Hunter X Hunter: How to Set up Great Characters

 

    The first episode of the 2011 Hunter X Hunter is just that: a beginning. Unlike other television pilots, this one doesn’t encapsulate what the entire series really is. It hardly even tries. Proof: there’s no Killua. Killua is maybe the series’ second-most important character, and a fan-favorite. He appears prominently in the opening and ending themes, but first-time viewers have absolutely no idea who he is. Killua doesn’t actually appear until the 4^th episode.

    The way this episode approaches the story might result from the fact that this series is an anime adapted from a manga. When Togashi started this story, he probably didn’t have all the future arcs in mind, and didn’t realize the rest of the series would get so dark.  

    But it’s also because the series is an adventure. Even on a purely thematic level, this first episode can’t encompass everything that will happen to Gon over the course of the series. The adventure hasn’t happened yet. This episode just shows how it starts. It’s really light and low-stakes compared to the Yorknew City, Chimera Ant, and even the Election arcs.

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    Gon’s characterization is one of the most important things this episode sets up. For one, we learn why Gon wants to be a Hunter. Gon’s dad was a Hunter, and he left Gon when he was a baby so he could keep doing Hunter things. Gon reasons that being a Hunter must be really cool if his dad chose that over his son.

    As viewers, we’re more likely to conclude that Gon’s dad was a deadbeat. This is further supported by the fact that Gon’s guardian, his Aunt Mito, absolutely does not want him to become a Hunter like Ging. In having Gon's view of his father clash so starkly with our own view, Hunter X Hunter brilliantly shows us the character's personality. We realize just how optimistic and resilient he is. We now have an example of "something Gon would do", as opposed to a reaction anybody would have.

    A great character is one where you can see something and say, “That sounds like something [character] would do.”  Office fans still imagine how Michael Scott would react to current events, things that the show never even touched on. Hunter characters are the same way. We feel like we know who they are – and yet they can’t be narrowed down to cliches or stereotypes.

    Equally important is the fact that Hunter X Hunter keeps Gon’s characterization consistent. Take, for example, a later episode where Killua demonstrates some techniques he used in his former career as an assassin. When Killua takes an opponent’s heart out of his body alive, Gon’s friends are incredibly horrified. Gon, on the other hand, is mildly surprised. He thinks it’s cool. Gon has this kind of innocence throughout the series, where he doesn’t stop to consider whether something might be really bad or dangerous.

    I feel like Gon is a deconstruction of the typical Shonen anime hero (think: Ash from Pokémon). He’s a fatherless young boy from a small town, but that father isn’t the role model the kid thinks he is. Like any boy hero, Gon’s determined and optimistic, but that determination often leads him down a dark path. Gon’s boots even make him look a little like Astro Boy, the very first anime boy protagonist, who’s continually optimistic despite having every reason not to be. Others have discussed how Hunter X Hunter’s arcs often end in anticlimaxes rather than typical Shonen fights and tournaments.

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    This episode does have some plot and worldbuilding. When the show introduces us to Leorio and Kurapika, it also fills in more of the series’ world and how Hunters are a part of it. Kurapika wants to hunt the villainous Phantom Troupe and avenge his clan (We learn that Hunters are a privileged class that can do things ordinary people can’t), and Leorio just wants money (We learn that Hunters get all sorts of riches and treasures). They show the different kinds of Hunters in the world, beyond what’s in the opening monologue. 

    Kurapika’s little feud with Leorio in this episode also sets up his character motivation that leads into the Yorknew City arc. (Alas, I am left wishing they did more with Leorio's backstory).

    The resolution of this episode is when Gon jumps overboard to rescue Leorio and Kurapika. It’s not the series’ most epic moment, but it nicely cements Gon’s characterization and forges the three’s friendship. There’s also the part where the captain reveals that the ship is a test for those wanting to take the Hunter Exam. Everybody on the ship got seasick except Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika. It shows the kind of tests they’ll face later on, and how they overcome them. Hunter X Hunter involves a lot of strategy and deception, which makes this a taste of what’s to come.

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How to Make Great Characters Like Hunter X Hunter:

    Refine your characters. Your main character especially. That’s the number one reason Hunter succeeds, even when its plotting and logic get shaky. It’s hard to find any form of fiction (except video games, where gameplay comes first and story is second), where having great characters doesn’t make a story immensely better.

    If you put any human being in any situation, they would react in a certain way. Even if that reaction is just to do nothing, or do what anybody would do, or to give up and cry. We have to react somehow. Put your characters in different situations, even ones you have no intention of writing into your story, just to see how they’d react. If you don’t know how your character would react to a certain situation, you need to figure it out.

    Ask questions about your characters that any real person should be able to answer. How many siblings do they have? What’s their economic situation? What’s their birthday? Their favorite color? Something they thought as a kid that turned out not to be true? A mundane thing that annoys them a lot? What their parents do/did for a living?

    Some questions are inconsequential, but you should try to dig deeper than a surface level answer. Sure, your character’s birthday is December 17^th, but what does that mean for them? Are they annoyed their birthday falls so close to Christmas? Maybe they’re just happy that their birthday is in the school year, unlike their friend who has it in the summer.

    Again, you might not see how this relates to your story at all, but if it helps you better understand your character like a real person, it doesn’t hurt. Things like the number of siblings someone has might seem like just a simple fact, but actually affect a lot about a person, and what their life, belief set, and personality is like.

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    Oh, and motivation is important, too. If you have a well-rounded character, your audience will want to see them pursue their goals – so it’s important to have a goal to string the audience along. Gon’s hunt for his dad drives Hunter’s plot forward. It’s what links this episode to the ones that come after it. Kurapika and Leorio’s (and later Killua’s) own goals drive them through the Hunter Exam and to where they go afterward. If you don’t know where your plot goes next, character motivation might be the problem (I know it is for me).

    That’s all I got for now. Tell me what you thought about this episode in the comments, and give some more questions people can ask about their characters.