Hisoka Morow

Hisoka Morow (ヒソカ モロウ) is a Hunter, and a former member of the Phantom Troupe. He is always in search for strong opponents. Even to the point of killing them. But he does have a soft side by sparing those who have great potential, such as Gon Freecss and Killua Zoldyck 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 a secondary one of the Heaven's Arena arc, before becoming a supporting character during the Yorknew City arc and Greed Island arc. During the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, he briefly reprises his role as a secondary antagonist.

Background
Hisoka's past is never explored or reveal in Hunter × Hunter at all. His date of birth is also a complete mystery. His character is described as being an enigma that speaks very little of his past, because he is uninterested in it. It is revealed, however, that Hisoka joined the Phantom Troupe as a false member at some point after the Kurta Clan Massacre, and 2 or 3 years before the Yorknew City arc. Hisoka is also introduced as a second time examinee in the Hunter Exam; he is disqualified for almost killing an examiner during his first attempt.

In the 1999 anime adaptation, it is stated during his battle with Gon Freecsss on the 200th floor of Heaven's Arena that Hisoka chewed "Bungee Gum" a lot as a child, but because his family was poor he often chewed it until it lost all flavor. He later named his signature gum technique after the brand. In the manga and 2011 adaption it is only said that he named both of his techniques after a candy brand, and a chewing gum brand he liked when he was a kid.

Personality
Hisoka is portrayed as entirely self serving, self absorbed, and selfish; 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 characters to live in situations wherein he is easily able to kill them. Likewise, he grows excited to meet any new people he deems worthy of fighting or anyone with 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 a 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 and goes 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 of him getting under their skin pleases him. His chaotic nature is inherent in everything he does and makes him dangerously unpredictable.

Hisoka has displayed a morbid attraction of sexual nature to fight powerful fighters, or the ones with Nen who have the potential to become strong, which is expressed through barely repressible murderous tendencies. Age or gender do not seem to influence his desire to fight them.

He has expressed a desire to fight or kill to 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, vowing to kill all the members of the Phantom Troupe, and doing so, even if the said people were defenseless in protecting themselves, 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.

Appearance

 * 1999

Hisoka's appearance is similar to that of a magician or jester. He is tall, has light skin and a fairly toned stature. 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: a maroon star on his right cheek and a spring green teardrop on his left cheek, or alternately, a maroon teardrop on his left cheek and spring green star on his right cheek. During the Greed Island arc, Hisoka wears a Greed Island Ring on his left middle finger. In the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, Hisoka is shown wearing two earrings with ornamental hearts.

In his first appearance in 1999 anime series, Hisoka's hair is blue. After a revamp of the show it was replaced with a red, almost neon pink color to be in accordance with the manga.
 * 2011

Hisoka's appearance is similar to that of a magician or jester. He is tall and has light skin, and a fairly toned stature. 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: a maroon star on his right cheek and a spring green teardrop on his left cheek, or alternately, a maroon teardrop on his left cheek and spring green star on his right cheek. During the Greed Island arc, Hisoka wears a Greed Island Ring on his left middle finger. In the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, Hisoka is shown wearing two earrings with ornamental hearts. In 2011 series, Hisoka has red hair and light amber eyes.

Abilities
Hisoka has all the benefits granted by his status as a Hunter. Notorious for his graceful, cruel, and deceitful fighting ability, which has earned him the rank of Floor Master,[4] he has proven to be a deadly adversary. His tremendous physical abilities and combat skill make him extremely dangerous in a bout, and his expertise in Nen, tactical genius and flexibility allow him to swiftly adapt to changes in circumstances. Among the opponents he has defeated are previous #4 member of the Phantom Troupe[6] and the Single-Star Blacklist Hunter Bushidora, killing the latter without suffering any injury himself.[77] He has expressed dissatisfaction with the power level of most Pro Hunters, which led him to consider fighting the Zodiacs to find a new challenge,[72] and in fact he was able to effortlessly dispatch multiple Hunters in a short span of time.[77] Illumi Zoldyck, who was estimated by the magician to be even more formidable than some Zodiacs,[72] was wary of crossing Hisoka,[27] and even the leader of the infamous Phantom Troupe deemed it prudent to prepare a strategy and gather Nen abilities before facing him to ensure his victory, declaring Hisoka set a new record for the number of abilities he ever needed to kill someone.[1]

Hisoka is also a skilled magician, and often uses Nen to perform his tricks. His skills in misdirection and amazing dexterity find applications in combat, their combination allowing him to triumph against Kastro.[5] The latter talent also enabled him to catch Togari's spinning knives on the first try, whereas their owner required six months to do so.[16] Furthermore, Hisoka has a certain degree of informatic proficiency, which he used to track Gon and Killua down after they bought blimp tickets online.[28] By forming a circle with his index finger and thumb and peeking through it, he can enhance his vision.[19] It is unknown if this technique is achieved with Nen, or if Hisoka can merely improve his eyesight by concentrating. Hisoka's zest for battle often causes him to suffer more damage than he would if he fought seriously from the start.[32][36][37] In fact, his willingness to let Chrollo pick the location and time of their showdown,[84] as well as to adapt to his pace in its early stages,[1][79] nearly led to his demise.[84]

Preternatural Perception
Hisoka has proven to be able to sense not only the presence, but also the position of people hidden with Zetsu, even Kalluto's, whose execution of the technique was described as "flawless". In response to Nobunaga's befuddlement, Hisoka attributed his feat to the lingering sensitivity from the competition against Razor.[70] His ability to gauge an individual talent and raw power is so refined that he has been able to create a point-based system to quantify them. Although he generally glances at someone to determine their strength, he ranked Illumi without even seeing or recognizing him beforehand.[72] Nonetheless, he was unable to notice that Gon was tailing him during the Hunter Exam even before lapsing into a murder frenzy, due to the boy being in a state of Zetsu and possibly because he was not particularly hostile towards him until the moment he made his move, when Hisoka's own bloodlust masked his.[21]

Immense Strength
Hisoka boasts astounding brawn, ranking third in the Phantom Troupe in arm-wrestling.[86] When one of his kicks missed Gon, he sent a flagstone of the ring crashing explosively into the audience stands.[36] He can effortlessly lift five human puppets with one hand and swing them around with enough force to destroy them and all other bodies they come in contact with,[82] and instantly twist off a human head with a single hand.[83] In the dodgeball game Hisoka was able to throw the ball with such force that Razor's Nen puppets were forced to combine to block it,[63] despite them being capable of redirecting Razor's passes[62] which, after their power waned,[64] retained enough momentum to incapacitate Tsezguerra.[62] He was also able to withstand the force of the ball launched by Gon with Rock and returned by Razor while catching it with Bungee Gum.[67]

Enhanced Speed and Reflexes
During the Hunter Exam, Hisoka dispatched dozens of applicants in seconds, and disappeared from Leorio's and, more remarkably, Gon's sight at close quarters.[11] He offered further proof of his swiftness against multiple foes when he fended off the throng of puppets sent after him by Chrollo.[80] When he fought the boy at the Heaven's Arena, he could move so quickly that Gon was unable to get his body to react in time.[36] He avoided all of Kastro's strikes while the latter was not using his Double,[31] and even after he lost of both arms the clone was unable to land a single hit on him when it attacked by itself.[32] He has demonstrated to be as reactive to projectiles when he effortlessly grabbed a pair of spinning knives thrown at him by a Hunter,[16] caught Gotoh's bullet-fast coins with Bungee Gum,[75] dodged a shoot ball thrown by Razor and succeeded in blocking it when it was redirected moments afterwards.[64]

Enhanced Agility
Hisoka is fairly acrobatic, a skill which he uses to recover his balance and respond to attacks quickly.[31] He can defend even from disadvantageous positions[1] without losing his balance.[64]

Enhanced Stamina
Hisoka was able to complete a long-distance run more than 80 kilometers long, and taking place on uneven terrains such as ascending stairs and a swamp,[87] without breaking a sweat.[12] He did not show the slightest sign of physical or mental exhaustion after his fight against Kastro[32] or the dodgeball match against Razor,[67] or at any point during his taxing showdown against Chrollo.[88]

Immense Endurance
Hisoka appears to be impervious to pain. He was only momentarily stunned when Kastro and Chrollo landed critical blows on him.[7][31][80] He was unaffected by breaking ten fingers[67] and, more impressively, by having one hand and one foot blown off[83] or by the loss of two arms,[31] to the point he stuck his fingers in his open wound to retrieve a card.[32] However, his high threshold can backfire, as he failed to notice one of his legs was maimed in his fight against Chrollo.[83]

Genius-Level Intellect
Hisoka is an expert tactician and schemer with excellent analytical abilities. Though at great personal risk, he succeeded in manipulating the Spiders into staying in Yorknew so he could fight Chrollo, and to forge a fake prophecy minutes, if not seconds, after receiving the original, perfectly replicating its style.[51] While on Greed Island he managed to trick Killua, although both he and Biscuit remained suspicious of him.[60][57] His aptitude at reading others' character and at finding common traits allowed him to create a personality-based system to determine Nen types, and, although he admits it is unreliable, he has been correct every time he was seen resorting to it.[36][60]

Master Strategist
Hisoka is an exceptional strategist who can formulate winning plans at the very start of a confrontation. He frequently puts up an outlandish or even arrogant act to fool into his opponents into believing he is being careless, whereas in reality he is laying traps.[5][75] He excels not only at planning ahead, but also at picking apart enemy strategies, compiling all the available information and coming up with multiple hypothesis in mere seconds and in the heat of battle, as well as to rapidly adapt to new developments.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant
Hisoka is a force to be reckoned with at close range, even without his cards or Bungee Gum. Cherry, whom Tonpa regarded as the most skilled unarmed combatant in the 287th Hunter Exam,[8] acknowledged the enormous gap in technique between the two of them,[11] and he easily dodged every attack from Goz.[19] He single-handedly outmatched Gon in close quarters combat and repelled all of his offensives without moving from his spot until the boy resorted to a diversion.[35] Even after the loss of both arms, he avoided every strike of Kastro's Double while casually talking to the ability user and throwing glances in his direction,[32] and despite Kastro being a martial artist reputed to be on par with a Floor Master.[7] Hisoka has also proven time and time again to be capable of fighting back whole crowds.[11][80]

Master Weapon Specialist
With the aid of Shu, Hisoka can turn his cards into mortal edge weapons or projectiles. He employs them to instantly kill the opponent by targeting their vital spots, generally the throat,[11][21][1][80] but also to incapacitate them by severing their tendons.[79] While wielding one with only two fingers, he can sever an adult men's arms in one motion.[81] He can throw them with deadly accuracy and speed,[11] and also incorporate them in surprise attacks with Bungee Gum.[32] He also displayed proficiency with flail-like weapons by swinging an aura-coated human head connected to his hand via his elastic aura,[81] as well as with knives.[16] Master of Stealth: Hisoka managed to spy on Killua undetected by him as well as, seemingly, Amane and Tsubone.[78] He assisted Illumi without being discovered by the Hunter Association[77] and seemingly killed Teradein while the latter was at his desk.[78]

Expert in Tailing
Hisoka followed Gon and Killua twice without them noticing,[28][55] eluding Pakunoda's detection the second time around as well.[55]

Nen
Hisoka is a Transmuter[36] endowed with a powerful, sinister aura that disquieted Wing[35] and Gon even after the latter learned Nen.[37] He manifests his high level of proficiency in his natural category primarily through his Nen ability, Bungee Gum, but he has also shown to be very proficient at controlling the shape of his aura,[29] which is a Transmutation skill.[89] This aptitude may be what allows him to extend strands of elastic aura over distances of several meters without flinging them, which makes its application more subtle.[5][37][80] He is also well-versed in Conjuration, the Nen type of his second ability, as well as Emission and, seemingly, Enhancement. He utilizes the former to maintain aura around projectiles[29] as well as in conjunction with Bungee Gum, to separate the ability from his body.[37][84]

His affinity for Enhancement manifests primarily as a remarkable level of durability. Hisoka survived multiple Nen-enhanced strikes from Kastro, an Enhancer, without using his aura to defend.[31] Although he was briefly stunned,[80] Hisoka took no visible damage from most of Chrollo's attacks,[1][79][80] one of which can allegedly behead a person with a knifehand strike,[44] despite Hisoka having been unable to predict them and thus to guard properly. He seems to have resorted to Manipulation on one occasion, exploiting the boost enjoyed by Nen after death to impart an automatic command to his Bungee Gum.[84]

Aside from Hatsu, Hisoka is capable of using at least Ren,[28] Gyo,[32] and Ken, which allowed him to survive multiple explosions of The Sun and Moon set off in his proximity, although one of his legs was severely mangled.[83] Like many other high-level Nen users, he can maintain a state of Ten at all times.[6] It is also likely that he is proficient at Zetsu[28][55][77][78] and Ko.[64] The two techniques he employs with the greatest frequency are Shu and especially In. With Shu his poker cards can easily cut through bone[11] and concrete[37] even while he is not holding them. When he applied it to a severed human head, it carried so much force that it pulverized other heads it came in contact with,[82] incapacitated several puppets with a single throw and injured a Nen user of Chrollo Lucilfer's caliber[81] without being damaged in the least, whereas it would break immediately if not enveloped in aura.[82] If Hisoka favors Shu for direct attacks, In is at the core of his strategies, as he combines the technique with Bungee Gum to lay elaborate, deadly traps.

Hisoka's Nen prowess if further supported by his knowledge of more abstract notions, such as Nen becoming stronger after death[79] and Exorcism.[60] He also came up with the concept of "Memory Overload"[32] and a system to divine an individual's Nen type from their personality, which, despite him calling it unreliable, has proven correct several times.[36][60]

Hunter Exam Arc
Hisoka, applicant #44, is seen as a heavy contender throughout the Hunter exam. He first appears as another applicant bumps into him without apologizing; shortly afterwards the applicant's arms are severed and removed from his body. Tonpa explains to Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio that he failed the previous year's exam after nearly killing a proctor he did not approve of.[8] He effortlessly keep up with Satotz when the first trial begins. When they reach the Milsy Wetlands and a Man-faced Ape tries to pass himself off as the real examiner, Hisoka throws cards at both him and Satotz, killing the monkey, whereas Satotz blocks his attack, leading Hisoka to declare he is the real proctor. The incident rouses his appetite for murder and, when the fog descends, he "plays examiner" and attacks the surrounding applicants, among which are Kurapika and Leorio, with the intent to kill.

Numerous examinees gang up on him, but he dispatches them without effort, until only Cherry, Leorio, and Kurapika remain. The three split up and run away, which Hisoka judges a smart move. He begins to count down from ten, but Leorio returns to fight him. The magician easily dodges his strike, but is suddenly struck by Gon's fishing rod. He praises the boy and knocks out Leorio, and, when Gon tries to intervene, lightly clutches his throat. He determines that both Leorio and Gon will make fine Hunters. An examinee known as "Gittarackur" contacts him to lead him to the site of the second phase, and Hisoka leaves with the unconscious Leorio on his shoulder.[11] He kills any beast that attacks him as well as Cherry and makes it to the location of the second trial. He shoots his bloodlust at Gon to allow him to find Leorio. At Buhara's request, he slays and cooks a Great Stamp.[12] He is, however, stumped when Menchi demands to be served sushi. He fails her first test,[13] but passes the amended one.[14]

When Satotz, Menchi, and Buhara discuss the batch of examinees, Buhara picks Hisoka as his top contender and notes that he released the largest amount of negative aura during Todo's outburst. Menchi and Satotz confirm that he constantly exuded bloodlust as if to provoke them. The latter also remarks that Hisoka is their equal and bears watching. Meanwhile, the magician makes a house of cards and, when he is done, knocks it down, chuckling loudly.[15] In the Third Phase, Hisoka is targeted by Togari for having nearly killed him during the previous Hunter Exam. Hisoka however catches his spinning blades and beheads him, expressing his disappointment. He is the first to pass through the Trick Tower, having taken 6 hours and 17 minutes.[16]

For the Fourth Phase, the remaining examinees are shipped to Zevil Island in order to take part in a week-long manhunt among themselves to capture their respective target's number plate. He is the first to disembark, due to his ranking in the previous trial.[17] Hisoka spends his first two days on Zevil Island in idleness. Gittarackur offers to tell him who is target is, but he declines, stating he will just take three random tags. His wounds attract hemotropic butterflies that feed on blood, leading his "predator", Gon, to him.[18] Hisoka fails to sense him, but detects Goz hiding nearby, who challenges him to a duel. Despite understanding his opponent is dying and that he wants to end his life as a warrior, Hisoka does not fight back, since he is "uninterested in the dead". Gittarackur then appears and finishes Goz off. Hisoka realizes he decided to honor the dying man's last request. Gittarackur hands him another examinee's number plate. When night falls, Hisoka decides to get himself two other tags.[19]

He spots Leorio and Kurapika,[19] but, fascinated with their resolve, he allows them to leave unharmed in exchange for a number plate. Their potential and quick development whet his bloodlust, impelling him to find someone to kill.[20] He comes across Agon, whom he immediately kills. As he does so, he has his badge stolen by Gon, who has been tailing him. While going after him, Hisoka finds and decapitates Geretta, who turns out to be his target. He praises Gon's stealth and technique and leaves him his badge. Gon refuses to accept the favor, but Hisoka blasts him with a right hook and leaves after challenging him to do the same.[21] Having obtained the necessary number of plates, Hisoka qualifies for the Final Phase. Interviewed by Isaac Netero, he states he wants a Hunter License to attain impunity and that the applicant who caught his attention the most are Killua and Gon. He also declares he would prefer to fight neither of them, especially not Gon, and challenges Netero, but is casually dismissed.[22]

The Final Phase of the exam is an elimination tournament in which the winner of a match is removed from the candidate list and receives his very own Hunter License, and the loser is given more chance. Hisoka frowns when Hanzo threatens to break Gon's arm.[23] He laughs when the boy refuses to give up and states he would also prefer not to have his leg cut off.[24] Hisoka's first match is against Kurapika. After tussling for a while, he whispers something to his opponent before giving up.[25]

His next opponent is Bodoro. It was a one-sided match, but Bodoro doesn't want to surrender. Hisoka knocks him down and whispers something to him. Right after this, Bodoro admits defeat and Hisoka becomes a licensed Hunter.[25] When the exam is over, he is surprised to see Gon lift Illumi in the air.[26] He has a short conversation with Illumi about Gon and the Zoldyck Family, and warns Illumi not to touch Gon because the boy is his target only.

Video Games
Hisoka is a playable character in all the following video video games:
 * Jump Force

Quotes

 * Looks like I will have to kill you.

Trivia
Hisoka's surname was revealed 346 chapters after his introduction.[1] In the Latin American dub, Hisoka speaks with a French accent and his name is pronounced as "Isoka" (with a silent H). In the Brazilian dub, the French accent is kept, but his name is pronounced normally.
 * In the official databook, his name is also spelled as "Hyskoa".[2] The Volume 34 extras confirmed this spelling and added an alternate one of his surname, "Morroh".
 * But a little before exclusively in Chapter 320, while voting and striking an "S-shaped pose", Hisoka's last name may have been hinted (at least the first letter of his romanized or alternate surname); in the imaginary background there is a circular visual motif/theme around Hisoka's head with some stylized M letters—that could indicate "Morou" or "Morroh".
 * Hisoka's Bungee Gum and Texture Surprise are named after his favorite brand of chewing gum and a snack with novelty gag s*tickers respectively.[5] Also, the second name of Bungee Gum, "Elastic Love", may be seen as a reference to Hisoka's personality: the ease with which the gum is attached and detached to someone mirrors the interest that Hisoka has in a person, which can be extremely deep and still end at any moment.[36]
 * Texture Surprise was originally supposed to reproduce only images, to the point that it was stated that physical contact would give the trick away, with Hisoka finding the added challenge intriguing.[5] The ability was later retconned so it could also replicate textures.[90][51]
 * It is unknown to the reader is Hisoka's original prophecy predicted he would leave the Troupe after his confrontation with Chrollo, or if he would die as a result of it, since only Hisoka saw how many paragraphs it contained.[49]
 * Hisoka changes his appearances at each turn of arc.
 * Hisoka is said to be 28 in the 2011 anime.
 * Hisoka's name written in kanji (密か) can mean "secretly".
 * In the Indonesian dub, Hisoka is pronounced as "Hyosoka" for unknown reasons.
 * Although Hisoka did not appear during the Zoldyck Family arc, in the musical Hunter × Hunter: The Nightmare of Zaoldyeck, he appeared along with Illumi Zoldyck, who also doesn't appear in the arc.
 * Daisuke Namikawa, Hisoka's voice actor, also voices Prince Baka, protagonist of Level E, another series by Yoshihiro Togashi.
 * His voice actor in the 1999 anime adaptation, Hiroki Takahashi, also voices Pariston Hill in the 2011 edition.
 * Hisoka is identified by some fans as the fifth protagonist of the series.
 * The number of the month and day of his birthday are the same: Hisoka shares this characteristic with the four protagonists.

Voice Actors

 * Japanese : Hiroki Takahashi (1999 series), Daisuke Namikawa (2011 series)
 * English : Brendan Hunter (1999 series), Keith Silverstein (2011 series)