Recently, I’ve been getting excited for Yoshihiro Togashi to release more chapters of his manga Hunter X Hunter. As a result, I decided to do an analysis of the Zodiacs of the Hunter Association based on my understanding of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
Here are the twelve animals and a bit about them:
子: Rat is the first zodiac animal and is water. Water has the ability to flow into cracks that people can’t see. As a result, Rat tends to see opportunities that other people do not see and they also employ strategies that other people cannot see. In Hunter X Hunter, the Rat is Pariston who is able to control an election by popular vote using strategies that no one could see. Right now, Pariston has abandoned the Zodiacs and is currently on an unknown ship headed for unknown waters.
丑: Ox is the second zodiac animal and is earth, water’s graveyard, and metal’s storage. Ox people are patient and extremely analytical. They excel at boundaries. Just like soil fencing in water, they have the power to stop people who employ unseen strategies and are good at solving secrets. Mizaistom is the Ox of the Zodiacs and his nen power is to use a traffic light system to capture people who try to come closer to him. He is currently on the Black Whale ship sent by the Kakin Empire figuring out a string of murders on Tiers 3 and 4.
寅: Tiger is the third animal and represents the emergence of life. It is the initiation of wood and the birth of fire. Tiger people are very straightforward and love to lead but they can be a bit careless because they love to sleep just as much as they like to play. We don’t know too much about Kanzai, the Tiger of the Zodiacs, but we do know that he is friends with Saccho and Gel. He’s also seen impulsively complaining about Pariston at team meetings without really appearing to have a strategy.
卯: Rabbit is the vitality of wood and is tender and idealistic. Rabbit people are very smart because they love to come up with new ideas. All we know about Pyon, the Rabbit in Hunter X Hunter, is that she is multilingual, a programmer, and has a very cute look. We got the chance to see her in action during the Election arc where she facilitated the last election but we never got the chance to look inside to see how she thinks.
辰: Dragon is the earth animal that completes the wood or spring season. It is wood’s graveyard and water’s storage. Dragon people are known for being very imaginative and thinking big picture. Bobobai, the Dragon in Hunter X Hunter, is pretty much just a cop. He’s last seen running the justice department in the Black Whale ship and it’s mentioned that his nen ability is the most powerful of the Zodiacs.
巳: The next animal is Snake who is the initiation of fire, the birth of metal. Snake is mostly about transformation and has a lot to do with medicine. Snake people can be a bit contrarian. When Pariston is up to his antics, we do Gel speak out against him but not as loudly as Kanzai. Her abilities have to do with chemistry which suits Snake.
午: Horse is the most interesting animal because Togashi was born in the year of the Fire Horse so he must relate to Horse at least a little bit. In fact, I think that Saccho is drawn with a long face to look a little like the photos that I’ve seen of Togashi. Horse in the Chinese zodiac is the vitality of fire. Horse has a fiercely independent personality and can be pretty intense. In Hunter X Hunter, Saccho is known as someone who works behind the scenes but we haven’t really seen his strategies pay off in the plot yet. We actually don’t see him oppose Pariston directly but we do see him speak up a lot and make suggestions at team meetings.
未: After Horse comes Goat or Sheep. Sheep is earth, fire’s graveyard, and also wood’s storage. Sheep people are gentle and calm (putting out fires) but willing to take great risks for the sake of a group. Ginta is the Sheep in Hunter X Hunter. We know very little about him but he seems pretty much like a peaceful guy. We do know that his nen ability has something to do with speed and that, like Bobobai, he is strong enough to be a sparring partner for Netero.
申: Monkey is the next animal and Monkey is the initiation of metal plus the birth of water. Monkey people are very intellectual and social but they only say half of what they are thinking. I find this interesting because Saiyu, the Monkey, is actually a spy hired by Beyond Netero. He volunteered to guard Beyond on the Black Whale ship but can’t be trusted. His nen type is probably conjurer because he can produce three monkeys which take away the sight, hearing, and speech of any opponent.
有: Chicken, of course, is metal’s vitality, and is a critical thinker who can persuade a lot of people. In Hunter X Hunter, we are given a preview to Cluck’s nen ability when she uses her pigeon ability to send out ballots in the election. She’s kind of a comic relief character because she’s very diva and annoyed at everyone else all the time but she also played a big role in running things along with Pyon.
戌: The earth animal that ends the metal season is Dog. Dog is metal’s graveyard and fire’s storage. Dog’s personality should be someone who is seems guarded on the outside but actually very playful on the inside. Of course, Cheadle is the Dog in the Zodiacs group and she actually becomes Chairman of the Hunter Association after Pariston steps down for her. She is technically in charge of the group and made the decision to go on the Dark Continent voyage but we really haven’t seen her much on the Black Whale ship.
亥: And, last but not least, Pig is the intuition of water. As water, Pig is an emotional person who drifts around but brings people together. Ging, Gon’s father, is the Pig of the Zodiacs and he’s kind of known as the vagabond of the group. The other Zodiac members don’t like him but he has demonstrated an ability to form groups for researching different things. Most of the time, he doesn’t show up to meetings but he has a way of predicting the actions of the group and undermining everyone’s strategy when he does. We don’t know his full nen ability yet but part of it is the ability to copy any attack that he is hit with. Right now, he has infiltrated Pariston’s secret ship and may be sailing in unknown waters.
Now that we have established the Zodiacs, let’s take a look at their alliances. This is how the Zodiacs have organized themselves into different factions according to Mizaistom:
As you can see, all four earth animals form one faction which is about balance, dependability, and maintenance of the group. This makes a lot of sense astrologically as earth is known for these things. However, the other groups are very funky.
Kanzai/Tiger is wood but he is in a faction with Saccho/Horse and Gel/Snake who are both fire. Fire actually drains wood and the expression is like when you get all worked up and just have to release your emotions all the time. Pyon/Rabbit is also wood and she is with Cluck/Chicken and Saiyu/Monkey who are both metal. Metal controls wood and that expression is like criticality cutting down new ideas all the time.
In contrast to the earth faction, the two groups which drain or control wood seem to be pretty ineffective. We don't see them initiate or do things. The main characters of the Zodiacs, so far, are really Mizai and Cheadle. In fact, we see Saiyu betray the Zodiacs as a spy.
Not only did both wood animals get stuck with the people who exhaust them or criticize them, both water animals also abandoned the group. Pariston/Rat and Ging/Pig both left the Zodiacs. Water is what feeds wood. Based on all of this, you could say that there is a strong power imbalance in the Zodiacs as a group. Kanzai is being exhausted because he’s getting worked up all the time and Pyon is unable to use her full ability without being criticized all the time. Neither of them feel like they have a purpose for being there. That’s all because Pariston and Ging refuse to contribute to the group.
The Zodiacs are probably being held together by the earth faction which is mostly conservative, rather than relying on a natural flow of ideas and ambitions. You get the feeling that they are forced to be there together and that they keep drawing on old structures of how to conduct business. The group is too nostalgic. The earth faction has way too much power.
Anyway, with Pariston and Ging’s absence, here is how Kurapika decides to reorganize the Zodiacs based on skillset:
The first thing that I noticed about this is that the three people who are supposed to be guarding Beyond Netero are Saiyu (the spy who has to be guarded), Kanzai the Tiger, and Bobobai the Dragon. Huh?
In the manga, we clearly see Saccho the Horse in the group of three guarding Beyond. We clearly see Bobobai hanging out in Tiers 3 and 4 with Mizaistom. They switched places but how did that happen and why? Was it Saccho doing something behind the scenes or was it Bobobai’s habit of working with Mizai who he is used to being in the same faction with?
Otherwise, we haven’t really seen anything more except maybe for the disappearance of Cheadle. Even though Pariston gave the Chairman seat to Cheadle, she still needs to hold onto her power if she wants to keep it. The biology and chemistry groups, along with Leorio, have been sent to administer healthcare to a pretty large population and seem too busy to do anything else. Meanwhile, Pyon has also disappeared even though she is supposed to be working on the political wing with Mizaistom.
Kurapika’s groupings are much more balanced than the natural factions made by the group by themselves even though water is completely missing. The earth animals are distributed so that one sits in each faction. Biology might have a little too much metal and chemistry might have a little too much fire. Fire drains wood but is managed by wet earth which can nurture wood in the intelligence faction. Bobobai switching out with Saccho actually puts more fire to control metal Monkey as Saccho, hinting that we will see some combat between the three there. Saccho and Kanzai are also used to working together because they were in the same faction before.
So, surprisingly, there’s more balance than before.
But, that’s only if the water animals really left. I’m actually not so sure about that. I have a feeling that Pariston and Ging might still be working for the Zodiacs but from a hidden position. Even though they officially dropped out, both of them have shown that they are actually devoted to Netero and the Hunter Association emotionally even if they show this devotion by playing secret games with each other.
What would happen if Pariston and Ging come back? If they ever left the group in the first place? In bazi, water represents hidden strategies, secrets, and subversiveness. Mystery. If the Zodiacs seem a bit dry right now, it’s because the water animals are sitting in a secret ship.
Personally, I would keep an eye on Bobobai. The Dragon is the storage for water for a reason. Dragon contains a lot of mystery. Why did he switch places with Saccho?
