Will Gon recover his nen?

[uberfayt]

When did he see gon's aura? I don't think that was ever said. If anything gin made the point gon should be happy to merely be alive rather than be thinking about his nen.

 

[shionoro]

If the interview stuff you mention is accurate then my feeling that gon has been written of the story is pretty spot on. We could still see an arc of gon doing non nen stuff but once done it's really over. One way or the other without nen gon has been entirely and irreparably cut off from the world of hunters. He'd need extraordinary effort to merely take on even the weakest of hunters. Add to that the absurd risk of ever running into hisoka again. Best case scenario would be that hisoka's murder boner is disappointed enough to not even bothering killing gon out of spite for having wasted his potential on some other asshole.

I don't really think there is another direction for gon to grow into... Can't imagine something that could possibly replace nen for him. I suppose something like what the kakin princes have but it'd be pretty damn difficult to master something like that without nen as well as lack of nen limits the capacity to interact with such powers. As they are invisible.

Personally, I think Gon might become a teacher character. Gon was a kid who liked fighting, but I feel gon's real strength were his people skills. I think a role for gon as a mentor for kite's children would be really suitable.

Gonna need a source for that interview since most of the editor involvement rumors are just that. Unless you're just thinking of where he vaguely mentioned Jump not allowing him to "deconstruct" the characters.

I cannot find it rn, but i clearly remember togashi himself saying that he was now allowed to make yusuke lose his powers and be a cripple.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 20, 2021, Original Post Date: Feb 20, 2021 ---

Gon has Aura, he just needs to train again to use Nen the same way as before. And no I wouldn't say that there is nothing more to do with him. Togashi put him on a bus to focus on other characters for now but Ging clearly told him to take a break think about his new goal now that he managed to find him. The story itself has too much potential to abandon Gon, there is the fated meeting with Gyro too.

I think that is not true., both for in universe and narrative reasons.

1) Ging is an amazing Nenmaster. I think if he knew that Gon could just retrain his Nen, he'd have told him on the spot. But Ging told him that he should remember he gave everything away and should look at what he can do right now. For a Genius like Gon, it would not take long to learn Nen even with meditation. Wing said they were taking their time with Zushi and that he learned it in 6 months, with Gon, that would probably be 2-3 months at max.

Gon called ging right after the election arc when he was home, but after that phonecall, a year passed in universe (timeskip). IF gone would be able to just retrain Nen, he'd have it right now and he could easily have gone to the dark continent if he wanted to.

2) If it was just about putting gon onto a bus, there woudl ahve been far easier ways to do it that do not require resolution. Gon going to Mito first is not out of character and then Gon could take the decision to go with kite/do something else on his own

 

[uberfayt]

1) Ging is an amazing Nenmaster. I think if he knew that Gon could just retrain his Nen, he'd have told him on the spot. But Ging told him that he should remember he gave everything away and should look at what he can do right now. For a Genius like Gon, it would not take long to learn Nen even with meditation. Wing said they were taking their time with Zushi and that he learned it in 6 months, with Gon, that would probably be 2-3 months at max.

To be exact, it only took Zushi 3 months to open his nodes, and 6 months to master Ten.

For Gon (and Killua), it was estimated they'd open their nodes in a week or mere days. Plus, we do know it only took them like a few moments to master Ten.

So yeah, in actuality it's even better than what you claimed.

 

[Aeneas]

I cannot find it rn, but i clearly remember togashi himself saying that he was now allowed to make yusuke lose his powers and be a cripple.

Memories are malleable for a reason. :P

Given how few interviews/discussions like that he's done, it would be pretty easy to find if it did exist.

 

[Demonspeed]

Even if he had said that. I don't think the Togashi from before has the same thoughts in the present.

Personally, I think Gon might become a teacher character. Gon was a kid who liked fighting, but I feel gon's real strength were his people skills. I think a role for gon as a mentor for kite's children would be really suitable.



I cannot find it rn, but i clearly remember togashi himself saying that he was now allowed to make yusuke lose his powers and be a cripple.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 20, 2021, Original Post Date: Feb 20, 2021 ---

I think that is not true., both for in universe and narrative reasons.

1) Ging is an amazing Nenmaster. I think if he knew that Gon could just retrain his Nen, he'd have told him on the spot. But Ging told him that he should remember he gave everything away and should look at what he can do right now. For a Genius like Gon, it would not take long to learn Nen even with meditation. Wing said they were taking their time with Zushi and that he learned it in 6 months, with Gon, that would probably be 2-3 months at max.

Gon called ging right after the election arc when he was home, but after that phonecall, a year passed in universe (timeskip). IF gone would be able to just retrain Nen, he'd have it right now and he could easily have gone to the dark continent if he wanted to.

2) If it was just about putting gon onto a bus, there woudl ahve been far easier ways to do it that do not require resolution. Gon going to Mito first is not out of character and then Gon could take the decision to go with kite/do something else on his own

My problems with your post:

1.Ging said Gon was normal, he only made that remark because of Gon's call. So Ging had no reason to tell him anything during their meeting on Yggrdsasil, because he didn't believe there was an issue. Saying that he has Aura is IMO, more than enough. You can't have Aura, be fixed up, and be unable to learn how to use that Aura, it doesn't make sense to me.

2.Gon doesn't have to go to the DC. All Hunters aren't interested in this. Killua isn't there, same for Kaito's team(I assume) etc. Why is Killua not there? For similar reasons(he has a goal unlike Gon). Togashi wants to focus on the other pair which was out of focus for this arc and other stories. Once it's over we'll get back to Gon, who will hunt something/someone else.

3.Togashi could have made a lot of things less complicated. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't, the chapters of the current arc are telling enough. All writers are different, it's not like we can read his mind. The DC itself is crazy. I don't think anyone could have imagined that Killua had a sister able to grant wishes. He can even ask Nanika to grant wishes for free.

 

[shionoro]

Even if he had said that. I don't think the Togashi from before has the same thoughts in the present.



My problems with your post:

1.Ging said Gon was normal, he only made that remark because of Gon's call. So Ging had no reason to tell him anything during their meeting on Yggrdsasil, because he didn't believe there was an issue. Saying that he has Aura is IMO, more than enough. You can't have Aura, be fixed up, and be unable to learn how to use that Aura, it doesn't make sense to me.

2.Gon doesn't have to go to the DC. All Hunters aren't interested in this. Killua isn't there, same for Kaito's team(I assume) etc. Why is Killua not there? For similar reasons(he has a goal unlike Gon). Togashi wants to focus on the other pair which was out of focus for this arc and other stories. Once it's over we'll get back to Gon, who will hunt something/someone else.

3.Togashi could have made a lot of things less complicated. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't, the chapters of the current arc are telling enough. All writers are different, it's not like we can read his mind. The DC itself is crazy. I don't think anyone could have imagined that Killua had a sister able to grant wishes. He can even ask Nanika to grant wishes for free.

Oh, I meant in their phonecall. I think if Ging would think Gon just has to retrain nen, he woulda told him right there. But Ging stating that Gon 'gave it all away and should be grateful for what he has' point to ging thinking that getting gon's nen back is not as easy as that.

It is not so much about things being complex, but about being needlessly complex and convoluted. You don#t introduce a plotpoint you have to resolve when it is just for a plot device without payoff.

Alluka for example is not just a plot device to get gon back. Alluka was important for the story for several reasons and her involvement with Killua was intended. Had Alluka been just some noname character with a crazy ability that was featured in one chapter just to never return, that would be bad.

But if your theory is right and Gon can get his nen back easily, the next time we see gon, he should have it (because timeskip of one year). In that case, why even address it? It would have been enough to just not have the phonecall in the story at all, nobody would have questioned anything.

But Ging saying that gon should remember he gave it all away, to me, means there is something more at play here and gon not having nen will be a plotpoint that leads to more than just him not being with ging right now.

 

[Uriel]

I actually don't think Gon lost his nen. He just lost his will to use it. That's why He can't see it, as an auto-imposed condition. A trauma, which was clear after what we saw.

I believe Togashi will keep him emotionally crippled until He has to face his trauma. I just can't wait for that development, because the way in which He will overcome his trauma will be very likely how his Hatsu will be shaped.

 

[shionoro]

I actually don't think Gon lost his nen. He just lost his will to use it. That's why He can't see it, as an auto-imposed condition. A trauma, which was clear after what we saw.

I believe Togashi will keep him emotionally crippled until He has to face his trauma. I just can't wait for that development, because the way in which He will overcome his trauma will be very likely how his Hatsu will be shaped.

After all that talk about collaborative types, i could see that gon might be in a team with ppl who are such nenusers.
As long as he has aura, he can be used for abilities like kurapika's lending.

Personally, I think gon getting his Nen back would not serve the story. We saw the extent of what gon can do, both in tactical situation and in terms of power with supergon. Nothing he can show wont be stronger than that and i doubt there is a lot he can show that we didnt see in his fight against genthru or pitou.

So i dont see the point in getting it back except at the very end or s th. I see this as a good idea to spin gon onto another course of development.

 

[uberfayt]

I also don't think Gon can reawaken his nen, simply because of the restriction he imposed on himself in his fight against Pitou:

To defeat Pitou, Gon's transaction with nen was: "tremendous godlike powers" in exchange for "his life and nen" (he said he was ok that it all just ended, plus Pitou surmised that he'd be ok throwing away his talent and nen).

So as part of the contract, right after defeating Pitou his health started decaying and he presumably lost the ability to use nen. Then, Alluka healed him by removing the restriction that was put on his "life", but didn't lift the restriction on his "nen usage".
So even though he has aura, he cannot access it because of the restriction he put on himself. I see it as a sort of forced Zetsu (like Knuckle's APR).

Narratively speaking, I also think it's bad to give him nen back just like that, as that will brush off all of the price he had to pay to defeat Pitou.
Plus, by now he would've already reactivated his nen if he could (as mentioned before), as he can either meditate for a week or ask one of his friends to baptize him.

Now, will Gon ever recover his nen? who knows...Maybe via a wish from Alluka or via an artifact (like @lulukaruins ruins mentioned). I would be cool with that.

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 21, 2021, Original Post Date: Feb 21, 2021 ---

Another idea that could explain why Gon lost his nen:

We know that breaching a vow made for a "contract and restriction" can result in losing all nen abilities. So perhaps Alluka healing Gon counted as a breach to his contract of "throwing away his life".

 

[Uriel]

Actually, what He wanted was to be at the moment in which He could defeat Pitou. And we saw long hair, but we don't have an approximation of exactly which age that was. He has 14-15 now, so maybe that level was reached at 18-20. Maybe after those years, Gon can regain his Nen.

Even so, I disagree that his storyline is finished. Mostly when both Leorio and Kurapika (Dear friends of his) are going to a really dangerous place. As soon as He knows that they need help, He WILL be there.

 

[uberfayt]

so maybe that level was reached at 18-20

Killua thought it would take decades of training to reach that level. He looks young cuz he's a nen user (Ten helps preserve youth).

 

[TripleX123]

I definitely think Gon is going to recover his nen. Him recovering his nen imo will be crucial to his next character arc.

As someone pointed out on this thread that Togashi wanted to deconstruct Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho, but wasn't allowed to.

Only now with Hxh was he allowed to do whatever he wants. I fully believe this is what Togashi had it mind when he created Gon, but he deconstructed him first.

Both Yusuke and Gon have an obsessive love of fighting strong opponents and have the willingness to kill depending on the situation, the main difference is that Gon was put into a realistic setting where his flaws and hypocrisy are put on display.

So now that Togashi deconstructed Gon, I think its time he reconstructed him. Its time he grows as a person like Yusuke. Gon relearning nen is like a metaphor for him maturing and developing as a person.

He would slowly learn nen through the "natural way" while meditating and reflecting on his actions in the CA arc. Once he relearns nen I definitely think he would be stronger than before, becuase HxH is still a battle Shonen and Gon is the main MC.

However it would be perfect for his character thematicly because its like conveying the message that tragedy happens, but at the end of the day, you can overcome your worst traits and become a better and stronger person.

 

[MrDropCombo]

Super late to this discussion but happened to be watching a YouTube vid and the guy made the similar comments to TripleX123.

I agree with both. I feel like Gon’s character was deconstructed from the normal shonen character that over comes all and is always the bigger person with righteous morals. In the CA arc we saw the consequences of his actions and loss of his morals he started off with to get vengeance for that.

I genuinely believe Gon will return as Togashi wouldn’t dramatically foreshadowed the meeting with Gyro like that otherwise. But, it will be a reconstructing of his character to parallel his first character arc.

 

[GL_Nova]

The manga is kind of dead in the water if you don’t brink the main characters back. Even the ride to the dark Continent isn’t as entertaining with the main character MIA. Hopefully it’s not dragged out too long.

 

[Aeneas]

The manga is kind of dead in the water if you don’t brink the main characters back. Even the ride to the dark Continent isn’t as entertaining with the main character MIA. Hopefully it’s not dragged out too long.

Ignoring the fact that sales say otherwise, I don't see the correlation.

And assuming we do get any more content, there won't be much for either Gon or Killua since their stories are essentially over. Even if he does have more planned for them, there just isn't enough time at this point, unfortunately.

Also, Kurapika is a main character (I know you switched to singular, but you used the plural first).

 

[Drayenko]

I really don't understand the "even the ride to the dark Continent isn’t as entertaining..." I'm fucking hooked to what we've gotten so far.

I can't agree on that. And that comes from someone who loves Gon to death.

 

[Uriel]

Super late to this discussion but happened to be watching a YouTube vid and the guy made similar comments to TripleX123.

Do you have the link? I'm always eager for more HxH content.

PS: Ship to Dark Continent is definitely my favorite arc so far. In all manga.

 

[shionoro]

One reason why i think gon will not get his Nen back is that I think HxH is increasingly focusing about characters that are past their prime, disillusioned and caught up in conflicts they do not want to be in.

That started in the CA arc:

-netero struggled with, one the one hand, being past his prime on the other not having a proper opponent
-Gon went to his prime but sacrificed everything for it
-The CA leaders wanted to become king but had to understand that they will never be as strong as meruem (most of em anyway) and died.

Then we had this shift to more political, more muddy conflicts. The election arc focused on one thing: Legacy. You had:

-Killua finally deny the legacy put onto him as a zoldyek
-everybody fight about what they thought Netero's legacy should be
-Ging's legacy as gon's dad being kinda subverted because Gon would not be able to follow him. Gon does not even know about Don Freeks.

Then, in the latest arc, we have characters who similarly do not move TOWARDS their prime, but think they are already at or over it and just try to do their job/goal:

-Kurapika thinks he becomes a monster and just wants to be done with getting the eyes.
-Chrollo just wants to be done with hisoka, but hisoka understood he cannot keep battling like he pleases and both switch gears. For Chrollo/spider, things just stopped being a game and got personal, Hisoka similarly abandoned his version of fairness.
-The bodyguards are mostly people who just want to do their job. They have a set of skills and use it for their boss, they are not aspiring anything.

Now, i realize the princes and Beyond certainly have high ambitions and move forward to them. But both beyond and the more ambitious princes (benjamin, camilla, Tserriednich) are villains in this story (or rather, antagonists, beyond is not evil but stands against the zodiac).

In that environment in which our maincharacters did move towards their dreams in the first half (or towards their prime), gon is the one character that definitely, 100% achieved his prime for a short moment already. With the shift, moving from aspiring characters as protags to characters who just want to keep peace, protect or finish their business, it makes a lot of sense to me to let gon not get his nen back and see what he can do the way he is now.

 

[TripleX123]

Now when talking about Gon's nen, it has always been divisive among the fanbase. One side says Gon should get his nen back, while another says he shouldn't. I tend to agree with the former.

So I just want to explain my thoughts on why Gon should get his nen back, to provide a new perspective for those who don't think he shouldn't get it back. You may agree or disagree, I'm fine with either way I just think it's fun to discuss it anyway.

So based on the posts and comments I have read, these are the most common issues people have.

• It would negate consequences and Gon would not learn his lesson

• It will undercut the themes of Chimera Ant arc and HxH as a whole

• HxH will become a generic shonen if Gon regains his nen

Now obviously I'm arguing from a thematic standpoint, for how Gon gets his nen back is still a mystery. So I'd just like to explain why he should get his back by addressing the common issues people have on Gon regaining his nen, and also point out the themes and narrative setups associated with Gon's nen and character overall.

1. It would negate consequences and Gon would not learn his lesson

Now the most common opinion I always notice when talking about why Gon shouldn't get his nen back is that it would eliminate consequences for his actions. And I'm gonna say I would agree to an extent that Gon should get punished for acting like an immature and stubborn kid.

But that's not the case here, because Gon isn't just a stubborn kid. One of the most overlooked things about Gon's character is without a doubt is his low self-worth and abandonment issues. He is an immature kid with severe trauma that shouldn't be traveling an adult world such as the one in HxH.

I explained already in a previous post on my old Reddit account, explaining Gon's issues, you can read it here if your interested in maybe having a new perspective on Gon, and to fully understand my argument about Gon regaining his nen from a thematic standpoint. But anyway back on topic.

So with this context, Gon's actions during the CA arc and for the majority of the series were because of his broken self-esteem. In the climax of the CA arc, He made the ultimate sacrifice out of self-hatred, guilt, confusion, and anger because of factors that were out of his control. And Gon couldn't live with all that. He was basically committing suicide.

And that is one of my main issues with this argument on why Gon shouldn't get his nen back. Because isn't the implication that Gon should live with the consequences of his actions, arguing that those who end up taking their own life should have to live with that consequence? I dunno for me it doesn't seem like a good message and use of the thematics of HxH (which I explained below).

Why should Gon live with the consequences for having had suffered and shouldn't be allowed to grow? Why should he live with the consequences forever and never be allowed to move beyond his lowest point?

Why exactly shouldn't he get his Nen back? What thematic purpose does it serve? Why does he not deserve to redeem himself and grow? Everyone else in the CA arc, (as I said explaind below) gets a chance at rebirth and grows stronger as a result. Why would Gon not follow this same trend?

I disagree completely with the take that him regaining his nen would negate any lessons learned. In fact, I predict Togashi will show Gon developing his nen as he matures and grows. Gon's been given a reset button, similarly to the theme of rebirth in the CA Arc.

Furthermore, I think the biggest mistake people have is that they automatically think that Gon getting his nen back just means 'Snap, oh gee I got my Nen back, great'. When it could take effort, it could symbolize redemption and growth. Hard work and pain. He could regain it from something like the "slow method" as said by Wing. Through meditation and self-reflection. I don't know, anything's possible. It doesn't have to be contrived.

Togashi has yet to show us the slow process of opening nen pores with any of the main characters so this could be an opportunity to see how that process works.

Additionally, I would like to point out a pattern I just noticed, this is the third time Gon can't use his nen. After the last two times (Wing and Knuckle's restrictions) he later on "regained" his nen and he was stronger than before.

This could be brilliant symbolism. This can be something Gon can grow from. To learn from, as he has currently lost everything he fought for through the entire series. Gon can grow, mature, and learn from his mistakes, and become a better and stronger person


2. It will undercut the themes of Chimera Ant arc and HxH as a whole

Now for this one, I'll be explaining my issues with the take that says 'Gon should never get his Nen back as it would undermine themes of sacrifice' or whatever. My problem with this argument is that those themes weren't the only core themes of the CA arc and HxH in general.

I also already explained it in another post about how Kite's revival was appropriate. You can check it out here if you also have problems with Kite coming back to life. Here I'll just sum up the points I made that are relevant to this argument. Basically one of the core themes of the CA arc is rebirth, more so than "loss, guilt, and sacrifice".

Almost every major character went through a rebirth at the end. Killua ripped the needle from his forehead, making him stronger. Gon lost his nen, entered a deep coma, and was brought back to life by Nanika. Meruem got both literally reborn (after the bomb explosion) and metaphorically too (after meeting Komugi). And Kite also got reborn at the end of the CA arc. It all perfectly fits into the overarching theme of CAA: rebirth and second chances.

And HxH in general is dark for sure at times and delves into some deep themes like war, death, vengeance, moral grayness, trauma, etc..., but at its core, the series is still about human connection, recovery, and human nature.

It always baffles me when someone says that the whole point of Gon's journey was that he is just someone with great potential who threw it all away for vengeance. That It was supposed to be frustrating. LOL. Sure condemning a child for committing suicide is a great use of thematics.


3. HxH will become a generic shonen if Gon regains his nen

And for the last one, this argument. Oh boyy... I really don't like this one. Because this stems from the understanding that HxH is only good because it's a "deconstruction of shonen" or a "seinen disguising as a shonen". Now as always everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I really have major gripes with this perception of HxH.

Because for me this take largely discredits the good and clever writing Togashi does in incorporating the tropes of Shonen within HxH. HxH has deconstructive and seinen elements for sure but at the end of the day, it's still a shonen. A shonen with a unique twist. And that's not a bad thing, in fact, IMO that's what makes HxH so well written.

But anyway, let's bring this discussion back to what it is supposed to be about, which is the underlying themes of Gon's loss of Nen. The take basically says the Gon regaining nen will be "cliche", but it just isn't a cliche. In fact, there is nothing inherently wrong with any so-called "cliche" in any piece of fiction, what matters is "how" it's executed.

In HxH as I said before a lot of things are done differently, one of the tropes done differently, the power fantasy troupe has already been subverted, in Gon's achievement of extreme power was a tragedy rather than a triumph.

So now regarding Gon regaining his nen, is more in line with bouncing back from the Hero's lowest point, which is not really a troupe within shonen. It is pretty much a foundational aspect of structuring a traditional character arc.

Just look at the Hero's journey and apply it to Gon, he has only reached the midpoint 'death and rebirth' to then be followed by redemption, growth, and change.


Conclusion

Finally, It is also just a massive assumption that Gon's story, and even KIllua's for that matter is over. Their stories have always been about growing up and neither Gon nor Killua have enough perspective yet to reach a narrative climax for both of their characters.

We didn't get that because their story and HxH as a whole is clearly not finished. Togashi has set up too much for both of them in the future, such as Nanika's connection to the DC, Don Freecs and the possibility of meeting Gyro. It would make no sense if he just set all of that up just to bear no connection to either of the boys.

They are almost certainly coming back as there just wasn't a narrative conclusion to either of their stories.

Anyways I'll be glad you hear your thoughts on all this, and on a unrelated note this is just a post I did on Reddit, but my account over there got banned, so I figured I just post it here instead.

 

[Kanmuru]

Actually he didn't lost it, he just can't see it. Read the page when gon is talking with ging on the phone: