Here’s some clarification about Chapter 400 of Hunter x Hunter, since some readers seem to be confused by it. I believe this confusion stems from Togashi’s decision to tell the story non-linearly.
I could be wrong about this, of course, but my hope is that those of you who read this will agree and come to a better understanding about the chapter.
ESTABLISHING A PRECEDENT
First off, I want to establish that this is not the first time Togashi has used non-linear storytelling in the Succession Arc. The most obvious example of this is the banquet sequence. This period of time is retold three times in the story, each from differing perspectives.
The banquet occurs at 8:00pm on the eighth day of the voyage (a Sunday). This information is provided to us at the end of 382. Awakening. In 383. Escape, we get the banquet from the perspective of the escapees.
384. War jumps back in time to the previous night (this information is provided to us in the opening panel). In it, we learn that Theta plans to assassinate Tserriednich on the following day; in other words, the day of the banquet.
In 385. Warning, we get the events of the banquet from Theta’s perspective. The time is 7:35pm when she commences Tserriednich’ commences his ‘s training. We see the effects of Melody’s ability as the performance is heard through the intercom.
386. Hypothesis continues into day 9. Kurapika starts performing water divinations for his class on this day.
Finally, 387. Recreation jumps back in time again, showing the events of day 8 from Tserriednich’s perspective.
Note how Melody’s activation of her ability acts as a “uniting event”, tying the plotlines together. This is the very same technique I believe Togashi intends to use in Chapter 400.
PLACING THE WATER DIVINATION
In order to understand the chronology in Chapter 400, we have to place Kurapika’s water divination. We know it begins on day 9 thanks to a timestamp in 386. Only a week remains in his first round of classes, so he needs to start awakening his students. He awakens Ladiolus first, then Maor. He plans to awaken a few more students, but the rest need to wait until tomorrow.
Later on, Zhang Lei’s guard Hashito asks to be awakened in exchange for Tenftory going last. His request is denied by Kurapika, but it seems likely Tenftory went last anyway. In fact, this line could also be interpreted as Hashito using the fact that Tenftory is already going last in order to negotiate.
388 ends with the fourth rumbling of Halkenburg’s aura, 389. Curse jumps back to day 9 for a bit before proceeding to day 10. This is yet another example of Togashi telling the story in a non-linear fashion.
Later in the chapter, we learn that Tenftory has been awakened to Nen, along with all of the other students.
In other words, all students in Kurapika’s class have been awakened by day 10. This should include Tubeppa’s guard Longhi, who is seen receiving her water divination (or rather, not receiving it) at the end of Chapter 400.
This also means we have already seen events that occur after the end of Chapter 400, which is at least everything that occurs belowdecks in Chapters 390-399.
THE UNITING EVENT
Knowing that the final scene of Chapter 400 jumps back to day 10 isn’t enough to fully comprehend the chapter. We still have to place the scenes involving Melody. Right before they start, we get an unresolved cliffhanger.
I believe this announcement will serve as a “uniting event” for these time jumps, similar to Melody’s flute solo or Halkenburg’s fourth rumble. We will probably hear this announcement in full from another character’s perspective. As a result, it seems like that Melody’s scenes take place before the announcement.
If the announcement is about Kacho’s death, I could see it occuring before the Melody scenes (knowledge of Kacho’s death is a theme of their conversation). However, I don’t think this is the case for a few reasons:
- I believe the deaths of all thirteen princes are eventually going to be covered up. I wrote more about this idea here, but in short, why conceal Sale-Sale’s death and not Kacho’s?
- The announcement and Melody’s scenes are intercut with a short scene involving Prince Tyson. This is a strange decision if we were meant to make a link between the announcement and Kacho.
- The wording of the announcement is a bit off. “Grave” seems to fit, but “emergency” and “stop what you’re doing”?
Personally, I think this announcement concerns something we have yet to see.
THE MISSING CURSE
In Melody’s scenes, Fugetsu’s condition is revealed to be quickly declining.
We know Fugetsu was “fine” on day 8. According to Melody, a few days have passed since then. This places Melody’s scenes on day 11 at the earliest.
A popular theory about Fugetsu’s decline is that she has been cursed by one of Camilla’s guards. However, that doesn’t quite fit with what we know.
In 389. Curse, we learn that Camilla’s guards can unleash a fatal curse on their targets. Fugetsu’s condition certainly matches the curse’s description.
Fugetsu is even floated as a potential first target, but is ultimately rejected.
Sarahell wants to send out a curse as soon as possible to weed out a possible Nen exorcist (note the use of the phrase a few days). After learning that proximity to the target can make up for lost time, she decides to curse Woble herself.
In other words, Sarahell will attempt to curse Woble first. If Fugetsu is indeed cursed by one of Camilla’s guards, it’s another indicator that Melody’s scenes take place after Longhi’s water divination.
It’s also interesting that Melody plans to contact Kurapika for help, when Kurapika may very well be facing the exact same problem!
Based on the mention of a “next banquet” in Tyson’s scene (as well as Melody’s behavior in this chapter), it would seem not much time has passed since day 9—probably not a week, which is when the second set of classes will begin. I suspect Sarahell will actually attend the class on day 11, rather than waiting for the next round, which would place Melody’s scenes on day 11 or 12.
Accepting the idea that significant time passes between day 10 and Melody’s scenes provides some interesting context to Zhang Lei offering Melody a coin. At this point in the story, he might actually know what it does!
CONCLUSION
I may be completely wrong about this. Maybe Sarahell does wait until the next round of classes. Maybe Fugetsu is cursed before Woble, or maybe Fugetsu wasn’t cursed at all. But even if I am wrong, these are my main points:
- There are significant backward time jumps in Chapter 400. In the final scene for sure, and possibly after the end of the Troupe plotline.
- If Fugetsu has been cursed by one of Camilla’s guards, there are some unanswered questions. We haven’t seen Sarahell’s attempt on Woble, and we haven’t been offered an explanation for Fugetsu being cursed before it.
I want to end by saying I don’t think this is meant to be confusing. It’s just difficult to remember context from previous chapters when they were released so long ago. In my opinion, even a week is too long to expect a reader to remember such details. It also doesn’t help that we don’t have the following chapters, which would probably make all of this clear.
I sincerely hope Hunter x Hunter returns, and when it does, I hope it’s in the form of bi-monthly, longer chapters (or something similar). I think the current story lends itself much better to that kind of format.
The Library of Progg 