winners, losers, and requiems:

an analysis of chrollo in the aftermath of his battle with hisoka

⚠️ this post contains major manga spoilers! ⚠️

it’s really interesting how chrollo truly didn’t give a fuck about dying when kurapika captured him (his confidence was also boosted by the fortune)

yet he refused to fight hisoka until he was 100% certain he’d win

he clearly enjoys the game of fighting, and even took risks to try to steal zeno’s nen during their battle:

but he reminds me of illumi in how he closely calculates the odds — illumi doesn’t fight, he assassinates.

I wonder if chrollo already suspected hisoka would be fatal trouble to the troupe if he died — that’s why he kept hisoka on a string for so long until he KNEW he’d kill him

so the murderous rage he feels now must not only be from the pain of losing two more of his beloved spiders, but from the guilt that it happened because he failed to protect them

and adding insult to injury, hisoka had said this before their battle:

let’s also take a moment to remember his motivations. from the beginning, the only thing that has truly mattered to chrollo — even more than treasure, winning, or his own life — is the legacy of his spider:

so in the end, did chrollo really win the match? yes, he killed hisoka, but hisoka 1) came back to life, 2) snapped off two legs of the spider (basically chrollo’s family), and 3) halted all troupe activities — including stealing! —

— until they tracked hisoka down and killed him once and for all.

now, both the troupe and illumi are wrapped up in hisoka’s game of catch — and with hisoka overturning his victory by resurrection, killing off two of his troupe members, and vowing to destroy the spider, it’s no wonder chrollo’s out for another requiem.