Hisoka & Illumi

Hisoka is a flamboyant, bloodthirsty clown hailing from Meteor City. He grew up poor and little is known about his childhood other than his love for Bungee Gum. Illumi is the cold and reserved eldest child of the Zoldyck family. He grew up in a privileged home with a structure that was likely suffocating.

Hisoka Morow (ヒソカ゠モロウ, Hisoka Morou) is a Hunter and former member #4 of the Phantom Troupe; his physical strength ranked third in the group. He is always in search for strong opponents, and would spare those who have great potential, such as Gon and Killua in order for them to get strong enough to actually challenge him. He originally served as the primary antagonist of the Hunter Exam arc and the Heavens Arena arc, before becoming a supporting character during the Yorknew City arc and Greed Island arc. During the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, he reprises his role as a secondary antagonist.

Hisoka's appearance is similar to that of a magician or jester. He is tall and has light skin and a very muscular physique. His attire is usually adorned with various suit symbols (♦/♦ ♣/♣ ♥/♥ ♠/♠) on the front and back torso, and he changes outfits in each story arc. He wears face paint of a star (★) on his right cheek and a teardrop (💧) on his left cheek, and like his attire, in the 2011 anime, his face paint also occasionally changes colors. During the Greed Island arc, Hisoka wears the Greed Island Ring on his left middle finger. And in the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, Hisoka wears a pair of earrings with ornamental hearts. For unknown reasons, Hisoka has long, pointed nails, giving his hands a claw-like appearance, hinting at his sinister nature.

In his first appearance in the 1999 anime series, Hisoka's hair is blue. After a revamp of the show, it was replaced with a red or almost neon pink color to be in accordance with the manga. In the 2011 anime, Hisoka has red hair and light amber eyes. In the manga, during the Yorknew City arc, Hisoka dyes his hair light green. These dynamic variations in appearance illustrate the complexity of his character.

His spider tattoo was located on the middle of his back, with the number 4 on the spider's abdomen, but the tattoo was fake.[6]

During his time in the Black Whale, he lets his hair down and wear a black coat with a heart shape at the back.

Personality Hisoka episode 16 The other side of Hisoka

Hisoka is portrayed as entirely self-serving and self-absorbed; he does whatever he likes as long as it pleases him in some way. His insatiable love for spilling the blood of powerful fighters in combat and his enjoyment of extreme pain while doing so fuels his seemingly sadomasochistic desires. In order for them to grow to their full potential (so as to improve the pleasure of killing them later), Hisoka allows the main protagonists to live in situations wherein he is easily able to kill them. Likewise, he grows excited to meet new people he deems worthy of fighting or anyone with the potential to be a good fighter and entertain him in the future. The thrill of fighting strong Nen users in tactical battles and near-death experiences is an orgasmic experience for him. It is likely one of the reasons why he goes out of his way to find new toys to play with. If they break, he either loses interest or kills them before going out to find more potential prey.

With his manipulative and self-centered nature, Hisoka is essentially a murderous sociopath. While he does like Gon, Killua, and many others, he has stated that for him, what is valuable one day could easily become trash the next, and he will not hesitate to kill anyone should they not meet his standards. He does not care for what has happened in the past, as he is only interested in what could be amusing to him in the future or present. While Hisoka's nature tends to be malevolent, he isn't an indiscriminate killer. He has no problems killing anyone regardless of age or sex; however, he only kills people who are in his way or those he deems "worthy". As such, his character is more simply amoral than flat out evil. He even assists the protagonists if there is "fun" in doing so or if it will make them stronger leading to a more entertaining fight in the future. Above all else, Hisoka cares only about having fun and a good challenge which may or may not involve killing people. He has a nasty habit of skipping out on Spider meetings. He also can be a whimsical liar and has a tendency to freak out or play cruel jokes on his victims. Just witnessing their uncomfortable expressions because of him getting under their skin pleases him. His chaotic nature is inherent in everything he does and makes him dangerously unpredictable.

35 - Hisoka aroused Hisoka becomes immensely excited to fight

Hisoka has displayed a morbid attraction to fight powerful fighters, or people with Nen who have the potential to become strong, which is expressed through barely repressible murderous tendencies; neither age nor gender do seem to influence his desire to fight them. He has expressed a desire to fight or kill random victims just to satiate his bloodlust. After his defeat at the hands of Chrollo, Hisoka's sociopathic nature has taken itself to worse heights by vowing to kill all the members of the Phantom Troupe even if they were defenseless and claiming he will no longer let his opponents fight in their preferred conditions. However, he did temporarily spare Machi, who has been an implied interest of Hisoka's as a potential opponent he likes to flirt with or as a romantic interest, although he stated it was so she could warn the Troupe of his intentions.

Hisoka often exhibits androgynous characteristics throughout the series, manifested in his wearing of "women's" shoes and using an alluring speech style typically reserved for females in Japanese. In the manga, he ends nearly every sentence with a suit symbol.

Unrivaled stupidity Hisoka and Killua's reaction to Gon's honesty

Despite his calm and composed personality, he can express his emotion comically in some situations. An example is when Gon becomes honest and rather innocent about his question of why Hisoka was in Greed Island. Another example is his stunned face when he learns he could not fight Chrollo after Kurapika's Judgment Chain.

Background Hisoka's favorite gum Hisoka's favorite gum

Hisoka speaks little of his past because he is uninterested in it.[6] It is revealed, however, that Hisoka joined the Phantom Troupe under false pretenses at some point after the Kurta massacre, and about two years before the events in Yorknew City, after defeating the previous #4.[7] Around the same time, he "initiated" Kastro to Nen at the Heavens Arena, sensing potential in him.[8] He then took part in the 286th Hunter Exam, during which he murdered 20 examinees. He was disqualified for almost killing an examiner during his first attempt.[1] During his time in the Phantom Troupe, Hisoka may have shirked his duty of attending their meetings, as Machi made sure to let him know that attendance at the upcoming one in Yorknew City was mandatory for all members (not just those with nothing better to do) and the leader might personally come after him for skipping out,[6] and Franklin later asked her if she was sure Hisoka would be present, which she was not.[9]

Hisoka's favorite sticker Hisoka's favorite stickers

It is said that he named both of his techniques after a candy brand and a chewing gum brand he liked when he was a kid,[6] implying that they may have been named "Texture Surprise" and "Bungee Gum" respectively.

Illumi Zoldyck (イルミ゠ゾルディック, Irumi Zorudikku) is a professional assassin, and the eldest child of Silva and Kikyo Zoldyck. During the 287th Hunter Exam, he appeared under the guise of Gittarackur (ギタラクル, Gitarakuru). At Hisoka's request, Illumi joins the Phantom Troupe as Uvogin's replacement, becoming Troupe member #11.[2] He served as a secondary antagonist of the Hunter Exam arc and the primary one of the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc.

Illumi is most often expressionless. He has very long, jet black hair, with a piece of hair not put back, usually combed behind his head as well as large, black, pupil-less eyes. To disguise himself as Gittarackur, Illumi uses large, round head pins to reconstruct his facial structure, musculature, and voice, beyond recognition.

His spider tattoo has the number 11 on the spider's abdomen,[2] but the tattoo location has yet to be revealed.

When he was younger, Illumi's hair only reached his shoulders. He wore long sleeves with a shirt underneath, as well as gray pants.[4]

Personality 139 - Illumi speaking cheerfully Illumi speaking "cheerfully"

Illumi, for the most part, displays very little expression. In contrast to his expressionless demeanor, Illumi often speaks in a somewhat joyful and absent-minded tone. He is generally a stony, ruthless person with an extremely cold way of thinking and reflects solely on his own interests. Still, he holds a twisted and overprotective form of love for his younger brother, Killua; this manifests to the point that he used his Nen ability to control Killua in order to ensure his survival and obedience.[5] He and his father raised Killua to believe that the only thing sustaining him was darkness and that he could only obtain joy in causing the death of others. As a means of protecting his little brother, Illumi implanted a needle in Killua's brain, forcing the latter to run from battles he wasn't sure he could win.[6]

Illumi cares for most of the Zoldyck Family members. He is willing to handle Alluka's power, even if it costs him his life. He has stated, however, that family members are not allowed to kill during an inner mission (a mission where there is an internal conflict), but insinuates that he would be fine with killing Alluka and does not consider Alluka a member of the family.

Illumi laughing Illumi strays from the path of an assassin

While Illumi seems devoid of many human emotions, he is not without a sense of desire as he greatly hankers Alluka's wish-granting ability. Tsubone implies that Illumi's sinister ambition to control Alluka's power even caused him to stray from the path of an assassin.[7]

Hisoka and Illumi - 142 Illumi and Hisoka had once a "give-and-take" relationship

At some point, Illumi formed an unusual relationship with Hisoka, which he described as "give-and-take".[2] He once came to the aid of the magician by standing for him as a double in the Phantom Troupe's hideout while Hisoka attempted to find Chrollo. However, when Hisoka asks Illumi if it would be okay if he killed Killua, Illumi displays a horrifying side of himself and asks if Hisoka wants to die then and there. His demeanor and bloodlust were very similar to how Hisoka reacted to Illumi's indecision on whether or not to kill Gon, whom he sees as a threat due to his closeness with Killua during the Hunter Exam, albeit on a much lesser extent. Despite the mutual benefit of their relationship, Illumi always believed one of them would wind up killing the other. He, therefore, accepted to form a contract with Hisoka with the condition that if the magician is killed, Illumi will receive his reward. The assassin cryptically refers to it as an "engagement ring" and "prenuptial agreement".[2]

Illumi casually commits mass murder every time he uses his abilities, sacrificing the lives of innocent people the vast majority of the time.[8] He also joined the Phantom Troupe, an organization notorious for committing genocide,[9] however, he doesn't appear loyal to them when he discloses that all the Spiders were on the Black Whale to Zodiac member, Mizaistom.[10]

Background Illumi - 138 Teenage Illumi

Illumi is the eldest child of Silva and Kikyo and was raised from birth in the art of assassination. He and his father trained Killua to become an elite assassin.

At some point during his childhood, he learned Nen. In order to control the development and actions of his younger brother, Illumi inserted a Nen needle into Killua's brain under Silva's order; the needle prompted him to run away from the battles he wasn't certain he could win. Sometime prior to the 287th Hunter Exam, he also established a partnership with Hisoka; however, this partnership is not detailed. About three years prior to the events of the Yorknew City arc, Illumi and his brothers were summoned by their father, who, having just assassinated member #8 of the Phantom Troupe for a price deemed not worthy of the job (the highest compliment he ever gives a target), admonished them to stay away from the Troupe.[11]

Following Killua's escape from the Zoldyck manor, Illumi was sent by his mother to watch over his brother at the Hunter Exam.