Hunter x Hunter (2011) Episode 130 Discussion

doraemon1992 said:
Yes, Kite is the first one who instill the idea to be a hunter on Gon, and they do share a time before Kite is killed. They have chemistry too, I can take that since I also read the manga. But to drive Gon that far? I'm not talking about being furious anymore, and since you read the manga, I'm sure you know how Gon will react on next episode.
haha, anyway, I personally just can't take it. If that's how Gon react when Kite is killed, I want to see his reaction if Killua ever killed.

Humza_96 said:
As interesting as Gon and Pitou are, I'd much rather see what's going on with the king. It's easy to predict what will happen in the Gon-Pitou fight.

doraemon1992 said:
I always thought that this scene, where Gon is feeling guilty/sad over Kite's confirmation of death, is actually one of the weakest sad scene in HxH. Sure, it is portrayed really well, not to mention madhouse adapt it pretty well too.
It's just that I feel there is really barely any or almost none chemistry between Gon and Kite throughout the whole series so far. You can say he's basically Gon's mentor, but they barely synch nor he gave anything substantial to Gon's growth. Okay, maybe Gon feels guilty for causing his death, but to the point of driving Gon into "that" state (next episode, hopefully)? It's way too exaggerated imho.

But well, it does lead to one of the best scene in the chimera ant arc. next ep, HYPE

doraemon1992 said:
Yes, Kite is the first one who instill the idea to be a hunter on Gon, and they do share a time before Kite is killed. They have chemistry too, I can take that since I also read the manga. But to drive Gon that far? I'm not talking about being furious anymore, and since you read the manga, I'm sure you know how Gon will react on next episode.
haha, anyway, I personally just can't take it. If that's how Gon react when Kite is killed, I want to see his reaction if Killua ever killed.

xmaikokoro said:


I don't think it's quite that simple. I think the reason why Gon has been so angry and sad over Kite's death is that he had believed for the longest time that Kite was alive. If you think about it, all the things that Gon had done ever since he left NGL was always related to Kite. It was either that he wanted to get back to help Kite or turn Kite back to normal. That is why Gon had been training hard after he left NGL, that is why he even evaded the palace to begin with. But everything Gon had done is now meaningless because of the fact that Kite is dead. It's like working really hard towards a goal, but never being able to achieve it because something or in this case, someone, made it impossible. And that kind of defeat is only something that Gon felt once before when he lost against Knuckle. After that event, Gon cried, saying how he never knew how frustrating weakness could be. This is the same case, Gon had worked so hard to get Kite back to normal but to no avail. But this time something new is added to it, Gon's hope, his belief that Kite was alive, and being proved wrong adds sorrow to his frustration.

I think it didn't matter who had died at this point. Whether Killua or Kite died is kind of irrelevant, this is an experience in which his hard work will never achieve a result he hopes for. And the hope that he had, the hope that believed that Kite was still alive, crushed him.

In any case, this is why I think Gon is so angry as well as sad. Therefore, I view the scene in which Gon blames himself as one that shows Gon deals with sorrow through self-degradation. And when he blames Pitou for Kite's death, he is lashing his anger out those around him. As for what will ultimately happen, I didn't read the manga but...

jreginald said:


Well put. But of course, this also had very much to do with the reason that Kite is dead. Kite is the one guy he knows that's actually met (and got to know) his dad so there's already that attachment established. Gon looked up to Kite (even though it showed the flashback very late) and this episode portrayed that Kite meant a lot to Gon.

But it's not just that. Like TonyStark said, episode 116 showed that Gon was very torn up between anger and sorrow. He couldn't get over how unfair it was that Pitou was healing Komugi but not Kite. He yelled at Killua when he tried proposing the idea that Pitou was telling the truth ("Have you gone nuts?! Saying we should believe the words of a thing like this?!"). Especially in this episode, you see just how conflicted Gon is with himself ("I killed Kite!" "I shouldn't have tagged along" "It's all my fault" "No, it's Pitou's!"). And then there's the fact that Pitou was planning to kill him the whole time, which Gon calls him out for for being a liar before shit goes down.

Add kokoro's reason that Gon's efforts were all for naught and now it shouldn't be too hard to see why Gon would react the way he reacts.

JordyJS said:
If I didn't know any better, I'd say Kite's dead.

In all seriousness, great episode. I think that "filler" was necessary for Gon's character development. It'll just make the finale all the more worthwhile.

Goodtimes420 said:
This boo hoo drama is getting OLD, is this not a fighting anime anymore? Maybe I'm just impatient, but its feeling worse than the never ending DBZ dialogue cliche when there should be more fighting.....

MrAM said:
This was a great episode, as usual, but it had a few minor issues. The padding here was rather noticeable; Madhouse has been doing a good job with the pacing for the CA arc, but this episode in particular felt rather dragged out. I wouldn't be surprised if only one chapter was adapted with this episode. Also, the scenes involving Gon's grief at Kite's death, while well-executed, could have been a little better/stronger. Aside from that, though, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Two things stuck out for me. The first is the little conversation that Killua had with Palm. It was brief and finished almost as quickly as it started, but it served its purpose: Killua has gained yet another friend. It being Palm is especially important because so much ill will existed between them back during the days that they were training with Knuckle. It's heartwarming to see the two of them move past their differences and be true, genuine friends. It also keeps with a theme prominent in this arc: Killua's newfound friendships. First Ikalgo, now Palm. For most of the series Killua's only friend was Gon. Now, finally, Killua has reached the stage where he can make friends easily, even in this sort of situation. It's subtle, but's it's a big deal for Killua, considering his life and background. It also provides a nice contrast with Gon, who contrary to Killua, has been isolating and cutting off himself from close bonds with other people, including his best friend.

Gon's breakdown was great. Madhouse's choice of coloring his memories blue when he was blaming himself and a fiery red when he was blaming Pitou was a wonderful stylistic decision. It also emphasized the duality of his emotions, which is important since the concept of duality has been such a big part of this arc. Here we see Gon struggle with himself, as he comes to terms with emotions and ideas far more complex than what he is accustomed to.

Gon oscillating between full-blown sorrow and blistery rage was reflected earlier, when he first confronts Pitou while she is healing Komugi. It is more pronounced here, as Gon blames both himself and Pitou. The fact that he blamed himself first is significant; it implies that he blames Pitou as a sort of defense mechanism, lashing out to spare himself the immense pain. We've seen him lash out verbally before, like at Killua, for example. But Gon's thoughts here are telling because they suggest that this whole time, Gon has been driven not just by rage at Pitou but by rage at himself. This arc had Gon grappling with feelings that were previously foreign to him, that threatened to shatter his optimistic world outlook. He broke down in tears after realizing how weak he was in ep 91; he despises the feeling. But there's more to it than that- he hates himself for being so weak, so helpless, to the point where he was effectively useless. In his mind, he killed Kite as much as Pitou did. But is he strong enough to face that thought head-on?

Apparently not, since he basically snapped this episode. It startled me just how quickly Gon's tough guy act dropped. His anger had been keeping him going for all this time; now, faced with Kite's actual death, it all collapses, as if it were nothing more than a brave facade. This is all yet another step in Gon's forceful maturity to adulthood, to the reality that optimism, hard work, confidence, and friendship won't always save the day. The CA arc has been unrelentingly brutal and bleak, as it had to be, to appropriately challenge Gon and to reflect his realization that the world isn't a nice place.

It's interesting, then, how fundamentally childish Gon's reaction to Kite's real death actually was. He cries helplessly, he blames himself and then others, and in the end he calls for help, even though it certainly isn't coming. That Gon would ask for help at all, when he has always prided himself on his ability to fend for himself, speaks as to how severe and life-changing this whole experience is for him. His switching back and forth between wallowing in grief and loathing and passionate anger in some ways reflects the King's duality between his Ant and human side. Ultimately, before the Rose, at least, the King chose his human side. Since the King and Gon have been paralleled throughout the arc as opposites, and based on the preview, I think it's clear what path Gon decides to take.

Goodtimes420 said:
This boo hoo drama is getting OLD, is this not a fighting anime anymore? Maybe I'm just impatient, but its feeling worse than the never ending DBZ dialogue cliche when there should be more fighting.....

Aresnalfan said:
Gon is such an insufferable brat. If only the little cock sucker would get the death that he deserves. But like the Greed Island incident, he is going to be healed like it's nothing.

jrcastro said:
am I the only one who likes Pitou? one of the best characters in this arc by far

Valaskjalf said:
zzzZzzz "help kaito" half the episode. At least Pouf made this episode somewhat enjoyable.

doraemon1992 said:
I always thought that this scene, where Gon is feeling guilty/sad over Kite's confirmation of death, is actually one of the weakest sad scene in HxH. Sure, it is portrayed really well, not to mention madhouse adapt it pretty well too.
It's just that I feel there is really barely any or almost none chemistry between Gon and Kite throughout the whole series so far. You can say he's basically Gon's mentor, but they barely synch nor he gave anything substantial to Gon's growth. Okay, maybe Gon feels guilty for causing his death, but to the point of driving Gon into "that" state (next episode, hopefully)? It's way too exaggerated imho.

Minagatachi said:
Wow, that scene with Gon was awfully dragged. I was sad at the start of the scene but by the end I was just waiting for it to finish.

Rest of the episode was alright.

I kind of agree. Kite and Gon haven't even spent much time with each other, and they didn't really share any happy memories or anything (evidence of this is the fact that 90% of Gon's flashbacks of Kite was just him killing shit, nothing sentimental in the slightest). I haven't been able to understand why Gon felt so strongly towards Kite; maybe it was guilt or maybe it was because Kite inspired him to become a hunter. Who knows "shrugs". I'm probably misunderstanding something though, hopefully someone will point it out to me.