‘Hunter X Hunter’ Characters With The Biggest Wasted Potential

If Hunter x Hunter were a buffet, it would be the kind that proudly offers 200 dishes… and then quietly removes your favorite tray forever.
That’s part of what makes it special: the world feels huge, the cast feels endless, and just when a character looks like they’re about to explode into
“main character energy,” the story pivots, the arc changes, and you’re left staring at the screen like, “Waitare we really leaving that thread
hanging?”

This list is a love letter to that feeling. These are Hunter x Hunter characters with the biggest wasted potentialnot because they’re badly written,
but because they’re too interesting to stay sidelined. They’re the characters with tantalizing setups, unique Nen angles, or emotional arcs that feel like
they were built for a bigger spotlight… only to end up as background fireworks.

Spoiler alert: We’ll discuss story outcomes and later-arc status for multiple characters.

What “Wasted Potential” Means in Hunter x Hunter

“Wasted potential” in this series usually doesn’t mean “the author forgot.” It’s more like:

• Plot gravity changed. The story moved to a different conflict, and the character didn’t come along.
• Power system tease. A character’s Nen (or implied Nen) screams “future greatness,” but we never see it bloom.
• Setup without payoff. The narrative plants a mystery, rivalry, or goal… then locks it in a box labeled “later.”
• Tragedy as tone-setting. Some characters exist to show how dangerous this world really is.

And let’s be honest: Hunter x Hunter is also famous for its slow-burn world-building and long pauses in publication.
When a story is this ambitious, even great characters can get stuck waiting in the lobby.

‘Hunter X Hunter’ Characters With The Biggest Wasted Potential

1) Leorio Paradinight: The “Main Four” Member Who Keeps Getting Benched

Leorio is supposed to be part of the core squadGon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorioyet he often feels like the friend who gets invited to the group chat
but never gets the address for the actual hangout.

That’s what makes his best moments so frustrating (in a good way): when Leorio pops off, he’s great. He’s funny without being shallow,
compassionate without being corny, and he’s one of the few characters who brings “regular human morality” into a world where people casually bet limbs
like poker chips.

The biggest wasted-potential angle is obvious: Leorio becoming a doctor in a Nen-heavy world should be narratively explosive. Nen is basically
the ultimate “specialized skill” system, and medicine is already a high-stakes specialty. Imagine a Leorio arc where his abilities evolve around triage,
diagnosis, emergency interventions, or even battlefield supportbecause in Hunter x Hunter, healing can be just as strategic as fighting.

Instead, he’s often used as a “re-entry character”someone the story brings back to remind you that the original crew matters… and then sends back to the
waiting room.

2) Gyro: The Villain With a Backstory That Feels Like a Trailer for Another Series

Gyro is the definition of “the story is clearly building something… please don’t tell me we’re leaving.” He gets a haunting origin, a strong thematic link
to cycles of cruelty, and the kind of narrative framing that usually means: future major antagonist.

What makes Gyro feel wasted isn’t a lack of importanceit’s that his importance is mostly promise. The series shows you the outline of a terrifying
human force (not just a monster-of-the-week), then shifts focus. If Hunter x Hunter is a story about what people become when they chase their obsessions,
Gyro is a perfect dark mirror.

A future arc could make him one of the most frightening threats precisely because he’s not a magical beast or royal guardhe’s a human shaped into something
colder. And the longer he stays off-screen, the more his potential feels like a locked door you keep walking past.

3) Melody (Senritsu): A Gentle Power That Could Have Been a Whole Mythology

Melody is one of the most quietly compelling characters in the entire franchise. She’s kind, perceptive, and emotionally groundedyet she’s also tied to
one of the creepiest ideas in the series: a cursed piece of music that can destroy lives.

Her abilities are fascinating because they’re not about domination; they’re about perception. In a world obsessed with brute force and flashy Nen,
Melody represents a different kind of strength: sensing lies, reading hearts, calming chaos, and moving through danger with awareness instead of aggression.

Wasted potential here looks like this: Melody’s story could easily expand into an entire arc about cursed artifacts, Nen “sounds,” and the line between art
and horror. If the series ever wanted to explore supernatural folklore within Nen rules, Melody is a perfect guide.

4) Hanzo: The Early-Arc Monster Who Deserved a Real Nen Showdown

Hanzo arrives during the Hunter Exam and immediately reads like a top-tier threat: disciplined, fast, skilled, and dangerously confident.
He’s the guy who makes you realize the exam isn’t “kids competing in a tournament.” It’s a filter for monsterssome of them smiling politely.

That’s why it stings when Hanzo’s later presence feels more like a cameo than a payoff. He’s exactly the kind of character who could anchor a tactical Nen fight:
stealth, misdirection, assassination angles, information warfarethe stuff Hunter x Hunter does best.

Hanzo’s wasted potential is simple: he feels like he should have at least one iconic, fully realized “this is my Nen” moment on the same level as other
respected fighters. Instead, he’s often remembered as “that exam guy,” which is wild given how terrifying he was.

5) Canary: A Glimpse Into the Zoldyck World We Barely Got

Canary shows up and instantly complicates the Zoldyck estate narrative. She’s not family, not a visiting protagonist, and not a one-note henchperson.
She’s stafftrained, loyal, and strong enough to be taken seriouslyyet emotionally human in a place that tries to grind “human” out of everyone.

Her wasted potential comes from what she represents: the Zoldyck household as a full ecosystem. How do the butlers train? What does loyalty mean there?
How many other “Canarys” existpeople recruited young, shaped by duty, and forced to balance empathy against orders?

A Canary-focused subplot could have deepened Killua’s rebellion even more, showing how his choices ripple through the people trapped in his family’s orbit.
Instead, we get a powerful snapshot… and then the story moves on.

6) Neon Nostrade: A Nen Ability With Endless Story Hooks

Neon is a walking plot engine: a fortune-teller whose predictions can steer criminal empires, spark wars, or prevent disasters.
In any other series, a character like that would be a long-term chaos generator.

The twist is that Neon is also immature, spoiled, and obsessed with collecting rare itemsmeaning her power sits in the hands of someone who doesn’t
fully grasp its moral weight. That’s not a flaw; that’s narrative gold.

The wasted potential is the missed opportunity for growth or consequences. What happens when a person with a reality-shaping “information ability”
gets older? Gets scared? Learns remorse? Or doubles down and becomes worse? Neon could have evolved into an underworld kingmaker, a tragic cautionary tale,
or both. Instead, she becomes more of a haunting “what happened next?” footnoteexactly the kind of unresolved thread fans can’t stop poking.

7) Pokkle & Ponzu: The Side Characters Who Could’ve Been Great Hunters

Pokkle and Ponzu are early-series survivorsrecognizable faces from the exam who feel like they could grow alongside the main cast.
Pokkle has a clean, versatile fighting style concept, and Ponzu’s whole “bee tools + tactics” vibe is exactly the sort of clever, low-tech ingenuity
that fits the setting.

And thenwithout getting graphiclater events make it painfully clear that the world doesn’t reward “potential,” it rewards preparedness.
Their role becomes thematic: a reminder that being a Hunter is not a badge of plot armor. It’s a job that can kill you.

Still, they feel like wasted potential because you can see the alternate timeline: Pokkle refining his Nen into specialized arrow types, Ponzu turning her
swarm tactics into a terrifying battlefield toolkit, both becoming the kind of mid-tier pros who show up when the situation gets ugly.
Instead, they become an emotional gut-punchand fans never quite forgive the story for how quickly it moves past them.

8) Zepile: The Non-Fighter Who Could Have Anchored the “Treasure Hunter” Side of the World

Zepile is proof that Hunter x Hunter doesn’t need constant combat to be gripping. He’s smart, practical, and deeply knowledgeable about appraisal,
scams, and valueskills that matter in a world full of cursed items, black market auctions, and rare artifacts.

His wasted potential is that he could have been a recurring “expert ally,” especially once the story leans harder into artifacts and high-level world
mysteries. Imagine Zepile navigating the underworld economy, identifying dangerous relics, or teaching the protagonists how to spot traps disguised as treasure.

Instead, he shines brieflythen disappears like a great supporting actor who never got called back for season two.

9) Gotoh: The Loyal Guardian Who Deserved More Than One Big Moment

Gotoh is one of the most memorable Zoldyck attendants because he feels like a true professional: calm, sharp, and quietly intimidating.
He’s not there to posture. He’s there to do his job.

Wasted potential here comes from perspective. Killua’s arc is about escaping control, but the story rarely lingers on the people who stayed behind
the ones who enforce the rules while living inside them. Gotoh could have been a window into what “loyalty” costs in that household.

Even from a pure action standpoint, he had the vibe of a character who could develop a highly specialized Nen stylesomething elegant and deadly,
like a craftsman who never wastes a motion. Instead, he becomes another example of how quickly Hunter x Hunter can remove a character you like.

10) Shizuku Murasaki: A Phantom Troupe Member With “Hidden Backstory” Energy

The Phantom Troupe is stacked with fan favorites, but Shizuku stands out because she’s strange in a way that feels unexploited.
Her ability is useful, memorable, and eerieperfect for cleanup, investigation, and horror-tinged scenes.

Yet Shizuku remains mostly a vibe: funny, detached, occasionally terrifying, and rarely explored. And that’s exactly why she screams wasted potential.
Who was she before the Troupe? Why does she feel so emotionally distant? Is it personality, trauma, ideology, or something else?

A Shizuku-focused chapter could be devastating: the story is great at turning “quirky” into “tragic” without warning.
Instead, Shizuku often gets treated as a tool in group scenes rather than a character whose interior life matters.

11) Pariston Hill: The Political Wildcard Who Keeps Smiling Through the Knife Fight

Pariston is one of the most deliciously unsettling characters because he doesn’t feel like a typical villainor a typical ally.
He feels like someone who treats institutions the way other people treat puzzle boxes: something to open, rearrange, and leave on the floor just to see who trips.

His wasted potential is that his motives remain slippery. That can be intentionalmystery is part of his powerbut it also means fans are stuck
with questions instead of revelations. What does he actually want long-term? Is he chasing thrill, ideology, control, or some private obsession?

If Hunter x Hunter is ever going to deliver a truly great “political chess” payoff, Pariston is the character most likely to make it happen.
Until then, he sits in the category of “terrifying setup,” waiting for the story to cash the check.

12) Beyond Netero: A Massive Threat Still Mostly in Outline Form

Beyond Netero is the kind of character who changes the entire scale of the series by existing. He’s tied to the biggest frontier in the story and carries
the weight of the Netero namemeaning expectations come baked in.

And yet, so far, he’s often more of a looming presence than a fully realized character. That’s the wasted potential: a man positioned at the center of a
once-in-a-generation expedition, still mostly defined by implication.

The moment the series gives Beyond a true “this is who I am when no one’s watching” scenesomething intimate, something revealinghe could instantly become
one of the most compelling forces in the manga. Right now, he’s still a silhouette on the horizon.

Why Hunter x Hunter Creates So Much Wasted Potential (On Purpose)

Here’s the secret: this series almost weaponizes wasted potential.
Most shonen stories build a clean laddercharacters level up, rivals return, arcs tie off neatly.
Hunter x Hunter prefers something messier and more realistic: people drift, priorities shift, opportunities vanish, and sometimes the world doesn’t care
that someone “deserved more screen time.”

That design choice makes the universe feel alive. But it also means the story is basically a professional at introducing a character who looks like the next
big deal… and then leaving them behind because the world is bigger than any one person.

How Fans Cope When Their Favorite Character Gets “Wasted”

• Rewatch with a focus lens. Picking an arc and tracking one character’s choices can reveal more depth than you remembered.
• Read discussion threads and theory posts (carefully). The fandom is basically an unpaid research department.
• Compare anime vs. manga emphasis. Some characters feel bigger in one version than the other.
• Write the missing scenes. Fanfiction, headcanons, and “what-if” posts exist because the series leaves delicious gaps.

Fan Experiences: When “Wasted Potential” Becomes the Fun Part (500+ Words)

One of the strangestand honestly kind of beautifulthings about being a Hunter x Hunter fan is how quickly “wasted potential” turns into a shared hobby.
In most fandoms, people argue about who would win in a fight. In this fandom, people argue about who would’ve become legendary if the story gave them five more chapters.
It’s like everyone is running the same imaginary writers’ room in their head, and the only agenda item is: “Okay, but what if Zepile showed up again?”

The experience usually starts innocently. You meet a side character, you like their vibe, and you assume they’ll return later because that’s how a lot of long-running
series work. Then Hunter x Hunter does its signature move: it pivots hard into a different genre. One minute it’s an adventure story, the next it’s a political thriller,
then it’s survival horror, then it’s a strategy game disguised as a shonen. Your favorite character doesn’t come along for the ride, and you realize the series
isn’t obligated to keep anyone in the spotlight just because fans love them.

That’s when the “wasted potential spiral” begins. People start collecting evidence like detectives. Someone remembers a throwaway line about a character learning Nen.
Someone else points out a thematic parallel (“Gyro is basically the anti-Gon”). Another fan notices how a character’s skill set would perfectly fit a later arc
(“Leorio’s medical path makes him ideal for a high-stakes expedition story”). Suddenly, what felt like a missing piece becomes a puzzleone the community can
keep solving forever because the official answer hasn’t arrived yet.

This is also where the fandom’s emotional range shines. Sometimes the conversation is funny: memes about characters “living in Togashi’s draft folder,” or jokes
about certain plot threads being placed in a vault guarded by Nen users and bureaucracy. Other times it gets genuinely thoughtful. Fans talk about how certain
sidelined characters mirror real life: talented people who never get the right opportunity, good-hearted people caught in systems that don’t reward goodness,
or young hunters who learn too late that bravery isn’t the same thing as readiness.

There’s also a very specific kind of bonding that happens when multiple people share the same unanswered question. You’ll see fans compare “most wasted potential”
lists the way sports fans compare rankings, except the stats are things like “cool concept per minute of screen time” or “emotional damage delivered in one scene.”
It’s half analysis, half group therapy, and half comedywhich, yes, is three halves, but that’s also very on-brand for this series.

And weirdly, the frustration becomes part of the appeal. A story that leaves room for imagination gives fans a place to live between chapters. The gaps become
creative fuel. People sketch alternate arcs, write missing conversations, and build entire theory frameworks around characters who’ve barely spoken in years.
In other words: “wasted potential” doesn’t only mean something was lost. In Hunter x Hunter, it often means something was left openand the fandom
rushes in to fill the space.

So if you’ve ever finished an arc and immediately thought, “Okay, but what about Melody’s cursed music?” or “Leorio should be doing more than cameo duty,”
congratulations. You’re having the most classic Hunter x Hunter experience possible: loving a world so big it can afford to leave masterpieces unfinished.

Conclusion

The irony is that Hunter x Hunter is so strong at character writing that even its “underused” cast feels legendary. These characters weren’t wasted because
they lacked purposethey were “wasted” because they had too many directions they could go, and the story chose just one path through an enormous world.

Maybe that’s the real magic: the series doesn’t just give you charactersit gives you possibilities. And if the day comes when the story circles back and
finally cashes in on some of these setups, the payoff won’t just be exciting. It’ll feel like the universe finally reopened a door fans never stopped knocking on.