Hunter x Hunter: The Zoldyck Family Business, Explained (2024)

Hunter x Hunter is an anime series with many unique characters and organizations with varying dynamics. The underground world has many crime syndicates, businesses, organizations, and other affiliations. One such group that stands above other groups is a household name called the Zoldyck Family. This group is an assassination family business that has elite assassins trained since birth to be adept at killing, specializing in different forms of killing as they grow. The uniqueness of their specializations and strict methodological approach make them the strongest assassins in the underground world.

The Zoldyck family is a name that has been around for a few generations. For the years they have operated in the underground world, they have amassed immense fame and fortune. They are skilled assassins who are immune to lots of poisons and are extremely pain-resistant. Additionally, they follow strict professional guidelines that make them meticulous and consistent across assignments. Due to the prestige they have and the notoriety the family has gotten over generations, the price of hiring them is very high, and they usually go for high-profile assignments. Even though they are an assassin family, they still have strict values and morals, showing on some occasions that it's not just about money.

Impact On The Assassin World

They Are The Pinnacle Of Their Underground Niche

See Also

A Complete Cast and Character Guide for Hunter x HunterHunter X Hunter: Every Main Character's Age, Height, And Birthday15 Most Powerful Hunter X Hunter Characters Ranked - LooperHunter x Hunter Characters Guide: Gon, Killua, Kurapika, More - Manga Insider

Assassination is the Zoldyck family trade, and their methodology has been passed through the ages. This notoriety has put them at the top of the food chain, making them feared both in the underground world and by authorities. Though the name is prominent enough to warrant fear, due to the nature of assassins, their identities are hidden from most, with only a handful of individuals knowing what some family members look like.

What this means for the assassin world is that there is a group of the most powerful assassins on the planet, completely unknown and extremely dangerous. Because of this, a single image or clue of a member’s identity goes for a lot of money. The location of the Zoldyck family estate is known to the general public, but none approach it out of fear, further putting their notoriety into perspective. The strength of the family doesn't just stop with the individual family members but extends to even their butlers and help who are superhuman and undergo intense strength training.

Family Dynamics And Training

Who Are The Zoldycks At Their Core, And Why Are They So Strong?

The Zoldyck family operates like every other family, with normal familial bonds and regular interpersonal relations among its members, except for their assassinations. The members are trained from when they were children in the ways of the family and undergo a strict regime. This training includes intense strength training similar to that given to the butlers and help. This strength training involves using extremely heavy weights in common household items around the house. It is also stated that the Zoldycks have great resistance to poisons and high-voltage electricity, which can only be achieved through intense and torturous training.

In addition, they are taught assassination techniques and utilize various weapons and means of conducting them, such as claws, yo-yos, bombs, and even paper. The elite family has various members who are talented in using basic nen techniques such as Zetsu and ko, as well as more complex techniques such as Zeno Zoldyck’s Dragon Head and Illumi Zoldyck's Body Alteration. Even as talent is the norm within the family, various members of the family are shown to have strong love and affection amongst each other, with Silva even showing support for Killua’s individuality, straying away from the family business.

Evolution Over The Series

Breaking Away From Generational Teachings

The family values and thinking amongst its members visibly changed during the anime through the journey and portrayal of Killua’s journey as a protagonist. The meticulous nature of the Zoldycks revolved around absolute obedience and a cold-blooded approach to life. The assassins within the family are taught how to be uncaring machines built to be the most efficient killers on the planet, and these generational norms are broken through Killua. His introduction to Gon and the friendship that blossomed through the course of the series put feelings of love and affection to him because he was not taught these things.

His bond with Gon and his lack of enthusiasm for killing despite his prodigious talent led him to walk a different path and give him new dreams he sought to follow outside the indoctrinated teaching of his family. This deviation was shown to cause ripples even within his family and was further encouraged by his father, who acknowledged that he was a different person and needed to explore himself as an individual outside his family. Killua’s kindness was shown in the anime to his friends Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika and to his sister Alluka, whom he showed unrelenting support for when some of his family members advocated for her death.

Their Impact On The Plot

What Do The Assassin Elites Add to Hunter x Hunter?

The Zoldyck family, except for Illumi, had little interaction with the main story outside of select story arcs and minor appearances. Hunter x Hunter shows the importance of the family with relevant exposition as the anime progresses. The importance of Gon in Killua's life is evident as fans see the overprotective nature and warped love and affection shown through Illumi stalking Killua under his mother's orders, Killua getting locked in a cell, and other toxic aspects of his family's life.

The exclusiveness of the family’s services in the anime further shows how important and inaccessible they are to the world. When these members appear in various arcs for business purposes, it is usually for high-profile jobs that require strong individuals. The Zoldyck family is an elite family with a unique set of members and a wide variety of abilities.

Hunter x Hunter is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

Hunter x Hunter

Action

Fantasy

Adventure

Studio

Nippon Animation

Number of Episodes

62

Streaming Service(s)

Amazon Prime Video , Crunchyroll , Hulu , Netflix , Tubi , YouTube

Creator(s)

Yoshihiro Togashi