Alright, comparing two different series can lead to conflict. But as a writer I like to see why something works in one series but not so much in another. I know it's easy to say "my favorite author is the best writer so that's why" but that's just an opinion and it doesn't
explain WHY you have that opinion. The interesting thing about stories is they're just
as much about the audience as they are about the characters. Hence why some stories
get "outdated" and others which weren't originally notable become cult classics.
Anyhow, once again the comparison is of course Hunter x Hunter and yep...Naruto.
More specifically I like to look at two characters from each series:
Gon Freecss
vs
Sasuke Uchiha.
Oh brother. Here we go again. But seriously there's something I've been thinking about.
And that is why does it seem that Gon is the more sympathetic character particularly
in the Chimera Ant Arc while arguably Sasuke has gone through far worse than Gon has?
I mean let's consider...
Gon was abandoned by his father, doesn't know his biological mom and his mentor
Kite was killed right before his eyes by a Chimera Ant humanoid monster.
Sasuke is one of the few survivors of the Uchiha massacre. Because the Uchiha
practically lived in isolation this would mean most of the people Sasuke knew then--died.
Sasuke not only watched his own brother kill his parents but was forced to visual
relive the scene several times over.
Now I will say that the hate for Pitou and the hate for Itachi was probably about the same.
A lot of us wanted to see Pitou get crushed and a lot of us wanted to see Itachi get toast.
Of course things get more complicated in Naruto when we find out that Konoha had
ordered Itachi to wipe out the Uchiha clan as to avoid war.
And yet perhaps it's just me but it seems that while Gon gets a lot of support
even when he puts a third party like Komugi in danger (I don't think Gon supporters
approve of Gon's actions there but they still LIKE Gon.)...
Sasuke gets hate for wanting to destroy Konoha despite them being responsible
for the death of practically his entire clan.
Now yes you can argue that the Uchiha massacre was a necessary evil
but could you not also argue that Chimera Ants need to eat?
If we say Chimera Ants are not allowed to eat humans because
it's wrong to eat humans than why can't cows say humans
are not allowed to eat them because they think it's wrong to eat cows?
But going back to Gon and Sasuke.
It seems to me that we should feel more empathic towards Sasuke and yet we don't.
Now I'm not saying that I do because I don't. But I was wondering WHY that is.
Why in spite of all the times Sasuke has been used and discarded like a dirty tissue
while much of Gon's problems are the direct result of his own impulse and selfishness
that we are more driven to cheer for Gon?
Why is that the "worse" Sasuke's life gets the less we care about his story?
Post your thoughts!
