Do we like Meruem?
A character from Hunter x Hunter (2011–2014)
Our score: 3 out of 10. He starts as a merciless tyrant you'd never back, but his curiosity and growth make him the series' most fascinating villain. We'd watch him, not follow him.
Meruem is the King of the Chimera Ants, the strongest and cleverest offspring of the Ant Queen. He appears in the Chimera Ant arc, the best-loved stretch of Hunter x Hunter. In it, a colony of Nen-powered monster ants threatens humanity and the Hunter Association has to respond. He is arrogant, haughty and cruel from the start. He has no human past to draw on, and he expects everyone to serve him.
He is never a mindless brute. He learns faster than anyone around him, and he respects strength wherever he finds it. The Royal Guards are loyal to him, but he is often hard on them and rarely listens to their advice. That mix of limitless power, a sharp mind and a total lack of empathy makes him frightening. It also makes him compelling. Our score reflects the harm he does, and the pull of watching a mind like his develop keeps it above rock bottom.
Everything changes when he meets Komugi, a blind board-game prodigy. Their games make him question his certainty about strength, humans and his own purpose. He starts to look like a different being from the tyrant who was born. His final confrontation with the Hunters' chairman, Netero, and his fate afterwards are some of the most moving moments in the series. They make him tragic as well as terrifying, though they don't undo what he has already done.