Yoshihiro Togashi (冨樫義博) is a manga artist. Credited in Chinese translations as Fu Jian Yi Bo.
He began drawing manga at an early age; while he attended college, the publisher Shueisha recognized his talent. Togashi has authored numerous manga series in different genres during the past three decades. He is perhaps best known for writing and illustrating the YuYu Hakusho and Hunter × Hunter series, both of which have been published in the popular Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine. Togashi is married to Naoko Takeuchi, the author of Sailor Moon.
The volume jumps into the action right away. Talk about a fight scene! I'm not the biggest fan of fight scenes, so it got a little long for me, but even I have to admit that it was pretty epic. There's a reason why Hisoka is my favorite character in Hunter x Hunter!
Also, the journey is about to start and I'm excited! I loved what we learned right before the ending. I need to know more now! And what about that cliffhanger of an ending? I'm just glad I have the next volume ready to go!
It‘s about time that this series started to pick up again. The fight at the beginning was fun and the book ended on an interesting note but frankly I was bored by everything else.
This volume started off with a bang as we finally got the Hisoka vs. Chrollo fight that's been hinted at for so many chapters and honestly... super impressive but also rather hard to keep track of with all the different tactics and nen abilities being used 8'D Super interesting over all though and I honestly love Hisoka so it was nice to have a more central focus on him for a while c:
And the way that battle ended, and the aftermath of it? Wow. Super impressed and really surprised by the outcome o.O Curious to see where things will go now...
Aside from that... it appears that the "succession games" have begun on the trip for the Dark Continent, though so far none of the princes have been taken out (that I know of). Wonder who will be the first to go...
The duel between Hisoka and Chrollo has been one that Yoshihiro Togashi has teased for a long time (more than 15 years ago during the Yorknew City arc), and it does not disappoint. From the very first chapter, Togashi promises a battle to the death, a promise which he manages to keep while simultaneously upending the expectations of his readers.
Still, on initial read, one might wonder: why now? After all, there has been no hint that such a showdown was imminent. The preceding volume dealt with various characters' motivations and preparations for their journey to the Dark Continent, and Chrollo has been waiting in the wings ever since his confrontation with Kurapika in Yorknew City. However, the placement of the fight at this point in the narrative was not only deliberate, but absolutely necessary. With its aftermath, Togashi unvevils the purpose for its inclusion, and deftly ties it back to the main story.
This particular storytelling maneuver has allowed Togashi to change the motivations of the combatants significantly. Hisoka is no longer content to let Chrollo dictate the terms of battle, and is determined to slaughter the rest of the Phantom Troupe. And Chrollo is sure to be enraged at the death of his brethren. It is hard to imagine that he will continue to view Hisoka as a tiresome distraction.
At the same time, it has allowed Togashi to place Hisoka, Chrollo, and the Phantom Troupe on a boat with Kurapika, Leorio, the Zodiacs, the Kakin Princes, and two hundred thousand unwitting civilians. Chekov's Bomb has been planted, awaiting the most inopportune moment to go off. If the events at Heaven's Arena are any indication, the result will be a bloodbath.
In Hunter x Hunter, characters' abilities have always been a reflection their personalities, and Togashi uses here this to great effect. Bungee Gum (which has the properties of both rubber and gum) is an extremely simple ability to use, but is flexible enough to be used in a wide variety of situations. It is perfectly suited for Hisoka, who enters the fight without any plan or preparation, confident of his ability to improvise on the fly. On the other hand, Chrollo has meticulously planned the fight down to the last detail, choosing the time and location of the fight, and even the exact abilities he needs to win. Skill Hunter allows Chrollo to steal abilities and store them in a conjured book for future use under certain conditions. One such condition requires him to hold the book open with his right hand in order to use the ability on the open page. Chrollo has even picked up a new skill, a bookmark which allows him to fight with both hands, and even combine multiple different abilities to devastating effect. This comes at the cost of even more restrictions, and complicates the fight even further. The result is the most complex battle Togashi has ever written, one which juxtaposes the characters and their fighting styles perfectly. My favorite moment: a two-page spread in which Hisoka uses the bodies of audience members as a wrecking ball to fend off an army of Chrollo's puppets. It is wonderfully deranged, and shows just how little both combatants value human life.
The final three chapters shift the spotlight back to Kurapika during the Black Whale's departure. Even with minimal pagetime, Togashi breathes life into his growing cast of characters, effortlessly infusing them with personality. With the multitude of characters and warring factions in play, the upcoming Succession War promises to be his most complicated story arc yet.
Whooo, things are getting very interesting here! I wonder who is using nen? And what events will befall the attendees of the voyage to the Dark Continent?!
I also very much appreciated Togashi's commentary of Hisoka and Chrollo's battle, and although this review might not get to him, I believe in his creative abilities and am a strong supporter of his work with Hunter X Hunter. Go Togashi! We believe in you!
Con el problema físico que tiene Togashi, entiendo sus pausas con la obra. Aborrezco que los fans lo tilden de vago porque no les saca un capítulo a la semana. Mi única explicación a esto es que creen que dibujar es super fácil y pueden criticar lo que quieran sólo por ser fans.
Sobre los capítulos de este año: Estoy muy contenta y satisfecha con la calidad que el manga está mostrando hasta ahora. El hecho de que se planteen cinco enemigos con fuerza desproporcional, las habilidades desconocidas de Kurapika, que Gon tenga que recuperar su poder nen, que Hisoka quiera matar a las arañas me parecen buenas tramas; sin contar la de los otros personajes.
Obvio que quiero que siga dibujando, pero la salud es primero. Qué se recupere bien y que vuelva con diez capítulos más, ojalá incluya pronto a Leorio :^(
i literally started reading this series so i could read this volume. it’s not covered in the anime, despite being set up in season three (right? someone fact check me), and i needed to see chrollo vs. hisoka to finally know peace with this series.
and so i’ve done it. i read THIRTY-THREE prior volumes to get the full extent of this series, everything that was covered in the anime and everything that wasn’t, just to get to this moment. and it was a let down!! the fight felt so rushed, it was randomly placed in the larger context of an arc i didn’t care about, and it was so underwhelming. you mean hisoka can just will himself back to life?? like why are we STILL drawing this out?? this was like a trial run of what i was promised and i don’t want to stick around anymore to see the real thing.
seriously though, this is how i felt in the trenches of the ant arc when i wanted to give up. this stupid succession battle of people i don’t know or care about is meaningless to me. where are gon and killua, you know, the heart of this series?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I feel like I'm the only person that just isn't clicking with this manga much in general, and even this arc seems very convoluted, with a LOT of text exposition.
Woooweeee! Hisoka x Chrollo finally face each other in an insane showdown, and our hunters finally set sails for the dark continent – quickly to realise the Kakin king's seed urn ceremony has produced some unknown dangers.
PS. The artist failing to spell his characters' names in latin letters for his sketches in this volume is a riot. My personal favourite is "Quwrof Wrlccywrlfh" (Chrollo Lucifer). ♡
I never expect their fight to be in the middle of dark continent arc but WOW a great fight i never expect Hisoka would be this insane afterward about phantom troop. And im highly expect he is hiding himself now as one of the princes of kaken
Out of nowhere, this volume had probably the coolest fight in the entire series. In Heavens Arena, no less.
I do not know how you can conceive a power like Chrollo's and write it the way Togashi does. Genius. I couldn't follow the bookmark/copy/sun/moon sequence, so I just accepted it and enjoyed the ride.
HXH is giving some Yorknew City arc characters major screen time again (Phantom Troupe, Kurapika). Some characters I liked died. So it goes. The ramifications will be huge, I assume.
I guess we have to accept the main plot is on the giant whale boat now. I'll be more mentally prepared to discuss the princes by next volume. My question: How many HxH volumes equals two months of the princes all going for each others' throats? I want to get to the Dark Continent.
This volume was mainly a very exciting fight that we've been waiting a looong time for. And I think it delivered. This series has always been wordy when it comes to explaining fights. But lately, it has been trending towards an overly-verbose style. It's not a big deal, as I just skimmed over a couple paragraphs of the more intricate explanations. I get the idea of how their powers work, I read the explanations for the interesting interplay of their abilities, and when I start to get bored I skip a sentence or two and trust Togashi has shown his math. I don't think there's a way around all the talking either, since a lot of it is stuff that can't be shown instead of told.
Anyway, this volume is good stuff. A well earned volume of action that came as a pleasant surprise. Hisoka vs Chrollo was a long time coming and was worth the wait. Plus, more of either of those guys is never a bad thing. Hisoka seeking to assassinate the assassins will be a interesting angle. I'm especially surprised by one of his first targets. I wonder if this'll create problems between him and Illumi when he tries to take out Kalluto. Speaking of, I'd love to see Illumi in action. He's a potentailly fun character that hasn't gotten a lot of play.