Recap

We bid a tearful farewell to the King of the chimera ants.

Euri’s thoughts

What a beautiful episode. I am trying my absolute hardest not to get incredibly soppy about it, but honestly, that has to be one of the best conclusions to an arc in any anime I’ve seen thus far. This is coming from a shounen show, damn it! These were never meant to be emotionally involving! They were meant to be about one guy with a big weapon hitting an inferior guy with a slightly-smaller-but-still-pretty-big weapon. But hey, this is no complaint. Hunter x Hunter has slowly risen up the list of my favourite shows. I don’t think I can question it topping that list at this point.

The episode wastes no time, even skipping the opening theme, to head straight to Meruem’s confrontation with Palm. The King knows of his fate just by being near her, and he doesn’t even consider using violence to obtain Komugi’s location. Instead, the King, the omnipotent force that was not so long ago looking at culling the human race, is kneeling completely of his own will just to meet with the young gungi player before his death. Not even because he’s dying, but because it’s the only thing that even matters to him. Pouf, his loyal servant, has had his violent death already but it literally doesn’t matter. Komugi matters.

Hopping away from the chimera ants for a bit, we see that Netero’s pre-recorded resignation as Chairman has been published. I think the most saddening thing about this is that the news fell by the wayside a bit, being eclipsed by the news of the apparent human vs human conflict that definitely isn’t related to chimera ants. Sure, they didn’t go as far as announcing his death, as that would certainly top the news as people wonder how the hell that monster died, but while understandable, it’s all rather depressing. This is a man who accomplished so much and essentially got tied to a giant DDT canister and detonated. He may well have been willing, and he may well have been the only man for the job, but he deserved much more.

We say our farewell to Meruem as he begins an eagerly awaited game of gungi with Komugi. It’s in this initial game that we see the King get a little flustered, but ultimately he comes to terms with his adoration for this small, defenceless girl with the unparalleled mind. We’ve known of Komugi’s feelings towards the King for quite some time, and it showed when Killua, the apparent good guy in the story, wrenched her out of her new-found security. She’s been treated awfully for her whole life, and has been prepared to die at the mere loss of a board game. The King accepted her, protected her, and in return Komugi is willing to die with him. The news that the poison is contagious doesn’t even phase her. The cross-species Romeo and Juliet ends with the two dying together.

Random observations

• The relationship between Meruem and Komugi is very similar to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. You know, besides dying at the end. And Komugi being a kid.
• Komugi doesn’t use an honorific in her final mention of Meruem’s name.
• The King’s constant asking if Komugi is still there gives us a pretty good idea about how far gone he is at that point. He’s likely blind, and has lost enough of his powers to not be able to sense her presence.
• Top marks for removing the opening and changing the ending theme to maximise the effect, but could you not have removed the episode preview? Or at least the music?