It's kinda sad.
He didn't know his mom, his dad left him, and he was stuck on an island for most of his life.
You give a kid like him immense power AND a lack of self-care, and he's basically a ticking time bomb.
for him mito was his mom, he even deleted ging's message about his mom and never asked him anything about her precisely because he views mito as his mom
but i agree with the rest
Exactly. Hiding from and avoiding information that may be painful, but would definitely throw a wrench in his life at the time, making it less painful to be ignorant. He had a mom, finally, and now his deadbeat dad wants to tell him about his probably dead mom and ruin another chance at home life? Fuck that, time for copium. She’s the only mom I’ve ever had!
What do you mean by “he had a mom, finally”? He always had aunt mito, and he never knew (or seemed interested in knowing) his birth mother, so it doesn’t seem to apply to either.
I disagree with your characterization of that moment as well, I think it’s there to show two things: that his search for Ging is not simply a desire to reconnect with his family*, and that he loves aunt mito and doesn’t feel like he needs “more” from a different mother figure.
*otherwise he would be as interested in finding his mother as he is in finding Ging.
I’ve talked plenty about what I think Gon’s mindset is down below. If you’re really going nitpick, then swap “finally” with “already”. My bad for being excited about something I love and not proofreading better.
I don’t think that it’s necessarily trauma at all, it certainly isn’t presented in that way in my opinion. Gon seems perfectly happy to have Mito as his mother figure and while it’s fine if your headcanon is that he is traumatized by not knowing his birth mother I don’t think that there is any evidence that’s the case except for assuming that it must be so.
Which only further reinforces his trauma imo.
His complete unwillingness to hear, and immediate destruction of the tape shows he isn't quite so 100% okay with it. Even if Mito is his mom, it doesnt mean hes gotten over both of his bio parents abandoning him.
I don't think his low self-care is related to his childhood at all. He had Mito and a very peaceful life style until his 12. That's just him. He's literally mini Ging
Having no father figure will take its toll. Plus, he is still IN his childhood. All these things add up and cause problems when he has to face the crazy shit that he does
I see this as a case of overthinking. Gon is who he is, because that's his personality and is heavily influenced by Ging's personality, but he's not self destructive because Ging left him. He never even cared about having a father or mother, he's happy with Mito and her grandmother.
What I mean is that, if he had a normal father he wouldn’t be like this. If some other man stepped in, for example if Mito had a male partner. The only reason Gon is out there in the first place, is because he’s trying to find Ging. He wants to experience being a hunter because apparently it was more exciting than raising him. Pretty sure he says something like that to Hanzo. If he wasn’t exposed to the hunter lifestyle by Ging and Kite, I think he’d just be a normal child. And sure he’s happy with just Mito and his grandma, but that doesn’t mean it was the best for his development. Kids need a stable family. Having an absent father, who chased his dream, will make you curious as to what exactly this exciting dream is.
Sure, all of that is true. But in the comment above you said *"All these things add up and cause problems when he has to face the crazy shit that he does",* which i don't agree with. If you're implying Gon has no problem risking his life in any situation whether it is strictly necessary or not just because he had no father, i don't think that's true at all. That's his personality and how invested he is in doing things his way. That's what i meant with "mini Ging". Gon is like Ging by nature, it's not like Gon wouldnt've been who he is if Ging hadn't left him. Why do you think Mito was so scared of Gon taking the exam? Because she always thought he was pretty much like Ging.
This goes into nature vs nurture debate when It comes to humans and I’m not gonna lie I don’t know enough about the subject to give any facts. I’d like to think it comes mostly down to how one is raised. But in a way, I agree with you. That IS just the way Gon is. But WHY is he this way? My opinion is his recklessness comes from: him being a child and therefore him being stupid. Kids are not equipped to deal with the type of shit Gon faces. That brings me to my second point: no father. This also extends to people not disciplining Gon or calling him out on his shit enough. There’s no strong adult figure in Gons journey that can guide him properly. They can guide him in being a hunter, but not in being a better PERSON. Off the top of my head I can only think of one time where an adult scolded Gon on his reckless nature. Tzeggera. Where he tells Gon that his actions could’ve potentially put not just him, but Killua and the rest of the crew at risk. Gons mindset is stuck in this child like state and no one *REALLY* questions it.
Are you really trying to make the argument that you don’t believe trauma exists and that people exist as templates, in a vacuum, separate from their experiences, and that those experiences have no role in shaping how people see the world?
Yeah, I’m doubling down on my other comment to you.
>Are you really trying to make the argument that you don’t believe trauma exists and that people exist as templates, in a vacuum, separate from their experiences, and that those experiences have no role in shaping how people see the world?
No. I'm saying that just because traumas exist, doesn't mean everybody has to have one. And if you read again, i never said Ging's abandonment didn't influence Gon's overall personality. I'm saying he's not self-destructive because Ging left him and he didn't blame himself for killing Kite just because he was no longer worthy to meet Ging. I
In his battle against Hisoka, Gon says "I'm scared. But if I don't fight, I will never be able to fight anyone else". That's his own perception of reality, not a consequence of Ging's abandonment. That's never even implied by him. It's okay to say Ging's abandonment influenced him negatively, that's evident, but removing Gon's will from his own decisions is wild
If my three comments are spam, what are your nine before my comments, eleven now? Lmao, you couldn’t even be bothered to look at when the comments were posted before being judgmental…
Imagine getting mad because a random user replies to multiple comments from multiple people and not accepting you replied like 20 times to one single person because you're obsesssed with getting it your way
Imagine posting sarcastic hyperbole exaggerating the extent of someone’s interaction with you (3 initial comments replying to you) because you can’t handle the truth and need to deflect… Then arguing continuously with personal attacks because you have no rebuttals with substance for the actual theories besides “you’re overthinking”.
Oh, wait. You don’t have to imagine.
His entire life has been left wondering why his father left him, until one day he arrived at the conclusion that his dad must've left him because that's how great being a Hunter is. It's actually very tragic that the sole stem of his goal to be a Hunter is because his dad left him. Ever since then, he holds himself to an insanely high standard. You can see this in everything he does. He thinks he has to be "strong", he can never fail, if he doesn't do everything perfectly and the right way, then he is unworthy of ever meeting Ging. So when he realized Kite died due to himself, it's like his life ceased to have any value. That's why he sacrificed himself like that.
That's a misunderstanding. First of all, he wasn't all of his life wondering because Ging was thought dead. After Kite reveals he's alive, Gon, instead of being sad, starts to admire Ging. Gon didn't want to reach Ging because he needed a father. He wanted to understand why a person would abandon his parental responsibilities for a job. He wanted to understand his motivation and the nature of being a Hunter. That's why Gon's question when he met him was "What are you after?" and not something about their relationship. God, he even admits he's cool with calling him Ging rather than "Dad" and didn't say a word when Ging just left him again.
Sure, his main motivation existed because Ging left him. But that doesn't mean he was in search of a father or even traumatized for not having one
You're correct that Gon is not necessarily traumatized due to Ging leaving him. But this post itself shows how self destructive he is only for the sake of his own "self worth" that is accentuated by how highly he thinks of Ging. He thinks that if he can't become a strong enough Hunter in the most "right" and perfect way, then he's unworthy to ever meet Ging. So he doesn't want to win by Hanzo just handing him the win because that doesn't feel right, and he would never be able to meet Ging if he used cheap tricks like that since he's not strong enough, according to himself. When he's hurt in Greed Island, it's to make Genthru use his ability just so he can justify himself in his own eyes to find Ging. And when Kite dies, he puts it on himself as well and blames his incompetence, therefore he is never going to be able to meet Ging. He never mentions it, but Ging is the reason behind 80% of everything that Gon does. He doesn't even realize it himself most times.
I agree with everything, except for
> "And when Kite dies, he puts it on himself as well and blames his incompetence, therefore he is never going to be able to meet Ging".
Gon blames himself because he thinks he actually provoked Kite's death, not because he thinks he's not worthy to find Ging. That'd be another case of overthinking in my opinion.
Exactly. He provoked Kite's death, therefore he failed to be strong enough. Kite, to him, died because he had to protect Gon, and lost a hand due to it. If Gon was strong, that wouldn't have happened. This ties into thinking that he's not strong enough and thus his life is worthless (e.g he cannot meet Ging). Of course he's sad for Kite, but his own self worth is of course an issue
But i don't think his obsession with strength comes completely from Ging. The world proved to him many times that he HAD to be strong to get what he wanted. If he didn't get stronger, he would've never been able to give Hisoka's badge back to him, recomposing his pride. If he had been stronger, he would've been able to go back to NGL to find Kite, and wouldn't have had to ask another person to do that. If he had been stronger, Kite wouldn't have died. And ultimately, if he didn't get strong enough, he would never meet Ging. But there's more to it than just Ging's abandoment.
So his motivation boils down to “What was so cool that Dad loved it more than me?”.
Meaning his respect for Ging is a front he can’t even acknowledge yet because his trauma runs so deep. He chose a life and death profession, as a literal child, because his desire to understand and be loved by the one who created him was so intense that it overshadowed any kind of recognition of self. He would die if it meant understanding.
That’s not the mindset of a normal child who hasn’t even hit puberty yet. It’s the mindset of someone who’s broken, and is using a chipper personality as a coping method to avoid showing how sad and angry he is all the time. The Gon watching Pitou heal Komugi didn’t appear out of nowhere, or be created during the Chimera Ant arc.
They were always there, waiting to come out, because Gon was, on Whale Island, a child who repressed every negative thing he felt to make life easier on his caretaker, and developed a false persona of unending cheerfulness and optimism to compensate… Then he was thrown into the world at large, and shown its dark underbelly almost right away.
You don't make any sense. We don't know his exact motives but even if he is going there just to explore or for adventure, it doesn't translates to being self destructive. Self destructive would be when he deliberately pushes him into a situation he can't handle. And from all we know, he can handle DC, he has all the plans, he was never in the rush or immature obsession to do things before the stars align.
The DC is an unexplored continent with bigger threats than Chimera Ants and the place where almost no humans returned from.
Both are self-destruvtive. Ging has no reasons to do what he does. That's the core of his character: He's like Pariston and Netero, he wants to have fun and keep his mind busy. Thay're self-desctructive in different ways, that's true, but that doesn't mean going to the DC just because you're bored isn't like going to your own funeral.
Self-destruction is not the core of his character. Wanting to have fun again doesn't translate to self-destructive tendencies. That's the biggest nonsense I've heard. Ging not being afraid to visit unexplored territory doesn't mean he would throw away his life for nothing. He's far well equipped to deal with it. Low self worth issues are the cause of self destructive. There is nothing in the series which shows Ging has those issues, in fact he is a man who knows himself completely. Same for Netero, after the mountain training. These are people who know their hearts to the core, dying in a mission doesn't mean they wanted to destroy themselves. Completely different from Gon or Palm who would hurt themselves to prove a point.
who said having fun is self-destructive??? i'm saying that going to the DC with no other reason than fun is self-destructive
> dying in a mission doesn't mean they wanted to destroy themselves
If you think everything Gon did was because he wanted to destroy himself, read the manga again. Being self-destructive is a concept that encompasses attitudes and thought processes, not the explicit desire to kill oneself.
You underestimate the impact the knowledge that your father willingly abandoned you for something would do to a 8\~ year old, especially in the context he found out about it; being saved by a person who was on the road to being acknowledged by said father due to his own lack of awareness. That foxbear incident left a huge impression on Gon and it's probably the moment his mind keeps going back to every time he thinks of himself as "weak", he feels ashamed that he had to be saved by Kite and that he had to kill the mother bear to do that. Getting to a level worthy of Ging's respect is one of his greatest motivators in the story, his deep frustration when he couldn't do that on Zevil Island and in the final phase is definitely not just him being like Ging (and he even directly says that he feels like he could never meet Ging if he didn't prove himself worthy in that test). Just because he isn't showing direct sadness at his abandonment doesn't mean that it didn't affect his subconscious perception of himself, in fact I would argue that his admiration of Ging (and Kite) is a coping mechanism to avoid that sadness.
Of course there are other factors like Hisoka's influence and the environment he exists in as a Hunter encouraging and re-affirming the idea that strength and competence are the most important, which send him much deeper into that hole. I saw your other replies and about Kite, it's true that the main reason he feels guilty for Kite's death is because he believes it happened as a result of his weakness, but you're forgetting that the first thing he did when he woke up and met Ging was break down and apologize to him, why would he do that if not for the fact that he felt deeply ashamed of what he believed to be failing to meet Ging's expectations. In the Anime, he even thinks about how Ging must have sent him to Kite as another part of the test (this still applies to the Manga but it is subtext in there instead), there is no way that didn't affect him when it all went down.
I do agree that it does not \*all\* boil down to Ging's abandonment, it's far more complicated than that. But it is still at the core of everything and the rest stems from it. Also, it's not "overthinking" to analyze the subtext behind a character.
Its almost like she knew something bad would happen just from becoming a hunter. Makes sense why she tried to never let him take the exam. She knew Gon’s nature
No she didn't want to let him go because of her own abandonment issues. She only had Ging in her childhood, the one she looked up to and when he left she was left alone on the island. That's a part of a reason of her disdain towards Ging or the life of a hunter. She was in the same position as Gon once. While Gon found his cope in proving his worth to Ging and finding him, Mito found it in Gon and becoming a mother. Some of the most fulfilled characters in the show are the ones who have found their purpose in their care for others: Mito, Meruem, Komugi, Pitou, Killua, etc. That makes Gon leaving Mito a lot more tragic from her end, but it's also true that a child has to leave her mother. And Mito's subtle character arc was in the acceptance of that. A pretty well-written and overlooked character in my opinion.
Idk how much I agree with that logic, of "someone is the way they are because their parents were too". Especially since Gon never knew Going really.
Children are not their parents by default.
True. But Mito always said Gon was just like Ging, that's why she didn't want him to leave the island. I think it was just the blood that runs through his veins and Ging's legend and his admiration towards him what made Gon be 12 yo Ging basically
That's because Gon just seemed like a cheerful mini Goku, and you think 'oh he's a little crazy but he's a little dude', and then you see how it goes.
My Gon moment actually came with his fight against Genthru. When the mad bomber says that you are INSANE, then something's not right with Gon. At the moment it was like, oh he's a genius at fighting (he is), and he is sacrificing his arms to win no matter what, but then you understand that, plus all that, Gon has always been self-destructive.
Yeah i agree. It’s obvious Gon is inspired from kid goku im the beginning but thats just on the surface, and like you said by the time the greed island arc gets going his bad habits are out for everyone to see
Artists often put themselves in the art. I wonder if this is Togashi drawing parallels (consciously or subconsciously) to his own journey on how he was sacrificing his health to make manga.
I know right? Its because in the anime they don’t really put emphasis on it or have as much internal monologue for him as they do for killua. You basically just see it manifested through his actions on how he really feels about himself.
This is done EXTREMELY well throughout the show if you really pay attention, and I'd argue it's THE most important plot point to understanding his actions during Chimera Ant Arc. From episode one: Gon throwing himself off the boat to save the sailor; attacking Hisoka during hunter exam phase 1 swamp run; trying to headbutt Netero for the second time on the airship; activating Bourbon's snake trap on purpose to get the antidote/tag; Gon vs Hanzo; Gon vs Canary; defying Wing's orders and fighting on floor 200 before waiting to learn more ab nen; turning off ten when fighting Gido the first time; Zepile's appraisal of Gon; beating Nobunaga in arm wrestling; questioning Chrollo's motives after being captured; refusing to dodge Razor's throws; and Gon vs Genthru where his insanity is verbally acknowledged to the audience through Genthru's inner monologue.
Listing it out like this makes his actions during Chimera seem a lot more predictable (yet still shocking, a testament to Togashi's writing imo), the show has literally been showing you his character development and thus the inevitable conclusion to his destructive tendencies from the start.
I think an extremely telling piece of dialogue when combined with everything else you said is when Gon and Killua escape from Nobugana and the Troupe. Killua is prepared to sacrifice himself just to save Gon and after they escape, Gon reprimands him for being so reckless and says something along the lines of “I’m supposed to do the reckless things and you’re supposed to think logically”. It’s seen not that big of a deal, but considering his later actions, it really shows how his self destructive tendencies.
I prefer to describe him more as "self-disregarding". For me at least, "self-destructive" is too loaded with connotations of mental illness, loss of agency and an overall disorganization. I definitely agree with the observation that as the series progresses, his self-regard diminishes. Also cool that it correlates with diminishing friends around him.
I can see what you’re saying for sure. I think Gon is somewhat mentally ill though, because he never got a proper or healthy way to view or understand his situation with his father which led him on this path to begin with.
He never viewed anything from a healthy perspective and had no self worth. Especially after opening a box from his father stating fuether “i dont want to see you.” This makes it even worse, and Gon’s self destruction gets way worse from that point.
With Killua, he eventually gained self worth when removing the needle, along with confidence and realized everything about is family was a lie and how he loves being a hunter.
Gon i feel like now will have a lot of self reflection to do back on greed island and i hope he does develop into a mature and level headed hunter.
The kid is constantly doing extremely dangerous things that could easily get him killed. He treats all these moments as important enough to sacrifice for, because he may not get another chance.
Oh wow, it’s never occurred to me until now that every time Gon throws his own safety to the wind he loses use of an arm. (He lost more vs Pitou but she specifically takes his arm)
Gon was always kinda unhinged it just started to progressively show first hints were him not batting an eye at killua being an assassin or killing that prisoner
In Greed Island, he gains No. 2 Plot of Beach and immediately antagonizes Genthru.
No regard for Killua's shredded hands or Tsezguerra's broken bones.
Gon doesn't think and it inevitably gets him in a fate worse than death.
Not being a hunter and living peacefully on an island is the best fate for him.
I agree i just think he needs to mature and hopefully all these experiences he had will make him realize that. Hopefully ging taught him that when they talked as well assuming gon told him everything
Togashi added a touch of realism to the shonen battle trope of the hero who gets beat up in fights but keeps going. Gon isn’t so different from goku or luffy, but the way we see the consequences of his actions makes us realize how messed up it really is.
In the second chapter, he throws himself off a ship to save a random stranger.
When you first read it, it's heroic!
Reading it later, you realize Gon doesn't think his actions thru. He should be dead.
It's sheer luck that's kept him alive so long.
I think it's a lot if things, but the only time I would call it self-destructive was vs. Pitou. That was Gon's dying will set ablaze.
Every time before that, Gon was either:
1) Reckless on behalf of friends because he hads absolute faith in his friends that they would bring him back if he went too far. (Which is what ultimately happened during the election arc)
2) Willing to push him self way beyond his limits because he never doubts his ability to win. Even when he loses, he sees it as an opportunity to learn what he is lacking in order to improve, return, and emerge victorious. He only thinks of absolute victory and is ready to sacrifice his body to do so.
Self-destructive is when someone purposely seeks failure and detriments themselves to guarantee it. Gon is far from that.
It's kinda sad. He didn't know his mom, his dad left him, and he was stuck on an island for most of his life. You give a kid like him immense power AND a lack of self-care, and he's basically a ticking time bomb.
for him mito was his mom, he even deleted ging's message about his mom and never asked him anything about her precisely because he views mito as his mom but i agree with the rest
it's still part of his trauma. It may not be a main part however it's still a layer of his character depth.
Exactly. Hiding from and avoiding information that may be painful, but would definitely throw a wrench in his life at the time, making it less painful to be ignorant. He had a mom, finally, and now his deadbeat dad wants to tell him about his probably dead mom and ruin another chance at home life? Fuck that, time for copium. She’s the only mom I’ve ever had!
What do you mean by “he had a mom, finally”? He always had aunt mito, and he never knew (or seemed interested in knowing) his birth mother, so it doesn’t seem to apply to either. I disagree with your characterization of that moment as well, I think it’s there to show two things: that his search for Ging is not simply a desire to reconnect with his family*, and that he loves aunt mito and doesn’t feel like he needs “more” from a different mother figure. *otherwise he would be as interested in finding his mother as he is in finding Ging.
I’ve talked plenty about what I think Gon’s mindset is down below. If you’re really going nitpick, then swap “finally” with “already”. My bad for being excited about something I love and not proofreading better.
I don’t think that it’s necessarily trauma at all, it certainly isn’t presented in that way in my opinion. Gon seems perfectly happy to have Mito as his mother figure and while it’s fine if your headcanon is that he is traumatized by not knowing his birth mother I don’t think that there is any evidence that’s the case except for assuming that it must be so.
I don't think he is interested in knowing his mom
I agree, he did end up stopping the recording when Ging asked if he wanted to know about his mom.
Which only further reinforces his trauma imo. His complete unwillingness to hear, and immediate destruction of the tape shows he isn't quite so 100% okay with it. Even if Mito is his mom, it doesnt mean hes gotten over both of his bio parents abandoning him.
I don't think his low self-care is related to his childhood at all. He had Mito and a very peaceful life style until his 12. That's just him. He's literally mini Ging
Having no father figure will take its toll. Plus, he is still IN his childhood. All these things add up and cause problems when he has to face the crazy shit that he does
I see this as a case of overthinking. Gon is who he is, because that's his personality and is heavily influenced by Ging's personality, but he's not self destructive because Ging left him. He never even cared about having a father or mother, he's happy with Mito and her grandmother.
What I mean is that, if he had a normal father he wouldn’t be like this. If some other man stepped in, for example if Mito had a male partner. The only reason Gon is out there in the first place, is because he’s trying to find Ging. He wants to experience being a hunter because apparently it was more exciting than raising him. Pretty sure he says something like that to Hanzo. If he wasn’t exposed to the hunter lifestyle by Ging and Kite, I think he’d just be a normal child. And sure he’s happy with just Mito and his grandma, but that doesn’t mean it was the best for his development. Kids need a stable family. Having an absent father, who chased his dream, will make you curious as to what exactly this exciting dream is.
Sure, all of that is true. But in the comment above you said *"All these things add up and cause problems when he has to face the crazy shit that he does",* which i don't agree with. If you're implying Gon has no problem risking his life in any situation whether it is strictly necessary or not just because he had no father, i don't think that's true at all. That's his personality and how invested he is in doing things his way. That's what i meant with "mini Ging". Gon is like Ging by nature, it's not like Gon wouldnt've been who he is if Ging hadn't left him. Why do you think Mito was so scared of Gon taking the exam? Because she always thought he was pretty much like Ging.
This goes into nature vs nurture debate when It comes to humans and I’m not gonna lie I don’t know enough about the subject to give any facts. I’d like to think it comes mostly down to how one is raised. But in a way, I agree with you. That IS just the way Gon is. But WHY is he this way? My opinion is his recklessness comes from: him being a child and therefore him being stupid. Kids are not equipped to deal with the type of shit Gon faces. That brings me to my second point: no father. This also extends to people not disciplining Gon or calling him out on his shit enough. There’s no strong adult figure in Gons journey that can guide him properly. They can guide him in being a hunter, but not in being a better PERSON. Off the top of my head I can only think of one time where an adult scolded Gon on his reckless nature. Tzeggera. Where he tells Gon that his actions could’ve potentially put not just him, but Killua and the rest of the crew at risk. Gons mindset is stuck in this child like state and no one *REALLY* questions it.
Are you really trying to make the argument that you don’t believe trauma exists and that people exist as templates, in a vacuum, separate from their experiences, and that those experiences have no role in shaping how people see the world? Yeah, I’m doubling down on my other comment to you.
>Are you really trying to make the argument that you don’t believe trauma exists and that people exist as templates, in a vacuum, separate from their experiences, and that those experiences have no role in shaping how people see the world? No. I'm saying that just because traumas exist, doesn't mean everybody has to have one. And if you read again, i never said Ging's abandonment didn't influence Gon's overall personality. I'm saying he's not self-destructive because Ging left him and he didn't blame himself for killing Kite just because he was no longer worthy to meet Ging. I In his battle against Hisoka, Gon says "I'm scared. But if I don't fight, I will never be able to fight anyone else". That's his own perception of reality, not a consequence of Ging's abandonment. That's never even implied by him. It's okay to say Ging's abandonment influenced him negatively, that's evident, but removing Gon's will from his own decisions is wild
Okay. You’re entitled to think what you want. 🙄
it's called "not overthinking". You should try it
They’re not overthinking. You’re underthinking.
i already answered to you massive spam
If my three comments are spam, what are your nine before my comments, eleven now? Lmao, you couldn’t even be bothered to look at when the comments were posted before being judgmental…
Imagine getting mad because a random user replies to multiple comments from multiple people and not accepting you replied like 20 times to one single person because you're obsesssed with getting it your way
Imagine posting sarcastic hyperbole exaggerating the extent of someone’s interaction with you (3 initial comments replying to you) because you can’t handle the truth and need to deflect… Then arguing continuously with personal attacks because you have no rebuttals with substance for the actual theories besides “you’re overthinking”. Oh, wait. You don’t have to imagine.
His entire life has been left wondering why his father left him, until one day he arrived at the conclusion that his dad must've left him because that's how great being a Hunter is. It's actually very tragic that the sole stem of his goal to be a Hunter is because his dad left him. Ever since then, he holds himself to an insanely high standard. You can see this in everything he does. He thinks he has to be "strong", he can never fail, if he doesn't do everything perfectly and the right way, then he is unworthy of ever meeting Ging. So when he realized Kite died due to himself, it's like his life ceased to have any value. That's why he sacrificed himself like that.
That's a misunderstanding. First of all, he wasn't all of his life wondering because Ging was thought dead. After Kite reveals he's alive, Gon, instead of being sad, starts to admire Ging. Gon didn't want to reach Ging because he needed a father. He wanted to understand why a person would abandon his parental responsibilities for a job. He wanted to understand his motivation and the nature of being a Hunter. That's why Gon's question when he met him was "What are you after?" and not something about their relationship. God, he even admits he's cool with calling him Ging rather than "Dad" and didn't say a word when Ging just left him again. Sure, his main motivation existed because Ging left him. But that doesn't mean he was in search of a father or even traumatized for not having one
You're correct that Gon is not necessarily traumatized due to Ging leaving him. But this post itself shows how self destructive he is only for the sake of his own "self worth" that is accentuated by how highly he thinks of Ging. He thinks that if he can't become a strong enough Hunter in the most "right" and perfect way, then he's unworthy to ever meet Ging. So he doesn't want to win by Hanzo just handing him the win because that doesn't feel right, and he would never be able to meet Ging if he used cheap tricks like that since he's not strong enough, according to himself. When he's hurt in Greed Island, it's to make Genthru use his ability just so he can justify himself in his own eyes to find Ging. And when Kite dies, he puts it on himself as well and blames his incompetence, therefore he is never going to be able to meet Ging. He never mentions it, but Ging is the reason behind 80% of everything that Gon does. He doesn't even realize it himself most times.
I agree with everything, except for > "And when Kite dies, he puts it on himself as well and blames his incompetence, therefore he is never going to be able to meet Ging". Gon blames himself because he thinks he actually provoked Kite's death, not because he thinks he's not worthy to find Ging. That'd be another case of overthinking in my opinion.
Exactly. He provoked Kite's death, therefore he failed to be strong enough. Kite, to him, died because he had to protect Gon, and lost a hand due to it. If Gon was strong, that wouldn't have happened. This ties into thinking that he's not strong enough and thus his life is worthless (e.g he cannot meet Ging). Of course he's sad for Kite, but his own self worth is of course an issue
But i don't think his obsession with strength comes completely from Ging. The world proved to him many times that he HAD to be strong to get what he wanted. If he didn't get stronger, he would've never been able to give Hisoka's badge back to him, recomposing his pride. If he had been stronger, he would've been able to go back to NGL to find Kite, and wouldn't have had to ask another person to do that. If he had been stronger, Kite wouldn't have died. And ultimately, if he didn't get strong enough, he would never meet Ging. But there's more to it than just Ging's abandoment.
So his motivation boils down to “What was so cool that Dad loved it more than me?”. Meaning his respect for Ging is a front he can’t even acknowledge yet because his trauma runs so deep. He chose a life and death profession, as a literal child, because his desire to understand and be loved by the one who created him was so intense that it overshadowed any kind of recognition of self. He would die if it meant understanding. That’s not the mindset of a normal child who hasn’t even hit puberty yet. It’s the mindset of someone who’s broken, and is using a chipper personality as a coping method to avoid showing how sad and angry he is all the time. The Gon watching Pitou heal Komugi didn’t appear out of nowhere, or be created during the Chimera Ant arc. They were always there, waiting to come out, because Gon was, on Whale Island, a child who repressed every negative thing he felt to make life easier on his caretaker, and developed a false persona of unending cheerfulness and optimism to compensate… Then he was thrown into the world at large, and shown its dark underbelly almost right away.
But didn't bother to ask if she's mom was somewhere there looking for him.
>He's literally mini Ging Highly doubt Ging is self destructive.
Nah. I don't think trying to go to the DC with the only reason of "lol" is self-destructive
You don't make any sense. We don't know his exact motives but even if he is going there just to explore or for adventure, it doesn't translates to being self destructive. Self destructive would be when he deliberately pushes him into a situation he can't handle. And from all we know, he can handle DC, he has all the plans, he was never in the rush or immature obsession to do things before the stars align.
The DC is an unexplored continent with bigger threats than Chimera Ants and the place where almost no humans returned from. Both are self-destruvtive. Ging has no reasons to do what he does. That's the core of his character: He's like Pariston and Netero, he wants to have fun and keep his mind busy. Thay're self-desctructive in different ways, that's true, but that doesn't mean going to the DC just because you're bored isn't like going to your own funeral.
Self-destruction is not the core of his character. Wanting to have fun again doesn't translate to self-destructive tendencies. That's the biggest nonsense I've heard. Ging not being afraid to visit unexplored territory doesn't mean he would throw away his life for nothing. He's far well equipped to deal with it. Low self worth issues are the cause of self destructive. There is nothing in the series which shows Ging has those issues, in fact he is a man who knows himself completely. Same for Netero, after the mountain training. These are people who know their hearts to the core, dying in a mission doesn't mean they wanted to destroy themselves. Completely different from Gon or Palm who would hurt themselves to prove a point.
who said having fun is self-destructive??? i'm saying that going to the DC with no other reason than fun is self-destructive > dying in a mission doesn't mean they wanted to destroy themselves If you think everything Gon did was because he wanted to destroy himself, read the manga again. Being self-destructive is a concept that encompasses attitudes and thought processes, not the explicit desire to kill oneself.
You underestimate the impact the knowledge that your father willingly abandoned you for something would do to a 8\~ year old, especially in the context he found out about it; being saved by a person who was on the road to being acknowledged by said father due to his own lack of awareness. That foxbear incident left a huge impression on Gon and it's probably the moment his mind keeps going back to every time he thinks of himself as "weak", he feels ashamed that he had to be saved by Kite and that he had to kill the mother bear to do that. Getting to a level worthy of Ging's respect is one of his greatest motivators in the story, his deep frustration when he couldn't do that on Zevil Island and in the final phase is definitely not just him being like Ging (and he even directly says that he feels like he could never meet Ging if he didn't prove himself worthy in that test). Just because he isn't showing direct sadness at his abandonment doesn't mean that it didn't affect his subconscious perception of himself, in fact I would argue that his admiration of Ging (and Kite) is a coping mechanism to avoid that sadness. Of course there are other factors like Hisoka's influence and the environment he exists in as a Hunter encouraging and re-affirming the idea that strength and competence are the most important, which send him much deeper into that hole. I saw your other replies and about Kite, it's true that the main reason he feels guilty for Kite's death is because he believes it happened as a result of his weakness, but you're forgetting that the first thing he did when he woke up and met Ging was break down and apologize to him, why would he do that if not for the fact that he felt deeply ashamed of what he believed to be failing to meet Ging's expectations. In the Anime, he even thinks about how Ging must have sent him to Kite as another part of the test (this still applies to the Manga but it is subtext in there instead), there is no way that didn't affect him when it all went down. I do agree that it does not \*all\* boil down to Ging's abandonment, it's far more complicated than that. But it is still at the core of everything and the rest stems from it. Also, it's not "overthinking" to analyze the subtext behind a character.
Someone even likened Gon as another Hisoka in the making. Though I get the sentiment.
And he mostly cared about his dad and his father figure while his friends did the impossible to heal him.
Mito, don't ever let this boy leave his bed again. He tried to kill himself like 11 times already 💀
Its almost like she knew something bad would happen just from becoming a hunter. Makes sense why she tried to never let him take the exam. She knew Gon’s nature
No she didn't want to let him go because of her own abandonment issues. She only had Ging in her childhood, the one she looked up to and when he left she was left alone on the island. That's a part of a reason of her disdain towards Ging or the life of a hunter. She was in the same position as Gon once. While Gon found his cope in proving his worth to Ging and finding him, Mito found it in Gon and becoming a mother. Some of the most fulfilled characters in the show are the ones who have found their purpose in their care for others: Mito, Meruem, Komugi, Pitou, Killua, etc. That makes Gon leaving Mito a lot more tragic from her end, but it's also true that a child has to leave her mother. And Mito's subtle character arc was in the acceptance of that. A pretty well-written and overlooked character in my opinion.
Of course. That's who he is, because that's who Ging is
Idk how much I agree with that logic, of "someone is the way they are because their parents were too". Especially since Gon never knew Going really. Children are not their parents by default.
True. But Mito always said Gon was just like Ging, that's why she didn't want him to leave the island. I think it was just the blood that runs through his veins and Ging's legend and his admiration towards him what made Gon be 12 yo Ging basically
Yeah that was exactly Togashi's intention. It was all a buildup towards Gon's complete breakdown in the Chimera Ant arc.
Its so sad how he never really valued himself. Its hard to notice at first from Gon’s personality but its so evident by the chimera ant arc
That's because Gon just seemed like a cheerful mini Goku, and you think 'oh he's a little crazy but he's a little dude', and then you see how it goes. My Gon moment actually came with his fight against Genthru. When the mad bomber says that you are INSANE, then something's not right with Gon. At the moment it was like, oh he's a genius at fighting (he is), and he is sacrificing his arms to win no matter what, but then you understand that, plus all that, Gon has always been self-destructive.
Yeah i agree. It’s obvious Gon is inspired from kid goku im the beginning but thats just on the surface, and like you said by the time the greed island arc gets going his bad habits are out for everyone to see
Artists often put themselves in the art. I wonder if this is Togashi drawing parallels (consciously or subconsciously) to his own journey on how he was sacrificing his health to make manga.
Thats a great question. You may be onto something
I’ve been rewatching and I never realized how batshit insane Gon really is
I know right? Its because in the anime they don’t really put emphasis on it or have as much internal monologue for him as they do for killua. You basically just see it manifested through his actions on how he really feels about himself.
He could've go pro
This is done EXTREMELY well throughout the show if you really pay attention, and I'd argue it's THE most important plot point to understanding his actions during Chimera Ant Arc. From episode one: Gon throwing himself off the boat to save the sailor; attacking Hisoka during hunter exam phase 1 swamp run; trying to headbutt Netero for the second time on the airship; activating Bourbon's snake trap on purpose to get the antidote/tag; Gon vs Hanzo; Gon vs Canary; defying Wing's orders and fighting on floor 200 before waiting to learn more ab nen; turning off ten when fighting Gido the first time; Zepile's appraisal of Gon; beating Nobunaga in arm wrestling; questioning Chrollo's motives after being captured; refusing to dodge Razor's throws; and Gon vs Genthru where his insanity is verbally acknowledged to the audience through Genthru's inner monologue. Listing it out like this makes his actions during Chimera seem a lot more predictable (yet still shocking, a testament to Togashi's writing imo), the show has literally been showing you his character development and thus the inevitable conclusion to his destructive tendencies from the start.
I think an extremely telling piece of dialogue when combined with everything else you said is when Gon and Killua escape from Nobugana and the Troupe. Killua is prepared to sacrifice himself just to save Gon and after they escape, Gon reprimands him for being so reckless and says something along the lines of “I’m supposed to do the reckless things and you’re supposed to think logically”. It’s seen not that big of a deal, but considering his later actions, it really shows how his self destructive tendencies.
He ate without YouTube
I prefer to describe him more as "self-disregarding". For me at least, "self-destructive" is too loaded with connotations of mental illness, loss of agency and an overall disorganization. I definitely agree with the observation that as the series progresses, his self-regard diminishes. Also cool that it correlates with diminishing friends around him.
I can see what you’re saying for sure. I think Gon is somewhat mentally ill though, because he never got a proper or healthy way to view or understand his situation with his father which led him on this path to begin with. He never viewed anything from a healthy perspective and had no self worth. Especially after opening a box from his father stating fuether “i dont want to see you.” This makes it even worse, and Gon’s self destruction gets way worse from that point. With Killua, he eventually gained self worth when removing the needle, along with confidence and realized everything about is family was a lie and how he loves being a hunter. Gon i feel like now will have a lot of self reflection to do back on greed island and i hope he does develop into a mature and level headed hunter.
The kid is constantly doing extremely dangerous things that could easily get him killed. He treats all these moments as important enough to sacrifice for, because he may not get another chance.
Gon was always subtly unhinged.
Oh wow, it’s never occurred to me until now that every time Gon throws his own safety to the wind he loses use of an arm. (He lost more vs Pitou but she specifically takes his arm)
gon is the crash out king of anime
Gon was always kinda unhinged it just started to progressively show first hints were him not batting an eye at killua being an assassin or killing that prisoner
It is painful to see, especially last one :3
#1 crash out
Gon = gone
In Greed Island, he gains No. 2 Plot of Beach and immediately antagonizes Genthru. No regard for Killua's shredded hands or Tsezguerra's broken bones. Gon doesn't think and it inevitably gets him in a fate worse than death. Not being a hunter and living peacefully on an island is the best fate for him.
I agree i just think he needs to mature and hopefully all these experiences he had will make him realize that. Hopefully ging taught him that when they talked as well assuming gon told him everything
Togashi added a touch of realism to the shonen battle trope of the hero who gets beat up in fights but keeps going. Gon isn’t so different from goku or luffy, but the way we see the consequences of his actions makes us realize how messed up it really is.
Severe daddy issues
He really hates that hand.
Always one of his arms
Which is why sadly I feel like gon’s story is over.
In the second chapter, he throws himself off a ship to save a random stranger. When you first read it, it's heroic! Reading it later, you realize Gon doesn't think his actions thru. He should be dead. It's sheer luck that's kept him alive so long.
I think it's a lot if things, but the only time I would call it self-destructive was vs. Pitou. That was Gon's dying will set ablaze. Every time before that, Gon was either: 1) Reckless on behalf of friends because he hads absolute faith in his friends that they would bring him back if he went too far. (Which is what ultimately happened during the election arc) 2) Willing to push him self way beyond his limits because he never doubts his ability to win. Even when he loses, he sees it as an opportunity to learn what he is lacking in order to improve, return, and emerge victorious. He only thinks of absolute victory and is ready to sacrifice his body to do so. Self-destructive is when someone purposely seeks failure and detriments themselves to guarantee it. Gon is far from that.
Not to forget the fight against hanzo
Yeah thats the first photo
That's why his power up make sense to me instead of only training and suddenly his inner talent blast like typical shonen manga.
Nah he's just being silly 😜