Do we like Ging Freecss?
A character from Hunter x Hunter (2011–2014)
Our score: 5 out of 10. A brilliant, charming adventurer who is a lousy dad. We'd back him on an expedition, but we wouldn't trust him with a school run.
In Hunter x Hunter, young Gon Freecss leaves his island home to become a Hunter, one of an elite class of explorers and trackers. He wants to meet his father, Ging, who is a famous Hunter himself. Gon was raised to believe his father was dead, and learns otherwise early in the story. From then on Ging is the story's driving mystery.
Ging is a free spirit. He puts adventure, discovery and his own curiosity ahead of nearly everything else. People who know him describe someone gifted, magnetic and infuriating, with plenty of admirers and a lot of unresolved feelings behind him. He mostly appears in other characters' memories and in the trail he leaves behind, which makes his legend bigger than the man.
That is why he scores a middle 5. He is clearly talented, and the people he mentored speak of him warmly. But leaving a child behind to follow your dreams is a hard thing to cheer for, however charming you are. He is more fun to admire from a distance than to depend on.
When Gon finally meets him, Ging doesn't pretend to be a model parent. He admits plainly that he left because he wanted to chase his own dreams. The honesty earns him some respect, though it doesn't make up for the years he was away.