Hunter X Hunter

Story:

Hunter X Hunter is made by Yoshihiro Togashi and it rules. Okay. It's about Gon Freecs, who was raised by his Aunt Mito on Whale Island. He grew up believing that his father was dead. While he was playing in the woods, however, he met a man named Kite / Kaito. Kite tells Gon that his father is alive and is one of top five Hunters in the world. Upon hearing this, Gon is inspired to become a Hunter. Kite says that Jin Freecs was also his master and the final test for him was to find Jin. Kite leaves Jin's double-star license card as a clue.

What's a Hunter, anyway? A Hunter is a person who searches for treasures of any kind or anything that is valuable. He can search for treasures or antiques, rare dishes, or wanted people. because of these, hunters are entitled to different privileges, such as free transportation and borrowing large sums of money.

To become a Hunter, one must pass the special exam given by the Hunter Association. The exam tests the applicant's mental and physical abilities. Three years after hearing about his father, Gon then sets out to take the Hunter Exam and find Jin Freecs.

-> taken from Kikiam-sama's anything-goes website.

Other Characters:

Gon Freecs

Gon here is the main character of Hunter X Hunter. His main objective in becoming a Hunter was already mentioned above, so I guess I just have to talk about his personality. Gon is your usual kind and cheerful twelve-year-old who loves to play around with animals and likes to help people. Growing up in the forest, and based on some scenes, we can say that Gon isn't that smart, well, I mean, school-smart, but when the situation needs truly bright ideas, expect Gon to have ideas on the way. At the same time, Gon also has this charisma that makes people go on his side, one characteristic of a good Hunter, according to the Hunter Association Chairman, Netero.

Killua Zoldick

One of my most favorite HxH characters! Killua is the third son of the famous Zoldick assassin clan, and the heir to the family business. Because of this, he was trained to be a fierce fighter since the age of three and wasn't allowed to make any friends. By age twelve, he became so annoyed and bored with his family that he ran away to take the Hunter Exam to keep himself from getting bored, kill his whole family and maybe make some friends. Then, he meets Gon and the rest they say, is history.
At the start, Killua may see very cold and merciless. He ended one of his first fights in the series by grabbing his opponent's heart right out. [That also proves that he is a very good fighter.] He's also a very good liar, as proven by his nen type, henka. However, he slowly inproves his character. He becomes a naughty boy and actually becomes like some sort of comic relief at the more serious story arcs. Another fact: Silva, Kill's dad, said that he's the strongest Zoldick to be born in the whole family history. Talk about potential, huh?

Kurapika / Clapika / Curarpict / Kurapict / et cetera

In some point of view, we can say that Kurapika's the most mysterious character in HxH because of the number of ways his name can be spelled and the fact that he is a... he.
So Kura [as I prefer to call him despite of his many names] is the sole survivor of the Kuruta tribe which was killed off by a band of thieves called the Genei Ryodan because of their red eyes. The Kuruta tribe members' eyes turn red upon feeling an extreme emotion. These red eyes are considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world. Od course, they were killed off. Because of this Kurapika wants to be a Hunter and take revenge upon the Genei Ryodan and at the same time, gather all the eyes of his lost tribemates and bring them back.
Kurapika is probably the smartest one in the group. He's also neat and very fine-mannered, another reason why he's mistaken for a girl. At the first arcs of the series, he's very similar to YYH's Kurama, but by the end, he became very serious and revenge-obesessed. He also ends up as the strongest one in the group [it was Killua before] when he's able to utilize all nen types at 100%. Talk about dynamic characters.

Hisoka / Hyskoa

If you're in the serious point-of-view, then you'd say that Hisoka is the most mysterious character in HxH. Let's see... Hisoka is a bloodthirsty murderer who likes fighting just for the fun of it. He absolutely loves strong people, and those who have the potential. No wonder he seems to have this interest in poor little Gon. We first see him in the Hunter Examination killing off his fellow examinees. Anyway, Hisoka is quite weird, and sometimes funny. He's also a very good liar. [He has the same nen type as Killua.]

Irumi / Illumi Zoldick

Irumi is Killua's eldest brother and was seemed to be raised to become a perfect Zoldick. He's cold, merciless and a very good fighter. Just like a Zoldick, he kills for the money. He joined the Hunter Exam for his "business." Killua is also very afraid of him, for some strange reason. Let's hope Togashi-sensei would reveal it later in the series.

Kuroro / Quoll

Kuroro is the leader of the Genei Ryodan. That means he's very strong and intelligent. [Of course, who wouldn't be smart enought to lead a band of thieves to kill off a whole tribe?] Kuroro is a calm person. The members of the Ryodan call him Dancho [or leader]. As a leader, he cares for his members and says that the welfare of the gang is more important than the welfare of the leader. His main ability is to steal the nen abilities of his oponents and keep them in a book for later use.