10 Saddest Hunter X Hunter Episodes, Ranked

The 2011 reboot of Hunter x Hunter is shounen anime at its best: bright, optimistic, and running on the power of friendship and determination. However, don’t be fooled by its sunny veneer: it will come for the audience’s heart right when they least expect it.

All four main protagonists and a fair few of the supporting cast are driven by trauma and pain, and their journeys only grow more harrowing as the show goes on. In episodes such as “Salvation and Future,” the series’ central tragedies and themes of power, corruption, and betrayal are brought to the forefront, making them some of the saddest episodes in Hunter x Hunter.

10 “Evil And Terrible”

Despite the character Gyro never actually being seen, this episode sets him up for a future appearance by stopping to deliver his backstory. As a child, he was severely abused by his father, but he still idolized the man, believing that he only acted harshly to make Gyro a better person. He hung on a memory of his father caring for him while he was sick to convince him of this.

When he attacked another boy for insulting his father, the boy beat him badly and revealed that that memory was false: a neighbor had tended him through his sickness, while Gyro’s father said outright that he didn’t care if his son died. This broke Gyro, leading him to murder his father and devote his life to making the whole world as miserable as he is.

9 “Alluka And Nanika”

The Zoldyck family is a clan of vicious assassins who raise their children to kill for a living whether they want to or not. By far their most mistreated child is Killua’s sister Alluka. This episode not only reveals her existence but explains why it took until the final arc for her to appear.

Alluka is possessed by a creature called Nanika, which allows her to grant wishes at the cost of lives proportionate to the wish. Because they were unable to control her deadly wish-granting power, the most dangerous Nen ability in Hunter x Hunter, her parents declared her an inhuman monster and locked her in a vault under the Zoldyck estate. She remained there alone for years before Killua was able to rescue her.

8 “Chairman And Release”

Gon has always talked about making his reunion with his father Ging a happy occasion. But when the moment comes, all he can do is sob out apologies to Ging for letting his student Kite die, even saying that he should have died instead.

Having successfully used Nanika to heal Gon, Killua orders Nanika never to come out again, thinking he is freeing his sister from her possession. But when Alluka realizes what’s happened, she gets angry at her brother for the first time, demanding that he apologize to Nanika. Realizing it would be cruel to separate them, Killua tearfully takes it back and asks them to forgive him “for being a bad big brother.”

7 “Salvation And Future”

The events of the Chimera Ants Arc put Gon and Killua’s friendship through its greatest trial yet. Though they reunite in the aftermath with no bad blood, they have both been changed by the experience and agree that it would be best to spend some time apart. Killua will travel with Alluka, and Gon, despite his desire to introduce Killua to Ging, will go on to meet his father alone.

Though they smile when they say goodbye, as soon as they turn to go their separate ways, their expressions turn to uncertain frowns. “Reason,” the end credits theme centered around their bond, plays over a montage of their friendship. With the manga currently on hiatus, it is unknown when the pair will see each other again.

6 “Breakdown And Awakening”

In this episode, the titular breakdown goes to Killua. While fighting Palm, who has been mutated into a Chimera Ant, he refuses to tell her where Gon is, believing that Gon will lose his Nen completely snap completely if he sees what happened to his friend. When the full weight of that thought hits him, he collapses and gives in, begging Palm to protect Gon because he doesn’t believe he is strong enough to do it anymore.

Killua feels responsibility for Gon’s well-being and is harsh on himself when he thinks he has failed. Watching Killua sob over his own perceived weakness is heartbreaking. It’s a relief when Palm reassures him that it’s not someone else Gon needs most: it’s him.

5 “Friend And Journey”

When Gon is restricted from using Nen, Killua is determined to protect him. But faced with a stronger enemy, Killua is frozen in fear. Illumi has forced Killua to abandon his friends before, but this time Killua fights through obvious agony to destroy what’s controlling him: a hypnosis needle that Illumi implanted in him, which Killua must rip out of his head with his bare hands.

This episode highlights not only the way Killua takes responsibility for Gon’s feelings but his intense desire to protect him. Because of his brother’s manipulation, he believes that he is inherently unworthy of friendship, and must keep earning the right to be near the people he loves.

4 “Light And Darkness”

In Ging’s absence, the closest Gon has to a father figure and best friend in Hunter x Hunter is Kite, Ging’s student. When Kite senses an enemy too strong for Gon and Killua to fight, he orders them to run. They hesitate, the Chimera Ant Neferpitou attacks and Kite loses an arm protecting them.

When they escape, Gon insists that Kite is too strong to have died, and they will train until they themselves are strong enough to go save him. However, the episode ends with Neferpitou holding Kite’s severed head in their lap: he lost, and Gon’s rescue mission is doomed to fail.

3 “Fake And Psyche”

Kurapika’s driving goals are to avenge his massacred clan and recover their Scarlet Eyes, the rare body parts that their killers, the Phantom Troupe, sought to steal. In this episode, after spending the Yorknew City Arc working with the mafia to get close to the Troupe, he receives horrifying news: the Troupe’s leader is dead, and his revenge has been stolen from him.

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Worse, he is required to win a pair of Scarlet Eyes for his employer at an auction, meaning that they will be forever out of his reach as well. Kurapika returns alone and miserable, forced to give the remains of his murdered relative to a rich girl who sees them only as a charming commodity.

2 “This Day And This Moment”

Meruem’s character arc is one of the most dynamic in the show. As the Chimera Ant King, he begins life a ruthless monster who believes that all other life is worthless compared to him, and ends it a humbler man who acknowledges the value of humanity. This is most clearly demonstrated through his relationship with Komugi, his human companion.

Meruem’s fight with Chairman Netero, Hunter x Hunter‘s most powerful hunters, leaves him dying from radiation poisoning, which he spreads to Komugi. Both calmly accept their fate, choosing to spend their last minutes together playing Gungi, the board game they initially bonded over. Upon the completion of their game, Komugi calls him by his name instead of his title for the first time, and they die in each other’s arms.

1 “Anger And Light”

Throughout the show, Gon has relied on his boundless optimism to push through traumatic situations, believing that if he just gets strong enough, he can fix everything. This episode is what happens when that optimism finally fails him. When he’s shown that Kite is dead and he can’t save him, his breakdown is explosive.

To take revenge on Kite’s killer, Gon unleashes his Nen to horrifying levels, ruining his own body in exchange for the power to beat Neferpitou to death with his bare hands. Killua arrives too late to stop him, only able to scream in horror as Gon’s final attack levels the forest and destroys his body. Killua’s prediction in “Breakdown and Awakening” is proven correct: Gon’s inability to handle such pain on his own and refusal to let anyone help him has brought him to death’s door.