The Many Faces of Isaac Netero (Hunter x Hunter)

[Music] as a die-hard fan of Hunter hunter I naturally try to recommend this series to anyone that I think would even remotely enjoy it as most of you know it's one of my favorite stories of all time and I personally think that it deserves me if you buy as many people as possible but I always reach a stopping point when recommending it to others when they simply ask me what's it about Hunter hunter is a series that's extremely difficult to sum up in a few unbiased words and if you've experienced it then you know exactly what I'm talking about you can always mention the premise of a young boy setting out on an adventure to find his dad but this premise doesn't come close to expressing what the series is about because each arc is unique and distinct from one another these self-contained stories and ideas tend to be emphasized as they come and go much more boldly than any large overarching plot or themes that you can describe to tempt someone to watch or read the series with if I'm recommending something like gurren lagaan I could describe the bombastic action legendary moments great character growth and themes rooted in never giving in if I'm suggesting the Tata me galaxy I could talk about its artistic and deeply resonant take on the rose-colored campus life and that transition into adulthood but with Hunter hunter it's too much it's both action and dialogue intensive fun and light-hearted yet dark and heavy blunt in some ways yet subtly elegant and others in recommending it I usually end up stumbling over a few words going silent for a minute saying trust me it's awesome and leaving it at that ironically one of the best ways I can describe Hunter hunter only works for people who have already experienced it Hunter hunter as a series is surprisingly similar the matically structurally and tonally to Isaac NetZero as a character I'll elaborate on this in a bit but I think it's pretty obvious that both hunter hunter the story and Isaac NetID oh the man are adapted to fiying initial expectations to reveal some incredible depth despite some hints of foreshadowing shortly after NATO's introduction I had a few predictions swimming in my head for where his arc would go but mostly I just thought he would be pretty similar to Dumbledore's role in the early entries of the Harry Potter franchise an experienced head in a position of power the wisdom yet exuberant providing his knowledge to guide some of our protagonists of course this was embarrassingly inaccurate and I dismissed this prediction after I made it but I'm sure that I was not alone and misjudging the man who had become one of the deepest thematically rich and symbolically profound characters in the series but first let me start off by explaining my viewpoint on net todos character arc and how it encapsulates and sort of represents the series structure before diving into some deeper symbolism and themes associated with the man I think that he's a pretty accurate microcosm and personification of Hunter Hunter's tonal and thematic trajectory as a series and that is a statement that doesn't really say too much so let me explain so how does Hunter hunter start out as a really quite light hearted and playful series despite some objectively brutal events occurring and some darkness from Hisoka and alumi how does meta toes character start out as a light-hearted and playful old man despite some questionable morality that he shows at certain points that I'll get into in a little bit how does Hunter hunter develop it maintains and increases its character focus and shifts to darker and more mature themes and topics broadening its reach maintaining its unique charm but steadily growing darker and more complex until you look back and can hardly realize what the series started out as and how much it changed how does our view on NetID o develop after initially seeming like a jolly old man dissonance between net todos words and behaviors start to show as we steadily begin to realize that he's more than he seems he shows a mischievous nature extending to an undercurrent of strange darkness that only fully shows itself in the Chimera ant arc so I personally believe that netid owes character arc loosely parallels the direction that the series went in starting out as a rather fun old man only to later be revealed as a deeper a darker and more thematically complex character this same developmental arc could be said of the entire series up until the current point and that's why I sometimes think of Neto as a personification of togas narrative trajectory you could also make this comparison using other character arcs in the series such as yawns but that's for another time and just as there are little moments that foreshadow how deep the series will go into darkness in the hunter exam arc so - are there aspects of Metro's early characterization that are actually pretty interesting bits of foreshadowing that add a dark and some would think bully like tinge to him the fact is Method owes surface-level personality sugarcoats the man's full nature and deceives the audience but hints of these unorthodox aspects were present right from the beginning staring us in the face you just need to look past the kindly old man persona to see it take the ballgame with P Lua and gone for example I initially took this game as method or way of pushing key Lua and especially gone to their limits and to help them improve their abilities and strategic thinking I really didn't think there could be any other reason to this on my first watch but in reflecting back on this now my perception has shifted there was definitely an element of pushing the boys to success and a simple joy in having fun in this game but there was more to it this is just my opinion of course but I legitimately think that NetID o was truly enjoying beating gone over and over again he formed restrictions for himself and enjoyed thinking of creative ways to win loving the challenge and above all loving his victories until the end Net Zero strives for enjoyment and he enjoys very simple things that tend to equate to winning contests of skill power or intellect though mainly prevailing in combat but more on that later another example of Metro's darker quirks can be illustrated through his questionable morality displayed throughout the trials of the hunter exam this exam is designed to weed out the pretenders from the elite but the way the net pseudo formulates the exam is pretty perilous throughout the exam he approves of tests in which the entrants fall to their deaths get impaled by giant spikes get eaten by strange fantastical creatures and killed by poisonous snakes to name a few he organizes a mini tournament in which he formulates the bracket such that gone was facing inevitable physical agony and kahlúa would possibly face his twisted brother this bracket was also objectively unfair arguably the weakest entrant left had only two chances to get his license while others of similar strength had four or even five chances Leonia was projected to be the one to miss out on this and I would predict that this is because method Oh perceived him as weak and undeserving of as much as of a chance as the others which would make sense given what we later learn about him he also did explain that those who perform the most impressively throughout the exam were given the most chances which may have also had an impact on the seating and I fail to mention some other instances of this questionable morality to method Oh wasn't the Saint that I initially envisioned him to be in the early parts of Hunter hunter and there was some definite foreshadowing of this really early on I don't think that netted oohs whimsical and light-hearted side was fake though he legitimately had a fun time through his ball game with gone and the zodiac members and in particular Jing and parastone recall him as slightly crazy handing out pointless and insane tasks to hunters and getting a kick out of running things he really was very flamboyant and slightly mental to those who worked closest with him but there was always more than one side to a person and as we've seen net todos deeper characterization was far removed from his surface extravagance he's a man of many sides Takashi didn't simply improvise and suddenly decide that net todo should do a 180 in characterization for the Chimera ant arc and this is clear due to the hints from the beginning there was always a lingering darkness in netted Oh found it in a strange passion for discovering and beating strong opponents in battle but how did this darkness get there to answer that question we need to go back years and years before the timespan of the series [Music] not too much is known about net todos very early life but we do know that he once fought Maha zoldak and was the only one to survive a fight with him NetID o is a man who harbors an absolutely intense love and gratitude for martial arts and combat and its impact on his life we can accurately trace the net to go back to age 46 where he decided to leave his dojo change and put a religious amount of dedication time and effort into his training in the lonely mountains method allowed to show his thanks to the martial arts by completing 10,000 punches segmented by 10,000 prayers every day on the first day this took him 18 hours to complete before he collapsed from exhaustion and slept he kept at this intense ritual day after day for the next few years never wavering or altering his routine his speed and efficiency of movement gradually improved until he was able to do 10,000 punches and prayers within one hour using all the extra time he now had he dedicated his days to intense prayer afterward he returned to his dojo where he moved his associates to tears with his punches that had become faster than the speed of sound he then became grandmaster and conceived a new school of combat from which point nested oh never really stopped rising in the world concluding his journey as chairman of the hunters association what i've just said was a simple basic summary of the bullet points of netid o--'s journey throughout his life but it's important to remember these events when discussing the man's personal philosophies and thematic importance the story makes it clear that netid o owes his life to the martial arts and the solemn rigorous and insane tribute to express this gratitude reveals the core of his character he has a sacred appreciation and respect for the things in his life that he deems to be worthy of said respect but it has to be said that this respect revolves around and is mostly limited to combat as the narrator says after being given the power as grand master of his old dojo a monster was created in Neptune the fact is while he loves everything that the martial arts stands for he feels the opposite for the weak this obviously includes the physically weak but in my opinion would also include the weak-minded those who lean on others who don't have the balls to be their own person strive for success and conduct themselves with integrity natto goes through insane lengths to become exceptional and show a purpose in his life so we can't feel anything but disdain for those who either can hold a candle to him or aren't dedicated and even then he sometimes shows a blatant disrespect even to the strong by my perception natto doesn't really care about those who died during the hunter exam because if they really were steadfast in their endeavors to become great then they would have been better prepared he does not spare a thought for the week and except for a key exception is really only interested in those who are or have the potential to be great there's actually a similarity between netid oh and hosaka in that regard but there is a side to netid oh that is the antithesis of Hisoka his emotional side I've seen plenty accused netid o of being evil and heartless with a black hole for a soul and while some aspects of his character might begin to lead you in that direction his emotional core does not make him nearly so simple natto has a true appreciation for not only the martial arts and strong opponents but for Humanity as a species he shows pure respect for moments of genuine human care as shown when he reflects that if he were to interrupt Mero m's actions with Kaimuki he would be destroying his own cause net Sidhu was such a passionate person shown through both his dedication and admiration for kindness and compassion he lives with his heart on his sleeve and can't help but recognize when others do the same two themes that are most associated with him our love and appreciation and this is mainly focused on his love for combat but can also be applied to other things as well however Neto was severely flawed as a person he has these ideals but doesn't carry them out consistently and in all contexts for every time in his life where Neto appreciates an act of human care there was another time where he disregarded and disrespected a human life because of its weakness without thinking them maybe they too were compassionate and caring people with loved ones as well and in exploring his dispositions to humans deeper we can uncover an aspect of method oh that is one of the most telling parts of his characterization he has lived for more than a hundred years he has seen it all with regards to humanity despite all of the good in the world he sees the evil the bloodshed the terror and while I very much doubt that he approves of this he respects humanity as a whole for it's unrelenting perseverance humanity will always come out on top we are cynical efficient ruthless greedy and self-serving and through this humanity in doors across generations is not nice to think about but it can't be argued we will always evolve for better or for worse and ensure our survival by and large and in the bigger picture we humans are winners and this is why Net Zero finds so much pride in humanity it reflects his mentality in a big way this pride and humanity extends to a bit of a superiority complex as well the occasion were netted Oh proclaimed that Marilyn as an aunt should learn his place was quite telling after net todos initial rise and after he became a hunter he eventually began to find excitement hard to come by with opponents that he found stimulating to his tastes becoming increasingly rare according to some of the recent chapters in the manga he set out on an expedition to the dark continent with Ziggy zoldak and Lin hors d'oeuvre and one would think that such a treacherous place would reignite the flame in his heart but this experience left him unsatisfied natto longs to triumph against opponents and nothing else satiates this thirst so while surviving a trip to the Dark Continent would usually be something to be proud of natsot oh just felt a shallow emptiness in it because there was no distinct opponent to be beaten there natsot oh then continued work at his dojo until he became chairman of the Association his goal in life was to find an opponent worthy of his full strength and unfortunately for him these years were fruitless in that endeavor this may be why he started to do such odd aimless things such as screwing around with the hunters and the hunters Association for fun because maybe he was bored he began to think that he would never find that worthy adversary that is until the fateful conception of a certain ant king the challenge posed by the chimera ants the Royal Guards and maro M in particular lit of fire and netted ohs heart not only was this his chance to defend his races pride but it became immediately clear that this was the opponent that netted Oh had been waiting for his entire life and this exhilarated him one of the most badass moments in the entire series for me came when Neto responded to PTO's changing tactics with the classic bad move little ant to kick off the most enthralling segment of the series for me before we moved into the battle I won't bore you with a play-by-play of one of animes greatest ever fights but what's important about it from NATO's perspective is how much his resolve was wavering despite how much he was itching to fight marijuana behavior was so unexpected that he even noted that he had to end this quick or methanol might end up agreeing with the man there are lots of subtle little touches that make this fight amazing but some of them are ones that I've covered in my marijuana MIDI oh and some will cover in the upcoming section however there's just one thing that I'd like to draw attention to net sa-do's unerring and constant gratitude to be able to fight such an incredible impotant coupled with his shirt containing the Japanese Kanji character for heart and mind people look at net widow's sacrifice as a reflection of humanity's worst but in my eyes it was just an act of preservation for his people the real tragedy lies in the fact that the bomb existed at all and that the cause of its inception will continue to plague society for generations to come I don't think that this scene is an accurate summary of Metro's characterization because while he is far from a noble and upstanding man he was not as sinister as this scene portrayed humanity was I instead think of net todos final stand with his Bodhisattva as a proper microcosmic depiction of the man full of heart resolution and gratitude his final acts of battle demonstrating the extreme dedication and passion that he put into his craft Netta dough's character was amazingly done if he looks solely at its machinations but only when you pick apart the themes and symbolism associated with him do you truly realize how supreme a character he is I touched on his symbolic impact in my religious symbolism video but here I'm going to go a bit more in depth because NetZero was absolutely rich symbolically and represents both the light and dark and Hunter hunter netted Oh was clearly a walking nod to Buddhism visually but some of the Buddhist ideas that are associated with him are so profound because of how well they integrate with Metta doe himself and his role in this story all the while contrasting his darker nature his four years of training in the wilderness was an extreme form of ascetism a type of traditionally physical self discipline usually undergone to achieve mastery over one's body purification or enhanced spirituality in a sense nepeta achieved all three and used his newly invigorated gratitude to form his ideals both the dark ones we see based on a disregard for weakness and the lighter ones we see rooted in love and appreciation for his passion and genuine human acts this ascetic ritual that netted oats develop his masterful power the hundred type Guan Yin Bodhisattva this power which may or may not have been inspired by stands from the jojo series but was definitely inspired by Buddhist ideas not only form the core of one of the best fights in the entire series but it was a representation of Metta doz gratitude and love based ideologies as well a bodhisattva can be a pretty abstract concept but in basic terms it has to do with gratitude love and compassion the word itself is derived from the word body which means spiritual awakening or enlightenment and sattva was refers to a being or a thing so technically a bodhisattva can be defined as a person who attains spiritual enlightenment in Mahayana Buddhism Bodhisattva refers to a human being committed to the entailment of enlightenment for the sake of others while the first part of this definition one committed to the attainment of enlightenment can be applied to netid oh the second part may not ring a bell but this definition actually fits through as ascetic Hermitage in training NetID Oh found enlightenment and while he may not have seemed like a very selfless individual the fact is that at the end he sacrificed himself for the survival of humanity so with that in mind the word Bodhisattva fits netted Oh like a glove and this concept of love and compassion is evident throughout the narrative as well even though Kaimuki sparked initial trepidation in him Mayr arms realization and enlightenment that humans can be beautiful and exceptional things came from his encounter with NetID oh he got Maryland to shift his ideas of pure dominance over mankind to something much deeper this all led to marrow and enlightenment which was heavily influenced by both love and gratitude characteristics both involved with NetID oh and the concept of a bodhisattva and during the mero m-net ato fight NetID owes profound joy at the strength of his opponent results in him showing his appreciation multiple times during the battle so this is all well and good but is there anything else that NetZero represents this is up to interpretation but for me the answer is a resounding yes humanity is a race of extremes and net todos ascetism simultaneously represents to nearly opposing sides of mankind in it he shows the potential for meticulous contemplation and also madness marrow of himself exclaims that netted OHS skill could only be accomplished by one who pushed themselves far past the point of sense he also embodies humanity self-interest more than ever through the miniature Rose a weapon that would not exist at mankind didn't Forge war on itself but one that ironically saved mankind in theory weapons like this being used by humans against fellow humans should have led to self implosion but because of the depressing manner of what it represents it led to the opposite salvation and to compound the irony while the bomb itself was representative of mankind's selfish reckless individuality net sa-do's use of it represented something very ant like it was an act of a loyalty of altruism for the colony if I made while being consistent with the Bodhisattvas foundations and love and respect and the way NetZero Zant like death contrasted with marijuana enlightened and very human farewell was a stroke of absolute genius this role reversal in contrast from what you'd initially expect given what you know about these two men drove them the point that the line between the ants and the humans was so blurred that maybe it wasn't even there each extreme individuality and emotion versus altruism and a colony mentality was reached by the opposing party and while the Chimera ant ark was depressing and dark in many ways with many of these themes actually associated with meted oh this marriage and opposition of extremes between the humans and the ants expressed through Meryem and netted Oh had a positive note that humans are not only capable of emotional fulfillment but for defending their fellow man and living for others as well natsot oh is a beautifully realized character that is only as effective as he is because of the dichotomy he represents for every hopeful and positive theme tackled through his ideas there is a somber one he represents love compassion and gratitude but also cynicism and malice and a lot about netted Oh is still undiscovered and up to interpretation so there is still so much that we don't know but what I do know is that he is one of the most well realized characters in Hunter hunter in terms of not only his characterization and arc but due to the way the themes associated with the man gave more weight to the messages communicated through the series it is with good reason that a net to toe analysis has been the second most requested video idea on this channel and I can only hope that you think that I've done him justice here this is usually the part where I thank everyone for taking the time out of their day to watch this video but I do have one more thing to add after a couple of commenters have asked about this I've decided to launch a patreon page obviously this is not a necessity and it's more than enough for you guys to simply just watch and comment on my videos but if you wanted to go the extra mile to support the channel here's a way to do it I would appreciate it more than I can express with words if that's something that any of you want to do and it would help quite a bit with video production and there are a couple of tiny rewards for pledging as well so if you want to pledge a dollar or two a month to help me out then that would be amazing but if you can't or don't want to then that's completely cool as well I'll still put my all into making these videos and most of the joy I get from YouTube comes from taking apart these wonderful stories and interacting with you amazing people anyway with that said thanks so much again for watching and I'll see you all later don't forget to let me know your thoughts on the amazing character that is Isaak netted oh and if you want to let me know what you'd like to see in the next Hunter hunter video because for the first time ever I don't actually know what the next one will be about I do have an extensive list of topics to choose from but any feedback or suggestions for the next one will be appreciated unless the suggestion rhymes with the Dro Lomu silver because I already know about that one cheers guys you

Channel: Aleczandxr

Views: 854,709

Keywords: hunter, hxh, hxh 2011, 1999, hunter x hunter, hunter x hunter 2011, review, analysis, character, themes, music, dark, tragic, deep, symbolism, religion, netero, meruem, killua, gon, hisoka, kurapika, leorio, phantom troupe, shounen, seinen, manga, anime, animation, madhouse, togashi, story, battle, fight, top 10, top ten, top 5, scenes, moments, best, all time, yorknew, chimera ant, arc, hunter exam, zoldyck, heavens arena, greed island, election, adventure, action, scene, one piece, naruto, bleach

Id: 6Vhp65bgKOo

Length: 25min 33sec (1533 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 10 2017