I feel like talking about HxH, and how it is defined by balance.

Balance in HxH shows itself in it's tone, themes, character work, and even morality.

It's everywhere, and it allows the show to feel so fresh and engaging.

Before I start this thread, major credit goes to @Aleczandxr.

The idea of balance in tone and themes was brought up in his Genthru videos, so props to him!

Here is the link to that video:

Let's start off with tone.

HxH arcs follow an alternating pattern in terms of net tone.

Hunter Exam - Light
Zoldyck Family - Dark
Heaven's Arena - Light
Yorknew City - Dark
Greed Island - Light
Chimera Ant - Dark
Election - Mixed
DC/Succession War - presumably dark

Note that this is NET tone.

In the light arcs, there are still moments of darkness, and in the dark arcs, there are still moments of light.

This allows the tone shifts from arc to arc to feel organic and natural.

Election is mixed and rightfully so, because it takes place after CA, which is the darkest arc in the series.

If it was too light, it would not be natural.

By keeping the net tone of Election mixed, Togashi maintains his pattern while keeping the tone shift natural.

Now, let's move onto theming.

The theming from arc to arc follows a pattern of simple and intricate/heavy.

Arcs like Yorknew and Chimera Ant tackle intricate/heavy themes like identity, meaning, duality, moral ambiguity, etc. in great depth.

On the other hand, arcs like the Hunter Exam, Heaven's Arena, and Greed Island tackle simple themes like gaining strength in a harsh world, greed, etc.

I want to clarify that simple does not equate to bad and complex does not equate to good.

Execution is KEY.

Having 2 arcs tackling heavy themes one after the other would break the balance.

Togashi alternates between simple and intricate/heavy themes, and this allows the story to be very fresh and engaging as I said before.

Now, let's move onto character work.

HxH is a show with both simple and complex characters.

I will stress once again that simple does not equate to bad, and complex does not equate to good.

Execution is what matters.

Simple characters include Gon, Hisoka, Leorio, Biscuit, Melody, Knuckle, etc.

Complex characters include Killua (case could be made for simple), Kurapika, Chrollo, Meruem, Pouf, etc.

By placing simple and complex characters side by side, both sides are able to feel very distinct and impactful.

Examples include:

Gon and Killua
Hisoka and Chrollo
Kurapika and Leorio
Knuckle and Shoot
etc.

It should be noted that the reason these characters can feel so distinct and impactful when placed side by side is due to how distinct their character work is.

An example would be how Hisoka's simple instinctual behavior contrasts beautifully with the character work of Chrollo.

And finally, let's talk about morality.

HxH is filled to the BRIM with morally ambiguous characters.

Examples include:

Gon, Killua, Hisoka, Netero, Kurapika, Chrollo, etc.

However, what's really nice is that Togashi contrasts these morally ambiguous characters with ones who are extreme on the spectrum.

You have really positive morally pure/good ones, and very dark/evil ones.

Examples of very pure/good characters in HxH include: Leorio, Melody, Komugi, Knuckle, etc.

Examples of very dark/evil characters in HxH include:

Tserriednich, Morena (maybe), Gyro (will play big role in future if we get there)

In conclusion, HxH is a story about balance.

You have light and dark, simple and complex, good and evil along with everything in between, etc.

It feels like a landscape that has it all, and it allows the story to feel so engaging.

Thanks for reading my thread!

I hope it proved useful to you!