Kurapika

The last Kurta seeking vengeance against the Phantom Troupe.

Kurapika (Japanese: クラピカ) is a fictional character from Yoshihiro Togashi's manga series Hunter × Hunter. Kurapika is the last remaining member of the Kurta Clan (クルタ族, Kuruta-zoku) who wishes to become a Hunter in order to avenge his clan and recover their scarlet-glowing eyes that were plucked from their corpses by a band of thieves known as the Phantom Troupe. In the series's first story arc, he befriends the protagonist and Hunter participant Gon Freecss after having a fight with Leorio Paradinight. After many trials together, Gon and his friends end up passing the exam.

Quick Facts

Series: Hunter × Hunter
First: Hunter × Hunter manga chapter 2: "An Encounter in the Storm" (1998)
Creator: Yoshihiro Togashi

Lore & Background

Kurapika's Nen type is Conjuration in the form of multiple chains he commands attached from his right hand. However, when his eyes turn scarlet, he becomes a Specialist. His specialist ability, Emperor Time: Absolute Mastery (絶対時間（エンペラータイム）, Enperā Taimu), allows him to utilize 100% of all types of Nen but shortens his lifespan by one hour for every second he uses it while his eyes are scarlet. His middle finger ability, Chain Jail, forces the target into a state of Zetsu, preventing them from using Nen. His index finger ability, Stealth Dolphin, appears only when Emperor Time is active; it manifests as a dolphin-like figure only he can see that allows him to steal an opponent's ability, learn its basic details, and grant it to someone else for a single use. Kurapika uses his Judgement Chain to bind targets to conditions, and he seals Chrollo's Nen.

Reader's Guide

Kurapika is introduced as the sole survivor of the Kurta Clan, a race with treasured irises that turn scarlet in times of anger or emotional turmoil. Five years prior to the series, the entire Kurta clan was eradicated by a criminal group known as the Phantom Troupe, who desecrated the Kurta's bodies by stealing their scarlet eyes, thereafter selling them on the black market. Kurapika's Nen type is Conjuration, but when his eyes turn scarlet, he becomes a Specialist. His Emperor Time ability shortens his lifespan by one hour every second he uses it. He kills Uvogin, captures Chrollo Lucilfer with Judgement Chain, and later joins the Zodiacs as the "Rat" to retrieve the last batch of Kurta eyes from Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou.

Did You Know?

Kurapika was inspired by the Ohmu creatures in Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind film; their eyes change to bright red when enraged, similar to Kurapika's eyes turning scarlet when suffering rage.
In the first animated adaptation by Nippon Animation, an original ending was planned where Kurapika dies as he destroys the Phantom Troupe, but Togashi did not like this scenario and it was scrapped.
The 2013 film Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge is based on an unpublished story Togashi wrote around 10 years earlier.
Kurapika is voiced by Yuki Kaida in the 1999 series and Miyuki Sawashiro in the 2011 series in Japanese; for English adaptations, he is voiced by Cheryl McMaster in the 1999 series and Erika Harlacher in the remake.