HxH Genei Ryodan is such a masterclass in humanizing villains, honestly to a ridiculous degree. They're legitimately terrifying, their crimes are cruel and inexcusable, the violent acts they commit are nearly always played seriously and condemned by the narrative, and yet I find myself rooting for them in every scene they're in.
It's not even the sad backstories some of them have, it's much deeper than that. I think I'm just fascinated with the intricate and peculiar friendship they all share. It's easier to get attached to comedy rather than drama, as a rule of thumb, and they're just endlessly funny.
I've been searching for examples of the interactions that stuck with me and was going to include screenshots but there are just way too many things. Like, okay, in no particular order:
Shizuku wearing Phinks' coat after her sweater gets torn in a fight.
Phinks tucking Kalluto under his arm like a chicken and carrying him out of an exploding building.
Nobunaga getting trapped in a pocket dimension and everybody agreeing that he should just stay there awhile because they've just taken a hostage and now there isn't enough space in the car.
Machi and Nobunaga hanging out like normal people, drinking beer and serving cunt effortlessly in stylistically matching outfits.
Kuroro getting a prediction that "the spider will lose half of its legs" and immediately going "nope not losing any of my men out there let's pack it"
Hisoka actually fucking saying "I can't tell you that. If I told you that, I would be telling you what I can't tell you. This is why I can't tell you that. That's all I can tell you." and they believed him. Maybe it's more normal with English subs, I dunno.
Everyone playing cards while Uvogin is fighting, all while talking about how good Uvogin is at fighting.
Uvogin giving Shalnark a little kissie. I don't even ship them, I think he just kisses all of his homies like a real man.
Franklin getting sent after a crate of beer. Like, that's just so funny to me. Errand boy.
Feitan and Shalnark calling Phinks "very feminine" and giggling.
Franklin and Nobunaga just fucking going at it, sword on gun violence, for no reason whatsoever. It seemed like they were having fun.
Nobunaga asking rhetorically how strong he is compared to the rest of the gang and them replying "7th or 8th idk" you fucking know they debated this.
Uvogin getting his dumb sexy ass captured and everyone showing up for him awww
Everyone being supportive of Shizuku being fucking stupid. Not even in a sweet way or anything, just kind of acknowledging that she has zero thoughts in her brain. "Shizuku why didn't you use your left hand" because she was spinning a vacuum cleaner in her mind, what's not clicking
Dunno what they call Kurapika in the English version but in the Russian subs they all collectively only ever refer to him as "ублюдок с цепями" or "the asshole with the chains".
Nobunaga immediately inviting two twelve-year-olds to join because he thinks they're hilarious, and everyone going "yeah okay as long as the boss is cool with it". You go Nobunaga, everybody grieves differently
The kids refuse and escape, go spying on the other members again, get caught again, and when Nobunaga sees them he's all "Wanna be friends now? ^^" <- nobody has anything against this
Feitan having his arm broken in a fight and Phinks going "HA!"
Literally every single time they toss a coin, but especially when Phinks and Bonolenov were arguing over who should fight Zazan if Feitan fucking dies???
Shalnark being a fucking gamer and inviting everyone else to speedrun Greed Island with him. Franklin going "no thanks" next shot he's in the goddamn game
Tossing the phone around. Can't remember whose phone it originally was but passing it around was hilarious every time. "We already killed the hostages" beep beep beep "Sorry I lied"
There are so many moments and I'm not even halfway done. Supreme quality villains. I need more of them. I need to inject them directly into my brain.
i wish to add some of my own bcs this is amazing. made me cackle after i jusf had the worst sleep of my fuckin life.
will also include some manga moments bcs there were some excellent panels.
- phinks getting fuckin SCHNOCKED by machi and nobunaga
- chrollo going "urk-!" in response to phinks and feitan not knowing critical data about themselves. bro phinks doesnt know his blood type. sir that is important go get a test done you absolute buffoon
- uvo's panic when he tries to think of a way to get rid of the leeches and both shal and shizuku make it worse. had bro shakin
- shizuku comparing skill hunter to a death note and bono just sighing.
- feitan threatening to kill either nobu and phinks because they both keep trying to argue with the other and hes had enough
- phinks and nobu warning a hostage that if they dont obey feitan WILL cut off their ears. and then phinks adds on that he usually doesnt stop there. and its so casual like "yeah thats our fucked up little guy, cmere hostage guy just do what we say dw about it"
- phinks and nobu being nen nerds. theyre my everything.
- franklin being the one shouting at uvo for death screaming at the shadow beast. like franklin is so chill and yet hes the one getting heated XD
- machis devious smirk after uvo won. she is so proud of him you cant tell me im wrong.
- kortopi.
- the shellfish scene. easily the funniest scene out of the succession war arc
- shalnark being so happy to see everyone as they show up to the base in yorknew. we know for a damn fact bro was so excited to see his friends again.
anyway.
i love the troupe thank you for making this op i fucking love you
im assuming you mean "what they smell like" and not "what smells they like"
like i can do both but i'll go with the first one
Chrollo: old books. generally doesn't wear any identifying scents for espionage purposes but will occasionally wear scents if he's expected to be infiltrating high profile parties or what have you. generally he wouldn't really smell much like anything other than like. your average dull scented soaps.
Nobu: metallic. depends on what he did most recently: killed someone or sharpened his sword. on the off day smells like ginkgo leaves and lemongrass.
Feitan: cotton. generally just smells very warm if that makes any sense. he runs hot but surprisingly doesn't sweat a lot so the heat transfers to his clothes. maybe "sandy smell" is more accurate.
Machi: camellias. also tries to avoid strong scents for espionage purposes but she does wash all of her clothes and supplies regularly so there is a vague sweetness to her scent. it's barely there but if you get close enough you can tell.
Phinks: cologne. uses it sparingly but has an expensive collection. he doesn't care about sneaking around so he has no problem with appearing at his best.
Shalnark: orange. mostly in his shampoo, he prefers fruit scented soaps. he also prefers perfume over cologne and uses it fairly frequently.
Franklin: incense. constantly smells like smoke with a hint of pine. his hands and hair smell more like gunpowder smoke than the rest of him.
Shizuku: burnt lint. between blinky and meteor city, homegirl smells like a hand me down spin dryer. it's really faint but if you get close enough to her you can definitely pick up on it. i guess another word to describe it would be "dust smell."
Pakunoda: roses. she uses perfume sparingly and usually only in small spots. since she isn't out on the field very often she doesn't have to worry about giving away identifiers. she enjoys a nice bubble bath on her off days.
Bonolenov: moss. smells like a rainy day mixed with whatever fabric he's wearing at the time. most of the time it's cotton so he'll usually smell like damp plant fibers. or if he's been cooking he'll smell like earthy spices. that smell clings to him for a couple of days.
Uvogin: sweat. man musky as hell. it's either sweat or slightly cleaner sweat. he fights clean or dirty. regardless of which was which he'll usually smell like salt.
Kortopi: wisteria. uses floral scents that get muted by him travelling or occupying well ventilated spaces. since he spends a lot of time with artifacts or storerooms, he will also tend to adopt the scent of those spaces if he spends more than a day in one.
i heavily hc shalnark radiates major "did everyone eat yet" energy despite being surrounded by the worst men alive like one second he's hacking governments next second he's wrapping feitan in 4 sweaters because "you'll catch a cold"
he's literally the troupe's mother hen ^_^
I'll definitely write sum fics on it later (≧▽≦)
PT moments in HXH that hit hard after experiencing their backstory (Part II electric boogaloo)
You can find part I here. I recommend you check it out before reading this second part (for maximum amount of emotional pain). Though really it's completely fine to disregard my recommendation. Doesn't matter terribly much tbh. Anyway let's get this masochist party started!
⸸ Phinks and Feitan still being BFFs
I know, I know; this isn't really a "moment" as such, nor is it sad, but I'm counting it regardless because this is my post and I'm free to tweak or even break my own rules on occasion. I will stick mostly to pain and sadness and misery after this deviation though dw. Also this might very well become depressing if/when one or both die on the Black Whale
Anyway, while not sad, it still does hit me in the feels that these two have stayed best friends for two decades. A loyal and strong friendship is never not touching. Even if said friends are mass murdering sadists.
As adults they're more often than not hanging out, tend to team up both in the field and in disputes within the Troupe, engage in very family friendly contests, and enjoy teasing each other.
As kids they're constantly seen together. Their very first backstory appearance have them as a bike riding duo
Look at these little dorks. Look at Phinks' stupid haircut. Look at Feitan wielding a bat as big as himself. They both look so adorably dumb I'm crying
On the topic of BFFs though, I think it was an interesting choice of Togashi's to not have a single scene between Nobu and Uvo in the backstory, considering how important their friendship were as adults and how hard the former was hit by the latter's death, even weeping openly and being the most intent of all the Troupe on revenge. Because of this I wish we'd gotten at least one moment between them in the backstory. But it might be that they formed their special friendship a while after the events of 397.
On the same token, it's interesting that Uvo and Machi seemed to have shared a big brother/little sister relationship as kids, whereas we don't really see them interact as adults. It stands to reason that Machi must have been hit very hard by his death too, but since she isn't really the expressive type I suppose it isn't too odd that we didn't get to see her reaction to it, unlike Nobu who is much more sentimental and outwardly emotional. Still, now that I know how close they were as kids, I would have loved to have had some scenes between them as adults.
⸸ "I wanted to be stronger than anything..."
This admission of Uvogin's, combined with the event that accompanies it (that being his "gorilla vs ants" fight against the mafia), recalls his childhood dream of being the world's greatest villain
It always floors me when I realize that this dream of being a great villain and putting on shows across the world together would actually come true; only in a much more literal and gruesome fashion than young Uvo imagined.
This is a strike of (quite dark) ironic brilliance on the part of Togashi.
It just makes me so sad to think about. The baby Troupe's ambitions and desires were innocent and well-meaning. They wanted to become famous for a genuinely sweet and sympathetic cause. Instead they became infamous and eventually lost any justification they once had for their actions, both embodying and far surpassing the villains from their dubbing shows. They had gone from actors to monsters.
(There were legitimate and understandable reasons behind their early deeds, such as the killings of Risnorth and other predators. They did society a favor there. Rest in piss to those asswipes. But they then went completely off the deep end likely due to their still unresolved trauma and anger, lashing out at the world at large and becoming crueler and more reprehensible until it all culminated with the Kurta Massacre, for which there can never be any justification. At that stage, they had probably long ceased to care about justifications anyway. Villainy had simply become second nature to them by then, and compassion or care for anyone but each other and their home a foreign concept.)
⸸ Machi's ability to stitch severed body parts back together
You know where I'm going with this. You know how crushingly sad the reason behind this ability is.
It all originates from this moment. From her empathy and her care for her friends. From her inability to do anything for Sarasa other than cradle her dismembered remains. From her wanting to be able to do for her remaining friends what she couldn't do for Sarasa, should a similar fate befall them.
Machi's ability stems from trauma, grief, and compassion.
Which ties into...
⸸ "Machi is a nice person at heart"
Shalnark's statement is relative ofc. By Phantom Troupe and mass murderer standards, it holds true enough. By her victims' (or most normal peoples) standards... not so much.
But I would argue that Machi is indeed likely the most compassionate and kindhearted of all the Troupe members (the bar is needless to say in hell). But that held true even in childhood (with the arguable exception of Chrollo, whose most outstanding personality traits as a child were compassion and kindness), before any of them had become horrible or even bad people. That is best seen in the panel above, where Machi hugs Sarasa's remains and apologizes to her, empathizing with the pain and fear she must have suffered in her final moments, as well as in her later desire to learn how to embalm as a direct result of this incident.
In addition of her Phantom Troupe job, she works as a medic (for a high payment, but still.) Unlike some other adult members, she doesn't express overt sadistic intent or glee in her murderous actions. It feels more like it's just part of the job to her. She is deeply devoted to Chrollo and is like Paku, Nobu and Kortopi determined to save his life even if it means potential danger to herself as well as betraying the Spider ideology (and Chrollo himself). She is seen guarding Pakunoda's grave. She wants no part in the Greed Island shenanigans. She honors the deal she made with Hisoka to stitch him up after his battle with Chrollo, even thanking him for helping to exorcise the latter.
Machi was not born bad. The person she grew up to be came about not through amy inherent evil, but through circumstances. The same can be said for the other PT members too, but she is arguably the one who has managed to retain most of her childhood compassion, though of course it doesn’t extend far enough to show mercy for any of the Troupe's targets or victims.
⸸ Phinks lending Shizuku his clothes
You know, this cute little moment
It reminds me of Sarasa's words about him in chapter 396
Her words are further borne out by panels like this in 397, where his worry for her is palpable
Sarasa implies the same of Uvogin; that he too is a marshmallow on the inside.
Which leads me neatly to
⸸ "Uvo would never admit it... but he worked better when he was looking out for someone"
This insight from Franklin, plus moments like Uvogin kissing Shalnark on the cheek and panels in the backstory like this one below confirms Sarasa's belief.
She truly had a good understanding of her friends, didn't she ;_; that's partly why I think she was so protective of Chrollo; like Pakunoda, she was well aware of and treasured his kindness and light.
And speaking of Chrollo...
⸸ "How can you kill people who have nothing to do with you?"
I've spoken about this moment and how terrific it is before. His expression is so raw and so visceral and such a terrifying gut punch the first time you experience it (no wonder it made Gon unsettled—I would have shat my pants quite frankly).
But with the context of the backstory, his reflexive expression becomes more like a stab to the heart. To me it confirms the suspicion of triggered trauma that I had once I'd pondered over the panel after the first initial shock (prior to reading the backstory). It makes all too much sense for Chrollo to be triggered, because to ask this question is to dig right to the core of the childhood tragedy that changed the course of his life; to make him face it (and his own hypocrisy) in a way he likely never has since becoming an adult. I doubt anyone (whether stranger, foe, or friend/family) has ever posed this question to him before. Hence why his usually iron composure momentarily fractures and his buried emotions become visible after being directly confronted with the issue; with having to face that he's now become the mask that he put on all those years ago (that of a villain), and more than that, that he's become in a way like the people responsible for his trauma.
This similarity is underscored in the "people who have nothing to do with you" part of Gon's question. Like Sarasa's murderers, Chrollo too kills and brutalizes people that he doesn't know, and like them he does it without remorse or care. Gon's question might very well have been one that young Chrollo would have asked Sarasa's killers; and now here he is standing in their position.
The scene reveals just how far Chrollo has been twisted and how much of a hypocrite he is. I also sense lingering grief and fury in his expression, but this is of course just my personal take on the scene and might be me reading too much into it.
Anyway the visceral death glare vanishes quickly; Chollo is mature enough to recognize the genuine (and naïve) curiosity behind Gon's question, and he quickly composes himself, even smiling briefly and actually engaging with the question... if not very satisfactorily (Killua's valid reaction being "wtf is with this dude??" while Gon just stares in mute disbelief). Usually so eloquent, it's notable that Chrollo is unable to provide a straightforward or even particularly comprehensible answer. This is (in my belief) likely due to more than one factor. One being that at this stage, Chrollo's identity crisis is such that he lacks full knowledge of himself; but also I just don't think he has any wish to divulge the brutal torture, murder and dismemberment of his little sister, which was after all the catalyst for his transformation into a murderer. Hence his comment that "I don't much like to talk about my motives".
Speaking of...
⸸ "I don't much like to talk about my motives"
Chrollo not wanting to talk about his motives is reminiscent of his refusal ever to talk about what was written on those notes found with Sarasa's body
(Have I talked about how devastatingly brilliant Togashi is at drawing expressions of grief and despair before? If I haven't, I will slap myself as penance because good lord is his work masterful.)
Furthermore, it makes me think of the cover art of volume 11, where Chrollo covers his mouth with his hand, something he does more than once throughout the series.
This mannerism feels deeply meaningful and poignant now that we know that he's carried a traumatic secret in silence all these years; one that very likely plays a major part of why his psyche became so broken and warped, and why he was so hellbent on killing Risnorth and the others responsible. It also speaks to his care for his friends that he both wants to preserve Sarasa's dignity, and shield the others from all the horrific details of her death; but this is to the detriment of his own wellbeing, since it means he has had to keep the knowledge to himself with no way to work through the trauma of it. It's been locked exclusively inside his own mind since he was a child. It's easy to understand how that would fuck up a person, especially when you take all the other trauma and circumstance into account.
⸸ The particular way Shalnark and Kortopi's corpses were displayed
It made a spectacle and "art" of their deaths, which for any of the original PT members would be an especially sore spot, since this particular brand of brutalization and display is what created the Spider in the first place.
Hisoka unknowingly added salt to an already grievous wound.
This (I think) plays at least some part in why Chrollo is spiraling so badly, to the point of his almost suicidal tunnel visioned obsession with revenge.
(The similarity between these panels just struck me as I'm writing this. On the left is eleven year old Chrollo hellbent on vengeance, on the right present day Chrollo spiraling down the same path)
And (I think) it's also partly why his mask is finally beginning to crumble, leaving him emotionally fragile and raw; his childhood trauma and grief (which he's never resolved, instead focusing on vengeance and on embodying his lifelong role as villain) has been triggered in the most brutal way.
⸸ The massacre of the Mafia
Ending on a positive note with this.
This moment hits good. It's what they all deserved for exploiting Meteor City all those years (and also for simply being the Mafia).
Togashi allowed Chrollo to rock the open coat + shirtless combo 1 time ☝️ while drinking beer and chilling with the familygang after they fucked up a city and in the morning after of said drinking beer and chilling with the familygang and the staff of the 2011 anime has never been able to let it go
