Please note that this video is an addendum to my old video entitled "The Morality of Gon Freecss" (ruclips.net/video/1XnqUDIxZhw/видео.html&ab_channel=Aleczandxr) and should not be watched without having seen the original video first. This one corrects and clarifies a number of things from that one while frequently referring to points made without fully summarizing them, so context is necessary. You may notice that some of this video is a little rough around the edges from a technical standpoint compared to usual - some minor audio stuff, some abrupt cuts - and I apologize for that. As mentioned, this was recorded more than a year ago and before cleaning things up, unfortunately both the script and the raw files that make up the video were lost, and I didn't want to make the entire thing nearly from scratch again, so I had to bite the bullet. I hope you can forgive the lack of polish. However, the main purpose of this is to properly clarify, correct and add some things to the original video, and luckily it still does that. One FINAL thing to add the I left out of this is that part of the reason Gon apathetically dismisses others in cases is because they signed up for these risky things and knew the consequences. The people in the Exam signed up for it, and the players in Greed Island signed up for it, so if they suffer consequences then they basically asked for it. If I think of anything else to add, I’ll edit this comment.
I like your interpretation....as it syncs with my own😉. But the breakdown is really cool. I'd like to see if you could do something similar with Izuku from MHA cause he feels very undercooked compared to other MCs and even side characters ( Endeavour and Bakugo), because maybe I'm missing something.😞
they do got something to do with them tho, phatt stacks of money and a contract, killuas just doing the job he's been groomed for in a crapsack world where an assassins house is a tourist attraction and stated that he dun wanna do that no more, plus he's handy to have around
@Lolli Wedge you're literally dismissing an important part of his character development. one part of that relied on him dealing with the side of him that DID take pleasure out of ending ppl that stood in his way, or to prove he's superior or bc he was frustrated.
@Lolli Wedge we seen killua kill people just to blow off steam. Like on the airship after losing to netero. I think the smile he give us after killing them, said that it made him happy killing those random strangers.
IMO, an often overlooked factor concerning Gon's tendency to accept others relates to his Aunt Mito. At age 9 he learns from Kite that his father is alive, contradicting her assertion his whole life that Ging had died. For three years he continues to love her without ever challenging her lies. Finally at age 12, when he can go take the hunter exam, he lets her know without recrimination that he knows she lied to him about his father. What is the point? Gon has learned to accept the negative qualities of people he likes and loves. For example, when Killua reveals to Gon that he is an assassin, Gon is able to blithely accept that fact without judgement, fear, or disgust. He has already formed a friendship with Killua. If he killed people for money, that is simply an interesting fact, in no way interfering with their friendship.
Your discussion about how Gon becomes angry when others go against his idea of their nature made me realize how this idea is explored in several other characters in the show as well. You see this in Netero, during his fight with Meruem, struggling with the idea of this ant being diplomatic, and ultimately deciding to fight through it. You see it in Palm, and her outcry and frustration when Meruem starts kneeling in front of her. In Kurapika, you see him utterly frustrated with Uvogin when he doesn't act how he expects. You also heavily see it In Pouf, and in Youpi. There's a lot to be explored here I think. There's a cognitive dissonance that occurs when people's views of others don't fit their mold or when their views are shattered. It influences their motivation, and it manifests differently in each character, though it is often frustration.
I think you framed some of those examples in the wrong light. For example I don't think puff's (and palm's sort of) cases really fit in here and they align more with idealization
@@IMKebbie you're right. But I still think that in palms case it's less about the meruim not fitting her view off him. She doesn't cry about meruim's humanity but instead she feels a sense off duty. It's difficult for me to put into words but what I'm trying to say is that she isn't frustrated with meruim's character against his perceived character just his actions vs his role as king she deems it inappropriate and sad yet isn't angry about it like gon and the rest of the examples are
@@user-uo9gg2zc6j I definitely see what you mean. I guess that was just how I interpreted that moment, but your perspective makes sense as well. What you describe as his actions vs his role as king makes me think of how she perceives him though maybe they aren't quite the same. I'm not sure.
@@gayanime8981 You raise a good point. That moment with Gon definitely displays his frustration with the troupe being unable to recognize their own hypocrisy. But I think this doesn't necessarily disagree with the point of Gon becoming frustrated with how he expects them to act. He knows they are capable of compassion and is frustrated when they selectively choose when to show it. It's definitely a natural reaction. Though I feel that it can still be framed as him experiencing cognitive dissonance when they display hypocritical actions that don't align with what he expects out of them, which may be a simplistic way to see it, but just a different lens to look at things I think. sorry I wrote this before you edited your comment heh but you have a point with your last line which I want to think about more
@@gayanime8981 Oh yeah there's no doubt about that. There's a lot that goes into his character and his actions especially the ones we were talking about. I certainly didn't want to undermine the nuances about the other factors that went into them! I just felt it was interesting to look at things from one angle that was brought up in the video and maybe that adds just another factor to the many different ones that influence his actions in the show! I should have clarified that it's just one more way to look at things which may even be wrong but it is one factor to ponder when trying to dissect the very complex and nuanced nature of Gon. :)
I love how Gon is depicted as such a beacon of hope and purity. Killua even calling him "the sun" and then after his optimism and faith are shattered by Pitou he transforms into this all consuming persona of rage, malice, and destruction. As if the sun had imploded and it became a black hole in its place. "No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell." It also reminds me of Uchiha from Naruto. Who its said exhibit the strongest love and conversly exemplify the most intense hatred when that love is broken or betrayed.
I think the sun is a very good representation of Gon... Warm, bright. But one day, will eventually "consume itself" to the end, kinda what happened in the Chimera Arc.
I love how Gon is basically a kid who was given too much power, no supervision, and then thrown into a war. A lot of fantasy and shonen stories would like us to believe that little boys can carry the world on their shoulders but realistically, they're likely to throw tantrums over losing a video game. It's wild how many choose to think Gon is a super special kid or a psychopath when that's not the point of this character. Ging and Killua are the chosen ones from childhood, Chrollo is the *closest* to the shonen psychopath, Kurapika is protagonist of a dark revenge story. Gon's the normal sweet side character whose pushed into the role of MC.
the gon we've seen is an incredibly complex and nuanced character, yet he feels so simple and straightforward, an honest kid who is usually pretty selfless, but when push comes to shove, becomes narrow mindedly selfish... i'd like to see how his character develops into his later years
I really hope he matures and grows into a kind, practical-optimistic adult with a keen judgement of character but ridden with some guilt of how he treated Killua.
I'm really interested to see how Gon will act in Whale Island. He's going back to the place that taught him the values that ultimately destroyed him. Now with Mito, Nokko, and Kon, he has another chance to be better
Goku and Luffy are both also very selfish. They can be be good heart people and kind but also selfish. All three fall under a similar style of character.
And we have a contrast of pitou who's basically a kid as well but she learned the right way. In the end she learned that meruem was sad over komugi, so she understood that, by the same logic, gon must be upset over kite. That's why she was acting guilty. We have a kid who's learning the right way, and a kid who had too much power with too little discipline
If anything... this video and the one before it helped solidify for me that Gon is human. He is a hypocrite, he cares for some and not for other and he chooses when, why, and how he chooses to care for them. Sometimes Gon wants to go left but instead goes right and other times he doesnt care which way to go and will take the path of least resistance to reach his goals. Unlike many other popular anime protags in shonen, he isnt fixed, you cant put his character in a formula, put in a situation and always get the same outcome, And its comforting to see such a morally ambiguous character. Thank you.
He’s a kid.... idk if anyone here has spent any time with kids of varying ages but all kids up until their teenage years are sociopaths. They don’t give one fuck about anyone other than themselves and have to be shown and taught empathy and compassion. They need to be shamed into it and gon lives in a world in a particular moment in time where no one showed him that and he flourished bc of it. Itll be interesting to see. If ever. How spending time with his “mom” will change him as a person when /if he returns.
gon only respects what benefits him. he is the most realistic character ever. majority of characters are good for the sake of being good despite how bad the other character treated them
@@pg2356 He helps Mito around the house and people in his village. It was said he was taken on "dates" doing tasks for people in his area. He jumped off a boat during a storm, to prevent a stranger from drowning. No one else did anything before Gon took the initiative. He avoids harming the shape shifters in the beginning, even though they threatened him. He waits for Leorio during the marathon of the exam and helps him getting his tag later on. He also fought Hisoka, for Leorio's sake. When Killua is returned home, Gon comes to free him. He treats all of the Zoldyck guards with respect and apologizes for his intrusion. During the entire Phantom Troupe arc, he was helping Kurapika.
@@beastvicious8672 If he let the stranger on the ship die that could have affected him getting into the hunter exam. I think the same can be said for the shapeshifters. During the Phantom Troupe arc, I honestly think his main motivation was the possibility of fighting a troupe member/ getting greed island. Everything else you mentioned seems to be Gon simply being a nice person rather than going out of his way to be selfless, except for Killua. I think him saving Killua was 100% selfless.
I actually just learned this about today in my psychology course, but basically gons attitude kinda lines up with desire theory of mind, which is the idea that children think people only act in ways consistent with their desires, which sounds like brandis theory of how gon snaps at people who contradict themselves and what they represent in his head
Nice follow up, Aleczandxr. I saw “The Morality of Gon Freecss” last year, and then again a few weeks back because I just like anime analysis videos. And here I am, learning to understanding the nature of one of the most interesting anime characters today.
One thing I've noticed is that you are unable to call Gon either selfish or selfless because it depends on the circumstances and we're all similar in a sense. It truly adds depth to Gon as a character and allows for us to theorize more about him.
Like one comment here said. He had to grow up too fast. He wasn't ready for the fast changes in the perception of people. Kids or ones till age of 14-15 like interesting things and don't know the risks and takes time to adapt. It was too fast for him. :C
11:36 "Its a fact not a judgement" My thoughts to all people complaining about the video. He's not saying anything bad about Gon he's just explaining what he did in a more nuanced way from his point of view. He's not making anything up. Everything "bad" he says about Gon is already in the anime.
The internet will always find a reason to turn against you. Sometimes they almost intentionally ignore your point in order to find an excuse to act like smartasses. Don't worry, I understood what you had to say in the original video
I'm currently rewatching Hunter x Hunter (2011) and noticed that Binolt's clothes and home-town in his flashback in episode 63 looks really similar to Leorio's clothes and home-town in his flashback in episode 4.
I never thought you were criticizing Gon. It was a very intriguing analysis of his morality imo. I think some people take things personally when they shouldn't sometimes. But we all perceive what we consider "reality" differently.
I love that you released this. I was talking to a friend just last week who watched your video and came away from it saying the gon is a psychopath. While I had the stance that it just proves how human of a character he was.
Your original vid really helped me appreciate the character, just rewatched HXH and makes it more fun. But never thought you were implying Gon was pure evil or anything. Its an interesting take on child-like traits in characters, and the "survivalist/hunting" aspect of Gon's upbringing. We're all selfish as kids. Also like how this video points out some of the positive child-like traits, like being quick to forgive and forget.
Honestly a lot of these criticisms come from an emotional judgment of your analysis and not as a criticism of the content itself. People see you attacking the character or writing, suggesting that it's "bad." The criticisms I think you missed the mark on you admitted to. Everything else just seemed like people failing to understand that you're not making judgements on a fictional character.
To me you are fictional, for a reason. I do not engage with you nor know you, in fact everyone is fictional to some point, we acknowledge and give form to those we know and associate, to some point a fictional character becomes more real given the number of people attached to it, so in a way they feel they are attacking a friend, it would be the same as if a person that knows you hears someone slandering you he will defend you, but someone that does not simply shrugs or just does nothing. But hey Do not mind me much after all the Holy Catholic Church Killed Thousands if not Millions of People through Millennia in the name of a Guy that was Nailed into a cross,or the other ones that killed you for a guy that was his prophet.and we do not know if both were fictional...
Wooooow that part about Gon being fixated on a his views of a persons nature is something I never would have picked up on so clearly if it wasn't pointed out to me as a trend (damn human complexity literally ruining everything even my precious baby boy XD)
Don't know if anyone said this before, but i believe the easiest way to summarize it is that Gon only Care about himself and his friends, being apathetical to everyone else. Thing is, he makes friends really fast, so this apathy rarely shines through.
I can't wait Gon and Gyro interaction together! They both have dads that doesn't really care for them that much. Although in Gyro's case, it was far more worse than Gon's.
@@nschannel826 in the manga he becomes an ant. His will was so strong, that all his human memories remain, and now he's just a human in an ant's body. And that's very dangerous.
@@tanyaharmon6739 not only that gyro is literally the personification of evil it self he’s literally the purest form of evil gyro is basically if evil was a person he’s even more scarier than TERRORSANDWICH with a Will a drive like gyro the restrictions and vows that this dude would put on his nen would be disturbing
The Morality of Gon Freecss is still a fantastic video. Even though there wasn't a lot of discussion of his morality in the mainstream at the time, it is something me and my buds discussed once I finally got them to watch it. This is similar to that "poison" that Toriyama talks about when referring to Goku's selfishness. * I'm thinking Togashi might have been influenced by this interview as Gon often-times feels like a deep look into the psyche of shonen-type heroes like Goku. "There’s how, basically, Son Goku from Dragon Ball doesn’t fight for the sake of others, but because he wants to fight against strong guys. So once Dragon Ball got animated, at any rate, I’ve always been dissatisfied with the “righteous hero”-type portrayal they gave him. I guess I couldn’t quite get them to grasp the elements of “poison” that slip in and out of sight among the shadows." - AT
I dont know if I just missed it, but in the comparison of his reaction towards Nobunaga vs Binolt, I think it's good to note that he already had a pre emptive idea(or hate) towards them because he heard about them from kurapika
Just watched you initial hon morality video earlier this week after finishing the current anime series, and I’m so happy that you made a follow up. Great work! I definitely think gon, while simple, is the most interesting and flawed character in HxH and even though his character arc has ended I hope he has a return in the story with different intentions in terms of his goals. Definitely the character with the most room to grow and I love that HxH explore that.
Gon is amazing. And I love that you have revisited him as a character. There's literal hours of content to talk about regarding his entire character from Ep 1 to Ep 148.
21:52 On the topic of Gon's psychology, there is one *very* important fact that everyone needs to consider: *children cannot be diagnosed with personality disorders!* Personility Disorders are meant for diagnosing adults who have fully developed brains who have had an entire childhood to build themselves socially and morally. Minors are to be diagnosed with *conduct disorders* instead. And as Aleczandxer described, Gon's behavior is not outside the norm for a child (or even most fully grown adults) in the environments Gon has been in. Now that's not to say that Gon is entirely neurotypical without mental illness of any sort - Gon likely has C-PTSD due to parental abandonment and social isolation, which itself could be compounded by the potential for ADHD. (Remember that Gon had no friends his age, no video games or internet, and spent his entire childhood engaging in risky behavior for the sole purpose of entertainment; he got all the fun he possibly could out of the nature around him, and even resorted to dating predatory adult women just to experience a change of pace. Understimulation is harmful for any child, but for children with ADHD understimulation can be more intense and more harmful, which would add another layer of trauma to his childhood, and would create even more harm to his sense of self-worth.) However, even *these* diagnoses are difficult to attribute to him because he is a fictional character and we never have a chance to sit him down and ask him the sort of pertinent questions necessary for a diagnosis. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Fans should stop diagnosing characters using science they don't understand.(And if y'all decide to do it anyway, then at least consider more diagnoses than just whatever sounds edgiest.)
👏 best comment in the thread. My sister, who was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, said Gon seems to have symptoms. He hyperfocuses on goals and searches for constant stimulation. Couple this with his natural stubbornness, and it's very dangerous when he puts himself in life and death situations.
I've had the same thought lmao No but seriously, you never know when he's working on it. Maybe he already has some pages or even a few chapters written that haven't been made public yet. That's what I like to think lol
I would like to toss my two cents in, in particular about kite and gons first kill. I sit on the side of things where gons doesnt see the ants as people. At least not when he squeezes the life out of one. So to me the first time gon kills someone is when he fails to save kite. In several moments in the show we can see that gon feels at least partially responsible for kites death. Gon cant even bring himself to accept the loss of kite until Pitou gives him no other option. Its comes up over and over again that gon wants to save kite, well past his death. Gon feels empty when he finally understands. He becomes void of all wants other than revenge, but he finds no joy in it. What gon truly wanted wasnt to make pitou hurt, but to feel what kite had felt. He has his arm ripped off and he says it doesnt hurt, yet he cries. He wants to be punished, he wants consequences for his inability to save kite. Gon was able to make his nen restriction because he felt he deserved it. His final wish wasnt just for power, but for the weakness that followed. Gon had to freely give up all his might to have just a moment of godly power. Laying in that hospital bed was punishment for kites death. So to summarize, gon is heavily affected by his first kill, he just considers his first kill to be the death of kite.
“His final wish wasn’t just for power, but for the weakness that followed”. That hit hard and really shines a different light on Gon’s breakdown/grieving. I wish more people could see it this way. He gave up his entire life to make up for the loss of Kite’s. It’s interesting how both selfish and selfless that is. He’s truly just a real human child.
I absolutely love what you said about Gon being brought up on an island where the first thing he ever learned first hand was survival of the fittest. My favorite video game character Sonic the Hedgehog also experiences this basically in his 2d games, and as a result of this, Sonic’s capable of both good and evil, he’s just more so inclined to good, and the chaos emeralds respond to his mood/energy. Another example is Fullmetal Alchemist where Edward and Alphonse Elric specifically undergo training in order to understand the cycle of the universe. Like you said, Gon is a pure boy. Both Good and evil alike. There are countless characters in Shonen and Seinen that are portrayed to be pure boys/children. Goku and Luffy are my favorite examples, but Gon executes this far much better because they show the darkness within him truly. Sonic has taken on an evil form with the chaos emeralds before. Edward, as a child specifically dabbled into alchemy regardless of the fact that Winry’s grandmother specifically told him that it’s the devil’s practice and is strictly forbidden, and even after he opened the gate of truth and the abyss consumed his brother’s body and his arm and his leg, he still studies and practices alchemy and wants to re-open that gate to gain those things back. Those are shonen examples, and their worlds are respectively shonen, dealing with less adult and truly vulgar topics. My favorite example from my favorite Seinen manga is the most polarizing/hated character arguably in all of anime: Griffith. Griffith is literally a pure boy in a seinen world. His world includes things like rape and torture and beheading in battle and being burned/eaten alive after being accused of paganism, and far more cruel things than you’d see in a shonen story, but as an adult and as someone who’s witnessed history, you know that these things truly do take place in the time period that Berserk is set in. I personally believe that one of the huge themes behind Griffith is losing his purity as he’s tempted by old men. Old men, like Netero for example, are supposed to represent the malice within the hearts of mankind. The world of Berserk always shows men that are either old, or hideous, or brute, giving into earthly desire. Genon the governer is a pervert for young boys and Griffith ends up sleeping with him for political gain, Julius cannot accept the reality that a commoner is better than him, so he takes it out on countless people like his son, and almost gets his nephew Princess Charlotte killed, The guy that’s from the Corbolwitz family hates Casca because he thinks of women as inferior and wants to defile her for disgracing the battlefield (in his eyes), the King of Midland literally wants to fuck his own daughter. It’s insanely messed up, but all these characters are explained as being men trapped in a world of darkness where they are forced to give into their desires because they no longer bear any light. They are basically demons, and no different from the apostles and the Godhand in spirit. Yet, in Griffith’s eyes, these are the men who rule the world, who own the kingdoms and castles and command other soldiers and have money. Griffith, being a pure boy in an insanely dark and twisted and corrupt world, IS CONSTANTLY BEING TEMPTED. That’s just the example I wanted to bring up. The only real difference between Griffith and these characters is 1.) the worlds they live in, and 2.) Griffith rants about his ideals, while most of these characters, especially video game characters (Sonic, Mario, Link) almost never talk, especially not about their ideals. The reason I bring up these characters and don’t lump them in with the typical shonen protagonists is because MOST of these characters aren’t dumb. Yes, Gon, Luffy, and Goku are specifically dumb in terms of not being good with numbers or simple stuff, but they all get the bigger picture. Gon is even socially smart, he’s just not good with things like numbers. Another character I like a lot is Sasuke Uchiha, because he is also at least trying to be his pure self and confront his darkness, plus he is also a child whenever he deals with people who are significantly more experienced than him (Itachi, Obito, Orochimaru, The Mizukage and the Raikage, Kakashi) all these characters treat him like an impulsive child, and it pisses him off. Also, every once in a while Sasuke does ramble about his ideals but it’s nowhere near as much as Griffith. Regardless, he’s rambled enough about them for the viewers to now stereotype him as this edgy emo dark mood long black haired character, which is an understatement to his character completely. Basically, I’m not saying all these characters are the same, or that they have the same amount of good or evil within them. I’m saying that all of these characters are themselves and stay true to themselves, always seeking to know themselves better, and doing what they feel like doing, whether it’s good or evil/light or darkness/prevents regrets or gives birth to regrets. In their chaotic universes, their sense of order is literally their chaotic feelings/instinct, and in turn they end up being in balance with their universes.
I've had a few people telling me that their comments for this video seem to not be going through or disappearing. I'm sorry if that's happened to you - this is a problem that happens occasionally if RUclips decides to mark you as spam for some reason and then not put your comments in the spam filter for me to approve them. Hopefully the problem goes away soon, but I'll be periodically checking through the spam to ensure that I don't miss anything.
I’ve always thought of Gon as a satirical look at Shonen tropes. Most mangakas seem to ignore their characters are CHILDREN and the trauma these kids go thru should affect them NEGATIVELY. Not to mention the lack of parental guidance, how else was Gon going to end up??
I dont know why fans were dogging you out for calling him a hypocrite. He is his attitude to kura alone showed that. He finally understood what it was like to thirst for vengeance and his ass got punished for it. It did not confuse me your intent on the first video.
I sincerely respect your content and your character analysis. Keep doing what you do best and don’t look back. No apologies or further explanation needed. Keep it up!
I love how some people hate Gon because he’s real and they’re afraid of the thoughts that liking him means they themselves are also selfish terrible maniacs
@@Comicbroe405 it was 9 months ago so I don't really remember :D but I remember Aleczandxr literally making one of the most poignant anime related RUclips videos of all time. Some viewers responded with a negative back lash for what can only be described as a lesson in life. People were upset that Gon was presented in a selfish way (because he is) and the fans didn't like it #wimps I will never discredit anything Aleczandxr does. He is an artist. An underrated one at that! Does that clear it up for you? :)
2:06 TBH I think you made people like Gon a lot more like you did with Chrollo. You shed light on how much deeper there character goes than what meets the eye. I think you made ppl enjoy the series and characters more tbh.
Don't mind me, I'm just reeling from the realization that Gon's morality rings true on a meta level. He consistently gets upset when people contradict his initial appraisal of their character, in the same way we get upset when his dark turn contradicts what we expect from the stereotype of a happy-go-lucky shonen child protagonist.
Hello, pretty long comment but just here to say I really love all your videos. They really made open my eyes to the richness and depth of HxH. Easily making it my favorite series of all time. It also sort of inspired me to analyze HxH for myself even further. And one of the things I analyzed the most thanks to your videos is Gon's character. Since I feel there are more layers to him and his character arc throughout the series. And what I found is that his character is not only about being a realistic kid thrust into an adult world but it is also about self-worth, understanding one's self, purpose, and trauma (abandonment issues) just like Killua. And based on the discussions I've been on the internet, a majority of the fanbase are unaware of this side to Gon, missing out on a lot of nuance to his character and the intent Togashi has with writing Gon. And misinterpreting him as a psycho or something during situations like the Genthru fight, the Komugi situation, the Hanzo fight, and etc. So I don't know if you're interested in making another video about Gon to explain his character further and push discussion to the fanbase or read my analysis on him since he is one of my favorite characters and I think he is heavily underappreciated, but I would be glad to hear your thoughts on my analysis. www.reddit.com/r/HunterXHunter/comments/n2a9f1/gons_selfworth_and_abandonment_issues/?
Very cool! I conceptualize Gon’s aversion to weakness as something a bit different than a lack of self-worth due to abandonment issues, but the sentiment is similar and as you said he is much more of someone to externalize to contrast Killua’s internalizations. I think there’s a lot more nuance to him that diverges him from the stereotypical stubborn but determined and straightforward character many may see him as. I think he’s a simple person, but not a simple character, and you articulated that really well.
People can't hear anything bad about a character these days. Gon is one of my fav protagonists ever but he is an absolute psychopath! That's a part of his character. I have watched ur original Gon's morality video twice now and there was nothing wrong in that video. Infact that video is the best analysis of Gon's character on RUclips. Keep up the good work man!
Thank you for the kind words! Although once more I’d like to reiterate that in my opinion, Gon definitely isn’t a psychopath. You’re welcome to think that way of course, but just want to clarify for anyone reading that that sentiment doesn’t reflect the views of the video. Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks for the support and thanks for watching!
Remember when Nobunaga said that Gon would be a great phantom troupe member? Honest to life after watching this, i wholeheartedly think that if he had met the phantom troupe before killua, kurapika and leorio, he would have def joined
Grest videos! I just finished watching hxh yesterday and not gonna lie the last arc had me feeling frustrated, but I didnt think gons development was surprising at all. The show never shied away from the duality of Gon's strong sense of will and how its both a strength and weakness (probably his biggest). The character traits he shows (positive and negative) make sense for him with how he was raised, the setting, how much his dad shaped him, etc. I can't wait to see how (if the story with him continues) he will mature.
Great video. I think the thing that I took most issue with was the whole point about gon only liking people who are "beneficial" to him or his close friends. That phraseology implies a very transactional nature which I don't believe is present in gon, nor do I believe that gon is cognoscente of such motivated behavior.
for the record: im not saying that you believe gon views his relationships in such a transactional manner, simply that some might have gotten that impression while watching your video the first time around.
Sorries about those who got the wrong idea about your first video. I honestly think you got your points across well and I enjoyed the video back when I first watched it. I appreciate this video though as well. Just shows we can all state opinions or points of view that helps us to better understand or broaden our outlook to places we may have overlooked without being a butt about it. Nice for all that did so in a respectful manner and I hope you all have a nice day!
I think this addendum finally made me realize why God doesn't hate Hisoka even though he's been an antagonist more than once throughout the series. I was always kinda confused as to why he would despise the rest of the Phantom Troupe, but be friendly (if cautious) toward Hisoka--it's bc he thinks that Ronald McDonald from Hell is very simply a sociopathic murderer, and he kills because it's simply in his nature to want to fight strong enemies (but goddamn if it isn't a little bit creepy lmao). It doesn't hurt that Hisoka never works in direct opposition to Gon's goals either, though. Idk. Gon is a really cool character.
Tbh honest i'm just really appy to see you bring some more content about Gon. He's a really deep character and your first video was a real shocker. It brought a new point of view in the community and made many including myself question themselves. Truly amazing work Alex
Gon's character is literally the catalyst for Killua's journey to discovering his self-worth. Just because he is selfish does not dismiss the good side of his character entirely, especially since he is a 12 year old. He still has years of emotional development ahead of him until he fully becomes his own, and the fact that he was exposed to the harsh world of HxH so early did not help to put his character in perspective.
i absolutely love gon as character, and it was through looking up video essays about him that i found your channel. i think this addendum is a wonderful addition to what was already such a nuanced discussion!
I saw your past video, and i belive it was beatifull well done, you were clear, and well informed, like you said, talking about gon's behavior, should it be more like a patern rather that an rule, ethier way, you did a great job, i understand that you have the need to clarify, or expande on some topics for those that missed the point, to my understanthing, a a lot of the complaings were because "gon its a kid", and that whats exactly the point you were trying talk about, he is a kid, so he dosent fall in an standard of the shonnen portagonist, his morals, and actions, may appear incongruent, and its for that same reason, because hes just a kid that make sense, and thats what togashi was trying to comunicate
bro i cant tell you how many times ive watched the original vid because i love it so much so seeing you go deeper into detail about it made me lose my goddamn mind lmao thank you for the content!!
I just wanted to say that I really liked your last video (this one too by the way) and I personally preder to look at your main character from that perspective then just to say I like him and he and erverything he does is perfect although I still love Gon and I am still on his side but it just is much more interesting to also have less "perfect" sides of a character
Its interesting to me that you felt such a strong urge to respond to many of the criticisms from your 1st video. I would not have taken you for the type to do so. Especially after so long! Many props to you for your willingness to admit your mistakes and misrepresentations; but I honestly don't think it was that much of a fault on your end. When discussing themes as complex as morality, its very hard to take objective looks at a set of actions without self inserting either your own perspective or personal ideals into the conversation. I believe most of the criticism came from individuals taking your statements and observations about Gon and warping them into condensed amalgamations of what their own understanding of those ideas were; instead of the complex structures that the author worked so hard to meticulously create. In my attempt to provide some positive reinforcement I would just like to say that I belive your analysis was in fact incredibly objective and really helped people contextualize the complex character that is Gon :)
I very much enjoyed the original video and I think this is a great addition to it clarifying and building on those original points, as they say hindsight is 2020 so it’s great to see that you have given thought and critique to even your own past content, a thoroughly enjoyable video as always
Gon is a righteous man. He dont go around killing indiscriminately. Killing is never an option for Gon. He understands that the world is not always fair and when the time comes, he Will end a life. But his purpose in life and the path he took is the most righteous in its truest form.
This video is a really good addition to the first and makes your points a lot clearer and better. I think every essay should be vieuwed over and added on to at a later date after youve learned more through it
I'm glad you liked it but this video in question is the only one that required an addendum like this. It's a very specific case, my other ones have mistakes of course but they don't need full-on clarification videos like this. If I did this for every other video I'd spend the next few years just re-treading the same topics without really needing to and I don't want to do that.
Your videos were both on point. Ur analysis gave me a different perspective on Gon's character. It was interesting looking at Gon from a "darker" lens.
Remember that Adult Gon is just raw power, because it doesn't take into account the experience and knowledge he would've gained if he actually trained during those years he aged. Now imagine Gon as an actual adult with all the tecniques, fighting and Nen experience of years of training... If his "fake" adult form was as powerful as the Ant King, imagine him with the experience of all the tricks, techniques, hatsus he would've created after decades of training...
Bro your Analysis Video was a GOD TIER in depth explanation of Gons Character and real life human morals and lessons are easily broken down and understood. Dont stress over everyones JUDGEMENT & criticism. Even if you made a few mistakes you were SPOT ON! 👏👏👏
Thank you for your comments on Gon being a psychopath/sociopath. People seem to use those words not only very subjectively, with a generic intent of "lacking in empathy/ morally grey" grouping those 2 concepts together. However empathy and morality are not the same thing and the distinction is a key point in this situation in particular. Those terms are so reductive and black-and-white it contradicts itself. I could surely make a 4 hours long video on gon's morality myself lol but I'll keep it to saying it's more complex than "psychopath/sociopath", the point of this comment was to say as someone who can be defined a psychopath I appreciate what you said about it.
I liked how you pointed out that Gon hating a killer who just naturally was bad vs the trope who knew how to care yet still killed anyways was actually different. And while Gon's view might have been clouded because he was helped, it should be noted that he probably was just unable to fully comprehend his crimes as well because of the help. So I think it's more of a view of his mentality than morality. Objectively, Gon might actually agree with the morality of what should be right and wrong. But his mentality would accept a person and be kind to them. Also, the Chimera Ant wasn't human and looked like an animal. So that is very important to note. It was a monster. Even with sentience. So killing it isn't that strange. And is it fair to consider a sad, angry and hurting child hypocritical for wanting to kill someone who caused them such pain? Gon wasn't in a calm state of mind at the time.
*And is it fair to consider a sad, angry and hurting child hypocritical for wanting to kill someone who caused them such pain? Gon wasn't in a calm state of mind at the time.* Absolutely it is, and I promise there's really no need come to be defensive on Gon's behalf because I've made it clear many times now that none of this is a judgment of Gon, none of this is attacking his character or saying that what he did was bad. Yes, what he does is hypocritical, no two ways about it. It was indeed the result of an extremely strained mind, but it's the textbook definition for hypocrisy. However, hypocrisy isn't some terrible sin, humans do it all the time and no one should be condemned for it, so you shouldn't think of it as some indictment of Gon because I never intended for it to be one.
Your Gon analysis video is one of my favorites, it made me realize why I prefer Gon to many other protagonists from shounen anime and manga (not saying they're all paragons of goodness though). It's refreshing to see a character who isn't perfect and is more like an actual human, without being an "edgy" anti-hero or anything. I actually relate a lot to him because my judgment of people tends to be quite black-and-white and childish, and I'm also very contradictory. I'm sure a lot of other people relate to him for this reason as well. I think your first Gon video was phrased pretty well and you never suggested that he was evil. The people who took issues with that weren't paying enough attention. If anything, these videos make me realize how deep Hunter x Hunter is. I have such fond memories of watching the 1999 version on RUclips as an eight-year-old on an old crappy computer that all my siblings shared. I randomly found this anime I had never heard of, I saw the four main characters and liked their designs and the art style so I watched it and binged the whole series (also, I had a "crush" on Gon, Kurapika, and Killua--I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD DON'T JUDGE ME). I was so lucky to have stumbled on this wonderful piece of art, and your videos give me a new appreciation for it.
I remember people being SOOO angry on Tumblr, and there was a huge debate on it... But I still enjoy your commentary and analysis. When I first finished watching Hxh, that video was one of the first commentary videos I’ve watched. :)
One notable thing with personality disorders is that we do give this diagnosis in childhood as personality has not fully developed and is still very much fluid and forming during this time. Gon is, as has been stated many times, a child. Having these sort of negative personality characteristics are all parts of development and what gets incorporated into our ongoing personality as we grow is what is important. It is unfortunate that no one could prevent Gon from having fought Pitou. What I find most chilling looking back at it is Netero clearly seeing a child ready to throw away his life, with all this potential and bright future ahead of him and just letting him go through with it. Netero could have stopped Gon then and there but chose not to, that has stuck with me a lot and I really want to try and understand why he let that happen as for he knew, Gon would have probably died or suffered a fate worse than death there.
how ridiculous that people would be griping and taking your original video so wrong. It pointed out a lot of things I hadn't noticed when I first watched the series, and clarified even more of what I had, and all of it just made me love him even more, as a character and as a shounen protagonist.
Please note that this video is an addendum to my old video entitled "The Morality of Gon Freecss" (ruclips.net/video/1XnqUDIxZhw/видео.html&ab_channel=Aleczandxr) and should not be watched without having seen the original video first. This one corrects and clarifies a number of things from that one while frequently referring to points made without fully summarizing them, so context is necessary. You may notice that some of this video is a little rough around the edges from a technical standpoint compared to usual - some minor audio stuff, some abrupt cuts - and I apologize for that. As mentioned, this was recorded more than a year ago and before cleaning things up, unfortunately both the script and the raw files that make up the video were lost, and I didn't want to make the entire thing nearly from scratch again, so I had to bite the bullet. I hope you can forgive the lack of polish. However, the main purpose of this is to properly clarify, correct and add some things to the original video, and luckily it still does that.
One FINAL thing to add the I left out of this is that part of the reason Gon apathetically dismisses others in cases is because they signed up for these risky things and knew the consequences. The people in the Exam signed up for it, and the players in Greed Island signed up for it, so if they suffer consequences then they basically asked for it. If I think of anything else to add, I’ll edit this comment.
Love your videos dude
Just a question have you checked out ahiru no sora?
I like your interpretation....as it syncs with my own😉. But the breakdown is really cool.
I'd like to see if you could do something similar with Izuku from MHA cause he feels very undercooked compared to other MCs and even side characters ( Endeavour and Bakugo), because maybe I'm missing something.😞
@@michaelyu6250 tnx for letting me know dude!
@@jimmyichigo7410 yeah nobody wants to get blasted on twitter😅 but I think it would've been an interesting character study
Gon to chrollo: how can you kill people that have nothing to do with you
Killua: 😶
@Mako Cat that's not true tho. Only zeno has a code of honor.
Illumi and killua will kill for satisfaction...
they do got something to do with them tho, phatt stacks of money and a contract, killuas just doing the job he's been groomed for in a crapsack world where an assassins house is a tourist attraction and stated that he dun wanna do that no more, plus he's handy to have around
@Lolli Wedge you're literally dismissing an important part of his character development. one part of that relied on him dealing with the side of him that DID take pleasure out of ending ppl that stood in his way, or to prove he's superior or bc he was frustrated.
Also gon: I will kill that girl if you don't come right now
@Lolli Wedge we seen killua kill people just to blow off steam. Like on the airship after losing to netero.
I think the smile he give us after killing them, said that it made him happy killing those random strangers.
IMO, an often overlooked factor concerning Gon's tendency to accept others relates to his Aunt Mito. At age 9 he learns from Kite that his father is alive, contradicting her assertion his whole life that Ging had died. For three years he continues to love her without ever challenging her lies. Finally at age 12, when he can go take the hunter exam, he lets her know without recrimination that he knows she lied to him about his father. What is the point? Gon has learned to accept the negative qualities of people he likes and loves. For example, when Killua reveals to Gon that he is an assassin, Gon is able to blithely accept that fact without judgement, fear, or disgust. He has already formed a friendship with Killua. If he killed people for money, that is simply an interesting fact, in no way interfering with their friendship.
Good point , underrated comment😉😉
Gon is a product of great writing, it's fascinating to me when I see people delve deeper about the philosophical aspects of a character.
Crazy to think writing can possibly go that deep, I thought they were just overthinking something that’s not there lol
Didn't ask G
@@marrgielaa22 same
ok
@@marrgielaa22 damn that's crazy I don't remember asking if u remembered asking
Your discussion about how Gon becomes angry when others go against his idea of their nature made me realize how this idea is explored in several other characters in the show as well. You see this in Netero, during his fight with Meruem, struggling with the idea of this ant being diplomatic, and ultimately deciding to fight through it. You see it in Palm, and her outcry and frustration when Meruem starts kneeling in front of her. In Kurapika, you see him utterly frustrated with Uvogin when he doesn't act how he expects. You also heavily see it In Pouf, and in Youpi. There's a lot to be explored here I think. There's a cognitive dissonance that occurs when people's views of others don't fit their mold or when their views are shattered. It influences their motivation, and it manifests differently in each character, though it is often frustration.
I think you framed some of those examples in the wrong light. For example I don't think puff's (and palm's sort of) cases really fit in here and they align more with idealization
@@IMKebbie you're right. But I still think that in palms case it's less about the meruim not fitting her view off him. She doesn't cry about meruim's humanity but instead she feels a sense off duty. It's difficult for me to put into words but what I'm trying to say is that she isn't frustrated with meruim's character against his perceived character just his actions vs his role as king she deems it inappropriate and sad yet isn't angry about it like gon and the rest of the examples are
@@user-uo9gg2zc6j I definitely see what you mean. I guess that was just how I interpreted that moment, but your perspective makes sense as well. What you describe as his actions vs his role as king makes me think of how she perceives him though maybe they aren't quite the same. I'm not sure.
@@gayanime8981 You raise a good point. That moment with Gon definitely displays his frustration with the troupe being unable to recognize their own hypocrisy. But I think this doesn't necessarily disagree with the point of Gon becoming frustrated with how he expects them to act. He knows they are capable of compassion and is frustrated when they selectively choose when to show it. It's definitely a natural reaction. Though I feel that it can still be framed as him experiencing cognitive dissonance when they display hypocritical actions that don't align with what he expects out of them, which may be a simplistic way to see it, but just a different lens to look at things I think. sorry I wrote this before you edited your comment heh but you have a point with your last line which I want to think about more
@@gayanime8981 Oh yeah there's no doubt about that. There's a lot that goes into his character and his actions especially the ones we were talking about. I certainly didn't want to undermine the nuances about the other factors that went into them! I just felt it was interesting to look at things from one angle that was brought up in the video and maybe that adds just another factor to the many different ones that influence his actions in the show! I should have clarified that it's just one more way to look at things which may even be wrong but it is one factor to ponder when trying to dissect the very complex and nuanced nature of Gon. :)
You can tell this man writes fire ass essays
man i wish i was his teacher marking
I love how Gon is depicted as such a beacon of hope and purity. Killua even calling him "the sun" and then after his optimism and faith are shattered by Pitou he transforms into this all consuming persona of rage, malice, and destruction. As if the sun had imploded and it became a black hole in its place.
"No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell."
It also reminds me of Uchiha from Naruto. Who its said exhibit the strongest love and conversly exemplify the most intense hatred when that love is broken or betrayed.
woah good comparison to the Uchiha.
Uchihas are gay
@@Raulv212 nice itachi uchiha pfp
That was a pretty poetic comment, thanks.
I think the sun is a very good representation of Gon...
Warm, bright. But one day, will eventually "consume itself" to the end, kinda what happened in the Chimera Arc.
I love how Gon is basically a kid who was given too much power, no supervision, and then thrown into a war. A lot of fantasy and shonen stories would like us to believe that little boys can carry the world on their shoulders but realistically, they're likely to throw tantrums over losing a video game. It's wild how many choose to think Gon is a super special kid or a psychopath when that's not the point of this character. Ging and Killua are the chosen ones from childhood, Chrollo is the *closest* to the shonen psychopath, Kurapika is protagonist of a dark revenge story. Gon's the normal sweet side character whose pushed into the role of MC.
exactly. not to mention he got daddy issues & only views his worth as being determined by whether he’s “strong enough” to meet his father.
the gon we've seen is an incredibly complex and nuanced character, yet he feels so simple and straightforward, an honest kid who is usually pretty selfless, but when push comes to shove, becomes narrow mindedly selfish... i'd like to see how his character develops into his later years
He will probably be like Ging maybe or he will probably mature out of that way.
I really hope he matures and grows into a kind, practical-optimistic adult with a keen judgement of character but ridden with some guilt of how he treated Killua.
I'm really interested to see how Gon will act in Whale Island. He's going back to the place that taught him the values that ultimately destroyed him. Now with Mito, Nokko, and Kon, he has another chance to be better
In summary:
Gon Freecss is a child protagonist character who dares to have negative character traits.
So... Just like every other Shonen Protagonist
Addendum:
Of which the show is aware.
@@spacecore6000 apparently not the fans tho
I'm glad Gon is selfish
He is a unique protagonist .
Goku?
@@thejoshchannel5342 goku is stupid lol
yeah i agree probably the most unique child protagonist
@@Jonzelle185 ok but hes one of the most selfish protags haha
Goku and Luffy are both also very selfish. They can be be good heart people and kind but also selfish. All three fall under a similar style of character.
Gon is essentially a kid growing up too fast
kinda true
And we have a contrast of pitou who's basically a kid as well but she learned the right way. In the end she learned that meruem was sad over komugi, so she understood that, by the same logic, gon must be upset over kite. That's why she was acting guilty. We have a kid who's learning the right way, and a kid who had too much power with too little discipline
@@moathelbakary7698 Yes
imagine giving a real life kid demi-godlike powers
He grew up way too fast when he transformed against Pitou
If anything... this video and the one before it helped solidify for me that Gon is human. He is a hypocrite, he cares for some and not for other and he chooses when, why, and how he chooses to care for them. Sometimes Gon wants to go left but instead goes right and other times he doesnt care which way to go and will take the path of least resistance to reach his goals.
Unlike many other popular anime protags in shonen, he isnt fixed, you cant put his character in a formula, put in a situation and always get the same outcome, And its comforting to see such a morally ambiguous character.
Thank you.
No doubt he is a compelling character an asshole, but damn it he is interesting to read about.
@@minatodroger7890 Not an asshole. He's a good kid, who ends up in situations too complex for him to deal with.
@@beastvicious8672 oh he is an asshole at times, but doesn't change he is a good kid
He’s a kid.... idk if anyone here has spent any time with kids of varying ages but all kids up until their teenage years are sociopaths. They don’t give one fuck about anyone other than themselves and have to be shown and taught empathy and compassion. They need to be shamed into it and gon lives in a world in a particular moment in time where no one showed him that and he flourished bc of it.
Itll be interesting to see. If ever. How spending time with his “mom” will change him as a person when /if he returns.
@Demonic Soul "I dislike humans"
What are you then?
gon only respects what benefits him. he is the most realistic character ever. majority of characters are good for the sake of being good despite how bad the other character treated them
He also does help out strangers, even when it doesn't benefit himself. He's generally a selfless person.
@@beastvicious8672 can you give examples? because I don't remember gon helping someone if I didn't benefit him in any way as well.
@@pg2356 He helps Mito around the house and people in his village. It was said he was taken on "dates" doing tasks for people in his area. He jumped off a boat during a storm, to prevent a stranger from drowning. No one else did anything before Gon took the initiative. He avoids harming the shape shifters in the beginning, even though they threatened him. He waits for Leorio during the marathon of the exam and helps him getting his tag later on. He also fought Hisoka, for Leorio's sake. When Killua is returned home, Gon comes to free him. He treats all of the Zoldyck guards with respect and apologizes for his intrusion. During the entire Phantom Troupe arc, he was helping Kurapika.
@@beastvicious8672 If he let the stranger on the ship die that could have affected him getting into the hunter exam. I think the same can be said for the shapeshifters. During the Phantom Troupe arc, I honestly think his main motivation was the possibility of fighting a troupe member/ getting greed island. Everything else you mentioned seems to be Gon simply being a nice person rather than going out of his way to be selfless, except for Killua. I think him saving Killua was 100% selfless.
@@pg2356 he didn’t know saving that sailor would affect his entry to the exam, gon is quite literally an idiot...
I actually just learned this about today in my psychology course, but basically gons attitude kinda lines up with desire theory of mind, which is the idea that children think people only act in ways consistent with their desires, which sounds like brandis theory of how gon snaps at people who contradict themselves and what they represent in his head
U learn something new everyday
It's really annoying when people say "Gon has such trash writing hes just dumb and flat like every other protag"
Hahahhahhaha 😂😂 But yet those are the same ppl who like Asta.
@@kingmeruem8821 I like gon too, but what's wrong with liking Asta?
Don’t bother trying to have a discussion with such uncultured swine lol
They don't understand Gon's amazing writing but what's wrong with Liking Asta?
I love both Gon and Asta.
Nothing wrong with liking asta, but if someone daresays Asta has better writing than Gon,,,
Had too much chemistry work, thought that said molarity for a sec
Next up: the normality of Gon
(Yes I know the joke is shit)
I felt that one in my soul
Gon has high electron affinity since Killua’s always around him
@@danielberry4728 What about electronegativity? How strong are his bonds with others and how much does he really take from Killua?
@@greg7402 Plot twist, they’re covalent at some points, ionic at others
*Killua shows his nails with which he killed a person*
Leorio: 0_0
Kurapika: "That is good...if he's not against us"
Gon: "Like a cat :)"
Nice follow up, Aleczandxr. I saw “The Morality of Gon Freecss” last year, and then again a few weeks back because I just like anime analysis videos. And here I am, learning to understanding the nature of one of the most interesting anime characters today.
One thing I've noticed is that you are unable to call Gon either selfish or selfless because it depends on the circumstances and we're all similar in a sense. It truly adds depth to Gon as a character and allows for us to theorize more about him.
So human i love him
Like one comment here said.
He had to grow up too fast.
He wasn't ready for the fast changes in the perception of people.
Kids or ones till age of 14-15 like interesting things and don't know the risks and takes time to adapt. It was too fast for him.
:C
11:36 "Its a fact not a judgement" My thoughts to all people complaining about the video. He's not saying anything bad about Gon he's just explaining what he did in a more nuanced way from his point of view. He's not making anything up. Everything "bad" he says about Gon is already in the anime.
The internet will always find a reason to turn against you. Sometimes they almost intentionally ignore your point in order to find an excuse to act like smartasses. Don't worry, I understood what you had to say in the original video
I'm currently rewatching Hunter x Hunter (2011) and noticed that Binolt's clothes and home-town in his flashback in episode 63 looks really similar to Leorio's clothes and home-town in his flashback in episode 4.
Damn.
May be we will got a goosebump in the future only if togashi continue to write
@@AnhNguyen-sq5yg I haven’t read the manga, but he doesn’t seem to use backgrounds, so it probably wasn’t from Togashi, but the anime writers.
I never thought you were criticizing Gon. It was a very intriguing analysis of his morality imo. I think some people take things personally when they shouldn't sometimes. But we all perceive what we consider "reality" differently.
An Aleczandxr HxH video? Don't mind if I do
SPOTTED Natty man out his natural habitat
I love that you released this. I was talking to a friend just last week who watched your video and came away from it saying the gon is a psychopath. While I had the stance that it just proves how human of a character he was.
author: *states opinions*
internet: _surprised pikachu face_
Basically.
Your original vid really helped me appreciate the character, just rewatched HXH and makes it more fun.
But never thought you were implying Gon was pure evil or anything. Its an interesting take on child-like traits in characters, and the "survivalist/hunting" aspect of Gon's upbringing. We're all selfish as kids.
Also like how this video points out some of the positive child-like traits, like being quick to forgive and forget.
Honestly a lot of these criticisms come from an emotional judgment of your analysis and not as a criticism of the content itself. People see you attacking the character or writing, suggesting that it's "bad." The criticisms I think you missed the mark on you admitted to. Everything else just seemed like people failing to understand that you're not making judgements on a fictional character.
GRIFFITH DID NOTHING WRONG!!
@Alexander Supertramp
"Griffin" IS a character, just not in the show you're talking about.
To me you are fictional, for a reason. I do not engage with you nor know you, in fact everyone is fictional to some point, we acknowledge and give form to those we know and associate, to some point a fictional character becomes more real given the number of people attached to it, so in a way they feel they are attacking a friend, it would be the same as if a person that knows you hears someone slandering you he will defend you, but someone that does not simply shrugs or just does nothing. But hey Do not mind me much after all the Holy Catholic Church Killed Thousands if not Millions of People through Millennia in the name of a Guy that was Nailed into a cross,or the other ones that killed you for a guy that was his prophet.and we do not know if both were fictional...
@@bernhardvonbarret1729 What?
@@Michael-uo8yv lmao
Wooooow that part about Gon being fixated on a his views of a persons nature is something I never would have picked up on so clearly if it wasn't pointed out to me as a trend (damn human complexity literally ruining everything even my precious baby boy XD)
Don't know if anyone said this before, but i believe the easiest way to summarize it is that Gon only Care about himself and his friends, being apathetical to everyone else. Thing is, he makes friends really fast, so this apathy rarely shines through.
I think one way you can put it is: Gon is a naturally good person, but he's also a natural born Hunter, and those two don't always overlap.
I'm not sure if Gon is a naturally good person though
I can't wait Gon and Gyro interaction together! They both have dads that doesn't really care for them that much. Although in Gyro's case, it was far more worse than Gon's.
They're going to be enemies in the future
Gyro's not dead?
@@nschannel826 in the manga he becomes an ant. His will was so strong, that all his human memories remain, and now he's just a human in an ant's body. And that's very dangerous.
@@tanyaharmon6739 not only that gyro is literally the personification of evil it self he’s literally the purest form of evil gyro is basically if evil was a person he’s even more scarier than TERRORSANDWICH with a Will a drive like gyro the restrictions and vows that this dude would put on his nen would be disturbing
@@Daviyah_yisrael TERRORSANDWICH LOL
The Morality of Gon Freecss is still a fantastic video. Even though there wasn't a lot of discussion of his morality in the mainstream at the time, it is something me and my buds discussed once I finally got them to watch it. This is similar to that "poison" that Toriyama talks about when referring to Goku's selfishness.
*
I'm thinking Togashi might have been influenced by this interview as Gon often-times feels like a deep look into the psyche of shonen-type heroes like Goku.
"There’s how, basically, Son Goku from Dragon Ball doesn’t fight for the sake of others, but because he wants to fight against strong guys. So once Dragon Ball got animated, at any rate, I’ve always been dissatisfied with the “righteous hero”-type portrayal they gave him. I guess I couldn’t quite get them to grasp the elements of “poison” that slip in and out of sight among the shadows." - AT
I dont know if I just missed it, but in the comparison of his reaction towards Nobunaga vs Binolt,
I think it's good to note that he already had a pre emptive idea(or hate) towards them because he heard about them from kurapika
Yes, that’s essentially one of the main reasons that I compared them.
That's literally why they're mentioned to begin with lmao
Just watched you initial hon morality video earlier this week after finishing the current anime series, and I’m so happy that you made a follow up. Great work! I definitely think gon, while simple, is the most interesting and flawed character in HxH and even though his character arc has ended I hope he has a return in the story with different intentions in terms of his goals. Definitely the character with the most room to grow and I love that HxH explore that.
hon 😅😅😅
Gon is amazing. And I love that you have revisited him as a character. There's literal hours of content to talk about regarding his entire character from Ep 1 to Ep 148.
You should touch on the fact that he lets people lie to him so he feels justified when he kicks their ass
lol I saw that video too. the one with the good editing
I mean i would do that too of someone is a bad person and they lie to me i will indeed feel justfied if sent to their grave
he’s such a well written, interesting, unique protagonist. i love him,, he’s a good lil boy overall
21:52 On the topic of Gon's psychology, there is one *very* important fact that everyone needs to consider: *children cannot be diagnosed with personality disorders!*
Personility Disorders are meant for diagnosing adults who have fully developed brains who have had an entire childhood to build themselves socially and morally. Minors are to be diagnosed with *conduct disorders* instead. And as Aleczandxer described, Gon's behavior is not outside the norm for a child (or even most fully grown adults) in the environments Gon has been in.
Now that's not to say that Gon is entirely neurotypical without mental illness of any sort - Gon likely has C-PTSD due to parental abandonment and social isolation, which itself could be compounded by the potential for ADHD. (Remember that Gon had no friends his age, no video games or internet, and spent his entire childhood engaging in risky behavior for the sole purpose of entertainment; he got all the fun he possibly could out of the nature around him, and even resorted to dating predatory adult women just to experience a change of pace. Understimulation is harmful for any child, but for children with ADHD understimulation can be more intense and more harmful, which would add another layer of trauma to his childhood, and would create even more harm to his sense of self-worth.) However, even *these* diagnoses are difficult to attribute to him because he is a fictional character and we never have a chance to sit him down and ask him the sort of pertinent questions necessary for a diagnosis.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Fans should stop diagnosing characters using science they don't understand.(And if y'all decide to do it anyway, then at least consider more diagnoses than just whatever sounds edgiest.)
As a Pych student pursuing Clinical Psych in the future, thank you!
T h a n k y o u.
*nod of approval*
👏 best comment in the thread. My sister, who was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, said Gon seems to have symptoms. He hyperfocuses on goals and searches for constant stimulation. Couple this with his natural stubbornness, and it's very dangerous when he puts himself in life and death situations.
What if Togashi surprises everyone by announcing that he's been working on HxH the _entire_ time and that it'll be out soon.
A boy can dream.
I've had the same thought lmao
No but seriously, you never know when he's working on it. Maybe he already has some pages or even a few chapters written that haven't been made public yet. That's what I like to think lol
boy i am from 2022 and do i have a treat for you
@@xenopyxis I also know what bungee gum consists of...
(Also that Togashi is back lol)
@@Will-jg2zs I thought it was a huge prank at first but then I saw the twitter post and started crying a bit ngl
@@xenopyxis me too man. I've been so excited (like everyone else)
We're gonna get 10chs apparently
This is the most underrated anime analysis channel on RUclips, in my humble opinion.
I would like to toss my two cents in, in particular about kite and gons first kill. I sit on the side of things where gons doesnt see the ants as people. At least not when he squeezes the life out of one. So to me the first time gon kills someone is when he fails to save kite. In several moments in the show we can see that gon feels at least partially responsible for kites death. Gon cant even bring himself to accept the loss of kite until Pitou gives him no other option. Its comes up over and over again that gon wants to save kite, well past his death. Gon feels empty when he finally understands. He becomes void of all wants other than revenge, but he finds no joy in it. What gon truly wanted wasnt to make pitou hurt, but to feel what kite had felt. He has his arm ripped off and he says it doesnt hurt, yet he cries. He wants to be punished, he wants consequences for his inability to save kite. Gon was able to make his nen restriction because he felt he deserved it. His final wish wasnt just for power, but for the weakness that followed. Gon had to freely give up all his might to have just a moment of godly power. Laying in that hospital bed was punishment for kites death. So to summarize, gon is heavily affected by his first kill, he just considers his first kill to be the death of kite.
“His final wish wasn’t just for power, but for the weakness that followed”. That hit hard and really shines a different light on Gon’s breakdown/grieving. I wish more people could see it this way. He gave up his entire life to make up for the loss of Kite’s. It’s interesting how both selfish and selfless that is. He’s truly just a real human child.
I absolutely love what you said about Gon being brought up on an island where the first thing he ever learned first hand was survival of the fittest. My favorite video game character Sonic the Hedgehog also experiences this basically in his 2d games, and as a result of this, Sonic’s capable of both good and evil, he’s just more so inclined to good, and the chaos emeralds respond to his mood/energy. Another example is Fullmetal Alchemist where Edward and Alphonse Elric specifically undergo training in order to understand the cycle of the universe. Like you said, Gon is a pure boy. Both Good and evil alike. There are countless characters in Shonen and Seinen that are portrayed to be pure boys/children. Goku and Luffy are my favorite examples, but Gon executes this far much better because they show the darkness within him truly. Sonic has taken on an evil form with the chaos emeralds before. Edward, as a child specifically dabbled into alchemy regardless of the fact that Winry’s grandmother specifically told him that it’s the devil’s practice and is strictly forbidden, and even after he opened the gate of truth and the abyss consumed his brother’s body and his arm and his leg, he still studies and practices alchemy and wants to re-open that gate to gain those things back.
Those are shonen examples, and their worlds are respectively shonen, dealing with less adult and truly vulgar topics.
My favorite example from my favorite Seinen manga is the most polarizing/hated character arguably in all of anime: Griffith. Griffith is literally a pure boy in a seinen world. His world includes things like rape and torture and beheading in battle and being burned/eaten alive after being accused of paganism, and far more cruel things than you’d see in a shonen story, but as an adult and as someone who’s witnessed history, you know that these things truly do take place in the time period that Berserk is set in. I personally believe that one of the huge themes behind Griffith is losing his purity as he’s tempted by old men. Old men, like Netero for example, are supposed to represent the malice within the hearts of mankind. The world of Berserk always shows men that are either old, or hideous, or brute, giving into earthly desire. Genon the governer is a pervert for young boys and Griffith ends up sleeping with him for political gain, Julius cannot accept the reality that a commoner is better than him, so he takes it out on countless people like his son, and almost gets his nephew Princess Charlotte killed, The guy that’s from the Corbolwitz family hates Casca because he thinks of women as inferior and wants to defile her for disgracing the battlefield (in his eyes), the King of Midland literally wants to fuck his own daughter. It’s insanely messed up, but all these characters are explained as being men trapped in a world of darkness where they are forced to give into their desires because they no longer bear any light. They are basically demons, and no different from the apostles and the Godhand in spirit. Yet, in Griffith’s eyes, these are the men who rule the world, who own the kingdoms and castles and command other soldiers and have money. Griffith, being a pure boy in an insanely dark and twisted and corrupt world, IS CONSTANTLY BEING TEMPTED.
That’s just the example I wanted to bring up. The only real difference between Griffith and these characters is 1.) the worlds they live in, and 2.) Griffith rants about his ideals, while most of these characters, especially video game characters (Sonic, Mario, Link) almost never talk, especially not about their ideals. The reason I bring up these characters and don’t lump them in with the typical shonen protagonists is because MOST of these characters aren’t dumb. Yes, Gon, Luffy, and Goku are specifically dumb in terms of not being good with numbers or simple stuff, but they all get the bigger picture. Gon is even socially smart, he’s just not good with things like numbers. Another character I like a lot is Sasuke Uchiha, because he is also at least trying to be his pure self and confront his darkness, plus he is also a child whenever he deals with people who are significantly more experienced than him (Itachi, Obito, Orochimaru, The Mizukage and the Raikage, Kakashi) all these characters treat him like an impulsive child, and it pisses him off. Also, every once in a while Sasuke does ramble about his ideals but it’s nowhere near as much as Griffith. Regardless, he’s rambled enough about them for the viewers to now stereotype him as this edgy emo dark mood long black haired character, which is an understatement to his character completely.
Basically, I’m not saying all these characters are the same, or that they have the same amount of good or evil within them. I’m saying that all of these characters are themselves and stay true to themselves, always seeking to know themselves better, and doing what they feel like doing, whether it’s good or evil/light or darkness/prevents regrets or gives birth to regrets. In their chaotic universes, their sense of order is literally their chaotic feelings/instinct, and in turn they end up being in balance with their universes.
I first watched part 1 almost 2 years and it introduced me to your channel so seeing that you have made a second one was an amazing feeling.
Alec: *Thoughtfully explains Gon's in-story flaws as a person and praises the character's writing*
Dumbasses: LeAvE gOn AlOnE!!!
Last time I was this early, killua still had a needle in his head
I've had a few people telling me that their comments for this video seem to not be going through or disappearing. I'm sorry if that's happened to you - this is a problem that happens occasionally if RUclips decides to mark you as spam for some reason and then not put your comments in the spam filter for me to approve them. Hopefully the problem goes away soon, but I'll be periodically checking through the spam to ensure that I don't miss anything.
Learning new fancy words with Aleczandxr ❤️👍🏻
I’ve always thought of Gon as a satirical look at Shonen tropes.
Most mangakas seem to ignore their characters are CHILDREN and the trauma these kids go thru should affect them NEGATIVELY.
Not to mention the lack of parental guidance, how else was Gon going to end up??
Oh my, a new analysis video and sequel
Gon was the main character I expected, and I’ve never been more wowed away
I dont know why fans were dogging you out for calling him a hypocrite. He is his attitude to kura alone showed that. He finally understood what it was like to thirst for vengeance and his ass got punished for it.
It did not confuse me your intent on the first video.
The first video whas clear tbh u can dot the points ur self to
I sincerely respect your content and your character analysis. Keep doing what you do best and don’t look back. No apologies or further explanation needed. Keep it up!
I love how some people hate Gon because he’s real and they’re afraid of the thoughts that liking him means they themselves are also selfish terrible maniacs
Local 12 year old boy has mental breakdown when cat tears his kite
😂
Lmaooo 🤣
Please don't ever justify your own misjudgement for other peoples lack of understanding!
Can you clarify what your trying to say? Are you taking a jab at Aleczandxr or the fans?
@@Comicbroe405 it was 9 months ago so I don't really remember :D
but I remember Aleczandxr literally making one of the most poignant anime related RUclips videos of all time. Some viewers responded with a negative back lash for what can only be described as a lesson in life. People were upset that Gon was presented in a selfish way (because he is) and the fans didn't like it #wimps I will never discredit anything Aleczandxr does. He is an artist. An underrated one at that! Does that clear it up for you? :)
2:06 TBH I think you made people like Gon a lot more like you did with Chrollo. You shed light on how much deeper there character goes than what meets the eye. I think you made ppl enjoy the series and characters more tbh.
It's gone both ways, tons of people began to like him more and tons of people disliked him more.
Don't mind me, I'm just reeling from the realization that Gon's morality rings true on a meta level. He consistently gets upset when people contradict his initial appraisal of their character, in the same way we get upset when his dark turn contradicts what we expect from the stereotype of a happy-go-lucky shonen child protagonist.
Hello, pretty long comment but just here to say I really love all your videos. They really made open my eyes to the richness and depth of HxH. Easily making it my favorite series of all time. It also sort of inspired me to analyze HxH for myself even further.
And one of the things I analyzed the most thanks to your videos is Gon's character. Since I feel there are more layers to him and his character arc throughout the series. And what I found is that his character is not only about being a realistic kid thrust into an adult world but it is also about self-worth, understanding one's self, purpose, and trauma (abandonment issues) just like Killua.
And based on the discussions I've been on the internet, a majority of the fanbase are unaware of this side to Gon, missing out on a lot of nuance to his character and the intent Togashi has with writing Gon. And misinterpreting him as a psycho or something during situations like the Genthru fight, the Komugi situation, the Hanzo fight, and etc.
So I don't know if you're interested in making another video about Gon to explain his character further and push discussion to the fanbase or read my analysis on him since he is one of my favorite characters and I think he is heavily underappreciated, but I would be glad to hear your thoughts on my analysis.
www.reddit.com/r/HunterXHunter/comments/n2a9f1/gons_selfworth_and_abandonment_issues/?
Very cool! I conceptualize Gon’s aversion to weakness as something a bit different than a lack of self-worth due to abandonment issues, but the sentiment is similar and as you said he is much more of someone to externalize to contrast Killua’s internalizations. I think there’s a lot more nuance to him that diverges him from the stereotypical stubborn but determined and straightforward character many may see him as. I think he’s a simple person, but not a simple character, and you articulated that really well.
Alec back with another banger. You and Gon are a perfect couple for delving deep into writing quality
I just finished rereading the election arc, so this addendum came at a good time.
People can't hear anything bad about a character these days. Gon is one of my fav protagonists ever but he is an absolute psychopath! That's a part of his character. I have watched ur original Gon's morality video twice now and there was nothing wrong in that video. Infact that video is the best analysis of Gon's character on RUclips. Keep up the good work man!
Thank you for the kind words! Although once more I’d like to reiterate that in my opinion, Gon definitely isn’t a psychopath. You’re welcome to think that way of course, but just want to clarify for anyone reading that that sentiment doesn’t reflect the views of the video. Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks for the support and thanks for watching!
Remember when Nobunaga said that Gon would be a great phantom troupe member?
Honest to life after watching this, i wholeheartedly think that if he had met the phantom troupe before killua, kurapika and leorio, he would have def joined
Grest videos! I just finished watching hxh yesterday and not gonna lie the last arc had me feeling frustrated, but I didnt think gons development was surprising at all. The show never shied away from the duality of Gon's strong sense of will and how its both a strength and weakness (probably his biggest). The character traits he shows (positive and negative) make sense for him with how he was raised, the setting, how much his dad shaped him, etc. I can't wait to see how (if the story with him continues) he will mature.
Thank you!
Great video. I think the thing that I took most issue with was the whole point about gon only liking people who are "beneficial" to him or his close friends. That phraseology implies a very transactional nature which I don't believe is present in gon, nor do I believe that gon is cognoscente of such motivated behavior.
for the record: im not saying that you believe gon views his relationships in such a transactional manner, simply that some might have gotten that impression while watching your video the first time around.
Man i love delving into the deeper meaning of this anime, thanks for making these vids
this is so incredible. out of this world amazing work here!! just love sitting back and eating while I listen to your vids like these :)
Sorries about those who got the wrong idea about your first video. I honestly think you got your points across well and I enjoyed the video back when I first watched it. I appreciate this video though as well. Just shows we can all state opinions or points of view that helps us to better understand or broaden our outlook to places we may have overlooked without being a butt about it. Nice for all that did so in a respectful manner and I hope you all have a nice day!
Cheers!
Thank you for the update! I've watched HXH several times and I always pick up something new when it comes to the characters and their personalities.
I think this addendum finally made me realize why God doesn't hate Hisoka even though he's been an antagonist more than once throughout the series. I was always kinda confused as to why he would despise the rest of the Phantom Troupe, but be friendly (if cautious) toward Hisoka--it's bc he thinks that Ronald McDonald from Hell is very simply a sociopathic murderer, and he kills because it's simply in his nature to want to fight strong enemies (but goddamn if it isn't a little bit creepy lmao). It doesn't hurt that Hisoka never works in direct opposition to Gon's goals either, though. Idk. Gon is a really cool character.
Oh yes more content about the GOAT
Tbh honest i'm just really appy to see you bring some more content about Gon. He's a really deep character and your first video was a real shocker. It brought a new point of view in the community and made many including myself question themselves. Truly amazing work Alex
Now I know why did I find this anime so relatable, because I have the same mentality as Gon except that I'm aware of it.
this video is just amazing, thanks for the amazing quality and insane effort put into this!!
Gon's character is literally the catalyst for Killua's journey to discovering his self-worth. Just because he is selfish does not dismiss the good side of his character entirely, especially since he is a 12 year old. He still has years of emotional development ahead of him until he fully becomes his own, and the fact that he was exposed to the harsh world of HxH so early did not help to put his character in perspective.
Gon is a really well written character.
He is my favt shonen protagonist along with
eren Yeager
Light yagami
Sinbad
Great video again.
i absolutely love gon as character, and it was through looking up video essays about him that i found your channel. i think this addendum is a wonderful addition to what was already such a nuanced discussion!
I saw your past video, and i belive it was beatifull well done, you were clear, and well informed, like you said, talking about gon's behavior, should it be more like a patern rather that an rule, ethier way, you did a great job, i understand that you have the need to clarify, or expande on some topics for those that missed the point, to my understanthing, a a lot of the complaings were because "gon its a kid", and that whats exactly the point you were trying talk about, he is a kid, so he dosent fall in an standard of the shonnen portagonist, his morals, and actions, may appear incongruent, and its for that same reason, because hes just a kid that make sense, and thats what togashi was trying to comunicate
bro i cant tell you how many times ive watched the original vid because i love it so much so seeing you go deeper into detail about it made me lose my goddamn mind lmao thank you for the content!!
when they draw shadows on Gon's body, you know his about to get serious
I just wanted to say that I really liked your last video (this one too by the way) and I personally preder to look at your main character from that perspective then just to say I like him and he and erverything he does is perfect although I still love Gon and I am still on his side but it just is much more interesting to also have less "perfect" sides of a character
Its interesting to me that you felt such a strong urge to respond to many of the criticisms from your 1st video. I would not have taken you for the type to do so. Especially after so long! Many props to you for your willingness to admit your mistakes and misrepresentations; but I honestly don't think it was that much of a fault on your end. When discussing themes as complex as morality, its very hard to take objective looks at a set of actions without self inserting either your own perspective or personal ideals into the conversation. I believe most of the criticism came from individuals taking your statements and observations about Gon and warping them into condensed amalgamations of what their own understanding of those ideas were; instead of the complex structures that the author worked so hard to meticulously create. In my attempt to provide some positive reinforcement I would just like to say that I belive your analysis was in fact incredibly objective and really helped people contextualize the complex character that is Gon :)
I very much enjoyed the original video and I think this is a great addition to it clarifying and building on those original points, as they say hindsight is 2020 so it’s great to see that you have given thought and critique to even your own past content, a thoroughly enjoyable video as always
Gon is a righteous man. He dont go around killing indiscriminately. Killing is never an option for Gon. He understands that the world is not always fair and when the time comes, he Will end a life. But his purpose in life and the path he took is the most righteous in its truest form.
The final fantasy music in the very beginning of the video just triggered the most overwhelming nostalgia ever damn.
This video is a really good addition to the first and makes your points a lot clearer and better. I think every essay should be vieuwed over and added on to at a later date after youve learned more through it
I'm glad you liked it but this video in question is the only one that required an addendum like this. It's a very specific case, my other ones have mistakes of course but they don't need full-on clarification videos like this. If I did this for every other video I'd spend the next few years just re-treading the same topics without really needing to and I don't want to do that.
@@Aleczandxr yes im actually watching them now. Your videos are really good. I lovr the meruems power video a lot
Your videos were both on point. Ur analysis gave me a different perspective on Gon's character. It was interesting looking at Gon from a "darker" lens.
Remember that Adult Gon is just raw power, because it doesn't take into account the experience and knowledge he would've gained if he actually trained during those years he aged.
Now imagine Gon as an actual adult with all the tecniques, fighting and Nen experience of years of training...
If his "fake" adult form was as powerful as the Ant King, imagine him with the experience of all the tricks, techniques, hatsus he would've created after decades of training...
Rightttt,ppl fail to realize this😂
Bro your Analysis Video was a GOD TIER in depth explanation of Gons Character and real life human morals and lessons are easily broken down and understood. Dont stress over everyones JUDGEMENT & criticism. Even if you made a few mistakes you were SPOT ON! 👏👏👏
Thank you for your comments on Gon being a psychopath/sociopath. People seem to use those words not only very subjectively, with a generic intent of "lacking in empathy/ morally grey" grouping those 2 concepts together. However empathy and morality are not the same thing and the distinction is a key point in this situation in particular. Those terms are so reductive and black-and-white it contradicts itself. I could surely make a 4 hours long video on gon's morality myself lol but I'll keep it to saying it's more complex than "psychopath/sociopath", the point of this comment was to say as someone who can be defined a psychopath I appreciate what you said about it.
I liked how you pointed out that Gon hating a killer who just naturally was bad vs the trope who knew how to care yet still killed anyways was actually different.
And while Gon's view might have been clouded because he was helped, it should be noted that he probably was just unable to fully comprehend his crimes as well because of the help.
So I think it's more of a view of his mentality than morality. Objectively, Gon might actually agree with the morality of what should be right and wrong. But his mentality would accept a person and be kind to them.
Also, the Chimera Ant wasn't human and looked like an animal. So that is very important to note. It was a monster. Even with sentience. So killing it isn't that strange.
And is it fair to consider a sad, angry and hurting child hypocritical for wanting to kill someone who caused them such pain? Gon wasn't in a calm state of mind at the time.
*And is it fair to consider a sad, angry and hurting child hypocritical for wanting to kill someone who caused them such pain? Gon wasn't in a calm state of mind at the time.*
Absolutely it is, and I promise there's really no need come to be defensive on Gon's behalf because I've made it clear many times now that none of this is a judgment of Gon, none of this is attacking his character or saying that what he did was bad. Yes, what he does is hypocritical, no two ways about it. It was indeed the result of an extremely strained mind, but it's the textbook definition for hypocrisy. However, hypocrisy isn't some terrible sin, humans do it all the time and no one should be condemned for it, so you shouldn't think of it as some indictment of Gon because I never intended for it to be one.
I think it's a simple matter of children being unable to understand others' perspectives. He likes his friends, why wouldn't everyone else?
Your Gon analysis video is one of my favorites, it made me realize why I prefer Gon to many other protagonists from shounen anime and manga (not saying they're all paragons of goodness though). It's refreshing to see a character who isn't perfect and is more like an actual human, without being an "edgy" anti-hero or anything. I actually relate a lot to him because my judgment of people tends to be quite black-and-white and childish, and I'm also very contradictory. I'm sure a lot of other people relate to him for this reason as well. I think your first Gon video was phrased pretty well and you never suggested that he was evil. The people who took issues with that weren't paying enough attention. If anything, these videos make me realize how deep Hunter x Hunter is. I have such fond memories of watching the 1999 version on RUclips as an eight-year-old on an old crappy computer that all my siblings shared. I randomly found this anime I had never heard of, I saw the four main characters and liked their designs and the art style so I watched it and binged the whole series (also, I had a "crush" on Gon, Kurapika, and Killua--I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD DON'T JUDGE ME). I was so lucky to have stumbled on this wonderful piece of art, and your videos give me a new appreciation for it.
I remember people being SOOO angry on Tumblr, and there was a huge debate on it...
But I still enjoy your commentary and analysis. When I first finished watching Hxh, that video was one of the first commentary videos I’ve watched. :)
I am so HAPPY you are back 😊😊😊😊😊😊
Back from where? It's not like he was on a break or anything
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character so simple yet so complex and multilayered
One notable thing with personality disorders is that we do give this diagnosis in childhood as personality has not fully developed and is still very much fluid and forming during this time. Gon is, as has been stated many times, a child. Having these sort of negative personality characteristics are all parts of development and what gets incorporated into our ongoing personality as we grow is what is important. It is unfortunate that no one could prevent Gon from having fought Pitou. What I find most chilling looking back at it is Netero clearly seeing a child ready to throw away his life, with all this potential and bright future ahead of him and just letting him go through with it. Netero could have stopped Gon then and there but chose not to, that has stuck with me a lot and I really want to try and understand why he let that happen as for he knew, Gon would have probably died or suffered a fate worse than death there.
how ridiculous that people would be griping and taking your original video so wrong. It pointed out a lot of things I hadn't noticed when I first watched the series, and clarified even more of what I had, and all of it just made me love him even more, as a character and as a shounen protagonist.