Hunters

Series Metadata

Creator:
Series Begun:
2016-06-03
Series Updated:
2023-08-17
Description:

Following the Mikado's eight elite assassins, the Hunters, from long before the anime until several years after, these stories expand on all the Hunters, but with a special focus on the youngest and least-fitted to the job, Jin, and his relationship with boss and father-figure Mon, the Hunters' leader. Late to start training, Jin must find a balance between a Hunter's unhesitating duty to his Mikado, his personal loyalty to the Mikado's son Chagum, and the imperatives of his own conscience. Ultimately, all of the Hunters will have to choose between the Mikado and the Crown Prince - and between allegiance to each other or to those vying for control of the New Yogo Empire. Ordered chronologically.

Notes:

A SET OF POTENTIALLY USEFUL FAQs
because I feel like babbling about Moribito and my obsession with it

Which stories feature _____, my favorite Hunter?
"A Letter for Toya" - Zen
"Almonds", "Sun's Day" - Sun
"Betrothal Games", "Tanda and the Stray Dog" - Jin
"An Extremely Simple Truth", "A Lesson in Obedience" - Jin, Mon
"Don't Let Me Sleep Alone", "Fix What's Broken", "An Inevitability" - Yun, Jin
"Teasing", "Travelers of the Blue Road" - Yun, Jin, cameo for Mon
"Too Far" - Jin, Yun, Mon
"Hunters' Day Off" - Mon, Sun, Hyoku, cameos for others
"A Kidnapping in Kousenkyo" - Jin, Sun, Yun, Mon
"The Demon of Grey Stone Mountain" - Jin, Zen, Yun, Hyoku, cameos for Mon, Rai
"The Emperor's Hand" - Jin, Mon, Sun, Rai, cameos for other

When does ______ story take place?
"An Extremely Simple Truth" takes place right after the gaiden comic, about six years before the anime/first book.
"Sun's Day" and "Teasing" take place between two and three years before the anime.
"Hunters' Day Off", "A Lesson in Obedience", and "A Kidnapping in Kousenkyo" take place between one and two years before the anime/first novel, one after the other.
"A Letter for Toya" and "Tanda and the Stray Dog" take place about the same time, in the months following the anime.
"Don't Let Me Sleep Alone" takes place directly before Guardian of the Dream.
"The Demon of Grey Stone Mountain" and "Fix What's Broken" take place in between Guardian of the Dream and Guardian of the God.
"The Emperor's Hand" takes place directly before Traveler of the Blue Road.
"An Inevitability" takes place around the start of Guardian of Heaven and Earth.
"Too Far" takes place after the end of the series.

I don't care about the Hunters. Why don't you write fanfiction about Balsa/Tanda/Chagum/etc.?
Balsa has a whole book series about her, two television series, and two multi-volume mangas. Her characterization is solid and there isn't any question about her personality, her backstory, her motivations, etc. Tanda and Chagum are close seconds. I don't need to add to their stories because the creators have already done an excellent job with them. But the Hunters are mysterious, and their character designs hint at much more which is never shown in the anime or the manga, much less the books. I find them inescapably intriguing, especially their grittiness (which the anime neatly skirts around) and their peculiar situation as wealthy, privileged citizens with a double life and very little actual agency. I like the moral dilemmas and psychological quandaries such a situation presents.

Okay, but why are, like, ALL your stories about Jin? He's boring! Pick someone else!
I need SOMETHING to start from. Characters like Rai and Taga have so little chance to do anything that they become more like background figures or blank slates, so it's hard to find an inspiration point. (Sun doesn't do much, either, but his character design is so vastly different from the others that it lends itself to speculation.) Mon and Jin, on the other hand, do quite a lot, and we get to glimpse their thought processes and origins, so naturally they become the most interesting. Besides, I find the father/son, apprenticeship, hero-worship, mentor/mentee thing they have going on to be adorable and endlessly entertaining.

How do you know so much about stuff that's not been translated into English? Do you speak Japanese?
No indeed. I'm just really, really obsessed, clever with a search engine, and patient with Google Translate.

What about the live-action series? You've incorporated everything else...
The Hunters are barely in the drama at all. Only Mon and Jin even had lines, and Mon was a jerk and Jin was just sort of pathetic. IMO, you don't get the same sense of competence from them in the drama that you get in the anime, the manga, or even the book. The drama characterizations are so different they're basically incompatible with the other versions. The second season is a little better (even though Mon is filling Yun's place), but the Hunters were all but written out of season 3. I dunno, it was disappointing for me. (Haruka Ayase is the most amazing Balsa, though, and Tanda and Jiguro are also so perfect. It's a good drama and you should watch it, just not for the Hunters.)

Okay, so what happens in all these other versions you keep referencing, or after the anime?
Message me! I am basically going crazy wanting to talk about this and having no one to talk to. #foreveralone

Is it true you've started posting your translation of the Moribito gaiden comic Jin online for all to read?
Heck to the yes. And you can find it over at platypusbutt. . Check it out, son.

Stats:
Words:
148,075
Works:
17
Complete:
No
Bookmarks:
3

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