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Hunter x Hunter is a peak fiction in the shonen anime genre. With the manga still going on, there are plenty of new characters that are about to be introduced. But as far as the anime is concerned, there are only a handful of notable characters. In this article, I will be counting down the most popular Hunter x Hunter characters that are loved by fans.
The list is ranked based on the number of favorites on MyAnimeList, which is considered a benchmark site in the anime community. So, without any further delay, let’s jump into the listing!
20+ Best Characters From Hunter x Hunter
- Killua Zoldyck
- Hisoka Morrow
- Kurapika
- Gon Freecss
- Meruem
- Chrollo Lucilfer
- Leorio Paladiknight
- Issac Netero
- Neferpitou
- Feitan Portor
- Kite
- Illumi Zoldyck
- Nanika/Alluka Zoldyck
- Komugi
- Ging Freecss
- Knuckle Bine
- Biscuit Krueger
- Shizuku Murasaki
- Ikalgo
- Shaiapouf
- Machi Komachine
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21. Machi Komachine
Machi is one of the cutest girls in Hunter x Hunter and is kind of in a love-hate relationship with Hisoka.
She is one of the members of the Phantom Troupe, which is by far the strongest villain organization in the show.
Everybody in the troupe has a number associated with them, and Machi’s number is 3. Her specialty is using transmuter-type nen to create and manipulate nen threads.
During the tournament fight, when Hisoka almost lost a limb, Machi was able to patch it up and fix it completely.
Apart from her nen ability, she is physically strong and fast, even compared to average hunters. She also has excellent intuition, which never goes wrong.
20. Shaiapouf
Shaiapouf is one of the main antagonists in the Chimera Ant arc. He was one of the three Royal Guards of the Chimera Ants and was very loyal to his King.
Despite being a chimera ant, he is very noble and has the peculiar tastes of a high-class human. He loves to play music and is very smart and insightful.
What sets him apart from the rest is, obviously, his strength and elegance. He is capable of using nen in addition to his superhuman strength, speed, and durability.
He also has butterfly wings on his back, which help him fly with ease. In the series, it is also mentioned multiple times that Shaiapouf taught nen to other Chimera ants in the army.
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19. Ikalgo
Ikalgo is pretty much a comedy character that actually plays a vital role in the series. He is a chimera ant who looks like an octopus. Seeing those thick eyebrows and stern facial expressions on an octopus was pretty hilarious.
Despite his appearance, he was actually the captain of a squad in the chimera ant army. However, he switches sides and joins the main protagonists in order to take down the chimera ant king.
This is primarily because Killua mentioned that they could’ve been friends if they weren’t on opposing sides. After this incident, Ikalgo gets attached to him and his friends.
18. Shizuku Murasaki
Shizuku is probably one of the most trending female characters in the series, as I’ve seen her multiple times on Instagram. The jiggle physics in a particular scene had gone viral on social media.
Anyway, coming back to the topic, Shizuku is a member of the Phantom Troupe. She is kind of one of the weakest members in terms of physical strength, but her nen ability more than makes up for it.
And when I say weak, remember that the entire troupe is full of monstrous people. So, she is actually stronger than your average hunter. Even Gon had a hard time arm-wrestling her.
Her nen ability creates a vacuum cleaner that devours anything that is not alive. She uses it to kill people and suck in their bodies to hide their crime.
17. Biscuit Krueger
Next up on our list of the most popular Hunter x Hunter characters is our cute legal loli, Biscuit Krueger.
Despite being a middle-aged woman, Biscuit makes herself look like a child with her overwhelming nen ability. She acts all cute and adorable, pretending to be a young girl.
However, her true form is a terrifying sight. Her face is very manly, and her body is as muscular as it could be. She does not let anyone see that form because she hates her appearance.
Regardless of her strength and power, she is also smart and cunning. She uses her childlike appearance to fool men and extract information from them.
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16. Knuckle Bine
Knuckle is one of the coolest characters in the Hunter x Hunter franchise. He rocks a pompadour and looks like a gangster. However, he has a heart of gold, making anyone want to support him through and through.
He is as manly as a man can be, but at the same time, he is so compassionate that he cries at everything. His kindness is portrayed in the anime, where he couldn’t leave helpless people without protecting them.
Not to mention, despite his appearance, he is a genius at math and has great analytical skills.
When it comes to his nen ability, it is easily one of the most complicated in the entire series. He can create an indestructible mascot and attach it to a person. It will then lend Knuckle’s aura to the person and collect them with interest.
Every time the opponent damages Knuckle, he does not take any damage until the aura he lent is given back. The reverse is also true, meaning each time Knuckle hits his opponent, he sends an aura instead of damaging them.
When his lent aura becomes greater than that of his opponents, the mascot will put them in a state of Zetsu.
15. Ging Freecss
Ging Freecss is a legendary hunter in the series and is also the father of our protagonist, Gon. He is often hated in the anime community for being the worst dad ever because he abandoned his child to pursue his dream.
However, Ging’s carefree and kind of childish personality has gained him a lot of fans as well. Most hunters admire him, as he has achieved so much that others can only dream of.
In the show, he is often described as an extremely intellectual person who is a natural genius at anything he does.
He is the reason why Gon goes on an adventure and becomes a hunter. His drive to find his missing father (who was actually kind of hiding from Gon) was the reason he was able to surpass his limits.
14. Komugi
In hindsight, Komugi’s fate was really bittersweet. She was a blind girl abducted by the chimera ants in order to make her play Gungi against their king.
However, she was a genius at the game and never once lost to him. This also kept her alive in the den of the ruthless chimera ants.
As they kept playing, her presence changed the king’s heart and made him more human. They fell in love, and King Meruem learned kindness from her.
But this beautiful relationship had to end in a terrible way because Meruem was already a target for the hunters at that point. Despite realizing his mistakes, Meruem was not given a second chance and was exterminated.
Komugi also ends up giving her life to die with her beloved king.
13. Nanika/Alluka Zoldyck
You’re going to see a lot of characters from the Zoldyck family on this list because they’re such a lovable and eccentric bunch.
Alluka Zoldyck is one of the newest Zoldyck characters and has captured the hearts of many fans. She is the sister of Killua, who has been locked up for the majority of her life.
This is because of her mysterious split personality, which has the power to grant anything to anyone at the cost of whatever Alluka asks. It is revealed that a creature from the dark continent has possessed her for some reason, and the two live inside the same body. Killua calls it “Nanika.”
Nanika appears only when three of Alluka’s wishes are granted. After that, it only goes away after granting one wish to a person. But the true horror is that if a person denies Alluka’s requests for the fourth time, they will die unconditionally. This is why she had to be locked up.
Regardless, both Alluka and Nanika love Killua, as he is the only one who treats them kindly.
12. Illumi Zoldyck
Illumi is the big brother of Killua, who is a skilled assassin who has been keeping Killua under his control through fear. He claims to do it because of his affection for him as a brother.
Illumi is also good friends with Hisoka, and they really hit it off thanks to both of their weird personalities.
Later on in the series, Illumi also joins the Phantom Troupe and becomes one of the primary antagonists.
Matching his personality, his nen ability is manipulator-type, with which he can manipulate people and give them any kind of order.
11. Kite
Kite is one of the major characters from Hunter x Hunter who indirectly had a huge impact on Gon’s life.
He is a badass hunter that Gon admires and looks up to. From his ability to the way he handled himself, he was a complete pro. Not only that, he was actually Ging Freecs’ student, which made Gon feel the closest to his father.
As Gon, Killua, and Kite were adventuring as a group, they encountered several powerful chimera ants. They defeated most of them, but then Neferpitou appeared.
He easily overpowered all of them, and Kite had to sacrifice himself to save both Gon and Killua. Later on, we also see Neferpitou using Kite’s body as his puppet. This angered Gon to the extent that he beat Neferpitou to a pulp the next time they saw each other.
Kite, on the other hand, had used his ability and was reborn as a chimera ant, along with the king Meruem. So in a way, he was Meruem’s twin, but he retained the memories of his previous life as Kite.
10. Feitan Portor
Feitan is one of the most powerful members of the Phantom Troupe. His number in the troupe is 2, and he is by far the only person other than Chrollo to have taken leadership of the group, even if it was only temporary.
What sets him apart is definitely his appearance. He is very short but has a strong attitude. He is usually silent, but can easily get scary when he is pissed off. Not to mention, despite his strength, he is an analytical person. He uses both his mind and body in a fight, making him formidable.
His backstory is pretty tragic. He used to be a normal person living a happy life. However, the death of a loved one made him seek revenge and threw him down the path of a villain.
9. Neferpitou
Neferpitou is a cute, cat-girl-looking chimera ant. Most fans mistake him for a girl, and the anime might have led them to believe it. However, in the manga, it is suggested that he is a boy.
Neferpitou was exceedingly stronger than any other hunter or Chimera ant when he was introduced. He was responsible for killing Kite.
However, he has no regret or remorse. After all, human lives mean nothing to the ants. This is why he played around with Kite’s body and used it as a puppet. This act angers Gon and ends up giving life to Neferpitou’s ultimate nightmare.
Gon unlocks a self-destructive power that draws power from his future and makes him incredibly powerful. In pure rage, he uses it and literally crushes Neferpitou into a bloody pulp.
8. Isaac Netero
Isaac Netero is an elderly character in the Hunter x Hunter series who spearheads the Hunter association. He is a character who is loved and respected in both the HxH world and our real world.
Fans love him because he is a fun, yet very realistic and wise person. He is introduced way back during the Hunter exam arc.
As a hunter, Netero could very well be the strongest one there is. He is a man who has spent his entire life training his body and pushing past its limits. Because of this, he is insanely powerful.
However, even that was barely enough to fight against the Chimera Ant King, Meruem. Despite knowing that the King had developed more human emotions, Netero had no choice but to put him down.
So, in his ultimate battle, Netero unleashes his true strength. While that did damage, it was still not enough to kill the king. In the end, Netero resorted to killing himself and the king in a suicide attack.
Netero had a bomb attached to his chest that was set to explode when he died. The bomb was poisonous to all organisms, so even after King survived the blast, all that awaited him was death from the inside out.
7. Leorio Paladiknight
Leorio is one of the main characters in the Hunter x Hunter series and one of Gon’s best friends. Early on in the series, he gets acquainted with Gon and Kurapika, after which they act as a party during most of the Hunter exams.
Leorio is a very kind man, but he does not like to let others see him as one. Instead, he pretends to only be after money. He claims that he wanted to become a hunter solely for the sake of earning loads of money.
However, his true reason is kind of tragic. His childhood friend had died of a disease when he could’ve been saved with expensive surgery. Since they didn’t have the money to afford the surgery, Leorio had no choice but to watch his beloved friend die.
Because of this, Leorio aims to become a doctor and use his skills to treat those in need. However, in order to make a living, he needs money, which he plans to obtain by becoming a hunter.
6. Chrollo Lucilfer
Chrollo Lucilfer is one of the main antagonists in the Hunter x Hunter series. He is the leader of the Phantom Troupe and the strongest member of the group.
He is a cool and badass villain who is loved by fans for his personality.
Chrollo commits several crimes, and we don’t know the real reason for his actions yet. What’s more fascinating about him is that he fears nothing, not even his own death. He is extremely intelligent and is interested in understanding human nature.
Despite all his villainy, he is a respectable person in some ways. He truly cares for his comrades and puts their lives above his own. When one of the members died, Chrollo cried and massacred a huge number of Mafia members as a tribute to his dead comrade.
Other than the Phantom Troupe members, nothing has his sympathy. He cold-bloodedly kills loads and loads of people with no remorse throughout the series.
5. Meruem
Meruem is the King of the Chimera Ants, who single-handedly almost destroyed humanity’s superiority as a species.
Right after his birth, Meruem killed his own mother, the Queen Chimera Ant, in cold blood. This indicates that he had no emotions whatsoever.
However, after his encounter with a human girl named Komugi, this changed. He started understanding human ideals and the value of life. He understood that the strong had to protect the weak instead of killing them.
But this was too late, as he had already made the hunter association his enemy. Isaac Netero, the strongest and wisest hunter, faced him in a battle. The reformed king did not want to fight or kill Netero.
Because of this, he held back throughout his fight against him. He was hoping to make Netero give up and admit his defeat. However, Netero pulled off a surprise suicide attack that meant the end for Meruem.
His wholesome relationship with Komugi also came to an end after that fatal battle.
4. Gon Freecss
This might not be a surprise to most fans, but Gon is not even in the top 3 most loved characters in Hunter x Hunter. Well, he is number 4, so close enough.
Gon is a good-character boy who is kind, sweet, and playful for the majority of the show. The only time his character broke was when Kite was killed. Gon was filled with nothing but rage at that time.
At the start of the series, we see a highly enthusiastic Gon who is determined to find his dad. He becomes a hunter in order to do so. Throughout the series, Gon tries to find the clues left by his dad so that he can finally meet him.
In between finding his dad, he also gets caught up in the fight against the Phantom Troupe and the Chimera Ants.
3. Kurapika
Kurapika is one of the most popular characters in Hunter x Hunter and has captured the hearts of thousands of fans.
His backstory is tragic, and his whole life is centered around revenge. The only good thing that probably happened to him was meeting Gon and the others.
He belonged to the Kurta Clan and had mysteriously beautiful scarlet eyes. These eyes not only made them more beautiful, but they also made them a target for hunters.
The Phantom Troupe, headed by Chrollo Lucilfer, massacred the entire clan, collected their eyes, and sold them on the black market.
Only Kurapika managed to survive, and ever since, he has lived to get the blood of the Phantom Troupe members on his hands.
Regardless of carrying such a huge weight in his heart, he manages to laugh and have fun with his friends during the hunter exams. However, after passing the test, his life becomes even darker with constant fighting and assassinations.
2. Hisoka Morrow
Some of the newer fans will probably be surprised to see that Hisoka is the second-most loved character in the Hunter x Hunter series. This is because, nowadays, Hisoka is seen only as a child predator.
Obviously, he likes kids with potential, and there is no way to defend his actions. He is guilty. But that is just a shallow take on the subject. What excites him is the “potential” of his target, not necessarily the child itself. He can’t wait to see how strong they will be when they grow up.
Hisoka absolutely loves fighting strong people. In most cases, he cannot find adults who can give him a challenge. Which is why he targets kids with potential and waits until they are “ripe.” In his terms, “ripe” means when they are at the peak of their strength.
Besides that, the fact that Hisoka was a crazy, unpredictable guy with a cool attitude unlike any other character in the show. This made him super popular.
1. Killua Zoldyck
The number one most popular Hunter x Hunter character is obviously Killua Zoldyck. He had a late entry in the show but has managed to make fans fall in love with his character.
His personality, backstory, and powers are all well written, making him a perfect character in the story.
Killua, born into an assassin family, had been trained to kill since childhood. However, he has no interest in becoming an assassin, so he finally rebels and runs away.
He then took the Hunter exams on a whim, where he met Gon and the others. Soon they became close friends who would give their lives for each other.
Not to mention, he is so cool when fighting and so sweet when interacting with Gon.
That’s it for this post. These are the 20+ most popular Hunter x Hunter characters that are loved by fans!
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