Please note that this video is an addendum to my old video entitled "The Morality of Gon Freecss" (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z76epLh1rt6-mKs.html&ab_channel=Aleczandxr) and should not be watched without having seen the original video first. This one corrects and clarifies a number of things from that one while frequently referring to points made without fully summarizing them, so context is necessary. You may notice that some of this video is a little rough around the edges from a technical standpoint compared to usual - some minor audio stuff, some abrupt cuts - and I apologize for that. As mentioned, this was recorded more than a year ago and before cleaning things up, unfortunately both the script and the raw files that make up the video were lost, and I didn't want to make the entire thing nearly from scratch again, so I had to bite the bullet. I hope you can forgive the lack of polish. However, the main purpose of this is to properly clarify, correct and add some things to the original video, and luckily it still does that. One FINAL thing to add the I left out of this is that part of the reason Gon apathetically dismisses others in cases is because they signed up for these risky things and knew the consequences. The people in the Exam signed up for it, and the players in Greed Island signed up for it, so if they suffer consequences then they basically asked for it. If I think of anything else to add, I’ll edit this comment.

Gon to chrollo: how can you kill people that have nothing to do with you Killua: 😶

Gon is a product of great writing, it's fascinating to me when I see people delve deeper about the philosophical aspects of a character.

Your discussion about how Gon becomes angry when others go against his idea of their nature made me realize how this idea is explored in several other characters in the show as well. You see this in Netero, during his fight with Meruem, struggling with the idea of this ant being diplomatic, and ultimately deciding to fight through it. You see it in Palm, and her outcry and frustration when Meruem starts kneeling in front of her. In Kurapika, you see him utterly frustrated with Uvogin when he doesn't act how he expects. You also heavily see it In Pouf, and in Youpi. There's a lot to be explored here I think. There's a cognitive dissonance that occurs when people's views of others don't fit their mold or when their views are shattered. It influences their motivation, and it manifests differently in each character, though it is often frustration.

You can tell this man writes fire ass essays

IMO, an often overlooked factor concerning Gon's tendency to accept others relates to his Aunt Mito. At age 9 he learns from Kite that his father is alive, contradicting her assertion his whole life that Ging had died. For three years he continues to love her without ever challenging her lies. Finally at age 12, when he can go take the hunter exam, he lets her know without recrimination that he knows she lied to him about his father. What is the point? Gon has learned to accept the negative qualities of people he likes and loves. For example, when Killua reveals to Gon that he is an assassin, Gon is able to blithely accept that fact without judgement, fear, or disgust. He has already formed a friendship with Killua. If he killed people for money, that is simply an interesting fact, in no way interfering with their friendship.

I love how Gon is depicted as such a beacon of hope and purity. Killua even calling him "the sun" and then after his optimism and faith are shattered by Pitou he transforms into this all consuming persona of rage, malice, and destruction. As if the sun had imploded and it became a black hole in its place. "No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell." It also reminds me of Uchiha from Naruto. Who its said exhibit the strongest love and conversly exemplify the most intense hatred when that love is broken or betrayed.

In summary: Gon Freecss is a child protagonist character who dares to have negative character traits.

Gon is essentially a kid growing up too fast

I love how Gon is basically a kid who was given too much power, no supervision, and then thrown into a war. A lot of fantasy and shonen stories would like us to believe that little boys can carry the world on their shoulders but realistically, they're likely to throw tantrums over losing a video game. It's wild how many choose to think Gon is a super special kid or a psychopath when that's not the point of this character. Ging and Killua are the chosen ones from childhood, Chrollo is the *closest* to the shonen psychopath, Kurapika is protagonist of a dark revenge story. Gon's the normal sweet side character whose pushed into the role of MC.

the gon we've seen is an incredibly complex and nuanced character, yet he feels so simple and straightforward, an honest kid who is usually pretty selfless, but when push comes to shove, becomes narrow mindedly selfish... i'd like to see how his character develops into his later years

If anything... this video and the one before it helped solidify for me that Gon is human. He is a hypocrite, he cares for some and not for other and he chooses when, why, and how he chooses to care for them. Sometimes Gon wants to go left but instead goes right and other times he doesnt care which way to go and will take the path of least resistance to reach his goals. Unlike many other popular anime protags in shonen, he isnt fixed, you cant put his character in a formula, put in a situation and always get the same outcome, And its comforting to see such a morally ambiguous character. Thank you.

gon only respects what benefits him. he is the most realistic character ever. majority of characters are good for the sake of being good despite how bad the other character treated them

Had too much chemistry work, thought that said molarity for a sec

I'm glad Gon is selfish He is a unique protagonist .

I actually just learned this about today in my psychology course, but basically gons attitude kinda lines up with desire theory of mind, which is the idea that children think people only act in ways consistent with their desires, which sounds like brandis theory of how gon snaps at people who contradict themselves and what they represent in his head

One thing I've noticed is that you are unable to call Gon either selfish or selfless because it depends on the circumstances and we're all similar in a sense. It truly adds depth to Gon as a character and allows for us to theorize more about him.

It's really annoying when people say "Gon has such trash writing hes just dumb and flat like every other protag"

An Aleczandxr HxH video? Don't mind if I do

11:36 "Its a fact not a judgement" My thoughts to all people complaining about the video. He's not saying anything bad about Gon he's just explaining what he did in a more nuanced way from his point of view. He's not making anything up. Everything "bad" he says about Gon is already in the anime.

Like one comment here said. He had to grow up too fast. He wasn't ready for the fast changes in the perception of people. Kids or ones till age of 14-15 like interesting things and don't know the risks and takes time to adapt. It was too fast for him. :C

I never thought you were criticizing Gon. It was a very intriguing analysis of his morality imo. I think some people take things personally when they shouldn't sometimes. But we all perceive what we consider "reality" differently.

I'm currently rewatching Hunter x Hunter (2011) and noticed that Binolt's clothes and home-town in his flashback in episode 63 looks really similar to Leorio's clothes and home-town in his flashback in episode 4.

The internet will always find a reason to turn against you. Sometimes they almost intentionally ignore your point in order to find an excuse to act like smartasses. Don't worry, I understood what you had to say in the original video

Nice follow up, Aleczandxr. I saw “The Morality of Gon Freecss” last year, and then again a few weeks back because I just like anime analysis videos. And here I am, learning to understanding the nature of one of the most interesting anime characters today.

author: *states opinions* internet: _surprised pikachu face_

*Killua shows his nails with which he killed a person* Leorio: 0_0 Kurapika: "That is good...if he's not against us" Gon: "Like a cat :)"

Don't know if anyone said this before, but i believe the easiest way to summarize it is that Gon only Care about himself and his friends, being apathetical to everyone else. Thing is, he makes friends really fast, so this apathy rarely shines through.

I can't wait Gon and Gyro interaction together! They both have dads that doesn't really care for them that much. Although in Gyro's case, it was far more worse than Gon's.

Local 12 year old boy has mental breakdown when cat tears his kite

Wooooow that part about Gon being fixated on a his views of a persons nature is something I never would have picked up on so clearly if it wasn't pointed out to me as a trend (damn human complexity literally ruining everything even my precious baby boy XD)

I love that you released this. I was talking to a friend just last week who watched your video and came away from it saying the gon is a psychopath. While I had the stance that it just proves how human of a character he was.

Your original vid really helped me appreciate the character, just rewatched HXH and makes it more fun. But never thought you were implying Gon was pure evil or anything. Its an interesting take on child-like traits in characters, and the "survivalist/hunting" aspect of Gon's upbringing. We're all selfish as kids. Also like how this video points out some of the positive child-like traits, like being quick to forgive and forget.

I think one way you can put it is: Gon is a naturally good person, but he's also a natural born Hunter, and those two don't always overlap.

I dont know if I just missed it, but in the comparison of his reaction towards Nobunaga vs Binolt, I think it's good to note that he already had a pre emptive idea(or hate) towards them because he heard about them from kurapika

You should touch on the fact that he lets people lie to him so he feels justified when he kicks their ass

I would like to toss my two cents in, in particular about kite and gons first kill. I sit on the side of things where gons doesnt see the ants as people. At least not when he squeezes the life out of one. So to me the first time gon kills someone is when he fails to save kite. In several moments in the show we can see that gon feels at least partially responsible for kites death. Gon cant even bring himself to accept the loss of kite until Pitou gives him no other option. Its comes up over and over again that gon wants to save kite, well past his death. Gon feels empty when he finally understands. He becomes void of all wants other than revenge, but he finds no joy in it. What gon truly wanted wasnt to make pitou hurt, but to feel what kite had felt. He has his arm ripped off and he says it doesnt hurt, yet he cries. He wants to be punished, he wants consequences for his inability to save kite. Gon was able to make his nen restriction because he felt he deserved it. His final wish wasnt just for power, but for the weakness that followed. Gon had to freely give up all his might to have just a moment of godly power. Laying in that hospital bed was punishment for kites death. So to summarize, gon is heavily affected by his first kill, he just considers his first kill to be the death of kite.

Honestly a lot of these criticisms come from an emotional judgment of your analysis and not as a criticism of the content itself. People see you attacking the character or writing, suggesting that it's "bad." The criticisms I think you missed the mark on you admitted to. Everything else just seemed like people failing to understand that you're not making judgements on a fictional character.

21:52 On the topic of Gon's psychology, there is one *very* important fact that everyone needs to consider: *children cannot be diagnosed with personality disorders!* Personility Disorders are meant for diagnosing adults who have fully developed brains who have had an entire childhood to build themselves socially and morally. Minors are to be diagnosed with *conduct disorders* instead. And as Aleczandxer described, Gon's behavior is not outside the norm for a child (or even most fully grown adults) in the environments Gon has been in. Now that's not to say that Gon is entirely neurotypical without mental illness of any sort - Gon likely has C-PTSD due to parental abandonment and social isolation, which itself could be compounded by the potential for ADHD. (Remember that Gon had no friends his age, no video games or internet, and spent his entire childhood engaging in risky behavior for the sole purpose of entertainment; he got all the fun he possibly could out of the nature around him, and even resorted to dating predatory adult women just to experience a change of pace. Understimulation is harmful for any child, but for children with ADHD understimulation can be more intense and more harmful, which would add another layer of trauma to his childhood, and would create even more harm to his sense of self-worth.) However, even *these* diagnoses are difficult to attribute to him because he is a fictional character and we never have a chance to sit him down and ask him the sort of pertinent questions necessary for a diagnosis. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. Fans should stop diagnosing characters using science they don't understand.(And if y'all decide to do it anyway, then at least consider more diagnoses than just whatever sounds edgiest.)

I first watched part 1 almost 2 years and it introduced me to your channel so seeing that you have made a second one was an amazing feeling.

Last time I was this early, killua still had a needle in his head

The Morality of Gon Freecss is still a fantastic video. Even though there wasn't a lot of discussion of his morality in the mainstream at the time, it is something me and my buds discussed once I finally got them to watch it. This is similar to that "poison" that Toriyama talks about when referring to Goku's selfishness. * I'm thinking Togashi might have been influenced by this interview as Gon often-times feels like a deep look into the psyche of shonen-type heroes like Goku. "There’s how, basically, Son Goku from Dragon Ball doesn’t fight for the sake of others, but because he wants to fight against strong guys. So once Dragon Ball got animated, at any rate, I’ve always been dissatisfied with the “righteous hero”-type portrayal they gave him. I guess I couldn’t quite get them to grasp the elements of “poison” that slip in and out of sight among the shadows." - AT

Gon is amazing. And I love that you have revisited him as a character. There's literal hours of content to talk about regarding his entire character from Ep 1 to Ep 148.

I absolutely love what you said about Gon being brought up on an island where the first thing he ever learned first hand was survival of the fittest. My favorite video game character Sonic the Hedgehog also experiences this basically in his 2d games, and as a result of this, Sonic’s capable of both good and evil, he’s just more so inclined to good, and the chaos emeralds respond to his mood/energy. Another example is Fullmetal Alchemist where Edward and Alphonse Elric specifically undergo training in order to understand the cycle of the universe. Like you said, Gon is a pure boy. Both Good and evil alike. There are countless characters in Shonen and Seinen that are portrayed to be pure boys/children. Goku and Luffy are my favorite examples, but Gon executes this far much better because they show the darkness within him truly. Sonic has taken on an evil form with the chaos emeralds before. Edward, as a child specifically dabbled into alchemy regardless of the fact that Winry’s grandmother specifically told him that it’s the devil’s practice and is strictly forbidden, and even after he opened the gate of truth and the abyss consumed his brother’s body and his arm and his leg, he still studies and practices alchemy and wants to re-open that gate to gain those things back. Those are shonen examples, and their worlds are respectively shonen, dealing with less adult and truly vulgar topics. My favorite example from my favorite Seinen manga is the most polarizing/hated character arguably in all of anime: Griffith. Griffith is literally a pure boy in a seinen world. His world includes things like rape and torture and beheading in battle and being burned/eaten alive after being accused of paganism, and far more cruel things than you’d see in a shonen story, but as an adult and as someone who’s witnessed history, you know that these things truly do take place in the time period that Berserk is set in. I personally believe that one of the huge themes behind Griffith is losing his purity as he’s tempted by old men. Old men, like Netero for example, are supposed to represent the malice within the hearts of mankind. The world of Berserk always shows men that are either old, or hideous, or brute, giving into earthly desire. Genon the governer is a pervert for young boys and Griffith ends up sleeping with him for political gain, Julius cannot accept the reality that a commoner is better than him, so he takes it out on countless people like his son, and almost gets his nephew Princess Charlotte killed, The guy that’s from the Corbolwitz family hates Casca because he thinks of women as inferior and wants to defile her for disgracing the battlefield (in his eyes), the King of Midland literally wants to fuck his own daughter. It’s insanely messed up, but all these characters are explained as being men trapped in a world of darkness where they are forced to give into their desires because they no longer bear any light. They are basically demons, and no different from the apostles and the Godhand in spirit. Yet, in Griffith’s eyes, these are the men who rule the world, who own the kingdoms and castles and command other soldiers and have money. Griffith, being a pure boy in an insanely dark and twisted and corrupt world, IS CONSTANTLY BEING TEMPTED. That’s just the example I wanted to bring up. The only real difference between Griffith and these characters is 1.) the worlds they live in, and 2.) Griffith rants about his ideals, while most of these characters, especially video game characters (Sonic, Mario, Link) almost never talk, especially not about their ideals. The reason I bring up these characters and don’t lump them in with the typical shonen protagonists is because MOST of these characters aren’t dumb. Yes, Gon, Luffy, and Goku are specifically dumb in terms of not being good with numbers or simple stuff, but they all get the bigger picture. Gon is even socially smart, he’s just not good with things like numbers. Another character I like a lot is Sasuke Uchiha, because he is also at least trying to be his pure self and confront his darkness, plus he is also a child whenever he deals with people who are significantly more experienced than him (Itachi, Obito, Orochimaru, The Mizukage and the Raikage, Kakashi) all these characters treat him like an impulsive child, and it pisses him off. Also, every once in a while Sasuke does ramble about his ideals but it’s nowhere near as much as Griffith. Regardless, he’s rambled enough about them for the viewers to now stereotype him as this edgy emo dark mood long black haired character, which is an understatement to his character completely. Basically, I’m not saying all these characters are the same, or that they have the same amount of good or evil within them. I’m saying that all of these characters are themselves and stay true to themselves, always seeking to know themselves better, and doing what they feel like doing, whether it’s good or evil/light or darkness/prevents regrets or gives birth to regrets. In their chaotic universes, their sense of order is literally their chaotic feelings/instinct, and in turn they end up being in balance with their universes.

What if Togashi surprises everyone by announcing that he's been working on HxH the _entire_ time and that it'll be out soon. A boy can dream.

Learning new fancy words with Aleczandxr ❤️👍🏻

Just watched you initial hon morality video earlier this week after finishing the current anime series, and I’m so happy that you made a follow up. Great work! I definitely think gon, while simple, is the most interesting and flawed character in HxH and even though his character arc has ended I hope he has a return in the story with different intentions in terms of his goals. Definitely the character with the most room to grow and I love that HxH explore that.

I think this addendum finally made me realize why God doesn't hate Hisoka even though he's been an antagonist more than once throughout the series. I was always kinda confused as to why he would despise the rest of the Phantom Troupe, but be friendly (if cautious) toward Hisoka--it's bc he thinks that Ronald McDonald from Hell is very simply a sociopathic murderer, and he kills because it's simply in his nature to want to fight strong enemies (but goddamn if it isn't a little bit creepy lmao). It doesn't hurt that Hisoka never works in direct opposition to Gon's goals either, though. Idk. Gon is a really cool character.

Oh my, a new analysis video and sequel

I’ve always thought of Gon as a satirical look at Shonen tropes. Most mangakas seem to ignore their characters are CHILDREN and the trauma these kids go thru should affect them NEGATIVELY. Not to mention the lack of parental guidance, how else was Gon going to end up??

This is the most underrated anime analysis channel on KZfaq, in my humble opinion.

Remember when Nobunaga said that Gon would be a great phantom troupe member? Honest to life after watching this, i wholeheartedly think that if he had met the phantom troupe before killua, kurapika and leorio, he would have def joined

Don't mind me, I'm just reeling from the realization that Gon's morality rings true on a meta level. He consistently gets upset when people contradict his initial appraisal of their character, in the same way we get upset when his dark turn contradicts what we expect from the stereotype of a happy-go-lucky shonen child protagonist.

he’s such a well written, interesting, unique protagonist. i love him,, he’s a good lil boy overall

I dont know why fans were dogging you out for calling him a hypocrite. He is his attitude to kura alone showed that. He finally understood what it was like to thirst for vengeance and his ass got punished for it. It did not confuse me your intent on the first video.

Gon needs a father figure.

Gon was the main character I expected, and I’ve never been more wowed away

Oh yes more content about the GOAT

I liked how you pointed out that Gon hating a killer who just naturally was bad vs the trope who knew how to care yet still killed anyways was actually different. And while Gon's view might have been clouded because he was helped, it should be noted that he probably was just unable to fully comprehend his crimes as well because of the help. So I think it's more of a view of his mentality than morality. Objectively, Gon might actually agree with the morality of what should be right and wrong. But his mentality would accept a person and be kind to them. Also, the Chimera Ant wasn't human and looked like an animal. So that is very important to note. It was a monster. Even with sentience. So killing it isn't that strange. And is it fair to consider a sad, angry and hurting child hypocritical for wanting to kill someone who caused them such pain? Gon wasn't in a calm state of mind at the time.

2:06 TBH I think you made people like Gon a lot more like you did with Chrollo. You shed light on how much deeper there character goes than what meets the eye. I think you made ppl enjoy the series and characters more tbh.

I just finished rereading the election arc, so this addendum came at a good time.

Alec: *Thoughtfully explains Gon's in-story flaws as a person and praises the character's writing* Dumbasses: LeAvE gOn AlOnE!!!

Please don't ever justify your own misjudgement for other peoples lack of understanding!

I sincerely respect your content and your character analysis. Keep doing what you do best and don’t look back. No apologies or further explanation needed. Keep it up!

Great video. I think the thing that I took most issue with was the whole point about gon only liking people who are "beneficial" to him or his close friends. That phraseology implies a very transactional nature which I don't believe is present in gon, nor do I believe that gon is cognoscente of such motivated behavior.

Gon is a really well written character. He is my favt shonen protagonist along with eren Yeager Light yagami Sinbad Great video again.

Thank you for your comments on Gon being a psychopath/sociopath. People seem to use those words not only very subjectively, with a generic intent of "lacking in empathy/ morally grey" grouping those 2 concepts together. However empathy and morality are not the same thing and the distinction is a key point in this situation in particular. Those terms are so reductive and black-and-white it contradicts itself. I could surely make a 4 hours long video on gon's morality myself lol but I'll keep it to saying it's more complex than "psychopath/sociopath", the point of this comment was to say as someone who can be defined a psychopath I appreciate what you said about it.

ok but you can't tell me cutting the ant in 3 doesn't count, as he didn't expect it to be alive after, even tho kite finished it, he was already in the mindset to kill it and by his judgment he did . Kite did say it's kill or be killed and that he will drag him down if he is not gonna do that .

Gon's character is literally the catalyst for Killua's journey to discovering his self-worth. Just because he is selfish does not dismiss the good side of his character entirely, especially since he is a 12 year old. He still has years of emotional development ahead of him until he fully becomes his own, and the fact that he was exposed to the harsh world of HxH so early did not help to put his character in perspective.

Now I know why did I find this anime so relatable, because I have the same mentality as Gon except that I'm aware of it.

I love how some people hate Gon because he’s real and they’re afraid of the thoughts that liking him means they themselves are also selfish terrible maniacs

damn last time i was this early pitou had all her limbs

Bro your Analysis Video was a GOD TIER in depth explanation of Gons Character and real life human morals and lessons are easily broken down and understood. Dont stress over everyones JUDGEMENT & criticism. Even if you made a few mistakes you were SPOT ON! 👏👏👏

I see Gon as a clean slate that can easily stained by exposing him in cruel world. His was of thinking who will live and forgive is almost affected by his instincts and feelings or at his mind, people that started to change whether it is judge by his instincts such as vinoroto and gentro vs nobunaga. Since he was such newbie in the real world, it is given that people that show cares for him will always be a friend of him. This also reflect his impulsive behavior. Well, most of kids in his age are like that. He is not hypocrite, it’s just how people is.

One notable thing with personality disorders is that we do give this diagnosis in childhood as personality has not fully developed and is still very much fluid and forming during this time. Gon is, as has been stated many times, a child. Having these sort of negative personality characteristics are all parts of development and what gets incorporated into our ongoing personality as we grow is what is important. It is unfortunate that no one could prevent Gon from having fought Pitou. What I find most chilling looking back at it is Netero clearly seeing a child ready to throw away his life, with all this potential and bright future ahead of him and just letting him go through with it. Netero could have stopped Gon then and there but chose not to, that has stuck with me a lot and I really want to try and understand why he let that happen as for he knew, Gon would have probably died or suffered a fate worse than death there.

Gon is a righteous man. He dont go around killing indiscriminately. Killing is never an option for Gon. He understands that the world is not always fair and when the time comes, he Will end a life. But his purpose in life and the path he took is the most righteous in its truest form.

I feel like Gon moral compass is a roulette wheel

I love seeing these sort of philosophical sides of simple characters like Gon

People can't hear anything bad about a character these days. Gon is one of my fav protagonists ever but he is an absolute psychopath! That's a part of his character. I have watched ur original Gon's morality video twice now and there was nothing wrong in that video. Infact that video is the best analysis of Gon's character on KZfaq. Keep up the good work man!

Alec back with another banger. You and Gon are a perfect couple for delving deep into writing quality

I think I really disagree with you on how Gon passes judgment onto people. Gon fundamentally sees goodness within individuals, and he prides their capacity for rectifying past mistakes. His moral compass does actually value honesty, kindness, and rehabilitation, and those who violate those precepts enrage him. Razor, for example, was a cold-hearted murderer, but Gon still respected him before, during, and after his competition. This is even after Razor injured him and his friends. It was Razor’s capacity for rehabilitation that made Gon respect him. Another instance of this is Gon’s respect for Pakunoda after seeing her commitment to saving Chrollo. Rather than reneging on their agreement and beating up Pakunoda, Gon and Killua honor their contract, saying that they value Kurapika’s clean consciousness, and they do not wish to see him become a murderer. She returns the praise as well by commending Gon and Killua’s moral compass at the end of Yorknew. What triggered Gon’s collapse was the Phantom Troupe’s and Pitou’s blindness to their own misdeeds and hypocrisies, enraging him to zealously end the life of Pitou by any means necessary. It was literally a catacylsmic temper tantrum when he did not get his way, and he did not get his way because Pitou did not play ‘fair.’ This shows Gon has a concept of what is ‘right,’ that being honesty and kindness and remorse, and when that moral compass was violated, he lashed out like a petulant child. So yes, his killing of Pitou was a heartless, hypocritical miscarriage of his own morality, but it came from a place where he fundamentally believed that people are good and that the world OUGHT TO be good as well

Hello, pretty long comment but just here to say I really love all your videos. They really made open my eyes to the richness and depth of HxH. Easily making it my favorite series of all time. It also sort of inspired me to analyze HxH for myself even further. And one of the things I analyzed the most thanks to your videos is Gon's character. Since I feel there are more layers to him and his character arc throughout the series. And what I found is that his character is not only about being a realistic kid thrust into an adult world but it is also about self-worth, understanding one's self, purpose, and trauma (abandonment issues) just like Killua. And based on the discussions I've been on the internet, a majority of the fanbase are unaware of this side to Gon, missing out on a lot of nuance to his character and the intent Togashi has with writing Gon. And misinterpreting him as a psycho or something during situations like the Genthru fight, the Komugi situation, the Hanzo fight, and etc. So I don't know if you're interested in making another video about Gon to explain his character further and push discussion to the fanbase or read my analysis on him since he is one of my favorite characters and I think he is heavily underappreciated, but I would be glad to hear your thoughts on my analysis. www.reddit.com/r/HunterXHunter/comments/n2a9f1/gons_selfworth_and_abandonment_issues/?

Thank you for the update! I've watched HXH several times and I always pick up something new when it comes to the characters and their personalities.

Remember that Adult Gon is just raw power, because it doesn't take into account the experience and knowledge he would've gained if he actually trained during those years he aged. Now imagine Gon as an actual adult with all the tecniques, fighting and Nen experience of years of training... If his "fake" adult form was as powerful as the Ant King, imagine him with the experience of all the tricks, techniques, hatsus he would've created after decades of training...

this is so incredible. out of this world amazing work here!! just love sitting back and eating while I listen to your vids like these :)

Man i love delving into the deeper meaning of this anime, thanks for making these vids

This video, and the original one is interesting because it drive home the point that Gon, is in fact, a child. His morality formation is not yet complete. I was reading about Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development, with first being the Pre-convetional morality where a child bases the good and bad, with the authority figure he has. This manifests with what you said in the previous video where Gon thinks being a hunter is a good thing, because its what his parent (Ging) prioritizes. And that what is good is what makes a person happy. I'd like to also add that his value on friends and family is because he grew up with Mito who loves him dearly. Because of this, when he progresses to stage 2 (Conventional morality), where there is an establishment of social rules, and what's good and bad is based on interpersonal relationships. Combining his idea of morality as good because it's what benefits him, the development of his interpersonal relationships also go that way. Generally, his morality development is still incomplete because his young, and it just makes him very much human.

Tbh honest i'm just really appy to see you bring some more content about Gon. He's a really deep character and your first video was a real shocker. It brought a new point of view in the community and made many including myself question themselves. Truly amazing work Alex

Sorries about those who got the wrong idea about your first video. I honestly think you got your points across well and I enjoyed the video back when I first watched it. I appreciate this video though as well. Just shows we can all state opinions or points of view that helps us to better understand or broaden our outlook to places we may have overlooked without being a butt about it. Nice for all that did so in a respectful manner and I hope you all have a nice day!

when they draw shadows on Gon's body, you know his about to get serious

bro i cant tell you how many times ive watched the original vid because i love it so much so seeing you go deeper into detail about it made me lose my goddamn mind lmao thank you for the content!!

Ahh now i know why i like gon as the main protagonist in a shonen series. He acts so human and i can totally relates to him if i was thrown in the same situation as him. Him acting on his vengeance when he fight pitou was such a good feeling cos I can totally relate

Its interesting to me that you felt such a strong urge to respond to many of the criticisms from your 1st video. I would not have taken you for the type to do so. Especially after so long! Many props to you for your willingness to admit your mistakes and misrepresentations; but I honestly don't think it was that much of a fault on your end. When discussing themes as complex as morality, its very hard to take objective looks at a set of actions without self inserting either your own perspective or personal ideals into the conversation. I believe most of the criticism came from individuals taking your statements and observations about Gon and warping them into condensed amalgamations of what their own understanding of those ideas were; instead of the complex structures that the author worked so hard to meticulously create. In my attempt to provide some positive reinforcement I would just like to say that I belive your analysis was in fact incredibly objective and really helped people contextualize the complex character that is Gon :)

Grest videos! I just finished watching hxh yesterday and not gonna lie the last arc had me feeling frustrated, but I didnt think gons development was surprising at all. The show never shied away from the duality of Gon's strong sense of will and how its both a strength and weakness (probably his biggest). The character traits he shows (positive and negative) make sense for him with how he was raised, the setting, how much his dad shaped him, etc. I can't wait to see how (if the story with him continues) he will mature.

Expanding on the elements of how Gon is much like the creatures of Whale Island-- while people did exist there I think the 1999 does a good job framing how isolated it is but even then I think it's easy to understand how social isolation for the most part shaped Gon into the person he is. A formative lack of peers and most interactions being fleeting it's important to understand how most of Gon's connections are to nature and animals. I mean it was even a running commentary of how Gon is like a dog with his personality [loyal, curious, etc] and super smelling, putting him directly in ties with this concept of removal from complete human morals into those found in nature. While Mito was able to teach points of ethics that shaped Gon like honesty and kindness, she never had a reason to teach the morals in a way allowing for Gon to be shape by the creature's of Whale Island. They are territorial, they do fight to protect their loved ones just like his encounter with Konta/Konta's mom + Kite. Death is nothing to the animal world other than part of it's cycle so Gon realistically has been able to be desensitized to mortality of living things-- something likely easy when Gon doesn't need to fully see every person as human but rather just apart of the ecosystem seeking for it's own survival. And much like an animal Gon is selfish seeking to get what it wants and to protect those that would be in his 'tribe'; Geretta in the 1999 version was saved by Gon but his death after in the badge section meant little in the regards to his own survival/passing in the exam because ethically in the case of going out to sea Geretta was just another person. Gon given the chance is not indifferent to death and suffering, this is the point that makes him a compassionate person that works as a foil to the others in the cast but doesn't change his morality. It's not until the badge expectations that had a much more animalistic feel, the predator and prey dynamics did Gon rely on his upbringing with nature as a sense of survival-- Geretta just being in the wrong place like any other creature in the wild. This isn't to say Gon isn't a person, but it's easy to see how elements of Gon's own isolation and upbringing play a role into way things are shaped much like how the other characters are shaped by their own history; nature only know Black and White thinking for their own survival so it makes sense for Gon to follow the same pattern and struggle when faced with anything different as he's is forced to confront elements that rapidly introduced as he breaks from nature to a human-centric world.

i absolutely love gon as character, and it was through looking up video essays about him that i found your channel. i think this addendum is a wonderful addition to what was already such a nuanced discussion!

this video is just amazing, thanks for the amazing quality and insane effort put into this!!

how ridiculous that people would be griping and taking your original video so wrong. It pointed out a lot of things I hadn't noticed when I first watched the series, and clarified even more of what I had, and all of it just made me love him even more, as a character and as a shounen protagonist.

I remember people being SOOO angry on Tumblr, and there was a huge debate on it... But I still enjoy your commentary and analysis. When I first finished watching Hxh, that video was one of the first commentary videos I’ve watched. :)

I just wanted to say that I really liked your last video (this one too by the way) and I personally preder to look at your main character from that perspective then just to say I like him and he and erverything he does is perfect although I still love Gon and I am still on his side but it just is much more interesting to also have less "perfect" sides of a character