Hunter x Hunter separates itself from its battle shonen contemporaries by putting strategy and complex systems at the forefront of its battles. Big muscles and explosions don't always win fights.
The series' main characters often analyze a situation to find the best opportunities to strike - and more often than not, their strategies are actually conceivable to the fans. With the added benefit of one of the most detailed and palpable power systems ever seen in shonen stories, Hunter x Hunter is home to a variety of entertaining and clever strategies that have been impressing fans for years.
10 Netero Nuked Meruem With The Poor Man's Rose
On the surface, this plan doesn't sound too complex. It essentially entails just throwing the biggest, most destructive bomb available at someone. However, there were a few layers to it in this fight. First, Isaac Netero clearly didn't come to his fight against Mereum with the intent of using the Poor Man's Rose.
More than just looking for a good one-on-one battle, Netero was likely trying to limit as much destruction as possible by leaving the bomb as a last resort. In the interim, he put up a down-to-the-wire fight against Mereum, and only activated the Poor Man's Rose when he was close to death.
9 Gon Stalked Hisoka While Geretta Stalked Him
There's no better proof that Hunter x Hunter is more suspense than action than in Gon's bid to steal Hisoka's badge during the Hunter Exams. Gon had the worst of luck in picking Hisoka for the hunting portion, though that didn't discourage him. Gon trained in hiding his presence, and he carefully spied on Hisoka until the magician let his guard down with his sudden bursts of blood lust. However, even more impressive, another contestant, Geretta, had the same exact idea to steal Gon's button from him. In near seamless transition, both badges were stolen at the same time.
8 Hisoka Made Kastro Dance With Misdirection And Bungee Gum
As a magician, Hisoka has mastered misdirection. His bout with Kastro was one of the best fights in the series and a grand example of both his Nen abilities and tactical ability at full display. Essentially, Hisoka planned on using his Bungee Gum powers to throw his razor sharp cards at Kastro.
However, he needed to identify the real Kastro for the plan to work, as well as keep his opponent from using Gyo to see his tricks. He misdirected Kastro and the audience with a devilish trick that had him pull a card out of his severed arm. In one fell swoop, he managed to distract Kastro from using Gyo while also marking Kastro's real body, allowing the other pieces of his plan to set into place.
7 Hisoka Gave Gotoh A Lethal Pop Quiz
Hisoka is a master at being ten steps ahead of everyone else. Prior to his fight with Gotoh, many Hunter x Hunter fans had come to see Gotoh as one of the toughest and most calculating fighters from the Zoldyck household. He seemed like the perfect, no-nonsense opponent to keep Hisoka on his toes, but even he couldn't see what sadistic ideas Hisoka had.
Hisoka managed to grab a bunch of Gotoh's coins during their fight and fired them back at Gotoh with great force using his Bungee Gum. However, this was only a distraction for Hisoka to sneak in from above to cut Gotoh's throat himself.
6 Gon And Killua Escaped The Phantom Troupe
Sometimes, just guaranteeing survival is the best plan. When Gon and Killua tried to capitalize on the recent bounties of the Phantom Troupe, they found themselves in over their heads and immediately captured. After some torturing and questioning, the boys found themselves attentively watched over by the Troupe's swordsman, Nobunaga.
Without any way to get past the superior fighter, Gon and Killua decided to take a page from their antiquing lessons. They broke through opposite walls in the room, causing Nobunaga to hesitate as they ran apart. From there, they created even more holes to distract Nobunaga and feign trying to fight him. In reality, they were only keeping him busy while they escaped the building and ran as far away as they could.
5 Gon And Friends Broke The Walls Of The Trick Tower
While Gon is far from the cleverest Hunter around, he is one of the few Hunters to consistently look after his friends and plan accordingly. In the Trick Tower portion of the Hunter Exam, he and his friends had to choose between abandoning one of their own and taking a shortcut or sticking together and waiting, risking running out of time.
Gon managed to masterfully analyze the situation and realize that the walls leading to the shortcut were thin enough to break through. He encouraged his friends to wait, then with a little teamwork, they destroyed the wall, took the shortcut, and all managed to make it to the next stage of the exam just in time.
4 Gon Shut Off Genthru's Powers And Blocked His Escape
At first, Gon didn't entirely stick with the plan. Before he actually unleashed his group's strategy, Gon got into a heated personal battle against "The Bomber," Genthru. During this fight, Gon pushed himself to extremes to get a few hits on Genthru. When he was just about at his limit and had Genthru near his trap, he set the actual plan into motion.
While Biscuit and Killua kept the other bombers busy, Gon covered Genthru in oil so that he couldn't use his powers, then trapped him in a large pit. Using a boulder to block off Genthru's only escape, Gon took the opportunity to unleash a massive Nen punch.
3 Ging Fixed The Rules For The Chairman Election
During the Chairman Election, the Zodiacs were put in charge of finding the next Hunter Chairman, but they immediately started fighting amongst themselves, especially when Pariston Hill got involved.
They decided to use a lottery to determine which among them would choose the terms of the election. As it turned out, Ging, one of the most respected Hunters around, had seen this coming and actually came to Beans a couple of days earlier. He hid his rules in a trash bin and told Beans that, if he trusted him, he should pick Ging's rules when the Zodiacs inevitably called for him. Ging even helped make his rules more acceptable by putting in one bad one that he easily removed to make accepting the others easier.
2 Morel Suffocated Leol In A Flooded Passageway
Morel is one of the most underrated characters in the series, despite being a big player and one of the most consistent Hunters during the Chimera Ant Arc. One of his best fights was against Leol, who tried to trap him in an underground passageway that flooded with one of his stolen abilities.
Being a Sea Hunter, Morel easily adapted to the situation and hid under the water. In turn, he corralled Leol into an air pocket, then breathed out large amounts of carbon dioxide to suffocate Leol while he remained safe underwater.
1 Morel Was Two Steps Ahead Of Cheetu
Despite being a large and intimidating man, Morel is surprisingly patient when it comes to his fights. In one of the best examples of him being more brain than brawn, he created a perfect strategy to capture Cheetu when the super-fast Chimera Ant used his Nen ability to trap him in a game of tag. Morel feigned being disinterested to get Cheetu to drop his guard.
In reality, he created a smoke rope to wrap around Cheetu's leg, and a smoke clone to do the work for him while he hid elsewhere to ambush Cheetu. It was simple and effective - an example of Hunter x Hunter strategy at its finest.
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