[HxH Analysis] Why was Gon so angry about Kite's death? Addressing the discomfort with the idea that "they didn't know each other long enough to be that upset"

Gon's transformation in the Chimera Ant arc.

After Kite was taken from him by Neferpitou, Gon unleashed an anger so intense that he was willing to throw away his own future.

This is the scene that leads to the so-called "Gon-san" form.

However, one question often arises regarding this development.

"Gon and Kite didn't really know each other for that long, did they?"

Admittedly, if you simply count the time they spent together, that might be true.

Even so, why was Gon angry enough to throw his life away?

Personally, however, I don't find much contradiction here.

Rather, perhaps Gon was never the type of boy to define his relationships with others based on the "time spent together" from the start.

For Gon, "how many years they've known each other" is not important.

An easy example of this is Killua.

The two met during the Hunter Exam.

Naturally, they were complete strangers at first.

However, Gon and Killua hit it off immediately, and after that, they developed a relationship that could be called best friends.

Of course, the two spent a long time acting together after that.

But the important thing is not just that "length".

They met in the unique environment of the Hunter Exam and experienced a test where their lives were even at risk together.

After that, they shared experiences at Heavens Arena, Yorknew City, and Greed Island that were so intense they cannot be compared to ordinary friendships.

In other words, what is important to Gon is,

"Not how many years he has known them, but what he has experienced with that person and what kind of existence they have become to him."

Isn't that the case?

Thinking about it that way, the way we see his relationship with Kite also changes.

Kite is not just "an acquaintance of Ging".

Kite is not just an acquaintance Hunter to Gon.

In the first place, Kite was the person who led Gon to know that Ging was alive and working as a Hunter when he was a child.

In other words,

he is also the person who was at the entrance to the journey where Gon chases after Ging.

And Kite, who reunited with him in the Chimera Ant arc, acts with Gon as Ging's apprentice.

From Gon's perspective, he is a person who knows the same world as the father he has been chasing for so long.

He is an acquaintance of the father he admires, and he is also a pro Hunter he has aimed to be.

Naturally, a sense of closeness would arise.

Furthermore, Kite himself knows that Gon is Ging's son.

It is different from just two people meeting for the first time.

Between the two, there exists an intense connection called "Ging" from the very beginning.

If you count only the number of times they met, it looks small.

However, the meaning of each and every one of those times is extremely heavy.

The relationship between Gon and Kite,

isn't it more natural to think that even if the time was short, the density was high?

Moreover, Kite fell while protecting Gon and the others.

Furthermore, what we must not forget is the circumstances under which Kite ended up fighting Pitou.

Faced with Pitou's overwhelming aura, Kite lets Gon and Killua escape.

As a result, Kite was defeated by Pitou.

From Gon's perspective, the composition is,

"Kite sacrificed himself to let us escape."

Wouldn't there have been not only sadness here, but also intense guilt?

Even so, Gon continues to believe that Kite is alive.

He can bring Kite back.

He can still be saved.

He believed that.

That is why he headed to Pitou.

However, what was thrust upon him there was the reality that,

"Kite is already dead."

Kite fell because he protected them.

Even so, he thought he could be saved.

Even that last hope completely vanished.

The guilt, sadness, anger, and despair that he had been suppressing until then.

Wasn't that Gon the result of those things erupting all at once?

"It must be nice for you, Killua. You can stay calm because it has nothing to do with you."

And, how special Kite was to Gon.

I think the exchange between Gon and Killua in front of Pitou symbolizes that.

Gon says to Killua,

"It must be nice for you, Killua. You can stay calm because it has nothing to do with you."

These words deeply hurt Killua.

Naturally so.

Killua has also been acting with Kite.

He was there when Pitou appeared.

After that, he has also been trying to save Kite with Gon.

So, it is not a story that literally "has nothing to do with Killua".

Then, why did Gon say such a thing?

What is important here is not just "because it has nothing to do with you," but the words before that,

"You can stay calm".

Gon himself can no longer stay calm when it comes to Kite.

In contrast, Killua is trying to judge the situation calmly even in front of Pitou.

To Gon, who saw such a Killua, it might have appeared as,

"The reason Killua can stay calm is because he doesn't have as special feelings for Kite as I do."

In other words, I think Gon's "nothing to do with you" was closer to the feeling of,

"Killua doesn't understand this pain of losing Kite."

Killua and Kite have different "vectors of importance".

Of course, that doesn't mean Killua isn't important to Gon.

Rather, Killua is his best friend with whom he has shared numerous adventures until then.

However, the meaning of Killua and Kite to Gon is different.

Killua is a best friend he met himself, chose himself, and went on adventures with.

On the other hand, Kite is a person who connects to Ging, and an existence that was also at the starting point of Gon's journey as a Hunter.

It is not a question of which is more important.

The vector of importance itself is different.

That is precisely why, within Gon's emotions after losing Kite, there might have been something separate from the world he usually shares with Killua.

Gon hurt Killua without malice.

And there is a reason why I think this scene is very Gon-like.

Gon is straightforward, for better or worse.

If he likes someone, he likes them.

If they are a friend, they are a friend.

If he wants to save them, he saves them.

Usually, that purity attracts people.

However, when in an extreme state, that straightforwardness also becomes cruelty.

Gon might not have chosen his words to hurt Killua at that time.

Rather, it is the opposite.

He just said exactly what he was feeling.

"I am in so much pain, yet Killua can stay calm. Killua doesn't understand my feelings."

Because Gon himself was filled with his own emotions, he couldn't even think about how much Killua was worried about him and how much he had suffered with him.

That is why it is all the more painful for Killua.

Killua values him so much that he would risk his life for Gon.

Even so, he is told by Gon that "it has nothing to do with you".

Gon has no malice, and he knows that Killua has no malice.

Even so, he is hurt.

I think that scene depicts this misunderstanding with just a few words.

Rather, "nothing to do with you" expresses Kite's specialness.

And looking at it from the theme this time, this scene has one more important meaning.

"Even though he didn't know Kite for long, why was Gon so angry?"

This is because it can be thought that Gon himself has already spoken part of the answer.

By losing Kite, Gon was carrying emotions so intense that he felt he couldn't even share them with Killua.

If Kite had been nothing more than "a Hunter he recently met," would he have become this emotional?

"You can stay calm"

"Because it has nothing to do with you"

These words themselves, paradoxically, seem to express how special Kite had become to Gon.

Gon builds human relationships based on "density," not "time".

Thinking about it this way, the question itself of "It's strange that Gon is so angry even though he didn't know Kite for long" feels a little off from the way Gon builds human relationships.

This is because Gon himself is not a person who decides the importance of people based on the years they have known each other.

He hit it off with Killua immediately after meeting him.

He also had intense experiences with Kite, albeit for a short period.

And in Kite's case, a special existence called "Ging" is connected to that as well.

To Gon, Kite is not just a Hunter he recently met.

He is the person who was at the starting point of him becoming a Hunter.

He is the person who connects to the father he has always admired.

He is a senior Hunter he acted with.

And in the end, he is the person who fought Pitou to protect them.

He lost a human being who had that much meaning.

If so, was that anger really unnatural?

At least I don't think so.

Rather, the more I think about the way the boy named Gon has shown his connections with people until now, the more I think the reason he broke down to that extent becomes visible.

The depth of human relationships is not necessarily determined by the time spent together.

The relationship between Gon and Kite was perhaps one example that intensely depicted that fact.