Would Gon From Hunter X Hunter Survive These Anime Universes?

Gon Freecss is the young, wide-eyed hero of Hunter X Hunter. An incredibly powerful Enhancer, Gon has shown the potential to one day become one of the most powerful characters in his world. However, even when at his peak in the Chimera Ant Arc, he’s still on the weaker side of Nen users.

Gon isn’t one of the strongest characters in Hunter X Hunter, and his failures have led to his extended absence from the series, but maybe he’d do better in the world of another anime. Nen is one of the most complex power systems in any anime and, with it, he could have the edge he needs to survive in the worlds of series like Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Chainsaw Man. Alternatively, Gon’s relatively low strength and extreme immaturity could cost him once again.

Nen Would Typically Be an Effective Counter Against Dragon Ball’s Ki

Gon Has One of the Least Versatile Nen Abilities

Dragon Ball has one of the highest power ceilings of any Shōnen battle anime. In conventional combat, it would be impossible for characters from a world as relatively weak as Hunter X Hunter’s to stand against them. However, with there being so few limits to what can be achieved with Nen and a little intelligence, there are plenty of characters in the series who could defeat Ultra Instinct Goku. Gon, sadly, is not one of these characters. His Nen ability, Jajenken, while stronger than Goku’s own rock-paper-scissors-inspired technique, is as straightforward as any ki blast. Gon would absolutely not be able to survive against any major opponent in Dragon Ball Super.

Even against Dragon Ball Z’s villains, Gon wouldn’t be able to accomplish much. While his wits and survival skills could be enough to keep him from being killed by Raditz or Nappa, any significant villain from Vegeta onward would take him out in the blink of an eye. Where Gon would be able to shine more is in the original Dragon Ball. Gon’s strength is a match for nearly any character in the series and, thanks to his training from Biscuit Krueger, he’s a trained martial artist, and a practioner of Shingen-ryu.

Being far smarter than Goku was at his age, Gon would have no trouble foiling the plots of the Pilaf Gang on his own, without needing help from Bulma, Yachma, Oolong, and Puar like he did. He’d also walk through the Red Ribbon Army, without struggling at all against Mercenary Tao. Where Gon would first be in danger of dying would be in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament against Tien Shinhan. And even if he does win, Gon would have little hope against either King Piccolo or Piccolo Jr. Things may change if Gon ever learns a new ability but, for now, there’s no era of Dragon Ball that he’d be able to survive.

One Piece’s Devil Fruit Eaters Might Struggle Against Gon’s Raw Power

Advanced Conqueror’s Haki is the Greatest Threat to Gon

The Devil Fruits of One Piece offer nearly as strange a variety of powers as Nen. Gon has plenty of experience fighting opponents of similar strength, but with strange abilities, meaning he could survive for a fairly long time in this universe. From Alvida to Arlong, Gon could clear every villain in the East Blue without breaking a sweat. Like Monkey D. Luffy, his first real challenge would be against Crocodile and his Logia-type Devil Fruit and, also like Luffy, he’d find a way to win without Haki. Gon does not worry about his own safety while in battle, as seen through his willingness to let Genthru blow up one of his arms during their fight. He would definitely bleed while fighting Crocodile, and he’d be able to figure out the Warlord’s weakness.

Unfortunately for Gon, he would have no chance of surviving against Enel on Skypeia. To his credit, even Luffy was only able to survive because his rubber body was a perfect counter for Enel’s lightning powers, so this isn’t entirely fair, especially since Gon would have no reason to ever travel to Skypeia. And although the odds would be against him, Gon could definitely defeat Rob Lucci. This would be a battle between two pure brawlers, and Gon’s speed, plus his training in ko and gyo, would be enough to make him a match for CP9’s top assassin. He’d be on the verge of death by the end of the fight, but he could pull off the win.

The circumstances behind Luffy’s fight against Gecko Moria make it difficult to judge how Gon would perform, but it’s ultimately irrelevant. Gon would be carried through the Grand Line by his massive amounts of aura, but this would become far less important with every subsequent villain having Haki. Gon’s indomitable will could keep him alive through the Summit War, as Luffy’s did, and he could potentially overcome the likes of Hody Jones and Ceaser Clown through clever applications of his Nen, but Gon’s life ends the minute he reaches Dressrosa. Doflamingo would slaughter him while laughing and, even if Gon avoided him, that would just lead him straight to fighting Conqueror’s Haki wielders like Katakuri, Big Mom, and Kaido, who he wouldn’t even be able to hurt.

The World of Chainsaw Man is Even Darker Than the World of Hunter X Hunter

Even the Chimera Ants Didn’t Prepare Gon to Fight Devils

Chainsaw Man is one of the darkest battle Shōnen ever made, both thematically, and in terms of the levels of extreme violence it displays. Gon has faced true evil in the form of the monstrous Chimera Ants, and he’s numb to being maimed, but he would still not be prepared to survive against Devils. In Chainsaw Man, there’s a Devil based on every concept, and their strength is based on how feared their concept is. This technically means that there are countless Devils Gon could defeat, and that he could make a living as a Devil Hunter, but this would still leave him open to being killed by the setting’s true powers.

The only “normal” Devil to act as a major antagonist in Chainsaw Man is the Eternity Devil, who Gon would have no way of fighting. No amount of physical strength is enough to put him down, and he lacks the immortality that allowed Denji to find a way around this. At the very least, Gon would more likely die of starvation against him, as opposed to the more gruesome fate he’d face were he to challenge one of the Devil-human Hybrids. It’s difficult to gauge how strong they are, and Gon might actually be more powerful than them, but it doesn’t matter. The Weapons are immortal, and even if Gon took off Samurai Sword, Bomb-Girl, or Quanxi’s heads, they’d pay him back for this with haste. The Horsemen and Primal Devils, meanwhile, would be able to kill Gon before he could even think about fighting them.

Even if Gon never got involved with Devils, he’d likely end up dead anyway. As best illustrated by the Gun Devil’s initial rampage, humans being killed in mass by Devils is just a normal part of this world, and there would be nothing Gon could do about that. His best bet for survival would be to live anywhere except Japan, so that he at least wouldn’t be at risk of dying as a random casualty in one of Chainsaw Man’s fights.

The Champion of Greed Island Could Perform Well in the World of No Game No Life

Gon Can Be Shockingly Intelligent When He Needs to Be

In the realm of Disboard in which No Game No Life is set, violence is strictly prohibited. Instead, all conflicts are settled through games, in which anything can be wagered. In theory, this means Gon could easily survive here. However, Gon’s adventurous and playful nature, and lack of self-preservation instincts, would inevitably lead him to enter high-stakes games without considering the potential consequences.

Despite Gon not being known for his intelligence, he would survive in No Game No Life. His powers aren’t especially strong or versatile in a combat situation, but in the context of games where reality can be bent in any way, his physical advantages over nearly everyone else in the setting would give him a major edge. And while Gon doesn’t think things through, he does have a long clever streak. In nearly all of his fights, Gon analyzes what he’s up against, and figures out what he needs to do to counter it. And because of his powerful will, he wouldn’t even need to learn a poker face; he would just never think that he’s going to lose.

Gon has already beaten Greed Island, a Nen game created by his father, Ging, that no one else ever could. The only threats to Gon in Disboard would be his opponents themselves, and not the games they’d challenge him to. If faced with the same opponents as Sora and Shiro, Chlammy, Jibril, and Izuna, he would almost certainly win. Even if he did make the mistake of challenging Blank themselves to a death game, for whatever reason, Sora and Shiro would more likely than not find him entertaining, and make sure he didn’t actually die when he inevitably lost.

Yu Yu Hakusho is Hunter X Hunter’s Sister Series

Yoshihiro Togashi Created Both Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter X Hunter

Sharing a creator, there is no series more tied to Hunter X Hunter than Yu Yu Hakusho. Rather than focusing on Hunters armed with Nen, this 90s classic is all about Spirit Detectives, demons, and their respective forms of energy. Demons have their strength ranked from E-Class, for demons barely stronger than humans, to S-Class, for demons who could easily wipe out humanity. By the end of the series, all four of the series’ protagonists are on the level of S-Class demons, and they’re primarily surrounded by demons of this rank as well.

Gon’s journey in the world of Yu Yu Hakusho would start off well. He’s intuitive enough to solve Yusuke’s early cases, and his Nen would obliterate his first opponents. Yusuke’s first real fights were against Hiei and Goki, and Gon would be able to beat them both with far less luck than his counterpart required. Gon survived the Hunter Exam, so Genkai’s tournament would be child’s play for him. Even at the end of the tournament, Rando wouldn’t be fast enough to keep up with Gon.

In Maze Castle, Gon would finally have to struggle against Suzaku, the leader of the Four Saint Beasts but, with his stamina and recklessness, his aura would be enough to push him through to victory against his superior opponent. Where this wouldn’t be enough to save him is the Dark Tournament. There are competitors in the tournament Gon could beat, even Kuwabara won several matches, but many of them have both strength greater than his, and unusual powers he’d need time to adapt to. Even if by some miracle Gon made it to the finals, he’d be killed by a single punch from Younger Toguro. Like Gon, the arc’s main villain relies on pure strength alone, but Toguro is an entirely different league.

Apart from Meruem, Isaac Netero, and the Chimera Ant Royal Guards, Younger Toguro is stronger than every character in Hunter X Hunter – and he’s only a B-Class demon. Even Nen masters like Zeno Zoldyck, Chrollo Lucilfer, and Hisoka Morrow would fall to this relatively weak demon. Neither they, nor especially Gon, would have any hope in fights against later, even more powerful opponents like Shinobu Sensui, Shigure, Yomi, or Raizen’s friends.

The pattern seen throughout all these hypotheticals is that Gon doesn’t make the most of his world’s power system. Nen isn’t about raw strength and aura levels, and that’s what makes it a viable threat to villains from other anime infinitely stronger than Meruem or Hisoka. Gon being so weak is part of what makes him interesting, but it also makes his chances of surviving in most other battle anime extremely low.