Hunter x Hunter Chapter 318 Discussion

The arc is officially and it seems like the next arc is going to be about the election for the new president... I wonder if it's just going to be a vote or if its going to be some sort of battle or test like the hunter exam

Damonashu said:
I'm with the group that enjoyed the chimera ant arc, and I didn't hate this chapter as well. The first eight or so pages were effective in giving you the idea that the king did die, and I still think that if it wasn't for the hiatuses people wouldn't be so sure it was bad.



That said, I think it's worth noting that the Jyunni Shin are based on the chinese zodiac and not the western one.



Damn, I wanted to sound smart and point that out, but you told it before me ! The dragon guy and bunny girls are pretty much giving this away. Still, none of them strike me as a horse, and I just can't guess what's Flowerhead's sign.



Doubt Ging is going to be in there, he strikes me more as the "lonely" kind of guy. Hell, I'm pretty sure the 95% participation requirement set by Netero is pretty much his way of letting Ging be able NOT to participate.



The end of the Chimera, was, well, alright I guess. I also kinda scringed at the beginning at first, but I'm pretty sure that won't stick out too much in the volume release. To be honest, I think most people have stopped caring since it first started, so I can't really think anything of it.



Edit : Well, flowerhead has some kind of feather, so I'm going to say Rooster.

Wow, I was not expecting Meruem to be so vulnerable during these last two chapters. That was beautiful, and actually made me some sympathy for him. Just goes to show that few things are clearly black or white.



    Regarding this whole Chimera Ant arc, it was amazing. so many allies and people lost, and the crazy thing is, most of the world will have no idea of what really happened! Can't wait for the next arc.

Re-read this, while this scene isn't particularly sad because I have no heart or something, it's sad that the best manga arc of all time had to end.



I'm not sure which one's better though, this or the election one. Both were insanely intense and exciting on whole different levels.

I guess I'm in the minority here since I didn't mind those 'wasted pages'.



The King never even beat Komugi once. How sad.



I'm glad they said the people who were hypnotized by Pufu died. I was wondering about that. I figured they had to.



The eleven on the last page are an interesting looking bunch. They all seem to have something going on with their heads. There's one that looks like a hairy meatball, one with flame pony tails, one with something on it's head that looks like a giant  button or a pillow, devil horns, flower head, playboy bunny etc. Not one 'normal' looking one in the bunch. LOL

kimchuy said:
Who are these Jyuuni Shin (12 signs of the Zodiac)? These 12 shady individuals at the end of the chapter.

I only counted eleven on the last page, but I was wondering if they were the Jyuuni Shin as well.

These last two chapters are probably my favourite chapters ever. Every time I re-read them, I start to cry.. It's just a beautiful end to this whole arc and to these two characters. These last moments with Meruem are what truly make him my favourite character. The black pages with simple dialogue followed by the most beautiful drawing in the manga is just excellent.  This would have been a lot less effective without those black pages.



And as this is the official end of the Chimera Ant arc, I guess I should try to give my thoughts on the arc as a whole.

This is my favourite arc of any manga and I love pretty much all of it. Don't really want to get into too many specifics as I will just repeat myself from the previous chapter discussion threads.



The arc really excels both thematically and from the characters. Almost all characters in the arc have some sort of arc and development. There's the big ones like Gon and Meruem, who beautifully mirror each other. Gon loses his humanity as Meruem gains it. It's interesting how close their stories are to each other, considering that they never really meet. But what takes the arc further is the development of all the smaller characters. Ikalgo is overshadowed by a lot of characters this arc but I would argue that his character arc is still superior to some protagonists in other manga in the same genre. Some of the smaller characters have their whole development in the Palace Invasion, like Shoot, Youpi and Welfin. These characters could have easily been dismissed early on, but instead they become some of the highlights.



The whole theme of conflicting human and ant natures is really what everything is about. In the end, the human side does win with all of the survivors. But of course, the human nature isn't portrayed in a very positive light. Most of the ants find their humanity but are still exterminated as ants. A great example of this is Netero that keeps to his mission and attacks Meruem no matter how much Meruem tries to reason with him.



Overall, it's a very dark and sad story. The "anticlimactic" ending fits perfectly with the tone of the whole arc. Meruem being defeated in battle wouldn't have been nearly as effective. Pitou was the only one of the Royal Guards that was defeated in battle, but even that was more about Gon losing himself rather than the actual fight.



And as a final note, the arc consists of some of the best fights ever. The nen abilites have really evolved now and are far more interesting than in the previous arcs. I really like everything with Knuckle and Morel because they have some of my favourite abilities. But I would say the best fight is Youpi vs most of the hunters. Shoot, Knuckle, Meleoron, Morel and Killua all fight him at some point, at it's the really what holds the whole Palace Invasion together.

i was a little disappointed with the 8 pages of blackness, but i do like how it eased the arc to an end, and smoothly introduced the new arc in a subtle manner.

Goddamn, this chapter still makes me so emotional since the first time I read it, who would've thought that a death of the antagonist of this arc can make you this emotional.