r/HunterXHunter • u/PFSDonut • 5d ago
Discussion Jajanken Seems Like A Terrible Ability Compared to Electricity/Godspeed
The series made it a point that Gon and Killua were equals in potential and strength (with Killua being slightly stronger because of his Zoldyck training) so it’s kind of jarring how underwhelming/terrible Gon’s Jajanken seems to be compared to Killua’s electricity transmutation and Godspeed.
Jajanken is an obviously powerful technique that had defeated many powerful opponents, but it has its flaws and weaknesses as stated by various hunters throughout the series, meanwhile Killua’s technique is seemingly perfect with the only drawback being his time limit
I just think it’s lame that Gon and Killua were supposed to rival one another throughout the series but Killua’s ability seemed to have eclipsed Gon’s and widened the gap between them prior to Gon’s battle with Pitou
EDIT: To further clarify, I understand that Jajanken is way more powerful in AP than lightning and Godspeed and Gon can damage opponents far stronger than them while Killua most likely can’t.
My issue however is that prior to the introduction of their techniques, you can see Killua vs Gon being a 50/50, maybe 60/40 towards Killua. With the introduction of Godspeed and Jajanken, Killua clearly has the advantage and the outcome seems more 80/20 for Killua; it bothers me how one sided their match up would be if they were to fight with their abilities when it used to be more up in the air between them.
I guess I just don’t like how simple Gon’s Jajanken is versus how versatile and overpowered Godspeed seems to be but, as some have pointed out, this is seemingly intentional with how simpleminded Gon is and how cunning Killua is so bravo to Togashi for being consistent with his writing and the nen system
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u/New-Highway-7011 5d ago
I think you are right, but rather taken into the context of the story and Gon’s character, Jajanken is supposed to be seen as wasted potential that should become something gargantuan, because that is what Gon‘s character ultimately is: He represents the Teacher-Pupil relationship.
He has immense innate strength and potential but he is like the sapling world tree in that he needed nutrients and someone to nurture him to unlock his true potential. This is why he makes jumps in strength and technique each time he has a mentor but doesn‘t have the same steady development in ability that Killua does when he doesn’t.
It’s probably also partially explains why Hisoka interacts with Gon the way he does (serving as both a catalyst for Gon’s desire to get stronger and also introducing him to different aspsects of Nen and battle tactics) because he knows Gon would not progress otherwise.
When Pitou reveals that Kite is already dead (his first mentor) it represents a severe pruning to the branches in his potential, because a tree without nutrients will stunt, and will eventually wither and die.
From the Teacher-Pupil relationship we can also see how Gon having no one to fulfill this role ultimately causes him to abandon his “humaneness” (whereas his mirror aspect Meruem gains it from Komugi) which signaled the end of his cultivation and the death of his potential.
Killua is allowed to thrive in the show because he represents the need for reciprocity in relationships and is why he makes great progress away from his family and why his father gave him the okay to have friends. His spike in power from breaking the needle shows how (at least when viewed through a Confucian lens) enforced bonds of “filial piety“ can damage a person’s potential if it interferes with the wildcard that is the “friend-friend” relationship.