Following Chimera Ant – where Hunter x Hunter challenges humanity’s collective existential crisis in an arc that is equal parts uplifting and depressing – manga artist Yoshihiro Togashi knew exactly what his emotionally exhausted viewers needed. Someone to hate. Pariston Hill fits this role perfectly.
A conniving and manipulative individual who projects a wonderfully urbane demeanor when speaking to the public, Pariston Hill is the very caricature of a modern politician, actively loathed by his peers while maintaining the majority of votes in an election. Watching Pariston for too long on screen can induce rage in a viewer, as they grit their teeth along with in-universe acquaintances forced to associate with him.
Pariston is a welcome respite from Chimera Ant, where we come to know the intricacies of the East Gorteau Palace architectural floor plan, but are left with our own muddled thoughts on the Chimera Ant King Meruem. Meruem’s demise is not meant to be felt as a happy victory for humanity, but rather an expression of it’s highest highs and lowest lows. Viewers leave the arc understandably exhausted, with conflicting emotions of pride and disdain.
The scars from Chimera Ant hang over the 13th Hunter Chairman Election, never allowing us to fully store our thoughts away. Knov now wears a cap to hide his balding head after he was reduced to a stammering mess by Neferpitou’s Nen aura. Morel is shown attached to both his cell phone and an IV. Killua Zoldyck’s entire mission is steeped in both guilt and anger towards his best friend, Gon Freecss, whom he is trying to save, while Gon himself lies lifeless in a hospital bed.
With the arrival of Gon’s father, Ging Freecss, a reunion of father and son is all but inevitable. However, Ging is as complex of an individual as King Mereum. Like Gon, we are presented with different facets of Ging and left to develop our own conclusions regarding his character. He is admittedly self-serving. Ging left Gon in the arms of those who would take care of him with churlish regard for becoming Gon’s father figure himself. While we mourn Netero, Meruem, and countless others, Hunter x Hunter also presents us with the enigma of Ging. In turn, the series also gifts us and the various Hunters with a repository for our nebulous feelings in Pariston.
Pariston an easy character to loathe, and additionally an easy character to vote for. The quintessential politician – the closest to an incumbent in this election as the Vice-Chairman – Pariston represents the easy way out. While the other Hunters and Zodiacs squabble amongst themselves, Pariston is already well-known. He desires to win the position, regardless of whether he actually wants perform the duties of chairman, which make his machinations easy to understand. He appears to accept terms that would put him at a distinct disadvantage, and then molds his plans accordingly, demonstrating no small amount of intelligence. Voters may not agree with his ideas, but voting for Pariston is simple as one doesn’t have to educate themselves on other candidates. A vote for Pariston is also a vote to expedite the election process. This is to the dismay of his fellow candidates, who are driven to band together in an effort to stop Pariston.
Additionally, Pariston is surrounded by the people’s choice in Leorio Paladinight and the person most suited for the job in Cheadle Yorkshire. The presentation of these choices highlights how easily swayed voters tend to be. Upon punching Ging in a public setting, Leorio skyrockets to the top of the polls, in spite of his admission that he would devote all of his time and effort as Chairman towards saving his friend, Gon. He hardly has the interests of the Hunter Association in mind; however, Leorio appeals to us and the voting populace, as a reminder of the facets of humanity that were so celebrated in Chimera Ant. Meanwhile, the person who does have the Association’s best interests in mind, Cheadle, quietly garners votes as the one best fit to be Chairman.
Happy days aren’t necessarily here again in the 13th Hunter Chairman Election, but simpler days seemingly are. Every flash of Pariston’s pearly-whites potentially induces an involuntary twitch from audience members and Hunter x Hunter characters alike. We still may not know how to feel about Meruem or Ging, but we can unite in our loathing for Pariston and the entire bureaucratic process.
atelier emily 
Recent developments in the manga actually do something quite different with Pariston’s character. He’s become more of Ging’s accomplice rather than his antithesis. Togashi strikes a strange balance between those two sides of Pariston, yet it works remarkably well.
Oooh, I’ll look forward to it as I enjoy Pariston’s antics. I’m caught up to the end of the Election Arc right now. I can’t wait to see how his character evolves, although I definitely like him in this role as well, specifically because the Chimera Ant Arc was so heavy.
Pariston certainly got the “smarmy, self-interested” politician right down to a tee. Ging just looked like some homeless guy that came off the street. But still managed to get one up over Pariston, is still something to glee over. The fact that Hisoka and illumia are back in the scene means, this arc will certainly be an interesting on. And yeah, the chimera ant arc was long and heavy one.
I have a lot to say about Chimera Ant, and perhaps I’ll write about it; however, right now I’m still emotionally exhausted from it.
Ging looks like he rolled out of a dumpster somewhere and it’s pretty great. ^ ^
Yeah, the chimera ant saga was pretty heavy. I was happy when Kurt / Colt little sister Reina was reunited with her mother. But sad at the same time that they were both eaten :(. HxH is a pretty heavy series. Yup xDD.
You certainly caught up fast!
I have to disagree with you here. Something in Pariston strikes a chord with me. Out of all of the zodiacs, he is by far the most interesting… and I can’t wait to see what slimy things he does. He is one of my favourite characters now, even though he is yet to do much.
As far as I can tell, his main driver/motivator seems to be self-satisfaction caused by annoying people and causing orderly chaos… Truly a troll in the true sense (before the masses muddied its meaning by using it as a label for anyone with a differing opinion).
I did! ^ ^ (And as I said in the above comment it was quite exhausting, albeit in the best way possible.)
Sadly, I’m not caught up on the manga (waiting to catch up after the anime ends). However, you’re not the first person who has said that Pariston grows far beyond this initial impression. I really look forward to what he has in store for the rest of the Hunters moving forward.
I am still somewhat surprise how Yoshihiro Togashi grow as a writer. Especially after his last shounen YuYu Hakusho (Though i do enjoy it)
Hey you’re definitely in to something there with the identity idea. Many main characters suffer from a need to search for a parent which usually plagues the motivation for the character’s journey with superficiality because the stakes are dependent on someone we could care less about. Fairy Tail and Naruto do this and to a lesser extent Dragon Ball. However, HxH allows Gon to discover himself by his own means. We often forget he’s looking for his father until he mentions it. When Ging shows up, he’s he has nothing to enrichen Gon’s development with. I’m glad he doesn’t because then our understanding of Gon would be dependent on him and that would be pretty cheap.