Getting to Know the Phantom Troupe’s Eighth Leg, Shizuku Murasaki
In his quest to become a Hunter and find his father, Hunter X Hunter‘s young, sweet Gon has to overcome many challenges and villains along the way, including the menacing Phantom Troupe. Let’s get to know one member, Shizuku Murasaki, a little better.
Who is the Phantom Troupe?
We meet the Phantom Troupe during the Yorknew City Arc, considered by many to be one of the best in the anime. It is a powerful group of thieves who will stop at nothing to attain the object of their desires. Its members are called Spiders and the majority hail from Meteor City, growing up as orphans of the junkyard. There are 13 members in total, with Chrollo acting as the head of the Spider and the rest as the 12 legs. Members are ranked based on their power and abilities, and they can be replaced if they die or someone can replace them if they challenge and kill them, and even then only if the leader approves of their joining.
Shizuku is the Phantom Troupe’s eighth leg and bears the troupe’s spider tattoo with the number eight displayed on it on her lower midsection. Like many members, Shizuku grew up in Meteor City and because of that, she has no official documentation. She is the twelfth strongest member of the troupe in terms of physical strength, but even then she is impressive. In an arm wrestle with Gon, who is inordinately strong for his age, she loses, but only because she uses her less dominant arm and wishes to challenge him again though Feiten moves her along.
How old is Shizuku?
Due to the fact she was born in Meteor City, there are no official documents that would allow anyone to know Shizuku’s exact age. Some of the troupe members’ ages are mentioned. We know that when we first meet Chrollo he is 26, and currently, in the manga, he is 28. It is believed that Shizuku is roughly 19 or 20 years old.
What are her abilities?
Shizuku can wield Nen and is a conjurer. Her abilities allow her to conjure a vacuum named Blinky which can suck in almost anything in its path, a useful tool for cleaning up evidence after the Phantom Troupe has struck. The only thing Blinky cannot suck up is living being (dead beings are fine) or objects embued with Nen. One of the most useful things about Blinky is that it can be extremely specific about what it soaks up, so Shizuku can pull poison from a body or even blood from a wound, which she uses to exsanguinate others, such as Pike, a chimera ant general from the Chimera Ant Arc.
Just like most Phantom members Shizuku has heightened physical abilities such as speed, reflexes, and agility. Plus, compared to some of the troupe members, Shizuku is tactical and intelligent. Personality-wise she comes across as extremely cold and shows no emotion when killing others but does care for the other troupe members and obeys the troupe’s rules.
Currently, Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga is still ongoing, at a painfully slow pace given Togashi’s ill health. The anime caught up to where the manga was and ended there as there was not enough manga to continue adapting. Though Togashi has created a lot more since then, we aren’t sure if the anime will ever return to finish off the story.
(featured image: MAPPA)
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