Ponzu (ポンズ, Ponzu) was one of the 24 examinees that managed to enter the fourth stage of the 287th Hunter Exam.[1] She was examinee #246 in the 287th Hunter Exam and #233[2] in the 288th Hunter Exam.[3]
Appearance
Ponzu's 2011 anime design
Ponzu's 1999 anime design
Ponzu's manga appearance
Ponzu wore a big yellow hat (pink in the 1999 version) with white flaps housed bees that would come out at her will or when she fell or screamed. She wore ordinary clothes: a salmon blouse and baggy pants and orange shoes without heels.
Personality
Ponzu was a serious, generally collected individual. Despite indirectly causing Bourbon's death, she showed no sign of feeling guilt, due to her attack having been accidental. She was quite perceptive, as she discovered the transmitter installed in her tag.[4] She also was very objective, characterized by her prioritization of getting word of the Chimera Ant infestation to a strong Hunter.[5]
Plot
Hunter Exam arc
Ponzu during the Hunter Exam
Ponzu enters the 287th Hunter Exam and completes the first three stages of the Hunter Exam with relative ease.[1] During the fourth stage where the remaining contestants have to take the badges from their specific opponent, Ponzu learns that Bourbon is her target. She follows him up until a hidden cave and tries to set him a trap while he was inside. She let sleeping gas into the cave and as she enters and tries to take the badge, she realizes that Bourbon released his snakes and the gas didn't reach them; trapping herself in the cave along with Bourbon.[4]
Ponzu's bees accidentally end up killing Bourbon after falling into his trap, but she is later rescued as Leorio, who was targeting her, Kurapika and Gon entered the cave and planned their escape. As they release the sleeping gas again, Gon takes them all out of the cave but her badge is taken by him and given to Leorio while she is unconscious, causing her to fail the exam.[4]
She is later seen in a car while Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio head to the airport to get to Kukuroo Mountain.[6]
Greed Island arc
Ponzu at the 288th Hunter Exam
Ponzu is shown to participate in the 288th Hunter Exam, although she then ends up being knocked unconscious in the first phase by Killua.[3]
Chimera Ant arc
Ponzu's death
Ponzu infiltrates NGL with Pokkle and two friends of theirs. They come upon a group of Chimera Ants capturing and killing humans, and she suffers a light injury to her shoulder, but the four manage to escape.[7] Ponzu sends her bees to contact the five other Hunter groups they had established a network with, to no avail. They conclude that they cannot contain the Chimera Ants by themselves and resolve to contact the outside world. However, before they get the chance, Zazan's Squad detects them. Pokkle orders Ponzu to escape, and she is the only one who manages to do so. Knowing that Pokkle will not be eaten immediately, she rushes to write SOS messages in blood and uses her bees to bring them to the strongest Hunter nearby—who happens to be Kite. She then decides to run back to the border, but she is shot moments later by an officer from Zazan's squad who then devours her.[5]
Equipment
Soporific Gas: In the fourth stage of the Hunter Exam, Ponzu used a vaporizer spraying potent sleeping gas to knock out her target.[4]
Ponzu's Beehive hat
Beehive Hat: Ponzu's hat is inhabited by a large quantity of bees (similar to wasps in the 2011 anime). According to her, it is a secret technique used in her family. If she starts shouting or falls due to a shock, the bees will come out and attack everyone around her without discrimination. Upon stinging, they inject a paralyzing poison that caused Bourbon a lethal anaphylactic shock, since he had already been stung by the same race of bees in the past. By lightly tapping her hat, she can make the bees come out without them attacking.[4]
Abilities & Powers
Ponzu calling out her bees
Ponzu's primary weapons are traps using chemicals,[8] but she has shown to use also other means of combat. She carries a bee hive underneath her hat from which the bees emerge to attack her enemies when she is threatened. She seems to be fairly analytical, realizing the nature of Bourbon's ability and that the badges used in the fourth stage of the Hunter Exam have transmitters implanted in them. According to Tonpa, she is able to discern when she is being followed.[9]
Nen
Ponzu learned Nen sometime before sneaking into NGL, as she was able to see Pokkle's Hatsu. She has some skills with Manipulation, since she ordered her bees to deliver a message to the first Hunter with a powerful aura they found.[5]
Battles
| Battles |
|---|
Trivia
- Her name probably comes from ponzu, a citrus-based sauce commonly used in Japanese cuisine.
- Ponzu and Pokkle are the only deceased examinees of the 287th Hunter Exam who did not die during the exam.
- She came 9th in the first popularity poll.
Anime and Manga Differences
- The 2011 anime expands Ponzu's appearances during the Chimera Ant arc: she is first seen with Pokkle and his friends in a park discussing the attack of giant insects in NGL. At first she wasn't allowed to go along but she proves that she would be helpful in relaying messages due to her ability to control her bees. At one point, she is chased by Peons who are killed by Pokkle. After her death, her remains are found by Kite, Gon, and Killua.[11]
Intertextuality and References
- Her hat looks similar to Koenma's of YuYu Hakusho.
The two scenes compared
- Ponzu's death in the hands of the Gun-toting Ant[5] looks strikingly similar to a scene in episode 535 of the Detective Conan series when a detective got shot. Curiously, the two scenes are both exclusive to the anime adaptation of their respective title while not being present or shown in the manga.
- Ponzu greatly resembles the character Zeo Zagart from the anime series Beyblade.
Miscellaneous
- Ponzu shares the same voice actress as Kortopi of the Phantom Troupe as well as Anita and Zushi, in the 1999 anime adaptation.
Translations around the World
| Language | Name | |
|---|---|---|
 Arabic
|
بونزو (Bunzu) | |
 Chinese
|
彭丝/彭絲* (Péng sī) | |
 Greek
|
Πόνζου (Pónzou) | |
 Korean
|
폰즈 (Ponjeu) | |
 Russian
|
Понзу (Ponzu) | |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hunter × Hunter - Volume 3, Chapter 23
- ↑ Hunter × Hunter - Episode 66 (2011)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hunter × Hunter - Volume 15, Chapter 148
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Hunter × Hunter - Volume 4, Chapter 31
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Hunter × Hunter - Volume 19, Chapter 190
- ↑ Hunter × Hunter - Episode 21 (2011)
- ↑ Hunter × Hunter - Volume 19, Chapter 189
- ↑ Hunter × Hunter - Volume 3, Chapter 25
- ↑ Hunter × Hunter - Volume 4, Chapter 30
- ↑ Hunter × Hunter - Volume 2, Chapter 10
- ↑ Hunter × Hunter - Episode 90 (2011)