Hisoka's Past (ヒソカの過去, Hisoka no Kako) is a prequel one-shot of Hunter × Hunter focusing on the character Hisoka written and illustrated by Sui Ishida.
Synopsis
In Glam Gas Land, known for its shows, a young Hisoka is found on the ground by Moritonio, ringmaster of the Moritonio Troupe. Moritonio's stunts bewilder audiences, and now he has the opportunity to perform at the Bar Jack, in Princess Hotel. Moritonio asks Hisoka if he is able to perform any magic tricks. Hisoka shows Moritonio a card trick, astonishing him and noting that the boy had more talent than he. Moritonio encourages Hisoka to hone his talent. Moritonio's performer Abaki warns him that Hisoka could have an uncanny past, seeing how he was just found on the road.
Abaki and Moritonio are walking in the marketplace where they see a picture of a serial killer who crushes his victims to death, provisionally called John Doe. While the manner of the killings is consistent, the one doing it seems to change, leading to his epithet "Hundred Face". John Doe loves attention, which is why he allows himself to be recorded by surveillance. When they return, they find that a juggler has injured himself, rendering him incapable of performing. Hisoka volunteers to do the act for him, showcasing his extraordinary dexterity. A jealous co-performer, Yasuda, vows to get revenge on Hisoka. During the performance, Yasuda throws the batons in an odd manner in order to overwhelm him, but Hisoka successfully catches them. Yasuda leaves the circus, and the other performers begin rehearsing in secret to prevent Hisoka from learning their techniques.
Hisoka notices a film around Moritonio, and Moritonio explains to him that it is aura. He begins teaching Hisoka the basics of Nen. Abaki reveals that she is the only one of the troupe that managed to learn Nen. She divulges Moritonio's past: he attempted to become a Hunter but failed the difficult Hunter Exam, which was passed by only one person. After that, he was discouraged from taking the exam again, but she believes that he teaches Nen in order to have a pupil to be able to pass the exam he couldn't. Abaki declares that she will become a Hunter. Hisoka displays his unbelievably quick learning of the Nen principles, something that would typically take a year. Moritonio then has Hisoka determine his Nen type, which turns out to be Transmutation like Moritonio's.
Sometime later, Abaki gets lost while on a shopping trip. She gets accosted by a man, whom she believes to be John Doe. She attempts to overpower him with Nen, but he is capable of using Nen too. He nearly kills Abaki, but Hisoka saves her by slicing his eye and manages to drive him off. Hisoka notes that he feels like he didn't truly hurt John Doe. Hisoka takes a shower, where he begins to develop a Nen ability.
A few days later, Hisoka performs at the Royal Glam Hotel, attended by the head of Glam Clan, the authority of Glam Gas Land. The head applauds the act, giving the troupe worldwide eminence. Outside of the hotel, Hisoka confronts Moritonio alone, where he accuses Moritonio of being John Doe. He points out Moritonio's fake skin. Moritonio claims that he enjoys surprising people, to the point that he killed his younger sister to see the expression on her face. He created a circus to have his enjoyment in a humane way but still couldn't resist the urge to hurt others. He confesses to being John Doe, but Hisoka merely wants to fight him. They get into a duel, with Moritonio revealing how he swapped faces using his Scarf Ace ability. Hisoka feels as though he is being crushed, but uses Gyo, something Moritonio hadn't taught him, to find that two magnetic bars were crushing him, and escapes. Hisoka explains how he observed that audience members' things began floating whenever Moritonio performed his air walk. Moritonio goes all out with his Blood Magnet Nen ability by using magnetic bars, but Hisoka manages to use his Nen ability to deflect the bars and crush Moritonio. He reveals that he developed a Transmutation ability that takes on the properties of rubber and gum: Bungee Gum, and he used that Nen ability to have the bars go right back to Moritonio, killing him. Before he leaves, Hisoka changes Moritonio's face to the one which he had the night on which he attacked Abaki, the one of John Doe.
Elsewhere, Abaki wonders where Moritonio and Hisoka have gone as she calls for them and complains that food will soon run out.
Characters in Order of Appearance
Trivia
Hisoka's April Fools' art by Sui Ishida
- The project was originally an April fools hoax announcement posted by Sui Ishida on his twitter back in 2015 before being released on the Shonen Jump+ website on June 2nd, 2016.
- The one-shot was published together with a talk between Yoshihiro Togashi and Sui Ishida.
External Links
- 冨樫義博×石田スイ 特別対談 － 少年ジャンプ＋ (Yoshihiro Togashi × Sui Ishida Special Talk - Shonen Jump+) [in Japanese]
- Yoshihiro Togashi (Hunter × Hunter) × Sui Ishida (Tokyo Ghoul) "Interview"/Talk (unofficial English translation)
- 石田スイによるヒソカ秘蔵ネーム ジャンプBOOKストア！ (Hisoka's Treasured Storyboard by Sui Ishida - Jump BOOK store!) [in Japanese/free to read]