Gon has a heightened sense of smell and sight, as well as very keen taste. Initially, Gon wants to become a Hunter because he wishes to find out the depths of an occupation that would cause a father to choose the profession over being with his own son, though soon this goal switches to finding his father. Gon is an Enhancer, who are known for being simple-minded and determined. This determination and talent leads to both potential allies and potential enemies
Gon is a young boy with long spiky black green-tipped hair and large, hazel brown eyes. His usual outfit is composed of a green jacket with reddish edges covering a black or white tank top underneath, green short shorts, and green, laced boots. In some arcs such as the Greed Island and Chimera Ant arcs he takes off the jacket and wears only the tank top. In the Greed Island arc and at the beginning of the Chimera Ant arc he wears the Paladin’s Necklace, a Greed Island card with the ability to purge any external effects to a card the wearer is holding.
Gon is an athletic, rustic, and friendly boy with a thirst for adventure. He is very kind and forgiving, as shown when he chooses to heal a psychopath who had just attempted to kill him. Because of this trait, he can make friends very easily. Having spent a lot of time in the woods as a child, he is very good with animals. Gon is an Enhancer, who are known for being simple-minded and determined. This determination and talent leads to both potential allies and potential enemies trusting in him and taking his side. Despite his kind nature, he can also be quite self-serving at times and has a very strange sense of morality.
Gon has a heightened sense of smell and sight, as well as very keen taste. Initially, Gon wants to become a Hunter because he wishes to find out the depths of an occupation that would cause a father to choose the profession over being with his own son, though soon this goal switches to finding his father. Gon is also shown to love his aunt Mito a great deal; due to the fact that she raised him since he was an infant, he considers her his mother, to the point that he didn’t want to learn about his real mother.
Gon is extremely confident in his abilities. Sometimes, he does not realize when the opponent is far stronger or even after he knows the opponent is stronger than him; regardless, he will continue to fight. He refuses to accept himself as inferior to any opponent that he disagrees with, including those clearly stronger than him. Togashi initially portrays this as naïveté. Aside from becoming a Hunter and finding his father, Gon desires strength above all else. Gon’s greatest insecurity lies in his own weakness and not being able to protect those close to him.
His central flaws lie in his temper and impulsive nature. Gon sometimes fails to think things through and such actions lead to him suffering. Though possessing talent far beyond the norm for his age, anytime his abilities are challenged, he feels as if he has to prove his antagonist wrong. He continually strives to obtain greater power, often becoming exceptionally stronger in his anger. But Gon’s anger also leads to extremely reckless tendencies. When his emotions are ignited, Gon becomes irrational and completely oblivious to anything else. While his will is stronger than most and he can be very level-headed, this clear mind can also make him very cold at times. Even more worrying is the extent to which his simple-mindedness colors his perception of those around him. Often it’s difficult for others to understand or relate Gon’s actions or thoughts to what people would consider “normal” thinking. On more than one occasion the people around Gon have remarked on how he “doesn’t care about the good or the bad” with some believing Gon to be a little insane. This is because he never considers whether these people are good or bad, but judges them based on how curious he is about them or what they have done for him and his friends. Regardless of what kind of people they may be, if they’ve directly or indirectly assisted Gon, he will express gratitude for what they’ve done. A good example of this was in the Greed Island arc, when Gon thanked Binolt for helping him become stronger, even though Binolt was a psychopathic murderer and cannibal who tried to kill them. Some other examples of this are regarding killers like Killua and Hisoka: despite having killed many people, Killua is still Gon’s best friend, and he actually admires Hisoka’s strength, even after seeing his sadistic and bloodthirsty personality.