Hisoka is not the generic character we would find in an anime. He is ruthless, unescorted by honor, a deceitful being, and an obscene liar. So what makes him so interesting of a character? It is his whimsically written character and at the same time his aura of mysteries. He is never bound by the walls of what is right or what is wrong. It matters the least to him to worry about fairness in things. Instead, what he seeks are his desires. Hisoka would do things he wants to, love things he wants to, protect them because he wants and in the end kill if he wants to. Hisoka goes beyond the perspective of an antagonist or a protagonist. I feel he represents the darkest versions of people in a very charming way. This is why fans are always intrigued by facts about Hisoka. To meet fans’ needs, here are twelve facts about Hisoka that fans might not know.
Hisoka in the 1999 version and 2011 version
It is a well-known fact that the 2011 Hunter x Hunter was not the first anime serialization of Togashi Yoshihiro’s manga. The manga came out in 1997 and two years later it was adapted into an anime. Hunter x Hunter 2011 is a reboot of the 1997 anime. In the 1997 version, Hisoka’s hair was given a blue color. In the revamped anime, his hair is shown to be red with a hue of neon pink. His eyes too are changed to an amber color from blue. Hisoka’s appearance is a major factor. I say so because his appearance is filled with irony that plays with a reader’s mind. He wears the marks of a joker card and dresses up like a jester. He is even nicknamed Jester. Yet, he is nothing like one. This was perhaps the character’s first advance towards deception. Togashi Yoshihiro’s inspiration behind the character is unknown. But, it seems closest to DC’s character Joker. There has never been any confirmation of the fact but fans have often related the similarities between these two characters. Also Read: Hunter x Hunter Season 7: Everything You Need To Know
The Voice Cast of Hisoka
Be it the 1997 version or its reboot, Hisoka’s voice actors have done a phenomenal job. They have efficiently poured out his fun, mysterious and dangerous elements into his voice and brought him to life. Hisoka Morrow’s voice actor in the 1997 Hunter x Hunter was Hiroki Takahashi. Another popular character that he has voiced is Eiji Kikumaru from Prince of Tennis. One of the most interesting facts about Hisoka is that in the 2011 version of Hunter x Hunter, Hiroki Takahashi voices Pariston Hill. The role of Hisoka is taken over by another renowned Japanese voice actor in Hunter x Hunter 2011. In the new version, Hisoka is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa. He also voices Isana Yashiro from K Project and Tooru Oikawa from the Haikyuu series. Also Read: Top 10 Best Anime Antagonists And Their Quotes
Hisoka’s Nen Technique: Bungee Gum
Hisoka has powerful abilities. He can sense the presence of enemies and also locate them. Despite his skinny appearance, he has heightened strength and has proven powerful even in hand-to-hand combats. His choice of weapon is his cards. Hisoka is also a genius and a master of strategy. But, his ultimate and most dangerous move is his Nen Technique, Bungee Gum. He is a transmuter, meaning he can change the shape of his aura to mimic something else. Using Bungee Gum he can emit elastic strands of his aura during combat. He has high proficiency while using this ability and can also detach them from his body. However, he cannot extend his Bungee Gum more than 10 meters when it is not attached to his body. There are a lot of fans who are unaware of such facts about Hisoka. There is more than just one fact about Hisoka when it comes to his Nen Technique. Also Read: Anime Similar To Hunter X Hunter that you Will Love Watching!
Why Did Hisoka Name his ability Bungee Gum?
Hisoka calls his Nen Technique “Bungee Gum” which raises some curiosity. Of course, once the ability is witnessed it does fit it well. But, why did Hisoka name something so lethal as something so trivial? Once again we find ourselves face to face with Hisoka’s irony just like his appearance. In the 2011 version, Hisoka explains that he names his technique Bungee Gum as he loved the gum back when he was a kid. However, in the 1999 version, the explanation was a bit more elaborate. Hisoka belonged to a poor family and they could not afford to buy much gum for him. He loved Bungee Gum so much that he would buy one and chew it for a very long time. The revamped version found this bit, not of much interest, and decided to edit it out. But, the scene has more impact in the extended version because of the added details. Also Read: 10 Worst Things In Hunter x Hunter That Hisoka Has Done
Hisoka’s Sexual Preference
Hisoka’s sexual preference has another ring of mystery around it. Given the events of the story, it is quite difficult to stamp him simply as straight, gay, or even bisexual. For Hisoka, his preference goes beyond just being attracted to men or women. Throughout the story, he is seen majorly attracted to different men. Yet, he is also seen being attracted towards women as he hits on Machi. Above all, fans have found it hard to cope with the fact that Hisoka is also aroused by kids. There has been no official statement but seeing his character build so far, Hisoka can be assumed as pansexual. He does not feel attracted to men or women but by people of power. Hisoka has an instant thirst for powerful people to the limit that it arouses him. Also Read: Ten Facts About Anime That Hardcore Fans Should Know
Post Resurrection
After Chrollo kills Hisoka in chapter 356, he resurrects himself in the next chapter. After he comes back, he throws a rampage around the Phantom Troupe and kills Chrollo. A lot of fans believe that he came back with an extreme revamp. But that is not completely true. He did get more versatile and had his senses heightened but there has never been any mention of resurrection power. Hisoka comes back to life due to his strong integrity. It allows his Nen to bring him back to life but that is all that is to it. Hisoka has more or less the same stats and could have gone only slightly higher than before.
One-Shot Manga About Hisoka
“Hisoka’s Past” is a spin-off manga. As predictable from the name, it is about Hisoka and his history. Unlike the original manga, it is written by Sui Ishida, who is also the mangaka of the popular series Tokyo Ghoul. The manga consists of 69 pages and was released on 2nd June 2016. Sui Ishida constructs illustrations that resemble Togashi Yoshihiro’s original style. Togashi Yoshihiro’s reaction to the manga was positive and appreciated the work. However, Sui Ishida’s manga is not canon. The manga was created after Sui Ishida had mentioned his love for Hunter x Hunter as well as the character Hisoka. It is only up to Togashi to decide if he wants to make it cannon. In an interview shortly after the release of Hisoka’s Past, Togashi Yoshihiro revealed that he might create a manga about Hisoka’s past. He also mentioned that he might make take inspiration from some of the panels of Sui Ishida’s manga. You can read Hisoka’s Past on Goodreads. Also Read: 11 Anime Side Characters We All Love
Hisoka and the Significance of Numbers
A lot of easter eggs are hidden within the use of numbers in Hunter x Hunter. Togashi Yoshihiro’s ability to play with numbers to give them significance can be seen twice in the story involving Hisoka. The first time he makes use of this metaphor is when he gives Hisoka the number 44 during the Hunter Exam. For international viewers, the number 4 might mean nothing more than the fourth digit. However, in Japan 4 is called “Shi” (四) which also means death. The number 4 is seen as a signification of death and considered unlucky. Giving Hisoka the number 44 implies the threat he possesses during the exam. He kills several examinees and examiners during this arc, successfully owning up to the number he was given. The second incident is the birthdates bestowed upon the character. The date and the month number of the birthdays of the major characters are the same. This too redundant to be a coincidence. Leorio’s birthday falls on March 3 (03/03), Kurapika’s on April 4 (04/04), Gon’s on May 5 (05/05), Hisoka’s on June 6 (06/06) and Killua’s on July 7 (07/07). It could be possible that the mangaka was trying to make a connection between the various Japanese festivals as Gon’s, Killua’s and Leorio’s birthdays merge with three festivals. Other fan theories state that this could hold meaning relating to Hisoka becoming the next protagonist. This is assumed since the pattern is seen highly among protagonists in the story. This is not only one of the cleverest facts about Hisoka but also about the whole manga.
The Change in Hisoka’s Outfits
Killua might be the holding the beacon of style in Hunter x Hunter but Hisoka does not fall far behind. In every new arc (hence the new season) the character changes his outfits. He wears a crop top with pants throughout the series but the color keeps changing. First, it is blue with the club and spades symbol. In the next arc, he wears a black tank top with yellow sleeves and red heart and diamond suits. He carries this with white pants. In the third arc, he changes his outfit to green but with the same set of suits as before. In the fourth arc, Hisoka wears a full white outfit with yellow sleeves. Lastly, he wears a white outfit but this time with blue suits of club and spades. Also Read: My Hero Academia Chapter 311: Preview and Recap
Changes Made in the Anime from the Manga
Anime series often remove or censor explicit content from the manga. Hunter x Hunter improvises two panels from the manga due to censor board qualifications. One of the well-known facts about Hisoka is that he has a high sex drive. While most of it is portrayed in the anime well, two situations needed changing. The first was when Hisoka asks Illumi if he can ‘kill’ Killua. The reality was that Hisoka asks Illumi if he can rape Killua. This could indeed be disturbing for some viewers and hence it was altered. Later, Hisoka is often seen flirting with the member of Phantom Troupe, Machi. When he asks her out for a dinner, she gets visibly upset. Turns out that Hisoka had invited her to sleep with him. Due to its highly explicit content, this scene was improvised too.
Hisoka: Popularity Among Fans
The popularity of the Hunter x Hunter anime comes with the plot and also with its well-written characters. Fans have pointed out many favorites and Hisoka easily wins over a large number of Hunter x Hunter fans. Cosplayers online love creating Hisoka for his bright features and creative styling. On August 30th, 1999, a character popularity poll was released in the 56th chapter of the manga. In this poll, Hisoka was rated the 4th most popular character with a total of 1498 votes. As per the 2004 character popularity poll conducted by the Hunter x Hunter official databook, Hisoka stood at seventh position. He had earned 936, votes. Killua stands at the first position in the poll with a total of 5168 votes. In the most recent poll conducted by MyAnimeList, Hisoka was rated the second most popular character in Hunter x Hunter. He received 30,594 votes and was only behind Killua (67,947 votes).
A Break Down Analysis Of Hisoka’s Name
When Togashi Yoshihiro has put so much thought into the story, he has made equivalent thought into the characters’ names. Hisoka’s name when written in kanji spells out to “密か”. This directly translates to secret. Whether this was a coincidence or intentional has never been clarified by Togashi Yoshihiro. However, the fact that it blends perfectly with the character shows the number of thought mangakas put out in their work. Facts about Hisoka are always interesting and give a lot to think about the manga’s clever writing style. Also Read: Black Clover Chapter 292: Spoilers and Where To Read Online?
