Menchi

"I admit I get very emotional about food. And so... I've failed as an examiner." — Menchi to Chairman Isaac Netero in "The Chairman Awaits"

Menchi
Kana	メンチ
Rōmaji	Menchi
Portrayal
Japanese Voice	Akari Hibino (1999) Aya Hirano (2011)
English Voice	Carol Anne Day (1999) Amanda Miller (2011)
Debuts
Manga Debut	Chapter 10
Anime Debut	Episode 9 (1999) Episode 6 (2011)
Characteristics
Gender	Female
Age	21 (Debut) 23 (Current)[inference 🖱]
Eye Color	Green (1999, 2011)
Hair Color	Pink (1999) Turquoise (2011)
State	Alive
General Status
Affiliation	Hunter Association
Occupation	Gourmet Hunter (Single-Star) Chef
Previous Occupation	287th Hunter Exam 2nd Phase Examiner
Nen
Type	Unknown

Menchi (メンチ, Menchi) is a Single-Star Gourmet Hunter and one of the two examiners in second phase of the 287th Hunter Exam. She is said to be the finest Gourmet Hunter in the world and her contributions to culinary culture have been invaluable.

Appearance

• 2011
• 1999
• Manga

Menchi's 2011 anime adaptation design

Menchi's 1999 anime adaptation design

Menchi's manga appearance

Coupled with Menchi's sensitive and highly selective sense of taste and culinary skills is a physically fit body that enables her to carry out the search of unique foods and culinary experiences, many times in dangerous places. She ties the back of her hair into 5 top knots and wears a bikini top with a mesh shirt worn over it, alongside daisy duke denim shorts. In the 1999 anime, she has a pair of chef's knives that are sheathed behind her waist.

Personality

When Menchi is introduced, her most obvious quality is her pickiness. However, this attribute fits her profession very well, as she is one of the world's best Gourmet Hunters. She also has a quick temper that goes along with her great enthusiasm for cooking. She is considered a culinary genius, earning a Single-Star Hunter License at a very young age. She does seem to have a certain respect for authority, but cannot tolerate someone who insults food or Gourmet Hunters.

Plot

Hunter Exam arc

Menchi as an examiner

During the second phase of the 287th Hunter Exam, both Menchi and Buhara are examiners. Menchi explains that, in order to pass the exam, the examinees would have to cook a meal that would satisfy both examiners. Buhara goes first and requests roast pork from any kind of pig in the Visca Forest Preserve. Once the examinees head out, Menchi calls out on her partner and calls his trick mean, since there is only one kind of pig in the forest, the Great Stamp. Later, a total of 70 examinees complete Buhara's request, which ends the 1st phase of the exam. Menchi finds Buhara's challenge too easy, and subsequently announces to the examinees that her meal would be a sushi, a dish from a small country. She offers a few hints about its preparation, and declares that the exam would only end once she is full.

While the examinees are pondering over the instructions, Buhara scolds Menchi for requesting a hard dish to prepare, since the only fish needed to make a sushi is found in seas, not freshwater lakes. Menchi refutes that she wants to try a unique sushi dish made by the examinees, and claims to be more of a culinary artist than an examiner. This concerns Buhara, fearing that her bad habit will affect her judgment of the sushi dishes. The examinees begin taking turns on presenting their sushi, only to be turned down by Menchi. She keeps dropping hints, and despite Kurapika's several logical conclusions, fails alongside Leorio and Gon.

Menchi argues with Hanzo

Hanzo confidently presents his sushi, as he comes from the country where sushi is native. Menchi compliments its appearance, although she fails him for its taste. Hanzo complains that anyone could make a sushi, being an easy dish, but it makes Menchi angrier. After arguing with Hanzo, she becomes hungry and the other examinees present their sushi to her, but all fail, due to her picky taste. She fails all the examinees and later contacts Beans to inform him about it.

In a fit of rage, one of the examinees, Todo destroys his kitchen set with his fist and refuses to accept his failure; he explains that he aspires to become a Blacklist Hunter, not a Gourmet Hunter. Menchi mocks him instead that he should try harder next year. Provoked, Todo charges at Menchi but is immobilized after taking a palm thrust by Buhara. Menchi comments on Buhara's interference but Buhara claims that she would have killed him if he didn't.

Menchi elaborates while displaying her skills with her knives, the harsh trials, and endeavors Gourmet Hunters have to endure. Suddenly, an airship from the Hunter Association flies overhead and Chairman Isaac Netero jumps down. Netero asks about the situation, and Menchi admits that she has failed as an examiner and withdraws her position as the examiner, so her results can be disregarded. However, Netero offers Menchi to redeem herself and suggests for her to come up with an easier item the examinees can prepare. Menchi asks the chairman to take everyone to Split Mountain, where she demonstrates how to retrieve a Spider Eagle egg from the web hanging between the crevices of a deep canyon, with a strong water current below. After Menchi's demonstration, she asks the examinees if they quit, but most of the examinees (aside from Todo) jump into the crevice and retrieve a Spider Eagle egg. Later, the examinees boil their eggs and Menchi shows the difference between a normal boiled egg and a boiled Spider Eagle egg.

Todo concedes defeat

When all examinees taste their boiled eggs, they are overcome with joy by the delicious taste of it. Menchi tells the examinees she hopes they understand the joy of discovering something delicious, something she takes pride in doing. She also encourages Todo to take the exam next year. Afterward, a total of 42 examinees passed Menchi's rectified 2nd phase of the exam.

Menchi favoring Hanzo

Onboard the airship, Menchi enjoys dinner with Buhara and Satotz, while discussing the examinees in this year's exam. Out of the examinees they favor, Menchi favors Hanzo, while Satotz favors Killua Zoldyck. Menchi claims Killua is an obnoxious B blood type. When asked which examinee Buhara favors, he answers Hisoka. He further states he felt an ominous aura come from Hisoka. Menchi also claims that she felt it, one of the reasons she became edgy earlier.

During the end of the exam's 4th phase, Menchi with the other examiners (Buhara and Satotz), have a meal together with Chairman Netero and Beans. She asks Beans about the chairman's age, and Beans says that the chairman has been answering that he is 100 years old for the past 20 years. With the final exam still undecided, Menchi comments that it would be a tough one for the rookies. Netero, however, decides to interview the examinees, which confuses Menchi and Buhara. After Netero finishes the interviews, he shows the examiners a chart of what the final phase would be, which baffles them all.

For the final phase of the exam, all of the previous examiners act as observers. During the first round with Hanzo versus Gon, Menchi comments it is clear that neither Gon nor Hanzo would easily admit defeat, but shows concern for Gon. She later attends the debate held after the exam on whether Killua was manipulated by his brother Illumi Zoldyck. After Gon's recovery and talk with Satotz, Menchi comments that Satotz was close to revealing an important secret detail.

13^th Hunter Chairman Election arc

Menchi takes part in the first election

Menchi returns to the Hunter Association headquarters to participate in the selection of the next chairman. In the first round of the 13th Hunter Chairman Election, she places in 26^th place along with Satotz and seven others. She places in 20^th with Gel and 13 others in the second round and 20^th place again with six others in the third round. Menchi and Buhara attend the final two elections held in the Hunter Association auditorium.

Abilities & Powers

Menchi displays her skills with knives

Menchi has all the benefits granted by her status as a Hunter. She is an exceptional Gourmet Hunter, having earned a star at the age of 21, and very likely an excellent cook and food critic. It is said that she has never forgotten the taste of the food she has eaten.

Advanced Agility: Menchi has at least good upper body strength and is very agile, having demonstrated how to obtain a Spider Eagle's egg.

Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Menchi stated that all Hunters know some form of martial art, including herself. In the 1999 anime adaptation, she managed to kick an applicant multiple times without losing her composure and while speaking normally.

Knife Mastery: Menchi is also an expert in handling knives, being able to wield and juggle a large amount of them while making them spin at high speeds.

Preternatural Perception: Menchi is highly perceptive, sensing Hisoka's bloodlust since the beginning of Buhara's trial while the latter failed to do so.

Nen

As a Hunter, she knows how to use Nen, and given that she was a examiner of the 287th Hunter Exam, she's likely proficient in it.

Manga Appearances

Hunter Exam arc
1. The Day of Departure	Absent
2. An Encounter in the Storm	Absent
3. The Ultimate Choice	Absent
4. Kiriko: Wicked Magical Vulpes	Absent
5. The First Phase Begins, Part 1	Absent
6. The First Phase Begins, Part 2	Absent
7. Respective Reasons	Absent
8. The Other Enemy	Absent
9. A Struggle in the Mist	Absent
10. An Unexpected Task	Debut
11. The Inevitable Outcome	Appears
12. The Chairman Awaits	Appears
13. A Game at Midnight, Part 1	Appears
14. A Game at Midnight, Part 2	Absent
15. The Path of Majority Rules	Absent
16. Enter the Taskmasters	Absent
17. Disparate Choice	Absent
18. The Two Aces in the Hole	Absent
19. The Trap of Majority Rules	Absent
20. Gambling Time	Absent
21. Resolution	Absent
22. The Last Question	Absent
23. Two Enemies	Absent
24. Crash Course	Absent
25. The Second Day	Absent
26. The Night Before the Showdown	Absent
27. A Volatile Situation	Absent
28. A Huge Favor	Absent
29. Killua's Case	Absent
30. The Slithering Trap	Absent
31. By the Skin of Their Teeth...	Absent
32. And the Final Test...?	Appears
33. The Final Test Begins!	Appears
34. The First Candidate Accepted?!	Absent
35. Light and Darkness, Part 1	Appears
36. Light and Darkness, Part 2	Appears
37. Light and Darkness, Part 3	Appears
38. Ging Freecss	Appears
39. Intruder	Absent
40. The Zoldycks, Part 1	Absent
41. The Zoldycks, Part 2	Absent
42. The Zoldycks, Part 3	Absent
43. The Zoldycks, Part 4	Absent

13th Hunter Chairman Election arc
319. Lottery	Absent
320. Voting	Appears
321. Monster	Mentioned
322. Siblings	Absent
323. Job Offer	Mentioned
324. Butler	Absent
325. Joining the Fray	Absent
326. Open Hostilities	Pictured
327. Riddle	Absent
328. Arrangements	Absent
329. Spy	Absent
330. Confession	Absent
331. Day of Reckoning	Appears
332. Applause	Absent
333. Rumble	Absent
334. Total Defeat	Absent
335. Decision	Absent
336. Release	Absent
337. Repentance	Absent
338. Atop a Tree	Absent
339. Stillness	Absent

Battles

Battles
Hunter Exam arc: Menchi vs. Todo*

Quotes

• "We are both fine gourmet cooks! Thus your mission will be to satisfy our appetites by cooking us a meal!"
• (Referring to Todo) "He wants to be a Blacklist Hunter? Ha!! Remind him he was popped by a prissy Gourmet Hunter! Doesn't matter what kind of Hunter you aim to be. You've gotta be proficient in in the martial arts!!"

Trivia

• Menchi's name originates from the Japanese word for "minced," which is the word used to describe "minced meat" in Japan.
• In one of Hunter × Hunter's card collections, the character is also alternatively named as "Muwncthe".

Miscellaneous

• She shares the same voice actress as Feitan Portor in the 1999 anime adaptation.

Translations around the World

Language		Name
Arabic		مينشي (Minshi)
Korean		멘치 (Menchi)
Russian		Менчи (Menchi)