Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission

Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission
Directed by	Keiichiro Kawaguchi
Written by	Nobuaki Kishima
Based on	Hunter × Hunter  by Yoshihiro Togashi
Starring	Ichirō Nagai Megumi Han Mariya Ise Shidou Nakamura
Music by	Yoshihisa Hirano
Production company	Madhouse
Distributed by	Toho
Release dates	December 27, 2013 (2013-12-27) (Japan)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Box office	¥689,924,282 (US$6,614,304)[1]

Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission (劇場版 HUNTER×HUNTER -The LAST MISSION-, Gekijō-ban HUNTER×HUNTER -The LAST MISSION-) is a 2013 Japanese animated feature film directed by Keiichiro Kawaguchi. Released on December 27, 2013, it is the second film based on the Hunter × Hunter manga series created by Yoshihiro Togashi.^[2][3]

Plot

The film begins some decades ago, when the chairman of the Hunters Association, Isaac Netero, defeats a powerful enemy known as Jed. Back to the present, a group of cloaked men storm into a prison and free the captives there, recruiting them for their plan. Some time later, Gon and Killua take a break from his expeditions with Kite to pay another visit at Heaven's Arena and cheer for their friend Zushi in the Battle Olympia Tournament with Wing and Biscuit. Meanwhile, Leorio, who is also bound to meet them, is attacked and knocked out by the cloaked men. Before the tournament begins, Gon and Killua pay a visit to Netero, who is also at the building, but the Arena is taken over by the mysterious men, with one of them, Gaki, replacing Zushi's first opponent and defeating him, another one, Shura, taking over the security system and a third one, Rengoku, stabbing herself and putting a curse on Netero to seal his Nen and immobilizing him. The ringleader then appears and knocks Gon and Killua down from the tower, but the duo manage to avoid the fall and return to the building, several floors below.

Netero recognizes the ringleader as Jed, and it is revealed that Jed was once Netero's friend and leader of "Shadow", the Hunter Association's black op squad, that was destroyed by the chairman after they began to make use of "On", a cursed power that is opposite to Nen and is fueled by the user's pure hatred. Jed and his companions objective is to force the Hunter Association to disclose the "Black Report", a record of the crimes against the descendants of "Shadow" to the public, that had peacefully settled after the organization was destroyed, but some time later were wrongly pursued and hunted down by the government, with three survivors, Gaki, Shura and Rengoku, to use their hatred to revive Jed, who teaches them to use On. Meanwhile, Gon and Killua fight their way up the tower until Gaki appears to fight them, and Kurapika, who was present at the tournament to escort his empoyee, Neon, confronts Shura. Amidst the chaos, Leorio rises from the sewers inside the building and is helped by Hisoka, who also was inside the building to reunite with Kurapika. Once Gon and Killua defeat Geki, he self-destructs as his conevant states that losing to a Hunter will cost his life. Kurapika also defeats Shura with Leorio's help, but before dying, Shura infects Kurapika with Jed's blood, sealing his Nen and claiming that he will die unless he embraces On instead.

Once reunited with the others, Gon and Killua decide to confront Jed at the roof while Leorio stays behind to take care of Kurapika. In the occasion, Gon is also infected by his blood and decides to embrace On to keep fighting him, while Killua convinces Rengoku to give up on her hatred and she passes away, freeing Netero from her curse. Netero confronts Jed, but instead of attacking him, he decides to defend all his attacks until the hatred on him subsides. Jed is ultimately defeated when Gon purifies the On in his body with his own Nen and does the same to him, allowing him to finally pass away in peace. After the remaining members of Shadow are defeated, Heaven's Arena returns to normal and the Battle Olympia Tournament is finally allowed to begin.

Cast

• Ichirō Nagai as Isaac Netero
• Megumi Han as Gon Freecss
• Mariya Ise as Killua Zoldyck
• Shidou Nakamura as Jed
• Mizuki Yamamoto as Rengoku
• Hiroyuki Amano as Shura
• Miyuki Sawashiro as Kurapika
• Keiji Fujiwara as Leorio
• Yuka Terasaki as Zushi
• Toshihiko Seki as Wing
• Kana Ueda as Neon
• Daisuke Namikawa as Hisoka
• Chisa Yokoyama as Biscuit Krueger
• Ichitarō Ai as Beans
• Miina Tominaga as Senritsu
• Kotono Mitsuishi as Cocco

Development

Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission was announced on January 12, 2013 as a teaser trailer at the end of the first film, Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge.^[4] In August, the release date and basic plot outline were given in the year's 37 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump.^[5] The first trailer for the film was released over a week later.^[6] Like the previous film, music duo Yuzu provides the theme song, "Hyōri Ittai" (表裏一体, "Two Sides of the Same Coin").^[7] A second full trailer was released in November.^[8]

Release

In the first ten days, the film earned ¥571 million (US$5.47 million) at the Japanese box office.^[9] By its third week, the film earned US$6,614,304.^[10]

The home video DVD of the film was released on July 23, 2014,^[11] selling 3,367 copies its first week for seventh place on Oricon's Japan Animation DVD chart.^[12] It sold 5,196 copies in four weeks before falling off the chart.^[13]

Like the first film, Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission received its United States premiere at the Japan Film Festival of San Francisco on July 26, 2014.^[14]

References

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia