If you’re a fan of the anime or manga then you’ll know that Gon is more often the primary protagonist, with Killua being a secondary protagonist. But who is superior in terms of strength? Is Gon stronger than Killua in Hunter X Hunter? Here’s what you need to know.
Hunter X Hunter is unlike anime like Dragon Ball Z or Bleach, in which power can be easily quantified or ranked. In those cases, for example, you could say someone like Chairman Netero is stronger than someone like Leorio. There aren’t, however, solid numbers in Hunter X Hunter that easily allow us to put any one character on a pedestal.
This makes it tricky to rank people on power alone, especially because strength can often be matchup-dependent. While Uvogin was a strong and respected member of the Phantom Troupe, the fact that Kurapika beat him does not automatically mean that the Phantom Troupe are generally weaker than Kurapika.
Warning: This article contains spoilers.
Could Killua Beat Gon in a Fight?
That’s an easier question to answer. While the two have not fought, we can make a reasonable estimation based on what we’ve seen. The two of them learned Nen at the same time and had basically the same amount of practice, so overall their Nen is roughly comparable in strength. Gon may struggle to deal with Killua’s more advanced techniques, like Godspeed, but fundamentally as Aura users, they’re on the same level.
Where Gon would find the fight too much is in experience. Killua has had far more in the way of training and experience when it comes to combat due to his time as a Zoldyck assassin. Killua is also much better able to use strategy and tactics against his foes than Gon, who does have impressive instincts but is not the genius that Killua is.
Killua would probably win in a fight between the two of them, though there are a couple of factors to consider.
Killua’s Mindset
Killua has had a cautious aversion to fighting stronger opponents drilled into him, quite literally as it turns out. His mind-controlling manipulator brother, Illumi, implanted a need into his mind that forced him to retain that mindset. He was always careful never to get into fights where victory wasn’t certain.
This could be a factor in a fight between him and Gon, given that the two of them are so close in Nen ability throughout the series. While Killua generally is sure of himself when compared to Gon, Biscuit Krueger noted that Killua has a way of casting his opponents in the strongest possible light, exaggerating their strengths in his mind. His needle may have prevented him from fighting Gon all out. We saw something similar when Zushi showed an unexpected power in Heaven’s Arena and Killua backed off.
This is somewhat of a non-issue now, as that needle has been removed and even with it remaining it would depend much more on how Killua viewed Gon as a combatant rather than his actual strengths.
Gon’s Full Power
Gon was able to access his full power, all the power he would ever have when fighting against Pitou. However, this one-time power-up left him drained of all his strength. It’s highly unlikely that, even if Gon were to ever gain his Nen again, he would be able to easily use this technique.
If Killua were to ever fight Gon in that state, he would probably lose. However given that it’s a fairly drastic option that Gon doesn’t resort to even when his own life is on the line, rather being pushed into it by his own feelings of rage and guilt, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see that happen.
This also brings up the question of whether or not Gon would win in his current state. His use of his transformation essentially cut off his access to Nen. It’s been firmly established in the series that non-Nen users are all but helpless against their Nen counterparts, and a depowered Gon would not have a ghost of a chance against Killua.
That does it for everything you should need to know about whether Gon is stronger than Killua in Hunter X Hunter. For more useful guides and information about the franchise, search Twinfinite or check out the related content listed below.
