’t. he then triggered the Rose Bomb, a lethal and considerably inhuman weapon, by stabbing himself in the heart.
he had accepted his failure to defeat meruem
through power he had refined over the years through relentless practice (and was considered “honorable”), and resorted to an extreme solution that cost his life in order to complete his mission and prevent meruem from gaining this victory.
what is interesting is that only two (kite and gon), got their right arms cut off and were reborn or transformed in some way. these were the two people that failed in some way to protect or save someone they cared about.
netero and meruem both got their left arms cut off and died from the Rose Bomb, a weapon symbolic of humanity’s cruelty, evil and desire for power over others. it’s interesting how their failures also related to power and in meeting someone who outmatched them.
TW // Suicide
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what I also find interesting is that gon and netero attempt to take their lives in the face of their failure. for gon, it relates to his deep-seated feelings of inadequacy and belief that his self worth is tied to his strength and ability to help/protect
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what I also find interesting is that gon and netero attempt to take their lives in the face of their failure. for gon, it relates to his deep-seated feelings of inadequacy and belief that his self worth is tied to his strength and ability to help/protect
others. for netero, it relates to his pride in and self-definition based on the powers he had spent decades cultivating (which had never been outmatched until he met meruem), as well as his devotion to his mission.
I also find it so interesting that only gon and meruem were restored back to their previous state, and by someone close to them. kite was put back together by pitou as a puppet and netero died in the explosion.
(this is an example of the many gon/meruem & killua/pitou parallels)
(this is an example of the many gon/meruem & killua/pitou parallels)
I find it intriguing that of the four, only gon had someone that was able to restore him and saved him out of LOVE.
yes, meruem had pitou to repair his arm, but that was less out of love and more out of servitude and fear.
I think the nen color choices are really telling.
yes, meruem had pitou to repair his arm, but that was less out of love and more out of servitude and fear.
I think the nen color choices are really telling.
in contrast, the nen here is white.
gon had killua to save him and prove him wrong - that his failure was forgivable, and that he WAS loved.
perhaps it’s also a symbol of hope, as well as foreshadowing of gon getting a second chance to break old cycles* of self-destruction.
gon had killua to save him and prove him wrong - that his failure was forgivable, and that he WAS loved.
perhaps it’s also a symbol of hope, as well as foreshadowing of gon getting a second chance to break old cycles* of self-destruction.
*See the meta below https://twitter.com/killvazoldyk/status/1315010771965874177
Anyway, I thought this theme was interesting and I’d like to hear your thoughts!
