"This will be a one-sided massacre. I have no interest in the exam or any offer of amnesty." — Johness, to Killua Zoldyck in "Resolution" |
Johness (ジョネス, Jonesu), also known as Johness the Dissector (解体屋ジョネス, Barashiya Jonesu), was the most notorious mass murderer in Zaban City and one of the prisoners in Trick Tower, used to test the examinees in the 287th Hunter Exam.[1]
Appearance
Johness was a tall man with a muscular frame. His hair was unkempt and his facial hair consisted of a mustache and sideburns. He had large, piercing blue eyes with a long and slender nose. The muscles in his fingers were extremely well-developed, easily capable of tearing flesh from bone and crushing stone to dust. He wore typical inmate attire whilst in Trick Tower, while in a flashback of Johness' arrest he was seen wearing a striped shirt over a T-shirt and trousers.[1]
Personality
Johness' thirst in killing
Johness was a sadistic and psychotic individual. Nothing gave him greater pleasure than the feeling of bleeding flesh in his hands and hearing the screams of agony from his victims. However, once he experienced what he did to so many others, all he could do was plead for his life.
Johness was also self confident and conscious of his own power. When he faced Killua, he had no doubt that he was going to massacre him.
Murders were, for him, not a need, but a mere pleasure. He showed no sufference from the abstinence from killing he was forced into by the imprisonment, but he was glad at the idea of being able to kill again. Conscious of the extent of his sentence (nearly a millennium), he had no interest in a reduction of his detention.
Background
Johness was an infamous mass murderer in Zaban City, who murdered continuously and without discrimination. Prior to being captured, he had killed 146 people, all were torn into at least 50 pieces by using his bare hands; in some cases, his victims were torn into thousands of pieces. When he was arrested, Johness did not resist, instead, he tore a large piece of flesh off the left arm of the police officer. For these crimes, he was sentenced to 968 years in prison.[1]
Plot
Hunter Exam arc
Johness appears
Following the "Path of Majority Rules" during the 3rd Stage of 287th Hunter Exam, the 5 examinees Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, and Tonpa are found pitted against 5 other prisoners within the Trick Tower in a series of challenges.[2]
After 2 wins and 2 losses, the fate of the challenge falls on Killua. He is paired with Johness, much to Leorio's alarm when he recognizes him, and he strongly advises Killua to back down. Leorio tells the group of Johness' fearsome reputation as a bloodthirsty mass murderer and his extreme methods of dismembering his victims with his bare hands.[1]
Johness dies before Killua
This is ignored, however, and the two combatants enter the arena platform. The object of the challenge is simple, a deathmatch. As Johness is still talking of how he is going to tear Killua's body to pieces, Killua lunges forward in the blink of an eye and plucks Johness' heart clean out of his chest. Johness quickly realizes what has just transcended and pleads for Killua to give his heart back. Plea ignored, Killua crushes the heart in his hand. Johness is left quivering and twitching on the floor in his final moments before dying. This grants the examinees a pass through the section, and onto the challenges awaiting them in the race against time to get to the base of the tower.[1]
Abilities & Powers
Johness showcasing his grip
Johness had no particular powers such as Nen, but he had an extremely powerful grip and enough physical force to tear a human body into dozens of pieces. His fingers enabled him to easily crush stone and tear flesh from bones. All his crimes were committed with his bare hands. However, he was no match for Killua and was deemed an amateur by his killer.
Manga Appearances
Battles
| Battles |
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Trivia
- "Johness the Dissector" may allude to the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper.
Anime and Manga Differences
- In the 2011 anime adaptation, instead of destroying Johness' heart,[1] Killua returns it to Johness after he collapses and dies.[3]
Intertextuality and References
- Johness resembles Ootake, a character in YuYu Hakusho series.
Miscellaneous
- The voice actor of Johness in the 2011 anime series is the same voice actor of Gotoh, Geretta, and Nobunaga from the 1999 anime series.
- The voice actor of Johness in the 1999 anime series is the same voice actor of Izunavi (episode 56) and Genthru from the 1999 anime series.
Translations around the World
| Language | Name | |
|---|---|---|
 Arabic
|
جونيس (Junis) | |
 Chinese
|
喬尼 | |
 French
|
Jonès | |
 Korean
|
죠네스 (Jyoneseu) | |
 Russian
|
Джонас (Dzhonas) | |