This part is basically about the Zodiac, your mythical of group of 12 guys who appear to be really useful but is almost certainly useless. While it's an overused concept, HXH always keeps things rather interesting.
Good: Pariston. I think by now Togashi has realized that Jairo isn't going to live up to the hype of 'evil incarnate'. On the other hand, Pariston must be the characters who appeared the most in the fake HXH weekly info. For someone who was mentioned just once (and not even by name), it seems like fans believe he is responsible for world hunger, inflation, extinction of the dinosaurs, or the stock market crash. And now that he has finally appeared, it seems like he was indeed responsible for everything that was ever wrong in the world, and nobody could stop him. He looks more like a lawyer or an accountant, and he is ridiculously evil. I'm surprised he didn't just say, "Who wants to be the 19th missing Hunter?" when other members of the Zodiac challenged his rule. On the other hand, he seems strangely honorable. We know every member of the Zodiac against him but he accept a lottery. Presumably he saw through Gin's attempt to sabotage the election as well. Of course, Pariston is described as having nearly insurmountable political support, and nobody can out trick him for sure. Honestly the rest of the Zodiac are already dead men (err, animal) walking. The only way they wouldn't mysteriously die against a person way out of their league is if Pariston didn't feel like they're a threat. To be sure, it sure didn't seem like he's a threat, as he said the combined might of the Zodiac is still only 11 votes against him, which is insignificant compared to the votes he already controlled.
Bad: Gin. The legendary Hunter who we never see anything beyond flashbacks makes his appearance by appearing like a bureaucrat in the Zodiac meeting. It's kind of like having the masked man take his mask off and it turns out he's got an ordinary face. I get why he has to appear, but at least he could jump down from a helicopter or something and make a grand entrance like Pariston did. Gin is the only member of the Zodiac who seem to be able to stand toe to toe against Pariston. After all, Pariston didn't even care that the rest of the Zodiac was plotting against him, but he warned Gin 'It'd be a shame if something happened to your son' when Gin announced his candidacy.
Ugly: The rest of the Zodiac. I don't know why a bunch of guys in furry costumes is thought of as the strongest characters in the world of HXH by fans. If half of them got assassinated by Pariston next week nobody should even be remotely surprised. They're clearly outmatched against either Pariston or Gin and their only chance of survival is if Pariston decides they're of no threat. Most of them are also physically ugly too. Chidol is the only one who seems to have some shred of intelligence, but of course Pariston was already looking at her when he arrived, so she's probably about to die too. Although it'd be out of character, I think the 4 people voted against Pariston should die. It's true that as described, Pariston wouldn't risk killing 4 idiots because it's only 4 votes, but it could be a generic but effective way to establish the wide chasm between the abilities of the top 2 (Pariston and Gin) and the rest of the Zodiac.
Since HXH is practically out of good characters, how well Gin and Pariston can pick up the slack will probably decide whether HXH recovers from the disastrous Ant arc (in terms of loss of important characters). There is literally no one left that is interesting in the world of HXH. Pariston has some pretty tough shoes to fill in as the undisputedly most evil character in HXH.
Good: Pariston. I think by now Togashi has realized that Jairo isn't going to live up to the hype of 'evil incarnate'. On the other hand, Pariston must be the characters who appeared the most in the fake HXH weekly info. For someone who was mentioned just once (and not even by name), it seems like fans believe he is responsible for world hunger, inflation, extinction of the dinosaurs, or the stock market crash. And now that he has finally appeared, it seems like he was indeed responsible for everything that was ever wrong in the world, and nobody could stop him. He looks more like a lawyer or an accountant, and he is ridiculously evil. I'm surprised he didn't just say, "Who wants to be the 19th missing Hunter?" when other members of the Zodiac challenged his rule. On the other hand, he seems strangely honorable. We know every member of the Zodiac against him but he accept a lottery. Presumably he saw through Gin's attempt to sabotage the election as well. Of course, Pariston is described as having nearly insurmountable political support, and nobody can out trick him for sure. Honestly the rest of the Zodiac are already dead men (err, animal) walking. The only way they wouldn't mysteriously die against a person way out of their league is if Pariston didn't feel like they're a threat. To be sure, it sure didn't seem like he's a threat, as he said the combined might of the Zodiac is still only 11 votes against him, which is insignificant compared to the votes he already controlled.
Bad: Gin. The legendary Hunter who we never see anything beyond flashbacks makes his appearance by appearing like a bureaucrat in the Zodiac meeting. It's kind of like having the masked man take his mask off and it turns out he's got an ordinary face. I get why he has to appear, but at least he could jump down from a helicopter or something and make a grand entrance like Pariston did. Gin is the only member of the Zodiac who seem to be able to stand toe to toe against Pariston. After all, Pariston didn't even care that the rest of the Zodiac was plotting against him, but he warned Gin 'It'd be a shame if something happened to your son' when Gin announced his candidacy.
Ugly: The rest of the Zodiac. I don't know why a bunch of guys in furry costumes is thought of as the strongest characters in the world of HXH by fans. If half of them got assassinated by Pariston next week nobody should even be remotely surprised. They're clearly outmatched against either Pariston or Gin and their only chance of survival is if Pariston decides they're of no threat. Most of them are also physically ugly too. Chidol is the only one who seems to have some shred of intelligence, but of course Pariston was already looking at her when he arrived, so she's probably about to die too. Although it'd be out of character, I think the 4 people voted against Pariston should die. It's true that as described, Pariston wouldn't risk killing 4 idiots because it's only 4 votes, but it could be a generic but effective way to establish the wide chasm between the abilities of the top 2 (Pariston and Gin) and the rest of the Zodiac.
Since HXH is practically out of good characters, how well Gin and Pariston can pick up the slack will probably decide whether HXH recovers from the disastrous Ant arc (in terms of loss of important characters). There is literally no one left that is interesting in the world of HXH. Pariston has some pretty tough shoes to fill in as the undisputedly most evil character in HXH.
