"This will be a one-sided massacre. I have no interest in the exam or any offer of amnesty." — Johness, to Killua Zoldyck in "Resolution" |
Johness (ジョネス, Jonesu), also known as Johness the Dissector (解体屋ジョネス, Barashiya Jonesu), was the most notorious mass murderer in Zaban City and one of the prisoners in Trick Tower, used to test the examinees in the 287th Hunter Exam.[1]
Appearance
Johness was a tall and muscular man with unkempt short hair (brown in the 1999 anime adaptation and blond in the 2011 anime adaptation), alongside a mustache with sideburns. He had sunken eyes (grey in the 1999 anime adaptation and blue in the 2011 anime adaptation) with a long and slender nose. He wore typical inmate attire whilst in Trick Tower (fully navy blue in the 1999 anime adaptation and brown with olive green pants in the 2011 anime adaptation), while in a flashback of Johness' arrest, he was seen wearing a striped shirt over a T-shirt and trousers.[1]
Personality
Johness' thirst in killing
Johness was a sadistic and psychotic man who had nothing but a greater pleasure than the feeling of bleeding flesh in his hands and hearing the screams of agony from his victims. However, once he experienced what he did to so many others, all he could do was plead for his life. Johness was also self-confident and conscious of his own power. When he faced Killua, he had no doubt that he was going to massacre him.
Murders were, for him, not a need, but a mere pleasure. He showed no sufferance from the abstinence from killing he was forced into by the imprisonment, but he was glad at the idea of being able to kill again. Conscious of the extent of his sentence (nearly a millennium), he had no interest in a reduction of his detention.
Background
Johness was an infamous mass murderer in Zaban City, who murdered continuously and without discrimination. Prior to being captured, he had killed 146 people across both genders; all were torn into at least 50 pieces using his bare hands; in some cases, his victims were torn into thousands of pieces. One luckless eleven-year-old boy was gutted alive. When he was arrested, Johness did not resist. Instead, he tore a large piece of flesh off the left arm of the police officer. For these crimes, he was sentenced to 968 years in prison.[1]
Plot
Hunter Exam arc
Johness appears
Following the "Path of Majority Rules" during the 3rd Stage of the 287th Hunter Exam, the 5 examinees Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, and Tonpa find themselves pitted against 5 other prisoners within the Trick Tower in a series of one-on-one challenges.[2]
After 2 wins and 2 losses, the fate of the challenge falls on Killua, who is paired against Johness. Leorio is alarmed when he recognizes Johness after he reveals himself, and strongly advises Killua not to fight, even if it means they would lose. Leorio tells the group of Johness' fearsome reputation as a bloodthirsty mass murderer and his extreme methods of dismembering his victims with his bare hands.[1]
Johness dies before Killua
This is ignored, however, and the two combatants enter the arena platform. Killua casually asks Johness how he wants to fight, but Johness tells him that he has the wrong idea; he does not care about the Hunter Exam or getting pardoned, he just wants to tear Killua to pieces and experience murder again. The combatants agree to a deathmatch, but before Johness can speak again, Killua lunges forward in the blink of an eye and plucks Johness' heart clean out of his chest. Johness quickly realizes what happened and pleads for Killua to give his heart back, but Killua ignores him and crushes his heart as he smiles agt Johness. Johness is left quivering and twitching on the floor in his final moments before dying. This grants the examinees a pass through the section, and onto the challenges awaiting them in the race against time to get to the base of the tower.[1]
Abilities & Powers
Johness showcasing his grip
Johness had no Nen abilities and did not indicate any knowledge of Nen, but he had an extremely powerful grip with enough physical force to tear a human body into dozens of pieces. His fingers enabled him to easily crush stone and tear flesh from bones. All his crimes were committed with his bare hands. However, he was no match for Killua and was deemed an amateur by his killer.
Manga Appearances
Battles
| Battles |
|---|
|
Trivia
- "Johness the Dissector" may allude to the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper.
Anime and Manga Differences
- In the 2011 anime adaptation, instead of destroying Johness' heart,[1] Killua returns it to Johness after he collapses and dies.[3]
Intertextuality and References
- Johness resembles Ootake, a character in YuYu Hakusho series.
- In the 1999 anime adaptation, the names of two of Johness' victims are revealed: Jean-Luc Picard (tagged P.R 113-546), and William T. Riker (tagged P.R 726-333), also the names of two famous characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation.[4]
Miscellaneous
- The voice actor of Johness in the 2011 anime series is the same voice actor of Gotoh, Geretta, and Nobunaga from the 1999 anime series.
- The voice actor of Johness in the 1999 anime series is the same voice actor of Izunavi (episode 56) and Genthru from the 1999 anime series.
Translations around the World
| Language | Name | |
|---|---|---|
 Arabic
|
جونيس (Junis) | |
 Chinese
|
喬尼 | |
 French
|
Jonès | |
 Korean
|
죠네스 (Jyoneseu) | |
 Russian
|
Джонас (Dzhonas) | |