Hunter × Hunter Characters: 10 Main Characters (Ranked)

Hunter x Hunter is one of those animes most people will immediately recommend if you are looking to get into anime. A show centered around individuals specializing in fantastical pursuits is extremely interesting. Most of the main characters in this anime are extremely powerful, but which one is the strongest?

The article has a basic breakdown of the 10 most powerful in-universe characters so if you are interested in how your favorite character ranks on our list keep reading.

Hunter x Hunter Main Characters (Ranked)

10. Shaiapouf 

Shaiapouf, also known as Pouf, is a butterfly-humanoid Chimera Ant who served in the Royal Guards of the Chimera Ant King. Shaiapouf is one of Meruem’s colony’s four most strong Chimera Ants as a Royal Guard. Chairman Netero,

Chairman Netero, While Shaiapouf possesses superhuman strength and endurance, his key weapons are his Nen powers, which include the ability to travel at high speeds and the ability to manipulate others. 

His physiology, combined with Beelzebub’s, helped him to survive after contributing 6/7ths of his cells to the King with just a fraction of his original body mass. However, this resulted in a significant reduction in his influence.

Shaiapouf finds himself to be the most knowledgeable and sensible of the three Royal Guards. Although his judgment is often clouded by his affection for the King and he is inclined to overthinking, he is capable of coming up with and predicting the probabilities of a vast number of possible scenarios. 

He is a master of character analysis and deception, which he can use on both his opponents and allies. With the aid of Spiritual Message, he can predict a person’s possible course of action, giving Neferpitou the feeling that he can read their mind.

9. Hisoka

Hisoka Morow is a Hunter and former member 4 of the Phantom Troupe, where he placed third in terms of physical ability. He is still on the lookout for strong rivals, such as Gon and Killua, and he will usually neglect all of his other tasks in exchange for a good fight. 

Before being a supporting character during the Yorknew City arc and Greed Island arc, he was the main antagonist of the Hunter Exam arc and a secondary antagonist of the Heavens Arena arc. He makes a cameo appearance as a secondary antagonist during the 13th Hunter Chairman Election series.

Hisoka enjoys all of the advantages that come with becoming a Hunter. He has proved to be a lethal opponent due to his elegant, ruthless, and deceitful combat skill, which has won him the rank of Floor Master. 

In a battle, his incredible physical ability and fighting experience make him incredibly dangerous, while his knowledge of Nen, tactical genius, and versatility enable him to quickly adjust to changing circumstances. He has killed the previous #4 member of the Phantom Troupe as well as Single-Star Blacklist Hunter Bushidora, killing the latter without sustaining any injuries.

Hisoka is also a professional magician who often employs Nen in his tricks. His deception ability and incredible dexterity come in handy in battle, and his mix allows him to defeat Kastro.  He also used the latter skill to grab Togari’s spinning knives on the first try, while their owner took six months.

Hisoka’s eagerness to fight also often results in him taking more damage than he would if he fought more seriously from the start. For example, his willingness to let Chrollo choose the place and time of their showdown, as well as to adjust to his speed in the beginning, almost cost him his life.

8. Chrollo

Chrollo Lucilfer is the famed Phantom Troupe’s creator, chairman, and member #0.

Chrollo is a fantastic warrior who leads the Phantom Troupe and is regarded as their best member by the majority of them. Machi places him well ahead of Hisoka, who has repeatedly shown that a battle with the Phantom Troupe’s chief is far more valuable than a fight with any other Spider. 

He does, however, try to hold back if his rival has a talent that he wishes to snatch. He was able to combat Silva and Zeno Zoldyck concurrently without leaving any loopholes for the former to exploit, but he was unable to do serious harm to any of them and was eventually rescued by Illumi honoring his contract.

Zeno previously said that if Chrollo fought to take his ability, he would undoubtedly succeed, but that his success would be less assured if Chrollo was adamant about killing him. 

His biggest triumph on the battlefield may have been over Hisoka, another incredibly strong Nen user who, at the time, had no record of previous losses or any evidence of struggling in battles in the series.

His tactical style is versatile, combining agility with lethal accuracy. He can destroy expert hitmen with only a pen, and he can do so while staying hidden with Zetsu and thereby avoiding the use of Nen. Chrollo possesses exceptional analytical skills as well as incredible mental and physical stamina, even by Troupe standards.

7. Zeno

Zeno Zoldyck is a highly trained Nen specialist and a capable assassin. Silva Zoldyck is his aunt, and Killua Zoldyck is his grandfather.

Zeno’s enviable mastery over Nen, his assassin training, the wisdom gleaned over years of activity, and his cool and analytical mind combine to make him a formidable opponent. 

Anyone who knows little about the underworld would be terrified by his name alone. Zeno boasted that killing a whole squad of armed Mafia associates would take him less than seven seconds and that defeating Zeno would entail Chrollo Lucilfer, the Phantom Troupe’s maximum power and intent to kill. 

He managed to put Chrollo on the defensive during their war. After sensing his strength through their Envoy, Neferpitou, a member of the Royal Guard, became very eager to challenge him.

He is a master Nen customer, unquestionably one of the best to have been implemented so far. Aside from his natural abilities, he is also an expert in Emission, as one of his aura structures can continue to function even though he is several kilometers away. 

Aside from using dragons in combat to destructive effect, he can build dragons that can transport himself or others in a straight line for an extended period. 

He also has a strong theoretical understanding of Nen, seeing right away that Chrollo was a Specialist and that he needed to follow four or five conditions before stealing an opportunity.

6. Neferpitou

Neferpitou, also known as Pitou, was the firstborn of the Chimera Ant King’s three Royal Guards and a cat-humanoid Chimera Ant.

Neferpitou is one of the most dominant Chimera Ants alive, as well as one of the strongest characters in the game, as one of the three members of the Royal Guard. They battled and killed Kite, a formidable Pro Hunter, despite only sustaining minor injuries, and this happened soon after they discovered Nen. 

Neferpitou was referred to as Meruem’s “top soldier” by Illumi. Despite his best intentions, the King was only able to bruise Neferpitou with one of his tail kicks, prompting him to thank the Royal Guard. While the King’s strength had grown by that time, another Royal Guard member, Shaiapouf, was pushed through a wall by the same assault.

Chairman of the Hunter Association Netero, once considered the world’s best Hunter and by some the most powerful Hunter even in his old age, wondered if Neferpitou might be more powerful than him, as Colt later confirmed after seeing both fighters’ auras. 

Ikalgo was certain that the Royal Guard would win even though he joined hands with Gon, Killua, and Palm, as well as potentially Knuckle and Meleoron.

5. Ging

Gon Freecss’ father is Ging Freecss. He is a former Zodiac with the codename “Boar” and a Double-Star Ruins Hunter (though he can apply for a Triple-Star License). Gon’s motive for becoming a Hunter was to find Ging.

Ging’s authority in the Hunter Association was only second to that of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman during his term as a Zodiac. Even after leaving the party, he retains all of the advantages that come with becoming a Hunter. He is the de facto leader of the Dark Continent Expedition Team now that Beyond Netero is imprisoned.

Ging’s place inside the Hunter Association, as well as Netero’s acclaim, attest to his dominance over Nen. The first time he is seen playing Pip-Play, a game in which one moves around their aura to perform tricks, a self-proclaimed Pip-Play master was astounded by Ging’s abilities, as he formed numerous bubbles of aura, altering their forms, sizes, directions, and individual speeds. However, as Ging himself confessed, this game has little to do with one’s real skills and is akin to spinning a pen between one’s fingertips.

4. Menthuthuyoupi

Menthuthuyoupi, also known as Youpi, was a Chimera Ant and the Chimera Ant King’s youngest Royal Guard. Menthuthuyoupi was the least humanoid of the King’s Royal Guards, but he had a human-like facial presence. 

He had a manly body and bulky musculature, but oddly shaped ears, animal-like legs with three-digit claws that were later revised to two digits and round toes, and razor-sharp teeth.

Menthuthuyoupi is an incredibly strong Chimera Ant Royal Guard. Chairman Netero, considered the world’s best Hunter in his youth and by some the most powerful Hunter even in his old age, was claimed by Colt to be capable of beating him. 

He was able to fight Shoot, who he knocked out in less than 20 seconds of combat, Knuckle, and Meleoron all at the same time, despite them having planned their tactics ahead of time and receiving assistance from Morel and Killua, and had the chance to kill the first four while taking almost no damage from their attacks, despite them coming close to forcing him into a state of Zetsu by Hakow.

Since he lacked human intelligence, Menthuthuyoupi was originally more selfless than the other two Royal Guards. As a result of his devotion to the King, he was endowed with unwavering concentration and the capacity to easily calm down when agitated. However, his proclivity for being angry and lack of diplomatic ability made him possible to outwit.

3. Netero

Isaac Netero was the Head of the Exam Commission and the 12th Chairman of the Hunter Association. He was hailed as the world’s most strong Nen user in his prime, and he still possessed terrifying strength in his later years. Due to his status as the chairman of the Hunter Association he has the ultimate authority.

Netero was once regarded as the world’s most powerful Nen user. Despite the fact that official expeditions to the Dark Continent had a survival record of just 0.04 percent, Netero set foot on it twice and emerged alive with no evidence of permanent injuries on both occasions. 

Netero is still incredibly strong, according to Morel, who claims that if Netero can’t beat an enemy, then no one in the Hunter Association can. To this, the chairman protested that his power had halved in his old age, putting himself on the same rank as Morel and Knov. However, the validity of his argument is questioned, with Knov claiming that Netero is vulnerable to exaggeration and that he is still stronger.

Netero’s apparently irrational and whimsical nature belies a brilliant mind. When planning to exterminate the Chimera Ants, he had already planned for Gon and Killua to join the mission before ever meeting them; in reality, he had hoped that the two of them, as well as Palm Siberia, would join the mission.

Netero is a powerful Nen practitioner who, in his prime, held the title of most powerful Nen master. About the fact that Morel continues to view him as unrivaled within the Hunter Association, and Knov acknowledges that he is still much superior to the two of them, Netero claims that his time at the top is over.

2. Meruem

Meruem was the Chimera Ant Queen’s most powerful offspring. He was the principal adversary of the Chimera Ant arc and was regarded as the King of the Chimera Ants.

Meruem is the most powerful character introduced in the series so far, as well as the one with the best learning potential, despite being a newborn. His incredible physical strength is only balanced by an extraordinary intelligence, all of which appear to put him way above the realm of human possibility. He has more strength than the Royal Guards as the King of the Chimera Ants, and he can increase it even more by eating Nen users.

He faced Isaac Netero, formerly the world’s most powerful Nen user, who maintained a terrifying amount of strength even in his old age, while attempting not to destroy him, a situation Meruem compared to playing chess without a rook and bishop and won their physical fight. 

After absorbing the majority of Shaiapouf’s and Menthuthuyoupi’s bodies, Knuckle claimed that state-level military strength would be needed to match him. Meruem has power over the Royal Guards and the right to procreate with females of various races as the ruler of a colony of Chimera Ants.

Meruem is an expert in her field. He was born with the power to use Nen as well as a much greater amount of aura than even the Royal Guards. He raised the scale of his aura even further by feeding on Nen users. 

After eating Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi, the King’s aura reserves and performance grew to the point that even the unnecessarily defensive Royal Guards had to concede the King seemed unstoppable, capable of winning a Nen war through sheer aura quantity. 

The Extermination Team members were despondent when they sensed his Ren, with Knuckle thinking it might take the military might of an entire country to overthrow the King.

1. Gon

Ging Freecss’s sibling, Gon Freecss, is a Rookie Hunter. Gon’s motive for becoming a Hunter is to find his dad.

In the Hunter Exam, Zoldyck Family, Heavens Arena, Greed Island, and Chimera Ant arcs, he was the main protagonist for the majority of the season.

Gon enjoys all of the advantages that come with being a Hunter. He had a fishing rod at the start of the series that he could swing with incredible precision, even catching Hisoka’s tag from afar when the latter was running at high speed. 

If the scenario calls for it, the fishing rod may even be used as an offensive tool. Gon’s powers of vision, endurance, and resilience were often celebrated during the Hunter Exam. In war, he easily considers all possible options and tactics.

His most extraordinary trait, on the other hand, is his uncanny, limitless ability. When influential characters like Hisoka, Wing, Biscuit, and Razor realized the full extent of Gon’s abilities, which is sometimes portrayed as infinite, they were astounded. 

This enables him to learn incredibly quickly, which is particularly true in the field of Nen, where such an aptitude is extremely rare. He tried to use Zetsu on one occasion even before mastering it.

Gon is an Enhancer, which means he has superhuman strength and healing powers. Biscuit has at least two other Nen forms, Emission and Transmutation, thanks to his preparation, which he later honed to a high enough degree to establish functioning Nen powers. 

Initially, he was better at Emission than Transmutation, but by the time he encountered Kite in NGL, he may have been more skilled in the latter division than the former, as shown by his Nen abilities’ fighting potential. Gon has learned the four fundamental techniques as well as at least five technical techniques.