Genthru: HunterxHunter’s Least Interesting Villain

It’s amazing the things you can get done in quarantine when you’re bored. I’ve finished several games, watched and rewatched many shows, and gotten more writing done than I’ve managed in a while. I’ve even managed to get around to revisiting some stories I’ve dropped for a while! Including a modern shounen classic: HunterxHunter!

Or is it Hunter X Hunter? Dunno, don’t care.

In just a few days, I’ve blasted through a few of the show’s earliest arcs. The Hunter Exam, the combat tower with a name I can never remember, the Phantom Troupe, and, as of me writing this, Greed Island. Unfortunately, after that last one, my stamina is starting to wane. Not because I can’t keep going. But because Greed Island is just… so… meh.

The story itself is fine. It has some fun and creative fight scenes. Some of the new characters are fun, particularly Bisky But the villain is just so god damn boring! Seriously, I practically fall asleep every time he’s on-screen!

Which wouldn’t hurt so bad if the previous villains weren’t so damn good!

Genthru, the Bomber, is one of the most boring villains I’ve ever seen in anime. He’s not intimidating, he’s not interesting, and his motivations are about as boring as you could possibly get. Worst of all: he’s completely predictable! The dude’s about as interesting to watch as drying paint!

Let’s break down his character real quick. Don’t worry, it won’t take long.

Essentially, Genthru is a mad genius. He’s an expert manipulator, brilliant tactician, and… a serial bomber. And… that’s it. That’s the character, folks. Where does he come from? We don’t know. What does he want? Money. His only redeeming quality is his loyalty to his two fellow bombers, which he demonstrates after his defeat when he asks for his friend to be healed. Pretty boring, eh?

What’s worse is his design. He’s just ‘lanky blonde dude’. There’s literally nothing interesting about how he’s drawn! The most memorable thing to me is his blue scarf! It feels like they didn’t even try with this character design!

I could end the article here. “Genthru is boring and has no depth.” It would be an article just as dull as the character himself. But I do have a little more integrity than that. So, to paint a completely clear picture of just how much I hate this character, let’s look at two of the villains that came before him: Hisoka and Chrollo.

Let’s start with Hisoka. This motherfucker is completely unpredictable! His powers give him a huge variety of abilities, which makes every single fight involving him a beautiful dance of creative tactics. His goal’s are entirely selfish and unpredictable in the spur of the moment. Will he aide our heroes? Or will he attack them? You never know what this guy is gonna do!

This is especially prevalent in the Hunter Exam. When we first meet him, he murders a dude just for bumping into him! But then he spares Gon and Leorio for having proven themselves to him. He then lets Gon live, with the logic that he is a fruit that isn’t ripe yet. Not only is this pretty creepy, but it gives Hisoka longevity in the story; you know he’ll appear again, whether you like it or not.

Then there’s Chrollo. When you first meet him, he seems like a pretty generic bad guy: a quiet mastermind with extreme brilliance and power. But we soon learn that he has a strong attachment to the Phantom Troupe, even shedding a tear for Uvo! We also learn that he isn’t just a merciless killing machine. He spares the fortune-telling girl for seemingly no selfish purpose at all, simply because he liked her!

We also learn that he doesn’t entirely understand his friends. He follows the Troupe rules to a T and believes that they’ll do the same. So, when they break the rules to rescue him, he’s too busy thinking about how to kill Kurapika to notice the intentions behind their actions. When they fail to notice a bit of crucial info, he looks so crestfallen you’d think he just watched a puppy die!

But he’s still clearly a terrible person. He has no qualm with murdering others just to take what he wants, no matter how petty the reason for it is. His ability is literally one that steals other people’s! When he survives his clash with Killua’s dad and grandpa, his only comment is “Damn, couldn’t steal their powers.”

Hisoka and Chrollo are fantastic examples of villains in HunterxHunter. They’re intimidating, completely unpredictable, and best of all: wildly enjoyable to watch! Each one has a strong presence on screen that simply demands your attention!

You want to know how I can tell? Cause I’m willing to bet every dollar to my name that you forgot this article was about Genthru. Hell, I bet you’ve already forgotten who that is!

And that’s not even mentioning the villains that came later! In the very next arc, we’d get some of the most interesting and memorable villains in the entire series! Not that we had to wait! Genthru was forgotten the instant Greed Island was over. As far as I can tell, people don’t even want to talk about his fight with Gon!

Not that they should. It was a pretty lame fight. All it really had going for it was animation.

The common opinion is that Greed Island is the worst HunterxHunter arc. Up until my rewatch, I disagreed with that. I never thought the arc was all that bad! But upon rewatching it, I can see the issues as plainly as day. And I can’t help but start to lean towards that opinion.

Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to delete what’s-his-name-bomber-guy from my memory to make room for literally anything else.