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The story
On a 5ch thread, posters have been hailing the Kurapika vs. Uvogin fight from Hunter x Hunter as one of the series’ “best bouts.” Many dug into exactly how Kurapika pulled off the win, given that he’d only just learned Nen when he took down Uvogin, the Phantom Troupe’s resident powerhouse. Theories cited multiple factors: Emperor Time pushing his Enhancer abilities past their normal ceiling, the special properties of the Scarlet Eyes, and the psychological trick of provoking Uvogin into a blind rage so he couldn’t think clearly. The thread also spilled into comparisons with other Troupe fights and past classic battles.
What people said
Saying it to Uvogin specifically is fair game though
The matchup's just too bad for him
Classic Togashi move — having Kurapika take down the guy even Hisoka couldn't beat
Kurapika's actually a pretty sharp tactician
Making someone who's mastered Enhancer-type Nen completely lose it like that is honestly nuts…
Learning to fight with Nen shouldn't depend on your type, right?
Just chalk it up to his ability being a meta/counter-type skill
If it's just about years of experience, the guys stuck unable to leave Greed Island were Nen users too, and they were total scrubs
Uvogin's punches are basically small-missile-tier
Way beyond a small missile
Carving out a crater that size takes bunker-buster-level energy
Togashi messed up the scaling there
Because he assumed it was a Manipulator-type ability
That's what Emperor Time is for, breaking through his limits
Still, fully absorbing the hit like that does seem off
That "I'll give you back the pain" guy (Phinks) would be rough for him too
But the real key to the whole thing is the Scarlet Eyes
The Chimera Ant arc is nothing but best-bout fights
The way the other members get cut down to size later is no joke
Funny how the first one to get hunted down ends up being the best-treated one, lol
The rest just get reduced to playing "bandit pretend" (a jab at how minor the surviving members' later roles feel)
If he hadn't been toying around, he could've actually beaten Uvogin
The power deflation where just chucking a severed head at someone does damage is rough
Even Greed-Island-era Killua was swinging a 50kg yo-yo
Well, he had been neglecting to use Gyo
Underestimating him just because he looks like a meathead really shows how early on Kurapika still was in learning Nen
It's just not an easy fight to follow
And this was while he'd only just learned Nen, so he's only gotten stronger since
Sure, Emperor Time explains why Kurapika's strong despite just learning Nen, but the fact he's already got solid Zetsu control and technical fundamentals down is what really doesn't feel like a beginner
He only took zero damage because of Youpi's durability though
He's got that battery-charge time limit, so depending on how Togashi feels like writing it, he'll end up unable to use it at the crucial moment and lose
He couldn't even one-shot Palm, what a scrub
Even Tsubone said she'd have no way to counter him on a first encounter, so he'd win
It's weird that he matches a top-tier fighter not just in Nen but in hand-to-hand technique and speed too
He already had high combat skill to begin with, and with the Scarlet Eyes he'd probably crush a huge guy like that even without Nen
Killua being evenly matched with Binolt was probably just because he was holding back and playing around
It's all thanks to that "filthy" Kurta blood
The Scarlet Eyes are just broken
And Kurapika was already holding his own against Hisoka back at the Hunter Exam anyway
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Kurapika’s defeat of Uvogin comes at the climax of the Phantom Troupe arc (the Yorknew City arc), at a point in the story where he’d still only recently learned Nen. Even so, armed with Scarlet Eyes strengthened through a Pledge and Limitation, plus an Enhancer breakthrough powered by Emperor Time, he’s shown taking down one of the Troupe’s most physically powerful members. The thread’s central disagreement boiled down to one question: how could a Nen beginner keep pace with a seasoned powerhouse not just in ability, but in hand-to-hand technique and speed? Some explained it away via Emperor Time and the special nature of the Scarlet Eyes, while others still felt the explanation fell short. There was also praise for the cunning of provoking Uvogin into a rage so he couldn’t calmly analyze Kurapika’s ability — posters framed the fight as a battle of wits rather than a simple contest of strength, a point that kept resurfacing when comparing it to other Troupe battles.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Nandemo Jikkyō G) thread “‘Kurapika vs. Uvogin,’ One of Hunter x Hunter’s Best Bouts lol.”
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