HUNTER x HUNTER episode 116 reaction and commentary: Revenge x and x Recovery 

Hard to say who nails it harder this episode, the animators or Gon's voice actor. And the ambition of the writing, to give a character like this so much range, to build it up so deliberately for so long, just incredible.

There's a lot to be said about this scene, a lot of which you touched and nailed on the head, how gon sees the world and what he values, his abandonment issues, his almost need for things to go how he wants to, it's been built up throughout the show and it crescendos in this arc

No matter how many times I watch this episode, I'm still astounded by Megumi Han's voice acting

This is the episode that makes you realize you've gone from "please Killua, don't stab Gon in the back" to "please Gon, don't hurt Killua's feelings"

youve hit the nail on the head with so many things youve said about gon throughout the series about his self destructiveness and selfishness and i think this episode is one of the first ones that starts to show a lot of those things in their most extreme way. poor gon. oh and poor killua. i watched this show one time and gon is one of my favorite characters even with his flaws but i never wanted to do a full rewatch because i loved the one time impression it gave me so much. but watching your watch through i have so much more appreciation for all the other characters. even ikalgo who i couldnt stand the first time with his basement adventures that took away from my gon time.

Unreal animation and voice acting. An absolute legendary episode in all aspects.

Oof, that monologue on "I'm the one in pain, so how can you possibly have any insight?" is something I've thought about a LOT over the years. A serial killer saying "murder is immoral" isn't wrong just because he's guilty of what he's condemning. An outsider who can't read your mind and your history can still give you valuable advice. The fact that they're an outsider can be an *asset*, due to the detached perspective. Your stakes in a situation are not what determine the validity of your thoughts on that situation.

I love this episode. It's in my top 20 of all time. I mean when i first watched this the emotions are still fresh from the last few ones and i was super invested and as you understand what gon's going through and what killua is feeling, it gives you such a deep emotion that you almost feel like you're in the situation yourself (not that the episodes before didn't do that). And the further you watch, the further gons voice is evolving to the emotions he feels, and any time he speaks you feel it. His voice made me cry the first and some other times, and i always get goosebumps by it. It's so well made. I can't truly get into explaining everything i like about it but it's so brilliant.

I feel like gon gets to much hate for his actions in this arc. its normal for a 12 year old to throw temper tantrums and lash out, especially when fighting an interspecies war with the world at stake.

i love ur reaction and discussion, very insightful and interesting

This is not only my favorite episode in terms of direction, but one of my favorite pieces of fiction in general. I have immense respect for authors who are willing to show their protagonist at such a profoundly low point, where the idea of simply dusting themselves off and cheering up almost doesn't even seem like an option. Him not being able to fathom the idea of an entity whom he sees as pure evil, whom has only ever shown him evil, suddenly begging to save the life of some random he doesn't give a damn about is one thing, but it's also that Gon knows how high the stakes are and likely doesn't want to trust something that could one-shot him if he let his guard down. Gon's every instinct, every emotion is telling him not to trust the scary cat lady that turned his other close friend into a frankenstein speedbag and suddenly his best friend chimes in with "maybe we SHOULD do what it says". From Gon's perspective he has every right to snap at Killua, the trained assassin who knows death and deception like the back of his hand, for telling him to trust the world ending threat that also wronged him personally in the most traumatic way possible.

12:48 As far as I'm concerned, this is the exact moment that Gon and Killua's friendship was ruined. With all of this, Gon shows that since what happened with Kite, he's been hiding how he really feels about it, and thinks Killua doesn't even care. He doesn't think that he and Killua are close enough for Killua to care about Gon losing someone he cared about. Like they're just acquaintances or incidental friends. He is nowhere near the kind of friend to Killua that Killua is to him, and here Killua is suddenly being struck with that. It's brutal.

God this episode hits and the climax is peak

I wouldn't know, because the anime had finished by the time I got to the Chimera Ant arc on my first watch when I was little, but I have a theory that the reason this episode has so much recap is because there might have been a break in production? like, it makes sense, right? must be why.

to me, the reason why zeno didn't say nothing to killua is because he wanted killua to have his own judgement of the situation, in my opinion, there is two main paths of thinking in this situation: 1. even if the humans hurt komugi, it is more important to carry out the mission (killing pitou) for the greater good of humanity 2. wait for the healing to complete, so they dont betray their cause by their own acts, by being inhumane zeno didn't wanted to influence killua's judgement by explaining the situation because maybe that could fuck up the future of humanity and he trusted killua. thats my interpretation of that dialogue :)

your reaction and discussion to this specific episode is something I have needed for a long time thank you

i love u pookie bear

Made us wait for this one !! Or maybe I was just too excited. I've been checking every day since the last episode, because I knew how much you'd have to say about this one and I was so looking forward to it !! Keep being yourself and you will never disappoint me.

Meeeooowwww!!! Miqo waited long for diz, nya!

4:31 I wouldn't say that this is what Gon "wants" to see : he's actually going through a new trauma bc he only saw the results of Pitou's experiments on Kite, not the thing actually happening, so until now he could just imagine the horrors Kite went through and at this point he still believes that Kite's consciousness is still around and that he's suffering as they speak, so Pitou healing that girl is the last thing he would imagine (even Killua needed a minute to realize and accept the idea) and Pitou trying to buy herself time has to be so infuriating bc she asks for mercy when she had none for Kite (8:12 this is basically Kite for Gon : yes he's important as a friend and mentor but he's Ging's disciple and that is the reason why failing to save Kite is inacceptable and unbearable) 6:50 well she wouldn't actually 😅Gon is absolutely right to not trust her.. Gon is not only driven by his emotions but also by his instincts, and through the show there are many times when Gon's instincts were right and Killua's judgement was wrong 7:27 how is that hypocrisy tho? he's been very consistent on that matter, you can say that his views on villains are naive but he's just learning through experience how things aren't black and white and is more affected in the present case bc of the emotions involved that's all... with the PT he was angry but still detached bc Kurapika was the one directly involved emotionally and Gon didn't try to teach him what to do despite his own worries... here Killua is in that spot : he's able to take a step back and think... but Gon can hardly do that, yet he still has his morals stopping him even when he definitely wants to ignore them (11:32 the struggle on his face) In a friendship you can't be really equals all the time, one of the 2 can go through a lot and his friend will be there to support without expecting smth in return (or at least not until the issue is solved or the situation is reversed) when Killua needed Gon, even though they weren't that close yet Gon literally dropped everything else and put his life in danger to rescue him I totally get why Killua feels that it is his duty to help now 10:20 I agree both sides have valid points and I like that we are witnessing that kind of situation bc this is a true dilemma and you can say both are right and wrong at the same time... 12:41 even when you're not wrong obviously the tone and how you say things matter too and Gon wasn't in his right mind and hurt Killua bc he felt as if Killua was betraying him (let's not forget that it's been weeks since it was decided that Gon would take Pitou alone and Killua was the one who wanted Gon to forget everything else and focus on Pitou so from Gon's POV "Why the hell are u stopping me now?!" his reaction makes sense to me) and I would say Killua's words were also hurtful in return (the translation kinda miss that part) .... hurting eo while in pain is a very commun thing btw people who love eo... pain very often makes people self-centered I feel bad for both Gon and Killua bc I've been in both positions, I'd like to hear your thoughts when you'll finish the show if you have a new perspective on their relationship

In this episode, Pitou did not recognise who Gon was, yet. Pitou didn't know who "Kite" was yet.

This episode hurts so much to watch

I think Gon deserves to be cut some slack here… I feel like reactors are always particular hard on Gon here and don’t show much sympathy for his heightened emotions and the amount of pain he’s going through that’s making him act in the way he’s acting. It doesn’t completely excuse his behavior of course but it should be recognized and some slack should be afforded to him. Edit: okay I feel you expressed that shortly after I posted this lol

Gon being a hypocrite is one of my favorite aspects of his character because anyone knows if you've been around a 12 year old for enough time, their worldview is very straight forward and inconsistent, and that's kind of obvious given that your 12. Now when you throw a lot of inferiority complex and daddy issues on top of super powers in a dangerous situation. YA this cute little dude is gonna be scary as fuck if you fuck with his kite. It also just goes to show how much easier it would be for our hero's if the ants were just these one dimensional monsters that they were initially set up to be. But the more they show their "humanity" the more our hero's lose theirs

"A breaking point can go one of two ways" I reject your binary choice!

I think its wrong to say that gon is a hypocrite or despise him, because he is not much of a thinker although he comes up with great ideas sometimes, he evolves through fights and through experience and this is the experience! I mean its a common theme for intellectuals or people who use their head wisely, to judge those who don't but its also a fact that people need situations and mindsets suitable to some extent, in order to develop their abilities to understand, else they will remain naive or ignorant or stupid. also gon has been finding his abilities useful for him so far, so he does not have a huge reason to change..

Gon and Killua kind of do the same things, and that's one of my favorite aspects of the whole arc If you remember back in Yorknew, Gon told Killua he's the one who can risk his life for Killua and not vice versa, and Killua really shows it in this arc He almost dies handling Rammot because of the decision to take the burden of protecting Gon and says nothing when Gon shows concern of his injuries Killua leaves alone to slow down the Selection and doesn't trust Gon enough to take him by his side and almost dies, and still doesn’t say anything to Gon I even liken him calling Kite a "magic spell" to control angry Gon as a mirror to the way Gon knows he can get Killua to listen to him if he begs enough (This isnt a spoiler hes on election for patreon) When we reach the very end Killua is heartbroken because he wanted Gon to ask him for help in defeating Pitou, and it hurts me so badly because he's handled business by himself the same way Gon did its sad that they can't stand by each other's side in these situations and chooses to handle it alone so the other doesnt get hurt The biggest difference between the Two is that gon can't control his temper and says ruder things as a result

This episode always remind me of Evangelion Obviously not at the same level but the VA did an amazing job

Let's be real here. Gon is correct in what he is saying.

7:30 YES! I love Gon's development and "deconstruction" in this arc, but I HATE HIM HERE, he's hypocrite, I hate the way he talks to Killua I HATE HIM but I LOVE THIS SITUATION SO MUCH, And I hate to hate him bc he's a 12-14 years old kid going throgh a lot... I love HunterxHunter.

nice

Gon really turning into a monster. What excellent animation and voice acting.

6:41 what is that smoke?

Gon's nature has been foreshadowed and hinted at all series long. Though most would argue this is where it it truly shows, i felt it was already in full display by the end of the Greed Island arc. Maybe it is because i binged the show first time in one sitting but I never liked Gon, actually hated his character and as an MC and found Killua and Kurapika plus the world building the only reason why I kept going with the show. Even on constant rewatches more so now from even early eps Gon is a character that I truly despise. Will always be astounded at how many ppl enjoy him, and not as a flawed character or MC but in denial or defense of his destructive selfish nature to begin with.

Noice

I love Gon/Killua's friendship but jeezus its hard to watch when its this one sided.

Ah we have reached my favorite episode! ♥️