The Story Behind HxH's Phantom Troupe Changes Everything in the Anime

Out of all the villains in Hunter X Hunter, few boast the longevity or popularity of The Spider AKA The Phantom Troupe. Alluded to from almost the very start of the story, as the band of thieves who massacred Kurapika’s people, the Kurta Clan, to steal their scarlet eyes, they remain as prominent now as they’ve ever been. Rather than menacing Gon and his friends in Yorknew City, or defending their home, Meteor City, from the Chimera Ants, The Phantom Troupe now rides aboard The Black Whale, sailing toward the Dark Continent and hunting Hisoka, to take revenge for the friends he killed.

For as long as The Phantom Troupe has been a part of Hunter X Hunter, their origin has remained shrouded in mystery. All that was known for a long time was that, while they’re hated and feared by the majority of the world, they’re loved and looked to as heroes by the people of Meteor City. In the most recent chapters of Hunter X Hunter, their backstory was revealed, and changed everything about the series. The Phantom Troupe is one of the most popular villain groups in anime, but there’s more to them than Hunter X Hunter fans ever thought.

Who Are The Phantom Troupe?

The Phantom Troupe is one of the most notorious groups of criminals in the world of Hunter X Hunter. Led by Chrollo Lucilfer, one of the most skilled and powerful Nen users, The Phantom Troupe is a band of thieves who steal whatever catches their eyes, no matter how many people they have to kill to claim their prize. Every member of The Phantom Troupe is a Nen user, with some serving as fearsome fighters, while others function in support roles. Even their weakest members are still more powerful than the average Hunter, and they are all ruthless and without mercy.

Despite their cruel, often sadistic, actions against the world, The Phantom’s Troupe’s members love and care for one another deeply. The philosophy behind The Spider’s existence is that even if one of them dies, the others will simply recruit a new member to take their place. Even the group’s leader, Chrollo, will happily prioritize the survival of the organization over his own life. The Phantom Troupe primarily comes from Meteor City, a place where the people do not legally exist and are not recognized by the world at large. For The Spider’s founding members, they’ve only ever had each other to lean on.

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The Secret Origin of The Phantom Troupe

Chrollo Lucifer grew up in Meteor City alongside many other children. These kids included his best friend, Pakunoda, the local bullies, Uvogin and Machi, and others who would one day form The Phantom Troupe, including Feitan, Phinks, Nobunaga, Franklin, and Shalnark. Chrollo was the son of a wealthy clergyman, giving him a level of privilege beyond the other citizens of Meteor City. His meek and wimpy demeanor made him an easy target for bullies, but his kind and friendly attitude still drew people around him. Like all the children, he enjoyed exploring the recently disposed of garbage that the outside world had left in their home, searching for anything interesting.

After discovering a VHS tape with a “Power Cleaners” movie on it, but in a foreign language, Chrollo, Pakunoda, and two of Pakunoda’s other friends, Sheila and Sarasa, worked together to translate the movie and perform a live dub of it for all the other kids. Their show was a big hit, and as they continued to scour the dump for more VHS tapes to dub, they were joined and befriended by many others. The kids continued to work together to get better, and decided that, when they were older, they were going to take their voice acting show on the road, and call themselves, “The Troupe”.

One day, Sarasa didn’t show up for a performance. All of her worried friends searched for her, with Chrollo and Uvogin eventually finding what remained of her body. Sarasa had been killed by a child trafficker out on a “hunt”, and because she was from Meteor City, no one would ever care. Except for Sheila, the rest of The Troupe made a vow. They would all become strong, and go out into the world to become known as its most feared and horrible villains. They would steal, kill, and torture as much as they had to in order to ensure that no one would ever harm the people of Meteor City again, or else face their wrath. Three years of training later, The Phantom Troupe was officially formed, with Chrollo taking his place as The Spider’s head.

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What The Phantom Troupe’s Origin Means

When fans first learned of The Phantom Troupe’s existence, it was from the words of one of the series’ protagonists, Kurapika, whose people had all been slaughtered by them. They later served as the main antagonists of the Yorknew City arc, where Gon was enraged over the way the Troupe members care for each other, while having mercy for no one else. While The Phantom Troupe’s love for and playful nature with each other endeared them to fans, most still agreed with Gon. Now that the truth is known about The Phantom Troupe’s reason for existing, it’s difficult to still see them as true villains. Sarasa’s death was not an isolated incident, and if The Hunter Association wasn’t going to do anything to protect Meteor City, The Phantom Troupe were the only ones who could.

The actions of The Phantom Troupe themselves are, of course, horribly immoral, but the same can be said about actions taken by nearly every major hero in the series. Hunter X Hunter is set in a dark world, ruled by gray morality. Throughout the series, Gon goes from being completely uncaring about men dying around him in The Hunter Exam arc to threatening to kill a completely innocent Komugi for his own selfish reasons in the Chimera Ant arc. Killua is a former child assassin whose trauma isn’t based on the act of killing itself, and Kurapika has spent the majority of the series serving the mafia. The Phantom Troupe aren’t villains; they’re just bad people fighting for what matters to them, like most other characters in the series.

The Chimera Ant arc is famous for being a painful deconstruction of Shonen tropes, paralleling Gon’s transformation into a monster with Meruem and his Royal Guards’ discovery of their own humanity. The evil Chimera Ant king changes and decides he wants to create a better world for all, but is crushed by the might of the leader of The Hunter Association, Isaac Netero, who dies showing “humanity’s infinite potential for malice”. Through The Phantom Troupe’s backstory, core themes of Hunter X Hunter are solidified: humanity, and the institutions it operates to keep the world functioning, are evil and corrupt to their core, and the most heroic thing someone can do is to fight for the people they love, and the downtrodden who cannot protect themselves, against these oppressive institutions.

In a kind and just world, The Troupe could have become a famous and beloved group of performers just like they dreamed, never spilling a drop of blood. But with society’s treatment of Meteor City, this was never going to happen. The Phantom Troupe’s existence was inevitable.

Hunter X Hunter

Hunter X Hunter is a long-running manga from YuYu Hakusho creator Yoshihiro Togashi. It has had two anime adaptations, one in 1999 and one in 2011, along with several films, OVAs, and video games. Hunter X Hunter follows the adventures of Gon Freecss as he tries to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a Hunter by passing the notoriously difficult Hunter Trials. Along the way, he teams up with other characters, including Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua. 

Created by

Yoshihiro Togashi

First Film

Hunter × Hunter – Jump Super Anime Tour 98

Latest Film

Hunter × Hunter: The Last Mission

First TV Show

Hunter x Hunter

Cast

Megumi Han , Mariya Ise , Cristina Vee , Matthew Mercer , Erika Harlacher , Miyuki Sawashiro , Junko Takeuchi

Character(s)

Hisoka Morow , Kurapika , Gon Freecss , Killua Zoldyck