Why all the Genthru hate?
I always see people taking shots at Genthru. In particular calling him a boring or uninteresting villain. I don't see why this is. I personally found Genthru to be more interesting an antagonist than even Chrollo (whom I found to personally be the series blandest antagonist, whilst still being an interesting one).
Personally I find Genthru to be one of Togashi's most well defined characters in Hunter x Hunter and one of his most underappreciated creations. I feel that a lot of people do not like him or care about him because he lost to Gon which is a shame, because he is really a great character.
I have posted at length before about why I love his character and why I love his story and would definitely like to see him reappear (something that Togashi hints towards several times) so I won't go too much into why I like him as I'm sure the regulars here know it by now haha.
So tell me, what do you think of Genthru as a character? Why do you like him or dislike him? Go Go Go!!
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
Didn't find him interesting, thought his motives were weak, and his design felt like a Johnny Bravo reject!
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
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Originally Posted by
futurefrog
I always see people taking shots at Genthru. In particular calling him a boring or uninteresting villain. I don't see why this is. I personally found Genthru to be more interesting an antagonist than even Chrollo (whom I found to personally be the series blandest antagonist, whilst still being an interesting one).
As you said, it's surely because Togashi create many badass antagonists(Hisoka,Chrollo,Meruem,Illumi etc...) compared with them ,Genthru seems to be a generic villain.
I don't hate Genthru but i don't like him particularly. You find Genthru more interesting than Chrollo but it's not the majority. He needs more character development.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
futurefrog
[I personally found Genthru to be more interesting an antagonist than even Chrollo (whom I found to personally be the series blandest antagonist, whilst still being an interesting one).
So I'm not the only one who thinks this way about Chrollo? :zomg You're my new best friend. Of course, I'm not saying that Chrollo isn't interesting. He is. But I think he's relatively meh compared to others.
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I have posted at length before about why I love his character and why I love his story and would definitely like to see him reappear (something that Togashi hints towards several times) so I won't go too much into why I like him as I'm sure the regulars here know it by now haha.
Could you give specific instances where Togashi hints this reappearance? I don't see them, and I've always thought Genthru would never reappear again. Lol.
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So tell me, what do you think of Genthru as a character? Why do you like him or dislike him? Go Go Go!!
I don't actually dislike any character in HxH so... yeah.
Genthru is interesting. I like him. I enjoyed his scenes in the manga, and I like him for his role, but I don't really know much about him. At the same time, I'm okay with that. I don't mind if Togashi wouldn't expound or go more in depth with his character. I think I like him better that way.
I'm not sure if I want him to reappear in the manga again though. I don't think I would mind, but I don't really see that happening, nor do I see why or how he should reappear.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
As a serial killer I think it makes sense the design is to be plain or unimpressive, this way you don't suspect them of being the villain. But I'm not sure how effective it is within Shonen since everyones favorite characters tend to be the outlandish, sexy or flashy looking characters. He's very well written and creepy and in that way is perhaps more effective then Chrollo as a villain I'm meant to be afraid of (and I am!). Perhaps some of us are a bit harsh on the guy, initially I found the twist that he was Bomber to be shocking, but then soon got bored with him in the old anime. Going back and re-reading the fight in the manga, I really got a sense of his sick psychology, how twisted a guy he was. I found myself even more intimidated, he's scarier then both Meryem and Chrollo in that way, I've definitely grown fonder of him recently.
Still as much enjoyment I get out of him, I only see him as someone for Gon to defeat, not a character I want to know all about. The Phantom Troupe are characters I'd love to read an entire manga series about starring Chrollo (which is why Meteor City is an arc I want to see happen so badly). I feel the same way about the Zoldyck family and the Chimera ants, but not Genthru. So for me, he's a good villain, just a bit boring since I think there's not as much potential for future arcs with him and I was never actually intrigued to know why he is the way he is, just enjoyed him for the one arc. With the other antagonists Togashi has left tons of mystery about them that have me craving for more, I just don't get that from Genthru even if he wasn't sent to jail, even if he cares about his comrades. And honestly I can't say anything too bad about Genthru, mystery and the unknown are some of the things that make HxH so great, even after saying I don't think hes all that, I wouldn't be against finding out more or seeing him again.
tl;dr: Genthru is very realistic, intimidating and well written. He made a great antagonist for Greed Island, but after all is said and done I have no interest in seeing him revisited, probably because we aren't given enough insight into his character beyond him being crazy.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
Very subjective, shaky and conceptual suppositions incoming:
I think that part--just a part--of the reason that there was general dislike for Genthru stems from the fact that, for the longest time, he represented HUNTERxHUNTER’s final boss.
I’m not sure if I remember accurately, but it seemed to me--back in 2005, or so--that you were more liable to encounter someone who’d been watching the anime rather than reading the manga, and with the manga being so inaccessible at the time due to Togashi’s weakness in his artwork, I didn’t get the impression that a lot of people were altogether eager to check out the comic to see if it did venture further than the cartoon.* In any case, when Greed Island: Final finished, it looked as though the series had been done and dusted; despite several story elements still dangling about, it looked like Gon had reached his father in the end, and the final battle to get to that point had been with Genthru--a character who, in the grand scheme of things, represents perhaps but a learning experience in the broader context of the series as a whole. As far as I’m concerned, HUNTERxHUNTER still hadn’t really got off the ground by the time Genthru’s fight rolled around, so when the anime seemed to end with several plot elements still gestating, he came to symbolise the inadequate termination of the intrigue. I like Genthru as a villain, but when juxtaposed against the changeable Hisoka or the esoteric Chrollo--the latter of whom we have witnessed hitherto only but a thumbnail of his history and character--he lacked the resonance necessary for a final boss; and the stage of Greed Island itself and the characters who assumed centre-stage there--Tzesguerra, Goreinu, etc.--cannot function collectively as a denouement. In representing the final boss of the series--and in being a symbol for Greed Island as a finale--Genthru could have been resented for being an inadequate conclusion to the series. After all, Genthru and the saga he inhabits, I suppose, were engineered maybe just as training for Gon and Killua; they’re there as a means to adumbrate the grander and more complex life-and-death Nen struggles that await. Perhaps they're there to illustrate the conflict between the childish video-game-esque world of a child and the malignancy that the adult world, depicted through the literal invasion of the former by the latter--but if this is the case, then Greed Island does not in itself depict the necessary outcome or corollary of that idea: it's the Chimera Ant escapade that does this. Greed Island encapsulates development more than conclusion, I think--though it does something for the former--and in seemingly being shoe-horned into the role as the latter in G.I.:F, Greed Island itself feels as uneasy a conclusion as Genthru, whose presence becomes its symbol, in a sense.
In short, I would suggest that part of the reason Genthru could be resented is that he could have seemed to have been used for a purpose for which he was not intended. Genthru’s significance in the grander scope of HUNTERxHUNTER’s story might not yet even be clear, but the scope that recent chapters--and, more crucially, those York New chapters dealing with the Phantom Troupe and their intentions--have suggested, he could not perforce play the role of final boss. I think that Togashi’s slow rate of publication exacerbates matters in that Greed Island, for me, is not as far a milestone in HUNTERxHUNTER as its placement initially seemed to suggest--and the slow publication rate afforded Genthru a greater presence than he might today have if the series had continued uninterrupted. Genthru can be construed as superficial, and that could hurt the series if it didn’t promise to be as vast as it does. Weaker villains, I believe, can survive in a large series as constructs because bigger and more impending threats are always on the horizon; the side quest for the exorcist on Greed Island illustrates this. For what it's worth, though, I do want to see Genthru come back--because the infrastructure is there to give him greater resonance; and I think bringing him back would bolster the cohesiveness of the story.
* (If they did, I reckon some were deterred by the artwork and were prepared to wait for a new OVA, which meant that they were stuck indefinitely with Greed Island: Final as a conclusion; and the long hiatus around the 2005-2007 period meant that Genthru pretty much was the biggest battle in memory for a long time anyway, in a series that promises much more. Something that was potentially just a formative battle was the abiding memory you were liable to have at the time...which wasn't the nicest thing to go away with.)
Edit: And I suppose that he, as Greed Island's figurehead, represents the series at its most visually challenged--both in the manga and the anime. The former's characters look clunky and incongruous with the elaborate volume backgrounds, and the latter is--in G.I.:F, at least--at its most unenthusiastic.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
^ Actually I think you hit the nail on the head, speaking for myself as a fan of the 1999 anime first and the manga later. Greed Island stands out as a very important and critical part of the series, I've come around on the arc but I still see it as basically another training arc. I don't know how important it will be in the end, but I really look forward to seeing Greed Island visited in the new anime, perhaps Genthru will shine more brilliantly this time around? The Hiatuses definitely didn't do Genthru any favors, its partially why some fans have mixed feelings about the Chimera Ant arc as well come to think of it.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
I like Genthru, though at one point I did dislike him, probably due to me being younger and thinking that his character design (in the OVA) was pretty bland and nowhere near as badass as Chrollo's and Hisoka's. I really want to see Greed Island animated in the current anime, especially after seeing the wonderful job Madhouse did with Heaven's Arena. The characters designs will no doubt be awesome, and just imagine Gon vs Genthru with the same animation quality as the former vs Hisoka (please make that happen Madhouse)! I hope that Genthru will reappear later on in the manga even if only for a short cameo.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
I don't dislike Genthuru, but when you compare him to other villains in HxH, he tends to be underappreciated and overlooked. To me he was just a villain, not as compelling as say Meryem, Hisoka, or the Genei Ryodan. And honestly, it will be hard to top villains who are more dynamic like them (can we really even consider Hisoka a villain?).
I could care less whether we see him again, honestly. I didn't dislike him, but he wasn't my favorite. The way I see it, he's served his purpose as a villain in GI. He didn't have the dynamics to his personality that the other villains had. I agree that Chrollo has a bland personality, but he's still very much tied into the story (I'm still waiting for an epic Hisoka vs. Chrollo battle), and because of those ties, he remains interesting.
And that is the key component I feel Genthuru lacks. I'm not ambivalent towards him because he's a lackluster villain; he served his purpose well for the story. But in comparison to the other villains, you don't really see another side to him. All I saw was a greedy bastard who was also a serial killer. Then, at the end, he's willing to take the pain after his fight so his comrades could be healed. Other than that last moment, I didn't see any other real interesting qualities to his character. If he was still tied into the main story in some way, I think he'd be more intriguing, but as it is he remains in the shadows of the other HxH villains.
But if there are things I missed that suggests he's still tied into the story, I'd be interested in looking at those.
Meryem is also a villain that was just kinda thrown into the story and, well, he's not coming back. But Meryem also had that quality to his character that, at the end of his arc, made me sympathize with him (even if he killed millions of people). Unfortunately, I didn't feel those sentiments with Genthuru's character.
It's not that Genthuru's a bad villain... it's just that he has a lot of good competition for "Best HxH villain".
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
Genthru is one of my favorite villains ESPECIALLY from the manga.
He's a bit watered down in the Greed Island OVAs.
Though I dunno if I have any villains from HxH I don't like.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
As some said already...It's not that I don't like him but I feel like He doesn't have anything else to add so I just move forward villains who do.
Like Pariston. Boy I love him way more than Meryem or Kuroro.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
I don't see any reason why genthru should be hated. I mean, he was smart and at least a mid level nen user and played his part in the arc perfectly. Granted he does seem to lack a little of the sheer insanity other enemies seem to have though. Genthru was driven by his desire to win the game and money, most of the other guys have either obscure motives or are simply psychotic.
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
I like all the Hunter x Hunter villains/antagonists. They're very creative, and all of them have interesting personalities.
But! no one is topping my two all time favorites Meryem and Hisoka!
Re: Why all the Genthru hate?
I'm kind of indifferent towards him. Through my first watch of the 1999 series (I watched all of it and those OVAs before reading the manga), I liked the idea of Bomber with his random attacks and me not knowing who it was. Once Bomber's identity was revealed and his whole explanation with the bombs occurred, I was still enjoying it. My big problem with him was the final fights in the 3 on 3 matches. I always saw Gon as super strong, and he's fighting this guy who can pretty much set bombs... I think I came to the conclusion that Gon was not going to lose to him, so I gave up on Genthru.
But I feel like once his identity is revealed, he wasn't that much of a threat (most of the fear he gave off was from being anonymous). So after that, I thought of him as a low tiered villain. Plus, I'd rather see one of the other villains fight.
