![]() Pouf still sees humans as ants, so he starts questioning Meruem's intentions as the Ant King begins to love humanity. Meruem's followers, Pitou, Shaiapouf (Pouf), and Menthuthuyoupi (Youpi), have vastly different personalities, yet they all have one thing in common - devout loyalty to their King. The Chimera Ant arc is a beautifully tragic tale of how Gon lost his humanity while Meruem, the villain, earned his. Even during his fight with Netero, Meruem sees no need for violence. Eventually, Meruem starts feeling compassion for human life. However, Komugi shows him a different path, and he starts caring for her. Meruem, on the other hand, killed plenty of humans at first, seeing them as an inferior species. He even threatens to kill Komugi - a human being who has nothing to do with his friend's death - if Pitou doesn't bring Kite back to life. Pitou tries to save Komugi however, Gon is furious that she is saving Komugi instead of bringing Kite back. He doesn't value Pitou's life and promises to kill her if she moves. He cares for nothing except making sure Pitou brings Kite back to life. However, Gon takes an unexpected turn once Pitou kills Kite. Meanwhile, Gon believes all life has some value and, as seen previously, he has a kind heart for someone who shows genuine compassion. Meruem believes human life is worth nothing as Chimera Ants are much stronger and wiser. The dynamic between these two characters is fascinating, and they parallel each other throughout the arc. ![]() Netero refuses to give up because of his pride, and eventually, he sacrifices his own life to defeat the Ant King. Regardless, Meruem gives him opportunities to not fight, and he amputates Netero's one arm, hoping the old man will stop. Netero doesn't stand a chance even with his mastered nen. However, with his newfound consciousness, the Ant King wants to know his name. Before this, Meruem had only been called the King. Netero has only one thing over Meruem - a piece of knowledge even the Ant King doesn't know, his own name. However, Netero declines because he fears that Meruem could sway his heart. RELATED: Legendary Moments from Hunter x Hunterīefore the fight starts, Meruem calmly sits, demanding merely a conversation and not a fight. ![]() Still, he remains no match for the recently born Ant King. In a sense, Netero dedicates his existence to becoming the most powerful nen user. Netero trained his entire life to master different fighting techniques and understanding of nen. However, what makes Ant King and Netero's fight interesting is its unfairness. Even with Meruem, we never saw the old man's full potential. Netero was said to be the strongest human, but we never got to see his prowess in the previous arcs. After a while, Meruem starts liking Komugi and enjoys her company. Meruem gets obsessed with beating the girl, but he fails every time. The two begin to play the board game called Gungi, and well, the Ant King faces defeat. Komugi - a helpless blind girl - walks in, and Meruem starts laughing at the fact that a blind human is challenging him. He beats every opponent, except for one girl. Meruem eventually gets bored with all the drama and starts playing chess against world champions to see if a human can rival his intelligence. "Have you ever spared a pig or a cow as it begged for its life" When a woman begs to be spared, Meruem points out that hypocrisy by saying, He sees humanity as weak, unworthy, and hypocritical. He can feast on other nen users and gain more power. Not only that, but his power was far greater than even the royal guards. Born a king, Meruem was already above other chimera ants. But if have to say the one that’s really impressed me the most however, is Gon’s downfall on episode 131.Meruem is an interesting villain with a different perspective on life and unique ideologies that only someone in his position can see. Killua’s breakdown, Meruem’s forgiveness, Meruem last moment with Komugi, Reina’s return. The arc itself has quite many greatly executed dramatic moments. But that’s a whole different story for another time. Granted, I’m not exactly a big fan on how the series decided to narrate every single thoughts and action character go through in a way to create tension, but there’s also on the fact that I………secretly wanted to hate this arc. On the whole, I can definitely see the reason for why so many people praises what it seems to be one of the most ambitious story arc that has ever been told in any anime, despite the fact I didn’t quite connect to the arc emotionally. Just a few months ago, I’ve finally finished watching the entirety of Chimera Ant story arc in Hunter x Hunter. (Warning: This post contain some spoiler to the Chimera Ant story arc of Hunter x Hunter
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