@Wagomu:
I think that's an unfair evaluation that applies our standards to the world Togashi created.
@algebro:
You're just wrong about the nihilism bit. You seem to be using your own moral standards to judge the manga, which isn't how it works.
Why shouldn't I apply my/our moral standards to the HxH world? The HxH world is just an extension of our world in that it was created by a person from our world. It doesn't exist in a vacuum.
In any case, I think that I'm getting from you guys is that the HxH world, or at least the Hunters in them, are exempt from typical morality because they're these weird super-powered ubermen whose brains are wired differently, and it doesn't matter because they (mostly) don't get normal people involved. Well, if you get something out of that, fine, but I'm personally not into a bunch of amoral creeps killing each other for material gain.
Oh yeah, and the Hunter Association lets kids take the exam because of course a 12-year-old kid is capable of making that decision.
For one thing, HxH is already a big story with an extensive cast, and losing one or two minor faces that never had to be important is not really that harmful to the series. Togashi already has trouble managing everyone, so I'd argue that doing some housecleaning serves a purpose in fixing that a little.
That's the thing. Togashi didn't have to bring them back at all.
I also think that the way he used them was pretty smart. They're recognized faces and established characters, so having them killed off sorta palpably raises the stakes.
How did killing them raise the stakes? What did their deaths accomplish that Kite's didn't?
Like, I don't know if it was Togashi's intention to kill them off from the start. Maybe he wanted to have them a bigger role and it didn't pan. In any case, the way they were brought back and killed just felt really cruel, mean-spirited, and pointless.
Nihilism says there is no moral code to be followed and nothing can be judged as right or wrong. That's obviously not the case in Hunter x Hunter because we explicitly see they have criminals, showing that there are laws in place.
Very inconsistent laws. Like, it's stated once that Hunters have an obligation to apprehend criminals, but, at the same time, violent criminals can be Hunters? And laws aren't the same thing as morality.
Also, the main characters have their own moral systems they follow. But I'll address your points anyway.
-In this universe the prevailing philosophy is if you are willing to put your life on the line, then you have to accept if you lose it. The exams have been going on for years and its not a secret to talk about how hard the exam is or that people die taking it, so its not like new applicants don't know what they are getting into when they go. They're willing to put their lives on the line.
The problem isn't that they're putting their lives on the line. The problem is that there's no good reason for them to be putting their lives on the line.
-The Hunter Association believes in survival of the fittest, and they want the most extraordinary talents.
That's social darwinism, which, I thought we all agreed, is really fucked up.
-Football, MMA, and boxing say hello. This is a more extreme version but again, they are more accepting of death as a consequence.
Are you really equating modern day sports with a literal blood sport that it is perfectly okay with and even encourages people to kill each other? Yeah, some times people die or get horribly injured in football and boxing, but it's pretty rare, and when it does happen it's seen as a tragedy. It's not something people celebrate.
@Robby:
Togashi himself went out of the way with the rose bomb to go "Yeah, the ants are bad, but the HUMANS, man, they're truly evil and nasty." Like a chapter full of narration explicitly making that point.
Gon is definitely a better person than the villains, but Togashi explicitly made the point that everyone is pretty messed up and humanity as a whole is awful.
WHich is basically an extension of the message he was doing at the end of YuYuHakusho but cut short because he got bored and ended the series abruptly.
Yeah, that's pretty much it. I get this really misanthropic sadistic attitude from HxH and it's a big part of why I don't like it.