Summary
In the world ofHunter x Hunter,every person who has mastered the foundation of Nen will develop a unique ability. This ability is usually the manifestation of the user’s personality and desire. That’s why it can vary widely from one person to the next. It can be as simple as Gon’s Rock Paper Scissors or as complex as Chrollo’s Skill Hunter.
The same thing applied to theNen ability of one of the most iconic characters in this series, Hisoka Morrow. His Nen ability is called the Bungee Gum, and it is the embodiment of Hisoka as a person. Deceptive, versatile, and highly dangerous. So what is so special about Bungee Gum? How does it work anyway? Read on to find out the answers to these questions.
The True Nature of Bungee Gum
Hisoka’s Nen type is Transmutation.This means he has the ability to transform the property of his aura to mimic other substances. For example, another fellow Transmuter is Killua, and he can change the property of his aura to make it look and feel like electricity. As for Hisoka, he chose to change the property of his aura into a combination of rubber and gum, hence the name Bungee Gum.
The Stickiness of a Gum
Since it mimics the properties of bubble gum, Hisoka’s aura is moldable and sticky. From a thin string to a fairly wide sheet,Hisoka can mold his Bungee Gum to any shape he wants.Likewise, he can freely control the stickiness level of the Bungee Gum. It can be as flimsy as wet newspaper slaps on a glass window or as tough as two pieces of metal welded together. He can also envelop an object with Bungee Gum which lends the sticky properties to said object. Needless to say, he can activate and release the stickiness whenever he wants.
“The Bungee Gum! He modifies his aura, making it both elastic and sticky! Stick it anywhere, and peel it off at will! It stretches far, and snaps back quickly!”
–Machi, Chapter 55
The Elasticity of a Rubber
Since it mimics the properties of rubber, Hisoka’s aura is elastic.This means not only can Bungee Gum stretch for quite a few yards away, but it can also snap back like a rubber band. Needless to say, Hisoka has full control over Bungee Gum’s elasticity as well. He can make it as stretchy as a regular thin rubber band or he can increase the resistance level to the point that it will snap back with a force strong enough to pulverize a human body.
Sticky Fingers
One of the best things about Bungee Gum is its subtle and understated nature. Most Transmutation abilities can be seen with the naked eye, even by regular people who know nothing about Nen,such as Killua’s electricityor Maki’s thread. But that is not the case at all for Hisoka, and it is mainly due to how he activates Bungee Gum and his mischievous personality.
Shoot From the Limbs
Most Transmuters activate their ability with their hands, but Hisoka can go further than that. He can activate Bungee Gum with his hands, feet, and fingers as well. During his fight against Kastroat the top of the Heavens Arena,the challenger tore Hisoka’s right arm at the elbow. As gruesome as it may look, Hisoka can still produce the Bungee Gum out of his bleeding stump. So yes, Hisokan can fire up Bungee Gum from every part of his limbs.
Smoke and Mirrors
Hisoka often hides Bungee Gum with Zetsu—a Nen technique to erase/mask one’s aura— so that the opponent doesn’t know when he activates Bungee Gum or where he attaches it. As a magician,Hisoka is an expert in misdirection.He will talk about one thing while secretly doing another thing. The moment the opponent becomes too focused on his words or actions, that’s when he throws Bungee Gum at them. And of course, there’s always the straightforward way to attach the Bungee Gum, which is to punch the opponent in the face.
Different Ways to Use Bungee Gum
We’ve talked about the sticky and rubbery nature of Bungee Gum and how Hisoka uses his limbs and some misdirection to activate and attach the Bungee Gum. Now it’s time to talk aboutthe different ways Hisoka uses Bungee Gumthroughout the series. By the way, the names mentioned below are not the official names of Hisoka moves. It is just some simple names that we come up with to describe Hisoka’s most common Bungee Gum moves.
Sticky Bungee Cord
The most common way Hisoka uses the Bungee Gum is also the most straightforward application of this ability. For this one, Hisoka simply uses his finger to shoot the Bungee Gum toward any part of his opponent’s body so that there’s a thread/cord that connects his hand to his opponent.
Once Bungee Gum sticks to his opponent, Hisoka will contract the bungee cord so that it instantly pulls the opponent toward him. The moment the enemy enters his range, Hisoka will pummel them with barrages of Nen-hardened punches. This is preciselywhat he’s done to Gon during their fight at the Heavens Arena.
Bouncy Shield
When he is up against an opponent who can use projectiles, such as Razor’s canon-like volleyball or Gotoh’s bullet-like coins, Hisoka will use the palm of his hands to create a sheet of Bungee Gum. This version of Bungee Gum has the biggest contraction power and Hisoka can keep increasing it if necessary.
A projectile caught in this Bungee Gum sheet will face an equal force from the opposite direction that will stop the projectile dead on its track, which is the case with Gotoh’s bullet coins, or a greater opposite force that willlaunch the projectile back to the opponent,which is what happened with Razor’s canon volleyball.
Stretchy Whip
If Bouncy Shield is perfect for defensive and counterattack purposes, the Stretchy Whip is a Bungee Gum’s pure offensive form. This stretchy whip focuses more on Bungee Gum’s rubbery and elasticity nature than its stickiness. The force generated by the snapping power of this whip can easily tear a human’s flash apart. Its stretchy nature also means Hisoka can make this whip as long or as short as he wants.
To maximize its destructive power, Hisoka usually attached a solid object at the end of the whip. Duringhis fight against Chrollo at the top of the Heavens Arena,Hisoka attached a severed human head at the end of the whip. The combination of the whip’s snapping power and the head’s toughness and durability, which has been enhanced by Nen, can instantly pulverize a human body.
Sticky Snappy Trap
Hisoka can use Bungee Gum to make all sorts of traps,but these are the steps that he usually takes to create and execute the trap:
Hisoka uses this trap to send a big chunk of rock toward Gon’s face, knocking the boy down and clinching the victory for Hisoka. He also uses the same trap to launch numerous Nen-infused cards into Kastro’s body, stabbing the challenger to death.
3D Maneuvering Aid
The principle of this technique is actually similar to the Sticky Bungee Cord. The main difference is rather than shooting the bungee cord toward his opponent, he shoots it toward the ceiling, the walls, or any other place that is higher or farther away from him. He can then use this cord to pull his body toward the ceiling or any other surface his Bungee Gum is stuck onto. This technique is especially useful for maneuvering mid-air or to escape the enemy’s ambush, which is precisely what he’s done during his fight against Gotohat the Zoldyk Family compound.
Binding Rope
Last but not least, Bungee Gum is used to restrict the enemy’s movement. For this one, Hisoka creates a much thicker Bungee Gum with a decent length and then wraps it around his opponents. The stickiness of this binding rope along with its rubbery nature will prevent the enemy from making even the slightest movement. He uses this technique on Machi to make sure she won’t interrupt his plan to hunt and killPhantom Troupe members,especially Shalnark and Kortopi.
As you may see, despite the simple nature of Bungee Gum, it is actually one of the most versatile Nen Abilities in the series. But at the end of the day, what makes this ability so effective is none other than the creativity and tactical mind of its user, Hisoka Morrow. Looking forward to seeing more of Bungee Gum in action in the future.
