- So how does an anime about an absentee dad
have a family tree?
Well, you might be surprised by just how much family matters
in the world of Hunter x Hunter
and the show teaches us that your chosen family
is what's most important
and also explore several powerful clans
and who better to start with than the Freecss Family.
(upbeat music)
The first one we're meeting today
is Ging and Mitos grandmother.
We may not know this character's name
but she's been a constant in the Freecss Family
helping Mito, Ging and Gon in their times of need.
She lost both her sons, one in a traffic accident
and another to a Deadliest Catch sort of situation
on a fishing trip.
So she stepped in to raise her grandchildren
Ging and Mito herself.
Mito is Ging's cousin.
When she was a child
she'd often go exploring in the mountains and get lost.
Ging was the only one who could find her,
giving him an opportunity to hone his hunter skills early.
When Ging returned to Whale Island with his son Gon,
Mito stepped up to be Gon's caregiver.
She was furious with Ging for leaving his child behind,
so she kicked him off the island and told him not to return,
which to be honest is understandable.
Mito didn't want Gon to grow up like his dad,
so she hid away the only thing Ging left behind
for his son, a Nen cube.
Ging Freecss is one of the most famous hunters
of his generation.
He started his career at the age of 12
as the only person to pass the 267 hunter exam,
as a two star ruins hunter, Ging travels the world
to research ancient civilizations
and hunt down precious treasures.
In his spare time, Ging's performed other impressive feats,
including creating the nen video game, Greed Island
with some of his hunter buddies.
He also served under Hunter Chairman Issac Netero
as a member of the Zodiacs,
a special Advisory Committee.
Netero even named him one of the five best Nen users
in the world.
Now Ging may have an impressive career
but he's not a very impressive dad.
Just ask Leorio.
We don't know who Gon's mom is
but after Ging took his infant son,
on a couple of adventures including a visit to Greed Island,
he dropped him off at Whale Island along with the nen cube.
See he wanted Gon to become a great hunter,
just like his dear old dad
but instead of you know,
training him or really parenting him at all,
Ging decided to make Gon hunt him down.
Ging may not have stuck around to raise Gon
but he did manage to mentor another young hunter named Kite,
Kite goes on to mentor Gon.
Ging finally ends his tenure as an absentee dad
when he invites Gon to meet him at the top
of the World Tree.
At 12 years old Gon decides to take the Hunter exam.
There he befriends fellow examinees,
Kurapika, Leorio and Killua.
The trio tries to survive the harrowing test
making some enemies in the process,
most notably Killua's older brother, Illumi
and the creepy clown man, Hisoka.
Illumi sabotage Killua into failing the exam
but when Gon and the rest of the crew passes,
they convince Killua to try again next year,
then Gon and Killua go off to spend a little quality time
on Whale Island, where they discover Ging's nen cube,
it gives them the clue they need
to begin their search for Ging,
a mission that will consume their attention
for most of the anime.
In the process, they learn nen at Heaven's Arena,
infiltrate a mob auction, face off against the spiders
and get sucked into a mysterious video game, Greed Island.
They beat the game and Gon makes off with some loot
that should transport him to Ging's location
but it's a red herring of course
and Gon it transported to Kites instead.
What follows is arguably one of the best starks
in and all of anime
and if you don't agree with me
(bell rings) don't @ me,
I don't wanna hear it.
Gon, Kite, Killua, Chairman Netero
and a small group of hunters face off against
the Chimera ants.
A violent and invasive species that is murdering humans
and taking over entire nations in the process.
Gon almost loses his life to the battle
but his best bud Killua comes through
and heals him using his sibling's powerful ability,
more on that when we get to the Zoldycks
When Gon is healed he finally meets up with Ging
at the top of the World Tree,
before setting out on an even wilder adventure.
I can't vouch for this personally
but I'm told it's totally worth reading the manga
to see what goes down after the anime
'cause apparently it's wild or at the very least,
I'm sure it'll make you thirstier for more Hunter Hunter.
As part of that new adventure,
we learn a little history
on another member of the Freecss Family
but if you wanna stay completely free from manga spoilers,
skip ahead, okay.
So technically Don Freecss
should have been the first character in our family tree
but spoilers be spoiling, so we're slipping him in
at the end.
We also don't know for sure that he's related
to the rest of the Freecss clan
but for the purposes of this video,
we're gonna assume he is.
We learn in the manga that 300 years ago,
Don traveled to a place known as the Dark Continent.
He wrote a guide called
"Journey to the New World"
Detailing his encounters there.
Centuries later, Ging ventures to the Dark Continent
with Netero's son, Beyond Netero using the guide.
Perhaps we'll know more about Don
and the strange origins of the guide someday
but for now, let's dig into my favorite family of
spiky haired assassins.
The Zoldycks.
The Zoldycks live in a massive mansion on Kukuroo Mountain,
deep within the country of Padokea.
Maha Zoldyck is the oldest living member
of the Zoldyck clan,
you don't know a whole lot about him,
other than that he's Zeno's grandfather.
He's got a cool jacket though.
The former head of the Zoldyck Family,
Zeno was trained in the art of assassination
from an early age.
We first meet him when Gon and the gang
visit the Zoldyck's Mansion to retrieve Killua.
He keeps a low profile until the Phantom Troupe arc,
where he and Silva take on the troupe's leader Chrollo.
The trio are evenly matched
and as the fight reaches its climax,
Silva is notified that they're clients,
the 10 mob bosses have all been killed,
so their job is effectively canceled.
Chrollo, Zeno and Silva agreed to stop fighting
and go on their merry ways.
Zeno, then reemerge in the Chimera ant arc.
Netero calls him in as emergency back up
as the hunters prepare their attack on Meruem's castle
but he's not being paid enough
to go up against a foe like the Chimera Ant King,
so Zeno bounces after taking out a big chunk of the castle
with his Nen dragon.
Silva is the current head of the Zoldyck family,
Killua's father and probably secretly
a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure character.
Before we met him, he married Kikyo, a fellow assassin
and they had five children together
and he trained all of his older children as assassins.
In the anime we first meet Silva when Gon and crew
go to Kukuroo Mountain.
He has a father son chat with Killua
and acknowledges that Killua is a bit different
from most of the Zoldyck clan.
He allows Killua to join his friends
but makes him take a blood oath to never betray them.
Could this be a rare positive parenting moment
in Hunter Hunter?
Well, no, it's not because it's later revealed
that the oath was a crucial step in making Killua
the heir to the family.
Outside of his fight with Chrollo
and his brief appearance to pick up Zeno from the NGL,
we don't see Silva again until Killua returns to the mansion
to see if Alluka can heal Gon.
Silva refuses to let Killua remove his sibling
from the mansion, saying they can't be controlled
and aren't a true member of the family.
Killua pulls a fast one on his dad
and Silva's forced to let Killua
and Alluka leave the mansion.
Kikyo is the matriarch of the Zoldyck family
and the definition of an overbearing mother.
We don't know much about her life
before she married into the Zoldyck family
or how she got her cool robot visor
but we do know she was an assassin long before she met Silva
and has played a major role in raising the next generation
of Zoldycks.
When Killua uses her life as a bartering chip
to escape the mansion with Alluka,
she's actually pretty proud, Killua has grown up into a
decisive and competent member of the family.
Oh, they grow up so fast
but Kikyo isn't always so loving.
She sacrifices eight innocent lives
when she first starts testing Alluka's power.
Okay, technically it's not Nanika's power
but we'll get there.
Ultimately, she keeps the child imprisoned and isolated
from the rest of the family.
For the most part, the Zoldyck family is complicated
and brutal but you always get a sense
that they're guided by some sort of code.
This is not the case with Illumi.
Throughout the series he abuses and manipulates Killua
into doing what he wants,
all for the sake of the family business
and his own desires of course.
On his father's orders,
Illumi plant a needle into Killua's his brain
and manipulates him into failing the hunter exam.
He tries to murder his own sibling Alluka,
just for being herself
and then tries to use Alluka's powers for himself,
once he realizes their potential.
He does give off a lot of bloodlust
when Hisoka threatens Killua's life
but you know, then he tries to run him off the road.
So, so much for brotherly love.
His specialized needles act as weapons
that put their victims in a zombie like state
but he can also use them on himself to reshape his face
as a means of disguise.
The next brother, though formidable in his own way,
lacks the particular backbone that the other Zoldycks have,
even if he's my personal favorite.
The second oldest Zoldyck child and a certified NEET,
Milluki is a different type of assassin entirely.
He hasn't left the family estate since the age of 10.
Why leave when he's got such a tricked out battle station.
He really loves computers, video games and anime.
You can spot Hiei and Kurama on his shelf
for those Yu Yu Hakusho fans out there.
In fact, it's only his desire
to own the super rare video game Greed Island
that eventually makes him leave the mansion.
Even though he isn't the most active member of the family,
he supports his clan by inventing assassination tools
and doing some lit hacking
and that's a word I have not seen since middle school.
(chuckles)
Killua has got to be the most beloved member
of the Zoldyck family.
He's the heir to the throne and Gon's best friend.
Ever since skating into our hearts
at the beginning of the hunter exam,
we've been able to watch Killua grow
from being a cold hearted loner
to a devoted and loving friend.
Killua's story is really about finding himself
and gaining the resolve he needs to forge his own path.
After Gon scoops up Killua from Kukuroo Mountain,
they go to Whale Island,
then venture through the Mortal Kombat tower
of Hunter Hunter, Heavens Arena.
After learning Nen they head to Yorknew
in pursuit of Greed Island.
Once their Killua undergoes more training
alongside Gon and Bisky but he leaves briefly to take
and pass the hunter exam.
He unlocks a neat lightning ability
and weaponized some yo-yos
and really just has the shone in boy glow up
we all know he deserves.
When Gon and Killua meet up with Kite,
Killua proves just how much he's grown,
when he knocks out his friend
and drags him to safety as Pitou attacks Kite
but at the root of his compassionate act
is a nagging sense of self doubt.
Killua can't overcome the voices in his head
that tell him to flee from any foe stronger than him.
It turns out the voices are really
a result of the needle Illumi implanted in his brain.
Killua finally removes it
and immediately takes out a powerful Chimera Ant.
He makes good use of his new abilities,
as he can Gon infiltrate the NGL he attacks ants,
makes a new octopus friend
and eventually rescue Gon after his battle with Pitou
He then returns to the mountain
and proves that he is by far the best Zoldyck
because he's the only one who truly understands
little Alluka.
After liberating his sibling and saving his best friend,
Killua is ready to spend some quality time
with his Alluka and Nanika.
Kalluto is the youngest child of the Zoldyck Family.
He's quiet and reserved and doesn't do much
until he joins the Phantom Troupe as member number four,
replacing Hisoka.
He helps them locate the Nen user who can heal Chrollo.
His goal in joining the troupe
on top of honing his abilities,
is to bring Killua home.
We'll see if he succeeds.
At last we're up to sweet Alluka,
one of the most fascinating characters in the series.
Silva implies that Alluka
isn't a naturally born member
of the Zoldyck Family, whatever that means
but Killua sees her as she really is,
just a sweet little kid.
Killua is also the only Zoldyck who understands
that he's got a whole other sibling, Nanika,
a completely different personality that's bound to Alluka.
When Nanika emerges they have a mask like face,
they're able to grant wishes for a price.
The Zoldyck family completes a series of deadly experiments
in hopes of understanding exactly how
Alluka/Nanika's powers work,
but Killua is the only one who truly gets it.
When Killua tells Nanika to go away and never come back,
Alluka explodes in anger
saying he can't be mean to Nanika, if he's nice to her,
then he has to be nice to both of them.
Realizing that he has two siblings,
Killua apologizes and promises to protect Alluka and Nanika
no matter what.
Happy and resolved, the siblings travel the world together.
Now this next guy is
(bell rings) major spoilers.
So skip to this time code if you haven't read the manga yet.
Not much is known about this precursor to the Zoldyck clan
other than the fact that he traveled with Isaac Netero
and Linne Horsdoeuvre
in an undocumented trip to the Dark Continent.
I like his hair on his face though, it seems pretty cool.
I also wanna make some time
for the other members of the hunter exam crew.
Leorio and Karapika.
Unfortunately, we don't know anything about Leorio's family.
The closest we get is a childhood friend named Pietro,
who dies from a disease
and sets Leorio on his path to becoming a physician
and Karapika,
well he's the last surviving member of his clan,
but we do learn a little more about the Kurtas
in volumes zero of the series,
the one shot Karapika's memories and the Phantom Rouge film.
The clan consisted of 128 members
and they made their home in the forest
of the Lukso province.
The Kurtas lived a relatively insulated life
and we're distrustful of the outside world.
Karapika is forced to petition the Kurta elders
for permission to leave the protection of their village.
They eventually agree on the condition
that he's able to pass a test.
No surprise, he passes.
The Kurta Clan meets a tragic end
at the hands of the Phantom Troupe
who massacred the villagers
in order to steal their Scarlet eyes.
Karapika, who is away at the time of the attack
returns to a scene of carnage
and vows to exact revenge on the troupe.
He goes on to manifest several specialized nen abilities
created specifically to aid him in hunting down the spiders.
Isaac is the more prominent member of the Netero Family.
As a young man, Isaac learns to push himself
beyond his limitations.
So he goes into the mountains
and begins his lifelong practice of throwing
10,000 punches a day, offering a prayer of gratitude
with each punch.
Over time, he's able to complete the ritual in shorter
and shorter amounts of time
until he gains the ability to move at superhuman speeds.
With this new power,
he rose through the ranks of a local dojo
before re making it into his own martial arts school.
Shingen-ryu school teaches nen based kung fu
and fun fact Bisky, Wing and Zushi
all use this fighting style,
Eventually he's selected the 12th
Chairman of The Hunter Association.
As chairman, Netero is humanity's last line of defense
against the Chimera Ant king.
He cuts off his beard and ponytail, puts on his lucky shirt
and charges into the depths of Meruem's castle with Zeno.
The chairman convinces the king to face him
in a one on one battle in a remote location.
The two powerhouses fight,
until the chairman sacrifices himself
to deal with final blow to Meruem.
After his death, the Zodiacs become consumed
with the convoluted election process
to elect the next chairman
but it's not just the Zodiacs who are eager
to fill up the vacuum of power left by Issac Netero.
Alright, I'm about to go into manga only territory again
but I'm gonna keep it brief and vague.
The chairman had a son Beyond Netero.
Like, imagine if instead of naming your kid Adrian Jr,
you named him Beyond Adrian.
It's a pretty aggressive move but yeah, I respect it.
We don't know who Beyond's mother was
and he only emerges from the shadows when he does
because his father had made him promise
not to go to a certain place until after his death.
With Isaac gone,
Beyond his ready to come back into the spotlight.
Now I can't talk about families in Hunter Hunter
without exploring the best Chimera Ant lineage.
There are way too many ants to cover here.
So I'm gonna focus on just the prominent ants.
The Chimera Ant Queen is the one who started it at all.
Hailing from a distant shore,
she washes up on the beaches of the NGL.
She begins to feed on whatever prey you can find.
So begins the terrifying process of phagogenesis.
Any creature the Queen consumes has their DNA reconstituted
and incorporated into the next generation of ants.
The Queen's offspring quickly evolved
gaining strength, power
and intelligence until they're finally strong enough
to start hunting humans.
They lay siege on the world in order
to bring the Queen high quality food,
so she can incubate her most perfect offspring, the king.
When the Queen gets a taste of a nen users flesh,
the ants evolve once again.
Pitou is the first ant born into the royal family.
They're incredibly powerful both physically
and as a nen user.
Her nen abilities allow them to heal
even the most grievous wounds
and gives them the ability to create human puppets.
It's Pitou who first confronts Kite, Gon and Killua
and it's Pitou who takes Kites life.
Pouf is the second and most stylish member
of the Royal Guard.
He's incredibly protective of his king
and seeths with jealousy
when the king becomes preoccupied with Komugi.
Youpi up is the final member of the Royal Guard.
He's the muscle
and when the extermination squad attacks the palace,
he unleashes some truly terrifying abilities.
He can grow extra eyes and limbs,
regenerate flesh and take a lot of hits.
He falls victim to Killua's Godspeed move
and in one of the coolest sequences of the whole show
and as a final blessing, we get to see him and puff
in tibia form before they die.
So cute.
And now it's time for the king himself, Meruem.
The pinnacle of the Chimera ant species,
the culmination of their evolutionary effort
and a gungi enthusiast, Meruem was born prematurely
killing his mother in the process.
He subjugates the entire country of East Gorteau,
determined to decimate humanity
and spread the rule of the Chimera ants
but if One Punch Man has taught us anything,
it's that with great power comes great boredom.
Meruem off against all sorts of foes
in every arena of combat from Sports to board games,
only a snort nosed gungi champion can truly challenge him.
As he faces this challenger, he begins to care for her
and starts to question his purpose.
If a divine powerful being
can be humbled by a vulnerable child,
should his mission in life really be to
exterminate humanity?
With this question on his mind,
he faces off against Chairman Netero in a brutal
and gorgeous battle,
which ends with him being dealt a fatal blow.
He returns to the castle
so he can spend his final moments with koyugi,
and none of us were ever the same again.
Though, in my personal opinion,
I thought he got off too easy.
Okay, now on to some honorable mentions.
These ants may not be members of the Royal Guard
but they're super important nonetheless.
Meleoron is a chameleon type Chimera ant
who has been able to recover some of his human memories.
He's an early ally of the Extermination Squad
and it's his ability
Gods Accompilce
that allows the Extermination Squad to breach the castle.
Ikalgo is a quick talking octopus
with sniper rifles for arms.
He squares up against Killua,
who almost falls to a pair of fishy Chimer ants
until Ikalgo saves him at the very last moment.
Ikalgo unlocks the most powerful ability in all of shownen,
friendship.
So you decide to join up with the good guys
to help their invasion.
I love him.
Colt is an early ant and the Queen's closest
and most loyal confidant.
When the Queen dies giving birth to the king,
Colt is the only ant who seems to remember how much
the early ants sacrifice to bring the king into the world.
He seems skeptical of the newer model ants
and when he discovers that the Queen has posthumously
given birth to one final ant,
he makes off with it in the night.
That last ant in question is none other than Kite.
Kite is one of the coolest characters in this series
and it's pretty awesome to see them reborn in this form.
The bouncing baby girl retains a lot of Kites
characteristics and at least some of his memories too.
When Gon finally meets kite 2.0,
he's relieved to see his friend lives once again.
So there you have it.
Every notable family in the Hunter Hunter franchise.
Is there someone we're missing, an angle we missed,
did you not like the way I pronounced something
or maybe you just liked the video,
so be sure to Comment and Subscribe.
I'm Wyatt Chang, this is Getting The Robot,
your anime explainer, thanks for watching.
(upbeat music)
