An excellent calculation of Hunter x Hunter and Killua's speedfrom the Narutofan forums.
This is an attempt to figure out the speed of the upper levels of the Hunter x Hunter universe. For this I will be using reaction time feats and the relation between reaction time and speed in order to try and figure out combat speed. I will be using three terms: Reaction time, reaction speed, and combat speed. For these calculations reaction time will be the time it takes for a character to successfully react to an attack (that is, to dodge or parry). Reaction speed will be the speed at which the same character can dodge or parry an attack at a distance of one meter, which I deemed appropriate combat distance for standard attacks. Finally, combat speed is the speed at which the character can actually move in combat.
Originally I decided the relation between combat speed and reaction speed was approximately .46, but after furthur research and reflection I have decided that it's much closer to a 1 to 1 ratio than I previously assumed. That is, it can probably range from .8 to 1.1 times reaction speed depending on the effort exerted. Average human speed is about 5 m/s for an 800 meter race. Average human reaction speed is about 5 m/s. Peak human speed is 10.2 m/s for a 100 meter dash. Peak human reaction speed is about 10 m/s. For the purposes of this thread, I will be using the 800 meter relation. For those unfamiliar with track, the 800 meter is one of the tougher races because you have to go about 90% sprint for the entire race. I felt that it was approriate because in a combat situation(anime.. not real life.. duh) you would probably be exerting yourself similarly.. But, for this to mean anything, first there must be concrete reaction feats. Luckily, HxH is a pretty grounded manga and has provided us with several.
To determine reaction time, I will be using 3 different feats from characters ranging from mid-high tier to top tier in terms of speed. The characters are from a current Killua, Ubougin, and Zitoh.
First up is Killua:
From this instance, Killua is seen to be able to dodge a sniper rifle bullet from a distance of 57 centimeters. For the bullet speed, I treated the rifle as a Barrett M82A1, which I felt was appropriate as a top-end sniper rifle. For the sake of simplicity and lost velocity, I dropped the bullet velocity to 850 m/s. With a distance of .57 meters and a velocity of 850 m/s, that puts Killua’s reaction time at .000671 s. Subsequently that puts his reaction speed at 1490.313 m/s. From here we can use the .8 ratio and find that Killua has a combat speed of 1192.25 m/s.
Next, we move on to Ubougin:
In this instance, Ubougin is able to catch a bullet in his teeth from a distance of approximately 10 centimeters. The weapon used is most likely a Glock 17, which has a muzzle velocity of 360 m/s. This puts Ubougin’s reaction time at .000278 s and his reaction speed at 3597 m/s. With the .8 ratio, we can determine that Ubougin’s combat speed is 2877.6 m/s.
Finally, we have Zitoh’s bullet dodging feat:
The weapon used can be identified as a Glock, and the shape of the bullet is most similar to a .45, which means that the weapon used is most likely a Glock 21. That puts the muzzle velocity at 260 m/s, which combined with a distance of 3 centimeters, puts Zitoh’s reaction time at .000154 and his reaction speed at 6493.506 m/s. Again. Using the .8 ratio, we can determine Zitoh’s combat speed to be 5194.805 m/s.
Killua
Reaction time: .000671 s
Reaction speed: 1490.313 m/s
Combat speed: 1192.25 m/s
Ubougin
Reaction time: .000278 s
Reaction speed: 3597 m/s
Combat speed: 2877.6 m/s
Zitoh
Reaction time: .000231 s
Reaction speed: 6493.506 m/s
Combat speed: 5194.805 m/s
Notes
- This does not factor in Killua’s new move for reaction time.
- This is a hard cap for Killua's speed, but a soft cap for Ubougin and particularly Zitoh.
- Yes, I know it is a fallacy assuming that all things advance equally, but this is far better than nothing.
