Meruem is the most REVOLUTIONARY villain in anime 

Meruem made me feel genuine affection towards a character in a way that even few protagonists have. Truly transcendental type of writing had to be done to make him. Kudos to Togashi.

This arc was pure genius. The contrast of the purest character of the series in Gon slowly devolving into something of a monster and the most monstrous character the series had in Meruem becoming human was brilliant to watch.

The fact that not even the antagonist gets to know the protagonist makes it even more revolutionary.

I was always amazed how Meruem became the more human character in this arc. I adore him. I always have. He was able to learn not only from his surroundings but also from his mistakes, he could admit his errors and misconceptions and own weaknesses and learn from them and also do something about it. The way he changed from self-centered to fully empathic and understanding of his and others circumstances and values... Jesus Christ what a character.

Most interesting line is when someone asked '' Please don't kill humans '' and he answered '' You kill animals too and they ask for forgiveness, but you still kill them. ''

I cried for meruem in the end.

He’s the only Shonen villain that had a perfect ending

I always thought of Meruem's and Komugi's relationship as a platonic love story rather than a romantic one. I also really love how they never really express their feelings or emotions towards each other but they both have an idea of what they mean to each other. My favorite moment of that was when Meruem was explaining that he is toxic and being with him would mean death, but Komugi smiles and continues playing.

this is the only villain that truly made me cry 1st when he bowed down and 2nd is when he found komugi and spend their last moments together

One of the main themes I picked up from the Chimera Ant Arc and the main things I got from the characters of Komugi and Meruem is that humanity is non-fungible. Once you become "human", there's never really anything that could ever take that away from you. Meruem is an all mighty king, still the most powerful character we've seen in the series, but he is the result of all of the humans that the Ant Queen ate and he'll never be able discard that aspect of him. Komugi meanwhile is a prime example of someone who would be called a subhuman by certain fascist and/or eugenicist ideologies, being poor, physically disabled and possibly neurodivergent. Despite all of this... she's still human and has the right to stand as an equal to Meruem in certain contexts as well as the right to be loved and no one can ever take that away from her. This dynamic between the two really is one of the most beautiful things I've ever read in a manga. The Chimera Ant arc really feels as much of a condemnation of humans and our society as it feels like a celebration of it. It takes a really mature writer to handle all of this as well as Togashi did.

"What is better? To be born good, or to be born evil and overcome your nature? - Paarthurnax For some reason, this quote keeps coming in my head the more I hear about this guy.

This arc broke me man. Gon, Meruem, Komogi, Netero and the little ant girl all straight up drained the tears from my eyes 😭

I will never emotionally recover from Meruem and Komugi's journey together. I hope, in another life, they live happily together.

everytime komugi and meruem talked you can see its like an adult trying to understand a child, but in their last conversation this dynamic flipped, meruem calling for komugi again and again just like a child reassuring his parent is there when hes about to fall asleep

Also, Meruem means "the light that illuminates everything", this reminded him of Komugi and this is why he was afraid to die.

As someone that doesn’t really watch anime but has seen a lot of film, Mereum is the best fictional character I have come across. I can’t think of any character that even comes close.

The parallels between Gon and Meruem are honestly great, and it made sense why they never met. Gon is a pure being, one that was born wholly good and kind. But as he grew in this arc, he became filled with malice and revenge. His interactions with the ants made him lose control and give up all the kindness in his heart Meruem was born as a natural force of evil and arrogance. But through each of his losses he became more capable of understand and respect beings other than himself. His interactions with humans gave him a purpose and meaning

Meruem is truly inspiring, to have that humility and love in the face of death. Thats a true king!

Your videos deserve way more attention You're underrated af, keep up the great content

Meruem makes me cry. I love him so much.

That last game they played slapped so hard.

Your analysis is so clear and concise and still feels nuanced and fresh at the same time. As someone who's watched HxH many times, and as an enjoyer of video essays like this from time to time to hear how others break down parts of this franchise that I love so much; this was so good. I liked Meruem before, but this made me both appreciate the details that I have missed in the past and honor and respect Togashi-san that much more for his character writing prowess. Instant sub.

Crazy underrated channel, this is fantastic. Great work.

Meruem is such a great, great character. One of the only villains in all of media I truly respect and root for. I actually came close to crying at the end. Seeing him become human was amazing to watch.

wow, your videos & analysis are genuinely amazing. you're filling a void in this space that is much needed. thx!

The quality of your videos and the way you articulate and express your points makes it seem like your a content creator with half a million subs or more your channel is criminally underrated

Your commentary and breakdown in this video are 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I can't stop listening to it, underrated video.

This video impressed me on so many levels. Flawless analysis that actually made me realize why this arc was so emotional for me beyond the obvious surface level stuff.

this analysis is top tier, one of the best character analysis videos i've ever seen. Keep up the good work!

This togashi guy is truly the M.J of manga/anime

Oh man you just helped me tremendously to appreciate the character

Great analogy for how our relationship with artificial super intelligence might play out

the chimera ant arc was the greatest arc in all of anime/manga

I never knew why i felt so touched when Meruem died. Imo he was the purest caracter ever. AS ge was only himself and TRULY only himself.

Amazing analysis & essay. Keep at it & you’ll be big!

Incredible video, very well explained in details and with deep analysis. Couldn't ask more, keep up the good work

I have never yearned so much for the death of a character other than Meruem and later when he actually died, I cried for him and felt it to be unfair, yet satisfying and fulfilling. thats how great this story got me.

One of the best channels on RU-vid, just subbed after 3 days of binging yours stuff on my free time

I bawled my eyes out at the conclusion of him and Komugi's story. It was beautiful writing

Good insight man, excited to see what you think on the new Dark Continent content!

Truly impeccable and great analysis of a great character… keep it up, Brother.

What a wonderful analysis, thank you so much for your work!

The second he started to kneel to Palm... I was broken.

chimera ant is masterpiece. no wonder togashi need 8 years to finish it

This arc shows you how there isn’t truly a hero in this show. Man can be good or bad, because that just apart of being human. Netero committed an evil deed for the sake of humanity(just like Gon) and Meruem’s newfound emotions made him want to change humanity.

amazing as always bro, deserves so much likes. Your analysim and feelings, was exactly how i felt about Meruem.

the holy grail of character writing, MERUEM !! All hail the King

I’m just glad that there is somebody who appreciates him like I do! I really liked him because he starts out as this giant doosh that you want to die, but then he becomes a sweet empathetic caring person at the end, but it’s super sad because he had finally found the real reason to be alive, but it was too late then, because he was nearing the end of his life

Great vid big dawg

chrolo: general villain as all stories, mereum: a unique one

great video, got me wanting to rewatch the chimera ant arc, which is probably the only hxh arc I haven't rewatched since I first saw it

Meruem was the unexpected story arc which became my favorite. I feel exactly as you said in the video. Thank you. Maybe do one on Reiner some time in the future? I feel he too has an interesting arc. From a side character to an antagonist to a protagonist. Would love your thoughts on this.

phwoar. your analysis of Meruem is incredible. This really dives deeply into his mind like I've never seen before. Honestly, genius video. Absolutely love your perspective of good as 'truth' and how HxH blurs the lines of good and evil- and how Mereum deeply questions what is 'worth'? What gives others meaning?

Awesome breakdown here 👌

What an incredible breakdown of Meruem. I think you captured his essence very well

Excellent breakdown !!!!!

Absolutely the greatest video I have seen on deciphering fiction

Keep dropping HxH vids. These are your bread and butter and most popular vids

i never cried harder in my life when the ant reminded meruem of komugi, one of the most impactful scenes in anime ever.

As strange as it sounds, though he doesn't cave into his expectations the Chimera Ants have for him as king, the self reflection of what it means to be a king might've made him more worthy as a result. Though originally he only strived for power as he lived longer he developed ideals and genuine care for people which are also ideal traits for a leader. Even in his death he wished not to die as a ruler but to die living his last moments in peace. In a way, he became a better leader because he gained the humility to accept his own faults and the empathy to truly care for his subordinates, rather than rule by fear he was on the path to rule with trust and genuine love. If the Hunter Association didn't interfere with Meruem I wonder how he would've developed? Maybe he'd ask Colt later on in his life about his name in his journey of self discovery. Edit: Basically the whole thing about people who want power typically don't deserve it while people who don't want power pftem are the best leaders, while Mureum was powerful in his journey of self discovery he became a better leader. If I edit again probably just grammar edit's, but if I have more ideas I'll put edit *insert corresponding number*.

Phenomenal video!

this video is fantastic i'm not one to subscribe when i've just seen one video but this video is just so good that i did.

Togashi is master at making villains he makes them feel human and complex their moral gray

I have a homework that i need to write about an interesting vilan, and talk about his His psychology side. I chose Merum with no secondary thought, this video come just in the right time👍

Great video

This is my most favourite arc and none can be above it for me

One of my favorite moments is when he saves Komugi from the birds and questions why himself why he did it

This was really good

I remember I cried to much in his endscenes... what a great character. Truly a King!

Great video bro keep it up💫

mereum is a well-written character. something about him, even though he was an antagonist within the show, however, his contradiction of him being the villain is what makes him a better character than all the others.

Honestly I started out thinking it wasn't anything special but walked away questioning my own humanity

Awesome analysis!

Meruem is one of the best characters

I subscribe I will be part from your future succès lol very good video

I've never been this emotional watching a cartoon

I think i cried because he was becoming more humane & compassionate by the end that i saw the potential of him actually becoming good if he just had more time to learn

Well done 😊

Ur hxh content is some of the most enjoyable out there :)

Takashi is definitely a master he will go down as one the best ever no matter how long we are here really hope he gets to finish his masterpiece

And he is an ant which is bizarre he is more memorable than 90% of villains I read,I guess having other pov than humans makes it interesting

Ain’t even watched the video yet but I can already tell by the title that this is gonna be a whole lotta facts 🔥🔥🔥 Meruem is one of the most revolutionary villains in all of fiction 💯

I love constant hunter X Hunter parallels so much. When Meruem was born he was evil, cruel and had no humanity in him, where as Gon was still very much kind and innocent, he still had his humanity. By the end of the arc Meruem wants to save the world and protect the weak, he gains his humanity, where as Gon throws away all of his humanity to destroy the person who killed Kite. He not only doesn't care about protecting the weak, threatening to kill the innocent Komugi, only to get his way, he also acts recklessly, nearly ending his own life only to obtain a few minutes of unmatched power.

13:10 Highly relatable. This is the greatest anime, and most meaningfully crafted animated story of all time! The author is clearly a genuine genius. He is no stranger to metaphysics, and the latent secrets of certain neuropersonalities/brain-formation. He is also no stranger to how they experience reality, and their role on the planet. He is brilliant! Typical INTP! 👏😊✨ Keep it up, you guys, you are brilliant! Underrated, and yet so effective and vital in humanities development! Where advancement is the INTP is always present. The ideal support for the INXJ (truly a golden pairing, particularly as work colleagues)!

The contrast between Mister becoming Human and human becoming Monster (Gon) It was Genius

such a good analysis wow

I think what made HxH a master piece is that all characters are humanized by their own limitations of humans own imperfection. Netero finds it necessary to kill Meruem because the villain would never be truly human and he wandered between human and chimera. However, Meruem himself wished that Welfin could live life as a human. Meruem was already more human than chimera and this transition was much more natural than Netero could have imagined. So a concept that I see repeated in the anime and what makes me feel more life in it, is this feeling that at the time the "X" character needs to do what he has to do the way he has to do it. And then there's always the feeling that it could have been different. That bad feeling. And that gives a lot of life to the anime, because all of this is generated by the character's need to do something, but not being able to do it the way he wanted to. Netero wanted a better world, Meruem could really be a great force to help with that goal, but from his experience of a long life, Netero knew that he couldn't trust Meruem with that purpose and so he needed to annihilate him right there, or the world could "end", or close to it. But even the president of the association felt empathy for the villain. And then, at the moment of Meruem's death, when he was "100%" humanized by his own perception of his own limitations, where the only thing that mattered was not power anymore, but spending time with such a "lesser" girl compared to him, but that's feeling. Conclusion: Netero was wrong to think that he would not be human enough to help the world. But in the end it was proved otherwise. So there's always that feeling: "it could have been different.". The villain himself told Netero that he would reach justice through pain and fear, but these are already human limitations, because he could have done differently, if the conversation had been 1 month later, or 1 year later, because Meruem was doing a completely natural transition from chimera to human. Then Meruem's sentence also brought his doom, so that Netero would not let him go. Then again, it could have been different.

Nice analysis bro 💯

The Chimera Ant arc is still one of my favorite things in fiction ever.

This arc was outstanding

great video one could also note that meruem mirrors Gon in that Meruem was born all powerful yet realised he needed more and gave up on some of his power in order to bond with someone. meanwhile Gon made the choice to give up on every single bond he had in order to attain ultimate power. Both are the most human behaviours ever yet are completely opposite and show contradiction as inherent to humans.

Meruems death was one of the most impactful of the series. He was one of those villains who felt like if they had a lil extra time they could've changed their ways

Though no one might read this; When I first watched this arc it’s whole tone was darker than anything before. The past arcs have had a sort of innocence to them never going to deep; then this arc took your fuckin heart through a blender as you watched (spoiler) Gon become a monster and a monster become human. This arc in my opinion will go down in anime history as one of the best well written/told stories ever.

i want more character like mereum.

Meruem was born prematurely. Of his own volition. Imagine how much stronger and smarter he’d be if he waited a few months to be born fully.

I'm not even Upset Netero lost the battle. He was very old and Meruem is kinda broken, and was born to be that strong thanks to his mom consuming countless ppl. Meruem grew on me. Wish he could have lasted longer.

Great Analysis.

Please analyze and deconstruct the main villain of dungeon meshi!

I think it is one of the best anime arcs ever.

in short, Togashi is a genius storyteller.