This video isn't terrible but it's pretty shallow and flawed. Below are two additional videos that elaborate on the concepts explored here: For an updated and far superior video covering this topic, check out my proper analysis on Pouf and what distinguishes him from both the other Royal Guards and as a character in general: th-cam.com/video/UzAkIuGlpsQ/w-d-xo.html And the same thing, but for Pitou: th-cam.com/video/3t1rEqn3wPo/w-d-xo.html And lastly, for Youpi!: th-cam.com/video/_aoH7ZYF-E8/w-d-xo.html
My favorite moment of the Royal Guards is when Meruem asks them what his name is. In only a few minutes, their responses perfectly encapsulate their characters and subtly foreshadow their development. Pitou says she thinks how the King feels is what's important, and should choose his own name, showing that she prioritizes emotions and revealing the empathy within her loyalty; Youpi responds that he believes he doesn't have the capacity to answer the question, showing that he only does what he feels he should, and thus revealing his hidden dedication to duty; and finally, Pouf responds that Meruem's name is King, and that the name is who he is and what his destiny is, betraying the truth that his loyalty is not to Meruem, but to his idea of who Meruem should be.
Remember, each of the royal guards are about a month old when they died, yet they experienced so much character development. It makes me wonder what sort of people they will become if they lived.
The most interesting one for me is Pouf. Pitou and Youpi, through their humanity, showed traits that allow us to extrapolate a pretty clear personal path if they had lived. Pitou was empathetic and emotional, Youpi was respectful and honourable. Pouf's devotion was never anything but unhinged, so it would've been fascinating to see him develop past where his story ended.
Barny Baylery Like?...*LIKE*?!!! My good Sir, I must ask you a question, do you believe in god? I didn’t till I witnessed his teachings first hand. Till I read and watched his holy scripture. Let me inform you of the blessing, the greatness, the undeniably holyness of the one true god he has materialized on earth, ToGODshi, so that you to may be enlightened: Humanity is standing at thr threshold of a Monumental transformations, a shift in Consciousness without precedent. at the very least you probably Sense this at some level, but if you’ve been paying attention, you can already see the changes beginning to unfold. And it’s accelerating. more and more people are opening their eyes, and realizing the greatness of ToGODshi’s name. it’s still a struggle, like a child making its first steps. And what we see as the wool is torn from our ideas can be terrifying. There IS to humanity, and it’s been there for many centuries, like a spider hiding in the corner of your basement. ToGODshi helps us to see it for what it is, and that’s the first step. The second step, is to see yourself for what YOU really are, and to live up to your real potential. ToGODshi through his creation and son, Our lord and savior Meruem who died for sins, has spoken to humanity directly, with a message for us all to here: He told us we are not below these man who claimed to be our masters, that we were not born to bow our heads or bend our knees, that we are not born to live a life of debt and indentured servitude, that we are capable of living in a world so fair the very CONCEPT of inequality will be forgotten!!! contrary to what some would have you believe we are legion and they are few. Their strength is OUR strength, their wealth and power it’s nothing but the sweat of our own brow and the only thing stopping us from reclaiming what is ours is the walls of palaces we put up in our own minds. Some would do anything to protect those walls. Some bring hammers. but the Awakening itself is bigger than this! it is driven but forces of causality that even those holding the reigns are powerless to stop. And those palace walls, weather by a dragon dive direct assault or a sneaky infiltration, are coming down one way or another. this is a time of transition and this transition puts us in a collision course with an unknown. and they are very real dangers in our path. Our children and grandchildren are counting on us to get this right. and we only get one chance. That is why ToGODshi came down into this realm from the heavens to guide us with his blessed teachings. no one leaves this planet alive. No one. And you aren’t taking anything with you. Not one cent, not one item, not one artifact of status or prestige. Death erases everything except for the effect you had on the lives of others. Accept these teaching from ToGODshi. Let Meruem into your life. Learn from the parables of the royal guards, the myth of komugi, the legend of the Chimera Ants. But most importantly, take away this lesson my comrade, my brother; This effect is only meaningful if you live for something bigger than yourself. Praise be to ToGODshi’s name
Pouf, Pitou, Youpi, Meruem. Loyalty, Empathy, Honor, Humanity. In the end, it was these virtues that ended up becoming their fatal flaws. the question remains. Had there development been positive, or had only lead to their demise? Is the human psyche a curse or a blessing?
Depends on your perspective, but I'd say it's both. Whether it's more of a curse or a blessing depends on the person. To Meruem it was more of a blessing. To someone like Pouf, you could say it was a curse, though I doubt that he regretted his devotion. It's an incredibly interesting thing to think about.
Pouf is my favourite character from hxh and from all of anime, watching him I at last understood Hamlet and his big 'To be or not to be'. He is the best villain and one of the simplest yet complex characters I have ever seen, simply because his inner conflict absolutely cannot be solved, would require him to abandon his nature which is impossible.
Aleczandxr oh man, now that I catched your attention I must tell you how much I appreciate your content! You are the best! Is it true that you watch anime only for 2 or so years?
Davy Jones Thanks, I appreciate it! And yeah, less than two years actually. I've always loved investigating stories and characters but I only started watching anime in spring of 2015.
then you have a lot of fun ahead of you. I know your request list is miles long, but I would like you to do a video on colt, welfin and ikalgo, who are so often blamed and hated for the sudden drops in pacing of the show. also regarding pouf, I find it really interesting how early he managed to identify a threat in Komugi, that would not have been possible if he did not understand Meruem's human side or the concept of attachment at the time.
Davy Jones I covered Colt in my religious symbolism video to an extent so I won't do more on him. I'll definitely do a video on Welfin and I might do one on Ikalgo. But if I do, out of the two, the Welfin one will definitely come first.
I think the only reason why hunter x hunter isn't as popular in the west as one piece, bleach and naruto is because of the constant hiatuses togashi has gone on
DaShootingStarEffect I think it's because people are fooled by the first arc XD The notion was (And I had this notion) that the story would be bright and cheerful since Gon is pretty much one of the Youngest Characters in an Action anime. So due to his age, many didn't expect such a deep and dark pit to occur XS
crzyboy190 plus the only adaptations were a movie and a 12 episode Ova's. But weren't adapted well. HxH had a great adaptation, the 1999 had a muted tone to it and Gon felt like someone who tried his hardest to stay with the happy shonen MC. I still love the 2011 version but the first episodes were bad on a weekly schedule.
I only just noticed something @5:01 For the first time ever, Gon's eyes are completely glazed over. You cannot see his pupils. The same choice was made when depicting Killua killing Bodoro during the Hunter Exam arc. I think this was a conscious choice made by the illustrators. Our pupils are what we see through, so a lack of pupils could be perceived as blindness. Action without thought or planning. At this point Gon can no longer be reasoned with because he can't see the situation clearly.
Lovaloo Don't you know? In anime, when you can't see a character's eyes, it is proof that things are about to get serious. It also means "You done fucked up".
Pouf is my favorite for sure. He's portrayed as the intellectual, but he's the most resistant to change out of the three. He's the most independent and so I think he underwent the largest shift in character when he finally understands Meruem loves Komugi.
I really like how Pitou is the only guard that ACTUALLY acknowledges Meruen as an individual, not only for his title and position, and yet she's the only one of the guards that never knew his own name. Togashi is such master in this little details...
Youpi is a samurai or knight, unquestioning and bound by honor. Pitou is a caretaker, almost motherly at times. Pouf is like a zealot or obsessed lover, projecting a hyper-idealized image of Meruem.
Pouf is more like a strict parent with their kid who blames their child's friends for influencing him to rebel, and that parent wouldn't get the thought across in his head that it's his fault for being so strict. When you think about it, parents like this are both selfish in a way that they only want what's best for his son, and selfless as in giving the child everything for him to succeed.
I think Pitou character comes from characteristic of an average cat. Cats are playful and like to play with their pray before killing it. When they, or someone they care about in danger they will do anything to protect them, this is even shown when Pitou protecting that girl (forgot her name), she looks exactly like a cat protecting her kittens. What I'm trying to say that personality development we see in Pitou is her born instinct that got activated, which makes her different from other royal guards and Meruem. And again this is all speculations.
Beautifully done. The character development in this arc is leaps and bounds over anything else I've seen. For the "heroes" and "villians" alike. Nice job on this, looking forward to more. Subbed.
I think there is an interesting point about pitou that hasn't been brought up, that really shows her respect for gon for letting her heal the girl even when she couldnt heal kite. When she got the message that the girl was safe she didnt immediately kill gon like she could have, but waited to at least try and keep her promise and heal his friend. She has seen how dangerous he could be and he even used a hostage to pressure her, but she still was honest with him and deeply felt sorry for his loss. That alone to me shows more than humanity and care for the king , but also respect and recognition of gon
Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. Even when she declared to Gon that she must kill him for the sake of the King, she didn't immediately strike him when he was mourning on the floor. She got into a battle stance, which further proves your point about her perception of Gon being a threat and her respect for him too. It almost made me wish that it didn't have to come down to that confrontation between the two, but what we got is still pretty great.
So true. She had so many opportunities to kill Gon if she wanted. And when she looks at her hand when she tells Gon she has to kill him, it's like she's having an internal struggle and feeling really reluctant to fight him.
Pitou emphaty is soo strong that she did something that wasn't very ant like. She left the king.Out of all the characters I feel like Pitou truly evolves as Meruem evolves.
The beauty of this arc is that there are no villains or heroes, they are just creatures fighting for survival. The arc shows when humans become beasts,and when beasts become human. It is a great example of "survival of the fittest".
Idunno about Pitou being that "evil" at the start. Fighting and killing Kite was just it defending the queen, probing Pokkle to learn how Nen works made total sense since they needed to figure out what the humans were doing this time to beat them. Brain probing him was probably more humane than some tortue they could've done. Pitou's somewhat sadistic, sure, but I think that's just the stuff it inherited from cats. Cats are really cruel to their prey.
I agree. The ants acted on their instinct. Some ants were evil but that was cuz they were born from humans in the NGL underground. Evil humans are those like Genthru
LOL what, she litterally just killed a man to test out her power, and after that brain probing Pokkle while he is still alive, she saw humans as nothing more than "ants" back then
I don't see how Pitou actually cared about the queen. She clearly killed Kite because she waned to test her abilities. Also i don't see how brain probing could ever be humane. She's not evil, but she did cause alot of unforgivable actions. Whatever her intentions or wht her feeling was would nkt change anything she had done.
Someone told me online about what each Royal Guard member does protect the King, but prioritizing that protection in different ways. - Pitou: Protects the Well Being of the King (healing the King and Komugi for his happiness and health). - Pouf: Protects the Image of the King (Hating Komugi because he loses to her and doesn't act like a mighty King, seemingly becoming human with feelings). - Yupi: Protects the Physical Form of the King (Doing everything in his power to protect the Kings body, at least before the castle siege).
I just realized that Pouf & Youpi are in many ways reflections of Knov and Morel. When first introduced, Pouf is clearly made to seem more intellectual which can also be said for Knov. However, as the plot progresses, both prove incapable of handling well under pressure and go mad whilst Morel and Youpi remain much more level headed in battle. It's also quite similar to the dynamic between Light and L in Death Note. Great video by the way.
Interesting parallel. I've always thought that Pouf and Knov were exceedingly similar, though I've never thought of that in conjunction with Morel/Youpi.
Noah Nafziger Yep that ark was dark too. And so incredible. I think this is the first anime where i loved every arc. In other animes is always arc which i don't like as much as the other arcs.
Kukabuai Big Monkey yes York new is dark but it’s not really as dark comparatively to chimera ant. Yes it’s dark but (to me at least) it never actually feels that dark beyond it’s initial shock value of “oh my god a bunch of people are dead” because 1 the conflict is on a much smaller scale and 2. Your never really worried about any of the characters you love. Yes you know their in danger but because of the way the show has proceeded before now you never really believe their in danger (or at least I didn’t). This changes slightly when some of the other bodyguards die but when the leader dies you haven’t really had time to grow attached to him. Squalla is the exception to this when he actually does die later when we care about him some but even then he was never a major character. Chimera ant on the other hand immediately sets out the possible consequences of these events by showing the deaths of entire villages including children and letting us know this is a global level threat providing scale and then with the death of kite so early on establishes that for real now our beloved important characters are not safe. The deaths of ponzu and then pockle begin setting the tone of danger by killing off characters we have connections to and at least some emotion for planting a seed of fear in our minds. Kites death cements this tone and realizes these fears. It tells us “no for real, that character you love really might die” and this leads to a much more real sense of dread that permeates the entire arc from then on.
@@kamronspencer4910 oh for sure. I was absolutely terrified of the possibility of the newly introduced hunters dying, as well as Ikalgo and Melioro. I will admit that I may have a problem with falling in love with characters a bit too quickly, but I REALLY didn't want any of these guys to die. they were so cool and I liked their abilities and personality, etc. and knowing what they did to Kite, I was constantly on edge whenever these guys are in danger.
If 10 is the best the series has ever gotten: Hunter exam 7/10 Zoldyke family 8/10 Tower arena 8/10 Yorknew city 9/10 Greed island 7/10 Chimera ant 10/10 Hunter election 7/10
Even a 10/10 would be too much, the pacing was so terrible. Imo it's the worst arc but contains the vast majority of H x H's best scenes, characters, plot points.
@@RAISEYOURDONGERS1 CA was the worst? No,only the pacing was bad in the first 10 or so episodes,the last 20 episodes of the arc make up for it though. The arc is really well written with amazing character development done in characters. It only has one problem,the pacing during NGL.
i'm a writer myself, and a HxH fan. Man, your videos are absolute GOLD! I watched the show three times, and now I realise I haven't even scratched the surface of Togashi's brillhant. And as a writer, I can vouch that you're not overthinking any of this. The signs are all there, the traces left by precise brushes from a master storyteller. To think I failed to notice all that... I underestimated Togashi.
Thanks so much! I have had a few people tell me that I'm reaching or exaggerating with regards to Togashi's thinking in these HxH videos, and at first I thought I might be. But upon reflection, I seriously think that it's all there and dismissing things like this as overthinking is doing disservice to an amazing storyteller. And it's great that I have a writer now to validate that opinion!
Well, thank you for the amazing videos, my friend. I've got them all in my playlist, they got me really reflecting on the show and on my own writing =).
what realy sad is. if they live longer probably they end up in the good side (expect the butterfly he totaly crazy) they have just a short ammount of time but as they grow they realise more and more. probably if The king and the old guy talk instead of suicide bombing he change his mind and slowy try to find a more moral way to reach his goal.
Yep, I agree that that was totally a possibility. That's why the Meruem-Netero fight was so emotional - the two men might have been able to talk things out.
Eh, the King's idea was still that the ants rule the world and humans are somewhere below them primarily as a food source. Which made perfect sense, since the ants did surpass humans in pretty much every way. It was just so natural to them that they'd rule at the top of the food pyramid, so best he was offering Netero was that he'd spare some of them and treat them nicely, like cattle or something. There wasn't really much to discuss about. Ants were there to take over the world and humanity was trying to maintain their position at the top. Someone had to go. Humans just had one more cheap trick up their sleeves after guns and Nen had failed.
In my opinion King would have abandon his plans of taking over the world sooner or later, there was no possibility of an empire because, in my understanding, ants lost their way of reproduction, and also even in this arc we can see that King has more interest playing that similar to chess game, than following his original plan. Also King started to feel sympathy and respect to human life, there was a moment when he was thinking about his murder of a little girl (right after his birth) and he was sort of regretting it.
If there's a character that would've evolved to understand that both humans and ants could coexist peacefully it would've been Meruem. And he did as was demonstrated by his last moments :(
Youpi really is underappreciated glad you brought that up. I liked Youpi a lot by the end, and all that he went through. Also I despise Pouf but uh...he's a great character, that's for sure.
The most fascinating thing and what makes the rapid character progression for the chimera ants feel valid is that they’re all days or weeks old.. they’re all newborn babies! They’re all reckoning with their natural programming as insects contrasting with the human experiences they’re having as the story unfolds. It’s brilliant.
When it came to Pitou, I never considered her evil. I saw her as cat and ant before anything human. That never surprised me in anything that she did. Curious, playful, independent...focusing on what was going on in King's head and worrying about it was too much of a drag and too pointless for her. The King is the king, she serves him and fulfills his every wish, whatever his wish might be. It never even once crossed her mind to try to imagine what King should be thinking, it was neither in her capacity, nor her role to figure that out. The growth that I liked in her was empathy and humility. When she went after Kite and used him as she did, it wasnt intentionally disrespectful, sadistic or evil. It was just a cat going after a rat. Later on she came to view others as equal, even if they arent strong, they can be a threat or they can even be important. When Gon asked her how can she talk of saving after all that she did to Kite, it was because she was a toddler who just didnt knew any better. Youpi was most like an ant, he never addressed his emotions or even sense of who he is till they fought. He has just begun to discover himself and his role. Like Pitou, he liked to keep things simple, but I wouldnt credit it to his personality like I would for Pitou. He had none till that battle forced him to evolve. Yeah, I hate Pouf, but I get him too. He is the helicopter parent. He has devoted completely to the person he love so much that he cant see him failing in anyway. Even if he has to sacrifice himself, even if he has to make himself into a villain or hated figure, he shall protect King, thats some intense love. Thats his ultimate sacrifice, not his life that he would consider worthless, but betraying king for king's own sake. It annoyed me to no end, cause I have people who would do the same for me. Its incredibly touching how much they care, but at the same time its infuriating how that love is used as an excuse. I consider that all 3 guards ended up gaining an aspect of Meruem himself. Pitou obviously learned to care, Youpi gained pride that would even let him admire and wish well for an honorable enemy, Pouf unfortunately got the worse part..regret...not realizing what was really important until it was too late.
I disagree with a bit of this video. It’s alright but it hasn’t aged well for me. My Shaiapouf video is more elaborate and in-depth, it’s quite good in case you’re interested in that.
Shiaipouf disgusted me so much once Komugi was introduced. It even infected Menthuthuyoupi's development is backslide. Pouf's death was a little to merciful for him. But its because of his character the beautiful ending we got from the Chimera Ant arc, that he desperately tried to stop, was THAT much more beautiful and enjoyable. He's up there on the list of necessary characters to a story without being artificial.
I wouldn’t say that Pouf death was merciful because before he died his whole character is idolizing a Meruem as a almighty unstoppable king that doesn’t have an equal but when Wolfen told Meruem about Komugi and then told Meruem that he isn’t his king and he only follows Gyro then Meruem showed so much humanity and understanding to Wolfen even telling him that he should be treated as a human that was worst to Pouf than any battle or torture
Neferpitou is deeefinitely my favourite character in all of HxH, save possibly for Kurapika. I started out merely tolerating her and the other royal guards, to see where the story went. Boy was I pleasantly surprised when the komugi-pitou-king moment came. Out of all the royal guards, I find her the most loyal, as she strove to protect his wishes and those he cared for.
this was an incredible watch! I LOVE Pouf's character. He is so complex and well-written, and I especially love that you mentioned the whole thing about the violin being so prominent in this arc. Truly a masterpiece story!
Yea i really liked Pitou by the end and she definitely didn't deserve to die the way she did and i honestly almost hate Gon for doing what he did to her even though from his perspective it was somewhat understandable but still cant help but not be kinda pissed at Gon. its kinda crazy how one of my favorite characters (Pitou) killed one of my other favorite characters (Kite) and yet i still love both of them and also how i went from absolutely despising Pitou to her becoming one of my favorite characters in the entire show
personally Pouf is my favorite chimera ant because I just really want to give him a hug and tell him everything is ok and I relate to him wanting to make people change (like those bakas who are rude to my friends) and his wings they are so pretty
Youpi and Meruem had a very similar development . Both of them start very reckless and seing humans as insects but then encounter a human ,or , in the case of youpi : several , that makes them change a lot . Now that I think of it ,even Pitou created her nen ability ,not for the king ,but to bring Kaito back and to enjoy a fight with him once more . The only of the four who didn't meet a huma that changed him was Pouf
Much appreciated! I will definitely be doing more soon, though I will be doing a bit of video game story/character analysis videos as well. But more anime and HxH stuff will definitely be out in the future!
THEORY: It’s entirely possible that Komugi’s nen ability is to influence life around her using Gungi because, at Synonymous times she used the soldier piece that in kanji can be read as leopard when Cheetu started fighting morel and then she used the bow piece when he unveiled his second nen ability. Not to mention the direct parallels in the casts operation and the Gungi match between her and Meruem. I always thought it was weird that Togashi would show that she had nen like he did and not explain it through the story. But if this theory is correct then he set up the most tragic love story of all time right under our noses and we had no idea... Komugi killed Meruem (using Gungi)
Pitou's growth is even more shocking when you realize that Komugi and Kite both have the same first consonant in their name and also both have white hair.
Let me just point out, I have both versions of the violin saved as my ringtones and alarms. This means the moment I heard the first note I automatically synched in. Nice touch.
Who else REALLY wanted see the Pitou vs Kite battle.I'm interested because she said something about reliving that "miracle moment" with Kite.What went down?
Man Youpi was awesome. What a developement . Easily my favourite Royal Guard .Simple , honourable , and evolutionary. Turning out to be more deep and intellectual than all of them.
Woot! You just made my Saturday. I'm guessing you already will but please do an episode on the king as well. Youpi was my favorite of the guard. I really like the intensity of the while fight. it just kept building and changing over time till he was a totally different person. Hunter x hunter is so awesome!
I really enjoy your videos. I didn't think someone monologueing with a passive montage would be so compelling but your arguments and insights are captivating in their depth. Plus, you're doing a lot of my fave animes so it makes me happy and feel justified. So with this vid you're going over three ways Togashi has characterized devotion to a leader: Pitou: devotion to the leader as a person, values the person behind the authority and considers their feelings Youpi: blindly devoted because that's what they're supposed to do Pouf: fanatic and idealizing the leader, putting them on a platform beyond them as a person Nice, I always wondered why Togashi chose such conflicting personalities between the three guards who theoretically should have been cookie-cutter guardians/servants for the King.
Happy to hear you like the videos! There'll be much more HxH in the future so keep an eye out for that. Yeah you've basically got it spot on with regards to my opinion of what Togashi's doing. My thoughts on pre-castle storming Pitou are different than from what I say in this video now, but that doesn't really affect what the Royal guard represent. I think they're an incredibly fascinating concept for a trio of characters and I love all three for what they added to the arc.
my favorite character in hxh is pitou,at first i kinda didn't like her and i wanted her to die,but when I watch her more in other episodes i started to love her and when gon killed her i admit it but (please no hate) that i KINDA hate gon a LITTLE and i also admit that when pitou died i cried, and in my opinion pitou deserves a happy ending or a comeback (like if you agree) (PLEAS NO HATE AND DONT FIGHT ME)
I'm more or less the same. First time I read the manga, I really hated Pitou for killing Kite, and was just hoping Gon would kill her (Hard to say "her" in the manga version, though). But then, I started to see her develop as a character, and Gon turning into a complete douchebag to everyone (Even Killua), and when she died, it didn't feel satisfying at all. Watched the anime some years later, and during the Chimera Ant arc I started to appreciate her character more and more. I don't know for sure if she's my favorite by now, but she's definitely up there.
I felt the exact same way and would love to see Pitou again! But the fact that everything Gon did was pretty much negated, with Kite still being alive and all...it makes me even more mad at Gon. And how he could let someone like Genthru live, but not Pitou? Really Gon...
Awesome video. Had to find out why you considered Pouf one of your favorite characters. I hated pouf at the end as well and because of this didn't take the time to carefully analyze him. I understood his character but didn't really care for it until this video. I agree that he was really poetic and I especially enjoyed the analysis of the violin which I had never really considered. However the Royal Guard I still like the best is Youpi. This video helped put into words what I thought of him. I knew he had become "gooder" I just couldn't pin the right word. It was honor. I don't know why that didn't come to mind as the description, but it fits really well.
Ohhhh my god. You did it to me again. What I was hoping to get from this video most of all was an in-depth exploration of Youpi, since I (along with many others, as you mentioned) viewed him as the least interesting of the three guards. And as with your other videos in this series, while you didn't necessarily tell me anything I didn't already know about the events that the character (in this case, Youpi) takes place in, the way that you contrasted those events against others made a huge difference in my understanding of the character. Before watching the video, I would've said that Youpi's entire character development could be summed up as "He learns about honor for one's enemies, which is cool and everything, but not nearly as in-depth as the personalities that Pitou and Pouf have from the get-go." Which is still *true* , but is so much more important than the way I summarized it when cast in your light: All three of the Royal Guards exhibit one particular human trait, a traditionally *good* human trait--- for Pitou, it's empathy, for Pouf, it's devotion, and for Youpi, it's honor--- which, in their situations, turns into a character flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall, though in some cases that is more literal and direct than in others. In other words, what Youpi's "minor revelation about honor" really does is show how he was just as human as the other two Royal Guards.
The reason why Youpi was so enraged when he finds out the miniture rose is ironically because it was such a cheap shot in contrast to his honor. Also, youpi wins the fight and spares the hunter is in direct contrast to Netero loses the fight with Meruem but intend to cheap shot Meruem to kill him.
This analysis was well done. I congratulate you on this piece. I do live how you added that mjsic did make the arc very tense and dramatic because there were moments where viewers are just glued to the screen. Waiting to see what would happen. Again, keep it up sir!
Nelson Fabian Rios De Antonio you'd be surprised at the amount of people that totally believe it's a guy. But then again maybe because of other female like male characters in the show like Kurapika and especially kalluto
She goes looking from a guy kitty to female in the manga. And what do animes usually do? They go by whatever resembles the latest character design, and voila!
I kind of got emotional when Meurum was about to die and komugi thought that he saved her when it was the Royal guards (mainly pitou) but meurum thought it was all of them bc he didn’t find out the truth then it showed a little flashback of the moments they had when they were alive I felt like crying.
After watching this arc, I started to see my dog in a new light. He isn't just something that's there, he's a living being. So, I hope he never leaves me and we can have one moment of peace before her inevitablely dies.
Pitou is best cat. I didn't really care much for her until the healing Komugi part and her pleading with Gon's humanity. Everything just clicked at that moment. Togashi rarely adds a character that has no point to its personality or background.
Subbed! Agreed. HxH is nothing like One Piece or Naruto. It exceeds the Shounen Fighting Genre. The Chimera Ant Arc alone is narrative at its most complex and fascinating. Compared to this, any OP or Naruto arc seem written by children.
awesome job wow that really pointed out a lot of themes and things that i missed but felt when i watched it. I'm pretty sure i'm gonna binge all of your videos now thanks for putting these out there. this is my favorite series and these videos just reinforce why I love it so much
These videos are always amazing. By the way, I noticed you put in some Xenoblade music at 6:22 for Youpi's analysis. That caught me off-guard haha. You even picked one of the best tracks (Hidden Machina Village)!
Haha I also realized after typing that comment that your profile picture is literally the Xenoblade title screen. 'Slaps self cuz of how blind I am' Haha I wouldn't be able to help myself either. I'd just go all out with it. On that note, have you heard the 4 new tracks for Xenoblade 2? Oh, lordie, lordie. They're somethin' special.
Aleczandxr Haha wow, good for you. Just wait it out till the holiday season, huh? Maybe it's better for you to just not listen to any of them, even though they're absolutely wonderful haha.
HxH is so incredible, I feel honored to have seen it. Which is why I appreciate this channel so much. Thabk you for all this amazing content. On my way to marathon every single HxH video you've done
Pouf is easily my favourite royal guard he's so well written and such a complex charecter, i also love his violin music it's a masterpiece and so is hunter x hunter, the manga is continuing but no news about the anime, i hope it continues! Hxh is my favourite anime of all the time out of all the animes i have watched.
He was the most animated, passionate, and entertaining royal guard. His enthusiasm and absolute loyalty made him endearing, to me. He made me laugh, unlike the others. He was willing to feed himself to the king, while Youpi never would've thought of it. He's a ray of color the chimera arc desperately needed, even if he's still dark and inhuman.
Yeah I think at first I found him annoying but started to love him. His crying scenes, passionate violin playing, voice, intelligence and loyalty was memorable
Looks like a new gem of a channel has popped up, have a sub, bumped into your Guts & Griffith video and then on to your religious symbolism in Hunter x Hunter, so I like your content for sure, keep it up, my man.
Beautiful video. It's amazing how you can see many times the Chimera ant arc, make a lot of thoughts about it, and there is still something you don't grasp untill someone point it to you, or untill you get there by yourself later...
Honestly, I don't agree with you about Pitou. She not evil. Much like us when we eat animals, we think nothing of it, it is the same with her. She doesn't see us as anything worth a damn, unless we can put up a fight. If we equivalently don't have a problem with how we treat animals, then by extension, there should be no problem with how she treats us.
Bruh! Your videos are dope. I'm watching anime I haven't seen yet partly to watch these epic breakdowns. And I feel you on Pitou; I didn't want her to die either, lol
Long time fan, my friend. Love the critical analysis you put into your videos. I started writing character dissections for fun and was curious how you approach these types of videos. Keep up the good work.
It's not necessarily something I've looked for, but I can definite see some parallels now that you mention it. A Romeo and Juliet-esque love doomed to fail, two lovers dying including a suicide built on love, themes of transformation and appearance vs reality.. Nice catch.
This video isn't terrible but it's pretty shallow and flawed. Below are two additional videos that elaborate on the concepts explored here:
For an updated and far superior video covering this topic, check out my proper analysis on Pouf and what distinguishes him from both the other Royal Guards and as a character in general: th-cam.com/video/UzAkIuGlpsQ/w-d-xo.html
And the same thing, but for Pitou: th-cam.com/video/3t1rEqn3wPo/w-d-xo.html
And lastly, for Youpi!: th-cam.com/video/_aoH7ZYF-E8/w-d-xo.html
Aleczandxr ah sure can tell me what is piteous past and did pikkou survive
Yeah. I kinda thought something was off here.
Nah still an amazing vid
I'll watch all your videos and you can't do nothing about it 😡
Around the end something happened with the audio quality
My favorite moment of the Royal Guards is when Meruem asks them what his name is. In only a few minutes, their responses perfectly encapsulate their characters and subtly foreshadow their development. Pitou says she thinks how the King feels is what's important, and should choose his own name, showing that she prioritizes emotions and revealing the empathy within her loyalty; Youpi responds that he believes he doesn't have the capacity to answer the question, showing that he only does what he feels he should, and thus revealing his hidden dedication to duty; and finally, Pouf responds that Meruem's name is King, and that the name is who he is and what his destiny is, betraying the truth that his loyalty is not to Meruem, but to his idea of who Meruem should be.
Beautiful.
Gamedragon bro Bravo 👏
all are correct answers though
Excellent comment
Excellent comment
Remember, each of the royal guards are about a month old when they died, yet they experienced so much character development. It makes me wonder what sort of people they will become if they lived.
The most interesting one for me is Pouf. Pitou and Youpi, through their humanity, showed traits that allow us to extrapolate a pretty clear personal path if they had lived. Pitou was empathetic and emotional, Youpi was respectful and honourable. Pouf's devotion was never anything but unhinged, so it would've been fascinating to see him develop past where his story ended.
Aleczandxr I think if the king were to die and pouf lived, he would go on a journey in search of a more powerful and evil boss to serve
Linus Ackermann he would kill himself
@@krematethefrog8665 I do think so too. Pouf hates himself too from his one drama queen moment.
Meruem is 40 days old
I'm guessing the RG are almost 2 months old
Real talk: When pouf splits into mini versions of himself, he looks like a Fairly Oddparents character.
MarioMan392 XD
MarioMan392 He's Meruem's Fairy Oddparent XD
MarioMan392 Poof
XD
He would make the actual show 100x better.
Pitou is easily my favorite Royal Guard, the way she defended Komugi against Gon was so damn human, it was unreal. Great video!
Thanks!
💯
It was because of the King's order tho--
Same
yeah but only cause the king asked her to
HXH is such a masterpiece.
yesssssss!!
99range92def I agree. In my opinion, it's hands down the greatest anime of all kind. Nothing comes close.
99range92def #TrueFacts
Barny Baylery
The blasphemy is real
Barny Baylery
Like?...*LIKE*?!!!
My good Sir, I must ask you a question, do you believe in god?
I didn’t till I witnessed his teachings first hand. Till I read and watched his holy scripture. Let me inform you of the blessing, the greatness, the undeniably holyness of the one true god he has materialized on earth, ToGODshi, so that you to may be enlightened:
Humanity is standing at thr threshold of a Monumental transformations, a shift in Consciousness without precedent. at the very least you probably Sense this at some level, but if you’ve been paying attention, you can already see the changes beginning to unfold. And it’s accelerating. more and more people are opening their eyes, and realizing the greatness of ToGODshi’s name. it’s still a struggle, like a child making its first steps. And what we see as the wool is torn from our ideas can be terrifying. There IS to humanity, and it’s been there for many centuries, like a spider hiding in the corner of your basement. ToGODshi helps us to see it for what it is, and that’s the first step. The second step, is to see yourself for what YOU really are, and to live up to your real potential. ToGODshi through his creation and son, Our lord and savior Meruem who died for sins, has spoken to humanity directly, with a message for us all to here: He told us we are not below these man who claimed to be our masters, that we were not born to bow our heads or bend our knees, that we are not born to live a life of debt and indentured servitude, that we are capable of living in a world so fair the very CONCEPT of inequality will be forgotten!!! contrary to what some would have you believe we are legion and they are few. Their strength is OUR strength, their wealth and power it’s nothing but the sweat of our own brow and the only thing stopping us from reclaiming what is ours is the walls of palaces we put up in our own minds. Some would do anything to protect those walls. Some bring hammers. but the Awakening itself is bigger than this! it is driven but forces of causality that even those holding the reigns are powerless to stop. And those palace walls, weather by a dragon dive direct assault or a sneaky infiltration, are coming down one way or another. this is a time of transition and this transition puts us in a collision course with an unknown. and they are very real dangers in our path. Our children and grandchildren are counting on us to get this right. and we only get one chance. That is why ToGODshi came down into this realm from the heavens to guide us with his blessed teachings. no one leaves this planet alive. No one. And you aren’t taking anything with you. Not one cent, not one item, not one artifact of status or prestige. Death erases everything except for the effect you had on the lives of others. Accept these teaching from ToGODshi. Let Meruem into your life. Learn from the parables of the royal guards, the myth of komugi, the legend of the Chimera Ants. But most importantly, take away this lesson my comrade, my brother; This effect is only meaningful if you live for something bigger than yourself.
Praise be to ToGODshi’s name
Pouf, Pitou, Youpi, Meruem.
Loyalty, Empathy, Honor, Humanity.
In the end, it was these virtues that ended up becoming their fatal flaws.
the question remains. Had there development been positive, or had only lead to their demise?
Is the human psyche a curse or a blessing?
Depends on your perspective, but I'd say it's both. Whether it's more of a curse or a blessing depends on the person. To Meruem it was more of a blessing. To someone like Pouf, you could say it was a curse, though I doubt that he regretted his devotion. It's an incredibly interesting thing to think about.
IcarusAblaze That a really beautiful question.
I'm pretty sure I read that too fast, digested it, and teared up as a result reading the last question. Nice man.
IcarusAblaze I would say Youpi would be pride, not honor. He shows multiple times that he believes all of the humans are inferior to him.
IcarusAblaze never mind
Pouf is my favourite character from hxh and from all of anime, watching him I at last understood Hamlet and his big 'To be or not to be'. He is the best villain and one of the simplest yet complex characters I have ever seen, simply because his inner conflict absolutely cannot be solved, would require him to abandon his nature which is impossible.
Agreed. He's such a lyrical execution of a brilliant concept of a character. Undeniably a wonderfully constructed antagonist.
Aleczandxr oh man, now that I catched your attention I must tell you how much I appreciate your content! You are the best! Is it true that you watch anime only for 2 or so years?
Davy Jones Thanks, I appreciate it! And yeah, less than two years actually. I've always loved investigating stories and characters but I only started watching anime in spring of 2015.
then you have a lot of fun ahead of you. I know your request list is miles long, but I would like you to do a video on colt, welfin and ikalgo, who are so often blamed and hated for the sudden drops in pacing of the show.
also regarding pouf, I find it really interesting how early he managed to identify a threat in Komugi, that would not have been possible if he did not understand Meruem's human side or the concept of attachment at the time.
Davy Jones I covered Colt in my religious symbolism video to an extent so I won't do more on him. I'll definitely do a video on Welfin and I might do one on Ikalgo. But if I do, out of the two, the Welfin one will definitely come first.
I think the only reason why hunter x hunter isn't as popular in the west as one piece, bleach and naruto is because of the constant hiatuses togashi has gone on
DaShootingStarEffect Bro hxh is massively popular due to the 2011 version adaption hxh became a critically aclaim hit.
DaShootingStarEffect I think it's because people are fooled by the first arc XD
The notion was (And I had this notion) that the story would be bright and cheerful since Gon is pretty much one of the Youngest Characters in an Action anime. So due to his age, many didn't expect such a deep and dark pit to occur XS
DaShootingStarEffect well it did take a few years for Jojo to get where it is now.
Matthew Of course it never had an actual anime.
crzyboy190 plus the only adaptations were a movie and a 12 episode Ova's. But weren't adapted well. HxH had a great adaptation, the 1999 had a muted tone to it and Gon felt like someone who tried his hardest to stay with the happy shonen MC. I still love the 2011 version but the first episodes were bad on a weekly schedule.
I miss this show so much.
Same here :(
sgtcojonez i miss it already even though I literally finished watching last night. (Finished it in two weeks)
John Capada finished it in three weeks maybe. And I finished it at nights aswell
John Capada lol had to limit myself on how many episodes I could watch per day so I wouldn’t finish it too quick
I only just noticed something @5:01
For the first time ever, Gon's eyes are completely glazed over. You cannot see his pupils. The same choice was made when depicting Killua killing Bodoro during the Hunter Exam arc. I think this was a conscious choice made by the illustrators. Our pupils are what we see through, so a lack of pupils could be perceived as blindness. Action without thought or planning. At this point Gon can no longer be reasoned with because he can't see the situation clearly.
Lovaloo it's more like a lack of emotion.
Justin Xu or to much of one
Lovaloo Don't you know? In anime, when you can't see a character's eyes, it is proof that things are about to get serious. It also means "You done fucked up".
mmmm yes my frien
It happened with him when he was lost in thought on the way to Killua’s home(on the train) but it’s just cause he was lost in thought
Pouf is my favorite for sure. He's portrayed as the intellectual, but he's the most resistant to change out of the three. He's the most independent and so I think he underwent the largest shift in character when he finally understands Meruem loves Komugi.
I really like how Pitou is the only guard that ACTUALLY acknowledges Meruen as an individual, not only for his title and position, and yet she's the only one of the guards that never knew his own name.
Togashi is such master in this little details...
tragic, but fitting
I wish Togashi would show us the Royal Guard's past and what they were like when they were human
Youpi is a samurai or knight, unquestioning and bound by honor.
Pitou is a caretaker, almost motherly at times.
Pouf is like a zealot or obsessed lover, projecting a hyper-idealized image of Meruem.
Pitou is the big sis
Pouf is more like a strict parent with their kid who blames their child's friends for influencing him to rebel, and that parent wouldn't get the thought across in his head that it's his fault for being so strict. When you think about it, parents like this are both selfish in a way that they only want what's best for his son, and selfless as in giving the child everything for him to succeed.
This is such a great analysis. Please don't hesitate in making more.
More is on the way for sure, and I'll start working on some more HxH content soon!
+Aleczandxr You are amazing sir! I greatly appreciate these videos more then you know!
+Aleczandxr im excited to see more!
Aleczandxr Hey could you do an analysis on Gon...? You've said in other videos that you find it super interesting... Could you do it?
ShadowKosmos Yes, I'll eventually be doing a video on Gon.
I think Pitou character comes from characteristic of an average cat. Cats are playful and like to play with their pray before killing it. When they, or someone they care about in danger they will do anything to protect them, this is even shown when Pitou protecting that girl (forgot her name), she looks exactly like a cat protecting her kittens. What I'm trying to say that personality development we see in Pitou is her born instinct that got activated, which makes her different from other royal guards and Meruem. And again this is all speculations.
So you believe that she's showing animal instinct in her arc, rather than human nature?
Yeah, pretty much.
Rostyslav Pron Interesting!
Aleczandxr Is a human Not an Animal?
i would say both cause i feel her animal instincts showed first when she was born and was amplified by her human/maternal instincts later on.
Beautifully done. The character development in this arc is leaps and bounds over anything else I've seen. For the "heroes" and "villians" alike. Nice job on this, looking forward to more. Subbed.
Thanks very much, already laying some groundwork for more.
Agreed
If it's ever possible and desirable, you guys should discuss the possibility of a collaboration!
^^^^ so much this
hey Tales of Nerdia i like your profile picture
I think there is an interesting point about pitou that hasn't been brought up, that really shows her respect for gon for letting her heal the girl even when she couldnt heal kite. When she got the message that the girl was safe she didnt immediately kill gon like she could have, but waited to at least try and keep her promise and heal his friend. She has seen how dangerous he could be and he even used a hostage to pressure her, but she still was honest with him and deeply felt sorry for his loss. That alone to me shows more than humanity and care for the king , but also respect and recognition of gon
Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. Even when she declared to Gon that she must kill him for the sake of the King, she didn't immediately strike him when he was mourning on the floor. She got into a battle stance, which further proves your point about her perception of Gon being a threat and her respect for him too. It almost made me wish that it didn't have to come down to that confrontation between the two, but what we got is still pretty great.
So true. She had so many opportunities to kill Gon if she wanted. And when she looks at her hand when she tells Gon she has to kill him, it's like she's having an internal struggle and feeling really reluctant to fight him.
Bro that hit me damn
Pitou emphaty is soo strong that she did something that wasn't very ant like. She left the king.Out of all the characters I feel like Pitou truly evolves as Meruem evolves.
The beauty of this arc is that there are no villains or heroes, they are just creatures fighting for survival.
The arc shows when humans become beasts,and when beasts become human.
It is a great example of "survival of the fittest".
Pouf only cared for the king, not Meruem.
Arius Edition *it makes so much sense now wow*
But he is the only one who thinks about the ant race. No one can blame him.
Andreinne Mercado Lol. It’s seriously Pouf cared about the “King” part of Mereum not the “human” part of Mereum
Yes
Idunno about Pitou being that "evil" at the start. Fighting and killing Kite was just it defending the queen, probing Pokkle to learn how Nen works made total sense since they needed to figure out what the humans were doing this time to beat them. Brain probing him was probably more humane than some tortue they could've done. Pitou's somewhat sadistic, sure, but I think that's just the stuff it inherited from cats. Cats are really cruel to their prey.
I see where you're coming from, for sure.
Nicely said
I agree. The ants acted on their instinct. Some ants were evil but that was cuz they were born from humans in the NGL underground. Evil humans are those like Genthru
LOL what, she litterally just killed a man to test out her power, and after that brain probing Pokkle while he is still alive, she saw humans as nothing more than "ants" back then
I don't see how Pitou actually cared about the queen. She clearly killed Kite because she waned to test her abilities. Also i don't see how brain probing could ever be humane. She's not evil, but she did cause alot of unforgivable actions. Whatever her intentions or wht her feeling was would nkt change anything she had done.
Someone told me online about what each Royal Guard member does protect the King, but prioritizing that protection in different ways.
- Pitou: Protects the Well Being of the King (healing the King and Komugi for his happiness and health).
- Pouf: Protects the Image of the King (Hating Komugi because he loses to her and doesn't act like a mighty King, seemingly becoming human with feelings).
- Yupi: Protects the Physical Form of the King (Doing everything in his power to protect the Kings body, at least before the castle siege).
7:22 "He had to think harder than he ever had to" has got to be one of the better insults out there
I just realized that Pouf & Youpi are in many ways reflections of Knov and Morel.
When first introduced, Pouf is clearly made to seem more intellectual which can also be said for Knov. However, as the plot progresses, both prove incapable of handling well under pressure and go mad whilst Morel and Youpi remain much more level headed in battle. It's also quite similar to the dynamic between Light and L in Death Note.
Great video by the way.
Interesting parallel. I've always thought that Pouf and Knov were exceedingly similar, though I've never thought of that in conjunction with Morel/Youpi.
I hate how everyone says this is the first arc to have a dark tone like they never saw the yorknew arc
Noah Nafziger Yep that ark was dark too. And so incredible. I think this is the first anime where i loved every arc. In other animes is always arc which i don't like as much as the other arcs.
Depends on what you consider dark.
Kukabuai Big Monkey yes York new is dark but it’s not really as dark comparatively to chimera ant. Yes it’s dark but (to me at least) it never actually feels that dark beyond it’s initial shock value of “oh my god a bunch of people are dead” because 1 the conflict is on a much smaller scale and 2. Your never really worried about any of the characters you love. Yes you know their in danger but because of the way the show has proceeded before now you never really believe their in danger (or at least I didn’t). This changes slightly when some of the other bodyguards die but when the leader dies you haven’t really had time to grow attached to him. Squalla is the exception to this when he actually does die later when we care about him some but even then he was never a major character. Chimera ant on the other hand immediately sets out the possible consequences of these events by showing the deaths of entire villages including children and letting us know this is a global level threat providing scale and then with the death of kite so early on establishes that for real now our beloved important characters are not safe. The deaths of ponzu and then pockle begin setting the tone of danger by killing off characters we have connections to and at least some emotion for planting a seed of fear in our minds. Kites death cements this tone and realizes these fears. It tells us “no for real, that character you love really might die” and this leads to a much more real sense of dread that permeates the entire arc from then on.
@@kamronspencer4910 oh for sure.
I was absolutely terrified of the possibility of the newly introduced hunters dying, as well as Ikalgo and Melioro. I will admit that I may have a problem with falling in love with characters a bit too quickly, but I REALLY didn't want any of these guys to die. they were so cool and I liked their abilities and personality, etc. and knowing what they did to Kite, I was constantly on edge whenever these guys are in danger.
Hunter exam 9/10
Zoldyke family 8/10
Tower arena 9/10
Yorknew city 10/10
Greed island 9/10
Chimera ant 11/10
Hunter election 9/10
uo jm I like the zoldycks it should be 10/10
If 10 is the best the series has ever gotten:
Hunter exam 7/10
Zoldyke family 8/10
Tower arena 8/10
Yorknew city 9/10
Greed island 7/10
Chimera ant 10/10
Hunter election 7/10
Even a 10/10 would be too much, the pacing was so terrible. Imo it's the worst arc but contains the vast majority of H x H's best scenes, characters, plot points.
Hunter exam 8/10
Zoldyck Family 8/10
Heavens arena 8/10
Yorknew city 10/10
Greed island 7.5/10
Chimera ant arc 10/10
Hunter election 7.5/10
@@RAISEYOURDONGERS1 CA was the worst?
No,only the pacing was bad in the first 10 or so episodes,the last 20 episodes of the arc make up for it though.
The arc is really well written with amazing character development done in characters.
It only has one problem,the pacing during NGL.
i'm a writer myself, and a HxH fan. Man, your videos are absolute GOLD! I watched the show three times, and now I realise I haven't even scratched the surface of Togashi's brillhant. And as a writer, I can vouch that you're not overthinking any of this. The signs are all there, the traces left by precise brushes from a master storyteller. To think I failed to notice all that... I underestimated Togashi.
Thanks so much! I have had a few people tell me that I'm reaching or exaggerating with regards to Togashi's thinking in these HxH videos, and at first I thought I might be. But upon reflection, I seriously think that it's all there and dismissing things like this as overthinking is doing disservice to an amazing storyteller. And it's great that I have a writer now to validate that opinion!
Well, thank you for the amazing videos, my friend. I've got them all in my playlist, they got me really reflecting on the show and on my own writing =).
Shiaipouf is my favorite character. It wasn't the poison that killed him, it was his broken heart.
I loved pitou from the start because she was so fucking cool
what realy sad is. if they live longer probably they end up in the good side (expect the butterfly he totaly crazy) they have just a short ammount of time but as they grow they realise more and more. probably if The king and the old guy talk instead of suicide bombing he change his mind and slowy try to find a more moral way to reach his goal.
Yep, I agree that that was totally a possibility. That's why the Meruem-Netero fight was so emotional - the two men might have been able to talk things out.
Eh, the King's idea was still that the ants rule the world and humans are somewhere below them primarily as a food source. Which made perfect sense, since the ants did surpass humans in pretty much every way. It was just so natural to them that they'd rule at the top of the food pyramid, so best he was offering Netero was that he'd spare some of them and treat them nicely, like cattle or something.
There wasn't really much to discuss about. Ants were there to take over the world and humanity was trying to maintain their position at the top. Someone had to go. Humans just had one more cheap trick up their sleeves after guns and Nen had failed.
In my opinion King would have abandon his plans of taking over the world sooner or later, there was no possibility of an empire because, in my understanding, ants lost their way of reproduction, and also even in this arc we can see that King has more interest playing that similar to chess game, than following his original plan. Also King started to feel sympathy and respect to human life, there was a moment when he was thinking about his murder of a little girl (right after his birth) and he was sort of regretting it.
If there's a character that would've evolved to understand that both humans and ants could coexist peacefully it would've been Meruem. And he did as was demonstrated by his last moments :(
Yep, that's what made the end so devastating for me
Youpi really is underappreciated glad you brought that up. I liked Youpi a lot by the end, and all that he went through.
Also I despise Pouf but uh...he's a great character, that's for sure.
Hahaha. I hate Pouf beyond words but at the same time he's one of the best written characters in my opinion. He's an interesting one.
I feel Pouf was the most complex, the moment when he had that breakdown you could tell his devotion to the King was driving him insane
The most fascinating thing and what makes the rapid character progression for the chimera ants feel valid is that they’re all days or weeks old.. they’re all newborn babies! They’re all reckoning with their natural programming as insects contrasting with the human experiences they’re having as the story unfolds. It’s brilliant.
loved Pouf's analysis, he's really underrated !! i'd love to see what you have to say about Killua !!
Pouf is wonderful. And I will definitely do something on Killua in the future.
When it came to Pitou, I never considered her evil. I saw her as cat and ant before anything human. That never surprised me in anything that she did. Curious, playful, independent...focusing on what was going on in King's head and worrying about it was too much of a drag and too pointless for her. The King is the king, she serves him and fulfills his every wish, whatever his wish might be. It never even once crossed her mind to try to imagine what King should be thinking, it was neither in her capacity, nor her role to figure that out. The growth that I liked in her was empathy and humility. When she went after Kite and used him as she did, it wasnt intentionally disrespectful, sadistic or evil. It was just a cat going after a rat. Later on she came to view others as equal, even if they arent strong, they can be a threat or they can even be important. When Gon asked her how can she talk of saving after all that she did to Kite, it was because she was a toddler who just didnt knew any better.
Youpi was most like an ant, he never addressed his emotions or even sense of who he is till they fought. He has just begun to discover himself and his role. Like Pitou, he liked to keep things simple, but I wouldnt credit it to his personality like I would for Pitou. He had none till that battle forced him to evolve.
Yeah, I hate Pouf, but I get him too. He is the helicopter parent. He has devoted completely to the person he love so much that he cant see him failing in anyway. Even if he has to sacrifice himself, even if he has to make himself into a villain or hated figure, he shall protect King, thats some intense love. Thats his ultimate sacrifice, not his life that he would consider worthless, but betraying king for king's own sake. It annoyed me to no end, cause I have people who would do the same for me. Its incredibly touching how much they care, but at the same time its infuriating how that love is used as an excuse.
I consider that all 3 guards ended up gaining an aspect of Meruem himself. Pitou obviously learned to care, Youpi gained pride that would even let him admire and wish well for an honorable enemy, Pouf unfortunately got the worse part..regret...not realizing what was really important until it was too late.
I disagree with a bit of this video. It’s alright but it hasn’t aged well for me. My Shaiapouf video is more elaborate and in-depth, it’s quite good in case you’re interested in that.
Pouf, that guy I swear.
He's a drama queen.
Ikr what a weirdo
doomfan12345 he a
s still the best😚 try imagining the show without him😩
I want to create a character like him....
Pouf aka the best Royal Gaurd and the ACTUAL villain of the Chimera Ant Arc
Shiaipouf disgusted me so much once Komugi was introduced. It even infected Menthuthuyoupi's development is backslide. Pouf's death was a little to merciful for him. But its because of his character the beautiful ending we got from the Chimera Ant arc, that he desperately tried to stop, was THAT much more beautiful and enjoyable. He's up there on the list of necessary characters to a story without being artificial.
cc
I wouldn’t say that Pouf death was merciful because before he died his whole character is idolizing a Meruem as a almighty unstoppable king that doesn’t have an equal but when Wolfen told Meruem about Komugi and then told Meruem that he isn’t his king and he only follows Gyro then Meruem showed so much humanity and understanding to Wolfen even telling him that he should be treated as a human that was worst to Pouf than any battle or torture
Neferpitou is deeefinitely my favourite character in all of HxH, save possibly for Kurapika. I started out merely tolerating her and the other royal guards, to see where the story went. Boy was I pleasantly surprised when the komugi-pitou-king moment came. Out of all the royal guards, I find her the most loyal, as she strove to protect his wishes and those he cared for.
this entire channel is quite literally 24 carat, butter sweet gold
xoxo
this was an incredible watch! I LOVE Pouf's character. He is so complex and well-written, and I especially love that you mentioned the whole thing about the violin being so prominent in this arc. Truly a masterpiece story!
Pitou FTW.
spongebobspongebob24
Yep
Yea i really liked Pitou by the end and she definitely didn't deserve to die the way she did and i honestly almost hate Gon for doing what he did to her even though from his perspective it was somewhat understandable but still cant help but not be kinda pissed at Gon. its kinda crazy how one of my favorite characters (Pitou) killed one of my other favorite characters (Kite) and yet i still love both of them and also how i went from absolutely despising Pitou to her becoming one of my favorite characters in the entire show
personally Pouf is my favorite chimera ant because I just really want to give him a hug and tell him everything is ok and I relate to him wanting to make people change (like those bakas who are rude to my friends) and his wings they are so pretty
Can't wait for the evil magician character analysis
Abelon535 You mean Hisoka? It came out a few days ago
Youpi and Meruem had a very similar development . Both of them start very reckless and seing humans as insects but then encounter a human ,or , in the case of youpi : several , that makes them change a lot . Now that I think of it ,even Pitou created her nen ability ,not for the king ,but to bring Kaito back and to enjoy a fight with him once more . The only of the four who didn't meet a huma that changed him was Pouf
U r right
This analysis was phenomenal. Made me look at these characters in different perspective. Hope you make more videos like this soon.
Much appreciated! I will definitely be doing more soon, though I will be doing a bit of video game story/character analysis videos as well. But more anime and HxH stuff will definitely be out in the future!
I loved how you beautifully point out Pouf's playing violin in this arc and it makes hxh a masterpiece
Pouf's violin was a masterstroke.
we need more appreciative people like u
That's incredibly kind of you to say. These stories deserve appreciation.
Cant stop watching your videos about hxh over and over again. You are one of the only ones who seems to understand the full magnitude of this series.
Thank you,. Really amazing characters, Pitou's apology gave me goosebumps, such a heartfelt scene.
Thanks for watching!
THEORY: It’s entirely possible that Komugi’s nen ability is to influence life around her using Gungi because, at Synonymous times she used the soldier piece that in kanji can be read as leopard when Cheetu started fighting morel and then she used the bow piece when he unveiled his second nen ability. Not to mention the direct parallels in the casts operation and the Gungi match between her and Meruem. I always thought it was weird that Togashi would show that she had nen like he did and not explain it through the story. But if this theory is correct then he set up the most tragic love story of all time right under our noses and we had no idea... Komugi killed Meruem (using Gungi)
Pitou's growth is even more shocking when you realize that Komugi and Kite both have the same first consonant in their name and also both have white hair.
Why...? I don't understand this statement.
maybe because the white haired individuel in both cases shows her character in two different ways in direct contrast with each other, i dont know XD
me too i don't understand your statement
....it's a joke......
And killua lol
Let me just point out, I have both versions of the violin saved as my ringtones and alarms. This means the moment I heard the first note I automatically synched in. Nice touch.
man I fkin love Pitou, dunno why
I like how perfectly timed the ending song is. Using that fantastic ending from even the same arc really makes the end of this video feel satisfying.
Who else REALLY wanted see the Pitou vs Kite battle.I'm interested because she said something about reliving that "miracle moment" with Kite.What went down?
Man Youpi was awesome.
What a developement .
Easily my favourite Royal Guard .Simple , honourable , and evolutionary. Turning out to be more deep and intellectual than all of them.
Woot! You just made my Saturday. I'm guessing you already will but please do an episode on the king as well. Youpi was my favorite of the guard. I really like the intensity of the while fight. it just kept building and changing over time till he was a totally different person. Hunter x hunter is so awesome!
Thanks mate, glad you liked it! I'll definitely be doing a video involving Meruem in the near-ish future, so don't worry! :)
+Aleczandxr in my opinion THE best character in fiction
He's a special character. Definitely deserves analysis.
I really enjoy your videos. I didn't think someone monologueing with a passive montage would be so compelling but your arguments and insights are captivating in their depth. Plus, you're doing a lot of my fave animes so it makes me happy and feel justified. So with this vid you're going over three ways Togashi has characterized devotion to a leader:
Pitou: devotion to the leader as a person, values the person behind the authority and considers their feelings
Youpi: blindly devoted because that's what they're supposed to do
Pouf: fanatic and idealizing the leader, putting them on a platform beyond them as a person
Nice, I always wondered why Togashi chose such conflicting personalities between the three guards who theoretically should have been cookie-cutter guardians/servants for the King.
Happy to hear you like the videos! There'll be much more HxH in the future so keep an eye out for that.
Yeah you've basically got it spot on with regards to my opinion of what Togashi's doing. My thoughts on pre-castle storming Pitou are different than from what I say in this video now, but that doesn't really affect what the Royal guard represent. I think they're an incredibly fascinating concept for a trio of characters and I love all three for what they added to the arc.
my favorite character in hxh is pitou,at first i kinda didn't like her and i wanted her to die,but when I watch her more in other episodes i started to love her
and when gon killed her i admit it but (please no hate) that i KINDA hate gon a LITTLE and i also admit that when pitou died i cried, and in my opinion pitou deserves a happy ending or a comeback (like if you agree)
(PLEAS NO HATE AND DONT FIGHT ME)
I'm more or less the same. First time I read the manga, I really hated Pitou for killing Kite, and was just hoping Gon would kill her (Hard to say "her" in the manga version, though). But then, I started to see her develop as a character, and Gon turning into a complete douchebag to everyone (Even Killua), and when she died, it didn't feel satisfying at all. Watched the anime some years later, and during the Chimera Ant arc I started to appreciate her character more and more. I don't know for sure if she's my favorite by now, but she's definitely up there.
I felt the exact same way and would love to see Pitou again!
But the fact that everything Gon did was pretty much negated, with Kite still being alive and all...it makes me even more mad at Gon. And how he could let someone like Genthru live, but not Pitou? Really Gon...
Awesome video. Had to find out why you considered Pouf one of your favorite characters. I hated pouf at the end as well and because of this didn't take the time to carefully analyze him. I understood his character but didn't really care for it until this video. I agree that he was really poetic and I especially enjoyed the analysis of the violin which I had never really considered.
However the Royal Guard I still like the best is Youpi. This video helped put into words what I thought of him. I knew he had become "gooder" I just couldn't pin the right word. It was honor. I don't know why that didn't come to mind as the description, but it fits really well.
I would go so far as to say Togashi humanized Pitou in part to contrast with Gon's headfirst dive into crazy town lol
This was so insightful! Please do Meruem next!
Thanks! A Meruem analysis won't be the next HxH video that I do, but it will be coming soon!
+Aleczandxr Tge greatness takes time
+Aleczandxr Tge greatness takes time
Please don't stop your job, it was a such video!!! I hope to see a video about killua and his family
Good idea!
Ohhhh my god. You did it to me again.
What I was hoping to get from this video most of all was an in-depth exploration of Youpi, since I (along with many others, as you mentioned) viewed him as the least interesting of the three guards. And as with your other videos in this series, while you didn't necessarily tell me anything I didn't already know about the events that the character (in this case, Youpi) takes place in, the way that you contrasted those events against others made a huge difference in my understanding of the character.
Before watching the video, I would've said that Youpi's entire character development could be summed up as "He learns about honor for one's enemies, which is cool and everything, but not nearly as in-depth as the personalities that Pitou and Pouf have from the get-go." Which is still *true* , but is so much more important than the way I summarized it when cast in your light: All three of the Royal Guards exhibit one particular human trait, a traditionally *good* human trait--- for Pitou, it's empathy, for Pouf, it's devotion, and for Youpi, it's honor--- which, in their situations, turns into a character flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall, though in some cases that is more literal and direct than in others. In other words, what Youpi's "minor revelation about honor" really does is show how he was just as human as the other two Royal Guards.
The reason why Youpi was so enraged when he finds out the miniture rose is ironically because it was such a cheap shot in contrast to his honor. Also, youpi wins the fight and spares the hunter is in direct contrast to Netero loses the fight with Meruem but intend to cheap shot Meruem to kill him.
Watching this hxh playlist from the start, you surely came a long way the content you created back then vs what you create rn
Heh, Youpi is my favorite.
tony flamingo youpi's p cool
This analysis was well done. I congratulate you on this piece. I do live how you added that mjsic did make the arc very tense and dramatic because there were moments where viewers are just glued to the screen. Waiting to see what would happen. Again, keep it up sir!
Thanks!
Why is pitous gender ambiguous? Its face, voice, body and manners are very feminine, it looks 100% girl to me
Nelson Fabian Rios De Antonio you'd be surprised at the amount of people that totally believe it's a guy. But then again maybe because of other female like male characters in the show like Kurapika and especially kalluto
+Kurapika Kurta Lol, i think the creators are just trolling us all :P.
Kurapika Kurta And then the creator will say that komugi had a dick and it was a tranny the whole time, lol
In the mangga, she was really ambiguous they changed her design a bit in the anime.
She goes looking from a guy kitty to female in the manga. And what do animes usually do? They go by whatever resembles the latest character design, and voila!
I kind of got emotional when Meurum was about to die and komugi thought that he saved her when it was the Royal guards (mainly pitou) but meurum thought it was all of them bc he didn’t find out the truth then it showed a little flashback of the moments they had when they were alive I felt like crying.
After watching this arc, I started to see my dog in a new light. He isn't just something that's there, he's a living being. So, I hope he never leaves me and we can have one moment of peace before her inevitablely dies.
Deep
I don't want to be that guy, but there is no guarantee anyone is going to live longer than anyone else.......
Pitou is best cat. I didn't really care much for her until the healing Komugi part and her pleading with Gon's humanity. Everything just clicked at that moment. Togashi rarely adds a character that has no point to its personality or background.
Agreed. Before that she was quirky and cruel, and nice addition to the cast but pretty shallow. Everything clicked in that moment, as you say.
Subbed! Agreed. HxH is nothing like One Piece or Naruto. It exceeds the Shounen Fighting Genre. The Chimera Ant Arc alone is narrative at its most complex and fascinating. Compared to this, any OP or Naruto arc seem written by children.
awesome job wow that really pointed out a lot of themes and things that i missed but felt when i watched it. I'm pretty sure i'm gonna binge all of your videos now thanks for putting these out there. this is my favorite series and these videos just reinforce why I love it so much
Cool, that's what my objective was in making these videos! Much appreciated man.
Pouf is just like an asian parent with high expectations
These videos are always amazing.
By the way, I noticed you put in some Xenoblade music at 6:22 for Youpi's analysis. That caught me off-guard haha. You even picked one of the best tracks (Hidden Machina Village)!
Thanks! I've got quite a few videos with Xenoblade OST in them. I can't help myself, haha.
Haha I also realized after typing that comment that your profile picture is literally the Xenoblade title screen. 'Slaps self cuz of how blind I am'
Haha I wouldn't be able to help myself either. I'd just go all out with it. On that note, have you heard the 4 new tracks for Xenoblade 2? Oh, lordie, lordie. They're somethin' special.
I haven't, actually. I've purposely been out of the loop to go into it pretty blind, but I'll look them up.
Aleczandxr Haha wow, good for you. Just wait it out till the holiday season, huh? Maybe it's better for you to just not listen to any of them, even though they're absolutely wonderful haha.
Pitou is my favorite.
HxH is so incredible, I feel honored to have seen it. Which is why I appreciate this channel so much. Thabk you for all this amazing content. On my way to marathon every single HxH video you've done
Hope you enjoy! :)
Would love to see a video for the Phantom Troupe too!
An incredible analysis you made. I am teased to watch all your other videos now :) and hope for more in the future. Thank you!
Thanks so much! There is always more content in the works, and I'll start work on the next HxH video soon!
Pitou is bae
Pouf is easily my favourite royal guard he's so well written and such a complex charecter, i also love his violin music it's a masterpiece and so is hunter x hunter, the manga is continuing but no news about the anime, i hope it continues! Hxh is my favourite anime of all the time out of all the animes i have watched.
pouf was the absolute best. Don't fight me on this. lmao
He was the most animated, passionate, and entertaining royal guard. His enthusiasm and absolute loyalty made him endearing, to me. He made me laugh, unlike the others. He was willing to feed himself to the king, while Youpi never would've thought of it. He's a ray of color the chimera arc desperately needed, even if he's still dark and inhuman.
joshua guinea He's an absolutely fantastic character
Yeah I think at first I found him annoying but started to love him. His crying scenes, passionate violin playing, voice, intelligence and loyalty was memorable
yay, finally, someone likes Pouf, he was the best
Harley Howl lol... i have always loved pouf.
Looks like a new gem of a channel has popped up, have a sub, bumped into your Guts & Griffith video and then on to your religious symbolism in Hunter x Hunter, so I like your content for sure, keep it up, my man.
I appreciate it very much, glad you like the content!
I love these three so much especially Pouf. He's underrated imo
Also low-key almost cried watching this because this arc gets me so emotional
People hate him because he's antagonistic and unlikeable but I think he's phenomenal.
Your commentary has gotten so much better.
I love pitou and youpi but i find pouf legendary
Beautiful video. It's amazing how you can see many times the Chimera ant arc, make a lot of thoughts about it, and there is still something you don't grasp untill someone point it to you, or untill you get there by yourself later...
Cheers. It's such a great story with so much to it, multiple watches definitely add to it.
There owns humains traits, who make them stronger, make them failure as a kamira ant.
Interesting and well thought out analysis, looking forward to more of your videos
I look forward to making more :)
Honestly, I don't agree with you about Pitou.
She not evil.
Much like us when we eat animals, we think nothing of it, it is the same with her.
She doesn't see us as anything worth a damn, unless we can put up a fight.
If we equivalently don't have a problem with how we treat animals, then by extension, there should be no problem with how she treats us.
I don't agree with my past self either. This video is quite outdated, my Pouf video is basically a better version in every way.
Oh, sweet will check it out.
When Gon figts Pitou, that's when the violin is at it's "loudest".
Pitou can become extra thincc by just flexing
Bruh! Your videos are dope. I'm watching anime I haven't seen yet partly to watch these epic breakdowns. And I feel you on Pitou; I didn't want her to die either, lol
do kurapika
Isn't Pariston smarter than her?
He uh already did
Long time fan, my friend. Love the critical analysis you put into your videos. I started writing character dissections for fun and was curious how you approach these types of videos. Keep up the good work.
Cheers for watching.
I feel like they based this on a shakespearian story or some rennaissance material
have you found any similarities?
It's not necessarily something I've looked for, but I can definite see some parallels now that you mention it. A Romeo and Juliet-esque love doomed to fail, two lovers dying including a suicide built on love, themes of transformation and appearance vs reality.. Nice catch.
Amazing video, this gives me such a greater understanding and appreciation of the Royal Guards, keep up the great work.
That was my goal! Thanks for your support.