By Harry Nugraha
Hunter x Hunter's greatest villain has a lot of great things going for him, but everything gets ruined by his disappointing death.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Hunter x Hunter is one of the most iconic and beloved anime ever made. Throughout the years, it’s been a big part of many people’s childhood, and it also manages to provide entertaining content to the older fans. The mind-blowing action sequences will lure you in, and the compelling characters and thrilling story will keep you engaged from start to finish.
Unfortunately, there’s a blemish to Hunter x Hunter’s otherwise flawless run. And it is the fact that this series has one of the most disappointing villain deaths in anime. The name of the villain is Meruem, and the name of the arc is the Chimera Ant Arc. You might not care about him since he’s just a villain, but there is actually more to Meruem than meets the eye.
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What Makes A Good Villain
Before we talk more about Meruem, let’s begin with a simple question. Why should you care about the death of a villain? Well, the answer is quite simply because the villain, also known as the antagonist, is arguably the second-most important character in a story, just behind the main protagonist. Therefore, they should receive the same amount of thought and care as the protagonist.
Because you see, the main purpose of an antagonist is to stand in the way of the protagonist. Because more often than not, they are the polar opposite of each other. There is nothing more compelling than a well-written protagonist who goes against a well-written antagonist. The hero should have their reasons to fight against the antagonist, and the villain should have their reasons to stand in the way of the hero.
There’s nothing more boring in a story than a great character that has to go against a generic villain. Imagine Guts from Berserk has to fight against Emperor Pilaf from Dragon Ball. One is a well-written, three-dimensional hero, while the other is just a generic villain with little-to-no character development whatsoever. In that regard, Meruem is actually the polar opposite of Pilaf, which is why his death is so disappointing.
The Intriguing Life of Meruem
In the Chimera Ant arc, Meruem is actually a newborn. He was born after we’ve gone nearly halfway into the arc. That is why we literally get to see his development as a character in real-time. This kind of approach in creating a villain is actually incredibly unique and refreshing.
Meruem is somebody who was born as the king of the Chimera Ants. Other than the throne and influence as a king, he also inherited a tremendous amount of power and intellect. However, just like any young boy in the world, he is terribly impatient and impulsive. His temper tantrum will literally kill somebody. He holds little-to-no regard for anybody else’s life. All life is equally insignificant in his eyes.
However, just like any boy, he meets a girl. A blind, snot-nosed girl named Komugi who is a master of a board game called Gungi. Komugi is the only one that Meruem couldn’t beat, which is why he keeps challenging her to play more. Unbeknownst to Meruem, the time that he spent with Komugi turns out to be some of the best times in his life. He began to value the life of those weaker than him, he learned to respect other people that might be better than him at something, and slowly but surely, Meruem turns into a wise and just leader.
The Disappointing Death of Meruem
Everything is going great for Meruem until Netero, the Chairman of the Hunter Association, comes and challenges him in a fight to the death. There are three things that you need to know about the whole situation at this point in the story. First, as the king of the Chimera Ant, Meruem is humanity’s enemy number one. Second, Isaac Netero is arguably the most powerful Hunter in the world. Third, Meruem is way stronger than Netero.
Netero unleashed his most powerful technique, the 100-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva, but it barely graced Meruem. On the contrary, Meruem managed to decapitate Netero’s right leg and left hand. It doesn’t take a long time for Netero to realize that he would never be able to hurt, much less defeat, the king of the Chimera Ant. So as a last resort, Netero stabs his own heart with his finger, and detonates the bomb that was nested in his heart, the Poor Man’s Rose. Just like the atom bomb, the smoke cloud of this bomb can be seen from hundreds of miles away.
The point-blank explosion nearly killed Meruem. Thankfully, two of his loyal generals arrived on time, and shared their life essence to the dying Meruem. Thanks to this, the king is not only revived, but he also gained the unique abilities of his generals, on top of his innate ability. So in a sense, Meruem has become stronger than ever before. What they don't know however, is the fact that the terror of the Poor Man’s Rose is not the massive explosion, but it’s actually the severe poison that spread along with the blast and the smoke.
Needless to say, being in the center of the blast, the king and his two generals inhale an obscene amount of the poison. It doesn’t take a long time for the poison to spread all over their body, infect every part of their organs, and slowly kill them from within. And just like that, one of the strongest and most compelling villains in the series is killed by a poison. What an anti-climatic end to one of the most promising and interesting characters in Hunter x Hunter.
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