Warning! Contains spoilers for Hunter x Hunter Chapter 395!
Of all of Shonen Jump’s series, Hunter x Hunter has the most deceptively brilliant setting as a reference from its latest chapter shows. While many other more recent Shonen series like My Hero Academia are set in an alternate version of Earth, Hunter x Hunter takes place in a world that mirrors aspects of real societies but is at the same time unique. In this way it follows a trend that many other iconic Shonen series of its time did.
Yoshihiro Togashi began socializing Hunter x Hunter in 1998 around the same time as another iconic long-running Shonen manga, One Piece. Similarly to One Piece, which has always included sci-fi elements, Hunter x Hunter has its own versions of various advanced technology from real life, like television and video games. It balances this with its unique magic system to create a world that feels both modern and antiquated at the same time. This flexibility in its technology enables it to transition seamlessly from an arc featuring a noirish gang war to an arc where its main characters are trapped in a video game. It also enables the series to make jokes and references in a way that no other manga can match.
In chapter 395, the series delves into the tragic backstory of the of the Phantom Troupe. As children, the Troupe were often at odds, fighting over trash scavenged from the massive junk piles of Meteor City. One day, Chrollo, the Troupe's future leader, discovers a videotape featuring the adventures of the hit team "The Mighty Sweepin' Power Cleaners" and comes up with a plan to use the tape to bring the children of Meteor City together. It's a charming plan, based in childlike naïveté, but its reliance on a clear ripoff of the Power Rangers might feel out of place in any other series.
Hunter x Hunter's Setting Lets Its References Feel Natural
If Hunter x Hunter was set in a variation of Earth, then "Mighty Sweepin' Power Cleaners" would feel a lot more like a silly joke than an actual meaningful element of its world. But given how unique the manga's setting is from the real world, the Power Rangers homage feels like a cool detail instead. It is one more similarity to the real world in a setting where such franchises are not guaranteed to exist and so it makes readers wonder what other real world shows might have Hunter x Hunter analogs and what those may look like.
Other series with a blend of magic and real world technology like One Piece and Naruto generally don't feature it as prevalently as Hunter x Hunter. While that may not detract much from those iconic series, Hunter x Hunter's much more natural treatment of it makes its sillier moments like a Power Rangers parody feel a lot more natural and earned. Hopefully now that Hunter x Hunter is back from its hiatus more newer series will learn from its masterful example in crafting settings of their own and enable more fun parodies to naturally appear in other serious works.
Hunter x Hunter Chapter 395 is available to read from Viz Media.
