#luniandherkite

[i-heart-hxh]

hi i have a question :3 i didnt rlly fully get these panels but was killua over the edge here bcuz he was worried of gon? like knowing bisky said he would leave gon to die someday.. i was guessing he got so paranoid of it and did this for gon's safety. (^^; help

Yeah, primarily what's going on in this exchange is Killua knows Gon has issues with seeing innocent people being killed, and he worries Gon will intervene if he sees the reality, and get himself killed or injured before they can complete their mission. So he's pushing Gon away for his safety, and so Killua can do what he needs to do without putting him at further risk. Killua did promise himself that he'd protect Gon and make sure Gon can fight Pitou, so this is a part of that.

It's actually part of a larger pattern we see with Killua's behavior towards Gon, where he decides to "protect" him by leaving him out of things and not giving him the full context of what's happening. Think of way back in Heavens Arena when Gido and Sadaso were threatening Zushi. Instead of telling Gon what was happening, Killua went behind his back and handled it himself. Another example is dealing with Rammot during the date with Palm. Not that Gon could have done anything then because he didn't have nen, but Killua doesn't even tell him anything about what happened after the fact.

Of course, it comes out of protectiveness and knowing Gon tends to take things too far, but at the same time it means their relationship can't be fully equal as things are--if Killua feels like he has to hide his own feelings and even what's going on around them in order to protect Gon, it means Gon can't make his own decisions or react to the full truth of a situation, and Killua has to make all these judgment calls about what he thinks Gon should and shouldn't know.

I actually think this exchange is interesting because here Killua is a lot more forthright than usual about what's going on and why Gon needs to stay out of it. But I think it also shows that the issues between them aren't entirely Gon's fault--it also comes from Killua pulling away as a result of his own ways of seeing Gon. Rather than laying out what's going on, discussing it, and letting Gon make his own decisions or talking it out so they both can figure out a solution, he makes decisions for him.

In this case I don't think he's necessarily "wrong" to do this within the context of the mission (though it ends up being a dangerous choice for Killua), especially because he tells Gon what's happening and why he's making the decision he is more-or-less, but it's part of a continuing pattern of Killua trying to shoulder burdens for Gon while (usually) shielding him from knowing Killua is even taking those burdens. In the process of taking on everything himself and not believing he needs backup or help, Killua very nearly gets himself killed (the needlefish scene). Only his kindness in seeing an enemy as a potential friend saves him ultimately.

We don't even know if Killua tells Gon the truth about what happened with that, either--my strong guess based on Killua's repeated tendencies is that he didn't, and he hides the seriousness of what happened to him because he knows it'll upset Gon and split his focus.

Also worth noting that Killua gets so worried about what Gon thinks of him and whether he sees him as a friend or a teammate in this arc, but here within the same arc we see Gon actively disappointed that Killua won't rely on him and stick with him, and wanting to continue to act together. We even see him thinking about it after they split up, worrying about Killua:

Of course this is well before he goes into his full rage hyperfocus that causes him to lash out at Killua, but I still think it's telling that here Gon is wanting to stick together and worrying about Killua's feelings. He seems pretty upset that Killua insists on doing this alone, even though he accepts Killua's logic.

This is all part of the communication tendencies on Killua's side that he's going to need to work on in order to have a better relationship with Gon. Of course, Gon has plenty of maturing to do himself, but I think it's worth remembering that Killua makes decisions like this a number of times that he thinks are in Gon's best interest, but it stunts their communication and means they can't work out the issues between them until they blow up in their faces.

Even their parting seems to be an example of this, where Killua makes all the decisions for Gon and tells himself it's in Gon's best interest, but likely doesn't explain fully why he's doing this. So again Gon is left in the dark about Killua's true feelings and motives.

It makes sense this is Killua's tendency, as is explored in canon Killua was raised with a smothering love, wherein he isn't able to have agency over his own life and others are constantly making decisions for him without his input. It makes sense his love for Gon contains some echoes of that.

Of course, it's something I'm sure they can overcome with time and maturity, but this scene is one example of Killua's protectiveness of Gon getting between the two of them.

[i-heart-hxh]

hai i was wondering if u have an analysis on what happened between greed island arc and chimera ant arc. so basically greed island arc was all abt killua and gon and them reaffirming their friendship and making their bond stronger. they were also (especially gon) being affectionate with eachother. we saw their friendship grow even more during that arc. so then why did togashi just junked that growth with chimera ant arc? like right after their beautiful friendship growth, chimera ant arc comes in and completely ruins it. killua started having doubts, uncertainties, and questions abt his friendship with gon and his worth next to him. and then gon being closed off and not being open with killua anymore, rejecting his help even tho he always accepted it especially during greed island arc, and lost his affectionate personality against killua. tho im not rlly smart on these so i decided to ask if u have an analysis on this (^^; also, im not hating on togashi, ik he has his reasons and his way of writing. im just confused if theres a hidden meaning behind that sudden clash between gon and killua.

Hello!

There are a few different aspects of this I'd like to discuss, I hope they'll help clarify for you why Gon and Killua's friendship took the turn it did!

So, first off, I strongly believe Togashi had Chimera Ant Arc (or something similar to it) in mind when he began the series and established the characters. If you go through the series again after having experienced CAA, there is a ton of build up and foreshadowing of what happened--from Gon's issues with guilt and self-esteem and feeling he has to prove himself by being strong, to different characters' reactions to his unusual ways of viewing the world/moral compass and even wondering if he's a "monster."

There are a few different points at which Gon and Killua's relationship is hinted to be heading in an unhealthy direction. When Gon tells Killua in Yorknew that it's okay if he (Gon) dies, but it's not okay if Killua dies, and that Killua needs to act as a brake for him. The dodgeball match shows Gon and Killua's trust in each other, but also reveals a darker side to their relationship wherein Killua self-sacrifices for Gon while Gon forges ahead, even knowing Killua is being hurt. (This scene is complex and certainly not entirely negative, but it definitely raises some red flags.)

Gon ignoring the plan they had and getting his arm blown off in Greed Island in order to be more personally satisfied with his fight against Genthru is another clear indication that something is not right with Gon. And in general with Killua, we see him struggling throughout the series with expressing to Gon how he actually feels, which ends up contributing to what happens between them.

Togashi was building up these fault lines between them throughout the series, knowing that eventually they'd be thrown into a situation where they'd be in above their heads and things would blow up between them. So, rather than thinking of it as, "Togashi built up this beautiful relationship and then ruined it," it's more like, "Togashi built up this beautiful relationship with full awareness that things were eventually going to get painful and complicated between them."

Hunter x Hunter exists in contrast with most other shounen series. If you watch much shounen you get to know the tropes and expectations--some of which include the power of friendship being able to overcome all obstacles, teens being participants in violent wars/battles without much long-lasting effect on their mental health, and sudden power ups to beat the odds in the middle of battles. Chimera Ant Arc takes all those expectations viewers have about a shounen series (and far more) and intentionally twists them--Gon majorly spirals when someone he admired dies and he's not emotionally prepared to cope with the grief and guilt surrounding this; when Gon has his huge power up to defeat an enemy he normally wouldn't be able to it's horrifying, brutal, and comes at a terrible cost; and Killua is unable to step in and save the day before major damage is done, no matter how strong their friendship is.

By twisting the readers' expectations, Togashi adds a lot of emotional weight and depth to the series that it wouldn't have otherwise. This includes the difficult turn that Gon and Killua's relationship goes in, which reminds us that the two of them are just kids in the midst of something terrible and traumatic, that both have come into their friendship with their own issues from their upbringings, and it makes the series far more emotionally realistic and hard-hitting than it would have been otherwise. It's also a logical growth for their relationship, based off some of the concerning hints we've seen earlier.

As for why exactly their relationship became complicated, the short version is that Gon struggles to cope with the grief of losing Kite, and pushes Killua away out of a feeling of needing to "take care of it himself," particularly because he feels incredibly guilty for what happened to Kite and thinks it happened because of his own weakness. He doesn't want to involve Killua out of a sense of it being his own problem and, in a way, to protect Killua, because Gon won't hesitate to throw his life away to assuage his own guilt.

Meanwhile, Killua also has his own guilt over what happened to Kite (remember, he was the one who decided to flee from Pitou and take Gon with him) and how that ends up affecting Gon. I think he understands that Kite is likely dead all along, but he can't bring himself to express this to Gon out of fear of how Gon would react and the ways this might affect their friendship. Killua ends up deeply impacted by Gon wanting to do this fight alone, and also by Gon's "relationship" with Palm, which both make him wonder if Gon sees him in the same way he sees Gon. Instead of talking with Gon about the possibility Kite is too far gone to save, and clarifying how Gon feels about him, Killua quietly decides he might die alongside Gon, worst case scenario, and that he needs to leave Gon ultimately in order to protect him.

I've said it before, but I do have a lot of hope that Gon and Killua will reunite, reconcile, and heal their friendship in time. I believe Togashi intends to give them a chance to reflect and heal over what happened while he goes back into Kurapika's story (plus the other billion characters in the current arc), and Gon and Killua will be brought back into the series when it's their time to shine again.

I hope this helps you understand a bit better why things ended up the way they did. Feel free to let me know if you're still uncertain about anything!