Looking back at the 287th exam, you can see how amazing the characters are and how high the level of the Hunter Exam is. It was an exam that tested the balance of endurance, judgment, observation, and combat ability. I'll introduce each one, so you can have fun figuring out your own strategies to pass it, or use it to take a fresh look at the grueling challenge that is the Hunter Exam. You might discover that an exam that seemed easy was actually so tough!
What exactly are Hunters?
The magic of the words "unknown" - rare animals, monsters, treasures, hidden treasures, magical lands, and hidden regions - there are people who are fascinated by that power and call them hunters.
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
It's a job that gets you excited just by looking at it. There are also many other types of Hunters, such as Blacklist Hunters who specialize in hunting down bounty hunters and Gourmet Hunters who specialize in food. What you are fascinated by will determine your future life as a Hunter.
Hunters are people you admire, who can make your dreams come true. A Hunter License is proof of your status, and can be sold to live a life of leisure for seven generations, and it is a dream-like ID that can also be used in restricted areas.
What is the Hunter Exam?
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
To become a Hunter, you must pass this exam, and the pass rate is very low every year, with some years having zero successful applicants.
The ratio is one in tens of thousands or one in hundreds of thousands, but it's easy to imagine that it's a tough exam when only one person passes out of so many applicants.
An exam to get to the exam venue?
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
It's not easy to get to the Hunter Exam venue in the first place.
Before the actual exam, there is a sort of test to see if it's worth taking the Hunter Exam. And those who run away from the exam before the actual exam or fail it cannot participate in the exam even if they can get there by another route.
A harsh storm test
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
It was a harsh test that went through a raging storm, but this was only the beginning. However, they were unable to withstand even the intensity of the waves, and everyone except Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio escaped in a lifeboat. Then, when an even bigger wave came and one of the crew members was about to fall overboard, the captain saved him, and in his good spirits, he gave up on the rest of the test. In short, he had given himself a perfect score.
A quiz with no correct answer, with only two options, given by an old woman
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
The quiz was about a lover and a mother being captured by villains, and only one of them could be saved. The answer was silence. The logic was that there was no correct answer in this quiz, which had no answer. I think that Gon's talk about what would happen if a situation really came up where he could only save one of them was a hint, but maybe I'm overthinking it.
A challenge by a magical beast that will guide you to the venue
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
A couple living near Ipponsugi said they would take you to the Hunter Exam venue, but they were in the middle of being attacked by a magical beast.
Gon's observational skills developed in the wild, Kurapika's knowledge, and Leorio's proper first aid allowed them to be recognized by the monsters and pass the test.
The first Hunter Exam is a marathon
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
The exam required the stamina to run a distance of over 100 kilometers and the mental state of not knowing the goal. In the second half, plants and creatures attacked the examinees. You can bring in equipment, and I think you can probably use a bike or whatever you bring with you. Killua was gliding around on his skateboard at the beginning of the show after all.
Even so, most normal people would probably give up at the end of the 100km total distance. It would be a miracle if even a few people had made it at this point, but as you'd expect from aspiring Hunters, the standard was apparently very high this year, with 150 people passing, which surprised the examiners.
The second test of the Hunter Exam is cooking, and there are two test tubes
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
First up is the test of the first test tube, Bukhara. The test was to eat a whole roast of a terrifying creature called the Great Stump, which is said to use its huge and sturdy nose to knock down enemies, but the test-taker easily defeated it and passed the test. This whole roasted pig looks really delicious.
Next up, Menchi's test was to deduce and make a dish called sushi from the little information he had, but since Hanzo already knew, things didn't go as planned and everyone failed. As a result, the chairman called a halt and changed the test to one in which the students had to jump off a cliff to retrieve spider eagle eggs, which build nests between cliffs, and then climb up the cliff.
This test seems beyond the ability and strength of an ordinary person.
The third Hunter Exam is the Trick Tower
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
This tower is filled with long-term prisoners scattered all over, and if you try to go down from the outside, you will become prey to monsters, and if you go in from the inside, you will have to fight prisoners and strong enemies. He defeated formidable foes such as fake members of the Phantom Troupe, an enemy with monstrous grip strength, a seductive female prisoner, and a bomber, and then successfully overcame the subsequent challenges. As for Hisoka, he had no difficulty defeating a man who appeared to be a test tube, who he had nearly beaten to death last year and disqualified, with overwhelming strength. Even professional hunters don't seem to be a problem for Hisoka. There were others who died at the same time as they passed, so this test must have been quite tough.
The 4th Hunter Exam Plate Battle
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
It was a plate battle in a jungle survival format, with your own plate worth 3 points, the target's plate worth 3 points, and other plates worth 1 point.
The test was decided by how easily you could take the target and how weak the person targeting you was. However, in Gon's case, despite his strongest opponent being Hisoka, he seizes an opportunity to steal the plate. Soon after, he is paralyzed by an attack from the man who had been targeting Gon, and is frustrated that Hisoka has to show mercy on him, but just being able to steal the plate from Hisoka is worthy of passing. After all, Hisoka is the kind of guy who gets so emotional that he kills test takers indiscriminately to get his hands on the plates. The fact that he's the target would normally be enough to make you despair. That courage alone is worth six points.
Hunter Exam Duel
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon TV, Shueisha, Madhouse
A tournament where only one person can drop out. The rules were that whoever made the other person say they gave up was the winner, and killing them was disqualification.
If you focus on the battle between the ninjas Gon and Hanzo, you can really see how interesting this exam is. No amount of strength will work against an opponent who doesn't easily admit defeat. In the end, Hanzo, who was overwhelmingly superior in fighting ability, gave up, saying he was defeated, and Gon was victorious. The exam was interesting in that the person with the greater mental strength and ability to change the atmosphere could win.
In the end, Killua, who was instigated by Illumi, killed someone and left the venue, resulting in his disqualification, but the other candidates passed. Although it was unexpected that some candidates were disqualified midway through the exam, this marked the end of the Hunter Exam schedule.
Hunter Exam Summary
Source: HUNTER×HUNTER ©POT (Yoshihiro Togashi) VAP, Nippon Television, Shueisha, Madhouse
I think we've seen that the trials that Gon and his friends easily overcame are incredibly difficult trials when applied to common sense in the real world. And because the Hunter Exam is so harsh, it brings about great evolution in the test-takers. Also, in the Hunter Exam, some candidates made bonds of friendship that would last a long time.
For those who were searching for their own strategy, did you find any good ideas? I think it would be best to overcome the marathon with a bicycle or motorcycle, and then move around like Tonpa in the second half. It's sad that the more you try to make passing a realistic possibility, the more you can only think of sneaky tactics. You can't pass the exam the normal way. Maybe it's inevitable to come to that conclusion.
