Hisoka Morow

Hisoka Morow is a character from the HunterxHunter anime and manga.

Hisoka is a Hunter and former member #4 of the Phantom Troupe; his physical strength ranked third in the group. He is always in search for strong opponents, and would spare those who have great potential, such as Gon and Killua in order for them to get strong enough to actually challenge him. He originally served as the primary antagonist of the Hunter Exam arc and a secondary one of the Heaven's Arena arc, before becoming a supporting character during the Yorknew City arc and Greed Island arc. During the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, he briefly reprises his role as a secondary antagonist.

Appearance
Hisoka's appearance is similar to that of a magician or jester. He is tall and has light skin and a fairly toned physique. His attire is usually adorned with various suit symbols ( ♦/♦   ♣/♣   ♥/♥   ♠/♠ ) on the front and back torso, and he changes outfits in each story arc. He wears face paint of a star (★) on his right cheek and a teardrop on his left cheek, and like his attire, in the 2011 anime, his face paint also occasionally changes colors. During the Greed Island arc, Hisoka wears the Greed Island Ring on his left middle finger. And in the 13th Hunter Chairman Election arc, Hisoka wears a pair of earrings with ornamental hearts.

In his first appearance in the 1999 anime series, Hisoka's hair is blue. After a revamp of the show, it was replaced with a red or almost neon pink color to be in accordance with the manga. In the 2011 anime, Hisoka has red hair and light amber eyes. In the manga, during the Yorknew City arc, Hisoka dyes his hair light green. These dynamic variations in appearance illustrate the complexity of his character.

Personality
Hisoka is portrayed as entirely self-serving, self-absorbed, and selfish; he does whatever he likes as long as it pleases him in some way. His insatiable love for spilling the blood of powerful fighters in combat and his enjoyment of extreme pain while doing so fuels his seemingly sadomasochistic desires. In order for them to grow to their full potential (so as to improve the pleasure of killing them later), Hisoka allows the main protagonists to live in situations wherein he is easily able to kill them. Likewise, he grows excited to meet any new people he deems worthy of fighting or anyone with potential to be a good fighter and entertain him in the future. The thrill of fighting strong Nen users in tactical battles and near death experiences is an orgasmic experience for him. It is likely one of the reasons why he goes out of his way to find new toys to play with. If they break, he either loses interest or kills them before going out to find more potential prey.

With his manipulative and self-centered nature, Hisoka is essentially a murderous sociopath. While he does like Gon, Killua, and many others, he has stated that for him, what is valuable one day could easily become trash the next, and he will not hesitate to kill anyone should they not meet his standards. He does not care for what has happened in the past, as he is only interested in what could be amusing to him in the future or present. While Hisoka's nature tends to be malevolent, he isn't an indiscriminate killer. He has no problems killing anyone regardless of age or sex; however, he only kills people who are in his way or those he deems "worthy". As such, his character is more simply amoral than flat out evil. He even assists the protagonists if there is "fun" in doing so or if it will make them stronger leading to a more entertaining fight in the future. Above all else, Hisoka cares only about having fun and a good challenge which may or may not involve killing people. He has a nasty habit of skipping out on Spider meetings. He also can be a whimsical liar and has a tendency to freak out or play cruel jokes on his victims. Just witnessing their uncomfortable expressions because of him getting under their skin pleases him. His chaotic nature is inherent in everything he does and makes him dangerously unpredictable.

Hisoka has displayed a morbid attraction of sexual nature to fight powerful fighters, or people with Nen who have the potential to become strong, which is expressed through barely repressible murderous tendencies; neither age nor gender do seem to influence his desire to fight them. He has expressed a desire to fight or kill to random victims just to satiate his bloodlust. After his defeat at the hands of Chrollo, Hisoka's sociopathic nature has taken itself to worse heights by vowing to kill all the members of the Phantom Troupe even if they were defenseless and claiming he will no longer let his opponents fight in their preferred conditions. However, he did temporarily spare Machi, who has been an implied interest of Hisoka's as a potential opponent he likes to flirt with or as a romantic interest, although he stated it was so she could warn the Troupe of his intentions.

Hisoka often exhibits androgynous characteristics throughout the series, manifested in his wearing of "women's" shoes and using an alluring speech style typically reserved for females in Japanese. In the manga, he ends nearly every sentence with a suit symbol.

Despite his calm and composed personality, he can express his emotion comically in some situations. An example is when Gon becomes honest and rather innocent about his question why Hisoka was in Greed Island. Another example is his stunned face when he learns he could not fight Chrollo after Kurapika's Judgement Chain.

Abilities
Hisoka has all the benefits granted by his status as a Hunter. Notorious for his graceful, cruel, and deceitful fighting ability, which has earned him the rank of Floor Master, he has proven to be a deadly adversary. His tremendous physical abilities and combat skill make him extremely dangerous in a bout, and his expertise in Nen, tactical genius and flexibility allow him to swiftly adapt to changes in circumstances. Among the opponents he has defeated are previous #4 member of the Phantom Troupe and the Single-Star Blacklist Hunter Bushidora, killing the latter without suffering any injury himself. He has expressed dissatisfaction with the power level of most Pro Hunters, which led him to consider fighting the Zodiacs to find a new challenge, and in fact he was able to effortlessly dispatch multiple Hunters in a short span of time. Illumi Zoldyck, who was estimated by the magician to be even more formidable than some Zodiacs, was wary of crossing Hisoka, and even the leader of the infamous Phantom Troupe deemed it prudent to prepare a strategy and gather Nen abilities before facing him to ensure his victory, declaring Hisoka set a new record for the number of abilities he ever needed to kill someone.

Hisoka is also a skilled magician, and often uses Nen to perform his tricks. His skills in misdirection and amazing dexterity find applications in combat, their combination allowing him to triumph against Kastro. The latter talent also enabled him to catch Togari's spinning knives on the first try, whereas their owner required six months to do so. Furthermore, Hisoka has a certain degree of informatic proficiency, which he used to track Gon and Killua down after they bought blimp tickets online. By forming a circle with his index finger and thumb and peeking through it, he can enhance his vision. It is unknown if this technique is achieved with Nen, or if Hisoka can merely improve his eyesight by concentrating. Hisoka's zest for battle often causes him to suffer more damage than he would if he fought seriously from the start. In fact, his willingness to let Chrollo pick the location and time of their showdown, as well as to adapt to his pace in its early stages, nearly led to his demise.

Preternatural Perception: Hisoka has proven to be able to sense not only the presence, but also the position of people hidden with Zetsu, even Kalluto's, whose execution of the technique was described as "flawless". In response to Nobunaga's befuddlement, Hisoka attributed his feat to the lingering sensitivity from the competition against Razor. His ability to gauge an individual talent and raw power is so refined that he has been able to create a point-based system to quantify them. Although he generally glances at someone to determine their strength, he ranked Illumi without even seeing or recognizing him beforehand. Nonetheless, he was unable to notice that Gon was tailing him during the Hunter Exam even before lapsing into a murder frenzy, due to the boy being in a state of Zetsu and possibly because he was not particularly hostile towards him until the moment he made his move, when Hisoka's own bloodlust masked his.

Immense Strength: Hisoka boasts astounding brawn, ranking third in the Phantom Troupe in arm-wrestling. When one of his kicks missed Gon, he sent a flagstone of the ring crashing explosively into the audience stands. He can effortlessly lift five human puppets with one hand and swing them around with enough force to destroy them and all other bodies they come in contact with, and instantly twist off a human head with a single hand. In the dodgeball game Hisoka was able to throw the ball with such force that Razor's Nen puppets were forced to combine to block it, despite them being capable of redirecting Razor's passes which, after their power waned, retained enough momentum to incapacitate Tsezguerra. He was also able to withstand the force of the ball launched by Gon with Rock and returned by Razor while catching it with Bungee Gum.

Enhanced Speed and Reflexes: During the Hunter Exam, Hisoka dispatched dozens of applicants in seconds, and disappeared from Leorio's and, more remarkably, Gon's sight at close quarters. He offered further proof of his swiftness against multiple foes when he fended off the throng of puppets sent after him by Chrollo. When he fought the boy at the Heaven's Arena, he could move so quickly that Gon was unable to get his body to react in time. He avoided all of Kastro's strikes while the latter was not using his Double, and even after he lost of both arms the clone was unable to land a single hit on him when it attacked by itself. He has demonstrated to be as reactive to projectiles when he effortlessly grabbed a pair of spinning knives thrown at him by a Hunter, caught Gotoh's bullet-fast coins with Bungee Gum, dodged a shoot ball thrown by Razor and succeeded in blocking it when it was redirected moments afterwards.

Enhanced Agility: Hisoka is fairly acrobatic, a skill which he uses to recover his balance and respond to attacks quickly. He can defend even from disadvantageous positions without losing his balance.

Enhanced Stamina: Hisoka was able to complete a long-distance run more than 80 kilometers long, and taking place on uneven terrains such as ascending stairs and a swamp, without breaking a sweat. He did not show the slightest sign of physical or mental exhaustion after his fight against Kastro or the dodgeball match against Razor, or at any point during his taxing showdown against Chrollo.

Immense Endurance: Hisoka appears to be impervious to pain. He was only momentarily stunned when Kastro and Chrollo landed critical blows on him. He was unaffected by breaking ten fingers and, more impressively, by having one hand and one foot blown off or by the loss of two arms, to the point he stuck his fingers in his open wound to retrieve a card. However, his high threshold can backfire, as he failed to notice one of his legs was maimed in his fight against Chrollo.

Genius-Level Intellect: Hisoka is an expert tactician and schemer with excellent analytical abilities. Though at great personal risk, he succeeded in manipulating the Spiders into staying in Yorknew so he could fight Chrollo, and to forge a fake prophecy minutes, if not seconds, after receiving the original, perfectly replicating its style. While on Greed Island he managed to trick Killua, although both he and Biscuit remained suspicious of him. His aptitude at reading others' character and at finding common traits allowed him to create a personality-based system to determine Nen types, and, although he admits it is unreliable, he has been correct every time he was seen resorting to it.

Master Strategist: Hisoka is an exceptional strategist who can formulate winning plans at the very start of a confrontation. He frequently puts up an outlandish or even arrogant act to fool into his opponents into believing he is being careless, whereas in reality he is laying traps. He excels not only at planning ahead, but also at picking apart enemy strategies, compiling all the available information and coming up with multiple hypothesis in mere seconds and in the heat of battle, as well as to rapidly adapt to new developments.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Hisoka is a force to be reckoned with at close range, even without his cards or Bungee Gum. Cherry, whom Tonpa regarded as the most skilled unarmed combatant in the 287th Hunter Exam, acknowledged the enormous gap in technique between the two of them, and he easily dodged every attack from Goz. He single-handedly outmatched Gon in close quarters combat and repelled all of his offensives without moving from his spot until the boy resorted to a diversion. Even after the loss of both arms, he avoided every strike of Kastro's Double while casually talking to the ability user and throwing glances in his direction, and despite Kastro being a martial artist reputed to be on par with a Floor Master. Hisoka has also proven time and time again to be capable of fighting back whole crowds.

Master Weapon Specialist: With the aid of Shu, Hisoka can turn his cards into mortal edge weapons or projectiles. He employs them to instantly kill the opponent by targeting their vital spots, generally the throat, but also to incapacitate them by severing their tendons. While wielding one with only two fingers, he can sever an adult men's arms in one motion. He can throw them with deadly accuracy and speed, and also incorporate them in surprise attacks with Bungee Gum. He also displayed proficiency with flail-like weapons by swinging an aura-coated human head connected to his hand via his elastic aura, as well as with knives.

Master of Stealth: Hisoka managed to spy on Killua undetected by him as well as, seemingly, Amane and Tsubone. He assisted Illumi without being discovered by the Hunter Association and seemingly killed Teradein while the latter was at his desk.
 * Expert in Tailing: Hisoka followed Gon and Killua twice without them noticing, eluding Pakunoda's detection the second time around as well.

Nen
Hisoka is a Transmuter endowed with a powerful, sinister aura that disquieted Wing and Gon even after the latter learned Nen. He manifests his high level of proficiency in his natural category primarily through his Nen ability, Bungee Gum, but he has also shown to be very proficient at controlling the shape of his aura, which is a Transmutation skill. This aptitude may be what allows him to extend strands of elastic aura over distances of several meters without flinging them, which makes its application more subtle. He is also well-versed in Conjuration, the Nen type of his second ability, as well as Emission and, seemingly, Enhancement. He utilizes the former to maintain aura around projectiles as well as in conjunction with Bungee Gum, to separate the ability from his body.

His affinity for Enhancement manifests primarily as a remarkable level of durability. Hisoka survived multiple Nen-enhanced strikes from Kastro, an Enhancer, without using his aura to defend. Although he was briefly stunned, Hisoka took no visible damage from most of Chrollo's attacks, one of which can allegedly behead a person with a knifehand strike, despite Hisoka having been unable to predict them and thus to guard properly. He seems to have resorted to Manipulation on one occasion, exploiting the boost enjoyed by Nen after death to impart an automatic command to his Bungee Gum.

Aside from Hatsu, Hisoka is capable of using at least Ren, Gyo, and Ken, which allowed him to survive multiple explosions of The Sun and Moonset off in his proximity, although one of his legs was severely mangled. Like many other high-level Nen users, he can maintain a state of Ten at all times. It is also likely that he is proficient at Zetsu and Ko. The two techniques he employs with the greatest frequency are Shu and especially In. With Shu his poker cards can easily cut through bone and concrete even while he is not holding them. When he applied it to a severed human head, it carried so much force that it pulverized other heads it came in contact with, incapacitated several puppets with a single throw< and injured a Nen user of Chrollo Lucilfer's caliber without being damaged in the least, whereas it would break immediately if not enveloped in aura. If Hisoka favors Shu for direct attacks, In is at the core of his strategies, as he combines the technique with Bungee Gum to lay elaborate, deadly traps.

Hisoka's Nen prowess if further supported by his knowledge of more abstract notions, such as Nen becoming stronger after death and Exorcism. He also came up with the concept of "Memory Overload" and a system to divine an individual's Nen type from their personality, which, despite him calling it unreliable, has proven correct several times.
 * Bungee Gum - Hisoka's main ability allows him to make his aura sticky and elastic. Its extreme durability, flexibility, and adhesive properties make it an exceptionally versatile ability with several offensive, defensive, and supplementary applications. He can activate it from his fingers, hands, and feet. He can attach it both through physical contact and remotely, by extending it towards the target, which makes it very difficult to avoid. He can give it the command to contract at will, and it snaps back with greater force the more it is stretched. It is so resilient that it did not tear after absorbing the full force of a ball hurled by Gon with Rock, or several of Gotoh's coins, which makes it an effective way of returning projectiles to the sender. Offensively, Bungee Gum can be used to pull the opponent towards Hisoka or to create flail-like weapons. He can also separate it from his body, in which case it will tear after a maximum stretch of 10 meters. He most commonly detaches it from his body to attach projectiles to his opponent, such as his Shu-enhanced cards, while concealing it with In.The combination of the latter technique and Bungee Gum allows Hisoka to lay multi-layered traps that spring all at once, killing the unsuspecting opponent in a flash. He has also emitted it to restrain individuals as powerful as Machi. Bungee Gum also has a wide range of auxiliary applications. Hisoka can attach it to a solid surface to retreat at extreme speed when the need arises. By using it on his feet, he can adhere to the ground or run on walls. It is also useful for sticking objects in place for traps or to keep hold of them, even after throwing them. By covering a wound with it, he can instantly stop hemorrhages. On one occasion, he enveloped his lungs and heart with it so it would resuscitate him. By creating non-adhesive aura, he can also replace missing limbs, which can coil like a spring to propel himself at tremendous velocity.
 * Texture Surprise - Hisoka can apply his aura to any smooth, flat surface, such as paper or cloth, and manifest imagery on it to change its appearance and texture for deception. He can replicate over one thousand different textures. He has tricked Nen users of the Spiders' caliber with this ability, with none of them realizing he had used it, either by sight or by touch. Against Kastro, he utilized Texture Surprise to hide his wounds and confuse him. It can also be applied to pure aura, such as Hisoka's Bungee Gum, to alter his own appearance. Since no aura is detectable once Texture Surprise is active, whether through eyesight, touch, or extrasensorial perception, its effects are also visible to individuals unable to use Nen, it is safe to assume Texture Surprise is a Conjuration ability, which is further supported by its requiring Hisoka's direct action to be dispelled and by a verb used in its description.

Trivia

 * In the official databook, his name is also spelled as "Hyskoa". The Volume 34 extras confirmed this spelling and added an alternate one of his surname, "Morroh".
 * Hisoka's surname was revealed 346 chapters after his introduction.
 * But a little before exclusively in Chapter 320, while voting and striking an "S-shaped pose", Hisoka's last name may have been hinted (at least the first letter of his romanized or alternate surname); in the imaginary background there is a circular visual motif/theme around Hisoka's head with some stylized M letters—that could indicate "Morou" or "Morroh".


 * Hisoka's Bungee Gum and Texture Surprise are named after his favorite brand of chewing gum and a snack with novelty gag stickers respectively.
 * Also, the second name of Bungee Gum, "Elastic Love", may be seen as a reference to Hisoka's personality: the ease with which the gum is attached and detached to someone mirrors the interest that Hisoka has in a person, which can be extremely deep and still end at any moment.
 * Texture Surprise was originally supposed to reproduce only images, to the point that it was stated that physical contact would give the trick away, with Hisoka finding the added challenge intriguing. The ability was later retconned so it could also replicate textures.
 * It is unknown to the reader is Hisoka's original prophecy predicted he would leave the Troupe after his confrontation with Chrollo, or if he would die as a result of it, since only Hisoka saw how many paragraphs it contained.
 * Hisoka changes his appearances at each turn of arc.
 * Hisoka is said to be 28 in the 2011 anime.