Meruem is the strongest character on this list in his post-Rose state. Adult Gon and Isaac Netero are among the closest comparisons, but there is no official, definitive ranking of every Hunter × Hunter character. This is an editorial ranking based on demonstrated combat feats, Nen versatility, limitations, and the character’s version being assessed—not a canonical chart.
Spoilers: This list includes manga material, including events after the anime’s 2011–2014 run, and temporary peak forms. Rankings become less certain where the story offers little direct combat evidence or where an ability depends on a specific opponent or condition.
How to read this ranking
“Strongest” does not mean the character who would win every possible fight. Nen—the life energy or aura that VIZ describes as something users learn to control—rewards more than raw power. An ability’s conditions, a user’s preparation, the opponent’s knowledge, and the matchup can all change the result.
- Feats: What the character has actually shown against capable opponents.
- Versatility: How well their Nen and practical combat skills work across situations.
- Constraints: Vows, activation requirements, stamina, and other limitations.
- Version: Temporary peaks count, but are identified as such rather than treated as a character’s everyday strength.
- Evidence: Reputation and potential matter less than clear demonstrations. Some lower placements are especially debatable because the manga has not shown enough to settle them.
One nonofficial 2026 power-ranking page places Meruem first and Netero second. That is one editorial list, not an official ranking or proof of a complete top 35. VIZ’s introduction calls Killua “the strongest of Gon’s friends and the closest”; that comparison is limited to Gon’s friends, not the full cast.
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The 35 strongest Hunter × Hunter characters
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Meruem — post-Rose
Meruem’s post-Rose state is the highest peak represented here: the King gains a dramatic increase in power and can use abilities absorbed from the Royal Guards. This is a temporary version, not the baseline Meruem who fought Netero.
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Gon Freecss — adult transformation
Gon’s transformation against Neferpitou grants an extraordinary burst of power, enough to overwhelm a Royal Guard. It comes at a devastating cost and is not a form he can choose to enter as part of ordinary combat. Ranking that moment this high reflects the peak, not Gon’s usual ability.
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Isaac Netero
Netero’s speed, experience, and Hundred-Type Guanyin Bodhisattva make him a formidable opponent even against Meruem. The King ultimately outmaneuvers him, so Netero ranks below the highest peaks—but his performance shows why simple aura comparisons do not tell the whole story.
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Neferpitou
Pitou combines immense aura and physical ability with exceptional senses and lethal combat skill. Their fight with transformed Gon demonstrates the gulf between a Royal Guard and most fighters, even though Pitou is ultimately defeated.
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Menthuthuyoupi
Youpi’s transformation-based combat style, endurance, and enormous aura make him extremely difficult to stop. Knuckle, Shoot, and Morel can exploit openings through teamwork and specific Nen effects, but those tactics do not make Youpi a lesser individual fighter.
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Shaiapouf
Pouf is less focused on direct brawling than the other Guards, but his aura, flight, clones, and manipulation abilities give him formidable options. His intelligence and unusual toolkit make his strength particularly dependent on what a confrontation demands.
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Ging Freecss
Ging is an exceptionally skilled Nen user whose reputation is supported by his ability to understand and reproduce certain techniques. The manga has not shown enough of his full combat ability to assign him a precise ceiling, so his placement is less certain than those above him.
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Beyond Netero
Beyond has the experience and ambition to lead a major expedition into the Dark Continent, but his direct combat ability has not been fully demonstrated. This is a cautious placement for a prominent, highly capable figure whose actual fighting limits remain unclear.
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Chrollo Lucilfer
Chrollo’s Skill Hunter can give him an answer to many opponents, especially when he has time to prepare and choose which stolen abilities to bring into a fight. Preparation is a major part of his threat; his ranking should not be read as a guarantee that he beats every similarly placed fighter in an unplanned encounter.
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Zeno Zoldyck
Zeno’s experience, speed, and Dragon Head techniques make him one of the series’ most formidable professional assassins. He also understands how to work with other strong Nen users, although coordinated operations are not the same thing as a solo ranking.
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Silva Zoldyck
Silva has the strength, discipline, and combat experience expected of the Zoldyck family’s head. His encounters with elite opponents establish him as dangerous, but the manga provides fewer extended demonstrations of his abilities than it does for some characters around him.
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Hisoka Morow
Hisoka’s Bungee Gum is adaptable, and his deceptive fighting style lets him turn a small opening into a serious advantage. His skills can be especially effective when an opponent underestimates how he will use them; this ranking remains matchup-sensitive.
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Razor
Razor’s formidable aura and control of Nen constructs are evident in the Greed Island dodgeball match. That contest is not a straightforward duel, but it shows that he can combine power, accuracy, and tactical awareness at a high level.
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Biscuit Krueger
Biscuit is an experienced Nen master with impressive strength and precise control. Her small appearance conceals her real physique, and her teaching helps Gon and Killua improve; her restraint in many scenes makes exact comparisons difficult.
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Illumi Zoldyck
Illumi’s needle-based manipulation and assassin training make him dangerous before a fight even becomes a contest of strength. His control over others can be decisive, but its effectiveness depends on the situation and the target.
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Feitan Portor
Feitan is exceptionally fast and lethal in close combat. Pain Packer gives him a powerful counterattack after he has been injured, but that condition means the technique is not a simple, always-available measure of his strength.
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Uvogin
Uvogin’s brute force and durability make him one of the Phantom Troupe’s most direct combatants. He can overwhelm many opponents physically, though a specialist ability or a carefully exploited weakness can still bypass that advantage.
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Kurapika
Kurapika’s abilities are exceptionally potent against the Phantom Troupe because his vow places severe limits on their use. That condition makes him a nightmare for the people he has targeted, but his full kit cannot fairly be treated as equally available against everyone.
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Killua Zoldyck
Killua combines assassin training, speed, sharp judgment, and electricity-based Nen. Godspeed gives him a major advantage in short bursts, but it draws on limited resources and does not make him stronger than every fighter outside Gon’s circle.
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Morel Mackernasey
Morel’s Deep Purple creates versatile smoke puppets, while his experience and composure help him manage battles that would overwhelm less adaptable fighters. His contribution against the Ants often depends on planning and cooperation as well as personal skill.
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Kite
Kite’s Crazy Slots gives him a varied weapon set, and his combat experience makes him a formidable Hunter. Because the ability’s weapon is not simply selected at will, the matchup and the weapon drawn can affect his options.
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Phinks Magcub
Phinks can build power by winding his arm, producing a potentially devastating punch. The need to charge that strike gives opponents a chance to interfere, so its maximum impact should not be confused with an effortless opening attack.
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Knuckle Bine
Knuckle’s Hakoware is a clever way to pressure an opponent’s aura, and his tactical judgment makes it more than a technical gimmick. Its rules create opportunities, but also mean that the ability’s value depends on how a fight unfolds.
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Shoot McMahon
Shoot’s hands and Nen ability give him a distinctive way to attack, restrain, and disrupt an opponent. His fight with Youpi shows that courage and tactical creativity can matter even when the opponent has a huge advantage in raw power.
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Franklin Bordeau
Franklin’s Nen bullets give him strong ranged pressure, and his composure makes him a reliable Troupe fighter. The manga has not shown enough varied matchups to establish how he compares with every other elite combatant.
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Machi Komacine
Machi’s Nen threads are useful for binding, tracking, and treating injuries, and her instincts are trusted within the Phantom Troupe. Her versatility is clear, but the story has not offered a long, decisive fight that would settle her exact position.
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Nobunaga Hazama
Nobunaga’s swordsmanship and close-range focus make him dangerous when an opponent enters his reach. The limits of that style, and his wider combat range, are not fully established in the material available for comparison.
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Kalluto Zoldyck
Kalluto’s paper-based techniques offer precision and utility, and joining the Phantom Troupe signals considerable ability. Kalluto has had fewer opportunities to demonstrate sustained combat against top opponents than the fighters ranked higher.
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Botobai Gigante
Botobai is a Triple-Star Hunter and a powerful Zodiac, but rank and reputation are not the same as a demonstrated fighting record. His placement is necessarily tentative because his combat ability has not been shown in enough detail to make a firmer comparison.
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Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou
Tserriednich’s rapid Nen development and precognitive ability make him a dangerous emerging opponent. He ranks here for the threat his abilities could pose, not for a long record of completed fights; potential should not be mistaken for proven dominance.
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Halkenburg Hui Guo Rou
Halkenburg’s Nen ability can create a powerful group-based threat, but its circumstances and the people involved matter greatly. His standing is difficult to compare with a conventional solo fighter, which makes this placement provisional.
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Benjamin Hui Guo Rou
Benjamin is physically imposing, trained for combat, and backed by the resources of the Kakin succession struggle. His military standing and confidence indicate danger, but the story has not yet provided the same kind of direct comparison available for veteran fighters.
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Camilla Hui Guo Rou
Camilla’s Nen ability can make attacking her exceptionally risky under its particular conditions. That makes her a dangerous opponent, but a conditional counter is not equivalent to broad, demonstrated combat superiority in every matchup.
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Leol
Leol’s ability to borrow other people’s Nen techniques can give him situational flexibility. He needs access to suitable abilities and circumstances, so his strength depends more heavily on preparation and opportunity than the fighters above him.
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Genthru
Genthru is a capable Bomber whose ability can be lethal when its conditions are met. He is a dangerous Greed Island adversary, but his record and toolkit place him below the series’ most accomplished Nen masters.
Why the order changes with the rules
The most important distinction is between a character’s peak and their ordinary fighting state. Adult Gon belongs near the top only because this list counts a temporary transformation; evaluating Gon as he normally fights would put him much lower. Meruem’s post-Rose version is likewise a separate, stronger state than the King Netero faced.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchConditions matter just as much. Kurapika’s restrictions sharpen his abilities against a specific target group. Feitan’s counterattack depends on taking damage, while Phinks needs time to wind up his punch. Chrollo benefits from preparation, and several Succession Contest abilities are difficult to compare with a straightforward duel. A different matchup or set of assumptions could move these characters substantially.
Who is the strongest Hunter × Hunter character?
For the peak versions counted here, Meruem ranks first. Netero remains one of the most accomplished fighters shown, but the outcome of their battle demonstrates that experience and technique do not always overcome a vast physical and aura advantage. Adult Gon briefly reaches a level that can overpower a Royal Guard, but that transformation is an exceptional, self-sacrificing state rather than a sustainable form.
Where to read more
VIZ identifies Yoshihiro Togashi as the creator of Hunter × Hunter and lists the manga’s volumes and 3-in-1 editions. Shueisha catalogs the Japanese Hunter’s Guide. The guide is a Japanese-language edition; availability and stock depend on retailer and region.
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