This interpretation of Chrollo by this assassin has always seemed laughable to me. He thinks both of them are the same, addicted to killing, when that's just not true to Chrollo at all. He's projecting himself onto Chrollo and can't be more wrong lol.
The assassin only picked up what Chrollo wanted him to pick up. Chrollo left those clues on purpose to attract people like him and it worked so well that even the Zoldycks were drawn in by that and ended up fighting him.
Everything Chrollo does is planned!!! He's meticulous to the point of obsession. He sets things up so events unfold exactly how he intends. That display of bloodlust wasn't his desire but bait to lure out assassins and deal with them.
Chrollo isn't bloodthirsty and doesn't get satisfaction from killing. As long as the person isn't in his way or doesn't have something he wants, he probably won't do anything to them. He doesn't mind getting his hands killing but it isn't something he actively seeks out.
Nanika's powers, nature, and narrative function: an analysis/theory.
First, and most central to this theory, I am a firm believer that Nanika is in fact "Ai", one of the Five Great Calamities from the Dark Continent. Ai gets its name from the sound it makes, which is the same way Nanika replies when given a wish. (In the English dub, this is translated as "'kay", since "ai" is also an alternative reading of "hai", which means "yes/okay".) "Ai" is also the Japanese word for love, leading to my interpretation that Ai (and therefore Nanika) is a being whose nature is love and care, not destruction. In addition, Ai's title is "codependence of desire", which could relate to Nanika's desire to please and her wish-granting abilities. Basically, for the sake of this theory working, I am going with the assumption that Nanika and Ai are one in the same.
To my second point: while killing may be easier for her, her healing abilities do not cause the same destructive backlash. While her granting other wishes hurts and kills others, healing only causes her to feel tired. Given the opportunity for proper rest, Nanika is capable of healing very extreme injuries in seconds/minutes and with no long-term consequences. Sure, she has to be touching the target, unlike when she kills, but I do not necessarily think that discounts my theory. According to Killua, in fact, healing is an exemption to one of Nanika's other rules: no matter how much effort it takes, she won't make any cruel requests afterwards.
As far as I remember from my last rewatch of the episodes Alluka is introduced, there is no mention of victims of wishes made before the rest of the family found out about her. The earliest (chronologically) flashback featuring Nanika shows that Killua is already aware of her and how her powers work. He makes a wish to her in this scene ("lift me up high"), implying that he has made wishes to her before, since he knows what to do. However, to my recollection, there is no mention of deaths caused by wishes made during this time.
While this could be explained as the Zoldycks not knowing about Nanika and therefore not tracking anything, I propose another answer: there simply were no deaths at all.
"But Dolly," you say, "that doesn't make sense with the rules of Nanika's ability!" To this I propose: Nanika's rules are selective, and with the right circumstances, do not exist at all.
Killua explains that the more times Nanika's requests are granted, the more extreme they get, in proportion to the last wish she has granted. When she kills someone for denying her, her requests return to the easier, simpler ones. Following this, Killua's requests were very simple and likely would have caused a low death count. However, there must be at least one time where Killua was unable to fulfill Alluka and Nanika's requests - but he survived. Killua's exemption from her rules implies that they are somewhat self-imposed, but then why would she have them in the first place?
When we first meet Alluka, she makes four requests of Killua before Nanika appears. This marks another way Killua is an exception to Nanika's rules. Killua only fulfilled three of Alluka's requests (as he did not die when requested), and did not fulfill them consecutively. (If my memory serves correctly, all other wishes were granted after three requests being fulfilled in a row.) Illumi says that this is because only three requests were made by Nanika, and only her requests count; however, all four requests were made by Alluka. If Illumi is correct that only Nanika's requests count, then that implies that Nanika can grant Killua wishes whenever she wants. In addition, there is no death toll to the wish he makes when he leaves with her (to kiss him on the cheek if they make it out).
In addition, Alluka's requests to Killua are easy to complete, aside from 'die'. Since 'die' is the first one, I'm going to assume that this is because of the last wish she granted. So her first request is a more extreme one, fitting with their rules. However, when Killua doesn't comply, and only plays dead, Alluka switches to easier requests, like playing with her.
I've seen many explanations as to why Killua is exempt from Nanika's rules - she and Alluka love/care for him, want his praise, etc. However, I'm going to say that it's not because they care about him - it's because he cares about them.
Killua is the only character in the series who genuinely loves and cares for Alluka. Her family treat her as less than human, and the servants there were taking care of her as a job. A job that some of them clearly wanted out of. Killua is the only character who loves Alluka - and also the only exemption to Nanika's rules.
Here's my theory:
Nanika's rules only exist when interacting with someone who doesn't care about her.
She's a test of selfishness.
That's why Killua can get away with not fulfilling her requests, why she can grant wishes for him without waiting, why there are no death tolls attached to wishes he makes. Because unlike everyone else, Killua loves her, and this causes her to lose her limits.
Also note that, aside from Killua, all the requests made to Alluka are selfish ones. Things like making a woman rich, getting a top-of-the-line computer, or even killing people for them because the person didn't want to do it themself. These are things that a) do not benefit Alluka herself, and b) do not benefit anyone but the person making the wish.
Contrast with Killua's (known) wishes. Killua's wishes have direct benefits for people other than himself. When he asks Nanika to "lift me up high", he asks her to play with him - Nanika seems to find it fun as well, so it benefits her, too. Similarly, Alluka enjoys being with and showing affection to her brother, so she's happy to fulfill his request to kiss him on the cheek if they escape. Killua's other known requests include him asking Alluka to heal people or animals, which benefits the subject being healed. The only truly "selfish" request he makes is for Nanika to "never come out again", which wasn't for his benefit - but rather, he thought it was the only way to keep Alluka safe. When he realizes he's wrong, he amends his mistake and requests that Nanika wake up again so he can apologize to her, and make her feel better.
Conclusion/final theory:
Nanika is a being whose nature is love and care. When shown love and care by another being, she's able to grant wishes without her rules, as a selfless act of giving. However, when a person who does not care about her makes selfish requests, granting wishes causes death and destruction. Like the rest of the Five Great Calamities, Ai was brought back to the known world as a "lesson" for humankind. In Ai's case, this is a lesson to not be selfish, or to take things only for one's own gain. Nanika's nature is to help and heal those around her in a symbiotic (or 'codependent') relationship, where she receives love and care from someone in return for granting their wishes. Potentially, in her natural habitat in the Dark Continent, she would function as a check to keep the rest of the ecosystem in balance, able to fix and change things if something went wrong. This could lean into more of the 'codependent' description, as she would be benefiting from it regardless (granting their wishes to balance the ecosystem benefits every part of the ecosystem, including her, in addition to being loved by the other creatures around).
My personal theory is that the expeditions to the Dark Continent somehow hurt the things they brought back, or damaged the land that sustained them. In getting the Trinity Elixir, the team acted selfishly and did not respect the land or its inhabitants. In turn, Ai attacked them, and was sent back with them as a lesson. Perhaps the group wanted to take all of the Trinity Elixir, instead of only some of it, disregarding the harm it would do to the land and the flora and fauna that relied on it.
And now here is the section where I say thanks, Togashi, for this absolute masterpiece of a series that you have made. I can't believe I keep finding more. I love it. This series is incredibly written, with wonderful characters and worldbuilding, and I will be sad to see it end (whenever it does) and hope Togashi will be able to write the ending he wants. I love this series dearly and I love how much thought is put into it.
@codeinerabbit @teddy-blegh @monstrousparalysis @anxious-mess19 bc y'all know hxh and I'm Going A Little Bit Insane Right Now
okay but what if all that broken goated nen ability aboard the black whale not only causes the ship to explode and sink, but!!!! it creates an unbelievably massive tsunami that has multiple impacts:
1. ging, pari, & their expedition crew, who are also likely at sea, now have to contend with this bullshit. in my head, this is how we get to Finally learn some of their nen abilities. same with the zodiac, if they haven't used their abilities before the ship goes down. they're only going to show their hands if shit is REAL dire, which it would be here during the fallout and resulting battle (point 5)
2. the waves are gonna hit land pretty much on every continent. this is when we're gonna get the bbies looped back in!!! gon will have to defend whale island, and kiki & allunanika defend....wherever tf they are...and this seismic event will get them back in touch bc it's a global catastrophe
3. given the above two points, it's likely there will be a HUGE distress call to save others from the remnants of the ship, which gon, killua, allunanika will do
4. if this happens, illumi will be reunited with killua and allunanika, which is what he very much wants to have happen for his Plan
5. the ship going down likely wont impact the big players bc of the whole broken goated thing. so i can see a large battle playing out between a. the remaining princes vs ging/pari's team, which beyond will obviously support. and b. the zodiacs vs morena and her crew, which i can see illu joining with killua and alluka under his control. this battle could go down on the Fake DC
sometimes I feel like I can't relate to most Gon fans at all not because I don't love Gon, but because the aspects I love the most about Gon (his grey morality) are exactly the things they often wish would be de-emphasized on his characterization?
