#chapter 393

393 starts off with a bang. I didn’t expect Luini to die so quickly, but I had a feeling his power would play some part in his death, resulting in him being severed in half or trapped. Such a death would be consistent with the horror atmosphere of the Succession Arc. Lo and behold, Luini did indeed suffer a gruesome fate.

Interestingly, the Troupe—at least, Nobunaga, Phinks, and Feitan—seem to defer their search for the treasure in favor of crushing the Hei-ly. Looks like they’re going to leave the hideout too, which should be beneficial for Ken’i.

Next, we get a look into Morena’s followers, including a series of character introductions. We don’t get quite as much for these characters as we did for the trio in 391, but this is still a masterclass in writing. Creating a cast of characters this wide and this unique (in such a short amount of time) is not easy and is, in my opinion, further proof of the Hunter x Hunter’s quality.

We also learn a bit more about Morena’s ability. At first, I thought Contagion allowed for Nen users to gain an additional ability, but it seems infected followers can only learn abilities from their Nen category. It’s sort of like a Nen teaching ability that awakens a person’s aura nodes when they reach level 21. If this is the case, the situation of Morena’s followers closely mirrors that of Kurapika in Tier 1. Several people suspect Kurapika of having a Nen ability specifically designed around teaching Nen.

Without Luini, Morena’s followers are left scrambling for much-needed levels. Voconte, one of Morena’s followers, offers to use his ability as a trap (this will come up again at the end of the chapter). Soon after, Tevelares and Quorolle return from the fight against Hinrigh and warn about the Xi-Yu underboss’s ability.

Gelato joins them as they ask Morena herself for guidance. Morena seems to be very knowledgeable in Nen.

The scene changes, and we’re reunited with Lynch and Zakuro, who have awoken after being knocked out by Hisoka. Apparently, Hisoka told Zakuro he was “going to see a movie”. Along with Hinrigh, the duo head to the cineplex, where they ultimately decide to break off and search for Chrollo (more on this later).

The conversation between Hisoka and Hinrigh is awesome. However, instead of discussing the details of the conversation, I’m going to address the elephant in the room. In my last breakdown, I raised the possibility that the Hisoka in Chapter 392 was not actually Hisoka. I was kind of testing the waters there, since I know a lot of people really want to see one of their favorite characters return. After 393, I can no longer afford to be noncommittal. This is almost certainly not Hisoka.

There are already some theories being tossed around about this, but I want to focus on the more tangible reasons Hisoka is a fake. The first is one I alluded to in my previous breakdown: Lynch’s question never went through. In fact, fake Hisoka has been asked three times about his identity and has never answered!

It’s a classic writing tactic to have characters ask questions the readers should be asking themselves. “Is this really Hisoka?” is absolutely a question Togashi wanted us to be asking.

Secondly, there’s a very telling reference in this chapter that I missed on my first read.

The banner in this panel is a reference to The Thing (1982). 

If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it, even if you aren’t a horror fan. It’s a fantastic film, but more importantly, it’s centered around a hostile alien with the ability to mimic human speech and form.

The fact that Togashi chose to include this reference here of all places is enough to convince me Hisoka is a fake. I think Chrollo is a very interesting candidate for the imposter, and I’ve seen many posts that detailing possible pieces of evidence. But it’s also important to think about what comes after such a reveal.

Zakuro and Lynch were so scared by Hisoka (Chrollo) that they decided to look for Chrollo instead. This is downright hilarious to me and not out of character for Togashi. Chrollo heading to Tier 1 also has major implications; he may run into Kurapika or Hisoka there, before the rest of the Troupe. Finally, masquerading as Hisoka can (and perhaps already did) give him inside information regarding the Xi-Yu’s plans. The mafia families are secretly planning to eliminate the Phantom Troupe to preserve balance. However, they would potentially share that plan with Hisoka.

The information warfare occuring aboard the Black Whale, coupled with multiple fake-out deaths, causes us to doubt almost everything presented to us. As Kurapika says, “with Nen, what you see is not necessarily the truth” (something that’s rehashed in the Theta-Tserriednich plot). It’s that persistent doubt that contributes to the horror atmosphere of the Succession Arc.

After the conversation between Hinrigh and Hisoka, we join Ken’i as he speaks to Corporal Maizan (the corrupt guard from 392). Ken’i quickly deduces the arrangement between Maizan and Hinrigh and offers to make the payment himself. He also emphasizes Morena’s status as a “second-liner” or “faker”, who should normally be loyal to the crown (as Onior and Brocco supposedly are), but has gone “rogue”.

Legality—or rather, approval from the crown—seems to be important here.

Not sure if I’ve discussed this before, but one of Togashi’s greatest artistic strengths is his facial expressions. You can probably remember some panels that exemplify this, but one of my favorite examples is the one of Oito here:

Togashi’s facial expressions have so much nuance he can convey complex emotions with undeniable clarity, or make your skin crawl with a smile. I think he knows this and is showing off with Ken’i.

Ken’i, Hinrigh, and Maizan head to the alleged location of Morena’s hideout, room 3101. The room is among the first-class cabins, and we’re reminded of the class divide on the ship. It’s also part of Voconte’s trap ability that was hinted at earlier in the chapter. One of Morena’s followers, an elderly man, is in the room (humorously repeating the phrase “anyway, I didn’t do anything wrong so please come in”).