- #114
Well that's really dumb. I dunno what future events could possibly make this less terrible than it is now.
Like someone said this is just favservice. No build, randomly inserted in a new arc, Chrollo's Nen confirmation entirely skipped, no reaction from Kurapika, and their long awaited fight is held in Heavnes Arena? really? an underwhelming stage to say the least.
I would be all for this if the new arc was about the phantom troupe vs Kurapika exclusively (which is the only thing I care about regarding this series), but it's not.
2/5
How is this "just" fanservice? This was a long time coming, and ever since Greed Island, Hisoka has been getting closer to his confrontation with Chrollo. The buildup here wasn't short-term, but more long and in the background. The fact that there wasn't immediate prior buildup was obviously to up the surprise-factor, which certainly worked for me. Forgetting all of that though, the judgement chain around Chrollo's heart was probably removed sometime during the CA arc, so Kurapika probably already knows that Chrollo is free. I think Togashi hasn't addressed it yet to make this moment more surprising. Part of what makes Heaven's Arena work is that the outcome is going to be very public - whoever wins, there's sure to be a frenzied reaction from a lot of different characters.
Looking at this through the lens of Kurapika, I honestly think Chrollo's direct connection to him in this story is over. A major theme of the Yorknew arc was Kurapika learning that desolation lies at the end of vengeance; he certainly hasn't forgiven the troupe, but I don't believe he's actively hunting them any longer - his primary priority is now simple retrieval of his people's eyes. Of course, if the troupe were to get in the way of that, I believe he would gladly kill them. Killing off Chrollo here is probably a convenient way of letting Kurapika move on from this particular conflict; I see him protecting Oito and Woble as a fantastic opportunity for developing his character, and giving him a higher purpose than living in the past through vengeance and mourning.
Of course, I could be completely wrong if Chrollo actually ends up winning against Hisoka, but I feel like there's a lot more to be done with Hisoka in contrast to Chrollo in the story ahead.
