Leorio

Biodata

Appearance

• Tall build: Introduced as a tall figure stepping between Kaya and an armed applicant 13.
• Suit and tie: Wears a suit and straightens his tie before explaining his reasons for becoming a Hunter 13 18.
• Sunglasses: A distinctive accessory that Kaya repeatedly steals during their arguments 13 19.
• Older-looking face: Despite being nineteen, he looks at least twenty-five to Kaya. His companions initially refuse to believe he is still a teenager 28.

Personality

Leorio is loud, proud, and easily provoked, particularly when others call him old or refuse to address him as “Mr. Leorio.” He initially rejects the captain’s questions because he dislikes being ordered around, but changes his stance once he learns that the captain controls admission to the Hunter Exam. He openly names money as his motive for becoming a Hunter, imagining expensive cars, mansions, and an extravagant lifestyle despite having no money in his wallet 17 18 20.

His bluster conceals genuine kindness and a willingness to put himself in danger for others. He intervenes when an applicant threatens Kaya, offers to enter the guides’ cabin before Gon, and confronts Hisoka to protect his injured friend. He can also acknowledge his mistakes: after passing Bucktooth Grandma’s quiz, he sincerely apologizes for threatening her 13 21 23 31.

Leorio’s attraction to women frequently embarrasses his companions and sometimes compromises his judgment. His behavior during Trick Tower’s matches costs the group fifty hours, though his friends distinguish this mistake from Tonpa’s deliberate sabotage 24 33 48 49.

Abilities & Skills

Medical Skills

Leorio demonstrates practical medical competence before the formal Hunter Exam begins 23.

• Professionally bandages the Kitsunori son’s apparently injured arm during the guides’ staged emergency.
• Receives explicit praise from the guides for his practiced treatment.
• Says he is studying cutting-edge surgery; the supplied events do not show him performing an operation 23 50.

Close-Quarters Combat

Leorio is capable against ordinary armed opponents and can hold his own against Kurapika during their shipboard duel 13 18.

• Disarming: Catches an attacking applicant’s knife arm and twists it, bringing the man down without apparent difficulty 13.
• Dagger fighting: Exchanges close-range weapon strikes with Kurapika; their hand-to-hand abilities are described as evenly matched during that encounter 18.
• Matchup advantage: Kaya judges that Ponzu cannot defeat him in close combat, while warning that her poisons and bees are the greater threat 50.
• Limit: Hisoka catches him by the throat during a charge and later knocks him unconscious with a single punch 31.

Endurance & Perception

• Resistance to seasickness: Remains unaffected during the Sea God’s storm while most applicants become violently ill 17.
• Persistence under fatigue: Continues the First Phase’s prolonged run despite heavy exhaustion and refuses Tonpa’s suggestion that he rest 27 28.
• Comparative limits: Tires sooner than Gon and Kaya and cannot hear the hidden townspeople whom his companions detect 20 22.
• Awareness: Fails to notice the man in white following the group from the port 21.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Dagger/knife — Used against Kurapika and drawn from his briefcase when he challenges Hisoka 18 31.
• Briefcase — A closely guarded possession containing his wallet and carrying his knife 19 20 31.
• Swift Grass powder — Given to him by Kaya to reduce the bruising and swelling caused by Hisoka’s punch 32.
• Anti-toxin herbs — Supplied by Kaya after Leorio draws Ponzu as his Fourth Phase target 50.

Relationships

• Kaya — Friend and frequent sparring partner in verbal arguments. Their teasing is backed by mutual care: Leorio rescues Kaya from Hisoka, while Kaya offers help during the endurance run and provides medicine and poison-countering herbs 19 28 31 32 50.
• Gon — Traveling companion whom Leorio repeatedly tries to protect. Gon repays that concern by striking Hisoka when Leorio is being strangled 23 31.
• Kurapika — Their initial hostility develops into respect during their duel and reconciliation after the storm rescue. Leorio later comforts him after a fake Phantom Troupe tattoo triggers his anger 18 19 46.
• Killua — Fellow examinee who joins the group’s teasing. Leorio objects to his skateboard during the running test and later blames Kaya for influencing his sharp tongue 27 50.
• Hisoka — Overwhelmingly stronger opponent. Hisoka defeats Leorio but declares that he has passed his personal test and carries him to the First Phase destination 31 32.
• Ponzu — Assigned Fourth Phase target, applicant number 246. Leorio receives advance warning about her poisonous attacks and the bees hidden in her hat 50.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Voyage and Preliminary Screening

Leorio first meets Kaya aboard the Sea God, stepping in when a scar-faced applicant attacks him with a knife. Kaya gives him an apple afterward, and Gon catches him a large flying fish 13 14.

During the storm, Leorio and Kurapika resist the captain’s questioning until he reveals that the voyage is a preliminary Hunter Exam screening. Their ensuing argument turns into a dagger-versus-twin-blades duel. They abandon the fight to help save Gon and Kaya, then reconcile; Kurapika recognizes that Leorio is less shallow than he initially appeared 17 18 19.

Route to the Exam Site

Leorio reluctantly follows the Great Tree route rather than taking the bus to Saba City. Because he cannot contribute money for food, Kaya makes him carry the supplies 20.

At Bucktooth Grandma’s quiz, he objects that choosing which loved one to save cannot have a standard answer. His protest helps Kurapika identify the solution, but Kaya must restrain him from attacking the examiner before the group passes by remaining silent. At the guides’ cabin, his medical treatment and readiness to sacrifice himself for his companions earn the Kitsunori family’s approval 21 23.

First and Second Phases

Leorio struggles with the First Phase’s running test but keeps going with his friends’ encouragement. In the Numere Wetlands, he returns to protect Kaya from Hisoka and is knocked unconscious. Hisoka carries him onward, and Leorio officially passes the phase among the 149 successful candidates 27 28 31 32.

He advances through Buhara’s roast-pig task but fails to satisfy Menchi’s sushi standards: she rejects his tightly packed rice without tasting it. After Netero arranges a retest, Leorio retrieves and boils a Grape Spider Vulture Egg, passing the Second Phase with his friends 34 35 37 38.

Trick Tower and Fourth Phase Preparation

Leorio enters Trick Tower alongside Gon, Killua, and Kurapika, while Kaya takes a separate route. Tonpa joins their challenge, and Leorio’s lust-driven mistake during the five-on-five matches costs them fifty hours. They nevertheless finish at the last moment and reunite with Kaya 44 48 49.

For the Fourth Phase on Despair Island, Leorio draws Ponzu as his badge-hunting target. Kaya explains her poison-based abilities and automatic bee defense, then gives him herbs to counter the toxins. The supplied account ends before Leorio confronts her 50.

Notable Quotes

“How pathetic are you? Trying to save face by picking on a kid? Have you got no shame?” 13

“You little brat. Getting into a fight without inviting me? Some friend you are.” 31

“You don’t know a damn thing! I’m studying cutting-edge surgery!” 50